Chapter 302: Burning
The three destroyed aircraft were drones. The Riken pilot let out a cold breath, realizing that if the tentacle had been just a little longer, his craft would have also turned into a fireball.
A standard formation included ten aircraft. He quickly directed the remaining fighter jets to lock onto the target and prepare for an attack.
The target was a medium-sized Space Octopus, over 80 meters in length with tentacles extending up to 50 meters—long enough to take out three aircraft in one strike.
Upon being locked on, the Space Octopus didn’t panic. Instead, it flexed its tentacles and climbed swiftly along the rocky walls, its movements agile and gelatinous, like rolling jelly.
Most of the fighter jets’ attacks missed, with only a few landing on its body. However, the energy weapons mounted on the jets were too small in caliber to deal significant damage to the 80-meter Space Octopus.
To disable this creature, the jets would need to attack continuously for an extended period. But time was a luxury they didn’t have. As the jets locked onto the Space Octopus and focused their fire, three other Mature bodies suddenly leapt out from the cliff walls ahead.
These three Mature bodies were smaller, only about 20 meters in length, having just transitioned from Larval body to Mature body status. They weren’t yet equipped with electromagnetic railguns, which made their smaller frames even more nimble.
The sudden ambush left the jets no room to evade. The three Mature bodies pounced, each taking down a jet and hurling them toward nearby allied aircraft.
Once again, the Riken pilot was fortunate not to be targeted. He quickly pulled his craft upward, prioritizing his own survival over his drone escorts.