Munitions Empire-Chapter 901 - 824 courting death

Chapter 901: 824 courting death Chapter 901: 824 courting death Out on the sea, a cruiser of the Laines Empire was navigating cautiously. It was the latest model of cruiser, with formidable firepower and powerful engines, and it also had a modern look.

The only thing that made it appear somewhat outdated was the row of three smokestacks in the middle of the hull. These large heat exhausts occupied a considerable length of the ship, giving it an “old-fashioned” appearance.

There was no helping it. Although there wasn’t much difference in terms of power output, there was still a huge gap in overall engine technology between the countries and the Tang Country.

To make up for these gaps, they had no choice but to put effort into other areas: increasing size, disregarding fuel consumption… adding more water to the dough, more dough for more water; in the end, they could only add more cooling by increasing the number of smokestacks.

After all, it was just a matter of looking a bit ugly and interfering with the firing range of anti-aircraft guns. Gritting their teeth, they could make do with it for a while.

In fact, over the last year, naval weapons technology in the world had not been standing still. After so much effort, there had been some gains.

For example… torpedoes.

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Yes, several maritime powers had invested a great deal of manpower and material resources to develop their own torpedoes.

However, these countries’ torpedoes were still quite primitive, and their shapes were not even standardized, looking quite diverse.

Some countries had torpedoes with pointed heads, while others used modified contact fuzes; it was a case of everyone for themselves.

In reality, torpedoes with pointed heads were difficult to control in the sea, so the range of these torpedoes was just a few pitiful kilometers. They had to be used from a very close distance.

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Most of the torpedoes used by these countries were slow due to problems with the fuzes, as the pressure on the head could cause premature detonation.

Thus, although the new cruisers and destroyers of these nations were equipped with torpedoes, whether these torpedoes could be used in actual combat was anyone’s guess.

This brand-new “Torpedo Cruiser” was a cruiser that had been launched just in the last six months, equipped with numerous anti-aircraft guns and a sufficiently elongated hull.

“Confirm the position!” Putting down the binoculars, the captain of the Laines Empire turned to his deputy, “If there’s no issue, send the coded message.”

They had been ordered to reach this sea area to meet a plane flying nearby—a task bizarre enough to fill the captain with doubts.

The ship also carried many intelligence officers, who reportedly were to meet the person piloting the plane upon arrival…

“The position should be correct; we checked the stars last night and found no deviation,” the deputy cautiously replied.

Standing nearby, the intelligence department commander checked the coordinates again and then nodded, “We can inform our people to start the operation.”

“We have to wait here for 2 days; I hope there won’t be any problems,” he said, looking at the cruiser’s captain.

The captain was also very nervous because their location was indeed sensitive; a bit further and they would likely enter the alert zone of Dragon Harbor.

“Raise the distress flag. If a patrol boat from the Tang Country approaches, just reply that we’re diagnosing a malfunction…” Out of caution, the captain finally thought of an excuse.

Their location was sensitive but not the kind that would make the Tang Country expel them at all costs immediately. Claiming a malfunction could buy them some time.

As the seconds and minutes passed, the atmosphere grew tenser. However, the good news was that even after being anchored here for over an hour, they had not seen any patrol by the Flying Fortress Reconnaissance Aircraft.

Meanwhile, far away on Dragon Island, a spy had climbed into a training “trainer aircraft” according to the prearranged plan.

This type of aircraft didn’t have a radio for communication, also a cost-saving measure: Who would provide advanced aircraft to foreign student pilots?

Normally, those trainer aircraft with radios, single-wing, all-metal, required an instructor’s presence to use.

The students playing around in training could only use this simplified version of the aircraft. After checking the instruments in the cockpit and fastening his seatbelt with the help of the ground crew,

everyone on the ground team was also a student, with only one instructor handling the training. Fuelling was a matter of money, as the students paid out of their own pockets, so how much to refuel depended on the “money.”

After checking the full fuel tank, the flight student from the Laines Empire gave a satisfied thumbs up, then piloted the plane towards the runway.

Soon, he took off, surrounded only by the sound of the wind. These planes were rather poor in sealing and didn’t have a proper pressurized cabin.

If judged by today’s standards, this would definitely be a cheap sightseeing aircraft, the kind that cannot carry passengers and is of the smallest model.

Piloting the aircraft, the spy first pretended to circle Weigang Airport twice. Then, steeling his resolve in accordance with the plan he had thought up beforehand, he made the aircraft break away from the training flight zone and headed straight for Dragon Harbor.

“The course of that aircraft is wrong!” shouted the supervising officer at the airport, putting down his binoculars and pointing to the training plane that was flying away in the sky.

“Check the registration records! See which student it is… who it is!” The officer standing next to him immediately turned to look at the subordinate in charge of registration.

“He will be shot down! Idiot!” the officer who first noticed the aircraft’s deviation muttered as he watched it fly away.

“It’s a civilian flight student from Laines Empire, named James…” the person in charge of the records responded nervously, looking up.

“Call the air defense command center, tell them someone has intruded into Dragon Harbor! Flying a Type 3 training plane!” ordered the leading officer immediately.

Soon, an alarm rang out at the anti-aircraft gun site in the center of Dragon Island, and the 88mm anti-aircraft guns began to point towards the sky. All the soldiers on duty stared tensely at the sky.

“Radar detection shows that the aircraft is at 1000 meters! Set the fuze height!” Shortly after, an officer with the data rushed to the anti-aircraft gun site.

Those who had been on standby for a long time began adjusting the shell fuzes and then loading the shells into the guns.

Inside the rapidly approaching training plane, James, the trainee, was extremely nervous. He stared at the instrument panel in front of him, which showed his speed had reached nearly 350 kilometers per hour.

“Come on! Faster! Faster!” he muttered under his breath when suddenly a loud explosion sounded beside him.

When he looked over, the flames bursting from the side of the airplane had not yet completely dissipated, and a piece of shrapnel had pierced the aircraft’s fuselage, leaving a small hole.

“Damn it!” He hadn’t expected the Tang Country’s anti-aircraft guns to react so quickly and accurately. He had only just flown to the central part of the island when he faced such fierce interception.

“Boom!” Another shell exploded just in front of the plane, nearly hitting the engine. James quickly jolted the plane and climbed urgently, avoiding the dense shells.

“It’s climbing!” observed an anti-aircraft gunner on the ground as time passed, but the Type 3 training plane had already moved out of this anti-aircraft site’s firing range.

Almost at the same moment, inside the cockpit of two Butcher Fighter Jets patrolling in the skies above Dragon Island, the urgent voice of the air defense command officer from Tang Country’s Dragon Island echoed: “Calling! Spotlight 1. Calling! Spotlight 2! Calling! Calling!”

“Spotlight 1 received!” “Spotlight 2 received!” Both pilots responded immediately to the call from the ground control tower.

“There is a Type 3 fighter jet attempting to push toward Dragon Harbor! Intercept it! If it doesn’t turn back, commence attack and shoot it down!” The commander in the tower firmly ordered.

“Spotlight 1 understood!” the lead pilot immediately confirmed the attack order: “Shoot down the Type 3 training plane attempting to approach Dragon Harbor! Repeat, shoot down the Type 3 training plane attempting to approach Dragon Harbor!”

“Order confirmed! Aircraft coordinates… 30, 51! Interception route… will be immediately provided to you.”

“Thank you! We are heading to the scene now!” The lead pilot pulled his control stick, steering the Butcher Fighter Jet to trace a beautiful arc in the sky.

The wingman quickly turned, and the two fighter jets cut through the clouds, rushing toward the coordinates.

On the ground, at the military airport in the center of Dragon Island, the shrill sound of the alarm echoed as four pilots ran toward their planes, each trying to strap on their equipment.

“Emergency takeoff! Emergency takeoff!” Ground personnel were busy checking ammunition and fuel for the duty-ready planes, a type of emergency interception task that hadn’t occurred on Dragon Island for a long time.

“Fuel normal! Ammunition sufficient!” Seeing the pilots rushing over, a ground crew member shouted as he stood on the wing to the pilot climbing into the plane.

“Check the hydraulic part’s pressure gauge! See if there’s any malfunction!” shouted another ground crew member from outside to the pilot who was climbing into the plane.

The pilot gave a thumbs up, signaling everything was normal. He had just put on his headset when he heard the urgent command from the control tower: “Respond if you hear! Respond if you hear!”

“Loud and clear! Combat Ready 01 is preparing for takeoff!” The pilot started the engine, and the propeller in front began to rotate rapidly.

“The runway is clear! Repeat, the runway is clear!” The voice from the tower came again.

“Shoot that damn guy down!” the pilot of Combat Ready 02 Fighter Jet said to everyone over the radio.

“He’s asking for it!” The pilot of Fighter Jet 01 lined up the nose with the runway and replied with a smirk.