Chapter 520

Chapter 520: Diverting Trouble Westward

The shadows of the past linger on!

Lin Mo noticed the F-22 Raptor squad tailing him.

The Light Mirror Technique provided a natural reconnaissance advantage, placing the Red Eagle and the Raptor squad in a situation of information asymmetry, allowing Lin Mo to gain the upper hand.

In fact, many opponents had already lost before engaging with Lin Mo, who had activated the Light Mirror Technique.

The F-22 Raptor squad still had not confirmed the true existence of the Red Eagle. Therefore, their flight paths were uncertain as they continuously executed wide S-shaped maneuvers to expand their search area.

Unbeknownst to them, every move they made fell under Lin Mo’s watchful eye.

Perhaps the F-22 Raptors were scanning with onboard phased array radar, but that was in vain.

American pilots never imagined someone would conduct ultra-low altitude supersonic cruising at less than 100 meters with stealth capabilities rivaling their own fighters.

Afghanistan’s complex terrain, combined with the Red Eagle’s stealth, provided Lin Mo the perfect double insurance.

The constantly moving onboard electronic map revealed new points of interest, catching Lin Mo’s attention.

Information gathered by the Dragoon military base was shared with the Dragoon Corporation, and the corporation did the same.

One side held a technological advantage while the other had local manpower.

Every day, they shared updates on troop strengths and assembly point distributions, marking the offensive and defensive situations of both sides with red and blue, making the electronic map look like a tangle of intertwining teeth.

Lin Mo clearly noticed a highlighted marker indicating a bulk supply gathering point nearby, with 4,161 illegal armed militants preparing to launch an attack on the Dragoon Corporation’s controlled area—a significant target, particularly marked on the map.

He glanced back at the two relentless F-22 Raptors in pursuit.

He knew the enemy had their own assistance.

Someone had clearly informed this Raptor squad.

Modern warfare is not like ancient battles; information warfare takes precedence. With communication devices, messages can be relayed across thousands of kilometers in just a second.

The ultra-low altitude flying of the J-18 Red Eagle may have evaded aerial defenses but could be spotted by ground personnel, who might have notified the U.S. forces stationed in Afghanistan.

He began counting his ammunition.

Cannon bullets: full load! Thank the Dragon God, that was excellent news.

The external fuel tank still had sixty percent remaining—enough to get him home, even if he discarded the tank; the internal fuel would suffice to return to a Chinese airport.

The air-to-air missiles under the wings had already been fired, which was bad news since his ammunition was low, but the good news was that it made him even more stealthy.

In the internal weapon bay, he still had a 500-kilogram high-explosive cluster bomb and two air-to-air missiles, which were reserved for emergencies.

He had enough resources to play around!

Lin Mo pulled back on the control stick, quickly climbing up, opened the weapon bay, released a half-wave dipole, and retracted it after five seconds, closing the weapon bay again as he lowered his altitude, heading toward the illegal armed militants’ assembly point on the electronic map.

Agents of international forces were pouring dollars into Takhar Province, following their backers’ orders, continuously repositioning troops and transporting vast quantities of supplies to the assembly point just outside the newly captured Taloqan city, sending more supplies northward.

The assembly point just outside Taloqan city was bustling around the clock, with hundreds of big trucks operating daily, overloaded with ammunition. If it were in their home country, drivers would face hefty fines, license suspensions, and vehicle confiscations.

The two tens of thousands of illegal armed militants were fiercely engaged in battle with the Dragoon Corporation’s defense team and militiamen. They fought relentlessly for territory, striving to eliminate each other’s combat strength in a battle that had reached a fever pitch, with both sides employing every tactic at their disposal in a desperate fight.

The amount of ammunition consumed surged far beyond what both sides had imagined.

A large amount of euros and dollars flooded the battlefield, as countless firearms and various munitions were continuously supplied to the front lines. Agents and armed militants established a supply gathering point just outside the newly captured Taloqan city in Takhar Province, transporting an endless flow of weapons and ammunition from Iran, Uzbekistan, and even from Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, to meet the needs of nearly twenty thousand troops.

More warlords and armed organizations were attracted by the agents’ financial offensive, gathering toward the northern Baghlan Province and Kunduz Province, moving toward Takhar Province and Panjshir Province.

In response to Dragoon Corporation’s unyielding accusations against the government army for supporting illegal armed groups attacking the four northern provinces, many officials in the Afghan government, furious and embarrassed, completely shed their hypocrisy. They ignored Dragoon Corporation’s protests and even openly supported the looting actions of the illegal armed militants.

If it weren’t for the support of the Chinese military, the four northern provinces controlled by Dragoon Corporation would have likely fallen, plunging innocent civilians back into a chaotic life of conflict.

With significant support from a large supply of affordable war materials from the Chinese military, along with the backing of the northern province’s civilians, Sally resolutely decided to expand the military, integrating over ten thousand militia members into the defense team’s training camps.

While setting up new defensive lines, they conducted intensive military training, always ready to be dispatched to the battlefield.

The reconnaissance personnel from Dragoon Corporation, like spies from the illegal armed groups, infiltrated the enemy’s territory without leaving a trace, gathering intelligence.

The large target that Lin Mo and the J-18 “Red Eagle” were approaching had been confirmed by Dragoon Corporation’s reconnaissance personnel just a week prior, despite the small town of Taloqan having natural advantages for transportation. However, the agents did not place their gathering point within the town itself.

Everyone knew the satellite coordinates of the small town; if Dragoon Corporation managed to get cruise missiles from elsewhere and fired a few rounds, they could easily blow up everyone and everything at that gathering point.

It was a mountainous pile of weapons and ammunition, essentially a massive explosive device.

Suddenly, the gathering point of the illegal armed militants sounded the air defense alarm, originally intended to counter the Dragoon Corporation’s “Super Dodo” attack, but it unexpectedly proved useful today. The shrill alarm caused chaos within the gathering point area.

Agents set up multiple lookout posts within a fifteen-kilometer radius of the gathering point and had just spotted a jet fighter flying at ultra-low altitude, rushing toward Taloqan city. Those stationed at the lookout posts immediately alerted the gathering point.

The intruder came with ill intentions!

Within the outer defense circle, the illegal armed militants at the lookout posts had no time to grab shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles before the black and gray jet fighter ominously zipped past, dangerously close to their attack radius.

Even launching a missile would be useless; the fighter was outside their maximum range, needing no evasive maneuvers at all.

As if anticipating the lookouts, it effortlessly penetrated their outer defenses, as if entering uninhabited territory.

“Enemy attack! There’s a fighter jet, an F-22, Americans!”

“Air raid! Air raid! Bring out the air defense missiles!”

“Everyone, grab your machine guns and get to cover! Quick, set up the camouflage netting! Damn it, no running around, don’t cluster together, do you want to die?”

Chaos erupted at the gathering point as people shouted and ran. Some inexperienced militants were utterly terrified—just the words "Americans" and "fighter jet" were enough to scare them stiff, remembering how devastating the Americans had been in Afghanistan.

Some who had previously been Taliban members clearly understood the power of the Americans.

“Americans? How could this be?” Jidin, the agent, dropped his cigar in disbelief.

They had been here for more than half a month, and both the Americans and the Kabul government had been indifferent, turning a blind eye, and if they intended to intervene, they would have done so long ago.

Like other agents, he was affiliated with American corporations, and if the U.S. Air Force deployed fighter jets, how could they not know about it?!

This was simply too strange.

Jidin considered a possibility—could it be training?

Whether it was training or an actual attack, the former seemed more likely. Regardless, they needed to stabilize the chaotic situation first; if things continued like this, their camp would be blown up, surrounded as they were with weapons and ammunition. Even a minor accident could spell disaster for everyone.

“Quiet! Quiet! The U.S. military is conducting exercises; they’re just passing through, it’s fine. Everyone stay calm!”

Jidin shouted, rallying his men to join him. He fired two shots into the sky to regain control.

Those agents at the gathering point responded, shouting together to stabilize the panicking crowd.

The tremendous roar of the fighter jets approached the gathering point, with everyone able to hear the sharp, explosive sound of the jets breaking the sound barrier.

The fighter jets hovered at the edge of the speed of sound.

“Quiet! Don’t run…” Jidin waved his arms, successfully calming the nearby chaos as the camp began to return to order.

Boom! Suddenly, a faint unusual sound startled them, quickly swallowed by the roar of the battle engines.

Jidin glanced up and noticed the sky had darkened, lifting his gaze to the sky.

Like many others looking up, he saw countless tiny black dots rapidly approaching.

Amidst the thunderous roar, a shadow dashed across the sky, heading west.

“Oh my God!” Jidin barely had time to curse before he was engulfed by a firestorm of explosions.

The impact area, larger than a football field, caused not only massive casualties but also turned the stacked explosives into a volcanic eruption of destruction.