Chapter 650

Chapter 650: Attack and Defense

In aerial combat, both sides moved swiftly at high speeds, making it challenging to hit the opponent using just cannons.

Before machine guns were officially mounted onto aircraft, there were instances of soldiers hanging under the wings, attacking enemies with rifles.

In the sky, to maintain enough agility and maneuverability, fighter jets could not have heavy armor like ground tanks. Although their attack power was fierce and proved deadly against most ground weapons, these jets were extreme types of weaponry with extremely weak defenses. Even a few bullets to critical areas could result in fatal consequences.

However, landing those bullets was no easy task either.

Before the advent of guided missiles, to improve hit probabilities, fighter manufacturers painstakingly increased the number of machine guns for greater coverage and used larger caliber ammunition for added destructive power.

In summary, it was all about achieving fiercer and more lethal firepower to bring down the opponent.

Though initially skeptical of "Number 13," the Australian pilot "Yuri" reconsidered. In the first two battles, "Number 13" had indeed demonstrated incredibly fierce and precise cannon attack capabilities.

This opponent didn’t resemble someone from the novice tier at all.

“My hit rate is about thirty percent.”

“Yuri” similarly reported his figures.

Ordinary fighter pilots generally had a hit rate of only ten percent, making “Yuri’s” data quite outstanding. In the modern air combat model, where missiles often determined the outcome, having a pilot with exceptional cannon attack skills was becoming increasingly rare.

If this hadn’t been a friendly match with no live ammunition, they wouldn’t have shared such critical combat data with each other.

“You head east, and I’ll head west; let’s fly twenty kilometers apart and then turn around.”

Retracting the landing gear, Lin Mo’s X-1 achieved perfect aerodynamic conditions as he activated the Flowing Wave Heavenly Transformation Magic Circle.

While in the Royal Dragon Knights of the Sland Empire, the most experienced Dragon Knights warned the newly minted Dragon Knights: even a feeble worm should be exterminated with full force, or it could slip into your ear and eat your brain when you least expect it.

“No problem!”

“Yuri” agreed to the combat distance, as typically, in aerial combat, the visible distance for human eyes is ten kilometers.

The two fighter jets turned and flew in different directions.

In the cockpit, the Light Mirror Technique array firmly locked onto "Yuri’s" fighter jet, which featured a high aspect ratio trapezoidal wing aerodynamic layout and dual-engine. Performance-wise, it resembled the F-22, indicating its fighting capability was likely between America’s fourth and fifth-generation fighters.

"Yuri" may have a military background.

Unlike previous editions of “Abyss Nirvana” with pilots purely from the military, the current participants were a mix of backgrounds.

This was mainly due to the world’s economic development, leading to a spread of high technology to the civilian sector. Some vital components could no longer be banned from sale, attracting affluent hobbyists or sponsored enthusiasts.

The distance of twenty kilometers closed in an instant. The X-1 Forward-Swept Wing Fighter Jet exhibited performance almost parallel to fifth-generation fighters in the four essential elements of aerial combat (altitude, speed, maneuverability, firepower). With the assistance of a gold giant dragon, its performance directly advanced to that of high-tier fifth-generation jets, easily surpassing “Yuri’s” aircraft.

Furthermore, Lin Mo had a J-18 "Red Eagle," which bore a striking resemblance to the F-22 “Raptor” and came with firsthand experience of engaging in real combat against the F-22.

“Yuri’s” aircraft unfortunately faced off against Lin Mo’s expertise.

The X-1 unexpectedly executed a rapid Heberst maneuver, turning its nose back towards “Yuri.” The organizers of “Abyss Nirvana” had arranged for two reconnaissance planes to return with footage, showcasing the X-1’s extreme agility, prompting enthusiastic applause from onlookers.

It moved with such grace, as if the pilot infused it with life, resembling a highly agile swallow, swiftly changing direction.

Had a fighter used the conventional tail-chase tactic at that moment, it surely would have suffered greatly.

Witnessing this, along with previous broadcast footage of the X-1, many fighter manufacturers reignited their interest in tackling the long-standing challenges of forward-swept wing technology.

Indeed, if they could overcome structural divergence and other critical issues, they could fully harness the advantages of forward-swept wing technology.

Lin Mo remained unaware of how much attention his forward-swept fighter with "monstrous" lineage attracted from the outside world. Even though he was still at the novice tier accumulating points, the focus on him was no less than that on pilots from the advanced group.

“Radar?! Why is there no response? Where did that guy go?”

Yuri, having turned his aircraft, was astonished to find that his radar showed no reaction. When he looked up at the sky, his opponent was nowhere in his visible range.

Anyone who could pilot an aircraft usually had extraordinary eyesight, but the forward-swept wing fighter jet seemed to have vanished into thin air.

“Whatever, revealing my trump card in advance is out of the question. Let’s see how my optical synthetic aperture reconnaissance system works.”

The opponent’s stealth technology exceeded his imagination. Gritting his teeth, Yuri tapped the large touch screen on his control panel a few times and manually input the parameters. A beeping sound filled the cockpit, indicating readiness.

This reconnaissance mode was highly accurate and resistant to interference; however, it had significant drawbacks, such as high energy consumption and heavy computational demands. Without a powerful processor, Yuri’s reconnaissance efforts relied on quantity.

The Australian military contractor, Yuri, and his sponsors did not have the resources to acquire high-performance central processors customized for the U.S. Air Force from Motorola.

Although he could scan for fighter jets using stealth aerodynamic layouts and coatings, the search efficiency was abysmally low. Yuri listened carefully, like sonar, to the beeping sounds; a rapid beep would indicate a target had been found.

As Yuri desperately searched for the X-1 forward-swept wing fighter jet, Lin Mo had already entered an attack posture, executing a large-radius scissors maneuver.

The scissors maneuver, characterized by a grand helical flight trajectory, held significant tactical implications in battle, serving as one of the best defensive counterattacks and one of the most frequently used aerial combat techniques.

No one knew that the cockpit of Lin Mo’s aircraft was enhanced by the undefeatable Light Mirror Technique.

The gold-coated cockpit shielded it well from external eyes; even the reconnaissance planes from the organizers of "Abyss Nirvana" could not detect the secrets within the X-1’s cockpit.

“Come on, show yourself!”

Yuri muttered under his breath, straining to see, resembling a humanoid radar as he squinted into the distance. He did not wholly depend on the onboard reconnaissance system, hoping to locate his opponent quickly.

He had seen Lin Mo’s two previous battles, which shared a common feature: before the enemy noticed Lin Mo, his X-1 had swiftly commenced tactical movements, always securing the most advantageous position.

Yuri dared not let his guard down; like the organizers, he too was oblivious to the mysterious equipment on the X-1 that could scout from such a distance. If he were eliminated like Lin Mo’s first two beginner-level opponents, the Australian military would certainly question their abilities.

That would be a colossal embarrassment.

Suddenly, the cockpit blared with the threat alert system.

“Locked on? No way!”

The piercing sound of the beeper made Yuri’s eyes widen. He instinctively pushed the control stick, causing the fighter jet to break away from its original course, rolling to evade the lock.

“That was close!”

Describing his feelings at that moment with the term “frightening” was an understatement. He did not dwell on how the opponent had approached so silently; instead, he continuously executed various evasive tactical maneuvers.

“Number 13” felt like a crafty assassin; he couldn’t afford to give him any chances, or it would mean total doom.

This guy had to be a lone wolf.

Even though it was their first encounter, Yuri immediately came to that conclusion in his mind.

“Trying to run?! Not a chance!” Lin Mo maintained the link to the communication channel with Yuri, showing no concern for his voice being heard in the opponent’s cockpit.

“Where are you? Six o’clock? Damn, cunning guy, don’t sneak around in my blind spot; come out and duel with me!”

Yuri’s eyes reddened, completely losing his previous polite demeanor; he was now fully absorbed in this battle.

“No, this is the fight of the aerial knights; that’s how it is.”

Lin Mo, who struck first, followed closely behind Yuri, determined to spot him by visual sight alone, which was not an easy task.

Indeed! With the Light Mirror Technique, he quickly pinpointed Yuri’s location, constantly maneuvering to avoid the 120-degree range directly ahead of Yuri’s aircraft, managing to flank him from behind. This tactical move caught Yuri completely off guard, making him anxious.

“Since it’s like this! Let’s go!”

Yuri abruptly pulled back the control stick and deployed the speed brakes. The fighter jet’s speed slowed instantly, and in the blink of an eye, a large black forward-swept wing fighter jet surged over his cockpit like a storm cloud.

An impeccably timed Cobra maneuver changed the dynamics of the engagement—the roles of attack and defense had swapped!

Volume Fourteen