TF Amethyst

TFA1 7.4 - Air Superiority

As hundreds of black dots took off from Levsait and Raisait, Brigadier Lurek gave instructions via crystal communicator.

"Maintain formation and let them choose the angle of attack freely."

[Roger.]

[Roger.]

[Roger.]

[Roger.]

Four Captains from 4th Regiment answered in unison, and the formation continued flying towards Levsait at an altitude of 200 meters.

The Buriek's Riders weren't nervous at all, even though opposing Riders had disappeared behind the clouds and would pop up from unexpected angles. The only thing they had on their minds was, they had to quickly destroy Sandhur Guards' anti-air batteries in Levsait.

As the formation reached a position 2 km from the southern tip of Levsait, Brigadier Lurek gave another order.

"Destroy every ballista and footbow battery. Make sure Squadrons from HQ can attack Sandhur Guard with minimal disruption."

The four Captains in 4th Regiment immediately led their squadrons towards the ballista and footbow batteries that rapidly came into view.

---  

As soon as he received the order, Captain Ballan immediately led 20 Riders from B3 Squadron to scramble. B3 Squadron's mission was to stand by at maximum flying altitudes and ensure A1, A2, and A3 Squadrons could ambush Buriek Rider formations without interruption.

However, as soon as Captain Balan and Riders from B3 Squadron passed through the clouds, they were greeted by black dots that moved toward their positions at full speed.

Without delay Captain Ballan grabbed his crystal communicator, and with a slightly trembling voice he reported. 

"Captain Ballan to command center, correction of intel from Combat Air Patrol, approximately 150 Buriek Riders are already at high altitude."

[.  .  . ]

"Repeat, approximately 150 Buriek Riders are already at high altitude. B3 will try to contain them, but the ambush squadrons must remain cautious."

[Captain Yusak to Captain Ballan, B1 will take positions on your left.]

[Captain Wiker to Captain Ballan, B2 will launch a flanking maneuver from your right.]

"Wilco Brother, and may the gods in the heavens be with us."

[Command center to B1, B2, B3, hang on, all Sandhur Riders will scramble immediately, while Riders from Sviek and Rivek Regions will arrive in 14 minutes.]

"Roger that." As he prepared his bow and arrow specifically designed for aerial combat, Captain Ballan muttered, 'Hopefully, Sviek Riders and Rivek Riders are not too late'.

In an instant, B3 Squadron arrived at a position 2 km from Buriek Riders. Captain Ballan and his Riders immediately clamp the saddle using their thighs, while their hands were ready to shoot the poison arrows.

In one-on-one dogfights, victory would be determined by Rider's skill and Cloud Hawk's capacity. Meanwhile, in a large-scale aerial combat victory would be determined by numbers, where the volume of the first salvo was vital in determining the momentum of the battle.

Captain Ballan realized that Sandhur Riders were smaller in number, but without hesitation he led them flying straight into Buriek Riders' formation. However, before he entered the salvo range, rains of arrows suddenly hit Riders from B3 and B1 Squadrons.

"Above us, immediately spread out!"

Eight Riders from B3 Squadron instantly fall free straight to the ground. Fortunately, Captain Ballan escapes the salvo. However, a Buriek Rider managed to identify him as the squadron commander and immediately went after him.

Captain Ballan nimbly makes a super tight turn. Among Riders in Sandhur Air Corps, only 2-3 senior Riders would be able to follow his maneuver, but the Buriek Rider effortlessly followed him.

When Captain Ballan glanced at the opposing side Cloud Hawk, he was instantly shocked. The Cloud Hawk was 2/5 bigger than a regular Cloud Hawk.

'No wonder they can cross the maximum flying altitude for regular Riders.'

Captain Ballan realized that with a bigger wing, the Cloud Hawk must be faster and stronger. So competing in acrobatic maneuvers was not a wise move. Without hesitation, he then took a nosedive to bait his opponent into a high-risk maneuver.

However, as soon as Captain Ballan swooped down, another Buriek Rider with bigger Cloud Hawk cut off his maneuver from the side, and then grabbed and ripped him apart.

Cloud Hawk had an extraordinary loyalty to the Rider who raised it. Therefore, as soon as it saw its partner being ripped apart, Captain Ballan's Cloud Hawk instantly went crazy and attacked the killer. 

Unfortunately, with the two-on-one condition and the two opponents were bigger and stronger, Captain Ballan's Cloud Hawk instantly turned into pieces of meat and fell freely to the ground.

Captain Turiek, the Buriek Rider who killed Captain Ballan, looked up at the sky around him before grinning ear to ear.

With neat coordination, Buriek Riders hunted, pinned, and then finished off Sandhur Riders one by one. In an instant, Sandhur Riders were slaughtered to the last man. The Sandhur Riders who were about to ambush Buriek Rider's that moving towards Levsait were also being eliminated to the last man.

In truth, Marshal Ducie's tactics were quite simple. He let Sandhur's Combat Air Patrol to find Buriek Navy carrier ship's position. Then, he ordered the 4th Regiment to attack Levsait.

As soon as Sandhur's Combat Air Patrol reported the incoming Buriek Formation, the Special Squadron that had been standing by at a higher altitude would eliminate them. Then, regular Buriek Riders would take off from the carrier ship and welcome Sandhur Riders in the sky.

Marshal Ducie had expected that Sandhur Air Corps would not dispatch all of its Riders in the initial phase of the battle, but would share the workload with their two neighboring Regions.

It was a fatal mistake, because from the start Buriek Air Corps was ready to pay a fairly expensive price as long as Sandhur Guard's defenses in Levsait and Raisat could be destroyed in the initial phase of the battle.

Captain Turiek immediately reported to command center in Rebbar-01, that the first wave of Sandhur Riders had been eliminated, and the ambush towards their second wave was about to launch.

---  

In general, Cloud Hawks could carry a load of 250 kg, and because the average Rider's weight was 80 kg, the most Cloud Hawks in the Air Corps could carry weapons or supplies up to 170 kg.

In the air raid to Levsait, apart from bows, arrows, and javelins, the Riders of 4th Regiment were also provided with 30 clay jugs containing 5 liters of lamp oil.

The tactic used by Riders from 4th Regiment to neutralize Sandhur Guard's anti-air batteries at Levsait was, five Riders would throw jugs of lamp oil at the ballista or footbow crew. Then, the other five Riders would shoot fire arrows. It was a tactic that was not only wasteful, but very difficult and high risk.

This tactic was considered wasteful because lamp oil was an expensive commodity. And jugs of lamp oil were only used to destroy large buildings, not a ballista or foot bow crew that were scattered and quite a lot.

Targeting the ballista or footbow crew from a Cloud Hawk flying at full speed was also difficult. The Cloud Hawk had to fly so low and enter the ballista or foot bow effective range because small targets require extreme accuracy.

However, the Riders of 4th Regiment were able to carry out the wasteful and extremely dangerous tactic in perfect manner. Judging from their accuracy and agility when maneuvering, it didn't take a genius to conclude that they had practiced the tactic thousands of times.

When a Rider from 4th Regiment was shot down and was still alive, the Rider would also choose to fight to the death rather than get caught. A clear sign that Riders from 4th Regiment were ready to die for the success of their mission.

As a result, in less than an hour, 3/4 of the ballista and footbow crew at Levsait were burned alive by Riders from 4th Regiment. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they had turned Levsait into a sea of ​​fire, as the water that was being used to extinguish the fire, made the thick lamp oil spread in all directions while still burning.

And when Riders from 4th Regiment had just started attacking Sandhur Guard’s command center at Railev Pass, Brigadier Lurek's crystal communicator suddenly lit up.

[Brigadier Jasik to Brigadir Lurek, 7th Headquarter Regiment is 8 km from the coastline. Can we come in?]

Brigadier Lurek smiled before answering, "We lost 18 Riders, but we managed to open Levsait's door as wide as possible. So, please don't waste the sacrifices of our fallen comrades."

[Understood, I will make sure the Fallen Riders' sacrifices are paid off. The 2nd Headquarters Regiment is also about to start the air raid on Raisait.]

"Copy."

Brigadier Lurek then led the 62 Riders from 4th Regiment into retreat, while in the distance 80 Riders from 7th Regiment moved into Railev Pass at full speed.

 

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