Chapter 674

Chapter 674: A God-like Teammate

“Raccoon” was right. With seven fighter jets forming a high-density formation, the difficulty level skyrocketed geometrically, and the danger increased dramatically.

There have been pilots around the world who challenged this extreme, but ultimately, no flight team has ever succeeded. Adding an aircraft to the formation is not as simple as arithmetic.

This can no longer be called a devil’s formation; it can only be described as a death formation.

“I’ll take the role of a free agent! I’ll help coordinate.”

Yuri pulled back the control stick while reducing fuel output. The high-performance F-22 fighter jet suddenly broke away from the formation and climbed higher.

This was just relative motion; Yuri’s fighter wasn’t moving backward but lagging behind, climbing to a height 100 meters above the six fighter jets ahead.

“Alright, who’s going up first?”

Raccoon’s “Little Cutie” cockpit merged with the wings, featuring twin V-shaped vertical stabilizers. Its design resembled the F-117 “Nighthawk,” but its aerodynamic layout leaned more towards air combat, with larger main swept wings, resembling a giant boomerang, painted in bright blue with cartoon designs.

This should not be a weapon for an Air Knight, but rather a cute item possessed by a girl.

True to its name, the decoration made the otherwise cold fighter jet appear very lovable.

“I’ll go first! My F-14 has the best radar performance and the longest detection range, so I can take the lead.”

“Monkey” from Iran tucked the swept wings of his fighter jet and charged ahead to a position 1000 meters in front of the formation, establishing his place.

This was already his position in the devil’s formation, which Yuri and the others knew. Restating it was just to give Lin Mo, the new member, some background information for possible future combat coordination.

“I’ll take the left front attack position!”

The Swedish man, “Spear,” piloted his modified F-15 “Eagle” fighter and broke away from the formation, following “Monkey” to his left rear position.

“The right front attack position was originally mine, ‘Number 13’. You take over for me. Keep a distance of 20 meters, and once everyone’s in position, we’ll close in. Pay attention to the distance,” Yuri directed from above.

In combat, everyone needs to know their offensive and defensive positions; this is crucial. In modern aerial warfare, the lead aircraft and its wingmen have different missions, and failing to follow the rules can lead to accidents for both allies and themselves.

“No problem!”

The Light Mirror Technique array activated!

Lin Mo’s confidence grew significantly, and he boldly illuminated the light technique in the cockpit. Transparent phantoms appeared, taking the shapes he needed, coming together and forming images.

The X-1 forward-swept wing fighter jet broke away from the group, quickly trailing behind the F-14 “Tomcat.”

“Hey? ‘Number 13’, what’s that in your cockpit?”

Yuri couldn’t help but widen his eyes. It must be said that pilots truly have sharper eyes than the average person; even from a distance, he could see the strange changes in Lin Mo’s cockpit.

Although the X-1 used a gold-coated cockpit, the extensive use of covering light mirror techniques in a relatively static environment made it easy to spot certain clues.

“Laser holographic projection technology,” Lin Mo casually made up an excuse, convincing Yuri and deflecting his surprise. After all, pilots participating in the “Abyss Nirvana” international pilot death match and their sponsors would certainly have a few tricks up their sleeves.

The X-1 was positioned perfectly as a reference point for the F-14, communicating with the F-15, which relieved the other members of the team.

Having technique without coordination means nothing; individual skills are meaningless in team combat in the intermediate tier. Even though Lin Mo shot down two “Phantoms” in a one-versus-two situation, it didn’t mean he would have an easy time against numerous strong opponents in the intermediate tier. If teamwork is poor, a clumsy teammate could ruin the battle, causing a mess.

Lin Mo’s performance gave everyone much more confidence.

The other fighter jets immediately entered their original positions in the devil’s formation step by step.

The Italian “Tank” piloted his single-seat Typhoon fighter jet, taking the left rear defense position. Like the F-14 “Tomcat,” the Typhoon was also a delta-wing fighter jet.

In this team, almost half of the fighter jets are of special wing types, creating a luxurious lineup. The unique aerodynamic design makes these fighter jets feel like extraordinary weapons, equipped with special attack techniques that can catch opponents off guard.

The pilot from Saudi Arabia, “Peregrine,” was flying his “Sandstorm” fighter, responsible for the right rear position.

Finally, in the most dangerous spot, “Raccoon’s” “Little Cutie” was positioned at the back, providing support.

“Now start moving toward the center and watch your positions. ‘Monkey’, make sure to maintain a straight line.”

Yuri was especially cautious, closely monitoring the six fighter jets below as they slowly began to tighten their formation.

His radar on the nose of the aircraft was set to maximum power, allowing him to assess the formation’s status.

20 meters!

15 meters!

10 meters!

8 meters, 6 meters, 5 meters, 3 meters!

Each pilot estimated the distance between their aircraft by eye, as not all fighter jets were equipped with close-range ranging radars capable of accurately reporting contact distances from six directions.

“Perfect! Great job, everyone! We did it!”

Yuri couldn’t help but exclaim, but he suppressed his emotions. His comrades’ aircraft were in a very dangerous formation, and a single mistake could lead to an entire team wipeout.

“‘Monkey,’ everything is looking great; now it’s up to you.”

Yuri seized the moment, reminding the lead pilot of the F-14 “Tomcat.” The devil’s formation tested the pilots’ mutual trust, and with this practice, everyone’s coordination would greatly improve.

A few more maneuvers could make the benefits of this exercise even better.

“No problem! Everyone follows me, speed 0.75 Mach, maintain altitude at 4200 meters. I’m preparing to turn right by 5 degrees; the countdown starts now: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Go!”

The F-14 “Tomcat” immediately began a wide turn in the sky, with the five other fighter jets following suit, executing the same flying parameters as soon as “Monkey” finished counting.

“Let’s keep going and prepare to level out; the countdown starts now: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Go!”

“Climb to an angle of 30 degrees, speed 0.65 Mach, and stop when reaching 12,500 meters; countdown starts now: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Go!”

…

Lin Mo seamlessly integrated into the exercise, whether flying in a large formation with the seven fighter jets or performing coordinated attack drills with any one of them, achieving perfect synergy.

In small formation maneuvers, due to the X-1’s aerodynamic characteristics, Lin Mo often took the position of the lead aircraft, which originally belonged to Yuri.

With his position being replaced, Yuri felt no jealousy; instead, he was happier. This meant their team’s combat power was increasing sharply. Even coordinating with him meant they would be stronger together, gaining a considerable advantage in battle.

Lin Mo had only been in the intermediate tier for a few days when a new round of combat tasks was assigned to him. It would be his first double-jet formation sortie, and “Yasha” expressed great confidence in him. Having faced 1VS2 before, with help on the way, anyone could see that there were no weak links in the intermediate tier, meaning Lin Mo could score more points.

For domestic aerospace manufacturers and the military, this was beneficial. “Yasha” even improved Lin Mo’s meals, ensuring he was well-fed as a true hero of the people.

The food became tastier and served in larger portions, reducing the consumption of Lin Mo’s concentrated energy bars significantly.

After all, freshly cooked meals are far more appealing than energy bars.

In the intermediate tier, the rules for formation participation are randomly assigned, and all pilots participate. The first six-sided die determines the level of the battle, followed by pairing pilots, which could be 1VS1 or up to 6VS6. Both sides must have the same number of fighters, so there are no unfair matchups like 1VS6.

The organizers of “Abyss Nirvana” first proposed a double-jet formation battle. Lin Mo was the first drawn, and the second was one of his teammates, “Raccoon,” along with his “Little Cutie.”

Seeing this outcome, not only Yuri, but also “Spear,” “Monkey,” and “Tank” all sighed with relief.

No matter who the opponent was, with “Raccoon” working alongside, Lin Mo’s debut battle in the intermediate tier would have a good chance of success.

Yuri considered himself wise, having pulled Lin Mo into his small team early on and providing ample training together.

He wasn’t afraid of facing god-like opponents, just wary of teammates who might be unreliable. If he teamed with anyone else besides “Raccoon,” Yuri truly wouldn’t have felt at ease.

At least with Lin Mo, a capable pilot, he could feel more confident.

“This is the list of weapon suggestions I have for you.”

After receiving the names of Lin Mo and “Raccoon’s” new opponents, Yuri thoughtfully provided both with tailor-made ammunition configurations.

“Medium-range air-to-air missiles? Isn’t that too expensive?”

Lin Mo caught Yuri off guard. Fighting cost money, and he still found it expensive. The ammunition list Yuri provided included medium-range air-to-air missiles at 40 points each.

If “Yasha” saw this, he’d surely shake his head. For the sake of national and public property, all points were managed by “Yasha,” leaving Lin Mo unable to have a say.