Munitions Empire-Chapter 1193: One kind of gambling fund

In fact, the Mirage Country’s Air Force had never ceased reconnaissance missions over South Island, and quite a few Mirage pilots were still diligently carrying out "suicide missions."

However, they’ve recently encountered a small problem—or perhaps, a big one!

The Tang Army has deployed a new type of fighter jet. Like their roaring bombers, the Tang Army’s new fighter produces a dragon-like howl, then barrels toward Mirage Country’s fighter jets at a terrifying speed.

Just like a falcon swooping down on a sparrow, over half of Mirage Country’s pilots were shredded by cannon fire before they even figured out where the enemy was.

Today, two more Zero Fighters were ordered to take off to perform reconnaissance missions over South Island. There was no choice—Mirage Country had to endure the losses and keep sending planes up to confirm the Tang Army’s deployment details on South Island.

The two Zero Fighters took off from New Island, flying one after the other toward South Island. At an altitude of 4,000 meters, they pushed their aircraft to maximum speed in a desperate attempt to quickly reach South Island’s airspace, take a quick reconnaissance look, and immediately return to base.

At this altitude, they could achieve their maximum speed of around 500 kilometers per hour. Frankly, this speed, globally speaking, wasn’t too slow.

But unfortunately, their opponents were far too fast…

At over 8,000 meters altitude, two Jian-6s were patrolling the skies above South Island. Their altitude was ideal, allowing them to exploit their speed advantage.

Speed boosts in fighters don’t just provide a combat edge in dogfights—they also grant broader strategic advantages.

For instance, faster fighters can reach the battlefield in less time, conserving pilots’ physical energy and enabling them to maintain higher focus and better mental conditions during engagements. freewёbnoνel.com

Additionally, faster fighters can quickly arrive in the combat zone, expanding the airspace they control. Fewer patrol fighters are needed to cover the same area.

Furthermore, faster speeds allow patrolling fighters in nearby airspaces to swiftly regroup, creating localized numerical superiority in engagements...

These are the advantages enjoyed by fast aircraft over slower ones. When an aircraft can reach double, or even triple, the enemy’s speed, these advantages become overwhelmingly apparent.

"Patrol 01, Patrol 01! Ground command tower calling!" Tang Army pilots heard the voice of the ground command tower through their headsets.

"Calling the tower! Calling the tower! This is Patrol 01 formation! Awaiting instructions!" The pilot pressed the communication button and responded to the ground command tower’s call.

"Radar shows! Altitude 4000! Two o’clock direction! Two enemy aircraft are invading!" The ground commander relayed newly received information about the enemy intrusion.

"Patrol 01 acknowledges! Adjust heading to the right by 35 degrees! Wingman, adjust heading to the right by 35 degrees!"

"Wingman acknowledges! Adjusting heading to the right by 35 degrees!"

"Target spotted! Directly ahead! Below us!" "Calling tower! Calling tower! Target confirmed! Target confirmed! Leave it to us!"

"Lock onto the leading aircraft! Dive toward the sun’s direction to enter attack angle—activate afterburners and engage at supersonic speed!" In the cockpit, the leading pilot issued his attack order.

He subtly nudged his control stick, positioning his aircraft above the enemy, backlit by the sun, into the enemy’s visual blind spot.

Soon, the two Jian-6s turned on their afterburners. With a slight dive, they swiftly broke the sound barrier, unleashing sonic booms as they charged toward their distant targets.

At these speeds, a distance of several thousand meters could be crossed in just ten seconds. Before the Tang Army’s Jian-6s began their attack, Mirage pilots had already heard the chilling roar of the engines.

Inside the cockpit filled with window frames, they frantically searched for the terrifying enemy. They could hear the sound but couldn’t locate its source.

The noise inside their planes was already deafening, combined with the glass barriers that obscured sound localization. To them, air combat had morphed into a horror game.

"Where are they?" the wingman nervously asked his leader, unable to spot the enemy aircraft, only hearing the terrifying dragon’s howl circling them.

"I don’t see them either! Stay cautious! They might be above us!" From experience, the leader advised his rookie wingman.

Tang Army pilots frequently exploited their terrifying altitude and speed advantages to launch attacks. Though Mirage pilots were somewhat familiar with their opponents’ tactics, there was no way to counter this invincible strategy.

In truth, the Tang Army’s approach wasn’t a secret—yet since their planes were far too fast, knowing the tactics didn’t mean they could catch up to execute a countermeasure. What could they even do?

As the two Mirage pilots exchanged words, suddenly, dazzling tracer bullets rained down from the sky, and a 30mm cannon shot tore through the wing of a Mirage Zero Fighter. A 20mm cannon shot immediately followed, hitting the Goblin leader’s cockpit.

The canopy’s glass instantly shattered, and the steel window frames warped from the impact. Blood splattered everywhere as the Zero Fighter fractured in an instant, like a blooming flower.

Then, a dark silhouette streaked past them from their rear diagonal—it was an eagle sweeping over its prey. Before the wingman could process what had happened, a second shadow shot past as well.

Inside the Zero Fighter’s cockpit, the rookie Goblin pilot, with only a month of training and minimal takeoff practice, had just glimpsed the fiery tail exhaust of the two passing fighters when he realized his aircraft was uncontrollably falling.

At last, he noticed his plane’s wing had snapped—the wing had been hit by a shell, and structural damage caused the wing to be torn apart by drag, leaving only half intact.

The Zero Fighter had been flying at its extreme limit. With the wing broken, the plane instantly lost control.

The aircraft spiraled downward, below lay the icy cold ocean. The crash site was at least 20 kilometers away from South Island—falling here was tantamount to death.

A scorched stench filled the cockpit. The rookie Goblin pilot, disoriented in the spinning plane, struggled to locate the source of the burning odor.

Soon, his aircraft smashed into the water, and its fragile fuselage shattered upon impact. Seawater poured in through the gaps. The Mirage Country pilot, already unconscious, remained strapped in by his seatbelt.

Everything happened too quickly—the two planes’ pilots had no time to report what they saw or experienced before being taken down into the depths of the ocean.

As cold seawater engulfed him, the Goblin rookie pilot regained consciousness. He struggled to unfasten his seatbelt, but before he could finish, the sinking plane dragged him into the ocean’s grip.

Darkness prevailed, and after two brief jerks of his body, all movement ceased. The plane sank bit by bit, occasionally expelling compressed air into the water.

"Zero pressure!" Disengaging afterburners, the Jian-6 pilot gazed at the white caps on the ocean surface without a shred of excitement.

Their opponents were far too weak—so weak that they posed no threat whatsoever. From any perspective, Mirage Country’s fighter jets were utterly inferior.

As battles continued, the gap between Mirage and Tang pilots only grew wider. With almost no losses, the Tang pilots maintained their skill levels and even improved due to increased combat experience.

But for Mirage pilots, it was a different story—catastrophic losses had wiped out their best-trained airmen; now only rookies and greenhorns remained.

Such pilots weren’t even guaranteed to land their planes safely, let alone fight in aerial combat.

With these circumstances, shooting down Mirage aircraft had become child’s play for the Tang Army. Yet everyone loved this kind of hunt, because even if it was easy prey, pilots could still mark their jets with a record of victories.

Each tally mark represented one downed enemy plane—thirty confirmed kills would grant the title of Ace Pilot! Yes, though the bar had been raised, for jet fighter pilots this number was easily attainable.

Now aerial combat was about "earning credentials," and pilots fought for patrol missions as if they were placing bets.

Some paid money to buy takeoff rights, others gambled patrol slots at poker tables—everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves in this world where only Mirage pilots came away injured.

There was no escape; the Jian-6 fighters were equipped with two 20mm cannons and one 30mm cannon.

This setup had been designed as an interceptor, specifically to target Lighthouse Country’s bombers. But deploying it against fighters was simply cruel...

A Zero Fighter hit by a single cannon shell often broke apart in mid-air, and two shells would cause it to explode outright. Most of the unfortunate Goblin pilots didn’t even have time to eject.

Swiftly, Tang Army pilots began to notice fewer and fewer Mirage planes appearing in the skies. This was because an increasing number of strategic bombers had begun bombarding New Island’s facilities; most of the airfields there had been destroyed.

Under these conditions, Mirage Country relocated the majority of its aircraft to Ben Island, effectively ceding air supremacy over New Island.

Thus, over the following month, Tang Country’s war against Mirage turned into a situation characterized by building bridges, paving roads, constructing houses, farming, establishing ports, and chasing fishing boats...

After completing a massive landing operation, Tang Country shifted its focus to the raging global conflict unfolding in other nations.