Chapter 332

Chapter 332: In a Narrow Victory, the Brave Prevail

Laser weapon?!

If the air is clean enough, any wavelength of laser light cannot be seen with the naked eye during its travel.

That dark red beam, however, was visible due to the Tyndall effect, a scattering phenomenon occurring when laser light passes through dust in the air, also known as the milkiness phenomenon, allowing one to see the light’s path.

This pure white unmanned combat aircraft was no longer a conventional fighter but an advanced aerial weapon. Lin Mo silently thanked his quick reaction; if that high-power laser had hit a vital spot, it would have been curtains for him.

The radar alarm sounded again. The opponent didn’t seem inclined to let Lin Mo go and released another missile. Fortunately, it was not an AIM-120 but a short-range missile. Clearly, the enemy’s payload was also limited.

The pure white unmanned aircraft used a closed weapon bay to maintain maximum stealth, but this design restricted the number of externally mounted weapons. It was understandable why the opponent chose laser weapons over cannons; their payload capacity was quite limited. The first round of powerful cluster aerial bombs served not only as a surprise attack but also to lighten the load for subsequent combat.

As the enemy exited its supersonic mode to launch an air-to-air missile, Lin Mo swiftly executed a tumble maneuver, lifting the nose of his aircraft and quickly turning to pursue the pure white unmanned aircraft from behind.

With the nose aimed at the unmanned combat aircraft, the rocket pods beneath both wings erupted with flames.

Like a lion hunting a rabbit, there would be no retreat once he counterattacked. Lin Mo emptied the rocket pods on both wings at once, sending a barrage of rocket bombs straight toward the enemy aircraft and the incoming missile.

Boom!

Violent explosions occurred in the sky one after another, fireballs clustered together as if thunder raged, causing the seawater below to ripple slightly.

The twelve rockets launched in full force; one collided with the approaching short-range combat missile, leading to the detonation of nearby rockets, creating a spectacular fireball explosion reminiscent of a pile of red bayberry fruit.

Nearly one-third of the rockets evaded the chain explosions and charged toward the pure white combat aircraft, yet none managed to hit it. The rockets inexplicably detonated less than two hundred meters away, possibly due to some form of close-range defensive directed energy weapon.

Lin Mo knew it wouldn’t be this simple. Once he seized the initiative, he intended to press his advantage.

Combining the mixed cannon burst with pendulum maneuvers and Hoover oscillation, he enlarged his loops and even infused his secret weapon, the "Hunting Sparrow Trajectory," learned from the Wind Dragon Knight, to suppress the enemy’s speed and prevent it from reaching supersonic speeds.

Lin Mo understood that if the enemy gained a chance at supersonic speed, the advantage he had so painstakingly secured would vanish, and the situation would drastically reverse.

Perhaps the enemy didn’t expect Lin Mo to go all-in, launching a surprise attack with the rocket pods while limiting its speed with cannon fire. Though the unmanned combat aircraft was more advanced than the J-15 "Dark Sabre," even it couldn’t withstand 30mm cannon shells—not even a tank would escape unharmed from a direct hit.

Moreover, Lin Mo’s shooting skills were exceptional; his projectiles always targeted the areas with weak aerodynamic layouts, akin to a vital hit that could incapacitate the enemy with very few cannon shells.

The pilot controlling the pure white unmanned combat aircraft felt extremely frustrated. He couldn’t understand why this opponent seemed to know the capabilities of his unmanned combat aircraft so well. He and the technical developers were confident that the parameters and specifications of this secret experimental machine had never been revealed to the world.

In just a short while, he found himself in a situation where the “Dark Sabre” was making him feel as if he were being overwhelmed by a flurry of punches from a seasoned master.

This mysterious pilot might not guess that his opponent was an expert in aircraft design, particularly in aerodynamic layouts. Under the guidance of an experienced old expert, Lin Mo had seen through the performance of the unmanned combat aircraft just by observing its exterior, and in the brief exchange, he discovered its weaknesses.

The pure white unmanned combat aircraft continued to struggle against the “Dark Sabre’s” suppression. Its belly weapon bay opened again, firing another short-range air-to-air missile.

Upon seeing the opponent launch another dogfight missile, Lin Mo wasted no time and fired his last PL-9 close-range combat missile.

No hesitation.

No mercy.

In a narrow encounter, the brave prevail!

Boom! Boom!

Neither side could intercept the other’s close-range combat missiles. In a mutual effort to dodge, they almost detonated near each other simultaneously.

With a series of crackling sounds, the aircraft shook. Lin Mo turned to look, noticing that the “Dark Sabre” had several scratches from shrapnel, and even the left tail fin had a chunk blown off, while the outer layer of the cockpit’s bulletproof canopy showed a long crack.

Whew! Lin Mo let out a sigh of relief. That was close! Just light injuries.

The enemy could swap out for another unmanned combat aircraft if shot down, but if Lin Mo was hit, he might not even have a chance to restart, resulting in a quick GAME OVER.

Looking at the opponent’s aircraft, a long crack appeared on the pristine white wings, revealing a black gap. The 10-kilogram warhead of the PL-9 close-range combat missile used a radio proximity fuse, indicating that the enemy was faring poorly as well.

After a sudden exchange of fire, both the "Dark Sabre" and the unmanned combat aircraft suffered damage.

This outcome truly surprised the two aerial knights.

It was as if they ignited a fierce battle; both aircraft charged at each other without hesitation, battling like true knights.

They created distance.

They crossed paths at high speed.

A swift strike.

Then they separated.

They repeated these attacks until one side completely fell.

Both pilots were masters at aerial combat, and Lin Mo acknowledged that the pilot of the unmanned combat aircraft was an elite aerial knight at his level.

This battle was undoubtedly the toughest Lin Mo had faced since arriving in this world. The opponent’s strength and tactical skill matched his own. Although Lin Mo had an advantage in dogfighting techniques, the unmanned aircraft’s superior maneuverability allowed it to perform outstanding agile movements, compensating for this gap.

Unbeknownst to them, the team controlling the pure white unmanned combat aircraft was already sweating; operating this fighter was not the work of a single person but an entire team responsible for reconnaissance and tactical analysis, weapon attacks, flight operations, electronic jamming, and computer system support—all feeling immense pressure from a fighter that was not even particularly advanced.

Since neither side could deliver a fatal blow, the two aircraft became entangled in a fierce close-range dogfight. Missiles and other high-powered automated tracking weapons were exhausted, leaving only the pulse laser gun versus the 30mm cannon in combat, both potent weapons particularly effective in close quarters.

The relentless clashes between the two fighters had them switching between subsonic and supersonic speeds, with sonic booms echoing like a mischievous child repeatedly popping bubbles on a splash mat, the sounds ringing continuously.

As the frequency of attacks rose, the distance between the two aircraft shrank to a frightening range. Within a one-thousand-meter radius, they nearly attacked each other every five seconds, and at times, they almost collided, leading to destruction and loss of life.

As ammunition depleted, more scars appeared on both fighters. Lin Mo’s "Dark Sabre" was particularly battered, with dozens of charred marks, lacerations, and puncture wounds covering the fuselage. The damage to multiple parts and the destruction of internal systems left the "Dark Sabre" swaying dangerously.

Yet Lin Mo did not give up. In the dictionary of the Dragon Knight, there was no such thing as "giving up." If he fled without fighting today, it would leave a permanent shadow in his heart, and he would never regain his combat effectiveness.

The alarms ringing in the cockpit became a nuisance, prompting Lin Mo to punch the horn and silence all system sounds in the helmet except for communication channels, focusing entirely on the duel with the enemy aircraft.

Although the unmanned combat aircraft’s laser weapon was powerful, especially with the support of the computer system, making it more agile and precise than fixed cannons, Lin Mo wouldn’t allow the enemy to maintain a lethal beam of fire for long. Compared to the swaying "Dark Sabre," the pure white unmanned aircraft was not in great shape either. Taking advantage of a few infrared jamming grenades that interfered with the unmanned aircraft’s camera, several cannon shells punched holes in the unmanned aircraft, scattering fragments and almost crippling it.

Lin Mo’s cannon fire was cunning; it damaged the unmanned combat aircraft’s stealth coating, severely reducing its radar evasion capabilities. The wounds inflicted by the cannon increased its radar reflection rate, revealing its true form on Lin Mo’s on-board radar.

“Dragon Knight, this is Landmine! I’m on my way! I’ve launched a PL-12, assist me with the guidance!”

Lin Mo shared his "Dark Sabre’s" combat data link, allowing the command center of the Shilang aircraft carrier to see his remaining payload. As soon as they saw Lin Mo’s "Dark Sabre" had fired its long-range weapons, they forwarded the information to support arriving "Landmine," Colonel Wu.

Just as Lin Mo heard Colonel Wu’s voice coming through the headset, the radar screen showed two bright spots. One represented Colonel Wu’s position, while the other, a fast-moving dot, indicated the PL-12 “Thunderbolt” medium-range air-to-air missile that had just been launched and was beyond visual range.