Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 488: Divine Punishment (1)

Dragon Raja 3

“White Egret, White Egret, 120 kilometers ahead, there is an unidentified flying object without any identification signal. Radio warning—order it to land at the designated airport for inspection. If it refuses to comply, you are authorized to open fire at any time.”

“Great Pigeon, Great Pigeon, White Egret has received the order, beginning radio contact.”

A formation of two F-2 fighter jets was flying over Shikoku. Amid the natural disasters affecting the entire region, the Air Self-Defense Force had deployed fighter jets along the national borders to patrol and prevent foreign aircraft from entering Japanese airspace.

Sure enough, the formation patrolling near the Shikoku border detected an unidentified flying object. The lead aircraft, “Great Pigeon,” ordered the wingman, “White Egret,” to issue a radio warning, while Great Pigeon contacted the base, preparing ground-to-air missiles.

“Attention, unidentified flying object ahead! Attention, unidentified flying object ahead! This is the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force. You have entered Japanese airspace and must land for inspection under our supervision. If you refuse, you will be fired upon. I repeat, if you refuse, you will be fired upon.” White Egret issued the warning while observing the object on radar. Despite being the wingman, he was an experienced pilot, yet he could not determine the identity of the object. It was incredibly fast, possibly a supersonic jet, and appeared to be very small, suggesting excellent stealth capabilities. The only jet with such stealth and speed would be the American F-22. However, the U.S. military in Japan shared communication channels with the Air Self-Defense Force, so why would an American F-22 lack identification signals?

Great Pigeon disengaged the safety lock on the air-to-air missiles. Normally, with two aircraft in the formation and the other side having only one, combined with support from ground-based missiles, they held an absolute advantage. Yet, the unidentified object gave him an eerie, ghost-like feeling, making Great Pigeon uneasy.

The object did not respond, instead heading straight toward them.

“Warning! Warning! Unidentified flying object, stop your provocative behavior! Or we will fire missiles!” Great Pigeon issued the final warning and locked onto the target with radar.

Still no response. Not only did the object not evade, but it also accelerated and broke the sound barrier. The F-2s were approaching supersonic speed as well, with both sides on a collision course, set to meet in 30 seconds.

With no time to hesitate, Great Pigeon and White Egret launched four Sparrow missiles from their wing-mounted racks, creating four bright streaks in the night sky aimed at the unidentified object. Great Pigeon ascended while White Egret dove, preparing to flank the target while evading.

Sparrow missiles aren’t the most advanced air-to-air missiles, but they aren’t cheap either. Normally, it would be unnecessary to launch four missiles at a single target. But for some reason, Great Pigeon felt a chill in his bones. From this distance, he couldn’t see the object at all. It seemed less like an aircraft and more like a flying demon or some ghostly apparition.

Air-to-air missiles travel much faster than aircraft, and 12 seconds later, they hit the target, illuminating a corner of the sky. Great Pigeon breathed a sigh of relief, but an alarm suddenly blared in the cockpit.

“Evade! Evade! Distance too close! Distance…” The mechanical voice was cut off.

There was no time to evade. A fiery shadow shot out from the flames, slamming directly into Great Pigeon. The Sparrow missiles hadn’t destroyed it, nor had they even slowed it down. The object maintained its original flight path, slicing through Great Pigeon’s metal fuselage like a fiery blade.

Before Great Pigeon exploded, the fiery shadow had already passed by. White Egret couldn’t believe his eyes—physical attack! The enemy aircraft had destroyed Great Pigeon with a physical attack. He had never heard of such a weapon in aviation.

This kind of absurd scenario only happens in cartoons, where a Gundam slices through enemy armor with a beam saber. Modern aerial combat relies on beyond-visual-range attacks—you don’t even see the enemy before your missile takes them out.

Yet, something beyond common sense was happening right in front of him. After destroying Great Pigeon, the fiery shadow performed an impossible maneuver, disappearing into the dark rain clouds.

“Kumagaya Base! Kumagaya Base! Great Pigeon has been destroyed! I repeat, Great Pigeon has been destroyed! The target has disappeared from my radar! Unable to engage! I am retreating from the battlefield! Requesting ground support!” White Egret called out while rapidly climbing.

Like Great Pigeon, the wingman pilot was engulfed by a sense of dread. He suspected that thing wasn’t even a fighter jet at all, but rather something beyond comprehension—something like a UFO, or perhaps even a ghost! White Egret still had missiles and cannons, but he wasn’t confident he could take down that thing. He chose to immediately withdraw from the combat zone. The F-2, based on the American F-16, had excellent high-altitude, high-speed performance. Once it climbed to a certain height, it could fly at twice the speed of sound, on par with newer-generation fighter jets. As long as it wasn’t locked onto by missiles, it had a chance to escape the battlefield.

“Evade! Evade! Distance too close! Distance too close!” The alarm blared again, the mechanical voice repeating incessantly.

White Egret was going mad. The system indicated that an object was dangerously close, but when he looked outside the cockpit, he couldn’t see anything. Was it really a ghost? How could humans possibly fight against something like that?

His breathing was rapid, adrenaline rushing through his system, and his heart pounded like a drum. He pushed the engine’s thrust to maximum, thinking that if he could just break through the clouds and reach the stratosphere, he could achieve Mach 2 and shake off whatever was pursuing him.

But then, that thing appeared in front of him. The white, dragon-like, snake-like creature crawled up from beneath the nose of his aircraft, tearing the metal skin with its sharp claws as it approached the cockpit. To his horror, the creature had a human-like face, laughing with golden flames flickering in its eyes.

White Egret finally understood why he couldn’t see the enemy. The creature had been clinging to the belly of the aircraft the whole time, impossible to shake off no matter how fast he flew. It wasn’t a ghost, but something far more terrifying than a ghost!

The white claws shattered the cockpit glass and pierced through the pilot’s heart. The creature pulled the pilot’s corpse from the cockpit and casually tossed it toward the ground.

White Egret, now out of control, spun downward toward the earth, never managing to break through the clouds.

The last message Kumagaya Base received was the pilot’s scream: “Dragon! Dragon! Dragon!”—eerily reminiscent of the Japanese attack signal at Pearl Harbor: “Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!”

That white, majestic creature hovered at the base of the clouds, using the storm as cover. Occasionally, white-purple lightning illuminated its white scales, and the slow, powerful beating of its wings stirred fierce winds. It resembled a dragon servitor, its legs replaced by a long, snake-like tail, which twisted gracefully, carrying an aura of seductive wickedness, akin to the sultry sway of a dancer’s hips. Its form was both twisted and beautiful, a fusion of purity and evil, something so extraordinary that even the most imaginative of demonology scholars would struggle to envision.

The Dragon King—Herzog!

It reveled in the tidal surge of power coursing through its body, as if the heavens and earth themselves were being pulled with its every breath. With just its consciousness, it could stir the tides of magma deep below the earth. The geographic structure of Japan’s four islands took shape in its mind, every fault line, every magma channel so vivid and clear. These were memories inherited from its predecessors, passed down through the blood. It had inherited everything from Yamata no Orochi—its power, its bloodline, even its memories—yet retained its own consciousness.

No, it hadn’t just inherited the Orochi. It had inherited something far more divine, great, and ancient—a king! What it had inherited was the authority and power of the White Empress. This wasn’t some mere resurrection of the White Empress. No, it had replaced the White Empress, ascending to the throne of the world! From this moment on, it was the new White Empress!

It gazed down at the world that would soon belong to it, able to see the flow of the elements—red fire, blue water, black earth, and white sky—swirling violently across the land and sea. The chaotic elemental storms caused wind, rain, and tsunamis, altering the environment entirely.

So, this was the power of the Dragon Clan. They could see the very essence of the world, and through controlling the elements, they could control the world itself. This was the pinnacle of alchemy, the ultimate secret of controlling the elements with willpower alone—a secret that could not be learned but could only be passed down through bloodline.

How could one understand the beauty of power without standing at the pinnacle of the world? How could one dye the banner of the new king red without slaughtering the masses? Like a conductor, it waved its arms powerfully, and from east to west, volcanoes erupted in columns of scorching smoke, red volcanic ash swirling like the red scales of a black dragon.

Yes! This was a new era! The era of countless dragons rising into the sky. The Dragon Clan would awaken, but all would bow beneath its throne. In this era without the Black Emperor, the White Dragon would be the leader of the Dragon Clan. From Asia to Europe, the world’s map would be marked by the white banner of Dragon King Herzog. Like the Persian king riding in his golden chariot, carried on the shoulders of slaves across the continent, every land it passed would belong to it, and the blood of rebels would stain the ground in its wake.

Series Navigation

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