The intense pain seared Wang Lan's right eye, giving him the sensation of an eyeball about to burst like an overinflated balloon.

Dynamic vision slowed everything down fifty-fold. Even at this reduced speed, missiles were still extremely fast, but fortunately, their agility was limited during high-speed movement.

Wang Lan lifted his hand, instantly predicting the trajectory of four missiles.

"Sword of Light—"

The Zanpakuto instantly appeared before Wang Lan, transforming into a cross-shaped sword of light. The moment his will commanded, four streaks of light flashed by.

Dynamic vision only captured the trails of the missiles; it did not slow their actual speed. So even when Wang Lan used his Star Martial Skills to intercept, the speed of the skills fired still appeared stationary to his eyes.

This was why a whole group of Star Sea realm powerhouses on the plane could do nothing about missiles flying at Mach six. Only something much faster than that could intercept them, and light definitely possessed that quality.

The Sword of Light could instantly switch between light and sword. As pure light, it had the speed of light but lacked the offensive power of a sword. When it turned into a sword, it would lose the properties of light.

"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—"

Three explosions sounded, and the plane once again shook violently in the turbulent air.

I was still a moment too slow, only managing to intercept three missiles… Wang Lan thought regrettably, but there was only one chance.

Unlike Wang Lan's regret, the powerhouses inside the plane were so astounded they nearly bit off their tongues.

Snipe missiles? Sniping missiles flying at high speeds? It's said that hitting a Star Martial Warrior with a missile is a joke, but what about a Star Martial Warrior hitting a missile? Even if one could track it, the attack speed wouldn't be enough. But Wang Lan actually did it! Shoot down three missiles in an instant? Is this the work of a deity?

The three missiles exploded in midair, deeply shocking the many teachers ahead but leaving Mr. Wen no room to be shocked. A missile, breaking through Wang Lan's interception in just one second, was already upon them.

In the nick of time, a bulge suddenly appeared on the external hull of the plane. The moment the bulge emerged, the missile crashed violently into it.

"BOOM—"

The plane abruptly nosedived, the intense shaking causing it to spiral downward. Inside the cabin, it was again a world turned upside down.

"Comrade, steady it, steady the plane—"

"I'm trying—"

The pilot howled, grabbing the control stick tightly. After falling two thousand meters, he finally stabilized the plummeting aircraft, and the plane slowly steadied itself.

"SPURT—"

Having taken another hit, Mr. Wen suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, staining the cabin ceiling a gruesome red. This injury seemed even more severe than the last.

But, before the teachers could even begin to show concern for their colleague, the BEEP, BEEP, BEEP of the radar alarm sounded ominously, like the call of the Grim Reaper.

Seven missiles, once again, turned around and rushed towards the plane.

This time, Wang Lan hung outside the aircraft, unable to treat Mr. Wen. If even one of the missiles grazed the plane, it would certainly disintegrate in midair without any hesitation.

"What do we do?"

"Can we dodge a few?"

"Three… we can only dodge three at most," the pilot was nearly in tears.

As Jade Country's ace pilot from the Ministry of Defense, evading missiles in a fighter jet was part of routine simulation training. However, even if flying the Huaxia-20 Supersonic Stealth Fighter, the chances of successfully dodging one wave of attacks when locked on by enemy missiles were eighty percent, two waves forty percent, and three waves ten percent.

But he was piloting a passenger plane—a large, slow, sluggish target that couldn't handle rough maneuvering. Under such dire circumstances, the ace pilot managed to perform two successful evasions in a row. This was no longer ace-level; this was godlike.

If I survive this, I'll be able to boast about it for the rest of my life! Back in the day, I piloted a passenger plane and survived an attack by twelve Punisher Missiles! How about that? But… that's only if I survive.

Seven missiles, with three possible to avoid, meant the remaining four could reduce everyone on the plane to dust.

"Don't evade—" Suddenly, Wang Lan's voice, carried by Star Power, entered the cockpit. "Maintain a horizontal position with the missiles…"

The moment the pilot heard Wang Lan's words, it was as if their minds had synced, and he instantly executed the maneuver. The plane took a sharp turn, halting its previous evasive actions and accelerating to climb into the sky.

The wings on both sides trembled ever more violently, as if they might fall off the plane at any moment.

At this moment, Wang Lan's right eye was filled with fresh blood. Drops fell from the corner of his eye, swiftly dissipated by the rushing wind.

With slightly blurred vision and enduring the pain, the Sword of Light instantly transformed into seven streaks of light shooting towards the seven missiles.

"BOOM, BOOM, BOOM—"

Four missiles exploded in the sky, but three failed to detonate as the timing for the Sword of Light's materialization was off. Suddenly, however, these three also exploded in midair.

The wreckage from the four detonated missiles became obstacles for the remaining three, which exploded immediately upon contact. Seven explosions nearly merged into one.

The deadly blips on the radar disappeared.

At that moment, the pilot was utterly baffled. A single thought repeated in his mind like a song on loop.

Holy crap, I actually survived... I actually survived... I survived...

"WOW—" The pilot exclaimed, springing to his feet. "Damn it, we survived! Twelve Punisher Missiles, and not one brought us down!"

The aircraft suddenly took a nosedive.

Wu Shaohua quickly pushed the pilot back into his seat. "Dude, you're flying a plane."

"Oh, right... climbing now, climbing now—"

The alarm was silenced, and the aircraft regained stable flight. Wang Lan struggled back into the cabin and shut the door. Only then did he take a deep breath, leaning against the aircraft, his entire body soaked and limp.

The Song of Life Star Martial Skill sparked to life automatically, sending a cool sensation through his stinging right eye. But a prickling itch soon followed, and tears trickled from the corners of his eyes—bright red tears of blood.

A fragrant breeze wafted by, and Yu Ruoyun quickly supported Wang Lan, helping him up. "Wang Lan, how are you doing? Quick, any fire-attribute Star Martial Warrior, come and warm him up. He's nearly frozen to death."

Under high-speed flight, especially at high altitude, a person could be frozen in an instant. When Wang Lan got back to the plane, he was no different from an icicle.

Wang Lan weakly patted Yu Ruoyun's shoulder. "Are you daft? I'm a fire-attribute, aren't I?"

As he spoke, Wang Lan's body temperature rapidly rose. For a fire-attribute Star Martial Warrior to be frozen to death would be the most shameful way to die, akin to an eagle plummeting from the sky to its demise.

With the plane stabilized, the instructors returned to the cabin. With Yu Ruoyun's support, Wang Lan approached Mr. Wen. Song of Life connected him with Mr. Wen; they looked like miserable brothers-in-arms in a hospital ward, staring forlornly at the aircraft's ceiling.

"How far are we from the Kingdom of Ice and Snow?"

"We are already in the airspace of the Kingdom of Ice and Snow."

"So you're saying this missile attack happened over the Kingdom of Ice and Snow?" Wu Shaohua said, turning his head to look at Longya, who stood with folded arms, lost in thought.

Longya was the overall commander of this reinforcement mission and also the head of the Tactical Department, to whom all tactical instructors reported.

"There's only one flight route from Modu City to the Kingdom of Ice and Snow, this one. The departure time and flight path were not leaked to the outside world. For the missiles to ambush us exactly on our route, they must have had prior knowledge of our departure time, flight path, and possibly even the aircraft's satellite positioning. Either the problem originated from Jade Country, or from the Kingdom of Ice and Snow."

"It's unlikely that there was a leak from Jade Country," Han Zhong said coldly, toying with his ring. "The missile launch site is near the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. Setting up a launch site within the less than thirty-six hours from when we determined our route and departure time is impossible."

"Then it must be the Kingdom of Ice and Snow."

"But why? We were invited to support them. Besides Jade Country, no other nation could save the Kingdom of Ice and Snow."

"My fellow instructors, I might have some information," Wang Lan said thoughtfully. "There are anti-government forces in the Kingdom of Ice and Snow. If it wasn't the government's doing, then it must have been the work of the anti-government forces."

"Anti-government forces? Does the Kingdom of Ice and Snow even have the conditions for that?" Wu Shaohua asked in disbelief. "The Kingdom of Ice and Snow is in such a dire state that the whole nation needs to huddle together for warmth. Anyone with means has fled, and the nation could collapse at any moment. What's the goal of these anti-government forces? To steal tombstones?"

"I... am not at liberty to disclose that," Wang Lan replied. "However, according to intel from the Tianjian Bureau, it is indeed so, and the anti-government forces have existed for at least five years."

At the moment the plane was safe, Jade Country had just received information that the support flight departing from Modu City had been hit by missiles. Though the status of the plane was unknown, one could guess that a missile attack meant it was certainly brought down.

Had it not been for the fact that the plane was full of Star Martial Warriors, making it impossible to confirm casualties, Jade Country would have been ready to declare the loss of all one hundred and twenty members of the support team.

As soon as the initial intelligence was relayed back to the country, within a minute it landed on the desk of the First.

At just fifty years of age, the First was the youngest ever in Jade Country's history. Moreover, he grew up during Jade Country's economic surge, and his approach to matters was starkly different from his predecessors.

"BANG—"

The solid wood desk shook with a thunderous clap that left the office staff as though they were under a paralyzing spell.

The First picked up the phone. "Foreign Affairs, this is Liang Weimin. I will not accept negotiation, compromise, or delays on this matter. Within three days, give Jade Country a satisfactory explanation. You may respond directly to me through the hotline."

The major countries around the world knew that the usually amiable Jade Country could discuss nearly anything. But that was because their bottom lines had not been crossed. Once they were, one had better be prepared to face Jade Country's fury.

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