Flying Swallow Number One!!!!

The Guts Wing 1 surged upward from the side hangar's flight rail, the speeding fighter jet churning the sea into a vast expanse of white foam.

The azure sky, the deep blue sea, and the green forests in the distance that rapidly drew near before being left behind—all of it made Hibiki Gousuke take a deep, involuntary breath of oxygen. "How about it? The view from the sky isn't bad, is it?"

Zhou Hong shook his head slightly. Although his flight speed as an Ultra was far faster than any fighter jet, the perspective from this altitude was quite different.

The more vast the sky, the more one could feel their own insignificance in this environment, realizing just how small a member of the world they truly were.

Hibiki Gousuke was rambling on about various flight protocols, and only when he spoke of the emergency escape system did Zhou Hong listen with the utmost seriousness.

This was his first time in the sky; aside from the textbook knowledge and button layouts he had studied on the ground, Zhou Hong understood nothing else, which was why Hibiki Gousuke had specifically chosen a wilderness area to perform some flashy maneuvers.

"How is it? Can you still hold on?" After executing another spiral ascent and roll, Hibiki Gousuke asked Zhou Hong with a rather strange tone.

Having endured all sorts of positions while being hammered by Joneus and Nexus in the Land of Light, this minor turbulence was naturally no problem for him. In his perception, it was actually Hibiki Gousuke, sitting in the front seat, who was already showing signs of wanting to vomit.

Too strong, Captain.

If he were to vomit into the oxygen mask, Zhou Hong felt he simply couldn't accept that.

"A little dizzy, please don't do any more fancy flying, Captain." His helpless voice betrayed no sign of actual discomfort.

Hibiki Gousuke, already feeling lightheaded himself, naturally couldn't tell. "Is that so? Then I'll fly a bit slower."

After gliding over the mountain region for a while, he slowly regained his composure and was just about to ask if Zhou Hong knew how to fly when a terrifying explosion suddenly erupted from the ground.

Accompanied by the screech of a monster, Hibiki Gousuke's pupils contracted sharply. "A monster!"

With blue-gray skin, organs that seemed to glow constantly on its belly, and a mouth on its head that split open almost to its ears, Zhou Hong recognized what it was the moment he saw it through the detector.

This was the monster that changed Asuka, the one that feigned death and was then parasitized. He remembered its name was something like Gronge?

If this monster were taken out here, would Asuka only have to face it once?

After all, there was no telling if the Captain might jump in to take a hit again and end up gone for good.

"Is this TPC Far East Headquarters? This is Guts Wing 1 training craft. We have detected a monster near Suruga Bay. The monster is heading toward the nearest town. Please provide support as soon as possible, please provide support."

After rattling off this string of words without even catching his breath, Zhou Hong's hands clapped for him without a second thought.

"Idiot! Is this the time for applause?"

Hibiki Gousuke looked at the monster's trajectory below, then glanced at the town in the distance.

At the monster's current speed, by the time the Far East Headquarters reacted and dispatched GUTS, the monster would likely have already reached the town.

If he were alone, he would have charged in to intercept the monster without a second thought.

But he glanced obscurely at Zhou Hong behind him through the mirror-like glass.

He silently pulled the plane up, slowly closed his eyes, and reopened them after only a moment.

"Ah-Hong, I'm sorry. I'm making you deal with a monster on your first flight."

A smile curled the corners of Zhou Hong's mouth. "After teaching me for so long, it's the perfect time to test how well you've trained me. Let's use this monster as our first target."

Zhou Hong's reply made even the stern-faced Hibiki Gousuke smile slightly. "Leave the flight systems entirely to me; you just focus on attacking. Think of it like playing a video game."

"Let's go!"

The Guts Wing 1 was a light fighter, and due to certain reasons, its only weapons were a single missile and a laser cannon.

But since this wasn't a full-scale monster suppression mission, these weapons would suffice.

Hibiki Gousuke slammed the controls to send the fighter into a vertical dive, positioning the craft directly above the monster.

Sitting in the back, Zhou Hong rapidly pulled the trigger, firing lasers in continuous succession.

The beams of light falling from the sky blossomed into brilliant fireworks atop the monster's head.

Attacked suddenly, the monster clutched its head with both hands and leaned back, its eyes locking onto the Guts Wing 1.

Bloodshot rage filled its eyes, and its gaping maw snapped open, spraying a crimson needle-like beam.

Hibiki Gousuke, who had been focused and waiting to dodge, yanked the control stick, smoothly flying out of the beam's path.

As the plane banked, several more lasers struck precisely into the mouth of Gronge.

The pain from its vulnerable maw caused Gronge to immediately deviate from its original path, its eyes fixed intently on the Guts Wing 1.

"Good, just like that." Hibiki Gousuke's pursed lips curled upward.

The monster acted like a simple, irritable beast, chasing the Guts Wing 1 and firing beams.

Bearing the lives of his subordinates on his shoulders, the young Hibiki Gousuke pushed past his limits, dodging every single beam.

"Thank you for your hard work. Leave the rest to us." Shinjoh's voice suddenly came through the communication system.

In his line of sight, two GUTS fighter jets appeared and fired beams at the monster's back.

Accompanied by the monster's pained roar, Hibiki Gousuke finally relaxed.

A crimson cluster beam suddenly struck the tail of the Guts Wing 1. Amidst intense vibration and spraying sparks, Zhou Hong saw only a few words.

"Engine failure!"

Billowing thick smoke trailed from the tail, and the wing had already been destroyed.

"Emergency ejection! Ah-Hong!" Hibiki Gousuke's roar was exceptionally loud, drowning out even the sound of the burning tail section.

Having long since strapped on his emergency parachute, Zhou Hong pulled the ripcord without a moment's hesitation.

Two white canopies drifted slowly into the mid-air.

To cover the safety of the two, GUTS immediately intensified their assault on Gronge, firing missiles and lasers in rapid succession.

The substantial firepower of Guts Wing 2 forced the monster to abandon the parachutes and refocus its attention on the two yellow fighter jets.

After a bout of combat, Guts Wing 1, piloted by ace pilot Shinjoh, began to billow with thick smoke.

"How embarrassing; even the rookies in their first flight training lasted longer than us," Shinjoh muttered with a bitter expression as he maneuvered his parachute.

At the same time, a beam of light flared brilliantly the moment Daigo touched the ground.

Although my updates are slow! I still beg for all kinds of votes...