Summoning Japan: Flights of the Fancy

Chapter 5 - Battle of Irnetia

Koenig of the Gra Valkas Army Air Corps assigned to the Doiva Base was on a patrol flight. Soon, his standby time would be over. While heading towards the Doiva Base for landing, he received an emergency alert over the radio.

"Emergency alert, emergency alert! Unidentified echo approaching from the southeast. Distance 50 kilometers, altitude 200 meters. Approaching at a speed of 500 kilometers per hour. Possibility of enemy aircraft that attacked the Capital. Air units, launch immediately!"

Koenig immediately pressed the radio's button.

"This is Call 7, I'm on my way."

Koenig lightly banked his Antares and signaled to his wingman, then changed course to the southeast and descended rapidly. Three wingmen followed slightly behind.

"Can we witness the flying wheel that raided Ragna?" Koenig muttered, but something else awaited him.

He confirmed three dots with his naked eyes.

"Visual confirmation of enemy aircraft. Three conventional fighters! Engage!"

Each Antares turned its nose towards the enemy aircraft and closed in. It seemed like a game of chicken. The Mirishial fighters moved first. They had been flying at a low altitude of 200 meters, but the three fighters began to disperse while climbing. The Antares continued to steer to keep the enemy in sight, but due to the rapid dive, their relative speed was too fast and they missed the opportunity to shoot as they passed each other.

As each Antares attempted a sharp turn to pursue the Mirishial planes, they noticed something unusual.

"We can't catch up!"

Until now, Mirishial fighters had not matched the Antares' top speed, making them easy to capture. But these fighters were faster than Antares.

'New enemy planes!?'

Realizing this, Koenig pressed the pre-talk button.

"This is Call 7. Enemy fighter is a new model, faster than Antares."

A reply came from the Doiva Base, but there was more noise than usual. However, Koenig didn't have time to worry about it. More squadrons of fighters appeared behind them. Koenig was a cautious man. He ordered his wingmen to stop pursuing too far and prioritized evading.

. . .

"Captain, did you see that? We've just outrun the Antares!"

While hearing the somewhat excited voice of his wingman, Taurus pondered.

It wouldn't be a problem to return to the mothership as it is. The chaff deployment was successful. The superiority of Elpacio 3' was proven. The captain would praise him. If Koenig were in Taurus's position, he might have done that.

But Taurus didn't do that. There was a sense of guilt in leaving the battlefield without firing his gun even once while allies were fighting enemies, and above all, the temptation to try out this new model was strong.

"We will continue to support our allies."

. . .

Lettal Kauran was on the bridge of the flagship Scathia, checking the progress of the battle.

"The enemy's anti-aircraft fire is sporadic. No damage to our allies."

"There are fewer than ten enemy fighters in the air. The entire attack group has successfully penetrated the enemy base's airspace."

Lettal Kauran nodded. "It seems that radar interference with chaff was effective."

"At any rate, we will be able to secure air superiority over the island by sheer numbers," the staff replied, but didn't forget to drive in a nail. "Until the enemy carrier-based planes appear."