Chapter 196: The Despairing Enemy Air Squadron

10,000 words every day, five chapters presented. Everyone, please give some encouragement, click to urge for more if you like. The war is just beginning.

……

Wilson desperately maneuvered his fighter to perform extreme evasive actions, but the attack range of the Tianluo System was truly too vast.

More Rocket Shells had already ascended, forming a "no-fly zone" around the formation.

What was even more despairing was that these Rocket Shells were equipped with thermal Fuses, capable of sensing the heat changes generated when an aircraft passed by and detonating at the optimal moment.

No matter how hard the pilots tried to evade, as long as they entered the preset area, they would trigger these "aerial mines."

"Turn left! Turn left!" Wilson commanded frantically, "Break formation! Decrease altitude!"

But his orders only brought more chaos.

In the panic, the scattered fighters crashed into the blast radius of even more Rocket Shells.

Within a mere thirty seconds, another five F-86s were shot down; some were blown directly into fragments, while others lost control and plummeted toward the earth trailing black smoke.

On the ground, the technical soldiers operating the Tianluo System were all stunned by this terrifying effect.

"Chief Engineer Li's weapon... is simply too terrifying," a young technician muttered.

Li Yunlong stood at the command point, calmly observing the chaotic situation in the sky:

"Good, the enemy has already lost their footing. Pass the order down: prepare the individual anti-aircraft rockets, specifically to deal with those attempting to break through!"

The combat situation in the sky had already turned from a planned, easy bombing run into a one-sided massacre.

Wilson watched helplessly as his formation lost nearly half its aircraft in just a few minutes, and most of the remaining ones were also damaged.

"Retreat! Retreat immediately!" He was practically howling, "All aircraft, abandon the mission, evacuate at full speed!"

The remaining F-86s began to scatter and flee; some climbed to higher airspace, while others chose to fly at low altitude, attempting to use the mountainous terrain as cover to escape.

Just at this moment, the third type of Anti-aircraft weapon of the Long Country army made its debut.

Individual rocket squads hidden on various hilltops brought out the "Flying Dragon-1" individual anti-aircraft rocket.

This rocket launcher appeared simple, and a single soldier could operate it, but its internal technology was decades ahead of this era.

The rocket warhead was equipped with an advanced infrared heat-source guidance system, capable of locking onto the heat radiation of an aircraft Engine, achieving "fire-and-forget" tracking capability.

"Target locked," a young soldier observed an F-86 attempting a low-altitude escape through a specialized sight, his hands trembling with excitement, "Requesting to fire!"

"Fire!" the Group Leader ordered.

With a "whoosh," the rocket ejected thick white smoke and headed straight for the target at a speed of several hundred meters per second.

Unlike ordinary rockets, this Missile did not fly in a straight line after launch, but continuously corrected its flight path based on the target aircraft's movements.

"There's something chasing behind me!" Thompson screamed in terror, seeing an object trailing white smoke in hot pursuit through his rearview mirror.

He immediately performed a sharp turn, but the rocket followed like a shadow.

"It's chasing me! This damn thing is chasing me!" he yelled in despair, desperately maneuvering his fighter to perform various extreme maneuvers: diving, climbing, side-slipping, and even barrel rolls.

But no matter how hard he tried, that rocket carrying death remained locked on.

"Impossible! This is impossible!" Thompson shouted his final words as the rocket accurately struck the tail of the F-86.

The shockwave of the explosion tore the entire tail wing apart, and the fighter instantly lost balance and began to disintegrate in the air.

Wilson witnessed all of this, and a chill crawled up his spine: "Base! Base! This is Blue Eagle lead! We have encountered a weapon we have never seen before! Those rockets can track us! Requesting emergency support! Repeat, requesting emergency support!"

"Retreat to where, Blue Eagle lead?" the base responded, their voice full of confusion, "What is your position?"

But Wilson had no time to answer.

He saw his comrades around him being shot down one after another, and only fear remained in his heart.

Under the triple blow of the Anti-aircraft Machine Gun, the Tianluo System, and the individual anti-aircraft rocket, their proud "Sabre" fighters were as fragile as paper.

"This is not an ordinary weapon! This is not technology that should exist in this era!" he screamed hysterically over the radio, "How could they have this kind of thing?!"

On the ground, Li Yunlong watched the results in the sky with satisfaction:

"Will done! Let these sons of bitches taste what it's like to be shot down!" He turned to the Communication Soldier,

"All fire points take note, continue to pursue those trying to escape! Don't let a single one get away!"

The individual rocket operators' confidence grew greatly; the performance of the "Flying Dragon-1" far exceeded expectations.

Among those young soldiers, many were operating this weapon in actual combat for the first time, but after simple training, they could easily shoot down the world's most advanced fighters; this sense of achievement was beyond words.

"Aim at that one fleeing toward the southwest!" a Group Leader commanded, "Locked... fire!"

Another rocket soared into the sky, chasing yet another F-86 attempting to escape.

Morrison desperately pushed the throttle, pushing the Engine power to the limit: "It's catching up! It's catching up! How can this damn thing turn so sharply?!"

He looked in despair at the rocket getting closer and closer in his rearview mirror, knowing he had no way to escape.

At the final moment, he attempted to eject, but it was too late.

The shockwave of the explosion tore the entire fuselage apart, and he, along with the fighter, turned into a fireball.

Wilson saw his comrades around him falling one after another and felt an unprecedented sense of despair.

He recklessly pushed his fighter to the limit, flying frantically along the bottom of the valley, hoping the terrain would provide him with some cover.

"Ten left... no, eight... six..." he muttered to himself, counting the remaining comrades.

The formation had completely collapsed; everyone was fighting for their own survival, and no one was considering the mission or tactics anymore.

Under the pincer attack of the Tianluo System and the individual rockets, these once-arrogant "Sabre" pilots were now left with nothing but fear.

They had never imagined they would suffer such a crushing defeat at the hands of the Long Country army, nor did they expect these so-called "backward troops" to possess such advanced weapons.

"Base! We need support! Deploy all combat-ready aircraft! We are surrounded!" Wilson screamed, but the only response on the radio was intermittent static.

His fighter had already been hit, with a bowl-sized hole in the right wing, but miraculously, it could still fly.

He had to escape this hellish valley; he had to report what he had seen and heard to the command headquarters.

Another "Flying Dragon-1" rocket flew toward him, and Wilson almost instinctively pulled his fighter into an extreme dive, flying right against the cliff wall.

The rocket followed closely, but at the last moment, it struck a protruding rock and exploded behind him.

The blast wave from the explosion pushed the F-86 forward with a violent surge, nearly causing Wilson to lose control.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" he cursed loudly, gripping the control stick tightly with both hands to forcibly steady the shaking fighter jet.

Just then, he saw the valley ahead widen, and a plain appeared in his field of vision.

This was a chance to escape!

……

Everyone, please click to urge for more updates; this is really important to me. Thank you, masters, your urging for updates is the motivation for my writing.