Chapter 499: 487 Rapids Dragon
When the Rapids Dragon, wrapped in a cloud of air generated by its sonic barrier, appeared over Mount Ranji at extremely high speeds, Bai Zhongqi was anxiously waiting outside the Insect Nest.
Having mastered the Swarm for some days and evolved after devouring the DNA of over a thousand species, the Swarm Empress Zero finally began her first Insect Nest Fission today. The Nest Fission of the Swarm Empress was also an upgrade of her own level. But the first fission was full of risks. Zero's humanoid body also entered the Insect Nest, which was extremely fragile at this moment.
"Just at this time!" Bai Zhongqi couldn't help but curse silently.
When the Rapids Dragon rushed into the region of Mount Ranji at three times the speed of sound, Bai Zhongqi had already been alerted to the presence of aerial invaders. After undergoing a major change, Bai Zhongqi had become increasingly cautious. Before Mount Ji City had transformed into a Swarm metropolis, he had Zero create a radar-functional Enslaved Beast specifically placed in Mount Ranji to scout and alert for possible enemies from the air.
He had sent messages by carrier pigeons to recruit dragon slayers to serve, there was no reason the Dragon Clan wouldn't notice.
Bai Zhongqi had analyzed that the main force of the Dragon Clan should still be half a year away, but Evil Dragons had already conveyed a message to the lords around the world, demanding them to hand over seventy percent of their populations as tributes. This only indicated one thing, that one or more Evil Dragons had already arrived in Yimoduoya. This Evil Dragon was likely a type with especially fast flying speed and high maneuverability, specifically tasked with such scouting and messaging missions.
Bai Zhongqi's guess was very accurate. The Rapids Dragons, smaller in size than most dragons but capable of warp-speed travel, served as the engines of the Dragon Clan. They could carry other Giant Dragons beyond the speed of light with their Warp Bubbles and were naturally the fastest in the Dragon Clan. Inside the atmosphere, their speed could exceed twenty times the speed of sound.
Bai Zhongqi didn't know these details, but that didn't prevent him from intercepting the Rapids Dragon as it entered the airspace of Mount Ranji.
Although Zero was in a stage akin to labor, she had already delegated the command of most defensive Enslaved Beasts to Bai Zhongqi. His left hand was part of the Empress's flesh, identical to the Insect Nest and Zero's humanoid body, so commanding the Enslaved Beasts was effortless for him.
As the Rapids Dragon entered the airspace above the basin plains at three times the speed of sound, the Enslaved Beast defense troops controlled by Bai Zhongqi opened fire.
The first to launch was the Anti-air Missile Beast, able to manufacture and launch missiles on its own. It resembled a HQ-9 missile launcher vehicle, but with the capability to launch various types of missiles for different mission types and ranges.
The strongest anti-air missile that the Anti-air Missile Beast could now launch had a range that could reach 800 kilometers. Affected by the curvature of the planet, obviously this extreme range was impractical, but achieving this was entirely because the Enslaved Beast itself was part of a vast war system linked through information networks. The "A shoots B" function, which took a lot of effort to integrate in the old human military era, was almost instinctual for the Swarm.
In the mountainous regions of Mount Ranji, Bai Zhongqi had not only set up many small radar-beast scouts but also had some disguised as animals to act as scout soldiers. Once these Enslaved Beasts locked on, there was no need for television guidance, laser guidance, or infrared guidance; their gaze alone could provide enough guidance for the missiles to hit.
Bai Zhongqi had completely lost interest in naming his designed anti-air missiles; the missile he had launched was designated as Anti-Air-3, with a range of 200 kilometers and a speed of up to Mach 10.
When the extremely fast Anti-Air-3 missiles, launched from six launch vehicles arranged by Bai Zhongqi outside Mount Ji City, shot into the sky, the Rapids Dragon showed signs of panic.
The three brothers watching this scene from afar were also shocked. Shi Nazhen exclaimed, "Such a fast arrow, what kind of weapon is this? It must also be a dragon-slaying weapon unearthed from the ruins."
The lean young man hastily called out, "He attacks the Evil Dragon proactively and possesses such powerful weapons; without doubt, the lord of this city must be a dragon slayer."
As they spoke, the missile in the sky exploded on cue.
The Rapids Dragon, startled by the missile traveling at Mach 10, had never been attacked by such a fast weapon before. However, the Rapids Dragon's speed was also extremely high. Bracing against the formidable air resistance, it instantly increased its speed to Mach 20. Not only that but the highly agile Rapids Dragon performed a dazzling change in trajectory in the sky, dodging the incoming missile.
What the Rapids Dragon did not expect was that influenced by Earth's old era military, Bai Zhongqi had designed the anti-air missile with a fragmentation warhead. After exploding in midair, all kinds of metal fragments scattered everywhere. Although the Rapids Dragon was very fast, it couldn't avoid being slightly affected.
But a dragon is still a dragon, and their physical condition is not comparable to ordinary creatures. Although the fragmentation warhead, with no small explosive power, hit the body of the Rapids Dragon, it did not penetrate effectively. The Rapids Dragon merely staggered in the air, shook its body, and flew up again.
Bai Zhongqi had no intention of letting this dragon go. He was still eagerly thinking about how to bring it down and carve a piece of flesh for Zero, to obtain the DNA of such a creature. He was unaware that, despite its small size, this dragon was capable of warp speed flying.
In fact, the mere ability to naturally achieve a speed of Mach 20 had already greatly interested Bai Zhongqi. The fastest combat-oriented enslaved beast he currently possessed only reached a speed of Mach 5, and while the Anti-Air-3 missile was faster, it was after all just a single piece of weaponry.
Next, Bai Zhongqi ordered the anti-air artillery beasts on the ground to also fire fiercely. These beasts, equipped with four 25-mm anti-aircraft guns and modeled after self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery, were produced by the Swarm. They were not nearly as expensive as real self-propelled anti-aircraft artillery, and for the Swarm, producing them was not more complex than producing a tank beast.
A barrage of shells set up an intense barrage in the sky, making it hard for the Rapids Dragon to approach the ground and forcing it to constantly dodge in the air, filled with rage, to avoid being hit by the shells.
"Damn it, I was careless! I didn't expect the dragon slayer to have such formidable weapons. They seem somewhat similar to the weapons the dragon slayers used sixty years ago, but there are too many of them! Could it be that Mount Ji has truly become a gathering place for dragon slayers, and they have formed an organization to confront our Dragon Clan together?" the Rapids Dragon thought to himself, utterly horrified.