Sky-cracking Rider
Chapter 967 - 967: Section 956 - Appropriate Tactics

The rank of the "Rank Battle" only counts when the top hundred appear; those beyond the hundred have no chance to participate, all are losers. Even elite combat pilots from Sovereignty get no special treatment; elimination means elimination, there's no excuse if one is less skilled.

If the first round of the "Rank Battle" is about participation with everyone having fun, then the second round is the real deal; basically, amateur contestants who haven't touched a control stick are halted at the first round.

After the end of the second round, the participants were down to 444 people, cutting in half again, finally pairing up for this round.

The first day of the "Rank Battle" finally came to an end. Most of those eliminated were amateur contestants and non-combat pilots. Besides, some elite pilots participating in the secret interception mission also left.

All had to fight once, which made the second round's spectacular battles far surpass the first.

The grand air force base party still brims with excitement, even hosting a barbecue dinner, but all pilots are excluded.

After all, the dietary management standards in aerospace are on par with supermodels.

Those who can eat and drink freely, indulging without restraint, are definitely not pilots who even have to write thousands of words of inspection for smoking, where's the courage to indulge one's appetite?

Just as Chen Fei was about to grab several skewers of greasy pita-like roast meat, he was dragged away by local military brothers and sisters. He successfully advanced to the third round of the simulation battle tomorrow, not losing face for The First Sovereign.

"Roast meat, roast meat! I see lamb kidneys! Kidneys, my kidneys!"

Chen Fei, carried away with people supporting him left and right, watch the barbecue stall get further away. The unscrupulous roast man proudly showed off a skewer of roasted kidneys to him; vodka poured on the meat skewers flared sky-high; the aroma spread like biochemical weapons everywhere—an absolute poison!

Damn, a skewer with six big kidneys, all meat ahhhhh!

The elite pilot of The First Sovereign advised earnestly, "Your kidneys are still on you; pilots cannot eat randomly!"

Due to strict dietary management, every pilot is well-built, handsome, and beautiful, with a clear aura; though not with eight-pack abs, they at least have defined lines, making the aerospace circle generally high in attractiveness.

Chen Fei protested, "I'm now a Captain, I want to eat roast meat!"

The two who caught him were Sky Knights, Ability Users; Chen Xiao'er couldn't move when held.

Now as a Captain, there's no need to squeeze into the small cockpit, body management be damned; even with just one pack, it wouldn't affect at all.

"Captain? No can do even as Captain; you've revealed your cards today, others are figuring you out. Long nights add dreams, and they'll sooner or later find tactical counters, so hurry to devise several counter-measures. Otherwise, failing tomorrow's third round is highly probable."

"Don't be silly, missing one meal won't kill you, hurry to catch up on study! You don't want to lose to that Mylan, right? Never underestimate the Sky Knights, Sky Knights can take on combat spaceships alone."

The First Sovereign pilots holding Chen Fei didn't intend to let him go, advising earnestly.

Of course, only verbally, better not resort to punches to enforce reasoning, military and civilian become one.

Making it to the third round was hard enough; stopping there is surely not ideal!

Despite Chen Fei's previous performance already holding up to his commoner identity, the combat pilots of The First Sovereign desire more.

The battle on the second day of the "Rank Battle" won't have amateurs sent to die. All participants are tough opponents, ramping up the simulation's intensity and igniting even friction among combatants.

Chen Fei exposed his combat spaceship on the first day of the "Rank Battle"; combat pilots from other Sovereignties are no fools—they will expend great effort to devise tactics against spaceships, so having a wise calculation without foresight; the advantage of information disparity is gone.

To sophisticated Sky Knights, the same moves lose effectiveness on the second attempt, possibly backfiring.

So what the combat pilots of The First Sovereign can think of, pilots from other sovereignties can certainly also ponder.

The lesson happens in Chen Fei's Cooperative Ship, that place is his domain; no fear of the American Federation sneaking any underhanded moves, eavesdrop, monitor, whatever—they totally would, vulgarity is the communication pass for the vulgar, each Sovereignty resorts to any means without exceptions.

"Put other pilots aside, solely focus on Sky Knights, including our own folks after all; your opponents are everyone; you must treat everyone equally..."

Four hours Later!

"...the usual tactics and aerial combat techniques of the Sky Knights are finished; now it's counter-plan, mainly trap-focused..."

Two hours Later!

"Discussing on paper is not enough; can you come up with two flight simulators? Psi Skill should be able to do it right! Start with two rounds for warm-up! Let you taste real Sky Knights' prowess!"

Two hours Later!

"Stop here for now; three hours till dawn, hurry and sleep!"

...

"Boarding number 748 'Rookie', Aircraft 02, combat boarding number 017 'Swift Eagle', Aircraft 55; please board."

"Boarding number 619..."

...

On the second day of the "Ranking Battle," the third round boarding information appeared on the big screen.

444 participants will compete in the third round to determine the 222 who will move closer to the top 100 ranking.

Adam: Entering the simulated battlefield!

Adam: Enemy target detected, direction 090, distance 65 kilometers, altitude 8000 meters, speed 1.7 Mach, four mid-range Element Annihilation Bombs arriving in 13 seconds.

Identified as a Crystal Jet; the opponent "Swift Eagle" is undoubtedly a Sky Knight.

"Railgun battery shoots to intercept, lock onto the enemy target, 12 long-range missiles, fire all at once!"

The battle commenced immediately upon entering the battlefield.

The pace of engagement was very quick; even a half-beat slow reaction might lead to immediate elimination.

Even Chen Fei's cooperative ship couldn't withstand a direct hit from the Element Annihilation Bombs; the opponent knew the strengths and weaknesses of a combat spaceship very well, so they started with the Element Annihilation Bombs.

If the Element Annihilation Bombs get close to the inescapable zone, the airship, which is less agile than a light combat aircraft, is bound to be doomed.

The densely fired solid-core bullets formed a neat formation, rushing towards the rapidly approaching missiles like a wall, followed by a second barrage, a third barrage, a fourth, a fifth...

The simulated battlefield also adhered to real physical rules, with dense atmosphere limiting the effective range and initial speed of railgun weapons, necessitating lower initial speeds for range assurance.

Blue light flashed continuously, and the railgun battery finally intercepted the Element Annihilation Bombs, with clusters of Power of Annihilation erupting around the airship, the closest blue light being less than 20 kilometers from the ship's hull.

12 long-range missiles divided into multiple directions, poised to encircle the just-attacking Crystal Jet.

"Particle Beam Cannon ready, four quick shots, 3, 2, 1, fire!"

Chen Fei prepared to repeat his old trick.

Yet, in the next second, the Crystal Jet about 120 kilometers from the cooperative ship made an unexpected horizontal move two kilometers away, causing the four blue-white beams to miss their target.

As expected, as the First Sovereign Sky Knights taught him last night, the same trick doesn't work on skilled Sky Knights.

Predicted attack evasion is almost a standard ability for Sky Knights.

"Laser cannon releasing guidance beam, lock onto enemy aircraft, airship full speed ahead, flight path is a 180-kilometer radius arc, speed cap 3.1 Mach."

Chen Fei immediately shifted tactics; trying to match the maneuverability of the Crystal Jet with a combat spaceship was tantamount to using one's weaknesses against another's strengths, essentially giving away the advantage.

A fully activated Crystal Jet can breach the airship's defenses, so the cooperative ship, even with protective barriers and Magic Shield, mustn't underestimate the opponent.

Several conspicuous, slender beams shot out from the cooperative ship, pointing towards the now variably flying enemy Crystal Jet, with the guidance beam having no lethality but enhancing visual capture and guidance.

If the Crystal Jet reacted sluggishly, the guidance beam would instantly power up to become a lethal beam, potentially causing enough damage to make a difference in a high-level bout despite not downing the opponent directly.

Adam: This ship's flight altitude 11000 meters, speed 0.9 Mach!

The cooperative ship's speed was increasing rapidly, seemingly aiming to disengage from the Crystal Jet; the greater the distance, the better the advantage for the airship.

In beyond visual range combat, the airship could more easily gain the upper hand.

The simulated sky echoed with deafening roars, as the cooperative ship's supersonic speed triggered sounds akin to meteor descent, leaving a trail of light and white smoke.

The Crystal Jet, held firmly by 12 missiles, maneuvered evasively in a dazzling display while pursuing Chen Fei's cooperative ship, not falling too far behind.

The 180-kilometer radius arc flight path itself was a tactical move, not for evasion, but to lure the enemy, a trap strategy designed by the First Sovereign Sky Knights for Chen Fei the previous night.

The opponent Sky Knight "Swift Eagle" Ramus Doran had no choice but to take the bait.

12 missiles nearly accounted for all the firepower output of a light combat aircraft, but not the entire arsenal of the combat spaceship; he knew well that Chen Fei's cooperative ship could launch more missiles.

"'Adam', 48 missiles, fire!"

Chen Fei was well aware of the respective strengths of the combat spaceship and the Crystal Jet.

In terms of maneuverability, the Crystal Jet undoubtedly won.

However, in firepower output and endurance, the combat spaceship held an absolute advantage.

No matter the opponent, playing to one's strengths and avoiding weaknesses was the first principle.

The trap strategy was not only to widen the distance but also to create opportunities for the first batch of 12 missiles and suppress the maneuverability advantage of the Crystal Jet.

Missiles trailed white smoke as they roared out from the cooperative ship's flanks, leaving trails in the sky like a raging river, heading towards the Crystal Jet striving to catch up.