CHAPTER 419: CHAPTER 358 AIR FORTRESS_1

The scientific progress at the "Mysterious Cabin" had Chui Chui humming a joyful tune.

Yan Xing thought Chui Chui was happy about the completion of the Air Fortress and praised her, "It’s a great credit to you that we could build the first Air Fortress so quickly. I just don’t know what would be useful to you; otherwise, I would definitely get it as a reward for you."

When she heard about the reward, Chui Chui stopped singing, her eyes sparkling. "Master, will you give me anything I want?"

Yan Xing, having climbed aboard the newly completed Air Fortress with the Goblin Gaga, saw Chui Chui looking expectant and couldn’t help but laugh. "Of course, I’ll give you whatever you want. You’ve helped me so much, and I am truly grateful for that."

"Then... Chui Chui will have to think carefully about what to ask for," Chui Chui pondered seriously.

At this moment, the first Air Fortress had left the hangar and was moving onto the runway.

**Air Fortress 001**

Length: 23.7 meters

Height: 62 meters

Wingspan: 33.6 meters

Wing Area: 161.9 square meters

Empty Weight: 27,800 kilograms

Takeoff Weight: 39,720 kilograms

Self-Defense Firepower: Four twin-linked machine guns at the nose, tail, back, and belly.

Main Firepower: 102 mm tank cannon capable of firing standard Armor-Piercing Shells, Discarding Sabot Armor-Piercing Shells, and High-Explosive Shells. (The Alchemy Laboratory is developing a magic-guided cannon barrel and corresponding shells.)

Secondary Firepower: An aircraft-mounted rotary cannon with six barrels, rotating and firing shells in sequence, with a firing rate of 6,000 rounds per minute.

Defensive Capabilities: Full magic-energy Composite Armor plating on the fuselage.

Active Magic Defense System: This system features onboard intelligent magic detection equipment. This equipment can identify magic appearing in the air, track threats, and deploy targeted defensive shields based on the magic’s properties and effects.

Crew: Maximum of 15 people.

Equipment: Onboard radar, optical pods, magic-energy detectors, autoloader, vertical stabilization system, firing observation and aiming system...

The Air Fortress was highly advanced. Consequently, while Werewolves and humans served as gunners and machine gunners, alchemical robots with downloaded skill data supplemented the rest of the technical crew. Although the alchemical robots operated somewhat rigidly, it was best not to be too reckless with the prototype. The primary objective was to verify the technology. After all, with so much magical-alchemical equipment on board, there were undoubtedly many flaws that would need improvement.

To protect this rare Air Fortress, Yan Xing decided to personally accompany the crew to complete its acceptance test flight.

Chui Chui enthusiastically volunteered to be the captain of the first Air Fortress.

A mechanical tone resonated within the cabin, "Air Fortress 001 has completed all takeoff preparations. Requesting permission to take off."

Yan Xing closed the cabin door and replied, "Permission granted for takeoff!"

The Air Fortress roared to life as the four implosion steam engines on its wings spun the propellers. After a moment of vibration, the aircraft began to roll along the runway. The vibrations were more intense inside the cabin since shock-absorbing equipment had not been installed. All the crew members sat tightly strapped into their seats along the sides of the cabin with safety belts, while the alchemical robots directly fitted themselves into the mounting racks.

Fortunately, the vibrations didn’t last long. As the Air Fortress left the ground and climbed into the sky, the aircraft gradually stabilized.

Once the Air Fortress leveled out in flight, Chui Chui’s voice rang out again, "All personnel, proceed to your workstations. Air Fortress 001 will now begin a simulated combat environment test. Two kilometers ahead, we will enter the target range area."

As soon as Chui Chui finished speaking, all the crew members immediately unbuckled their safety belts and jumped out of their seats. The machine gunners crawled into the rotating gun turrets and firmly strapped themselves into their seats. The gun crew climbed onto the gun platforms and likewise secured themselves.

Once all personnel were in position, hatches on either side of the fuselage opened. The airflow inside the cabin immediately began to swirl violently, forming vortices. The airflow weakened significantly only when the pressure inside and outside the cabin equalized. However, the wind remained strong, so all communication had to be conducted via helmet intercoms.

"First test item: Firing the main cannon at a fixed aerial target. Main gun crew, ready! To the left, five High-Explosive Shells..."

Inside the cabin, the main cannon was located near the nose of the aircraft, while the secondary armament was towards the tail. Both weapon systems were mounted on sliding tracks in a longitudinal arrangement. Due to unresolved design issues, when one weapon system was in use, the other had to remain in a standby, combat-ready state.

The main cannon test commenced. The 105 mm tank cannon’s platform slid along its tracks, and simultaneously, the barrel rotated and extended out through an open hatch on the left side. After the main cannon moved into the firing position and the platform was secured, the Air Fortress tilted to its side and began to circle the target.

A thousand meters away in the airspace, a large balloon hung with a wooden target suspended beneath it.

The autoloader retrieved a High-Explosive Shell from the ammunition rack and slid it into the breech via a loading rail. Following the gun commander’s instructions, the gunner frantically turned the handwheels to adjust the cannon’s aim.

Hitting a target precisely from a fast-moving tank was hard enough, let alone from an aircraft flying at over 400 kilometers per hour. Even though the Air Fortress reduced speed as much as possible to facilitate aiming, it remained exceedingly difficult.

To overcome this accuracy problem, the gun crews of the Air Fortress consisted of Werewolf Ballista Heroes with shooting bonuses, carefully selected by Yan Xing himself. Therefore, as they aimed, the gun crews, composed of Werewolf Ballista Heroes, continuously cast spells on themselves to enhance their abilities.