It was definitely not easy to fly in winter.
Although the Aerial Knights were wearing hats made of wolf skins, fur scarves and goggles, the area unprotected by these gears was still exposed to the biting coldness.
The windshield was located at the front of the “Fire of Heaven”. When the wind changed its direction or when the plane set off, flurries of snows would be carried into the cabin by the wind from all directions.
However, Good understood the rationale behind this design.
Above him were the huge wings, so his vision was pretty narrow. If he wanted to observe the situation below, he had to poke his head out of the cabin. In fact, the most thing that Finkin did was to poke his head out. Unlike regular soldiers who simply needed to draw out their weapons on the battlefield, the Aerial Knights had to first located the enemies. It was extremely hard to find their target in the sky.
The “Fire of Heaven” became as tiny as an ant at a height of 1,000 kilometers, let alone the people on the ground.
That was probably the reason why each plane was operated by two people. Four eyes worked better than two.
“Any luck?”
Good turned around and asked.
Around an hour ago, the fleet had passed the Gust Castle. If the demons were pursuing the refugees, they should be around this area according to the map. To expediate the search process, the four planes spread out and formed a fan-shaped formation around the central axis in the north.
This was also the standard search method written on the Flight Manual.
Theoretically, as long as they did not deviate from the course, the four planes could cover the area within a radius of 200 kilometers. Nevertheless, due to the harsh weather condition, the planes had to stick together, which largely reduced their search area.
“Nothing!” Finkin yelled while holding his telescope. “Could demons have already caught up with the refugees and killed them all?”
“Then there should be many bodies down there!”
“Alright, I’ll take another look… I hope the snow won’t cover them up,” Finkin mumbled. “Mate, could you drop a little bit?”
Good lowered the head of the jet a little and cast a glance at the compass and the altimeters.
These were the only two parameters on the “Fire of Heaven that they could rely on to know their current location.
In spite of this, there were also clear instructions on the Flight Manual that they must not trust these two parameters too much. “Due to the limitation of the technologies, the devices could go wrong, especially when the plane is flying through an area that is experiencing a series of drastic changes in weather, altitude and geographical landscape. Make sure that you look out of the cabin every now and then, unless you want to be that key person who prompts a new round of technology revolution — by Tilly Wimbledon.”
“I can only drop another 300 meters. No lower than that. This isn’t the Western Region of Graycastle where the land is flat — ”
However, Finkin interrupted him, “Two degrees to the right! Someone’s moving there.”
Good’s expression changed. He quickly adjusted the direction.
He could hear nothing except the howl of the wind and the roar of the engine. Therefore, Finkin was not referring to sounds but something visible to their eyes. It would be indeed very suspicious if someone chose to come out under this weather condition.
A moment later, Good found many black dots against the vast, white mountain range covered in snow. Instead of a few scattered dots here and there, they actually formed a great number of lines. From above, these lines resembled thin threads of hair in the snow.
“Are they… footprints?”
Finkin answered his question in excitement. “That’s right. I believe that’s whom Her Highness asked us to look for! There are people on the mountain, and there are so many! God, the demons are going after those refugees. I saw hundreds of bodies! Based on their body builds, they should be Mad Demons, and there are 30 to 40 of them!”
“Notify the others!” Good said immediately and pressed down the lever. “Let’s go first!”
Three green flares were discharged and sizzled into the air, forming a glaring constast with the Bloody Moon in the midair.
The plane plummeted, and the two parties were increasingly close to each other. When the plane was only 400 to 500 meters away from the crest of the mountain, Good finally saw the fleeing refugees struggling to run for life in the snow. They rushed down the mountain, and many people almost tumbled down the mountainside, looking desperate.
The Mad Demons, on the other hand, slowly closed in from behind. They were not particularly chasing or slaughtering them, but rather, they were enjoying the pleasure of the hunting game.
All Good’s blood rushed to his head.
He recited the shooting instructions internally and aimed at the Mad Demons at the top of the mountain. After the target was aligned, he pressed the firing button.
The machine gun instantly fired furiously!
This was also the easiest way to shoot a target on the “Fire of Heaven”. When the plane was only 200 to 300 above the ground, he did not need to worry that the bullets would deviate from the course as they dropped. The bullets would travel in the direction the jet headed during the whole process. Even Good, inexperienced as he was, could hit the target!
The bullets rained down at the Mad Demons in the snow and created a straight “borderline”!
It was not until then that the demons finally noticed the descending giant bird. They howled as they drew out their bone spears and threw them at the “Fire of Heaven”, without the slightest intention to retreat.
Just then, the “borderline”, without any warning, scattered the demons.
It was line of life and death.
The metal bullets whistled through the air and penetrated the Mad Demons, dotting the white snow with streaks of blue blood. Red blood mist spurted out suddenly from the back of the Mad Demons that got hit. Their arms and legs were instantly broken. For a moment, limbs and flesh flew in all directions, exhaling piles of snow. The Mad Demons were thus temporarily stopped.
Then there came the demons’ bone spears. Unfortunately, the spears could not harm the “Fire of Heaven”. Even if the weapons did reach the aircraft, they were too weak to cause any damage. It was almost impossible to spear the biplane traveling in the air at a high speed.
But the “Fire of Heaven” was still attacking
While Good was repositioning the jet, Finkin started to fire.
Finkin aimed at the crest of the mountain and fired ferociously. He did not follow any shooting rules or calculate the trajectories but simply shot based on his own instinct.
The demons finally realized that the strange bird in the sky was not some hybrid demonic beast or monster but a weapon created by human beings! However, their understanding could not change the situation. There was no hiding place, and the chance of escaping the furious “Fire of Heaven” became extremely slim.
During the past Battles of Divine Will, human beings had been so afraid of the Devilbeasts that flew high and fast up in the sky. Now, the demons were equally scared. Perhaps, they were more frightened than men.
A moment later, Good began to plunge toward the demons again.
At that time, the other two planes also appeared.
Under the attack of the three planes, the demons fled as fast as they could, but the planes pursued them relentlessly, in an attempt to kill more.
Neither Good Nor Finkin realized that they were the first few people who would still chase the enemies when they were outnumbered. Even the previous evacuation unit of the First Army had not taken the initiative to go after the demons. Now, they were facing 40-50 Mad Demons, but they only got three planes manned by six people.