Two trails of white smoke split from the blaze of the explosion. Under everyone's watchful eyes, one fell toward the valley, while the other descended toward the airfield.
If that missile successfully struck the runway, it would be enough to blast a massive crater in the middle of the airfield.
Unfortunately, the H-55 Hurricane was already in the middle of taking off and had no time to stop.
"Fuck!"
Seeing the white trail reflected on the cockpit window, Coren's expression changed drastically. He cursed and shoved the throttle forward.
Flames blasted from the twin engines, propelling the aircraft forward at even greater speed.
At the same time, he nudged the rudder slightly left, trying to evade the incoming missile.
However—
Danger still beat him by a step.
Although the missile did not hit the aircraft directly and instead landed beside the runway, that made little difference against a missile loaded with metallic hydrogen.
"Boom—!"
The blast wave spread at terrifying speed, carrying shrapnel and broken stones as it slammed into the aircraft's side, instantly turning the Hurricane's right wing into a sieve.
One engine suddenly stalled!
With the left engine still at full power, the plane swerved sharply across the runway, its landing gear violently snapping apart.
Amid a teeth-grinding screech of metal, the bomber flipped onto its side, its broken wing gouging a trench into the ground.
Cracks spread across the cockpit windows before they shattered with a crash into countless fragments.
Coren let out a muffled groan, his face twisted in agony, and lost consciousness in an instant amid the spinning chaos.
But before passing out, he still struggled to reach out his right hand and press the button beside the control stick.
It was the delayed detonation button. The timer had been set for half an hour,