On the morning of December 12th at 8:45 am,
Just as 400,000 dragon knights were fiercely charging toward Leningrad, dense clusters of red dots also appeared on the radar screen near Leningrad.
A radar operator, seeing so many red dots on the screen, was almost startled, and this group of red dots was advancing towards Leningrad at a speed of 500 kilometres per hour.
The operator immediately shouted to his station manager,
"Sir, we have a situation!"
The officer dared not delay, as every second was precious during wartime, and any mistake would make the entire radar station responsible. He came to the operator's side and asked,
"What's happening?"
At this point, the officer arrived at the operator's side and, without the need for the operator to say much, saw the densely packed red dots on the screen.
Without thinking much, he could only quickly call his superiors to report.
"Comrade Colonel, we've detected enemy activity here, please immediately notify the troops to prepare."
"What have you discovered there?"
"Unclear, here I only see the entire radar screen covered with densely packed red dots."
From the current information, their sizes seem to be similar to our fighter jets, travelling at a speed of approximately 500 to 600 kilometres per hour, at an altitude between 5000 and 15000 meters."
"They will reach Leningrad in about 20 minutes."
Shortly after speaking, the manager again saw that the radar screen was being interfered with, similar to yesterday,
"Comrade Colonel, another emergency has occurred. Our radar is disabled again. We can't detect these unknown flying objects now."
"Alright, I will immediately notify the operational forces and the air force to be prepared. You, find a way to restore the radar, and report to me if there are any developments."
At the same time, an A-50 airborne early warning aircraft flying over Leningrad also detected the same situation.
Although their radar was also interfered with, the A-50, being the latest type of airborne early warning aircraft that completed its first flight only last year, had stronger anti-jamming capabilities.
So, after detecting the presence of the dragon knights, they not only reported to their superiors but also immediately arranged two cruising MiG-25 interceptors to go for reconnaissance.
The MiG-25 is a high-altitude, high-speed fighter that can fly at three times the speed of sound at an altitude of 30,000 meters.
Even if they encounter danger, there is a great chance of evacuation. Assigning such a mission to them was indeed the most suitable.
Meanwhile, the fighter jets that were on standby at the airport below also began taking off one after another, and aircraft from other military districts were rushing over to provide support.
Two MiG-25s, upon receiving the orders, immediately changed direction and flew west. Not long after, they arrived at the detected targets.
Meanwhile, the lead pilot, Sergei Nikolayevich Ivanov, was flying toward the west with his wingman Alexander Sergeyevich Kolov.
They would reach the coordinates provided by the A-50 in a few minutes.
At this moment, Sergei suddenly asked his wingman Alexander a question,
"Aleksandr, what do you think we'll see among those 400,000? Undead, dragon knights, or fairies?"
"Sergei, haven't you considered one possibility? What if what we see later is undead fairy dragon knights? Maybe these fairies have a bit less flesh and even only bones, but at least they can move. Quite suitable for you; I think you should give it a try."
"I think it might be more suitable for a freak like you."
Sergei and Alexander were both members of the Air Force, so they certainly knew what was happening in their homeland. Sergei shifted the topic,
"Aleksandr, do you think we can come back alive this time? After all, we don't know what the enemy is like, and flying so high, we don't know if we'll be shot down by them."
"Sergei, what nonsense are you talking about? Perhaps there will be a day when we sacrifice, but I assure you it won't be today."
"You haven't even seen your undead fairy dragon knights yet."
In the earlier radar interference, the radar of the MiG-25 was also affected, and even with anti-jamming activated, it was of no use.
Now, the discovery of targets can only be made through visual observation and guidance from the airborne early warning aircraft.
However, even the airborne early warning aircraft occasionally detects the dragon knights due to interference.
What Sergei and his team were unaware of was that their distance from the dragon knights was rapidly closing in, and both sides were now only 10 kilometres apart.
But, due to cloud cover, they had not yet spotted the dragon knights, but the dragon knights had already detected them because of the loud engines of the MiG-25.
Rick's deputy, Alex, was leading 30,000 Soul-Eater dragon knights soaring at an altitude of 15,000 meters, while other ordinary undead dragon knights' dragons could fly at most up to 10,000 meters.
At this moment, Alex, using his penetrating eyes, saw through the clouds and noticed two MiG-25s flying at high altitude.
"Human dragon knights, or rather, flying knights. It seems I underestimated this human kingdom."
"However, these flying knights that can reach such heights surprisingly lack any magical aura. And why are they carrying two noisy cylinders?"
"Aren't they afraid of being discovered by the enemy? Quite strange," murmured Alex to himself."
"But I wonder about your true strength; I need to test it first."
After speaking, he signalled to his subordinates nearby, and immediately, several dragon knights ascended into the sky.
At this moment, the voice of the airborne early warning aircraft's communicator suddenly sounded in Sergei and Alexander's headphones,
"Swallow, Swallow. Please be aware of a large number of red dots just below you. I repeat, a large number of red dots just below you."
Sergei and Alexander were greatly alarmed. Just as they were about to respond to the airborne early warning aircraft and prepare to descend in altitude for further reconnaissance, the voice of the airborne early warning aircraft sounded again in their ears,
"Swallow, Swallow. There are 5 unknown flying objects approaching you at a speed of 1500 kilometres per hour from an altitude of 15,000 meters. Please be aware and take evasive action."
Just as the airborne early warning aircraft communicator finished speaking, Sergei and Alexander immediately pulled their aircraft upwards and simultaneously increased thrust to gain altitude.
A few seconds after they increased thrust to raise the aircraft, several colossal figures appeared behind them, similar in size to their fighter jets.
"Damn it! Sergei, did you see what those are?" Alexander asked in a panic.
Sergei did see it. Just as they had pulled the aircraft up, he looked up and saw the creatures behind them.
"Oh no, Alexander, congratulations. Your wish seems to have come true. Your undead fairy dragon knights, or whatever they are, have come for you."
Although the two were still talking, their actions did not stop, and the increased thrust brought their cruising speed from the original 2 Mach to the maximum speed of 3 Mach.
"Alexander, let's turn back and launch an attack on them, and at the same time, confirm what they are."
"Alright."
They also didn't forget to contact the airborne early warning aircraft to report what they saw and heard,
"Calling Red Eagle, calling Red Eagle."
"Red Eagle received. Swallow, what have you discovered?"
"We have identified what those 400,000 unknown flying objects are."
"They are undead dragon knights – the kind of people who have died riding dragons that may already be dead or have died."
"I know it's hard for you to believe what I'm saying, but this is the truth. Later, we will fly back to observe them closely. Over."
Red Eagle fell into silence, evidently not believing what Sergei had said. Nonetheless, they responded,
"Received, Swallow. We will report truthfully to the higher-ups."
"Additionally, we've dispatched a 4-plane squadron of MiG-25 to support you. If you need assistance, you can directly contact them. Good luck."
Sergei quickly contacted the 4-plane squadron, providing them with his approximate location and coordinates. He informed them of the dragon knights' attack.
"Received, Swallow Team. We're on our way to the location you were attacked. We'll join you in eliminating those dragon knights."
"Don't go, squadron. There are more dragon knights below, be vigilant at all times."
The two MiG-25s, already at their speed limits, continued flying for nearly 20 kilometres before completing a difficult loop.
Meanwhile, Alex's officer, who had climbed to an altitude of 20,000 meters, expressed resentment,
"Damn human flying knights. They have no magical aura, yet they sensed us. And what's with their speed? How can they fly so fast? We need to report this to the Vice Commander immediately. We've been exposed; we must hasten our marching speed."
A dragon knight, seemingly recognizing a familiar scent in the air, spoke up,
"Wait, Commander. Sniff carefully; does this air have a scent similar to 'Faguang'?"
The officer, after this reminder, took a deep breath and realized,
"This is valuable intelligence. We must report to the Vice Commander immediately so that Lord Crazy Rick and Lord Death are aware that the weaponry of this human kingdom includes 'arcane light.' Otherwise, we'll suffer significant losses in future battles."
Just then, from a distance, Sergei and Alexander, flying back, each launched an R-40TD infrared-guided missile towards the dragon knights.
Unable to rely on radar in the absence of radar, this was the only missile available on their aircraft.
The MiG-25, designed for high-altitude and high-speed operations, couldn't engage multiple enemies simultaneously, only handling them one by one.
Each missile hit a dragon knight, including one of Alex's subordinates.
The two elite dragon knights of the empire were shattered by a single Soviet weapon each, with their proud magical shields proving ineffective against such weaponry.
The formidable Soul-Eater dragons, along with the dragon knights, were obliterated in front of the other three dragon knights.
They didn't stand a chance.
As they were about to pursue, four more missiles from another direction targeted them.
Two missiles locked onto a single target, and as soon as the first missile hit, the dragon knight and its Soul-Eater dragon were blown to pieces.
The arrival of the second missile made the already fragmented corpse even more fragmented.
Soon, the five Soul-Eater dragon knights attempting to attack the MiG-25s were all turned into debris, falling like blood rain.
Watching from below, Alex's eyes were filled with deep shock.
The human flying knights' weapons could kill a Soul-Eater dragon knight with a single shot, rendering magical shields and heavy armour useless.
The lack of magic didn't hinder their ability to detect dragon knights from above and, most notably, the astonishing flight speed.
All of this suggested that their enemy was not as primitive as they thought; on the contrary, they might be considered barbarians in the eyes of this human kingdom.
He immediately ordered,
"All units, increase speed immediately. We must charge into Leningrad at the fastest speed."
"The enemy has detected us, hurry! Notify the Undead Legion and Orc Legion."
"Our enemies are incredibly powerful."
"The reason they lack magical aura is that they possess a force stronger than magic. We must strike them before the humans prepare themselves."
At the same time, Alex, through magical communication, informed the ongoing events and his conclusions.
In the rear command position, Crazy Rick, upon receiving reports from the front lines, replied,
"I will be at the front line overseeing and coordinating. First, let our legions enter Leningrad. I need to reassess the combat strength of these human forces."
In the current situation within Leningrad, all forces have completed their combat preparations.
Defensive positions, consisting of various anti-aircraft missiles, artillery, and anti-aircraft machine guns, have been deployed.
The S-125 "Berkut" second-generation surface-to-air missile is the mainstay among the anti-aircraft missiles, capable of intercepting multiple low-altitude targets simultaneously with a kill probability of 98%.
However, the paralysis of radar systems has rendered it less effective.
Another outstanding Soviet field air defence product is the ZSU-23-4 Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft gun.
Despite various radar issues, it cannot hide the fact that it is an excellent anti-aircraft vehicle.
Especially in the current situation of radar interference, using optical aiming sights becomes a better choice.
The vehicle itself is equipped with two thousand rounds of machine guns, causing significant damage to both ground and air targets.
Apart from the city's ground forces, more aircraft from the Air Defense Force and the Air Force have started to arrive, circling in the sky.
After losing radar capabilities, many types of missiles are unusable, so these aircraft have all been uniformly equipped with traditional machine guns and infrared-guided missiles.
At the underground headquarters of the Northern Front Command in Leningrad, Commander Gubanov, Deputy Commander Petrov, and Chief of Staff Kovalev received reports about the incoming enemy two minutes after the radar failure.
The three are currently discussing possible response strategies, as the defence ministry did not provide a scenario for dealing with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of unknown flying objects.
Chief of Staff Kovalev spoke first,
"Comrades Commander and Deputy Commander, based on the current situation, the targets of these flying objects are Leningrad."
"They will pass through the Baltic Fleet's base in Kaliningrad before reaching the city."
"Considering their speed, they will arrive in Kaliningrad in five minutes. It's challenging for the 20,000 troops and dozens of ships stationed there to stop these flying objects. Therefore, the battle will take place within the city."
"Our anti-aircraft capabilities in the city have been significantly reduced due to radar issues. What remains are a few hundred ZSU-23-4 Shilka anti-aircraft vehicles, along with numerous anti-aircraft guns and machine guns."
"Despite having substantial support from the Air Force and Air Defense Force, I believe it's far from sufficient against tens of thousands of unknown flying objects. So, we must consider other feasible options."
Commander Gubanov immediately responded,
"Since we have over 300,000 troops in the city, let's organize them for anti-aircraft shooting."
"The few thousand combat vehicles and tanks with anti-aircraft machine guns can still provide some effectiveness."
"And with 300,000 people shooting at the sky simultaneously, even if the chances are slim, we can hit some targets."
"In addition, we have not yet discovered whether the enemy plans a ground attack. Therefore, let the 14th Army in Vyborg be prepared."
"If there's any land invasion, defend in place and wait for support. If there's no land attack by tomorrow, be ready to return to defend Leningrad."
Deputy Commander Petrov added,
"We also have stranded warships in the harbour."
"We can have some sailors return to the ships to operate close-range guns, attracting firepower for the city."
"After using up ammunition, the sailors can continue the fight on board. "
"Our options are limited for now; we can only wait for orders from the high command and additional reinforcements."
After contemplating for a while, Commander Gubanov agreed,
"Let's disseminate the decisions we just discussed. Time is running out."
Just as he finished speaking, a staff officer rushed in from outside,
"Reporting to the generals, we have received reconnaissance reports from the Air Force."
"They have engaged in combat with these flying objects and confirmed them to be the so-called undead dragon riders."
"Shortly after we received the Air Force's report, the garrison in Kronshtadt also reported that they had spotted the enemy, arriving five minutes earlier than our initial estimates."
In December, the time of sunrise in Leningrad varies due to orbital positions, and the region's proximity to the Arctic Circle shortens daylight hours during winter.
Typically, sunrise occurs around 9 a.m.
Even in this unfamiliar world, the sun rose on time. However, accompanying the sunrise from the west were the undead dragon riders.
With the sun's ascent, the garrison on Kotlin Island witnessed a scene that would forever be etched in their memories, 400,000 dragon riders aligned in a formation, charging towards them at different altitudes and speeds.
December 12th marked a day that the Soviet people would never forget, as the 'Great Second Patriotic War' officially began on this day.