Long-term salvation

The vibration of the missile detaching from the rack came from under the seat, and the white smoke of the burning propellant drew a death spiral in the air. The slender body of the missile pierced the air and thin clouds like a swift sword, and fiercely picked up all obstacles on the route, but finally fell to the ground under the pull of gravity, and let out an unwilling roar - the moment the radar warning sounded, the enemy plane quickly lowered its altitude like a ghost to gain energy, and then rolled its fuselage to fire heat-seeking missiles - the powerful maneuverability brought by the central lifting body, vector nozzles and canards was fully demonstrated at this moment!

Rhodes was not surprised by this. He flipped the joystick to flip the fuselage downward. As blood rushed to his brain, he looked up to observe the movements of the Su-30sm. The latter's speed was rapidly recovering, trying to escape the attack from the enemy above, and preparing to climb to gain altitude after leaving the attack range.

After a brief moment of deliberation, Rhode swerved his aircraft again, preventing the accelerating fighter below from escaping his field of view. The lock-on frame of his head sight was rapidly closing in... The moment his finger reached for the missile launch button, the cockpit was instantly filled with the sharp warning sound of radar lock-on:

An MQ-101 drone suddenly attacked from the right rear, its white fuselage almost blending into the surrounding thin clouds! Unburdened by its frail flesh, it pulled off a terrifying maneuver, latching onto the six o'clock position of Rhodes's F/S-15 and unleashing two missiles!

"Tsk, what did those idiots do? And weren't these Ossia people withdrawing a little too quickly?!"

Rhodes pushed the accelerator, threw out jamming bombs, and performed a roller defense. At the same time, the anti-gravity suit on his body was inflated and pressurized to counteract the G-force caused by the sudden acceleration.

The fighter plane entered a barrel roll with a violent tremor. He could see the dark green jungle and milky white clouds passing by quickly, but they immediately spun into blurred blocks of color outside the canopy, like a paint bucket knocked over by an ignorant child - the pure color turned into a dirty stain in an instant - but that spot of pure white was eye-catching enough.

The fuselage twisted, and the engine nozzle instantly burst into a dazzling tail flame. With just a few tactical moves, Rhodes established an advantage over the drone. The next second, several machine gun shells blew up the bloodless and tearless machine in mid-air, and black smoke bloomed in the blue sky.

"Now... huh?"

Having lost track of the enemy, Rhodes' brows twitched as the radar lock warning filled his ears again. He gripped the joystick tightly, turned the fuselage sideways and fired jamming bombs, performing a three-nine maneuver at a low altitude. The Su-30sm's missile seeker was deflected at the last moment, and the missile body brushed past the F/S-15's vertical tail. The air wave shook the canopy seal so that blue sparks burst out.

The Su-30sm had completed its climb, but the difference in altitude from Rod was not too great, and the two rapidly approaching fighters immediately entered a single loop.

"Although there aren't any one-on-one knight duels in war," Rhode said with a smile on the public channel. He tilted the aircraft slightly to ensure the enemy was still within his field of vision, "but being disturbed isn't fun...right, pilots from the Kingdom of Elgia?"

"..."

After the first round of encounters, neither side seized the opportunity to shoot, and they continued to approach and separate. The pilots of both fighters were very cautious, climbing and diving carefully. The occasional cannon shots dotted the sky with dozens of bright spots, which were connected by the trails of the missiles.

The enemy's shadow flashed and disappeared from the cracks in the clouds. At this moment, Rhodes felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and the inflatable bag on the thigh of the anti-gravity suit suddenly tightened, forcing the blood back to the upper body.

The missile flew past the fuselage, and only a faint whistling and blasting sound could be heard.

"Pilot from the Kingdom of Ergia, what's your name?"

After dodging this near-fatal blow, Rhode continued to ask questions. He was still quite capable, but as time passed, the other party might not be so sure.

"I think I have to know the name of the enemy I'm about to shoot down... Maybe when the war is over, and I'm alive and you're alive, we can go drink together."

Rhode licked his lips. He could feel the oxygen being pumped into his lungs, and the pain brought on by the might of nature. Meanwhile, Pickman, the cat, was bored and sleeping behind the driver's seat, purring, seemingly unconcerned with the fierce battle before him—magic cats clearly didn't care about mundane matters!

"... Telling your name to the enemy during battle is foolish," the other party's voice finally echoed over the public channel. Just as Rhode had expected, it carried a tone of age, stubbornness, and tenacity. "I don't know if your instructor has taught you this common sense. In this respect, he's been remiss."

"Because I want to understand my enemies..."

Rhodes said this in the channel while suppressing his laughter. He began to look forward to what expression would appear on the face of the old man opposite him when he subconsciously said this sentence after a while.

"..." There was silence for a few seconds in the channel, as if the answer was quite surprising. "Pilot of the Army Without Borders Mercenary Group, what's your name?"

"My name is Micah Dumitru Margaretta Cornelius Leopold Blanca Carol Ion Ignatius Raphael Maria Niketas Ya Shiragi."

Mickey Mouse: “???”

When Rhodes finished saying this long list of names like a menu, the fuselage of the Su-30sm shook abnormally, and then the movements became more fierce, looking very angry.

At the same moment, Rhodes noticed that the Su-30sm's fuselage froze for less than a second. When the opponent was performing high-angle maneuvers, the deflection rate of the right vector nozzle dropped significantly. This might be a brief delay caused by the hydraulic system after continuous extreme operation, or it might be that the driver's physical strength and energy were on the verge of limit due to the high-intensity combat.

Rhodes released the [Angle of Attack Limiter], and the fighter plane seemed to be nailed in the air and forcibly twisted at the moment its speed dropped sharply!

Compared to the metallic scream of the fuselage, the sound of the inflating airbags in the anti-G suit was even more piercing, like the wails of a desperate person before death. This maneuver, impossible for a mortal, caused a massive overload on his spine. A large amount of noise burst out from the edge of his vision, and darkness followed.

As the Su-30sm rushed overhead due to inertia, Rod pressed the cannon fire button with a trembling thumb. The shooting sound, which was like a dull drumbeat, had now turned into a pleasant hymn - but this was just a cunning tactic of the enemy to show weakness - the enemy plane suddenly retracted its flaps, trembling violently on the edge of stalling. The vortices pulled out by the wingtips were like two transparent sickles that split the flocculent clouds. The nose of the plane lifted up at an incredible angle, and the entire fuselage immediately rotated, avoiding the cannon and performing a super maneuver.

The gray-black fuselage reflected a cruel sneer in the bright sunlight.

Pendulum maneuver?!

Rhodes frowned and released the [Angle of Attack Limiter] again. The G-force as heavy as a mountain pressed on his internal organs and bones, but the corresponding powerful maneuverability of the F/S-15 was exerted without reservation - the fighter suddenly raised its nose, and the light of the machine gun passed by - the next second, the enemy plane passed under the fighter's belly due to inertia.

Then, Rhodes maneuvered the fighter plane to flip sideways, the engine spewing out bright afterburner flames, and quickly escaped the enemy plane's machine gun attack range.

"He's cunning and cunning... I think he already had it in mind when I mentioned his name, like, 'The enemy will think he's old and weak,' or something like that, but the same tactics can only be used once."

Taking a long breath, Rod glanced at the amount of fuel and the remaining number of jamming bombs, then pushed the throttle and passed by the diving Su-30sm, but the latter did not seem to intend to perform a scissors maneuver.

As his thoughts raced, Rhodes began to trade altitude for speed, narrowing his turning radius to see if he could seize the last opportunity to shoot.

"Your Excellency, the enemy's giant ordnance bird is retreating. It's lost too many drones," Pixy's voice came over the communication channel, sounding a little tired. "And it's equipped with shields. Our current missiles can't handle it... I'll lead the fleet to evacuate first. Don't engage the enemy. Reinforcements may arrive at any time."

"Understood. Now, disengage from the battle."

As Rhodes spoke, he pressed the missile launch button with his hand. Then, while the opponent was maneuvering to avoid the attack, he quickly turned the fuselage around and prepared to withdraw from the battlefield.

Before leaving, Rhode left a message on the communication channel:

"King who lost his kingdom, you fly through the sky. Is it because you can't see the borders?"

"..."

After shutting down the communication, Rhodes pushed the throttle, causing the engine to emit a brighter and more dazzling tail flame, pushing the fighter plane to disappear into the looming clouds.

"..."

"An Army Without Borders..."

In the cockpit, Michael felt suffocated, and sweat almost soaked his entire anti-gravity suit - in fact, he did feel that his physical strength was almost exhausted just now, otherwise he would not have used such a dangerous strategy - the slightest mistake would mean eternal damnation.

"A king who lost his kingdom... Heh."

The sky is my kingdom.

Chapter 278 Return and Change of Defense (3K)

When Rhodes saw the airport in the distance, he didn't relax much, but prepared to land according to the standard procedure. Many pilots did not die on the battlefield, but lost their lives due to a moment of negligence during landing. Although they would be resurrected if they died here, they still needed to return to the original world to read the bar. The round trip was not only a waste of energy, but also easily delayed things.

"Don't worry so much, Sensei," Alona's voice rang in Rhodes's ears. "Although I can't help you fly the fighter plane to fight, I can still help it land safely."

"So, do you want to try it now?"

"Um...if you allow me, I've actually wanted to try it for a long time!"

There was a hint of eagerness in Alona's voice. On the screen of the [Shiting Box], the girl was already wearing a helmet, with only her beautiful chin exposed:

"Alona, ​​attack!"

"We're returning," Rhodes said lazily. He heard the tower's notification on the communication channel, then straightened up and observed the situation around him. "But it looks like I'm the last one back."

"Your battle with that old man lasted too long, and the fuel level is starting to sound... Let me see the approach map for this airport... Enter the flight circle..."

Alona whispered as she carefully channeled her power through the [Box of Shiting]—the entire fighter jet was then dominated by an invisible force, controlled by that same divine will.

"Hey, extend the landing gear and flaps..."

As the fighter's main landing gear re-touched the runway, the smoke from the friction of the tires was carried by the crosswind toward the nearby hangar. There were still quite a few people standing there, and only when the roar of the engines gradually faded to a low whimper and completely quieted down did they seem to breathe a sigh of relief and walk over with smiles.

Except for Pixy and Mr. Larry Falk who were walking behind everyone, there was not much joy on his face, but a rare solemnity.

"Thank you for your help, Your Excellency," a female pilot squeezed through the others and bowed deeply to Rhodes as he disembarked from his fighter plane. This girl was No. 2 of the Golem Squadron, named Brownie, and she had escaped this battle thanks to Rhodes' help. "If it weren't for you, I really don't know how I would have survived... I really want to fight, but my opponent..."

Brownie hesitated, the fear still lingering on her face, the indentation from her breathing mask still visible. Even then, she was still panting, clearly from the damage the previous battle had done to her lungs... She'd probably need some time to recuperate before she could return to the battlefield.

"The opponent was indeed strong, but your body was also damaged early on. Although there is no such thing as fairness in war, this was indeed an unfair battle. So, you did well, and I hope you didn't let this frighten you."

Rhodes smiled and patted the other person's shoulder, saying encouragingly, but looking at the girl's excited expression, she didn't seem to be discouraged by this setback.

However, after the pilots from the Osean Federation had left, Rhode's smile faded. He took the water and towel from Killer-3 and said seriously to the pilots of the Army Without Borders:

"If you encounter that Su-30sm, I allow you to abandon your mission and evacuate, but you cannot abandon your companions. The squad leader must make the decision."

"Can the enemy be this strong?"

"I only have the advantage of youth and good physical fitness," Rhodes shook his head. "The enemy is experienced and their aircraft are extremely capable, not to mention the interference from those drones... I hope the F/S-15 fighter jets will make you more comfortable in combat."

"That's true."

Gun-1 pursed her lips and nodded in agreement. As the excitement and joy of seeing Rhodes' safe return gradually faded, she also felt a little more sad.

"The drones we encountered this time were relatively simple. When our fighters become more maneuverable, we can easily crush them. But next time..."

"It might not be the same next time, right?" Killer-2 spread his hands helplessly. He quietly watched Rhodes being fed cake and milk tea by Abigail, then asked as if remembering something.

"Boss, who is your opponent?"

"During the 2003 Continental War, there was also an ace pilot named Yellow-13, also from Elgia," Rhodes said, taking a sip of his milk tea and sighing contentedly. "Do you remember? Perhaps your fathers fought against him."

"You mean, that pilot is Yellow Thirteen?!"

"How is that possible?!" Rhode nearly spat out his entire mouthful of milk tea. He wiped the liquid from the corner of his mouth and said unhappily, "That was the person who trained this 'Yellow-13'. It was his flight instructor, Michael Ya Shilagi! Of course, his full name is very long, and it's not easy to pronounce it all at once."

The pilots looked at each other in bewilderment at the news, and then someone asked:

"So his age..."

"Your boss was almost shot down just now because he underestimated the other party's age. Do you have anything else to say now?"

"No more, sir."

"So," Rod said earnestly, "stay alive, and run when you need to. We're mercenaries, right? We can sacrifice our lives, but we must always gain something—glory, victory. Sacrificing for the sake of sacrifice is the stupidest thing to do... Okay, let's disperse, your instructor Larry's face is as black as the bottom of a pot."

The pilots of the Army Without Borders scattered, ready to watch the ground crew inspect and maintain their fighters. Larry, who had been silent until then, slowly walked forward. After thanking Abigail for the folding chair, he sat down and said,

"It was very thrilling just now."

"It's okay. The experience I gained from this battle will definitely be useful next time."

"..."

Looking at the heartless smile on Rod's face, Larry sighed and said slowly with a worried look on his face:

"Drones are changing warfare. The moment the two sides made contact, I knew why those Osea pilots were so defeated—they were maneuverable, had missiles, were easy to produce and maintain... A single drone could destroy fighter jets costing tens of millions and elite pilots who took years to train. The same applies to land operations."

The two of them fell silent for a moment, the only sound being the distant hum of a fuel truck driven by ground crew members. However, the silence was soon broken by the roar of fighter jets taking off again, their air currents sweeping across the runway and lawn, crashing into Rod and Larry.

"Indeed. So, should we tie our hands and feet and stop moving forward?" Rhodes responded calmly. He opened his G-suit, letting the heat inside slowly dissipate. "It's the same old saying: 'Weapons are an important factor in war, but not the decisive factor. The decisive factor is people, not things.'"

"...That's a very philosophical statement. Who said it?"

"Wait till I give you all his selected works tonight."

"Okay... Let's get back to the topic. The Belkans have already sent the enhanced suit, but I still need some time to adjust. Meanwhile, I've heard that another group of Belkans are offering this enhanced suit customization service to other users."

As Larry spoke, he turned his head and looked at the F/S-15 fighter jet parked on the tarmac. The fuselage was reflecting a faint halo in the bright sunlight, as if it was a metal angel descending to the earth.

Beautiful and deadly.

If only there were no wars in the world, and everyone could soar freely in the boundless skies. Larry pursed his lips tightly, his memory flashing through the mind of the pilot who had taken a fatal blow for his own half, for the "other side of the coin"—even though few would remember him now, he had indeed changed the course of history.

"so what?"

Rhodes asked in return. He had already taken off half of his anti-gravity suit and sat limply in the chair like a dead fish, letting the sunlight and Pickman move back and forth on his face.

"Will the enemy become stronger? Of course he will become stronger, but he's not beyond my comprehension. Is he a blasphemous creation fused together from humans, machines, and demons? Does he have dragon-like claws and metal armor? No."

"Perhaps there is an ace in this world who can shoot me down, but he's just a flesh and blood body on land. A single bullet can kill him! Even in this base, I can kill everyone on the ground alone! Larry, if you follow me back with the intention of only fighting humans, then I can only prepare a grave, a tombstone, and an epitaph for you in advance... What kind of epitaph do you want?"

"Your world... is very dangerous."

"'Your world is very dangerous' wouldn't be a suitable epitaph, but it's fine as a last will. At least it's much better than 'XX is the one who can be my mother' or something like that."

Rhodes smiled and told a joke, but the middle-aged man sitting opposite him obviously didn't want to fool around with him.

After a moment's silence, Larry seemed to have made up his mind and said seriously:

"I remember it, but I also need some information for reference."

"Don't be so nervous." Rhodes raised his hand to take Pickman off his face, then straightened up and looked at Larry. "For now, most of your enemies are still humans, and many battles are taking place on the ground."

"I hope so... By the way, did you see that pissed-off look on the commander's face? He's only been back for less than half an hour, and already all sorts of gossip is popping up, like 'regular troops are no match for mercenaries' and so on."

Rhodes shrugged, not caring about it.

"As long as they pay according to the contract, that's fine. We're just playing war games with these people now—it's not time for us to take action yet."

+++++++++++

2019 6 Month 6 Day.

"Oh my god! Mother Goose One was shot down!"

“…Where did the missile come from?!”

"It was a missile launched by M/age-2!"

"..."

"...Trigger, you can't attack for the time being. You know the reason yourself."