Sky-cracking Rider

"The third round of battle can also design tactical traps, involves psychological warfare, and is divided into two phases. The first phase is..."

The combat pilots of The First Sovereignty exposed their old scheming nature.

What others saw was actually what they wanted others to see; what others thought was also guided by them, linking one ring to another, intertwining conspiracy with open strategy, making it impossible to guard against.

Yet, the worst-case scenario could not be avoided, which was Chen Fei's next round opponent being his own person from The First Sovereignty, rendering these schemes useless, and this possibility was not low.

As a remedy, the Sky Knights of The First Sovereignty each taught Chen Fei a move, targeting their own people with a killer move, unbeknownst to outsiders.

Chasing after and feeding moves could only go this far, almost reaching the limit of what could be done.

Despite making so much positive preparation, the combat pilots of The First Sovereignty did not have high hopes for Chen Fei's future achievements in the "Rank Battle," predicting a high probability of stopping at the fourth round, failing to make it to the top hundred.

Although Mylan, the Sky Knight from the American Federation, looked down on Chen Fei's commoner background, there was one thing he could not deny.

In terms of military literacy, the gap between commoners who took up the profession halfway and professional soldiers who received long-term rigorous training was enormous, even to the point of being impossible to compensate for with talent.

Before noon, the third round of the "Rank Battle" finally drew to a close. Besides the peculiar anomaly of Chen Xiao'er, the pilots who successfully obtained the qualification for the fourth round were almost all Sky Knights, with ordinary combat pilots being eliminated cleanly during the third round.

As soon as lunch ended, the atmosphere inside the hangar where hundreds of flight simulators were located suddenly changed.

It seemed to have a certain vague pressure, making one's heart heavy, as if pressed by a large stone, even making breathing difficult.

"Boarding number 152 'Fang Wolf', machine 01, versus boarding number 1341 'White Socks', machine 12, please board!"

"Boarding number..."

The fourth round of the rank battle finally began an hour after lunch ended.

The atmosphere outside the battle hangar and at other observation points seemed to be affected, with the originally pervasive air of merriment completely dissipating, as if it had never appeared.

There were 222 participants in the fourth round, with 200 boarding in the first batch, and the remaining 22 boarding in the second batch.

Perhaps running out of luck, Chen Fei happened to be among the 22 in the second batch. Upon seeing the list, he couldn't help but gasp.

Forty percent of the participants were from The First Sovereignty; he probably wouldn't escape the ordeal of an internal battle.

"Don't worry, just give it your best!"

"You've already accomplished so much by getting this far!"

"Standing here means you've already won half the battle. Follow the original plan, unleash your trump card without hesitation, just do it blindly."

"Don't spare us; hit them hard! I won't hold back either!"

His compatriots guessed Chen Fei's psychological state and comforted him one after another, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a good mindset. Collapsing before the battle would mean losing more than half the fight already, at this level losing slightly equates to losing entirely.

There were also words that made people both laugh and cry, hard to tell if they were meant well or ill.

"You know how our people from The First Sovereignty are — expert in internal battles, amateurs in external ones. You might win! The blind cat might catch the dead rat with a sudden burst, who knows? Luck is part of strength too!"

Chen Fei: "..."

These guys are doing it on purpose!

At this point, there's no point in giving tips or not; it all comes down to gambling on luck. Though it may be unreliable, it's the only chance left.

Chen Fei walked out of the "circle of encirclement," arriving at the betting spot outside the hangar.

"Bet 100,000 Star Yuan on myself to win!"

Opening betting at the air force base is a minor operation, with the backing of the base command center behind the house.

No matter how one bets, the wager amount cannot count as a big gamble — compared to the price of combat aircraft, those wagers are mere petty cash.

You're flooring a million-dollar Maserati on the ground, rumbling and tearing.

I'm flying a three-million-dollar Sixth Master in the sky, whizzing and buzzing.

Who's the old-fashioned one?

No mention of the Eighth Master, at tens of millions, even pricier!

"One pays 13, are you sure?"

The betting staff rarely sees participants betting on themselves.

"One pays 13?"

Chen Fei furrowed his brow, not only did his own people from The First Sovereignty have low expectations for his result in the fourth round, but even these betting managers deduced similarly.

"Uh-huh!"

"Then place a bet of a million Star Yuan!"

Chen Fei directly paid a six-digit figure.

The betting house is backed by Barksdale Air Force Base, so they don't fear defaulting on these millions of Star Yuan; they might drag away a combat aircraft to settle the debt, yielding not just profit but a huge profit.

"So... good luck to you!"

The betting staff could only say this.

Having reached the fourth round of the "Rank Battle," it's enough to brag for several years; one should cut losses and not throw such a hefty sum into the water.

"Thank you!"

Chen Fei turned and departed.

By the end of the fourth round's first batch of battles, most had concluded within half an hour.

Due to a few fiercely fought matches, cockpit decompression and unlocking were automatic, with the exhausted Sky Knights being carried out afterwards.

Flying is also physically demanding; those without adequate fitness cannot become Sky Knights and may be eliminated in the first-round screening.

The second batch self-selected flight simulators from 22 participants, entering the simulated battlefield one after another.

"'Adam', deploy all reconnaissance-type drones, release landing craft, prepare individual anti-aircraft missiles, deploy 400 combat mechs..."

Even before officially engaging, Chen Fei began setting up the battlefield at the first opportunity.

Weather, terrain, and unity.

Weather unknown, terrain usable, unity? Just himself!

What Chen Fei feared most happened; this round's opponent was The First Sovereignty's Sky Knight, "Mad Devil" Sun Ruzheng from the Western War Zone, famed for his aerial combat skill "Mad Forest Fire Mountain," charged like mad, attacked like a forest, changed moves like fire, secured wins like a mountain.

The "Mad" prefix implies expertise in capturing attack opportunities, striking first, never giving opponents a chance for counterattack, masters of controlling rhythm; Chen Fei's previous three-round opponents were leagues beneath comparison.

Hence, Chen Fei maximized the resources at his disposal, initially using a move of "Waiting for a Rabbit by a Tree Stump," or rather, a strengthened "Lure the Enemy into the Pot."

Five minutes passed, yet the reconnaissance drones hadn't captured signals from "Mad Devil" Sun Ruzheng's Crystal Jet, as if he had vanished from the simulated battlefield, even akin to not having appeared.

However, the latter possibility doesn't exist, passive engagement results in a loss.

The simulated battlefield's ground is a mountainous region full of towering peaks; the combat mechs deployed by the landing craft wielding anti-aircraft weapons occupying strategic heights, forming a hundred anti-aircraft fire points within a fifty-kilometer radius.