The Cerulean Defense Force increased its numbers and presence near the Rift that appeared on the Heavensend Continent. Some aircraft also arrived at the location from the Aircraft Carrier SS Bruce.
They were scheduled to do a reconnaissance on the other side for a while before returning to this side and to the aircraft carrier.
Fortunately, the Rift was big enough for flying objects to pass right through it.
Three fighter planes came from the direction of the sea. It was one of many newly fighter aircraft with the jet engine, which proved to be more effective in both distance and speed. The sound of the engine reverberated through the skies near the Rift.
Even the ground forces could hear the sound as the fighter jets approached the operational airspace. It was noisy but it meant that the first recon mission would be underway.
As the fighter passed the ground base, it kicked up some wind which swept away the nearby sand. The fighter jets passed by and entered the Rift.
“This is Rider One, commencing the reconnaissance of the enemy territory. Do you copy?” A radio transmission was done when they passed the Rift, reaching the other side.
“This is Base Zero. We are receiving three radio transmissions. Are you Rider Squadron?” The ground base was the one who had to receive the transmission from the Rider Squadron so he replied and confirming the situation.
The three fighter jets spun around the Rift, taking their time to check things. From the cockpit, the pilot who designated himself as Rider One could see the top of the trees expanded to the mountain range in the north, while the east and west were open plains where they could see their vibrant color. The west was actually filled with hills that could prove difficult to traverse.
“Yes, we are the Rider Squadron from the aircraft carrier Bruce. We are told to do the recon in this place but the HQ said that the exact order will be relayed to us by the ground’s Base Zero. Where should we head to?”
“Split into two and head east and west. The Transcendent Group on the ground has checked the area near the base’s east and west but further than that remains unknown. Do you copy?”
“Copy that. Rider Three with me while Rider Two heads in the other direction. Split according to what I ordered!”
Then two fighter jets headed east while one headed west. The squadron leader knew that Rider Two could handle things on his own while Rider Three still needed some guidance from him.
While they did their mission, their radio was on so that they could relay information as quickly as possible. The atmosphere of this planet was similar to their Cerulean Planet so they knew that radio would work. That was why the Cerulean Defense Force dared to do this.
Everyone on the ground on the established base looked up at the sky, where three white trails were coming off from the three fighter jets. The sound alone signaled their presence, making them like the rulers of the sky.
Despite having transcendent power at their disposal, the Cerulean Defense Force would not rely on that alone to face an entity that truly conquered their own home planet. Joint effort became the very thing that the Cerulean Defense Force relied upon, using all they had to fight against their enemies.
Long Wu looked up and knew that the first reconnaissance further into enemy territory had started. It had been some time since the clearing of the Glings’ nest in the east and west of the Rift, so he expected that the enemies’ counterattack would come at any time.
In the sky, Rider One and Three were flying in an element where the wingman was slightly behind the lead fighter aircraft.
“So far we can see the trees in the forest as well as the mountain range. Well, there is also the cloud that hangs a bit low.” Rider One commented as he ascended a bit so that he could get the full picture of the geography around the Rift in the east.
“Captain, we should look for a possible enemy nest, right?” Rider Three said through the radio.
“True that. You look for the nest while I keep an eye out for visible enemy movement. Sounds good?” Rider One replied.
“Roger that, Captain. Seeking the enemy nest!” Rider Three lowered his altitude while looking for the enemy nest, while Rider One was high in the sky, looking for the sign of enemy movement.
“This is Rider Two. There is no sign of an enemy nest or movement in my area. Flight lead, what about you?” A radio transmission from Rider Two came in.
“Same here. There is nothing so far but it also means that the enemy is quite far.” Rider One replied on the radio channel.
They chattered while looking for the enemy nest or movement. It became easier since the plains could not hide the movement of the ground unit so Rider One went closer to the plains while Rider Three kept looking for a nest hidden in the forest.
“Hmm?” Rider One wanted to check the plains but was interrupted by his radar picking up something.
“Did your radar pick that too, Rider Three?” Rider One wanted to confirm that this was not a device malfunction but something truly important.
“Captain! I picked it up too. Is it bogeys?” Rider Three was a bit inexperienced so his voice had a hint of being shaken by the current situation. Rider One could even hear a high-pitched voice by Rider Three when he said it through the radio transmission.
“A dozen of them visible on the outermost of our detection range…” Rider One was the closest to the bogeys since he went to the plains but Rider Three also picked up some of them.
“Base Zero, do you copy? This is Rider One. We have confirmed the enemy’s movement in the east.” Rider One quickly relayed it to the ground forces near the Rift.
“Base Zero, copy. Do you have visual confirmation?”
“Not yet but soon.” Rider One replied shortly after realizing that he had approached the enemy formation. He looked at the front of his cockpit and finally saw something in the distance.
“Visual of enemy bogeys! Dozens of them are heading toward the Rift! They are winged creatures! Rider One, engaging!” Rider One finally saw what the creatures looked like.
They were like something like a slender body but hunched to form a semicircle with wings of flesh flapping. Their body color was brown with a shade of purple, probably affected by their blood. Their size was as big as his fighter jet, so he narrowed his eyes.
Rider One decided to engage the creature not only for information regarding them but also to gauge their reaction when meeting the enemy in the air.
The weaponry of his fighter jets included six missiles, a 7mm machine gun in the nose of the fighter as well as four bombs in case they had to deal with ground targets. Rider One thought that he would only engage them briefly before turning tail and returning to the safe side of the Rift, where his home planet was supposed to be.
Rider One maneuvered his aircraft so that he had a clear target, as well as not limiting his movement to the formation of the enemy flying units. He found a target and decided to fire his machine gun at the target.
Rider One positioned the target in the middle of the reticle before pressing the button for the machine gun to fire. The machine gun let out a fire as some bullets came out and pierced through the creature’s body and wings, causing it to go down.
“One down, continuing to engage the bogeys!” Rider One knew that this moment was the most dangerous in his flying career. It was because the creatures could attack him since he had already guessed their range.
As expected, the flying creatures let out something from their bodies. To be precise, it came out from the lower part of its body which looked like its mouth. It let out some sort of projectile and Rider One kept an eye on the creatures’ attack.
He moved his fighter to the left, barely avoiding the projectile. He could not relax since the other creatures also launched a similar attack. Fortunately, most of them were easy to avoid and so the fighter gained a distance.
Rider One waited until the distance was quite far by using the speed of the jet engine before he turned with high G pressure, ramming straight into his body. The pilot was used to this so it was barely an inconvenience.
But now it was time for him to try the missiles. The weapon system was more advanced and the pilot knew this. He found the right sequence to activate the missile in the fighter’s load. Then he saw that the weapon system had locked the target, enabling him to use the missile.
He pressed another button as a missile then detached from his aircraft, letting out a flame tail as it went to the intended target. When it hit the target, an explosion cloud could be seen as it hit the creature right in its body.
Rider One then fired off another volley of machine gun and managed to down another creature. But he had to evade the creatures’ attack because his flying direction went directly into the midst of the creatures’ formation.
The pilot felt his mental fatigue start to pile up. But he still managed to dodge the attack that came his way.
“This is Rider Three. Captain, should I assist you?” the voice of the wingmen cleared a bit of the pilot’s mind.
“No need. You need to see and learn from me. That is all.” Rider One refused because he did not want to risk his wingmen being downed in enemy territory. Furthermore, he felt that fighting the flying creatures was different than against another fighter aircraft.
“Understood. Observation of the flying creatures resuming.”
As Rider One eliminated one flying creature after another, they managed to gather important information for their forces. After eliminating all of the flying creatures, Rider Three picked up a lot of things on his radar.
“Captain! Bogeys, dozens of them!” Rider Three almost screamed but held himself back for fear that it would affect Rider One.
“I know! We’re retreating from the Operation Airspace! Go!” Rider One gave his order to Rider Three. Rider Three’s fighter jets turned around and went back to the Rift, followed by Rider One.
“Rider Two, retreat. We have encountered large-sized flying enemies on the east side. What about you?” Rider One was so focused on eliminating a dozen of the flying creatures that he could not hear the radio for a while.
“Flight lead, I also encountered flying creatures. It looks like this is their counterattack. I’ll follow your instructions and retreat from the Operation Airspace.” Rider Two replied on the radio channel.
The three fighter jets returned to the Rift and they had to slightly lower their altitude to be able to enter the Rift.
Before they left, Rider One gave the important information to the ground forces.
“Rider One to Base Zero. We have confirmed that the enemy’s offensive movement is underway. At least dozens of flying creatures moved in the direction of the Rift. Rider One, out!”
The Lieutenant was then informed about the movement from the east and the west side.
“Eh?” Hecates looked at the tent where the Lieutenant was and saw him walking toward them while another officer was going in the direction of the rest of the forces stationed in this place.
Long Wu also understood the situation's implications and knew that the aircraft that came and went to the Rift probably contributed to the current predicament.
“There are flying creatures approaching!” one of the Transcendents finally perceived things through the skeletal undead that patrolled the outermost perimeter. Hecates nodded at the man before he went to the Lieutenant.
“What is going on, Lieutenant?” Hecates asked for certainty.
The Lieutenant did not disappoint as he replied quickly, “There are movements from the enemy. At least dozens of flying creatures are coming. Expect it to be more than that.”
The Lieutenant felt like the first half of the day was filled with surprise after surprise and he was annoyed. He wanted to be able to contribute more to this Star Battle and no one would claim his achievement!
With a grumpy voice, the Lieutenant continued, “Our fortifications are not ready to face the overwhelming number of enemies. So, please use your disposable skeletal undead that you managed to make to be the outer defense.
“Fortunately, we have some mortar and machine guns to provide support and main defense. The rest has to be done by Transcendent, like your group as well as the Undead Race. Please relay my order to them to be ready at their position.”
Hecates took a deep breath before he nodded and turned around. The two separated as they had their respective duty.
Hecates informed the rest of the Transcendent Group about the incoming enemies. Long Wu, who heard it, contacted the Undead Race immediately since he was the fastest.
The entire established base then moved into motion by the sudden incoming threat. The soldiers were preparing their weapons.
Checking their ammunition, their carried weapon, their attire as well as their shoes so that it would not hamper the movement. The soldiers did all of this because they were nervous about the incoming alien enemy.
The Transcendent Group gave their stories about facing the Glings but it was different for the ordinary people to face something similar. That was what concerned the soldiers; the difference in power between a Transcendent and ordinary people was great.
“What should we do once the enemy arrives?” one of the soldiers said while nervously handling his carried assault rifle.
“Well, we fight. What choice do we have?” the leader of the small squad said with a firm tone.
He added, “This is for the future of our civilizations. If we cower here, the people behind us, whom we are supposed to protect, will bear the burden of possibly the entire military power of the enemy civilization. Can you bear such a thought in your mind!?”
Hearing that their loved ones behind were threatened by the enemy military gave the rest of the small squad a flicker of courage bubbling up inside their heart.
“That is why we need to overcome the trial called Star Battle. It is at this moment that men will prove themselves.”
The leader then stopped. He could see that the light of determination filled his squad. He then gave the order to go to their battle station immediately.
‘I hope that they can weave through this.’ The leader thought before he also went to his position.
Since the east and west directions were the places where the attack came from, the base divided the forces into two. The east would be mainly defended by the Transcendent Group, while the west would be defended by the Undead Race, and the Cerulean Defense Force would provide immediate support and cover fire.
They knew that every moment was important so they occupied the position with extreme precision. They were trained to do this in the first place so their thought was that this was just like in the training.
Machine guns were placed right behind the position of the Transcendent Group and the Undead Race. They were supposed to be the support since the battle would probably need them. But the ordinary people could not enter the battlefield range of the Transcendent and the Undead Race due to safety issues.
Therefore, the Cerulean Defense Force placed their forces behind. The mortar fire would be one of its forms of support, while the machine gun would mow down anything that passed through the defense of the transcendental units in front.
After some time passed and their nerves were tested on their endurance, the sky in the distance changed slightly. It was as if something was covering the clouds and it could be huge.
“They are coming!” shouted one of them.
All of them could finally see what the thing covering the cloud was. It was a huge group of flying Glings. Their sheer number was enough to plant fear in the ordinary people but for the Transcendent Group and the Undead Race, it was a good source of undead element.
But everyone knew that the leader of the Gling swarm was not stupid. She clearly experienced having her unit become food for them, so this time, there must be something that could change the situation in her favor.
Other than the flying creatures, one of the soldiers placed their head on the ground. He felt that the ground was vibrating. Even he realized that the ground unit would come their way, and it was as huge as the flying creatures.
The Undead Race had their Undead Fire flicker since this battle excited them. They knew that a formidable opponent would soon descend into their place and they were looking forward to it.
The Transcendent Group was also looking forward to what their enemies had in their ranks. They were the first ones to fight against the enemies so they had some information about the enemies. Furthermore, they were also the first ones to destroy several nests around the Rift.
Their experience served as a reference to what capabilities the enemy had so they were wary but not worried too much about the attack. There would be a surprise but it also gauged the preparation of their enemy.
Long Wu finally returned to the Transcendent Group after informing the Undead Race. He could see that the Transcendent Group was letting out their undead element as a warm-up.