Chapter 470.1: Eagle In The Sky

In the night sky, the roar of guns continued to rage.

Although more than half their squadron had been lost and the ground battle was already over, the pilots of the Falcon Kingdom had no intention of retreating.

Gritting his teeth as he locked eyes on the remaining five Mosquito planes, Akant's eyes burned with hatred. He pressed the trigger and roared, "Die!"

The mission no longer mattered.

At that moment, there was only one thing he wanted. He wanted to send those enemy pilots straight to hell.

He had to avenge his fallen comrades!

The plane he had locked onto rolled in mid-air, orange tracer fire narrowly scraping across the canopy.

Watching the enemy plane pull up into a spiral climb, Akant clicked his tongue and yanked back the control stick, pulling his nose up in hot pursuit.

"Stupid fucking mosquito!"

Pressing the button on the intercom at his shoulder, Akant growled, "I’ll take the one with the shark mouth. You guys handle the rest!"

A reply came through the channel. "Roger!"

Ironically, the pilot he was chasing was the damn Mosquito!

Inside the cockpit, Mosquito cursed under his breath, glanced back at the relentless Eagle fighter on his tail, then pulled up sharply and kicked hard left, performing a 180-degree roll.

The crushing g-forces pulled at every cell in his body, and the black sky grew darker still.

However, everything passed in an instant.

He successfully pulled off an almost complete 180-degree turn mid-air, cutting past the chasing aircraft at a steep angle. Moreover, his piece of shit plane didn’t disintegrate.

"Holy fuck! Damn near gave myself a heart attack."

Watching the blur of a fighter scream past his cockpit, Mosquito steadied his breath and seized his hard-earned opening.

"This guy knows what he's doing."

"But I’m no slouch either."

"36 rounds left... I have one last chance!"

Glancing briefly at the mission update on his VM screen, Mosquito closed the display, then opened his communication channel and yelled, "All units, your mission is complete! Command says return to base at your own discretion, but looks like these damn flies aren't planning to let us walk away!"

His lips curled into a grin as he gripped the stick tighter.

"Good thing I’m not the type to run with my tail between my legs!"

"Let’s go!"

"Smoke them!"

The channel erupted with chaotic shouts.

"Yeah!"

"Charge!"

"We’ll take them down with us!"

The New Alliance fighters suddenly shifted tactics from evasive delay to full-on one-for-one exchanges.

Akant felt a twinge of unease, but also a strange relief.

His fuel was nearly gone, and he had less than 50 rounds left... Their cat-and-mouse game was finally coming to an end.

But just then, a voice came through from ground command.

"... The Heart of Steel is moving northward. Your mission is complete. Return to base before it enters firing range!"

Heart of Steel?!

Akant’s eyes widened in alarm.

Having participated in the battle over the City of Abundance, he knew better than anyone what that beast was capable of. Its volley fire could create an impenetrable curtain of bullets across the sky.

Looking at the enemy fighter dodging around in front of him, Akant clenched his teeth and replied, "Copy that."

Then he switched to his squad's internal channel. "All units, listen up, The Heart of Steel is moving. You have five minutes. Return to base immediately after that!"

Just as he finished speaking, a shadow appeared in the distant clouds.

A tri-engine transport plane had suddenly entered the battlefield.

At first, Akant thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. After all, what transport plane would show up in a dogfight?

But he soon confirmed it, there was no mistake.

It was a New Alliance H-1 Dragonfly transport plane, with the same gaudy markings as all their other aircraft.

Seeing that the plane was unarmed, Akant didn’t rush to shoot it down. Instead, he scanned his radar and issued a calm command. "Scorpiontail-1, Scorpiontail-2, go check that aircraft out."

If it was non-combat personnel, they might be able to capture it.

With Akant's order, two Eagles broke formation and flew toward the strange transport.

Mosquito also spotted the aircraft and frowned. "What’s going on?"

Hasn’t the transport squad already retreated? Why is one back?

It wasn’t a gunship either. It was a standard model.

He glanced at his VM. There were no new missions, and no intel about this aircraft.

The sudden appearance of the transport plane left both sides momentarily hesitant.

Akant waited for his wingmen’s report.

A moment later, Scorpiontail-1’s voice came through. "... Captain, that plane’s a bit strange."

Akant frowned. "What do you see?"

A brief pause. Then the response came. "The cockpit... It seems empty."

"Empty?!" Akant was stunned.

A drone?

The New Alliance did use drones, but he had never seen this model before.

The pilot continued, "Yeah... Both pilot seats are empty. The control stick seems to have something growing on it. We can’t see clearly. We’re going in for a closer look."

Akant warned, "Be careful."

"Roger!"

The two Eagles flanked the Dragonfly on either side.

Scorpiontail-1 approached from the front, its wingtip nearly brushing the cockpit glass.

Switching to a compatible frequency, the pilot roared, "This is the Falcon Kingdom’s 1st Air Force. You are in our custody. Follow our instructions or be shot down."

The comms were filled with static, giving him no response.

The pilot frowned.

That pitch-black canopy was making him uneasy.

Just as he was about to move in closer, a beam of moonlight broke through the clouds and lit up the glass. And in that instant, he froze.

The cockpit was filled with crimson tendrils.

Not just the control stick. Every panel was clogged with a disgusting, fleshy mass.

"Shit...!" The pilot roared.

"What the hell is that?!"

Raised in Oasis No.2, he had never seen Mutant Slime Mold, but he felt a primal terror rise from deep in his heart.

He instinctively pulled left to escape, but at that very moment, something happened.

The glass shattered, and two whip-like tendrils lashed out like missiles, smashing toward his and his wingman's cockpits.

"ARGHHHH!"

Pain ripped through him.

He stared in horror as the crimson tendril pierced his chest, countless thread-like filaments burrowing into his wounds and veins like worms.

His body went numb.

The next moment, a low, droning whisper echoed through his communication channel, worming into his ears and soaking into his soul.

"Yiwu..."

The tendril connecting the cockpits was severed by the rushing wind.

Scorpiontail-1 veered off course, like an infant cut from its umbilical cord. But the whisper lingered, like the devil’s lullaby.

Sitting motionless in his seat, the pilot’s pupils gradually lost focus. His head slumped forward, unresponsive to Akant’s repeated calls.

"... Scorpiontail-1, what’s your status?! Your canopy’s breached! Report immediately!"

"

... Zzzt...

"

The strange static continued for nearly 30 seconds.

Then, the slumped head snapped upright. Those lifeless eyes were now bloodshot, glowing crimson.

He stared straight into the northern sky, and the whisper in his ears grew clearer.

"Go help him..."

"That is your father."

Father?

"Yes. He is in danger."

Danger...

His crimson eyes gleamed with bloodlust.

His dry lips moved, and he answered the whisper with chilling clarity. "Understood..."

The sudden change left everyone stunned. Be it the New Alliance or the pilots of the Falcon Kingdom, no one understood what was happening.

Staring at the Eagle fighter that had lost control, Akant roared into his communication channel once again, “Scorpiontail-1, Scorpiontail-2, respond! Respond if you’re still alive! Resp- Fuck!”

Cutting the communication channel, the rage in his eyes burned even brighter.

Two more...

He didn’t know how the New Alliance destroyed the two of them, or how the hell they breached the cockpit.

Maybe the other side shot machine guns from inside their cockpit, but that didn’t matter any longer.

The transport plane refused their persuasion to surrender!

Only one thought was left in Akant’s mind, and that was to take revenge for his brothers!

“Shoot it down! Shoot down the damn transport plane!”

Another enraged cry rang in his ears. “Yes, sir!”

An Eagle jet disengaged from the Mosquito plane that was already smoking black flames, rushing to the Dragonfly transport plane.

“Fuck you! Go to hell!” The pilot pressed the trigger instantly, releasing a burst of fire.

Tracer fire grazed the left wing of the transport plane. Black smoke billowed from its engine and the aircraft began to slow and descend.

The Eagle slowed its speed, preparing to rake the right engine as well. Unfortunately for him, an unexpected change occurred.

The previously out-of-control Scorpiontail-2 suddenly pulled its nose up, performed an unbelievable 180 degree roll in midair, and aimed its nose at its stunned teammate.

It was too late to accelerate again.

That instant of hesitation kept him from pressing the fire button, but his ‘teammate’ showed no hesitation at all.

Almost the instant their noses aligned, thick flames spewed from the tip of the plane.

Boom!