Chapter 159
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Chapter 159: The Twin Dragons Playing with Pearls
“Notify the J-10s to launch an attack upon arrival, marking all key targets for them to coordinate with the WZ-12 to eliminate the enemy’s heavy firepower.”
Major General Luo Rong and several officers kept their eyes glued to the 3D map on the table. On the large 100-inch screen opposite them, the equipment and troop numbers from both sides were being highlighted, with battle damage being updated every second.
The command post was close to the battlefield, and faint sounds of gunfire could be heard from afar, but here everything progressed methodically according to the war protocols. Departments worked seamlessly together, and even the cooking unit had set up a multifunctional kitchen, operating at full capacity to prepare meals.
Blooded soldiers never missed the chance to train themselves and their equipment in real combat. Relying on the principle of “better to kill an innocent than let an enemy escape,” these self-caught rebels were essentially providing free practice targets for the Chinese army. Even if they weren’t directly deployed to the battlefield, experiencing the atmosphere was beneficial.
Yes, there would be casualties and losses, but maintaining the combat readiness of generations of Chinese soldiers made these small battles essential, just like the eternal opposition between light and darkness. Soldiers always needed opponents to hone their skills.
“Target spotted, prepare!” Lin Mo’s sharp eyesight quickly noticed everything happening on the distant battlefield, which was one reason he was chosen as the lead pilot; an excellent pilot often spots threats before others.
The two J-10s immediately rolled their bodies and began to lower their altitude, performing a graceful dance in midair.
The ground was shrouded in smoke, bursts of flames erupted, and the sounds of gunfire and explosions drowned out the roar of the fighter jet engines. Flames flickered, and bright red projectiles splattered everywhere, creating explosive fireballs that consumed lives.
The muffled sounds of rending fabric were audible even at an altitude of 4,000 meters as the two sides engaged in fierce combat with powerful personal weapons. Grenades and rockets intertwined in a chaotic display.
Rather than a large-scale charge, it was clear that these forces were no longer employing World War II-style human waves. Instead, they divided into smaller groups to establish positions, advancing steadily while tightening the pressure on each other.
On the battlefield, three gray armed helicopters were entangled with two green-painted WZ-12 helicopters, all while trading attacks on the ground. Several large container trucks lay overturned nearby, creating a death landscape of charred wreckage, black smoke, and creeping flames.
Clearly, the rebels’ supply vehicles had come under attack, but their counterattack was fierce. RPG rockets flew out, exploding into fireballs on the ground, while some soldiers aimed shoulder-fired Stinger missiles at the hovering WZ-12 helicopters.
China’s two WZ-12 helicopters maneuvered with extraordinary agility. As the nation’s most advanced stealth armed helicopters, they kept shifting positions, launching salvos of rockets to provide cover for ground attacks while maintaining altitude to prevent Stinger missile launches.
From the air, the positions of the rebel soldiers were laid bare, but these were not the targets for the J-10s. Hitting scattered infantry groups with cannons would take forever.
Four armored vehicles maintained a safe distance, attempting to find a breakthrough against the interception positions formed by three special forces teams, while behind them, vehicles equipped with armor plates and a group of soldiers followed closely, ready to launch an attack at any moment.
Even if they broke through, so what? Although they were near the Chinese border, where moving another 10 kilometers east would place them in China, at least a regiment of troops and artillery awaited them on the Chinese side.
If they weren’t in a neighboring country, Chinese tanks and more heavy weaponry might have already arrived on the scene.
“Laser guided lock! Ground lock!” Lin Mo heard the voice of ground combat personnel in his headset, and the display on the J-10’s instrument panel showed two rebel armored vehicles glowing green.
“Air lock!” The J-10B’s pilot, codenamed Azure Wolf, also issued a laser lock signal, adding another layer of security for Lin Mo’s bombing run.
“Lock successful!” Lin Mo selected two 250-3 air-to-ground cluster bombs, locking onto the targets. “Eject!”
In a standard bombing maneuver, almost simultaneously, the two advanced bombs dropped from the wings, and the J-10A climbed steeply, with the second aircraft following closely behind. Rockets under the wings began firing at ground anti-air positions, covering Lin Mo as he departed the bombing altitude. As long as they climbed above 4,000 meters, the rebel Stinger missiles posed little threat to them.
Explosions erupted in the area of the armored vehicles, sending white smoke billowing upwards, followed by multiple fireballs that consumed two vehicles, and the heavy machine guns on them fell silent.
Known as intelligent bombs, these cluster munitions could detect target positions and direct their explosive power for maximum effect, specifically designed to penetrate the armor of vehicles from above.
The two green-camouflaged J-10s roared overhead, bringing with them a sound like thunder.
The blast from the jet engines dispelled the smoke from the bomb explosions, revealing irregular holes torn into the top of the armored vehicles. The twisted armor plates curled up, emitting thick black smoke, while flashes of munitions ignited from inside due to secondary explosions.
“Great job!”
The cheers of the ground guidance personnel rang in Lin Mo’s ears. He smiled slightly, “Please continue to guide!”
“Two, you’re up! I’ll cover you!”
Lin Mo coordinated with ground forces for laser guidance, mirroring the actions that Two had previously done for him.
The two J-10s executed their tactics once more, a near repeat of the earlier attack. After the previous successful bombing destroyed two armored vehicles, the remaining vehicles were subjected to rapid, successive strikes that blew them up in spectacular fashion, while nearby infantry suffered significant casualties under the cluster munition blasts.
It was as if they had broken the camel’s back, plunging the rebel forces into chaos as they scrambled to find escape routes.
Boom!
One WZ-12 took a hit from a Stinger missile; a fireball erupted from its left side, and the weapon mounts on the left were blown apart, leaving half of the fuselage covered in soot, almost tipping over.
Lin Mo caught this scene in his peripheral vision. The WZ-12, trailing smoke, evidently suffered significant damage and stumbled back from the battlefield. At the same time, two of the rebel armed helicopters were struck down by returning fire from air-to-ground rockets, disintegrating into fireballs that plummeted to the ground, creating a shower of fragments.
“Stinger! Stinger! Climb to altitude! Go supersonic!” Lin Mo rapidly pulled up the J-10, pushing the engine to maximum power as the crazed rebels began firing Stinger missiles haphazardly into the sky. He could visually track five or six trails of smoke rising rapidly, heading directly toward the J-10 formation.
Two white sonic boom clouds streaked across the sky like shooting stars.
Five hundred meters a second; dropping the Stinger missile before it reached supersonic is the best approach. The missile lacked enough thrust to remain airborne for long, needing less than ten seconds. The Stinger has a theoretical ceiling of 3,000 meters, but due to human reaction time, that number could drop even lower.
The best defense against surface-to-air missiles is not erratic S-curve maneuvers, which would slow the fighter, but instead maximizing the aircraft engine’s thrust and accelerating away to safety, as no advanced infantry air defenses can effectively target a high-speed fighter flying at altitude.
The remaining WZ-12, sensing impending danger, launched a barrage of flares while climbing, sending dazzling red fireballs soaring into the sky, filling the air with vivid trails of smoke, creating a stunning spectacle above the battlefield.
The WZ-12 not only protected the J-10 formation but also intercepted two incoming Stinger missiles.
Before reaching 4,000 meters, Lin Mo suddenly veered off, executing a steep climbing turn to face the enemy again. The 23-meter cannon under the fuselage fired a quick burst, sending three or four bright rounds zipping out.
Bang! A fireball erupted mid-air.
Had Lin Mo actually hit a flying Stinger? The pilot of Azure Wolf gaped in astonishment. Shooting down a missile with a cannon? How did he manage that?
No wonder the profile for Aircraft One noted it: “Gold Coin” was renowned as a cannon marksman.
However, Lin Mo’s actions seemed somewhat unnecessary, leaving others puzzled.
Thanks to Lin Mo’s quick thinking, the J-10 formation swiftly broke through the sound barrier and evaded the effective range of the Stinger missiles. Those hastily launched missiles posed no threat, ultimately falling harmlessly to the ground or colliding with the flares fired by the WZ-12.
“Hmm, let me try a few ideas!”
Anticipating the thoughts of others, Lin Mo suddenly spoke up to explain. He preferred resolving issues with cannon fire since close-quarters combat was his primary method when he was a Dragon Knight. Using missiles costs more and limits attack opportunities.
Having the mental space to experiment with tactics in battle is not something just anyone can manage.
This guy really dares to do anything! The Azure Wolf pilot grinned in the cockpit. This lead pilot is something else—could it be sheer luck?
Flying in formation is different from flying solo. Lin Mo couldn’t act independently, nor could he allow the two fighter jets to drift apart. The battlefield was constrained, and they couldn’t afford to have two fighters scattering without formation, as gunfire could easily hit friendly forces, and it would be easier for collisions to occur.
