56: Dragon 1

Deep within Kyoto Base, inside a temperature and humidity-controlled fighter hangar, the cold air seemed frozen. weilong-1, this silver-gray falcon representing humanity's cutting-edge technology, lay quietly in wait.

Pilot Lu Yuan, standing tall as a pine, was performing his final pre-flight checks. His hand, encased in a tactical glove, lightly brushed over the fighter's smooth and cold skin, his fingertips feeling the characteristic chill of metal and the pulse of surging power.

His gaze was deep and calm, like tempered ice without a single ripple, possessing only a near-absolute focus. His eyes swept over the four "divine eagle-23" anti-ship missiles mounted under the fuselage—they were like four lethal spears ready to strike, their casings reflecting a dark metallic luster under the cold lights. Each had been specially modified: the warheads were filled with high-explosive charges of even greater energy density, enough to tear through thick steel; and most crucially, they integrated the most advanced intelligent tracking system, capable of automatically identifying, locking onto, and precisely hunting down that target from hell—the Corpse King—via real-time high-definition footage transmitted by Xingyang Base's drones.

"Lu Yuan, this mission is code-named 'Wing Severing.' Only success is permitted; failure is not an option! The lives of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Xingyang depend on you! Remember, you are not just executing a mission; you are fighting for a glimmer of hope for humanity!" In the communicator, the voice of the Central Theater Command Air Force Lieutenant General was low and solemn, every word weighing a thousand catties.

"Understood! I guarantee the mission's completion!" Lu Yuan's voice came through his oxygen mask, brief and powerful, without a hint of hesitation. He took a deep breath, sat into the highly form-fitting cockpit, skillfully buckled his seatbelt, and pulled down his helmet visor. With a series of complex and precise maneuvers, the engine of the weilong-1 let out a low, surging roar, like a sleeping giant being awakened, and the airframe vibrated slightly. The immense thrust pressed him firmly against his seat, and the fighter, like a silver arrow released from a bow, roared out of the hangar, pierced through the thick clouds, and sped toward Xingyang with lightning speed!

Xingyang Base had now become the front line of a living hell.

The million-strong Zombie Tide, like a boundless ocean of black rotting flesh, had completely submerged the wilderness outside the city walls! The air was thick with a nauseating, pungent smell of blood, decay, and gunpowder. Driven by the invisible will of the "Winged Bat King," the zombies were no longer a chaotic rabble; they were like precision-programmed killing machines, advancing one after another, treading over the broken bodies of their comrades. Wave after wave, they organized and frantically charged the crumbling fortifications! Dark red plasma and rotten meat painted the earth into a thick, hopeless carpet of filth. Every impact was accompanied by the violent shaking of the walls and a tooth-aching grinding sound!

On the city walls, the soldiers looked as if they had been fished out of a pool of blood, their uniforms long since soaked with sweat and gore. They gripped their scorching assault rifles, their fingers stiff and numb from pulling the triggers for so long. Muzzles spat fire, and bullets poured down like a rainstorm onto the surging sea of corpses below, every burst accompanied by hoarse shouting. However, the number of zombies seemed endless; as one group fell, more immediately filled the gap! The soldiers' physical strength and ammunition reserves were depleting rapidly, like sand in an hourglass. The breath of despair, like a cold viper, began to quietly crawl into everyone's hearts.

"Hold on! Everyone, hold the line!" A thunderous roar drowned out the din of the guns! Military District Commander-in-Chief Wang Yao, this general who did not come from a command background, stood like a stabilizing pillar on the most dangerous outer wall! His uniform was neat, the general's stars on his epaulets still shining amidst the smoke. He personally waved his arms, his voice piercing through the chaos of the battlefield: "Soldiers! The support fighters from Kyoto have already taken off! They are carrying high-power missiles capable of decapitating the Corpse King! Once the Corpse King dies, these monsters will become headless flies! Victory is in sight! For our home! For our loved ones behind us! Hold on! Just one last moment!" His words were like a shot of adrenaline, reigniting a glimmer of hope in the eyes of the exhausted soldiers as they gritted their teeth and continued to fire burning bullets into the endless Zombie Tide!

Just at the critical moment when the walls of Xingyang were on the verge of collapse, weilong-1 appeared silently like a silver ghost tearing through the firmament, ten thousand meters above Luocheng. Below, the zombie swarm was still dense, like a writhing carpet. But weilong-1's powerful optoelectronic detection and infrared locking system pierced through the swirling black mist, firmly locking onto the target radiating a powerful aura of evil—the Winged Bat King!

Inside the cockpit, Lu Yuan's eyes were as sharp as a falcon's. On the high-definition screen, the circling figure of the Winged Bat King was magnified, every detail clearly visible. His fingers moved quickly over the multi-function display, his voice through the encrypted channel as steady as if he were on the training ground: "Reporting to headquarters! Target locked! Winged Bat King's coordinates confirmed! Requesting launch orders!"

"Authorized! Execute 'Wing Severing'! Repeat, execute 'Wing Severing'! Good luck!" The voice of the ground command carried a hint of imperceptible tension.

"Understood!!" Without a moment's hesitation, Lu Yuan decisively pressed the launch button!

"Swoosh—! Swoosh—! Swoosh—! Swoosh—!"

The four "divine eagle-23" anti-ship missiles, like provoked vipers, instantly detached from their pylons. Their tails spat out scorching, dazzling pale blue flames, and with a terrifying shriek that tore through the air, they dived toward the hell lord below at a near-vertical angle! Mid-air, the missiles' intelligent seekers instantly activated their ultimate tracking mode based on the real-time HD images sent back by the Xingyang drones! They were like spears of the Grim Reaper possessed of souls, tracing eerie arcs in the sky, precisely avoiding the ordinary zombies crowded like ants below. All their cold "gazes" were fixed deathly on that single core target radiating thick black mist!

The Winged Bat King seemed to sense the fatal threat of death coming from the high altitude! It suddenly let out a sharp, piercing screech filled with rage and fear that reached the clouds! The black mist surrounding it surged frantically like boiling ink! The nearby zombies seemed to receive an ultimate command, leaping up, stacking, and even trampling each other regardless of everything, attempting to build a wall of sighs made of flesh and blood between the Corpse King and the diving Reaper!

However, the speed of the "divine eagle-23" had already surpassed physical limits in the latter half of its dive! Mach 10! Sonic booms exploded around the missile bodies! That fragile barrier made of flesh and blood was instantly pierced and torn apart like paper in the face of absolute speed and kinetic energy!

The first "divine eagle" accurately struck the base of the massive bat wings that the Winged Bat King had raised with all its might! Boom!!! In a world-shaking explosion, the high-explosive warhead detonated violently! The wild shockwave, mixed with sharp pre-formed fragments, instantly tore several shocking, bone-deep gashes into the tough membrane of the wings! Black foul blood and shredded fascia sprayed down like rain!

The intense pain caused the Winged Bat King to let out a shrill, agonizing wail! Its massive body suddenly stalled in the air, the black mist churning violently! But the second and third missiles followed closely behind like maggots on a bone, giving it no chance to catch its breath or escape!

Boom! Boom!!!

The second one hit its body directly! The third one slammed hard into the thick arm it was trying to use for blocking! Two even more blazing and terrifying fireballs exploded almost simultaneously! The Winged Bat King's tough body was like a wax figure thrown into a furnace in the face of such violent energy! Its sternum instantly collapsed and shattered! Its two thick arms were blown off directly, flying into the distance along with charred fragments of meat!

The final "divine eagle," carrying the will of Lu Yuan and all those who hoped, struck the Winged Bat King's fragmented remains with the precision of a hammer of judgment!

BOOM——————!!!!

The final explosion was the most violent! A brilliant white fireball instantly engulfed the Winged Bat King's mangled body! The terrifying high temperature and pressure completely vaporized it! The black mist that symbolized its evil rule was utterly dispersed in the violent explosion's shockwave, like morning mist driven away by sunlight! All that remained were charred fragments and foul blood splashing everywhere, falling like a dirty rain from mid-air!