Chapter 57: The Fifth Master Dominates the Skies! 1 vs. 20! (Extra Chapter)
Staff Officer Wang, those Japanese bastards are sending a full twenty planes!
Lin Ran could not help feeling a bit worried.
Although the J-5 was formidable, two fists could hardly beat four hands.
Wang Zhihang wore a resolute expression. Rest assured, Mr. Lin, I am confident I will make it back alive!
Even if he could not win a chaotic dogfight, he could at least manage to escape.
Besides, there was a good chance he could take down a few of the Japanese planes.
After a moment of thought, Lin Ran nodded.
Alright! Staff Officer Wang, do be careful then! You must come back alive!
Yes!
With a low roar, Wang Zhihang climbed back into the cockpit.
Boom—!!!
The engine roared to life once more, and the J-5 pierced straight into the clouds!
...
In the northern airspace, the Japanese 1st Flying Squadron.
At that moment, twenty Type 97 bombers, emblazoned with crimson rising sun markings, were swaggering along in a loose formation, pressing down toward the skies above Zhicheng.
With their cabin doors wide open, the Japanese soldiers shouted at the top of their lungs:
Zhicheng! Today we will turn you into a sea of fire! Not even a dog or a chicken will be left alive!
Burn it to the ground! Flatten it! Let them know the consequences of resisting the Great Japanese Empire!
Those inferior Chinese pigs only deserve to wail beneath the iron wings of the Empire!
Look at those ants down below, prepare to welcome the wrath of the Empire! Hahaha!
Once the bombing is over, I want to go down and look at those charred corpses! It must be very interesting!
What a pity about those pretty girls, they are all going to turn into roasted piglets! Hahaha!
...
Suddenly, a strange warplane appeared directly in front of the Japanese formation.
Attention! There is a Chinese plane! the squadron leader yelled at the top of his lungs.
The Japanese immediately grew vigilant.
Yet the next moment, they discovered there was only a single plane!
Nani? Just one? Are the Chinese crazy? They sent one plane here to commit suicide?
Hahaha, I guess those bumpkin Eighth Route Army soldiers only have this single aircraft!
Warriors of the Empire, watch me crush this little bug!
A fighter broke away from the formation, assuming a mocking posture as it attempted to seize a height advantage to intercept this death-seeking enemy plane.
The corners of Wang Zhihang’s mouth curled into a cold arc, and his right hand violently shoved the throttle all the way to the end!
The exhaust nozzle at the tail of the J-5 erupted with an even more intense flame, the airframe emitted a slight shudder, and its speed soared instantly!
Amidst the tense gazes of the countless citizens below, the nose of that silver J-5 suddenly pitched upward.
The speed and the steepness of the climb far exceeded everyone's imagination!
The ferocious grin on the face of the pilot attempting the interception instantly froze; he pulled desperately on the control stick as his aircraft’s nose struggled to lift.
Yet the speed at which his altimeter needle climbed was as slow as a crawling turtle compared to that silver warplane!
He watched helplessly as the opponent transformed into an almost invisible silver speck in the high altitude within a mere few seconds.
Baka! This is impossible!
The Japanese pilot shrieked.
Not only did it fly faster than them, but it also flew higher!
...
However, their nightmare had only just begun!
Just as the Japanese formation fell into chaos and incredulous astonishment, that high-altitude speck suddenly grew larger!
Like a divine eagle swooping down from the nine heavens to strike its prey, the J-5 began its dive!
Dive attack!
Season S2, the classic tactic of aerial combat!
Wang Zhihang mastered it without a teacher!
Steadily controlling the warplane, his crosshair locked firmly onto the most arrogant Type 97 fighter that had charged to the front.
Altitude plummeting rapidly!
Distance closing fast!
Inside the cockpit, Wang Zhihang’s eyes were cold as his fingers steadily squeezed the trigger!
Rat-tat-tat-tat—!
Beneath the nose of the J-5, two 23mm cannons instantly spat a tongue of fire!
Boom—!
Without suspense, one of the Japanese planes was blown apart instantly!
Yamada-kun!!
The entire Japanese formation instantly erupted into chaos!
Baka! Fire! Take it down! All machine guns! Aim at it! the squadron leader roared hysterically, his voice cracking out of tune.
The remaining fighters snapped out of their stupor, their autocannons firing wildly in a barrage toward the diving J-5.
Wang Zhihang smiled faintly.
Time to bid you farewell.
Pulling back on the stick, the Five roared upward once more.
Its speed was so great that the Japanese autocannons could not aim at it at all.
Baka yaro! We can't catch it! We simply can't catch it!
The Japanese pilots pushed their throttles to the maximum, yet they could only watch helplessly as the silver warplane climbed to an altitude they could never hope to reach.
At high altitude, Wang Zhihang executed an elegant and swift large-radius turn.
Inside the cockpit, the needles of both the altimeter and airspeed indicator pointed to figures that would leave any pilot of this era utterly dumbfounded.
Taking a deep breath, his gaze locked like a falcon once more onto the Japanese formation scuttling about below like headless flies.
The second dive!
The same high-speed dive, the same precise lock-on!
Boom!
Another one shot down.
No!!
Fear completely overwhelmed the Japanese formation.
Retreat! Fall back quickly!
Whatever bombing mission, whatever Bushido spirit, vanished instantly in the face of absolute overwhelming power and the threat of death!
The remaining Japanese bombers scattered and fled like frightened ducks.
They actually want to run?
Wang Zhihang was somewhat surprised.
He had originally expected the Japanese to fight to the death, and thus intended to withdraw from the battlefield after taking down a few.
He had not expected that the moment they exchanged fire, the Japanese would try to run.
Wanting to run? Not a chance!
Wang Zhihang pushed the throttle all the way to the maximum.
The hunting time had come!
Dive! Climb! Turn!
Dive! Climb! Turn!
Every single dive inevitably resulted in a downed warplane.
The Type 97's pitiful speed of just over three hundred kilometers per hour was like a green recruit in the face of subsonic velocity.
One... two... three... four...
The sky was ablaze with continuous fire.
The Japanese pilots completely broke down.
No matter how they rolled, dived, or climbed, that fatal silver streak of lightning followed them like a shadow, launching attacks from the trickiest and most fatal angles at speeds and altitudes beyond their comprehension.
In less than half an hour, all twenty Japanese planes were shot down.
Only a single silver figure remained in the sky, gleaming with a dazzling radiance.
Wang Zhihang felt excited and flushed with triumph.
He had never dreamed in his wildest dreams that he would one day shoot down twenty enemy planes!
Wang Zhihang knew very well in his heart that it wasn't because his skills were extraordinary, but rather because the warplane he was piloting was simply too formidable!
And all of this was thanks to that man!
...
Half an hour later.
The J-5 landed smoothly at the Zhicheng airfield.
Lin Ran’s hanging heart finally landed back in its place.
Pilots were far more precious than airplanes.
Li Yunlong and the others hurried forward: "Thank you for your hard work, Staff Officer Wang! Leave the rest to us old Li."
Wang Zhihang opened the cockpit, removed his helmet, tossed his hair, and laughed:
"No need to trouble yourself, Commander Li! I've already taken care of all those little Japanese devils!"
"What?"
Li Yunlong was somewhat baffled.
Even Lin Ran did not quite understand what Wang Zhihang meant.
Clamping his helmet under his left arm, Wang Zhihang raised his right hand and saluted Lin Ran:
"Reporting to Mr. Lin! All twenty enemy aircraft have been shot down! Awaiting further instructions!"
Lin Ran: ...
Even though he knew how powerful the J-5 was, he was still struck blank for a brief moment by the result of "all shot down."
1 vs 20, and a complete annihilation?
Yet immediately afterward, an indescribable sense of pride and exhilaration surged into his heart!
This was the power of dimensional reduction warfare!
How did that saying go? In the past, you had advanced weapons, and I had the iron will.
Now that I have advanced weapons, I hope you have an iron will too!
Li Yunlong’s eyes bulged wide open, his mouth agape enough to fit an entire duck egg, and it took him quite a while to recover his voice.
Dragging his hoarse, brassy voice, he roared furiously at the communication soldier:
"What the hell are you still standing there for? Send a telegram to headquarters quickly!"
"Tell them the aircraft brought by Mr. Lin have achieved victory in their very first battle! Staff Officer Wang has completely annihilated twenty Japanese bombers! Not a single one escaped! Send it to me word for word!"
"Hurry up!!!"