Volume 2 chapter 5

The Demon Realm covered an area of roughly 2.5 million square kilometers, shaped like a rough oval.

To the East lay the central peaks of the Dragonspine Mountains, a region with an average altitude of over 6,000 meters.

To the South was a series of lower mountain ranges, averaging just under 5,000 meters.

To the West lay the boundless Storm Sea. Perennial gales and massive waves had eroded the coastline into sheer, jagged cliffs, leaving no usable harbors.

Only in the Southwest were there gaps—a few lower ranges around 2,000 meters high, bordering the territory of the Dwarves.

Historically, the demons had never considered the Dwarves a threat. Thus, their defenses were concentrated almost entirely on the East and South.

Along the northern slopes of the Dragonspine Mountains, the demons had constructed three great fortresses: Talisk in the South, Abbys in the Southeast, and Laptara in the East.

Laptara Air Defense Zone.

Fox, a Second-Rank Winged Demon, piloted his fighter plane at an altitude of 7,000 meters. Cruising at 500 kilometers per hour, he led his wingman on a routine patrol.

Suddenly, he spotted a cluster of black dots beneath the cloud layer to his lower left.

"Contact! Altitude roughly 3,000 meters, ten o'clock low!" he radioed his wingman.

"What is it?"

"What else could it be? Eight to one it's the enemy! Follow me down!"

Fox pushed the stick forward, diving through the clouds.

Closing to within 2,000 meters, Fox finally identified the targets.

It was a mixed flight: Morris Griffon Knights and Balan Wyvern Knights.

Every Empire maintained an Aerial Knight Order. Morris rode Griffons; Balan rode Wyverns; Thebes and the Elves rode Giant Eagles.

Before Fox was a squad of Griffons and a squad of Wyverns.

"Sector One reporting. Visual on two squads of Aerial Knights! Altitude 3,000, speed approx 400 kph, bearing Laptara Fortress!" Fox reported to Command.

"Copy that. Engage at will!"

"Roger!"

"Captain! They spotted us!" his wingman shouted.

Fox looked. Indeed, the knights had angled their mounts upward, climbing to intercept.

"Oh? Then let's give them a taste of the new era!" Fox grinned.

Two squads meant it was highly unlikely they had a High-Rank commander. And he was piloting the Type-1 Fighter. Its airframe was reinforced with magical alloys, and it was armed with four 25mm Autocannons. In terms of firepower, defense, and speed, it was the apex predator of the sky.

Fox signaled his wingman. Together, they entered a steep dive. The speedometer blurred past 750 kph. They closed the two-kilometer gap in the blink of an eye.

Fox watched the knights launch magical projectiles and arrows. He spiraled the plane, barrel-rolling effortlessly around the slow-moving attacks. He lined up his sights on a knight.

Squeezed the trigger.

BRRT-BRRT-BRRT...

Four tongues of fire erupted from the wings. In a split second, the knight and his mount were torn into a spray of blood and feathers.

"Hahahaha!"

Fox laughed maniacally. As he screamed past the formation, he hauled back on the stick, banking hard right to dodge the return fire from the rear, then climbed rapidly.

The knights tried to pursue, urging their beasts upward. But they immediately realized the futility. The distance between them and the iron birds widened with every second.

The Balan Wyvern Knights, more agile than their Griffon counterparts, broke off and entered a defensive spiral. But the clumsier Morris knights were too slow.

Having climbed back to 6,500 meters, Fox pulled a loop-the-loop, inverted, and dove back down on the Morris knights.

"Die! Humans!!"

With the aid of gravity, Fox's speed pushed past 800 kph.

In less than ten seconds, he slashed through the formation like a falcon through pigeons. His cannons roared again, reducing two more knights to falling debris.

Flush with success, Fox prepared for another pass when his radio crackled with a frantic cry.

"Captain! Help me!"

Fox looked back. His wingman was breaking out of a swarm of Wyverns, several spears embedded in his fuselage.

Idiot, Fox cursed. He must have dived straight into the defensive spiral. Fortunately, his engine was intact, allowing him to use raw speed to punch out of the encirclement.

"Damn it! Don't charge blindly! Stick to the tactics Her Majesty taught us!" Fox barked.

"Yes, Sir!"

The delay allowed the surviving human knights to regroup. They formed a defensive circle, spiraling downwards, tails covering heads.

"Alright! Follow my lead. We're going to peel them apart... layer by layer!"

Fox grinned, banked his fighter, and climbed again.

Faced with two unknown weapons possessing unreachable speed, the human commander made the decision to land and force a ground battle.

But this played right into Fox's hands. To land, they had to decelerate.

Although the Griffons and Wyverns had superior turning circles and could cover each other in a dense formation, against 25mm enchanted armor-piercing shells and high-speed boom-and-zoom tactics, their resistance was futile.

Fox and his wingman dove. They opened fire from 500 meters out, shredded the formation, and pulled up immediately, skimming over the knights' heads without ever entering the lethal range of their spears.

This pass killed the commander instantly.

Leaderless and panicked, the remaining knights broke formation and scattered like frightened birds.

That was the end.

"They're scattering! It's hunting time! Break and engage!"

"Copy!"

Fox and his wingman split up. One by one, the knights were run down and slaughtered.

"Headquarters, Sector One intruders neutralized! Requesting return to base!"

"Negative! Proceed immediately to Sector Nine! Large enemy force detected!! Reinforce immediately!!"

The voice on the radio was hoarse, screaming in desperation.

"Yes!" Fox's victory high vanished instantly, replaced by cold dread.

___________________

Sector Nine.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

"HQ! HQ!! Requesting support!"

"I'm hit! Engine failure!!"

"Mayday! Mayday!"

The sky over Sector Nine was choked with knights.

Leading them was an Eighth-Rank Sky Knight. He moved like a streak of silver light, physically catching up to fighters in a full-power dive. With a single strike of his lance, he shattered aircraft into scrap metal.

Behind him were several Seventh-Rank Knights. Though slightly slower than the fighters, their magical attacks were devastating, easily destroying the planes from range. The fighters' 25mm cannons bounced harmlessly off their mana shields.

Further out, swarms of Sixth-Rank Knights on Griffons and Wyverns circled like vultures. They formed a massive net, waiting to pounce on any fighter that was damaged or forced to slow down.

One lead plane managed to break through the encirclement. But instead of fleeing, the pilot pulled up, climbing desperately into the kill zone.

"Headquarters! I see them! The enemy main ground force! They are at Sector Nine—"

A Seventh-Rank Knight caught up to him.

His voice cut off abruptly in the middle of a scream.

The fighter exploded into a shower of debris, scattering like stars across the sky. Amidst the falling wreckage, the radio crackled with the final response from HQ—

"Copy! Disengage immediately! All units, permission to retreat!"