The pilot's Kobis, which had been blinking continuously just moments ago, went dark. The pilot tried to restart the Kobis again, but what appeared wasn't from a comrade's Karma source, but from two Aridonian Air Force combat aircraft.
"Damn it! They're too fast, this speed must be more than ours... no... almost double."
WOONG
"Hey, can you hear me? We're being closely followed! Glide down a bit to pick up speed!" He yelled at his remaining comrade.
The two aircraft immediately altered their course, angling their noses slightly downwards to gain more speed, but it was useless. In just a few short minutes, the Aridonian planes had reached the squadron's position.
"Aircraft! Open fire, Zimir!" Meuner shouted.
"Wait!" Guzanke quickly interjected. "Those aren't Dasader's!"
"That aircraft is Aridonian, they're coming from the South... look at that smoke trail!"
Meuner was stunned. He craned his neck and, just as Guzanke said, two long white smoke trails streaked across the clear sky, piercing through the clouds, moving in from the South.
"Nice! Reinforcements arrived so quickly!" Zimir exclaimed, turning to Meuner. "Have you seen the power of the Aridonian army yet? Ha ha ha..."
Xirvich, at this point, staggered to his feet. His Dinoera was now below ten percent. At this level, the owner's vision would be severely impaired, and other organs would be almost completely exhausted. He used his last bit of Dinoera to create a stone arrow and launched it towards the standing soldiers. But the arrow was even blocked by scout troops, a branch of the military known only for speed and abundant Dinoera, not for attack or defense.
As Dinoera dropped to zero, Xirvich's eyes faded, and he collapsed to the ground. His Kartocus gradually changed from its initial blue stone color to transparent, then disappeared.
In the air, the two Harsavert aircraft were only about three miles from the Dasader group.
The disadvantage in flight speed made them want to dive like birds of prey to escape, but they couldn't. The Aridonian Air Force quickly closed in and deployed firepower.
WHOOSH WHOOSH
"Damn it... they're too fast... it's over... it's all over."
BOOM BOOM
A volley of shots struck a part of one of the Dasader aircraft's wings.
Nearly killed by that barrage, the two Dasaders trembled, trying to push their engine power to the maximum.
CRACK
One of the two planes had its control stick broken, and the pilot was frantic, not knowing what to do.
The pilot in the cockpit of Aridonia's Ivanis aircraft calmly aimed precisely at the Dasader plane and opened fire.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
A dozen crystals were launched, one of which hit the pilot, causing him to collapse in the control room.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
The second Aridonian aircraft fired another volley, skillfully flying past the Ivanis and destroying the Dasader's engine. The aircraft then completely lost control, plummeted to the ground, and exploded shortly after.
The remaining aircraft tried to maneuver, dodging the volleys of fire from the Aridonian Air Force, and spiraled into a deep chasm.
The Aridonian Air Force didn't take any risks; they turned around and returned to base.
Antonio and the soldiers were eagerly awaiting news from the Aridonian Air Force.
The Kobis screen now displayed two faint blue dots, and in an instant, the Aridonian Air Force flew over their heads, the initial smoke trails not even having dissipated yet.
Clip-clop... Clip-clop...
A Vordon ran up, carrying a rather young-looking man on its back.
Upon seeing the people before him, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Thump.
Jumping off the Vordon's back, he removed his cloak, revealing himself to be an Aridonian officer. All the soldiers immediately saluted.
"Good heavens, I'm an officer too and I've never seen you salute like that before!" Meuner complained.
After returning the soldiers' salute, the man approached the three officers.
"My apologies, gentlemen. It's our fault for managing the airspace too loosely, causing a delay in the mission and putting you in such a dangerous situation."
"I am Asbrik Ashone, a regional officer."
"Hello!" Guzanke replied.
"One of your Vordons died; the logistics team will bring a replacement soon. Please wait a few more hours. My sincere apologies."
"What? That long? I really want to see Moiselia!" Meuner complained.
"Don't worry, these new Vordons run much faster than before. They're the kind I'm using now, six times faster than these ones."
Meuner immediately moved closer to Ashone and whispered.
"So, can we keep them for ourselves? You know, I just got a few holes in me?"
"Uh... yes..." Ashone didn't want to, but he had to agree.
Ashone then jumped back onto his Vordon, bid everyone farewell, and rode away.
"Hey Meuner, what did you say to him?" Antonio wondered.
"Oh, Antonio, don't you know... I told you there would come a day when you could never surpass me... hahahaahh..." Meuner grinned broadly in delight.
A few hours later, the entire group continued towards Harsaveret with Meuner's cart leading the way, leaving everyone else about four miles behind.