Chapter 429: "Peak Return" Operation_1

The J195 featured a new type of anti-gravity device that was more flexible than previous models, and its weaponry was more powerful.

Although the enemy's spherical combat units were also quite agile, they were not big, and the weapons' power was quite small, especially as their hit rate was very low, which clearly indicated that the intelligent targeting system was not precise enough.

Over seventy J195s wreaked havoc in all directions. Two minutes later, having lost just eight or nine J195s, they had completely eliminated the spherical combat units.

Bertrand's voice came through the communication channel, "If we had known the enemy was this weak, we should have taken the initiative to strike earlier."

However, Cao Yang was not so optimistic. This was the first time both sides had engaged in close quarters, and they did not understand each other's tactics. The spherical combat units just now were very likely an enemy probe.

Taking advantage of the destruction of all the enemy's small combat units, Cao Yang immediately ordered, "Attack the enemy warship! Switch to 'Avenger' ammunition!"

The small-caliber plasma cannon fire had not broken through the enemy's defense layer before, which was why Cao Yang wanted to try "Avenger" ammunition for a physical attack.

While dodging the enemy warship's agile laser weapons, they launched sixteen "Avenger" shells.

Most of the shells were destroyed by the enemy warship's small-caliber weapons mid-flight, but four managed to hit the warship, turning the enemy vessel's hull at those four points into powder, creating four large breaches.

Before the crew could even cheer, the outer hull of the enemy warship fell away, revealing a crystal-like vessel body that resembled quartz.

The "Avenger" shells had not completely penetrated the enemy warship!

Cao Yang, flying swiftly around the enemy warship, shouted, "Switch to antimatter grenades!"

Just as everyone was preparing for a second round of attack, the chief of staff responsible for the lookout suddenly cut into Cao Yang and the others' channel:

"The enemy has sent a large number of small mobile units, please prepare to meet them. In addition, the two warships nearby are moving towards us!"

Cao Yang immediately ordered, "First squad, continue to attack the enemy warship! The rest of you, follow me to meet the enemy!"

All the pilots shouted in unison, "Yes!"

In midair, Cao Yang saw through the telescope on his helmet that the enemy had sent out triangular combat units that were two to three times bigger than the J195s, instead of the original spherical combat units.

Once the fight began, Cao Yang and his companions immediately felt the great combat power of the triangular combat units.

Although their maneuverability was slightly inferior to that of the J195s, their firepower was formidable, with each tip capable of firing plasma cannon shells, resulting in virtually no blind spots for shooting.

Most importantly, there were too many triangular combat units, four to five times the number of J195s, and their numbers were still increasing.

In midair, both sides tumbled and chased each other, locked in an intense battle.

Cao Yang, observing from the highest point, sharply realized that the J195s were about to be surrounded by the enemy and immediately changed tactics, "Disperse and flee! It's time to show off your superb piloting skills!"

In the end, he shouted, "Survive!"

The pilots cried out in unison, "Yes!"

Facing an enemy several times their number, survival was a luxury.

The J195s quickly dispersed, and the enemy immediately pursued in squad formation.

The White Planet had an atmosphere, which was ideally suited to a new feature of the J195s; their lateral casings gradually became streamlined, reducing drag to a certain extent.

Three triangular combat units firmly chased Cao Yang, and no matter how much he accelerated, he could not shake them off.

The J195's top speed was six times the speed of sound, and the triangular combat units' shapes should have resulted in significant drag, but they kept up and fired, which clearly meant that this speed was within their acceptable range!

After a period of chase, Cao Yang, while performing rolling maneuvers to dodge the enemy's fire, rapidly ascended.

Soon Cao Yang reached the outer atmosphere, surrounded by darkness, with the distant stars now visible.

The rapid climb left Cao Yang's mind a blank, and he almost mechanically operated the warplane to swoop back down, tracing a perfect arc in the pitch-black outer atmosphere.

The enemy couldn't keep up with Cao Yang's speed, and by the time they descended, Cao Yang had already circled behind and rushed to their rear.

Cao Yang fired calmly, and the three triangular combat units exploded in succession.

The tactical maneuver was so large that Cao Yang took a few minutes to recover, the swelling in his body subsided slightly, and his heart only then returned to a normal beat rate.

By then Cao Yang was already far from the enemy ship, at least the radar in J195 couldn't see the enemy anymore.

Cao Yang started to return to base cautiously, and on the way, he even rescued Betrand who was being chased all over by triangular combat units.

The two waited on an iceberg for over twenty hours to make sure the enemy didn't have powerful radars hidden in space before they started the final journey back.

When discussing the "Feng Hui" operation plan before, they feared the enemy's main force was hiding in low Earth orbit.

The ten spacecraft tasked with ground search were only meant to flush out the quarry; as soon as any ship left its hide, the enemy's main force in low Earth orbit would start their attack.

In that case, the command ship would definitely be subjected to continuous attacks from low Earth orbit, and there would be no need to carry out the "Feng Hui" operation.

However, it was strange that detectors hadn't found the enemy fleet in space.

Even so, everyone feared that the enemy had powerful radars hidden in space to provide targets for the searching enemy warships.

More than twenty hours had passed, and the enemy hadn't come looking, which meant there were no powerful radars in space either.

When Cao Yang and Betrand returned to the command ship, only two J195s had returned before them.

The two pilots who had returned earlier were sitting in the hangar, staring into space with steaming cups of coffee, clearly they, too, had been through fierce fighting.

Jiang Yu entered the hangar through the side door and nodded at Cao Yang, saying, "Good to have you back, good to have you back."

Each word he spoke was accompanied by a puff of steam.

The "Feng Hui" operation had nearly used up all the reserve energy, and now the life support system on the warship could only maintain the lowest level of operation.

"The enemy didn't even have powerful radars deployed!" Cao Yang reported.

All the J195 pilots who went out on the sortie knew that this attack was a suicide mission, with no chance of survival.

But the enemy's tactics once again shattered Cao Yang's understanding. Were they underestimating us, or did the recent victory make them arrogantly believe that ten warships could truly search an entire planet?

Jiang Yu pondered before saying, "Could it be this: In the previous battles, we had already inflicted huge losses on the enemy?

"Overall, our warships are more advanced than the enemy's. We're only at a disadvantage in close-range weapons power and our maneuverability was poor right after we dropped out of light-speed.

"But our warriors fought desperately, almost to the point of running out of ammunition and food supplies; maybe the enemy's victories were Pyrrhic, and they simply cannot mobilize much force to search now."

Cao Yang nodded, "That's possible."

Jiang Yu and Cao Yang chatted idly, neither of them making any move to leave the hangar.

They waited more than thirty hours, but no other J195s came back. Eventually, the two left the hangar somewhat disheartened.

The "Feng Hui" operation involved sacrificing the J195 pilots to ensure that most of the command ship's equipment remained intact.

The specific step of the operation was to have the command ship use all its energy to maintain the defense field while detonating a small nuclear explosion above the command ship when the enemy warships attacked.

The command ship's "makeup" was not only to visually present a destroyed state but also to segment the warship, making it appear as if it had been blasted to pieces.

Meanwhile, Cao Yang led the J195s to draw the enemy's attention to prevent continuous attacks on the command ship, ultimately achieving the effect of the command ship "playing dead."