The remaining twenty-three Zeros instantly climbed, reaching an altitude of five thousand meters. After adjusting their angles, they nosedived and opened fire towards Li Jiu and his group.
"Brothers, let's see who takes down more!"
"The last three will have a twenty-kilometer cross-country run tonight!"
"You got it!"
"Hahaha, Grandpa Jiu, you're going to lose. Forget the twenty kilometers, just run naked for two kilometers!"
"Exactly, exactly! If you're afraid to show your face, I can lend you some underwear to cover yourself."
".........."
Although the Wolf Pack squad was constantly teasing Li Jiu, their hands were not idle.
Strategically despise the enemy, tactically value the enemy. Even a wolf hunting a rabbit uses its full strength. This is the creed of the Wolf Pack.
The aircraft formation behind them hovered in mid-air, observing the battle unfolding here.
Brigade Commander Chen, Li Yunlong, and Ding Wei all wore solemn expressions. For everyone, this was their first time witnessing an air combat up close.
Huang Tagu sat with them and sighed regretfully, "This time it's due to airport issues, we couldn't bring the more powerful ones."
"Otherwise, with these, we could shoot them down before they even get close!"
"What did you say? There are even more powerful ones? How powerful can they be?" With that booming voice, one didn't need to turn around to know it was Li Yunlong speaking.
Li Chengzong chuckled proudly, "The more powerful ones can sink a Japanese warship in one go, but it's a bit of a waste to use them against Zeros."
"Hiss........."
Everyone present inhaled sharply at his words.
Meanwhile, on the walls of Taiyuan city, Shinozuka Yoshio watched the distant aircraft formation, grinding his teeth in hatred.
The garrison captain beside him wore a dejected expression, "Your Excellency, the enemy's aircraft formation is too far away, our anti-aircraft guns can't reach them!"
"Pia......"
The problem that gave Shinozuka Yoshio a headache was precisely this. Hearing his words, his temper flared instantly, and he slapped him across the face.
"Baka! Then wait for them to fly closer before firing!"
"Heh! Arigato!"
The garrison captain quickly bowed in apology.
To be hit and then have to bow and apologize, only a race with such extreme, ingrained inferiority could do this.
The Zero fighter planes continuously climbed and dived in the air, their bullets raining down on Li Jiu and his group.
The Wolf Pack squad showed no fear. Nine against twenty-three, relying on their superb piloting skills, they weaved through the hail of bullets, returning fire with missiles.
"Boom........"
"Boom........"
"Boom........"
Puffs of smoke, evolving from the Zeros, cleansed the airspace they had defiled.
"Baka, they are too powerful!"
"Twenty-four fighter planes, and in the mere three minutes since the engagement began, nearly half have been lost. This is a tragedy for the Empire!"
"Your Excellency, I strongly request that all of the Empire's aerial forces in North China be immediately mobilized!"
Seeing his planes shot down one after another, while their own machine guns and cannons inflicted no damage on the enemy, Captain Okuri's fighting spirit instantly plummeted to the freezing point.
After roaring this into the Taiyuan command post via radio, he turned his plane and flew east.
"Retreat! Retreat!"
"Fwoo........"
"Bang........"
The thoughts were beautiful, but how could Li Jiu and his group let these little devils escape!
Before, it was just a friendly bet, but now, seeing them try to flee, their radars locked onto multiple targets simultaneously, and missiles were launched one after another.
"Fwoo-fwoo-fwoo-fwoo........"
If before it was single fireworks, now the sky was a riot of colors!
Well, not quite, the number of Japanese fighter planes wasn't enough...
The remaining dozen or so Zeros were wiped out in an instant.
"Damn it, that was exhilarating! So exhilarating!" Li Yunlong slapped his thigh excitedly at the sight.
Kong Jie was also thrilled, "Hahaha, now let's see how the little devils dare to hover over my head again!"
"Hahahaha!" Everyone present burst into laughter.
With the enemy's air power completely annihilated, Huang Tagu then issued the order for the general offensive.
The armored division slowly began to encircle the city from the east, west, and north directions, leaving the south open.
They kept a considerable distance, staying out of the range of the enemy's artillery, much to Shinozuka Yoshio's anxious helplessness.
Li Jiu, leading the helicopter squadron, began to systematically eliminate the enemy artillery positions and anti-aircraft defenses within the city.
Before these resistance forces were cleared, the full army's offensive would suffer unnecessary losses.
As the leader, he was still the first to charge out, simultaneously teasing the results of the recent competition over the radio.
"Brother Huang! You were dead last just now. If you rank last again this time, you can use that underwear to cover your face!"
"Mo Yang, Jue Ye, and you two, if you lose again, you'll have to run naked with Brother Huang!"
"Hahahaha.........."
The others also laughed heartily, maneuvering their helicopters towards the city defenses of Taiyuan.
Seeing the Japanese armored vehicles reveal themselves, Brigade Commander Chen and the others' excited expressions instantly froze.
It wasn't that they were worried about not being able to win, but seeing these machines inevitably brought back memories of countless comrades rushing towards enemy armored vehicles with satchel charges on past battlefields.
Li Yunlong slapped Li Chengzong on the shoulder, his gaze burning, "Grandson, pass down the order. Every single one of those enemy armored vehicles must be destroyed without a trace!"