Munitions Empire-Chapter 1189 - 1109 Serving Customer

"Long live His Majesty! Colonel Magel! It’s a pleasure to see you again." Amidst a busy construction site, an officer stood at attention and saluted his superior, who was wearing the latest sunglasses and dressed in an Air Force uniform.

"Long live His Majesty! How’s it going? Are we ready yet?" Magel removed his sunglasses, returned the salute, and asked.

"We cleared the runway just yesterday and repaired it. There are still some areas that aren’t entirely tidied up, but we can already ’welcome guests’ here." The officer smiled as he reported his accomplishments.

He had been busy here for days, and of course, he had made some progress. The Goblin Engineer Corps worked on it for two days, and then they added another dozen days of work. The airport was now ready for use.

The industrial machinery efficiency of the Great Tang Empire was unparalleled, but repairing this airport had still taken a considerable amount of time. After all, it needed modifications, and many engineering tasks had to be completed concurrently during the repairs.

For instance, they needed to build an underground fuel storage depot alongside the runway, complete with explosion-proof measures, sunshades, and other auxiliary facilities.

Elsewhere, they installed a large generator unit. The infrastructure in Mirage Country was so poor that this airport was not connected to the island’s power plants, forcing the Tang Nation Air Force to generate electricity independently.

In addition to power generation and fuel storage, they were also setting up a maintenance factory to service damaged fighter jets.

A large group of Mirage prisoners of war was busy on the other side, tasked with constructing a massive camp that included dozens of housing units, dormitories specifically for pilots, a cafeteria, meeting rooms, and an auditorium...

The workload was immense. The Tang engineers brought in more than 10,000 Mirage prisoners for added manpower to speed up the project’s completion.

Under ’persuasion’ by bullets and bread, the Mirage prisoners obediently carried out their work. Of course, the quick progress was also thanks to abundant materials.

Local wood was utilized, while cables and other equipment were shipped directly from Tang Country as finished products. With these resources in place, the speed of airport repairs was astonishingly fast. freewebnσvel.cøm

Quick-drying cement emerged as the star material, effortlessly filling hundreds of deep craters left by cluster bombs on the runway.

The Tang Nation reinforced the runway with imported asphalt. Although pricey, its effectiveness was exceptional.

"Welcome guests? Can you people be serious for once?" Magel laughed and playfully rebuked, clearly unbothered by the colloquial phrasing used to tease about work.

"Apologies, sir! There are absolutely no women here, so everyone can’t help but joke around a little," the officer shrugged, showing his lack of fondness for the place.

They had traveled far, only to find that the Goblin women here were a nightmare. No one wanted romantic nights with women barely 1.4 meters tall, who looked more like monsters.

The Tang Army soldiers who came here to fight kept their integrity intact. Mostly, they herded the unsightly Goblin women together and had them help wash military gear.

"You rascal!" Magel pointed at him, then squinted at the sky. "The weather’s nice. In about thirty minutes, they’ll arrive, and we’ll finally stop relying on that Navy junk."

"Exactly! I’ve been itching to let them see our Air Force’s new toys! Haha, don’t mind me saying—I bet just hearing the sound alone will scare those Goblin child-soldiers to wet their pants." The officer grinned proudly as he mentioned this.

In this world, jet fighters weren’t something every country could equip, and Tang Nation’s fighters could break the sound barrier—taking down those pitiful Zero Fighters was like a martial arts master slaughtering defenseless infants.

Their airport, farthest from Mirage Country’s New Island direction, was relatively safe and had been renovated as a jet fighter base. Its facilities were among the most comprehensive and well-equipped. Ammunition depots, barracks, radars, and high-frequency communication devices were all present.

The open ground was filled with various vehicles, including trucks, jeeps, armored carriers, and other specialized engineering machinery.

Further away, some facilities remained unfinished—a construction site where Goblin prisoners, working alongside Tang Army engineers, were laboring fervently.

After exchanging pleasantries, the two men turned to business. Magel shifted his gaze from the skies and confirmed seriously, "Are the ground crew prepared?"

"Yes, sir! The ground crew is ready," the officer answered confidently.

"Spare parts?" Magel continued, knowing sustained jet fighter operations depended on reliable spare parts supplies.

The officer remained equally assured: "We’ve prepared 100 sets of the most commonly damaged spare parts and ten complete jet engines."

"Fuel quality?" Magel pressed further. As the future Air Force operations commander on the front lines, he had to verify every detail.

"All domestically sourced, rest assured," the officer replied without hesitation. His work had been excellent, and the questions served as opportunities to showcase his achievements.

"Ammunition?" Magel persisted, rapidly firing questions.

Without pausing, the officer fluently answered: "Our ammunition ships prioritized unloading; more than half are already stored in nearby depots, and the rest is mostly on the floating docks by the beach—possibly still en route."

To be honest, prioritizing Air Force shipments over Army supplies had sparked grievances. General Feng Kezhi’s attack on Great Southern Bay had slowed significantly because much of the 9th Group Army’s personnel and heavy equipment remained stranded at sea.

Yet, the Great Tang Empire’s Staff Department insisted on giving the Air Force’s equipment priority for unloading. This was partly because the Air Force needed time to deploy and also because Luff urgently needed the Navy to shift focus elsewhere.

Whether due to strategy or urgency, gathering all Navy aircraft carriers in Mirage Country’s waters was inherently risky. Tang Nation had vast coastlines and countless shipping lanes to protect. Transitioning air control of South Island to the Air Force was clearly essential.

"Command tower signals?" Magel continued interrogating, though he had already spotted the towering antennas.

"We tested them three hours ago—excellent condition," the officer replied earnestly. He had personally verified their clarity.

Frankly, no opponent capable of disrupting Tang Nation’s communication had ever emerged yet. Tang Nation’s cutting-edge electromagnetic technologies ensured smooth operations.

As for whether complex electromagnetic conditions might disrupt the enemy’s communications, that was anyone’s guess.

"Surveillance radar?" Magel asked, struggling to hide his smile. He was highly satisfied with his subordinates, who had managed to renovate and upgrade an airport in just a dozen days—a true engineering marvel.

The subordinate met expectations, replying promptly: "We ran tests yesterday—signals are clear."

"Food?" Magel prodded, seemingly intent on nitpicking.

The officer began to feel nervous, though he had arranged a grand meal for the incoming pilots. Still, he worried about potential shortcomings and answered: "A seafood feast paired with jam-covered bread, beef patties, and cabbage dumpling soup."

"No dessert?" Sure enough, Magel found a flaw.

Swallowing hard, the officer hurriedly added, "We managed to acquire some ice cream from the Navy."

"Alcohol?" Magel suddenly threw in an unexpected question.

"Sir... sir," the officer stammered, cautiously reminding him, "Per regulations, pilots on duty are prohibited from consuming alcohol."

"The food sounds good—I meant for me," Magel clarified, laughing and patting the officer’s shoulder. "Relax, you’ve done a fantastic job."

Blushing slightly, the officer awkwardly smiled and apologized, "Sorry, sir, I didn’t catch your meaning. Yes, there are two bottles of Chang’an-aged spirits in your new command post."

"Then it seems everything’s ready," Magel remarked contentedly.

"Yes, sir! Everything is prepared," the officer declared confidently, chin held high.

A dozen minutes later, the roar of jet engines shook the ground. Everyone looked skyward to see a squadron of J-6 fighter jets appear on the horizon.

The Goblin laborers on-site also turned their attention to the skies, intrigued by the strange aircraft they had never seen before.

The wings weren’t perpendicular to the fuselage but extended backward at an angle. Accompanied by deafening sounds, two J-6 jets streaked toward the runway, sliding several hundred meters before halting at the far end.

Previously, some Goblins had deemed constructing such a long runway a waste of time. Now, they realized these extended runways were crucial for accommodating the roaring aircraft.

The maintenance crew towed the jets to aircraft hangars using specially designed vehicles. On the cleared runway, another two jets landed consecutively.

Meanwhile, over a dozen more swept-wing fighter jets hovered in the skies. Their silver bodies gleamed with deadly brilliance under the sunlight.