Colonia Storm Tour

Eileen continued to question him.

"Ah? Our magicians? Those unstable experimental magicians who have been magically modified are no match for Hereford's Eagle and Akula. All our magicians in the Anari Islands have already perished."

Colonel Arnason reported this sad fact.

"…………"

Ellen remained silent, staring sharply at Colonel Anasen before her, seemingly contemplating how to tear him apart alive.

"Minister Messer?"

Colonel Arnason, forcing himself to speak, called out.

"Leave the Anali Islands as soon as possible by submarine with the valuable research data and experimental subjects. We still have other ways to deal with the airships in Ratatosk."

Eileen ended the communication with the Anali Institute with that one sentence and then contacted the USS Lincoln Carrier Strike Group.

"Vice Admiral Forrestal, are you ready?"

Now that the Anali Islands' fixed air defense facilities are destroyed, the only option left is to rely on the nearest carrier battle group to strike the air warships.

"All ready, our lads are all on the attack route."

Vice Admiral Forrestal readily replied.

Meanwhile, 500 nautical miles from the Anali Islands, the USS Lincoln Carrier Strike Group was sailing in a standard anti-air and anti-submarine formation, with all four attack squadrons of the group deployed.

Three dozen Super Hornets and twelve F-35Cs from four fighter-attack squadrons formed a serpentine formation to attack the Fraxinus and Ulmus, which were sailing toward the Anali Islands in the distance—the serpentine formation is suitable for large-scale attacks.

These subsonic second-class fighters, with their terrible supersonic performance, suddenly changed their snail-paced habits from the Plastic Bug and the Fat Electric and smoothly flew out to a cruising speed of Mach 1.8.

The reason why the second-class navy's fighter jets can still reach a cruising speed of Mach 1.8 when fully loaded with combat gear is mainly due to the arbitrary field created by Topondesky. With the convenience of controlling gravity and reducing flight drag caused by aerodynamic shape in the arbitrary field, these plastic bugs and fat electric jets can feel that they are now fifth-generation fighter jets.

Both the Plastic Bug and the F-31 sacrificed supersonic speeds to enhance their takeoff and landing performance on aircraft carriers. As a result, the maximum speeds of these two fighters are Mach 1.8 and Mach 1.4, respectively. Compared to the Plastic Bug, which had already met its design specifications, the F-31's design specifications had a maximum speed of Mach 1.6. In other words, the F-31 could not even reach the maximum speed specified in its design specifications.

"Orca-one, I feel like I'm piloting a Raptor right now. This speed is so exhilarating. I never expected that hanging on to a weird-looking robot and a magician would have this effect."

Orca-two remarked that he was currently driving an F35C whose supersonic performance was even worse than that of a plastic bug.

"If the display device technology can be applied to our fighter jets, we can easily take on the Black Hawk of the Foehn Windrunner even if we are flying the Super Hornet or Lightning II."

Orca-one was confident that having regained their speed and maneuverability advantage, they would be able to easily deal with the Condor and Wing Loong attack aircraft.

The Free Zone not only helps their aircraft increase speed, but also allows them to utilize the zero-gravity advantage to achieve unconventional maneuvers to evade attacks or to gain a suitable attack angle.

"But all of this is on the premise that those insect-like robots are still on our backs. To be honest, it looks really strange, Orca-one."

Orca-three felt that having Bondsky perched on the fighter jet gave him an unpleasant, parasitic feeling.

Bondsky's insectoid design is not appealing. Compared to these high-achieving individuals who have been exposed to cool robots in Hollywood blockbusters or games, Bondsky looks utterly pathetic.

"Orca-three, what you said makes a lot of sense. It is indeed unsightly to have an insect-shaped robot lying on a fighter jet. Perhaps integrating it into the fighter jet or hanging it under the fuselage would be a good option."

Orca-two thinks Orca-three makes a lot of sense.

"Could it be dropped as a bomb if necessary, Orca-one?"

Orca-four joked.

“Orca-four, Colonel Pierce won’t just put you in solitary confinement if you do this. The DEM’s technical director will find a way to kill you for daring to abandon important equipment.”

Orca-five finished speaking and then laughed.

Just as the Orca crew members were still fooling around, orders from the aircraft carrier behind them immediately made them serious.

Orca Fighter Squadron immediately shook its wings and broke away from the main formation. In its assigned mission, Orca Fighter Squadron was responsible for drawing potential enemy anti-aircraft fire, while the other three fighter squadrons were responsible for attacking the *Fraxinus*.

By this time, the battle in the Anali Islands had come to a complete end, and the last Avalon missile battery had been destroyed.

"This is Artemisia. Avalon Missile Group 03 has been eliminated. There are no longer any defensive facilities in the Anali Islands that can threaten the two air warships."

Lin Haiyuan, using Artemisia's body, reported.

"Well done, magician girls, thank you for your hard work. Now I will pass on this good news to the Ratatosk side."

When Alice was about to have Odin connect to the communication on Ulmus, the communication from Ulmus was faster than hers.

"Lady Alice, Lord Lin Haiyuan, something terrible has happened! Our shipborne radar has detected a large group of aircraft approaching from the 6 o'clock position of the warship. It has now been confirmed that they are US Navy Super Hornet and Lightning IIC fighters!"

Woodman frowned and warned.

"Aha?"

Alice was stunned when she heard Woodman's words; the appearance of the US Navy fighter jets was truly unexpected.

At this moment, the nanobot Lin Haiyuan also made a move, putting his hands together in the posture of Commander Ikari and looking at Woodman in the holographic projection.

"Mr. Woodman, you don't look like you're joking. But it's just a U.S. Navy fighter jet. What reason do you have to think something is seriously wrong?"

"Please take a good look at this, gentlemen. We've found something quite common on those fighter jets."

Woodman gestured with his eyes to one of the crew members as he spoke.

"Yes! The image captured by the shipborne radar is being zoomed in!"

After the crew responded, the image of Woodman in the holographic projection was shrunk by half, and the new image occupied half of the original space.

Perhaps due to the distance, the image resolution was not high, but Lin Haiyuan and Alice could still see the fully loaded Super Bumblebee and Fat Electric with a mutant on its back and a magician hanging on its belly... Rather than a mutant, it was actually the DEM automaton Bondsky, whom they had met many times before.

"DEM's idea is quite unique. They actually had the Magician and Bondsky hanging on the fighter jets as accessories. What are they thinking? Are they going all in? Does DEM think Bondsky can't keep up with the speed of the formation and have Bondsky and the Magician lying on the fighter jets while flying?"

Alice stared in astonishment at the image of the DEM magician, who was being carried on the belly of the plane like a bombshell, and Bondsky, who was acting as a subordinate aircraft.

"The idea of ​​using fighter jets as high-speed transport aircraft to carry magicians and Bondsky is not wrong. Allowing all three combat units to enter the battlefield at the same time will confuse the enemy. However, this is not very meaningful for warships protected by the Free Domain and magicians, as their weapons have insufficient output power."

Lin Haiyuan couldn't tell that these DEM magicians or Bondskis had the ability of Lei Hao's Shattering Star Revolver to destroy an airship in a few moves.

"Ulmus is fine, but unfortunately Fraxinus is the problem. Her manifestation device has not been fully repaired, and she cannot control the random field to convert it into a defensive impact attribute. She can only maintain flight, which means that US Navy fighters, together with the magicians and Bondsky, have a high chance of shooting down Fraxinus by attacking the core of the warship."

Woodman shook his head and said, "Without the protection of a random domain, a warship can be easily overwhelmed."

Both Ulmus and Fraxinus share an awkward problem: they rely on the magicians they carry to deal with numerous small targets. This problem was not solved until Fraxinus EX, which introduced the magic cannon "Bultgen" and the "Bombardment Five Star" missile to deal with small clusters of targets.

"Alright, how many more minutes until you've fixed the display device for Fraxinus?"

Lin Haiyuan asked—now, through Artemisia's eyes, she could see "Ulmus" accompanying "Fraxinus" as they slowly entered the Anali Islands.

"According to the technical staff report on Fraxinus, it will take another 5 minutes to repair. Our magicians are unable to participate in the battle and are insufficient in number. We need the support of the magicians from the Fraxinus."

Woodman requested more magicians to support the defense of their airships.

"Alright, the girls from the Valkyrie Battalion will help you protect the airship that has suffered a major malfunction."

Lin Haiyuan switched communication channels and called Youhua Zhizi's side: "Girls of the Valkyrie Battalion, the battle is not over yet. Now you have a new combat mission: escort the Ratatosk's 'Fraxinus' airship until they have completed their repairs."

"Understanding x17".

Magicians such as Artemisia, Gardenia, and Charlotte all turned and flew towards the two aerial behemoths, Fraxinus and Ulmus, which were already clearly visible in the distance.

Lin Haiyuan opened the button on the holographic projection and looked at Elliott Baldwin Woodman: "Mr. Woodman, I need a reason why the magicians of Ratatosk cannot be mobilized?"

"There's no reason why our magician girls are toiling away while the magicians of Ratatosk just sit back and watch our girls fight to the death."

Alice also found it strange.

"This is a last resort, Your Excellencies. The major malfunction of the Fraxinus's display device means that we need magicians to take turns using the headset transmitter to stabilize the entire warship. Right now, those girls are all exhausted and lying in the medical room, completely unable to go to the battlefield to fight the enemy."

With a helpless expression, Woodman explained to the two troublesome individuals why he was acting like a bystander in a high-risk situation.

"It seems that the malfunction in your Fraxinus is quite fatal, to the point that magicians have to take turns using those manually operated head-mounted transmitters to keep the warship running. We are aware of the situation."

Lin Haiyuan didn't waste any words but focused on watching the holographic projection displaying the battlefield situation in front of him.

"Thank you both for your understanding."

Woodman sighed and temporarily ended the communication.

"Walker AI, prepare 48 Burst Bees to entertain those American planes. Alice, you will command these Burst Bees to attack those US Navy fighters, and recall the Quetzalcoatl to the hangar of the Colonia flank air base."

After speaking, Lin Haiyuan, the nanobot, fell silent.

"Yes, Master."

Walker.com's AI immediately began processing the relevant commands.

"Perfectly OK, leave it to me, Odin, prepare for hyperspace teleportation."

Alice clapped her hands, waiting for the Bursting Bees to appear on the battlefield.

"Yes, Master."

Odin also began receiving data transmitted from WalkerNet's AI, preparing for a time-space teleportation and taking over control of Burst Bee.

Meanwhile, Lin Haiyuan, who was using Artemisia's body, was also engaged in battle with the incoming enemy aircraft.

Thank you so much to readers like "Master", "Pepsi", and "Black Moon Wings" for your generous donations! Therefore, I've decided to update twice a day for the next three days as a token of my gratitude. My salute to you all, my dear readers! Thank you for your support!

Chapter Thirty-Four: Bottleneck (VII)

"I never imagined that one day I would be dealing with fighter jets, magicians, and Bondskis all at the same time." Youhua Zhizi said, looking at the Bondskis clinging to the fighter jets, while constantly maneuvering to dodge the barrage of beams and cannon fire.

"It seems that DEM is determined to stop the Fraxinus, and has even managed to do things like putting Bondsky in the fighter jet to improve its maneuverability."

Using Artemisia's body, Lin Haiyuan swung his gun, creating a whirlwind that scattered all the DEM magicians' micro-missiles.

"These fighter jets are protected and aided by Bondsky's arbitrary domain, and they are as cunning as snakes. Our neutron rifles are unable to concentrate firepower to destroy those fighter jets."

Charlotte's neutron rifle's hyperspace beam was not very effective against random fields to begin with, and in addition, these iron birds that relied on wind tunnels and had random field bonuses were not slow and had strangely strong maneuverability.

Ulmus, currently the flagship of Ratatoskr, is safe and sound thanks to the all-around freedom of its domain. However, Fraxinus, whose display device is undergoing emergency repairs due to a major malfunction, is in a worse situation.

The plastic bugs and fat electric balls were like flies swarming around a dessert, as the pilot shouted "Fox-three" and fired AIM-120D missiles at the warship.

These air-to-air missiles, with only 22 kg high-explosive armor-piercing warheads, are lethal enough to modern fighter jets, but they are just a tickle to heavily armored warships.

A dozen missiles struck the blade-shaped wing, leaving only unsightly black spots on the purple-white painted blade-shaped wing.

"Calling Lazer, calling Lazer, this is Orca-one. That airship is much more robust than we imagined. It really does have the armor of those retired battleships. Our air-to-air missiles are just tickling this behemoth."

Orca-one reported to the Lazer AWACS aircraft behind it.

"Lazer received, Orca Squadron, BlackDeath Squadron, now you cover Kudlevel and Pill Squadrons as they drop their bombs."

The liaison officer on the early warning aircraft gave instructions for the next steps.

Anticipating that the air battleship's sturdiness was comparable to that of a decommissioned battleship, they decided to use bombs and modern anti-ship missiles to shoot it down, just as they had done in the past.