Sky-cracking Rider-Chapter 673: Section 668 - Meeting an Old Acquaintance in a Foreign Land - ?
"That damned Metallic Giant Dragon is coming again!"
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"The southwestern corner has completely collapsed!"
"The Dimensional Gate Management Substation is unleashing a barrage of dense artillery fire, and our No. 3 and No. 7 heavy artillery bases have been destroyed."
"Who can help me take down that Evil Dragon?"
...
The initiative in war always lies in the hands of the attacker, and the command system of the Rebel Army was suddenly thrown into chaos.
The Dimensional Gate Management Substation's offensive capabilities were insufficient, but its defenses were more than adequate. Only powerful Tactical-Level Weapons could shake the large Protective Barriers, and from the start of the attack, they proved as tough as they were designed to be.
Given the combat power displayed by the rebels, there didn't seem to be many Tactical-Level Weapons that could threaten the Protective Barrier. Even if there were any, they probably couldn't be brought over in a short time, considering the entire Zilu Continent is one big chessboard. It would be an utter loss to give up strategic control over the entire continent for the sake of one Dimensional Gate Management Substation.
The four Main Force Lightwing Ships capable of gradually grinding down the Protective Barrier with sustained bombardment, one was breached by Chen Xiao'er's sacrifice, while the other three were blown up by a single Dragon Slayer Missile.
The last trump card, a mature Gold Element Giant Dragon, was beaten up repeatedly by Chen Fei's Mechanical Dragon and the female Gold Element Giant Dragon Yilan in a pincer attack; although it possessed formidable combat power, it suffered repeated beatings and unexpectedly chose to flee the battlefield.
For a Gold Element Giant Dragon famed for its pride, fleeing from a fight without a decisive life-or-death outcome was a disgrace to all dragons.
Light from numerous Magic Arrays flared up under the huge dragon wings, "Blazing Flame Bullets" quickly formed and screamed forth in a frenzy, forming wave after wave of fireballs raining down on the ground.
The Mechanical Dragon, with an unlimited supply of Crystal Energy from the Dimensional Gate Management Substation, could unleash firepower freely once it was fully operational—it was as if it cost nothing.
After the rebels lost air superiority, they immediately paid a heavy price.
The Mechanical Dragon exploited its mobility advantage at will, twisting and turning through the sky like a real Giant Dragon, continuously pouring down attacks on the ground. In a blink of an eye, it turned nearly half of the Rebel Army's territory upside down.
A few railgun weapons managed to fire into the air, but whether they could hit the Mechanical Dragon was one thing; even if they could, their power output was still not enough to challenge the total power of the Mechanical Dragon's Repulsion Shield and two types of Magic Shields—far from even tickling it.
Up until now, the rebels still firmly believed that the big guy was a real Metallic Giant Dragon.
Chen Fei lay in the cockpit of the X-D-005 Giant Dragon-type Combat Mobility Armor, lazily yawning.
"Not one of them can fight!"
All he encountered was ground fire. Any threatening heavy fire was first swept away by the automated fire platforms of the Dimensional Gate Management Substation. The combination of air-to-ground and three-dimensional tactics was incredibly sharp, whether used for offense or defense.
The Rebel Army's air forces seemed to have vanished completely, with not one appearing.
He distinctly remembered there should have been some armed civilian Light Wing Ships and a few "Sky Falcons."
"Enemy 'Sky Falcons' detected, number 4, bearing 257, altitude 12800, distance 313, speed 1.2, expected to arrive in 15 minutes."
The Dimensional Gate Management Substation's Defensive Command Center didn't allow Chen Xiao'er to gloat for long before sending out a warning.
"Speed 1.2, that does sound like 'Sky Falcons,' but only four of them? They're really gutsy."
After receiving the warning information, Chen Fei also made an assessment.
The leader of the Combat Flight Squadron "Genuine Fragrance" from Aircrew Base 911, Chekhov Big Bear, had always been a sly character.
The kind of person leading a team often influenced the team, and even Chen Xiao'er grew more cautious.
With 15 minutes left before they would engage the enemy, the convoy from Jiaming Town returning to the front would likely arrive around the time the two sides began fighting.
Chen Fei thought for a moment and immediately chose to strike first. He steered the Mechanical Dragon directly toward the four approaching "Sky Falcons."
The distance between the two forces quickly shrank to less than six minutes of engagement time, so he decided to use the next few minutes to wipe out the opposition.
"Gold Element Giant Dragon ahead, this is 'Gale Team,' please surrender immediately or we will be forced to kill you," came the transmission over an open communication channel as the full-spectrum jamming suddenly disappeared.
"Eh? 'Gale Team,' why does that sound somewhat familiar?"
Chen Fei was a bit puzzled. The artificial intelligence AI "Adam" quickly searched for information on the "Gale Team" and displayed it on the visual interface.
The two sides had entered visual range. Chen Fei tentatively opened the public communication channel.
"Minante? Is that you?"
The "Sky Falcon" squadron "Gale Team" had performed remarkably well in the recently concluded "Abyss Coliseum" on Blue Star, and the pilot Minante was one of the members, originating from the Zilu Continent.
As a fellow pilot, the chances of Chen Fei encountering Minante were not low, but he hadn't expected Minante to be on the side of the rebel forces.
"You, who are you?"
The formation of four "Sky Falcons" was also taken aback, encountering a familiar face, or rather, a familiar dragon!
One of the pilots, evidently the Minante mentioned by Chen Fei, couldn't recall ever meeting a Gold Element Giant Dragon.
"I'm 'Rookie' Chen Fei, do you remember now?"
Chen Fei's voice raised a notch once again.
The mechanical dragon brushed past the four "Sky Falcons," with neither side initiating an attack on the other.
Neither would strike first against their own friends.
"'Rookie'? 'Rookie'! How on earth are you here, and how did you become like this?"
Minante was a mix of incredulous and exhilarated as he scrutinized the agile "Metallic Dragon" from afar, and he couldn't help but gasp, recalling a saying from his elders, "Those who fight monsters should be careful not to become one."
Each Dragon Slayer would become an Evil Dragon, and wasn't that proven by his friend here?
The Metal Ability User's Psi Skills had mutated, turning himself into a Metallic Giant Dragon. Perhaps it was a possibility?
"Huh? This look? You mean this Combat Mobility Armor?"
The mechanical dragon glanced over itself and quickly shook its head. It was so biologically similar to Chen Fei in mind, and its biodata were so sophisticated that to those unfamiliar with the "X-D-005 Giant Dragon-type Combat Mobility Armor," mistaking it for a live dragon was hardly surprising.
"This is Combat Mobility Armor?"
Minante's mouth twitched as he led the other three "Sky Falcons" in circles around the mechanical dragon.
He had received firm intel claiming that this was a ferocious Metallic Giant Dragon, yet upon arriving, it turned out to be his friend "Rookie" Chen Fei, whom he had met during a great battle at the Abyss Coliseum, piloting an unheard-of dragon-type mobile combat armor.
"The latest in Conceptual Armament, and yeah, pretty handy."
This complex behemoth could only be operated by Chen Fei, as anyone else without Psi Skills or the support of Magic Arrays, would have gone through who knows how many machine failures by now.
"Captain, now is not the time for chatting!"
A quieter wingman reminded Minante, situated in the lead plane, that their mission was to deal with this "Evil Dragon," not to engage in small talk with the opposition.
No matter if it was a real Evil Dragon or not, it was still their enemy.
"I'm sorry, this isn't the place to chat, give me some face, step aside and let me do my job, and we'll catch up afterwards."
Burdened by military orders, Minante could only apologize to Chen Fei.
"No, no, no. Since we're both having a hard time, why don't we each take a step back? You turn back, and I will too?"
Chen Fei was well aware of their opposing stances—it was textbook enmity.
They hadn't fought on the spot, which was already giving face to each other.
Both sides turning back would actually be more beneficial for Chen Fei, as he had a convoy on its way.
"This is quite inconvenient, yeah?"
Minante scratched his head, or rather, his Tactical Helmet, before tentatively proposing, "How about we spar a bit first, I'll go as easy as I can."
Truth be told, even with differing stances, facing a friend, he felt little desire to kill.
Had it been another opponent, Minante, no longer a rookie on the battlefield, wouldn't have shown the slightest bit of mercy.
"That suits me fine, I won't bully you guys either, I'll use a 'Sky Falcon' too! Hahaha, I'll also try to go easy!"
Chen Fei preemptively called up a "Sky Falcon" sample from the "Physical Evolution Database" and had it take shape within the mechanical dragon's body, evolving it on the spot.
The massive mechanical dragon broke down from head to tail into countless tiny geometric figures, folding in on itself continuously until a silver "Sky Falcon" emerged.
Chen Fei straddled the saddle, waving towards the four "Sky Falcons" circling around, knowing that despite their current positions, they were bound to have a confrontation.
"Then let's get started!~"
Whirr!~
The twin blade wings emitted a piercing howl as they churned the air, accelerating the "Sky Falcon" forward.
The evolved "Sky Falcon," while distinct from the original "Sky Falcon," lacked the ability to draw Elemental Energy from the atmosphere and served merely as aerodynamic devices and carriers for Magic Arrays, sometimes doubling as offensive blades.
The evolved "Sky Falcon" was equipped with a high-grade Crystalline Block, with a much higher energy capacity than ordinary "Sky Falcons," compensating for the absence of the original Light Wings and, with the addition of extra Magic Array Inscription units, also more lethal.
"Ha, well done! Didn't expect you had this trick up your sleeve, let's go as well."
Seeing his friend Chen Fei had not turned into an Evil Dragon due to a loss of control over his special ability, Minante felt rather glad.
As for holding back... this was a real battlefield, where both sides had live ammunition, bullets were blind, and fate was in the hands of heaven.
The five "Sky Falcons," like knights, intuitively spaced themselves apart, allowing room for a charging maneuver.
Adam: Locked by the Fire Control System, bearing 140, bearing 112, bearing 107, bearing 93.
"Turn off the fire control warning, I can see!"
Fine blue Predictive Trajectories, thick as thumbs, converged from the front, focusing squarely onto the "Sky Falcon" that Chen Fei was piloting.
Leading Minante's "Sky Falcon" squadron, they were not at all courteous, using a simple four-on-one combined attack formation, not relying on any fancy tactics.
