Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 239: Ace Combat 061

Chapter 239: Ace Combat 061

Whoosh—Boom!

As Li Aozi was planning his attack route, a long-range air-to-air missile instantly crossed 12 kilometers and struck the transport plane he was on; billowing smoke and fierce flames immediately shattered the aircraft. Without hesitation, Li Aozi immediately broke the cockpit glass, reversed gravity, and flew into the sky with his spoils of war.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

The air-to-air missile was loaded with a large amount of Oktojin explosives. The powerful impact almost flipped Li Aozi in the air, but fortunately, he accelerated in time, passing through the explosion’s smoke and flames.

"With such power, still an air-to-air missile, if it were a ground bomb—Gamma Phase, for a true hegemonic nation, is nothing more than a moving mountain."

Li Aozi didn’t dare to take a hit; no matter how confident he was, he always remained cautious around Frost Plated war weapons.

"Come to think of it, the ’Aura of Goodwill’ didn’t trigger just now? Someone actually fired directly at me; that pilot must be no ordinary person."

[You have triggered an emergency event—"Sword of Heaven"]

[Type]: Event

[Time Limit]: 18 minutes (countdown begins after joining battle)

[Mission Difficulty]: Brave

(Note: Brave souls! This difficulty level is lower than a B-rank mission but tests your resolve and courage more. You need to have a fair heart, or at least pretend to have one, to maximize the mission’s rewards.)

[Introduction]:

The knights in the sky, knowing the dangers, boldly charged at you. You are impressed by their courage and decide to give it your all in a decisive battle with them.

Although their country is detestable, the spirit of fighting for one’s nation is admirable.

[Settlement Conditions]:

A. "Knight Spirit"—Shoot down two fighter jets that actively attack you and rescue the pilots.

Reward: 500,000 Experience, Main Attribute +5 points, Frost Plated Air Force Favorability +100.

B. "Unmanned Airspace"—Destroy all Frost Plated aircraft.

Reward: 800,000 Experience, Fourth Rule Agency Favorability -400

————————

"To ignore the ’Aura of Goodwill’ effect and fire directly at me, those two pilots must be extraordinary, at least Beta Rank, and possibly, they are some plot characters."

Li Aozi’s [Charm] attribute is as high as 100.1, and combined with the effect of the ’Aura of Goodwill,’ if they are not plot characters, then the other party must have very special specialties and skills to exempt themselves from his effect.

The unique structure of living beings allows for far greater maneuverability than that of aircraft; for an aircraft to turn around, it must traverse a large arc while enduring extreme overload. If not careful, the airframe might disintegrate due to an unstable metal structure.

Thus, in air-to-air dogfights between fighters, it’s like dogs biting each other’s tails, engaged in entwined combat. Whoever can have higher energy and faster speed can directly maneuver behind you with unbelievable agility. After that, whether it’s with cannons or missiles, it doesn’t make much difference to the leading aircraft.

But living beings don’t have to worry about that. Li Aozi just needed to turn around, enveloped by gravity, and using the reaction force from waving his limbs, he could face his assaulter. Golden circles in his eyes immediately lit up with runes.

[Eye of Truth] scans the visible airspace; after being modulated by Implant Gear, Li Aozi’s maximum visual range in good atmospheric conditions reached 140 kilometers, enough to scan the opposition.

"Z-11 ’Vulture,’ one of the most advanced heavy fighter jets of this era, with triple-variable wings, extremely strong maneuverability and firepower. I remember they also have powerful electronic warfare capabilities."

What drew attention, though, were the names of the two pilots.

Magic Stone No. 1: Ye Lifan

Demon Stone No. 2: Magath Kubo

"It turns out to be those two... But, taking their strength into account, it indeed matches up with their reputation."

Those two couldn’t die, as they held significant meaning not just for Li Aozi but for the Azure Star as well.

Li Aozi calculated in his mind and immediately accelerated, striking back at the opponent.

Compared to the Z-11’s massive 400-kilometer radar scanning range, being limited to visual range combat made him seem incredibly naive, but Li Aozi had his own advantages—once the enemy’s fighter jets entered his range, he would absolutely dominate in terms of maneuverability and killing power.

"Those two fighter jets are costly; if they could be brought down, Frost Plated would spare no expense to retrieve the wreckage, whether for immediate or future benefits. Combat is undoubtedly the best solution."

The Azure Star’s hypersonic fighter jets, especially those fully loaded with air-to-air missiles, only had an operational range of up to 3,000 kilometers.

Furthermore, with the influence of Ersha from the Outer World, the effective operational radius might shrink to less than 2,000 kilometers, and the speed would unlikely reach five mach.

Fight!

Without a second thought, Li Aozi lunged at the opponent.

"He’s coming at us."

Demon Stone No. 2 instantly tensed up:

"Ye Lifan, shall we fire? That missile just now didn’t hit him, and at this distance, neither an LAAM nor an HVAA can catch up with him."

"Demon Stone No. 2, deploy the Loyal Wingman," commanded Colonel Ye Lifan of Demon Stone No. 1 in a steady tone. "Follow my orders, Magath. We fly the world’s most elite fighter jets. Wait for the right moment, and finish him off with one blast of the TLS."

"But as for the Pact permission—" Captain Magath of Demon Stone No. 2 hesitated.

"I’ll take responsibility. We’re fighting for our country. As pilots of the Z-11, the higher-ups won’t abandon elites like us over this issue."

Ye Lifan’s judgment was very sharp; for the nation, aircraft could be built with money, but skilled pilots were not always readily available for recruitment.

Especially the Vulture model, the nation wouldn’t possibly leave it under the control of artificial intelligence. For the powerful Mechanics, a drone’s level of defense was as penetrable as an open-source website, vulnerable to hacking at will.

"No choice—let’s go!"

Magath placed his breathing mask on, his eyes swirling with a pale blue flare. As a Ranger of the Destruction Type specializing in Qi Energy, he transmitted it through the connecting ports on his neck and spine to the entire fighter jet.

[Qi Energy Channel Connected]

[Deploy Loyal Wingman]

Zip zip zip!

The heavy belly of the jet opened up, releasing small drone-like bats that circled the two Vultures as if protecting a queen with the loyalty of her guards.

Hum—

A muffled ringing like a bell reverberated across the sky. At that moment, the red and black fuselage was coated with a layer of pale blue energy patterns resembling water fissures. The veins around Magath’s eyes bulged, the anti-load suit increased pressure to help him withstand the intense load, and he jettisoned the auxiliary fuel tanks and floored the throttle.

[Hypersonic Mode]

In an instant, the forward-swept wings of Magath’s ’Vulture’ flared backward, merging with the vertical stabilizers into a more stable diamond wing configuration. The triple engines spat out violet thrust, accelerating instantaneously. Accompanied by his swarm of drones, Magath charged headlong toward Li Aozi.

On the other hand, Ye Lifan, serving as the main combatant, remained utterly calm. He understood that for a hypersonic target, semi-active missiles were virtually useless. Purple Qi Energy infused the jet, followed by activating optical stealth, disappearing into the skyline.