CHAPTER 422: CHAPTER 359: SHOWDOWN_2

The airship, carrying Divine Beasts and Gargoyles, had effectively become an aerial mothership.

In terms of aerial combat value, airships were decidedly superior to air fortresses.

However, the air fortress was developed specifically to counter airships. All its performance characteristics were dedicated to this single function.

Specialization is professionalism.

When Air Fortress 001 was 2,000 meters away, it banked, intending to cut across the airship’s flank.

This was already the heart of the aerial battle, with both sides’ air forces clashing in this relatively confined airspace.

Some Divine Beasts attempted to break through the air fortress’s escort screen and attack the large aircraft, which appeared to pose a significant threat to the airship.

Higher in the sky, several more aircraft of similar design circled.

These appeared to be weapons developed by the Eternal Domain specifically to counter airships, based on the Beak Eagle airliner.

Ten Divine Beasts were dispatched to probe the capabilities of this new weapon.

More Divine Beasts, Griffons, and Gargoyles provided cover for this attempted breakthrough.

The fierce battle drew closer to Air Fortress 001. Its four onboard self-defense machine guns unleashed sweeping bursts at the approaching Divine Beasts.

However, the Divine Beasts were highly maneuverable and could also cast beneficial spells to enhance their combat effectiveness.

Bullets struggled to hit the agile Divine Beasts, and the few that found their mark failed to inflict significant damage.

But when the "Fire God" autocannon joined the battle, the aerial combat situation improved considerably.

Its six barrels, driven by an engine, rotated rapidly, ejecting spent shell casings as the small-caliber rounds formed an unbroken whip of fire in the air.

A more stable firing platform and superior sighting equipment, aided by the system’s predictive targeting, allowed the "Fire God" autocannon’s rounds to lock onto the Divine Beasts’ flight paths.

Once struck by this fiery lash, the penetrating and explosive power of the small-caliber shells could halt a Divine Beast in mid-air. Defense magic offered no protection, collapsing in less than a second under such an impact, and the creatures’ bodies were subsequently torn to shreds.

The ferocious firepower and wide firing arc repelled this wave of the Divine Beasts’ assault.

The escort squadron counter-attacked, driving the assailants beyond the range where they could threaten Air Fortress 001.

The engagement erupted and concluded swiftly, with Air Fortress 001 reaching a position 1,200 meters from the airship.

The "Fire God" autocannon, its barrels smoking, had easily emptied a basic load of ammunition. It then retreated along its rail to the rearming station at the aircraft’s tail.

The main cannon then extended its barrel out from the open hatch, sliding along its own rail.

The airship’s massive body, at such a great distance, didn’t appear to be a large target.

Aiming proved somewhat challenging.

However, the crew, fresh from target practice, quickly coordinated to frame the airship within the crosshairs of their sights.

Chui Chui, still acting as captain in the cockpit, personally controlled the aircraft’s attitude, striving to maintain its stability amidst the chaotic aerial battlefield.

The automatic loader rammed a shell into the breech.

The gun commander, enveloped in magical enhancements, practically pressed his entire head into the sighting scope.

He called out adjustments, instructing the gunner to fine-tune the barrel, calculating the lead using the auxiliary targeting system and his own intuition.

"Test shot with an Armor-Piercing Shell! Fire!"

At the gun commander’s order, the gunner immediately pressed the firing button. Simultaneously, the Air Fortress’s frame adjusted its attitude to brace for the recoil.

A thunderous roar erupted within the cabin.

An Armor-Piercing Shell erupted from the muzzle in a blaze of fire, streaking towards the distant target.

Traveling at 1,300 meters per second, the Armor-Piercing Shell flew for one second before striking the moving airship.

Amidst the flash of an explosion, the airship appeared unaffected and continued its advance toward the Eternal Domain’s position. Although hitting the target on the first test shot was encouraging, the shell had failed to penetrate the airflow barrier protecting the airship’s outer hull.

"Switch to discarding sabot Armor-Piercing Shells!" the gun commander yelled to the gunner after assessing the shot. Patching through to the cockpit, he said, "I need to get closer for maximum armor-piercing effect!"

Discarding sabot Armor-Piercing Shells possessed superior penetration capability compared to standard Armor-Piercing Shells. However, their penetration performance decreased significantly over greater distances.

Therefore, the gun commander requested they close the distance to the airship to maximize the effectiveness of the discarding sabot Armor-Piercing Shells.

However, closing the distance meant entering a more perilous aerial combat environment.

With every 100-meter reduction in distance, the danger increased exponentially.

Nevertheless, Air Fortress 001 banked, adjusting its course to close in on the airship, which was now dangerously near to passing over their own lines.

1,200 meters!

1,100 meters!

1,000 meters!

900 meters!

The airship loomed larger and larger in the gun commander’s sight.

When the gun commander judged the distance to be optimal, he again ordered, "Fire!"

Another roar thundered from the cannon.

An armor-piercing discarding sabot round shot from the muzzle at 1,650 meters per second. It shed its sabot mid-flight, and its needle-like penetrator struck the airflow barrier surrounding the airship’s hull.

The design of the armor-piercing discarding sabot round ensured that all its kinetic energy concentrated on a single point upon impact.

The tungsten steel penetrator was incredibly dense and strong. It did not deform upon impact and, stabilized by its high-speed rotation, possessed immense piercing power.

This time, the airflow barrier failed to stop the penetrator. The airship’s hull material beneath it proved even more fragile. The penetrator tore through the interior of the airship, finally striking the airflow barrier on the opposite side.

Unfortunately, the penetrator was a solid slug of tungsten steel, lacking an explosive warhead. Thus, it did not detonate to create a larger tear, merely punching a clean hole through the airship’s hull.

The airship had mechanisms to slow gas loss from such small punctures, so it appeared largely unaffected by this hit as well and continued its relentless advance.

Simultaneously, nearly all of the Wildwind Principality’s aerial forces converged on Air Fortress 001.

Since their construction, the airships of Cloud Tower had never before suffered damage from an external attack.

The small hole Air Fortress 001 had punched in the hull, though minor, proved it possessed the capability to damage an airship.

The Divine Beasts launched a frenzied assault on Air Fortress 001, desperate to destroy this weapon capable of penetrating the airship’s hull.

The Eternal Domain’s aerial units likewise converged, forming a protective screen around Air Fortress 001 so it could continue its attack on the airship.

The narrow airspace became dangerously congested with the aerial forces of both sides, reaching a terrifying density.

Divine Beasts, Gargoyles, Griffons, fighters, Dive Bombers, and Armored Gryphons swarmed into the airspace between the airship and Air Fortress 001.

Mid-air collisions and subsequent crashes soon outnumbered destructions from direct combat.

Wreckage rained down like a morbid deluge.

With its "Fire God" autocannon retracted and its main cannon too cumbersome for close-quarters defense, Air Fortress 001 had to rely on its self-defense machine guns and defensive systems to repel the unceasing attacks from all directions.

Airborne Combat Soldiers stood guard at the open cargo bay doors, firing on any enemy attempting to breach the aircraft, while also using magic to shield the main cannon turret.

Inside, the gun crew calmly reloaded, sending shell after shell towards the distant airship.

Each thundering report from the main cannon punched another clean hole through the airship’s hull.

A few such holes were of little concern to the massive airship.

However, as the number of holes in its hull multiplied, the rate of gas leakage from within the airship began to accelerate alarmingly.

The airship finally halted its advance. Its once-taut, bulbous hull was now visibly deflating.

If the Wildwind Principality’s air forces couldn’t neutralize Air Fortress 001 quickly, this airship was doomed to make a forced landing within the Eternal Domain’s territory.

This was an outcome that neither Anderson nor Cloud Tower could accept.

The Eternal Domain’s aerial units protected Air Fortress 001, heedless of their own losses. Meanwhile, more Beak Eagle bombers, aircraft nearly as large as the Air Fortress itself, descended again, pressing their attack.

Anderson didn’t know how many such airship-piercing weapons Yan Xing possessed. In any case, this probing attack had yielded clear results. While unfavorable on the surface, for the Wildwind Principality... this might not necessarily be a bad thing. War itself is seldom the true objective; it is merely the continuation of politics by other means. To genuinely consider sacrificing oneself for Cloud Tower—that would be the epitome of being worthless cannon fodder.