Three Death Watch kom'rk-class fighters, in a triangular assault formation, roared their engines like three predatory steel vultures, charging directly towards the viking fighter piloted by Kurt.
They had clearly witnessed the terrifying sight of the viking mech slaughtering ground troops just moments ago, but the pride of the Death Watch and their fury against "heretics" made them fearless.
"Locking onto me? You're asking for death!" A sharp glint flashed in Kurt's eyes as the viking fighter's sensors instantly picked up the enemy radar lock. He yanked the control stick, and the fighter shot upwards in a nearly vertical barrel roll, narrowly dodging three green blaster bolts that fired almost simultaneously!
"So fast!" The Death Watch pilot clearly hadn't expected this bulky metal monster to possess such agile maneuverability.
The moment the barrel roll ended, Kurt didn't hesitate, his fingers tapping the weapon control panel with lightning speed.
Red lights flashed continuously in the missile bay! Four missiles, trailing long plumes of exhaust, roared like a swarm of angry wasps, streaking towards the two lead enemy fighters!
"Missiles incoming! Evade!" An urgent warning blared over the Death Watch communication channel.
The two kom'rk-class fighters reacted immediately, performing sharp turns to both sides with their excellent maneuverability, while simultaneously releasing decoy flares. The orange-red flares burst in the air, attempting to confuse the missiles' tracking.
However, the viking fighter was war technology from another Universe! Its guidance System's anti-jamming capability against thermal decoys surpassed the products of this era! As the two missiles approached the thermal decoy cloud, they only deviated slightly before re-locking onto their targets and pursuing them from even trickier angles!
"What?!" A Death Watch pilot watched in horror as the rapidly enlarging missile signal on his screen.
Boom! Boom!
Two massive fireballs erupted in the sky above Sundari! One kom'rk was directly hit in the engine, disintegrating in mid-air, its fragments raining down.
The other had its wing blown off, spiraling and wailing as it plummeted to the ground, kicking up thick smoke in the distance.
The pilot of the sole remaining Death Watch fighter was furious beyond measure! The instantaneous demise of his comrades ignited his wildest rage.
"For Mandalore!" he roared, pushing the control stick to its limit. The kom'rk fighter, with a suicidal will, spewed blue flames from its engine nozzles, rushing towards Kurt like an arrow loosed from a bow! He abandoned long-range attacks, intending to directly smash his opponent!
Kurt felt the enemy's madness and determination. The vague premonition brought by The Force now became incredibly clear—the opponent was aiming for his engine core! Smash him? This was precisely the Domain the viking fighter feared least!
"Want to play rough? I'm in!" Kurt's lips curved into a smile. He didn't choose to create distance; instead, he charged towards the oncoming enemy fighter, pressing the transformation button again!
The massive viking fighter began a breathtaking transformation during the high-speed head-on collision! Its fuselage structure rapidly folded, extended, and reassembled amidst the grating sound of metal friction! The charging Death Watch pilot could almost see the young, helmeted figure in the opposing cockpit, and the fearless glint in his eyes.
"That monster transformed again!" The Death Watch's gasp echoed through communications, but it was too late!
Just as the two aircraft were about to collide, the viking completed its transformation! The colossal steel giant "stood" in the sky over Sundari with a thunderous roar! Using its immense inertia, its massive mechanical feet, carrying a thousand jin of force, stomped heavily towards the ground!
The Death Watch pilot's Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, instinctively yanked the control stick to climb and evade. The kom'rk-class fighter narrowly slipped past the viking mech, its belly almost scraping the viking's leg armor!
"Now!" This was the opportunity Kurt had been waiting for! The viking mech's massive head sharply twisted, and the Gatling cannons on its arms instantly locked onto the enemy fighter below, which had just swept past and hadn't yet had time to adjust its posture!
"Boom boom boom boom boom—!"
A terrifying metal storm instantly poured down! At such close range, against such a huge target, there was nowhere to escape! Dense armor-piercing rounds, like red-hot plows, fiercely tore from the kom'rk's nose to its tail! The sturdy Mandalorian alloy armor was as fragile as thin paper before firepower capable of tearing apart light armored vehicles!
Countless sparks and debris, accompanied by the muffled thuds of internal explosions, erupted from the kom'rk's fuselage! It was like a toy instantly shattered, its engine dying, spewing thick smoke, as it tilted and plummeted towards the burning urban area below, finally becoming part of the ruins with a loud bang.
The sky, for a moment, was quiet.
Only the low hum of the viking mech's engine and the sounds of sporadic fighting below remained.
Inside Kurt's cockpit, the alarm clear notification beeped. He leaned back in his seat, breathing heavily, his forehead beneath his helmet covered in sweat.
The excessive use of The Force brought a slight dizziness. The lightning-fast close-quarters combat just now, every step teetered on the edge of life and death, relying entirely on the slight premonition brought by The Force and the extreme exploitation of the viking fighter's performance.
While the viking fighter was fighting one against three above Sundari, Omen had already entered the room on the ground.
"Cousin! What are you doing here?" Ursa Wren exclaimed.
The other Wren Clan members were also surprised to see the newcomer, as Omen's Wren Clan branch had been ransacked for not cooperating with the Death Watch. This was even one of the reasons they were fighting the Death Watch—to avenge their family.
"We're here to rescue you. The ship is outside, hurry, we'll talk about the rest later," Omen Wren grabbed his cousin and ran, followed closely by the other clan members.
"Meet us at the back door," Wren told the people remaining on the ship via communicator.
Outside, the Death Watch were still exchanging fire, but as all the Wren Clan members retreated, they realized the other side seemed to have completely withdrawn.
"Damn it, hurry and pursue! It must have been the ship that flew over earlier that picked them up."
All Death Watch ascended, attempting to shoot down the incoming ship with missiles from their jetpacks.
At this moment, Kurt, who had recovered on the ground, drove the viking fighter and opened fire directly from below.
Realizing something was wrong, the Death Watch hastily retreated. This mission had already failed, and they couldn't afford any more casualties.
"Smoke grenade cover!" The Death Watch pulled out smoke grenades from their waists, threw them, and retreated, abandoning the mission.
"Boss! You're amazing!" Omen's excited, cracking voice came through the communication channel, breaking the silence. The scavenger youths also erupted in cheers of relief, having witnessed firsthand how the steel giant had effortlessly torn apart the formidable Death Watch fighters!
"Target clear!" Kurt tried to make his voice sound calm. "Omen, how are you all doing?"
"Mission accomplished. This time, only a few of our family members were injured, while the Wren Clan suffered significant losses. We rescued over twenty children and women, and the remaining adults all went to attack the Death Watch," Omen reported one by one.
"Understood. Let's retreat quickly. We'll discuss the rest when we get home," the exhausted Kurt strode away.
Meanwhile, in the central area of Sundari,
Mandalorian corpses were everywhere throughout the city, and multiple fighters were engaged in fierce pursuit in the sky. Sabre-class combat tanks on the ground spewed black smoke, yet the Mandalorians showed no willingness to end the war.
"We must request help from the Jedi Council and the Republic. Great Master Yoda, bounty hunters and the Death Watch are running rampant on our planet, slaughtering my people. They even assassinated my father." At only sixteen years old, Duchess Satine appealed to the Jedi Council for protection.
"The Republic will not intervene in Mandalorian civil war. The Republic has a treaty with you," Great Master Yoda refused the request.
"Are the Jedi just going to watch people be slaughtered and do nothing?! Does this not go against your creed, Great Master Yoda?" Satine was furious.
"I will send Great Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan to protect your safety. May The Force be with you," Great Master Yoda replied after a brief exchange with the Jedi Council members beside him.