Summoning the Great Union: A new front

Chapter 28- Clash at the Western Islands (2)

A/N: Hitting ya'll with a double upload, peace.

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Holy Mirishial Empire, 0th Magic Fleet

Upon hearing the lookout’s report, Fleet Commander Ultema looked up. It was a pleasant, clear sky; it’d be ideal if it weren’t for the tiny speckles invading the picture, like a beautiful painting with flecks of black ink dropped onto it. Those gnats gradually grew, both in number and in size.

"There sure are a lot of ’em… what do we have for air cover?"

"…Eleven aircraft. This is a pretty remote area, so there are only Beta-2s out here."

The anti-ship, anti-ground, air supremacy multipurpose Beta-2 was considered a powerful combat aircraft in this world. Although its superior performance outstripped all other contenders, because they were now facing the Gra Valkas Empire’s aircraft, who appeared to have comparable military strength, it was hard not to be worried. Since these islands were quite remote, there’s no way they would have access to the combat-focused version of the Floating Ship of the Heavens.

"If only we had some of our latest planes, the Alpha-3, here…"

Going up against so many enemy aircraft, he couldn’t help worrying over how few friendly aircraft they had.

"Commander, we still haven’t lost any warships to the enemy. You needn’t be so worried."

"Thank you for the reminder."

Fleet Commander Ultema pushed away his anxiety and continued watching the sky.

...

Holy Mirishial Empire, airspace above the 0th Magic Fleet

The high-pitched trill of the magical light discharge-type compressed air engine reverberated inside the aircraft. His breathing was raspy, a reminder that he was nervous.

In the naval skirmish earlier, unbelievably, the empire’s ships had taken damage. In recent years, no country had been able to even set foot on the empire’s soil, and the world’s number two, their ally Mu, would never betray them.

Squad Captain Omega, a Beta-2 pilot, found sweat dripping down his face when he imagined facing a powerful enemy the likes of which they had never seen. His heart was beating like a drum.

They had no idea what strategy this enemy would employ. Hypothetically, if they were facing Mu, military leadership had determined that the best course of action would be to leverage their superior speed and adopt guerrilla hit-and-run tactics; Omega himself agreed with this assessment. Considering it again, regardless of how powerful their enemy was, the hit-and-run maneuvers they’d practiced countless times would be the best choice here.

The eleven Beta-2s, led by Squad Captain Omega, began to climb. It appeared that some of the enemy aircraft were also turning in order to rise.

"Wh…What?!"

About forty enemy aircraft had left their formation, flown out well in front of the air fleet, then also ascended in turn. Their speed far surpassed the Beta-2, Mirishial’s multipurpose combat version of the Floating Ship of the Heavens.

"It can’t be… Their movement capabilities surpass ours?!"

With his exceptional eyesight, he noticed that those forty planes had a different shape than the rest of the enemy fleet.

"Are those… aircraft specialized for air superiority?!"

They probably were, which meant that the remaining planes were most likely meant for anti-ship combat. Given the number of planes for each task, and granted their outstanding performance specs, he lost all hope of returning alive.