Sky-cracking Rider

"Chirp!"

The crisp chirping pierced through the cockpit canopy.

A little bird, sprinkling light as it went, flung itself onto the canopy of the F-22 "Raptor" fighter jet, startling Chen Fei into a cold sweat; he had thought he was about to collide with the tiny creature.

It had indeed advanced in rank, now boasting the "skin" of a Third Rank!

Even if his flying skills were good, handling a beast weighing more than twenty tons as if it were weightless was impossible. Whether it was the "Raptor" hitting Xiao Jiu or Xiao Jiu hitting the "Raptor," none of the possible bird or aircraft strikes were outcomes he wished to see.

Xiao Jiu, who had successfully advanced to the Third Rank Human Order, stood steadily on the canopy, completely unfazed by the swift airflow. Instead, it curiously inspected Chen Fei inside and even mischievously pecked at the transparent barrier with its sharp beak, seemingly perplexed by the clear obstacle.

The fact that this little mischief-maker could catch up to a jet speeding close to nine hundred kilometers per hour was astonishing, and its ability to disregard the strong airflow was unexpected, yet still made sense.

Even without being magical beasts, Earth's fastest flying birds, the peregrine falcons, could easily withstand 25G overloads. During high-speed dives, even turboprop aircraft can't keep up, let alone a Third Rank magical beast.

Although classified as magical beasts, most Pure Light Sparrows typically had average bloodline talents and couldn't cast spells, no different from common wild birds. Only a few exceptionally gifted Pure Light Sparrows, with a special affinity for the Light Element, mastered the "Light Healing Technique," and that was the limit of their capabilities.

Occasionally, one or two exceptionally fortunate Pure Light Sparrows, through various chances, would luck into advancing to the Second Rank Human Order. Even so, they would only be able to cast a spell once or twice more and might have the opportunity to learn Second Rank light-based spells.

However, Second Rank Pure Light Sparrows were still, fundamentally, Pure Light Sparrows, not much different from their kin.

But upon reaching the Third Rank Human Order, whether Pure Light Sparrows or other magical beasts, they gradually awakened their bloodline potentials and had a certain chance of condensing a magical beast crystal core within their bodies while experiencing minor physical changes.

For instance, the crown feather newly-emerged atop Xiao Jiu's head marked a clear distinction from other Pure Light Sparrows.

Chen Fei took off his oxygen mask, looked up at the insistent creature who seemed poised to burrow in, waved his hand, and pointed off into the distance, shouting, "Xiao Jiu, fly away a bit, I'm busy with something!"

No idea if it can hear me... definitely can't.

Expecting a Pure Light Sparrow to learn to read lips is really asking too much of my Jiu!

The little bird kept pecking at the cockpit canopy, tap tap tap...

"What's that?"

The T-7C "Red Hawk" advanced trainer aircraft slowly drew closer, keeping pace with the F-22 "Raptor" jet, as Instructor Ramaya worried that the small thing flying in from afar was another mutant.

"It's nothing, just my pet bird, a Pure Light Sparrow!"

While speaking, Chen Fei attempted to gently maneuver the aircraft, hoping to shake off Xiao Jiu without harming it.

After all, it's never good for birds to be too close to an aircraft.

The movements of the F-22 "Raptor" grew more and more significant.

However... the little fellow remained as immovable as Taishan, completely unaffected and hopping about on the canopy as if on flat ground. From the gaps in its black feathers, golden light spots occasionally flashed, briefly brightening before slowly dissipating with the wind.

Perhaps not even other Third Rank magical beasts could do this so nonchalantly?

Is this really a Pure Light Sparrow?

Instructor Ramaya swallowed nervously, feeling the need to re-evaluate her understanding of Pure Light Sparrows as a type of magical beast.

"Instructor, let's continue!"

After several attempts at maneuvers, Chen Fei realized he couldn't shake off the little fellow and resignedly gave up.

Before reinforcements arrived, they could attack one more time, gambling on whether they could seriously wound the super-sized Qian Chuanzi.

With only seven laser beam attacks left, Chen Fei wasn't hoping for a fatal hit anymore; causing as much damage as possible became his primary tactical goal.

Once The Federation Air Force's "Leo Star" squadron and two Sky Knights arrived, their chances of keeping hold of the mutant would be greater.

The main reason Chen Fei was exerting himself so much was his fear of the super-sized Qian Chuanzi's ability to move states in an instant—damn, it was unpredictable!

This time was a stroke of luck, with the F-22 "Raptor" jet nearby, able to take off and retaliate immediately.

But what about next time?

If it suddenly appeared before his eyes and even with the Dog System's death mission alert—perhaps with a three to five-minute early warning—it would probably still be too late to flee, right?

Taking this chance to completely eliminate the lurking threat...

Only then could Chen Fei truly relax and sleep peacefully.

"Onward! I'll cover you!"

Instructor Ramaya, with very little ammunition left, could only try her best to divert the big beast's attention, creating the best opportunity for Chen Fei to strike.

The advanced trainer aircraft circled the mutant, alternately soaring high and swooping low, feigning attacking gestures now and then before swiftly ascending again.

The Federation Air Force's ace pilot executed the feigned movements authentically, almost indistinguishable from the real thing, provoking the super-sized Qian Chuanzi on the ground into clawing and roaring nonstop, as if it desperately wished it could grow wings and fly.

But given its size, flying was likely not an easy feat!

"Locked on!"

Chen Fei's helmet-mounted sight combined with the cockpit HUD locked onto the giant creature on the ground.

A pale green laser beam shot out, instantly piercing through one of the beast's segmented legs and striking another, causing a flash of fire and a plume of black smoke before ultimately, it failed to pierce through again.

"Chirp?"

The Pure Light Sparrow, considering the cockpit canopy its own turf, looked to the left side of the aircraft in bewilderment.

The energy beam of incredibly high density came abruptly, almost in a flash.

As a Light-element Magical Beast, it instantly perceived the unusual beam of light.

It jumped out of the cockpit canopy, bouncing toward the source of the laser emission, seemingly curious about the origin of the beam.

Chen Fei noticed the Little Bird had disappeared from above his head and immediately began looking around, quickly locating the little creature.

It was already not far from the laser's position.

"Oh no!"

The Little Bird was causing too much trouble!

And it didn't listen.

If they were on the ground outside of the aircraft cockpit, Chen Fei would definitely rub the Little Bird as his younger sister used to do, turning it 720 degrees to the left, 720 degrees to the right, and finally rolling it into a Little Sphere.

While the overly curious Little Bird had not yet blocked the laser emission port, Chen Fei immediately decided to fire off all the remaining laser energy.

The "Raptor's" nose dipped, rapidly descending to an altitude of about 50 meters, and the cockpit's altitude warning blared loudly.

Inside the cockpit, Chen Fei calmly aimed at the Super-sized Qian Chuanzi that Instructor Ramaya had provoked into a true fury.

A continuous laser beam was emitted.

The duration of the high-energy laser illumination could be 0.1 seconds each time or combined and extended to 0.6 seconds, merely a blink of an eye either way.

The pale green beam caught the Little Bird's eye, immediately sparking with an unusual radiance.

"Chirp???"

A faint light gathered at the tip of the delicate beak, flickering on and off.

This time, the Super-sized Qian Chuanzi was not just truly enraged, but practically exploding with fury, its aviation kerosene not yet dry, nearly igniting into a giant torch anew.

Instructor Ramaya, who adhered strictly to hit-and-run tactics without lingering in battle, was left dumbstruck, unable to understand why Chen Fei had suddenly become so fierce.

Taking a risk with a low-altitude tactical strike to ensure accuracy.

He quickly warned, "Keep your distance, and watch out for that barrier!"

Ramaya didn't want Chen Fei's F-22 "Raptor" to smash into the invisible barrier just like the bullets and missiles, shattering to pieces upon impact.

The laser beam could pass through the barrier without obstruction, but solid objects would still be violently shattered.

The 0.6 seconds of irradiation was far too short, failing to maintain a lock on the same location on the Mutant's body.

"We're out of energy!"

Chen Fei had no choice but to regretfully manipulate the joystick, with the "Raptor" making a wide turn, preparing to pull up and climb.

At that moment, the Mutant that was ablaze with fire, like a maddened Super-sized Qian Chuanzi, charged forward and violently collapsed the airport's canteen, crudely trying to grab at the F-22 "Raptor" jet fighter's tail.

The distance between the two swiftly closed to just over three hundred meters, and with the speed of the Mutant's all-out sprint, they were almost within reach—even the invisible barrier was nearly breached.

"Chirp!"

Without warning, a bright beam of light shot out from between the two tail fins above the left air intake of the F-22 "Raptor" jet fighter, directly hitting the head of the Super-sized Mutant, causing an instant bright spot that was blinding, and smoke billowed in response.

"WTF?"

Instructor Ramaya, ready to remind Chen Fei, caught the action.

What was this unexpected maneuver?

The F-22 was surprisingly modified to also have rearward shooting capability.

"It wasn't me, it was Xiao Jiu!"

Chen Fei realized immediately.

The Little Bird seemed to have acquired yet another incredible skill.

The unprepared Mutant couldn't continue its pursuit and instead began rolling on the ground.

The beam wasn't a true laser, but it was still shockingly bright and contained Light Elemental Energy.

"I am Major Reed Sanchez, squadron leader of the 'Leo Star' squadron, call sign 'Lion's Mane'. What just happened here? Has a Sky Knight arrived first?"

A voice suddenly entered the communication channel.

Xiao Jiu's beam, under the shroud of night, visible from 20 miles away, stood out like Lightning.

"The 'Starbreaker' and the 'Viking' have arrived; we see you."

Two Crystal Jets, not previously tracked by the myriad fighter radars, sent communication.

When it rains, it pours; within moments, reinforcements arrived all at once.

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