The landing gear problem had already been dealt with.
The fighter jets tangled in that dogfight had also been turned into falling wrecks with clipped wings.
As for the missile that had gone out of control, it had been too close to the passenger plane to destroy from afar. The only option had been to rush straight at it, detonate it point-blank, and activate the energy shield at the same time for protection.
But that first fighter that exploded had been different. Kain had blown that one apart directly.
There had been a reason for the different treatment. That jet had deliberately lured him away from the airliner, so he had simply destroyed it outright.
The later jets, however, had been too close to the passenger plane. So instead of blowing them up, he had just sliced through their wings and sent them crashing down.
At those speeds, if the explosion had scattered shrapnel into the airliner, one mistake could have meant total destruction and everyone aboard dying with it.
The reason he had not intervened immediately in the aerial battle was because he had been dealing with the landing gear issue first.
It was not merely a case of the landing gear hatch being jammed shut. The internal landing gear mechanism itself had a problem.
Because of that, he had even been forced to act as a welder for a while, carrying out temporary welding and reinforcement.
After that, as the aircraft fighting outside drew closer and closer, he simply turned those winged birds into birds with broken wings.
However, the crisis was far from over.
The danger in the air might have been temporarily removed, but the aircraft itself still had serious problems.
There was not enough fuel left on board for a return flight. Because of the threat, the pilot had dumped a large amount of fuel.
In other words, the plane only had enough fuel left for a flight of roughly twelve more minutes, just enough to reach an airport on the North H side.
If they did not want to crash for lack of fuel, they had no choice but to land there.
That was not the only issue.
Using the transformable powered armor that had just been transmitted over from A2, Kain intercepted the fighter jets' communications signals. After analyzing them, he learned that the threat might also be coming from below - from warships on the sea.
One of the fighter jets had requested support from surface vessels. Missiles might be launched to attack him.
But with a target as small as he was, could they really capture and lock onto him?
Hm?
He had detected an attack coming from the sea. So they really had fired.
Had they actually locked onto him?
To avoid endangering the airliner, Kain dropped to a lower altitude and pulled farther away.
But he quickly realized that the missiles were not failing to find him at all.
Correction: it was not that they could not find him. They were not targeting him in the first place.
The true target made his face darken.
In that case, he would not be holding back either.
After dealing with the missiles, he would simply use the ion cannon to destroy the warship below.
At the same time, in a patch of ocean some distance away, there was a ghost lurking in the deep sea.
On the bridge of the TDD-1 Tuatha de Danaan, the assault landing submarine:
"Executive officer, we've detected a submarine nearby. Comparing the sonar data, the model is..."
Listening to the sonar operator's report, Richard Mardukas did not show the slightest change in expression.
With that submarine's capabilities, it should have been impossible for it to detect the TDD-1.
The problem was that they had already received notice from Mr. Kain, including the exact situation.
The airliner would most likely still be forced to head for the destination the enemy wanted.
If the TDD-1 wanted to provide support, then it would almost certainly be discovered.
Especially if they dispatched a transport aircraft to rescue the hostages, sent armed helicopters as escort, or loaded AS units into rockets and launched them toward the enemy. Any of those would require the submarine to surface, making it an easy target.
And even if the helicopters successfully departed from the submarine, they would still come under attack. As for launching Arm Slaves by rocket, they were confident the enemy would not have enough time to react and intercept.
But no matter how one looked at it, today was clearly no ordinary day.
Unless the TDD-1 launched a preemptive strike first.
With the TDD-1's capabilities, it really could wipe out the enemy force directly.
However, if they did that, the consequences would be enormous.
At present, North H had already announced to the outside world that the airliner had been hijacked by terrorists and was on its way to carry out an attack. In short, they were presenting themselves as the innocent party.
Mithril, meanwhile, did not yet have conclusive proof that this operation had been directed by that government.
If Mithril took the initiative and destroyed North H's naval forces, that would amount to Mithril declaring war on a sovereign nation.
Moreover, the waters here did not contain only North H vessels. A warship from the northern great power was nearby as well, supposedly on a friendly visit.
If Mithril launched an attack first, it would put Mithril in an extremely dire position internationally.
In fact, both of those countries were probably being manipulated and used. The true mastermind was Amalgam, hiding behind the scenes.
As for why the TDD-1 was already in nearby waters, the answer was simple: they had moved into position in advance. If they had waited until the hijacking actually happened before heading over, it would already have been too late.
"Executive officer, we've confirmed activity from the surface fleet..."
Two missiles launched into the sky from a North H frigate, and Richard's expression immediately darkened.
"Target analysis in progress. I-it's the passenger plane!!!"
Those words made everyone on the bridge go pale.
Several crew members immediately began readying the TDD-1's missiles. The launch hatches opened, and they would be able to fire interceptors into the air at once.
"Damn it!!!"
Richard, normally a model of composure, could not help cursing at the enemy's sheer madness. He immediately ordered an interception.
That sudden decision to destroy a civilian airliner, an outrage that would shock the entire world, made him begin to suspect that Tessa's intelligence had been leaked by an insider.
Over the past several days, they really had conducted an in-depth investigation into the TDD-1 and had indeed caught a traitor.
And that traitor was not even one of the two Mr. Kain had mentioned.
The mole probably had no way of knowing Tessa's exact destination. But if the enemy analyzed the leaked intelligence, combined it with Mithril's hasty reaction, and widened their net of suspicion, then the passenger plane becoming a target was highly likely.
The enemy would naturally suspect that Tessa had gone to contact the very target they had originally intended to seize. If so, that person might also be aboard the plane.
As for the possibility that the captain's family had been taken hostage and used to coerce him, of course they had considered that from the very beginning and had assigned personnel to protect them.
And yet the enemy had still succeeded.
That security failure had almost certainly been caused by the same mole leaking information.
"Four SM-3G anti-air missiles have launched!"
Everyone stared at the screens, praying that the interceptors now climbing into the sky would succeed.
No - they had to succeed.
As the four markers representing their interceptors drew closer and closer to the two enemy missile markers, everyone's nerves tightened further.
It was as if they were all holding their breath, waiting for the exact instant of interception before daring to breathe again.
"Hm?"
"What is that?!"
The enemy missile markers suddenly vanished from the display.
It did not look like they had hit their target. Something else had happened.
In any case, Richard did not believe the enemy missiles had suddenly developed the ability to turn invisible.
It was probably Mr. Kain's doing.
In his last communication, he had mentioned the dogfight between the North H and South H fighters, but he had also said the danger had already been eliminated. Judging from his tone, there was an eighty percent chance he had been the one to bring them down.
And the sea-launched missiles had most likely been intercepted by him as well.
But from aboard the plane, how had he managed that?
This was not the time to dwell on it. Since their interceptors had lost their targets, they could only be ordered to self-destruct.
However, the moment that self-destruct order was given, new developments caused Richard's face to turn ashen.
More missiles had launched.
They were not from the same ship that had fired the first salvo.
The launch point was too far away. Even if the TDD-1 launched interceptors now, they would never make it in time.
And the number was still increasing. The screen was rapidly filling with flashing markers.
Had they fired every missile they had?
Now Richard and Andrew could only hope that Mr. Kain would be able to intercept them all.
(End of Chapter)
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