Chapter 1518 Dessert Or Desert? -Part 1



"Fox 1 to Fox 3, I have been picking up tremendous energy signatures and movements from the ground. Are your sensors getting the same readings?" The pilot said as his scanning machines were moving crazily. It was functioning normally a moment ago when they entered this brand new space but the moment they saw the Mechanoids on the ground going into formation, their readings were off the charts.

"Fox 3 to Fox 1, I have encountered the same thing. No visual as of now. Prep and ready to fire whenever needed." The only thing they could make sure that it was working was their weapon systems and thankfully so are their controls of the plane. All they could do was to assist for a while before for any possible enemies and subsequently either do a rough landing or ditch the plane entirely.

Just as the two pilots finish talking to each other, the rumbling of the sands got even louder causing most of the Mechanoids to lose their footing. The sand started to swirl and most of the soldiers knew something was not right and slowly move as per their commander's worried orders. However, it was not long until the sand movements started to be more...symmetric and it feels like they were being pulled into a particular coordinate. 

It was not long that the commanders at the flanks of the formation started to see the forming of a gigantic whirlpool in the middle of their defensive formation though it was more obvious to the two fighter planes circling at the top. They realised that they were powerless to do anything as their communications were not going through and all they could do was to see their fellow soldiers and War Maidens drown into the abyssal depths of the sandy whirlpool. 

The rest tried their best to move out of the way as much as possible and some attempted to rescue the others with robes from the humvees pulling them but it was not until a sudden thunderous roar bellowed from beneath the sand whirlpool that caught their attention.  A tremendous giant sandworm made out of nothing but pure moving metal emerge from its clutches and swallowed a bulk of the Mechanoids who were attempting to get out of the situation.

The sandworm had its fill as it jumped out of the sandy pits and leapt to another portion of the desert. The fighter planes were able to take evasive actions in time despite flying low enough as the pilots finally got a grip on what had been bothering their sensors. There was no way their current assortment of armaments would be enough to destroy such a giant of a monster. 

And as if luck was not at their side, their fuel gauges were beeping as well, indicating that they probably only have one shot against the huge sandworm if they were to fight against it. And to make matters worse, the people on the ground were as hopeless as the two fighter planes clinging on dear life when they saw almost half of their formation had been reduced to dust. 

There was no way they were able to win with such numbers and the only way to survive this was with more numbers on their part.  For now, what the remaining higher ups could do was to spread their War Maidens and mercenaries apart so that they could reduce their losses when the sandworm emerge from the ground again.

As the fighter planes circle for another round, they were bingo fuel and it was about time their extended stay in the air was brought to a close. "Fox 1 to Fix 3, I saw movement!" The pilot said as he realised that the communications even among themselves were also down. Perhaps it was the plane's way to conserve energy and thus he decided to fly closer to his fellow plane and did a few hand signals.

It was fortunate that the fellow pilot still remember his training from the recruit days and send back a positive reply via hand signals. They knew that the energy signature from the giant metal sandworm was so immense its targeting system was not able to give a proper job. Therefore, they were going to shoot their remaining missiles manually and subsequently dump all their machine gun ammunition onto the Sandworm.

With their last fuel reserve, they shut down the nonessential systems and pushed further up so that they could not be eaten by the Sandworm. Conversely, they were moving upwards to have a vertical aim at the Sandworm as they were somehow intellectual enough to aim for the interior portion of the Sandworm.

Even if their missiles could not kill the Giant Metal Sandworm, it was possible that it does some internal damage to the Giant Metal Sandworm, forcing it to either slow down or drop to the ground wide in the open for the ground troops to attack it.

At the same time, they curse their company for not doing enough research on Old Fammet. From a giant thermic beam emitting out from the mountain to a 'teleportation bomb' that brings them to a place out of nowhere. They initially thought it would be an easy job barring the caution of a sniper capable of killing fighter planes but this was something beyond their expectations and there was nothing they could do but to survive from it…assuming they do not get killed by the harsh environment.

"It's coming out!" Fox 3 pilot shouted as they already knew the rough pattern of the Giant Metal Sandworm when it first emerge.

"Flip 180 and prepare for dive!" Fox 1 pilot replied as they believed this was the best way to save the last stretch of fuel by using gravity as their aid and using the remaining portion to adjust for their dive.

"See you on the other side." Fox 3 said as he saw that he only have enough energy to release his missile and he knew there was no way to come back.

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