Sky-cracking Rider

The Crystal Jet with its aerodynamically flat design blasted through flames, dragging a pale blue tail, as two blue-white beams shot forth.

The beams moved incredibly fast, almost instantly bridging the distance between two combat aircraft.

However, under the "Macroscopic Perspective," every move of the Crystal Jet was completely visible to Chen Fei, who could even predict the prelude to its attacks.

"Big Mouth Monster" gracefully barrel-rolled, narrowly avoiding the two lethal beams, followed by an Immelmann turn with a tight radius, a natural maneuverability advantage of the turboprop aircraft.

"Visual Assistance" indicated that the distance between the two was 5.1 kilometers; the previous strike was merely a probe.

Having faced numerous life-and-death air duels, Chen Fei was as steady as an old dog, utterly composed.

Basic Laser Emitter (Level 20) and Basic Particle Beam (Level 10) were loaded onto the left and right wings of the "Big Mouth Monster," the wings bulging in a spindle-shaped streamline, with laser and particle beam emitters closely packed together.

After clearing the wing-mounted equipment, "Big Mouth Monster" had enough spare capacity to carry these two new skill weapons. Even as a turboprop, it was not without fight.

Laser and particle beams, both directed-energy weapons, had significantly higher destructive capacity than cannon bullets.

Having completed its turn, "Big Mouth Monster" faced the Crystal Jet below, king against king.

Almost simultaneously, Chen Fei, without any hesitation, pressed the cannon fire button, unleashing a dense barrage aimed directly at the incoming Crystal Jet.

The next second, two pale green beams shot forth from the wings of the "Big Mouth Monster," the bright tracer rounds of its cannon being instantly overtaken by the previously-fired laser beams.

The opponent also opened fire at the same time, light beams in the sky crisscrossing each other. Several cannon rounds got grazed by oncoming beams, instantly turning into countless sparks that dissipated into the sky.

The Crystal Jet did not seem to expect Chen Fei's "Big Mouth Monster" to possess extra non-factory-standard directed-energy weapons. Caught off-guard by the pale-green laser beams and the cannon rounds, it took a direct hit.

There seemed to be some invisible force field around the Crystal Jet, visibly bending the otherwise straight laser beams, which grazed past the jet, while numerous dense cannon rounds were deflected backward, none managing to reach the aircraft.

Almost at the same time, "Big Mouth Monster" kept rocking within a small area, perilously dodging the crisscrossing blue-white beams.

The Repulsion Shield, etched on the aircraft's surface, was somewhat effective against physical strikes but not so against directed-energy beams.

Sss... this is a bit troubling!

Chen Fei couldn't help but inhale sharply.

Even a knockoff Crystal Jet worth only 1,000 energy points was not something ordinary combat aircraft could compare with.

Even though his "Big Mouth Monster" was enhanced with two directed-energy weapons, it still seemed rather insufficient. If the yet-to-fire particle beams failed to perform, the upcoming battle could turn exceedingly troublesome.

If he had "Dragon Slayer Missiles," maybe he could make a real difference.

After all, "Dragon Slayer Missiles" could kill a Giant Dragon; a Crystal Jet, too, might not withstand them.

Realizing the turboprop pursuing it was somewhat unusual, the Crystal Jet did not hesitate to widen the distance.

The Sky Knight piloting the Crystal Jet was no greenhorn. With air combat experience that was in no way inferior to Chen Fei — a rookie who joined halfway and was purely driven by mischief — and perhaps even surpassing him, he immediately became exceptionally cautious once he realized something was amiss.

While a Crystal Jet could dominate the skies of Blue Star with a nearly perfect balance between attack, defense, and maneuverability, it was not invincible.

The most hazardous missions often saw Sky Knights and Crystal Jets leading the charge. Each year, several Crystal Jets were shot down, sometimes even taking the Sky Knights with them.

Thus, cautiousness was essential to avoid overturning in the gutter.

"Satellite image is up!"

On a transport plane returning to Aircrew Base 633, Miyoshi Xuesen, holding a tablet, suddenly spoke up.

The others crowded around, staring intently at the tablet in his hands.

The Blue Star Global United Defense Committee had urgently requested a near-Earth satellite focus on the airspace above Aircrew Base 631.

In addition to having an ultra-high-resolution optical lens, this satellite was etched with a specially crafted "Light Mirror Spell" Magic Array, capturing the aerial combat under the night skies so clearly that it could penetrate cloud cover.

As long as there was light transmission, "Light Mirror Spell" could be effective. Although low-rank light magic had no offensive capabilities, its practicality was incredibly high.

The view from the near-Earth satellite was as if it was just a few hundred meters away, capturing every move of the two combat aircraft with utmost clarity.

The group happened to see a "Big Mouth Monster" turboprop engaging in a fierce shootout with an oddly-shaped Crystal Jet. Shooting beams crisscrossed the skies, the former narrowly dodging, while the latter nonchalantly deflected all incoming attacks at a safe distance, remaining completely unscathed.

In the distance, three "Big Mouth Monsters" were maneuvering, trying to form an encirclement and trap the Crystal Jet within.

This was not a battle of equal strength, gripping everyone's hearts.

Just when it seemed like the "Big Mouth Monster" piloted by Chen Fei might explode in the next second, the Crystal Jet suddenly executed a dazzling tactical maneuver and distanced itself from a "Big Mouth Monster,"

"Oh dear, Little Chen is in big trouble now. How could a 'Big Mouth Monster' possibly stand a chance against a Crystal Jet!"

Aunt Caroline, a level-B Fire Ability user from the Huntsman Squad, slapped her thigh in frustration, wishing she could help Chen Fei blow that damn Crystal Jet to smithereens.

"Things look grim!"

The Earth Mage, Andrew, sighed.

A turboprop aircraft against a Crystal Jet, it's a conundrum with no solution, a guaranteed death sentence.

"Unlucky fellow!"

Miyoshi Monk, a Ninth Rank Psychic Mage, furrowed his brow in thought, equally helpless.

Even if he and the members of the Huntsman Squad were by Chen Fei's side, er, let alone taking out the Crystal Jet, it would probably be difficult for everyone to even save themselves.

Miyoshi Monk shook his head and stopped looking at the satellite imagery on the tablet's screen. He handed it over to others, pulled out a string of prayer beads, and silently recited scriptures.

Not just him, all members of the Huntsman Squad hoped that Chen Fei could turn the tide and escape the clamp of death.

In the cockpits of the nine returning "Big Mouth Monsters," the atmosphere was equally tense. No one even spoke over the common communication channel, filled with a spirit of defeat, as if the high morale at the start of the battle had never existed, vanishing without a trace.

The pilots at 633 Aircrew Base were initially reluctant to accept this new "Rookie" squadron leader. Regrettably, the newcomer's punches were too powerful. Despite so many of them, not one could defeat him; instead, they were beaten black and blue and had to swallow their voices, obedient yet resentful.

But this new boss indeed had some skills, leading them to defeat the reinvading enemy, effectively silencing many voices of dissent.

If you're capable, step up; if not, stop complaining—this workplace rule is recognized by everyone.

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It wasn't until Chen Fei took the initiative to stay behind that these pilots lost the last bit of their discontent and resentment.

Apart from his propensity to hammer people, having such a fierce and resolute new boss wasn't entirely unacceptable.

But now, like the previous squadron leader, this boss was about to be gone. The pilots at 633 Aircrew Base felt extremely heavy-hearted; they wanted to turn back but realized they could be of no help at all and might even become a burden, feeling bitter yet unable to vent it.

"Maybe we could..."

"Kenny Kid," a girl whose cheeks had swollen up from a slap, tentatively broke the silence in the communication channel.

Women, particularly female pilots, tend to be more emotional and less likely to resign themselves to fate.

"No way!"

The oldest among them, "Big Laugh," flatly refused, though he was not willing to give up either.

"Kenny Kid" had a good idea, but reality was even harsher.

The gap between ordinary pilots and Sky Knights was like the distance between the sun and Blue Star, a mere turboprop aircraft could never fly from Blue Star to the sun.

Moreover, they were just a group of civilian pilots; their daily operations against Mutants weren't true combat, at most they were just tool people.

But aerial combat?

If they were really capable, 633 Aircrew Base wouldn't have suffered heavy casualties in the first round, with not even a burial place for the squadron leader.

"Don't make it worse!"

Suddenly, Chen Fei's voice came through the public communication channel, sounding not as if he were in a desperate struggle with the Crystal Jet, but rather calm and detached from the battlefield as they were.

"'Rookie' captain..."

Upon hearing Chen Fei's voice, "Kenny Kid" and "Heart-stealing Demoness" were about to inquire about the situation, mixed with surprise.

"Shut up!" × 4

"Big Laugh," "Florida," the executive manager Radio Lawrence Beta on standby at the Aircrew Base tower, and even Miyoshi Monk aboard the transport aircraft all simultaneously chided them.

This was not a good time for chat.

"Hmm, everyone be quiet, alright, no more chat, busy here!"

Chen Fei saw the Crystal Jet circling back, firing from a distance. Blue and white beams streaked across the night sky, hitting the unmanned "Big Mouth Monsters" that flew around aimlessly like headless flies, blowing them up one by one without any chance of retaliation.

The count of remote-controlled "Big Mouth Monsters" on the visual interface hit zero; in the sky, only the one piloted by Chen Fei remained.

This "Adam" turned out to be utterly useless, despite once being touted as an AI that could threaten Dragon Riders!

Is that it?

Ah, spit!