Chapter 5

In the specially designated aerial combat training ground of the academy, twenty-three students stood in the air, using their flying techniques, surrounding the empty combat instructor Hartman like stars circling the moon.

"In air-to-air combat, whether your opponent is a mage like you or another flying unit, the most versatile spells are always missile, ray, and sphere spells! Missile spells, with their low consumption, fast casting, flexible guidance, and multiple firing capabilities, have the widest range of applications. They can be used for blind firing barrages, close-range guided point-shots, and various air combat modes. Ray spells are extremely powerful, with almost no time difference from casting to hitting the target, making them the ideal spells for air combat. However, they require a longer preparation time and cause intense elemental fluctuations, making it easy for enemy mages to detect them. Whether to dodge in advance or use defensive spells to deflect the rays, it is relatively easy. Therefore, how to effectively use ray spells requires careful consideration in your future air combat courses!"

No matter how bizarre the course, the outdoor combat instructors of the academy are essentially mages. The thinking pattern of mages is simple: first, they force-feed students with a lot of theoretical knowledge and principles, making them memorize everything, and then they make the students apply these theories in practice, a method that is simple, brutal, and effective.

Compared to Instructor Arno, Instructor Hartman is more like a pure and clean soldier, neither arrogant nor easily angered, diligently fulfilling his mission. Even when repeating content he has taught hundreds of times, he remains meticulous.

"For a long time, sphere spells will be the primary means of attack in high-speed air-to-air combat. You have all experienced firsthand that in a high-speed flight state, due to inertia, not only is turning around difficult, but even turning requires a large radius. Therefore, use your flying skills to try to lock onto the enemy's six o'clock position, close the distance to within your spell range, use your mental power to lock onto your target, and fire your most proficient sphere spell. This completes an effective guided spell attack!"

Instructor Hartman raised his hands, forming two balls of flame. The flames transformed into two small points chasing each other, playfully darting up and down in the wind.

"Does this mean that if your enemy locks onto your six o'clock position, you are helpless and can only wait to die? Of course not. There are no perfect tactics or invincible things in the world. The purpose of tactical evasion maneuvers is to help us, when being pursued or locked onto, escape from the enemy's guided attacks and mental lock, break out of the unfavorable tactical position, and even instantly take the initiative, seizing fleeting opportunities to counterattack!"

The pursued flame suddenly shot upward, transitioning from high speed to a complete stop. The pursuing flame, unable to decelerate in time, rushed past. When the stationary flame accelerated again, the roles of attacker and defender had switched.

"This is the content of this class. I will assess your mastery of the two evasive maneuvers from the previous class and guide you to understand their significance in actual combat. I hope everyone will study seriously." A hint of a smile appeared on Instructor Hartman's serious face. "Because in the next class, you will apply these two maneuvers in practice. Each of you will face a formation of twelve gargoyles in a pursuit and engagement, using what you learned in this class to regain tactical advantage and knock them down one by one!"

With the instructor's dismissal order, the students quickly formed pairs and began one-on-one aerial combat. Sigma shrugged, not even glancing at Instructor Hartman, and immediately accelerated forward—this situation was definitely one where the instructor would chase him, and with Instructor Hartman's skills, it would be a miracle if he could be caught.

Sure enough, a fierce wind came from behind, and dozens of Bone Teeth whistled past. Given the instructor's mana reserves, he could easily use the necromantic missile spell Bone Teeth to create a dense barrage. In the sky, a waterfall of Bone Teeth surged toward Sigma, continuously blocking his escape routes.

"Damn, at least at the level of a three-sided boss..." Sigma rolled in the air, dodging increasingly tricky attacks. "The principle of the Cobra Maneuver is to suddenly decelerate or even come to a complete stop, causing the enemy approaching from behind and preparing to attack to overshoot, thereby regaining the air combat advantage at the enemy's six o'clock position. However, the fragility of a mage's body means we cannot decelerate at too high a rate, so we must rely on the well-honed tactical movements and casting techniques of the Cobra Maneuver to minimize the effects of gravity and inertia on our bodies..."

He mentally summarized his understanding of the Cobra Maneuver and recalled the small modifications he had practiced in private. He slowly reduced his speed, using Bone Teeth to deflect the approaching Bone Teeth, signaling to Instructor Hartman that he was ready—after all, this was just practice. If it were a real combat situation, with Instructor Hartman's shooting accuracy and air combat experience, he would never give Sigma the chance to use the Cobra Maneuver to regain the initiative.

But even in practice, the instructor, with his military-like demeanor, seemed to be giving it his all. Hartman suddenly accelerated, closing the distance to within his spell range, the maximum radius of his mental power. Fire elements obeyed his command, forming a restless and violent force in the mage's hands, glowing with a brilliant red light, and arcing toward Sigma's back.

Sigma felt the intense heat and the sudden alarm in his mind. Without hesitation, he sharply pulled his body upward. In his slightly darkened vision, a brilliant fireball flashed past. According to the principles of the Cobra Maneuver, he should have quickly regained his balance and optimal flight posture after losing speed, then calmly watched the enemy rush past, and immediately counterattacked. But at that moment, a flash of inspiration appeared in Sigma's mind. He instinctively continued to pull his body upward, quickly completing a 360-degree flip. When the instructor rushed past at high speed, Sigma, who had flipped in the air, was almost back at the starting position of the Cobra Maneuver, with the instructor directly in front of him!

When you can clearly see the enemy's flying hair, use your most proficient attack spell; it will definitely hit—following the teachings of an air combat instructor, Sigma raised his hand in a flash, and five bone spears spiraled forward, aiming for the instructor's back!

——

"Many people may have told you this, but I want to say it again." After a thrilling aerial combat session, Hartman and Sigma sat on a cloud, watching the remaining eleven pairs of students flying and dodging, sometimes diving into the clouds and sometimes swooping down. The instructor smiled and said, "Sigma, you are indeed a genius."

The clouds had been treated by the instructor, skilled in air element magic, to be as soft as a sofa. Sigma stretched and smiled wryly, "Unfortunately, there are no perfect things in the world. I, this genius, have many flaws, and I imagine I have disappointed many people."

"When I was young, I participated in wars. My enemies included griffin riders, gargoyles, hippogriffs, iron griffins... The most difficult opponents were mages like me. They were highly skilled, knowledgeable, and knew many powerful spells. But when I shot them down, they were just futilely and hopelessly firing their most proficient spells. I knew many spells, but the one that took their lives was a bone spear wrapped in wind power." Hartman patted Sigma's shoulder and smiled, "If you don't learn, you don't learn. No matter how many spells you know, only a few are truly useful. Why worry so much?"

Sigma smiled but said nothing. Today, Instructor Hartman seemed particularly talkative. Perhaps Sigma's inspired performance today had stirred the former sky king, making him feel a myriad of emotions.

"The Rhine Campaign 163 years ago, the Duchy of Stag first deployed a hundred-man mage corps on the battlefield, turning ten thousand vanguard shield guards, three thousand champion knights, and five thousand thorn longbowmen into spectators. Mages, mages ruled the entire battlefield. Frost halted the advance of heavy infantry, swamps shattered the charge of heavy cavalry, and rain made the arrows lose their accuracy. Only the raging elemental forces wove a web of death. Mages, mages, the kings of the battlefield..." Hartman softly recited the well-known legend, patting Sigma's shoulder, "Young man, you are living in the best era. The older generation, during the most difficult times, opened up a bright future and passed the hope to the next generation. All our sacrifices and lessons were for you to go further..."

He felt the wind blowing in his face and said calmly, "After all, we are old."

"I can foresee that in a few decades, the number of mages will increase, and our theories and skills will become more complete. We will no longer need every mage to learn everything comprehensively but will allow them to specialize. Air combat mages, land combat mages, sea combat mages... and based on each person's talents and abilities, their fields of expertise can be further subdivided: air-to-air annihilation mages, air-to-air escort mages, air-to-ground destruction mages, air-to-ground assault mages..." Hartman's expression was calm, but Sigma could see that the instructor, though past his prime, still had a burning flame in his heart, "Our role is irreplaceable. Every strategist and general must place mage power at the core of their tactical planning. They think about how to maximize the use of mage power, how to minimize the power of enemy mages, and how to win wars with insufficient casting power. They strive for air superiority, spell domain layout, and saturation strikes with elemental power, because we influence the world, change the world, and guide the world..."

Hartman gazed at this destined-to-be-remarkable student, his eyes filled with intense expectation and hope, but he did not say it. He simply narrated the creed he had believed in all his life: "Because we are the kings of war."

Sigma was silent, looking at such an instructor, he really couldn't bear to tell him that he was so diligent and studious just to skip class more smoothly...

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PS1: 3000 words, it's not easy for a new author and a new book, please recommend, collect, and support. Also, thank you to "Doujin Fan" for the alliance-level reward, the first alliance of this book is born... (Hey, that's enough)

PS2: This book has been added to the Qidian book library and can be found using the site search. The issue has been resolved.

PS3: A friend asked why this book is in the game category. Because the fantasy category is too cold... As for the otherworldly continent in the fantasy category, I dare not go there! The fantasy category is full of great authors, and if I go there, which great author, after finishing their writing and feeling happy, might casually kill me in the toilet...

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