Chapter 125: Section 125 - The Sky is Crying

The voice of the female executive manager, like a Sea-calming Needle, had a clear leading effect; the various stations that had been somewhat chaotic once again entered a state of orderly operation. If the tower falls, the big boss dies first. Should these little fish worry about being caught in the crossfire now? Although Aircrew Base was under attack and the enemy had already begun their raid on antiaircraft interception, not all of the news was bad. "Genuine Fragrance" Combat Flight Squadron had already successfully defeated enemies from one direction. Boom!~ Yet another fireball fell from the sky and smashed heavily just outside the Aircrew Base. To avoid the enemy exploiting blind spots in the ground-based radar, Aircrew Base 911 utilized helium balloons to suspend an electronic reconnaissance pod at an altitude of 500 meters above ground, working together with ground-based radar to form a radar reconnaissance system with no dead angles. After working for twenty minutes, the balloon-hung pod honorably completed its use and was hit by a close combat missile that had successfully breached the antiaircraft fire, smashing to the ground and shattering into a pile of scrap metal. Squadron Leader Chekhov, who was leading his team back, asked, "How is the situation at Aircrew Base?" The immobile Aircrew Base was under much more pressure than the "Genuine Fragrance" squadron—In the eyes of the enemy fleet, it was just a live target. Once all the antiaircraft firepower is systematically eliminated, the whole base would be as vulnerable as if it were undefended. Hanna Gagar leisurely poured herself a glass of red wine, took a light sip, and responded in an unhurried manner, "I have no problems here, and can hold on." The actual situation, however, was that half of the intensive antiaircraft firepower had been eliminated, and two of the antiaircraft missile launchers were still desperately being reloaded with ammunition. Under the leadership of the mechanic team leader Xiao Ming, they ingenarily pushed two pilotless "Big Mouth Monsters" to near the runway. In conjunction with hastily welded steel-tube ballistic rails, these acted as movable ground-based antiaircraft missile launchers capable of launching fourteen close combat missiles. Guided by ground-based radar, the effect was very good. (In 2018, the Houthi Armed Forces used a captured MiG-29 radar along with the photoelectric detection device dismantled from an Apache armed helicopter to guide surface-launched R-27R semi-active radar-guided air-to-air missiles, shooting down an F-15) The attacking enemy fleet naturally didn't fare any better, with at least ten aircraft being destroyed. Mounting an assault on an Aircrew Base has never been an easy task. Even for the repeatedly successful "Genuine Fragrance" Combat Flight Squadron, each victory relied solely on the element of surprise, taking advantage when the enemy was completely unprepared. Aircrew Base 897 never imagined the "Genuine Fragrance" squadron could extend the combat radius of the A-39B "Big Mouth Monster" light turboprop attack aircraft, conducting an ultra-low-altitude flight over a long distance for a successful strike. Aircrew Base 909 also didn't expect that, after a fierce exchange, when both sides were sounding the retreat, two pilots got drunk and were goaded into a midnight solo flight—a reckless escapade that left the devastated 909 looking as if it had been bombarded by mines. Even the 911 itself was dumbfounded. What insiders couldn't predict was even less expected by the enemy—who in their right mind would forsake sleep and decency for such midnight mischief? That the Merman Brothers Consortium went nuts was both anticipated and reasonable. It's not to say that anyone could replicate the success of Aircrew Base 911, pulling off the same feat twice. An Aircrew Base with a ground-based radar system and a complete antiaircraft system prepared for battle isn't so easy to overcome. "63 enemy aircraft ahead, damn, so many!" Chekhov Big Bear took a glance at the enemy and friendly identification data compiled by the battle data link. Just moments before, "Genuine Fragrance" squadron had maintained a three-to-one advantage, only to suddenly find themselves trapped in a one-to-four dead end; such is the caprice of fate. Fortunately, in the night raid on Aircrew Base 909 by Chen Fei and Chekhov Big Bear, the two together managed to wipe out nearly a third of the Merman Brothers Consortium's jet fighter squadron. To stabilize their other operations, in the battle against Aircrew Base 911, they were no longer able to deploy a jet fighter squadron without creating a defensive gap. "Devil Pepper" Irinei Rusios drawled, "There are still five behind us, Chekhov!" Coming from the 912 Aircrew Base, the last surviving five turboprop aircraft scurried away only to sneakily follow behind the "Genuine Fragrance" squadron, staying hidden beyond visual range. "Five cowards, not a concern, if they dare to come, Uncle Chekhov will send them to meet Stalin!" Squadron Leader Chekhov was indifferent, a bunch of cowards whose spirits had been broken, completely devoid of fighting will. His MiG Aircraft would just need to turn around, and those wimpy "Big Mouth Monsters" would surely be scared into falling right out of the sky. From the west 910, the south 909, and the north 913, fighters that had taken off from the three aircrew bases had joined forces, focusing their main attention on the "Genuine Fragrance" Combat Flight Squadron on their way back to aid after their attempt to quickly eliminate the 911 Aircrew Base had failed. As soon as both sides entered the range of each other's combat missiles, all of the onboard fire control radars brazenly showered each other with beams, a standoff at the ready. The alarm in the cockpit blared incessantly. "Missiles! Damn it, so many missiles!" Suddenly, without warning, the alarm sounded even more urgently. Chen Fei's maneuver reminded Squadron Leader Chekhov, who promptly issued the order on the communication channel. One after another, the "Big Mouth Monsters" followed the MiG-28, pouring machine gun fire from their wings into the sky, with crimson trajectories cutting through the heavens, followed by missiles detaching from the wings' mounts, howling out with trailing smoke. The window for close-quarters combat was extremely brief, always measured in seconds; tactical patterns immediately unfolded, opening salvoes, knight's leap, bishop's diagonal, pawn's charge, checkmate... As soon as the combat bombs were fired, the "Genuine Fragrance" squadron's fighters scattered. "Charge in, engage them in a melee!" Chekhov Big Bear roared over the communication channel, the best tactic when outnumbered was to engage in a melee, a messy fight, chaos bringing victory. Even a blind cat finds a dead rat, and probability finally bore fruit as two combat bombs slammed into the trajectory of 12.7 mm bullets, exploding with a boom. Shooting missiles with machine guns was all about luck. Trying was always better than doing nothing. What if it worked? Just like right now! The sky had turned into an ancient battlefield, with knights launching decisive death charges at each other, engines roaring like fluttering banners, combat bombs acting like long spears thrust at the enemy, and machine guns like raised swords. In an instant, a fierce collision decided both sides' fate. Boom! ~ Boom boom! ~ There was a rumble like distant thunder in the clear skies, but not a cloud to be seen over the Patan School nestled in the mountains. The cheerful laughter gradually faded in the large courtyard, as children stopped their play, simultaneously looking up to the sky in wonder. Strange black smoke, torrents of fire like shooting stars, flashes one after another, the crudely drawn lines across the blue canvas steadily lengthened, and the elementary school teacher under the apple tree wore a face full of worry, as blood, fire, and iron fell from the sky, look, the sky is crying! - "'Wind Chime' squadron, all members KIA!" "'Rainbow Flower' squadron, more than half casualties, requesting disengagement from combat!" "Only I remain from the 'Scimitar' squadron, can't fight any longer, can't keep fighting, ah..." "'Scimitar' squadron, all members KIA!" ... "'Cinnamon Powder' Sug Sati, KIA!" "'Miso' Yamada Yuhu, disengaged from combat!" "'Scallion Oil' Babarro Big Bear, KIA!" "'Fragrant Orchid' Carlos Silva Lane, missing in action!" "'Wasabi' Abiko Fushi, KIA!" "Rookie..." "I'm still alive!" "'Rookie' Chen Fei, still in the fight!" -