Chapter 305: Summit of Mount Everest

Chapter 305: Summit of Mount Everest

The moment the tungsten-cored heavy arrow was fired, it broke the sound barrier and reached speeds of over 3 Mach, transforming into a black streak of light that shot upwards.

If the target had been a Celestial King, it would likely have been dodged.

But the target was a missile.

Compared to the missile, which was tens of meters long and had a diameter of two meters, the heavy arrow was minuscule, a million times smaller. Despite the missile's speed approaching 20 Mach, it was as if they had practiced this a thousand times. The two collided head-on.

The arrow instantly penetrated the missile's casing and pierced through.

Light erupted violently, and in the sky, a thousand meters high, a second sun appeared, followed immediately by a third and fourth.

In the fraction of a second before the explosion, a white shockwave, visible to the naked eye, spread like lightning.

Then, three massive fireballs blossomed in the sky.

It was only several seconds later that the sound reached the ground.

"Boom..."

The earth-shattering explosion reverberated for over a hundred kilometers. Ji Xinghuo flew swiftly just below the explosion, maintaining a distance of over a thousand meters. The blast wave buffeted him, causing him to stagger, but it had no other effect.

By the time the flames from the missile's explosion had dissipated, he was already over a dozen kilometers away.

However, Ji Xinghuo immediately sensed another omen of danger.

His electromagnetic induction scanned frantically.

As his gaze swept the sky and surroundings, his Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupils located the source of the danger—directly ahead.

"There's an interception ahead."

Ji Xinghuo was not surprised. Air defense systems shared information in real-time. As long as the target was not shot down, they would predict the target's flight path and continue the interception from the front.

Missiles, rocket projectiles, Phalanx CIWS, laser turrets, orbital cannons, and more were all possibilities.

A black dot appeared in his field of vision.

"Surface-to-air missile."

Ji Xinghuo instantly recognized it, and within the next few seconds, he spotted more surface-to-air missiles. They were spreading out in a 180-degree arc in front of him, speeding towards him. While not as fast as hypersonic missiles, they still reached speeds of over 3 Mach.

And they would only get faster and more numerous.

"1, 2, 3... 11, 12, 13..."

Ji Xinghuo counted quickly.

A total of 15 surface-to-air missiles. From their trajectories and distances, he deduced that they had been launched from three different air defense bases.

Their speeds varied, but under the control of the same system, they formed a encirclement net.

Ji Xinghuo continued flying.

Neither slowing down nor changing direction.

He grabbed a handful of tungsten-cored heavy arrows and, when the nearest missile was only about 5 kilometers away, he entered the Myriad Phenomenon State and fired the first arrow.

The bowstring vibrated continuously as arrow after arrow flew out.

Boom!

The missile was instantly blown up, and a fireball with a diameter of hundreds of meters spread out. The subsequent missiles also exploded one after another, some from being hit by the arrows, and some from flying into the blast radius and triggering a chain reaction.

The simultaneous explosion of over a dozen missiles at low altitude instantly created a massive wall of flame, hundreds of meters high.

Ji Xinghuo flew straight into the wall of fire.

Just as he was about to enter the blast radius, he increased his altitude, flew over the explosion, and then descended again, resuming his low-altitude flight.

At a speed of over 2,500 kilometers per hour, Ji Xinghuo dared not make a right-angle turn, as his body couldn't withstand the massive inertia.

He flew forward for another kilometer when, from a mountain peak to his left front, five tongues of fire shot out. They were five Phalanx CIWS, and since they were outside the range of his electromagnetic induction, he hadn't detected them earlier. Just as he was about to veer right, he sensed an even greater danger to his right.

A beam of light descended from the heavens, carving out a crater dozens of meters wide on the ground.

Ji Xinghuo's heart skipped a beat.

The orbital laser cannon of the South Asian Alliance had fired, and although its power was far inferior to the crystal cannon of the Jingying Tribe, and its precision and firing frequency were also much worse, the consequences of being hit were unimaginable.

The laser cannon fired continuously, beam after beam striking down.

In the Myriad Phenomenon State, Ji Xinghuo flew out in a smooth arc. While he couldn't make a right-angle turn, he didn't slow down, making his evasive maneuvers unpredictable.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The laser cannon blasted out one crater after another, but it always lagged behind Ji Xinghuo.

During this time, the anti-aircraft position on the mountain peak to his left kept firing. The trajectories of the five Phalanx CIWS followed him like shadows.

Fortunately, they were relatively far away, and by the time the bullets reached him, their power had diminished greatly. The occasional few that hit Ji Xinghuo were deflected by his flux barrier.

The laser cannon continued its bombardment.

Ji Xinghuo suddenly changed direction, lowered his altitude, and flew almost hugging the ground towards the mountain peak where the anti-aircraft position was located.

Instantly, the Phalanx CIWS on the anti-aircraft position lost their line of sight, and they entered the range of his electromagnetic induction.

While evading the laser cannon fire from above, Ji Xinghuo scanned the situation at the position.

The anti-aircraft position had ample firepower.

Just in terms of surface-to-air missiles, their stockpile exceeded a hundred. There was also a company-sized unit of mutants equipped with rocket backpacks.

Ji Xinghuo's pressure lessened significantly.

As he flew over the position, he released an arrow, blowing up one of the Phalanx CIWS and simultaneously releasing an electromagnetic pulse. With the destruction of the CIWS, a gap appeared in the electromagnetic protection, and the pulse infiltrated the electronic systems of the entire position.

Sparks flew from the camp and weapons systems of the anti-aircraft position, immediately paralyzing it.

The missiles that had entered the launch procedure all stopped.

The mutants who were about to take off with their rocket backpacks malfunctioned and fell one by one. They could only watch as Ji Xinghuo flew overhead and disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

Like a flash of lightning!

Ji Xinghuo breathed a slight sigh of relief, and no laser cannons fell from the sky for the time being, likely entering a cooldown period.

For the next ten minutes, surface-to-air missiles continued to approach from all directions, but as long as they entered the Black Constant Crystal Battle Bow's range, they would be blown up and posed no threat.

The orbital laser cannons were the biggest threat, firing three rounds but failing to hit their target.

Ahead, Ji Xinghuo caught sight of a majestic mountain range.

Even from a distance of over 300 kilometers, he could sense the grandeur of the mountains, like a towering wall standing between heaven and earth, still covered in snow on its peaks even in June.

The Himalayas!

Just beyond this, the highest and largest mountain range on Earth, lay the borders of the Asia-Pacific Community.

"Too much starlight consumed," Ji Xinghuo silently calculated.

Initially, he could maintain his top speed for about an hour, easily covering a distance of over 2,500 kilometers in one go and entering the country's borders with ease.

Now, after just 16 minutes of flight, half of his starlight had been exhausted.

This was due to the frequent activation of the Myriad Phenomenon State.

With his improved strength and evolution, Ji Xinghuo found that the functions of the Myriad Phenomenon State had become increasingly powerful, but the consumption of starlight had also increased linearly.

Throughout this journey, he had almost constantly maintained the Myriad Phenomenon State.

"About 300 kilometers left."

"Probably another 9 minutes of flight, I should be able to hold on."

Ji Xinghuo steadied his mind and looked back, though there was nothing in the sky, he sensed danger.

His eyes focused, and the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupils zoomed in on his field of view.

Instantly, four fighter jet squadrons appeared, stealthily hidden from optical detection. There were a total of 2 actual jets, with 5 jets in each small squadron, maintaining a distance of several hundred kilometers between them.

"Four pilots."

Ji Xinghuo saw through the illusion of the fighter jet squadrons.

Each squadron only had one jet piloted by a human, the other four were drones controlled remotely by the lead jet.

In this era, all fighter jet pilots were mutants, and among the mutants, they were the elite, a very special group.

Their profession was called "Pilot," and they fused with specific exotic species to specialize in piloting.

For example, they might have abilities like "Mind Accelerator," "Frozen Emotions," "Thousand Dexterity Fingers," "Falcon's Gaze," "Kinetic Insight," and "Unyielding Resilience."

These abilities greatly enhanced their neural reaction speed and dexterity, and their bodies could withstand the inertia from acceleration while maintaining calm in critical situations.

However, these abilities lacked a systematic framework and were highly specialized.

If pilots didn't fuse with additional exotic species, their combat prowess would be quite mediocre.

They were born to fly.

Fighter jets, spacecraft, and shuttles were their weapons, and when they piloted these platforms, they could unleash firepower far beyond their tier, even skipping several tiers to take down enemies a hundred times stronger than themselves.

Every country cultivated a large number of "pilots," a low-cost, high-yield strategy.

A pilot only needed to take down a Legend to be considered an ace, a highly profitable endeavor.

At this moment, the four pilots were unaware that they had been discovered.

The four squadrons dispersed, approaching at high speed.

The jets' speed far exceeded Ji Xinghuo's, surpassing 5 Mach, and they closed in on him in less than two minutes. The nearest jet was only about 5 kilometers away and slowed down to avoid detection.

Two squadrons passed by on either side, about ten kilometers apart.

Another squadron loomed above Ji Xinghuo, maintaining optical stealth at an altitude of about five kilometers.

Twenty jets formed a encirclement net.

They abandoned the conventional beyond-visual-range combat, evidently aware of Ji Xinghuo's ability to shoot down various missiles and anti-aircraft fire, prompting this change in strategy.

As long-range missiles couldn't take down the target, they had no choice but to engage in close-range fire.

Hence, these four jet squadrons arrived fashionably late.

Each jet was armed with air-to-air missiles and small laser cannons, and just as they were about to launch their missiles, Ji Xinghuo took the initiative.

With a swift release of his bow, Ji Xinghuo fired a tungsten-cored heavy arrow, but his target was not the jet closest to him. Instead, he aimed for the third jet from the rear on his left flank. Whether the jets were manned or unmanned, they looked identical on the outside, and it was impossible to distinguish the lead jet from its wingmates with the naked eye.

However, with his Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupils, this was a simple task.

In an instant, he had locked onto the pilot.

The tungsten-cored arrow was even more precise than guided missiles, piercing the belly of the jet and leaving a gaping hole without exploding.

The jet immediately lost power and began to plummet, while the pilot's ejection seat deployed, launching the pilot to safety.

The other four unmanned wingmates switched to intelligent mode and performed high-speed maneuvers while simultaneously opening fire on Ji Xinghuo. They launched a barrage of air-to-air missiles, and their laser cannons spewed forth scorching beams of light.

But Ji Xinghuo, with his newfound deceleration, had already fired another arrow, rendering their assault futile.

With calm precision, he loosed several more arrows in quick succession.

It was like hunting birds in the sky, each arrow finding its mark.

Boom! Boom!

No matter how the unmanned jets dodged and weaved, they couldn't escape the tungsten-cored arrows. Some had their engines blown to smithereens, while others suffered critical damage and began to fall from the sky.

There was even an unmanned jet that had ventured beyond the effective killing range of the Black Constant Crystal Battle Bow, but with the aid of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupils, Ji Xinghuo's arrow, though weakened after traveling over four thousand meters, still found its mark, striking the jet's wing.

The jet spun out of control in the sky for a few moments before plummeting downward.

The incoming air-to-air missiles were also shot down by Ji Xinghuo, detonating harmlessly in the sky.

Ji Xinghuo spotted the escaping pilot, who had deployed his rocket backpack and was flying away at top speed.

He thought for a moment, deciding not to take the pilot's life.

In the distance, the other three jet squadrons witnessed this display and immediately realized that optical stealth was ineffective against their target. They promptly abandoned their attack plans and veered off in different directions, putting distance between themselves and Ji Xinghuo's flight path.

"Quick reactions, and a decisive escape," Ji Xinghuo muttered. "As expected of a jet pilot."

He was not surprised.

The mental fortitude of jet pilots far surpassed that of most mutants, and each one was highly trained to remain calm and make sound judgments in the face of adversity.

Without pursuing the retreating jets, Ji Xinghuo continued his flight northward.

The three jet squadrons did not leave, however. They maintained their distance, trailing behind Ji Xinghuo and occasionally firing a few air-to-air missiles in his direction.

But each time, the missiles were shot down before they could come close.

Laser beams rained down from the sky, and from the angle of the shots, Ji Xinghuo deduced that the orbital firepower platforms were moving away, their cannons tilting at an incline, which increased the distance and caused the beams to dissipate faster in the atmosphere, reducing their lethality.

"Heh…"

Ji Xinghuo smiled faintly.

The South Asian Alliance's power paled in comparison to the two superpowers and the two major countries. Moreover, the three main countries within the alliance were constantly scheming against each other, preventing them from presenting a unified front.

As a result, despite the South Asian Alliance's much smaller land area of less than 4 million square kilometers, they were unable to establish orbital platforms that could protect their entire territory around the clock. The further one ventured from Bhopal, the weaker the laser cannons became.

Perhaps sensing that Ji Xinghuo had no intention of attacking and had refrained from taking any lives during his flight, the South Asian Alliance also ceased their assault.

Only the jet squadrons remained in pursuit.

A few minutes later...

As Ji Xinghuo gained altitude, the majestic Himalayas loomed larger on the horizon ahead. He adjusted his flight path, soaring toward the snow-capped peak of Mount Everest.

There it was—the roof of the world!

He maintained his speed as he flew over the peak, leaving a white trail in the icy wind.

The summit marked the border between the two countries.

The pilots of the three jet squadrons watched as Ji Xinghuo crossed the border, and then, just shy of the demarcation line, they turned their jets around and flew away without a backward glance.

Ji Xinghuo gazed after them, a cold breath escaping his lips.

"I should be safe now."

He circled in the sky above the mountain, slowed down, and landed on the summit of Mount Everest. The sky was a brilliant blue, and the view was breathtaking. Despite the howling wind, he felt no chill.

On the summit, a flag and a row of colorful prayer flags stood amidst the snow and ice. Below, he could see climbers struggling to ascend the mountain.

The climbers had witnessed Ji Xinghuo's landing, and they stared at him, mouths agape, before waving vigorously and shouting something that was lost to the wind, their eyes filled with envy.

Ji Xinghuo took out his phone and turned it on.

"Director Zhou, I've made it into the country's airspace," he said as he connected the call to Zhou Yishang.

"Where are you now?" Zhou Yishang asked.

"On top of Mount Everest," Ji Xinghuo replied.

After ending the call, he stood on the summit, waiting.

He surveyed the majestic mountains and snow-capped peaks that surrounded him, and the distinct arc of the horizon in the distance, suddenly feeling like the world was a very small place, and here he was, standing at its pinnacle.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end