Chapter 26: Sleepless Night in Madrid (Vote and Collect)

  Three planes were circling at low altitude near the explosion site, with debris from the plane scattered around the farmland for tens of kilometers. Sun Xiang saw more than a dozen intact wrecks, some still burning.

  It's estimated that the shockwave from the explosion either killed or stunned the pilots, and the plane came crashing straight down. Sun Xiang was a bit disappointed - unfortunately, his eyes were blinded by the explosion at the time, otherwise he would have been able to see the plane falling from the sky like dumplings. The scene must have been quite spectacular.

  Some parts of the farmland were also on fire, but fortunately it rained continuously during this period, and the fire was not big, so it was quickly extinguished by the villagers who came to help. Amidst the cheers of the villagers, the three planes circled one last time before heading back to Madrid.

  The aerial battle took place less than 50 kilometers from the city of Madrid, with machine gun fire and explosions clearly audible to civilians in the city, while the massive explosion's flames illuminated the dark sky.

  The Madrid base airport was surrounded by many people, everyone had heard the explosion just now, the army, ground crew, medical staff, and civilians who came to help were all anxiously waiting for an explanation from the control tower.

  "A strange noise, 'zzt... zzt...' came from the airport's broadcasting system. The waiting crowd straightened up involuntarily, a prelude to the upcoming broadcast. Immediately afterwards, Gomez's voice came from the control tower: "My God, what happened on your side? We can see the explosion flames from here."

  "Ah, I think we've created a miracle."

  The airport was silent, apparently still waiting for news from behind.

  Harvey's maniacal laughter appeared on the broadcast: "Hahahahaha!!" The massive voice shook the surrounding glass, making it tremble.

  The crowd looked at each other in confusion, apparently unaware of what had just happened.

  "Whoa!!!! General Gómez, please help us prepare a celebratory banquet. 40 bombers, except for the 5 JU-87s that escaped, all were eliminated by the three of us. That's right, it was like that."

  Gómez: "What was that big explosion? I clearly saw it explode in mid-air"

  "So, I said it's a miracle, heaven blesses Madrid!"

  A collective gasp was heard from the crowd, followed by a moment of silence, and then someone let out a cheer, after which everyone burst into thunderous applause!!! This was the largest air battle since the outbreak of war, and it shattered the enemy's goal of bombing Madrid.

  "Calling tower, calling tower."

  "Gómez spoke quickly: 'I'm Gómez, speak.'"

  "We have confirmed the battle results, and 40 kilometers northwest of Madrid, there are numerous aircraft wreckage scattered on the ground, with over a dozen intact ones, while the rest have been reduced to unrecognizable fragments."

  The dialogue was broadcast in its entirety over the airport's loudspeakers, and the crowd erupted into another thunderous applause.

  15 minutes later, three I-16 planes landed, and the crowd not only did not disperse but grew even larger. The news spread throughout Madrid's streets in less than an hour, and more people from Madrid arrived at the airport from all directions.

  As soon as the three planes stopped, cheering soldiers and ground crew rushed onto the runway, surrounding the three planes. Several quick-handed ground crew members swiftly climbed onto the plane's wings, opened the glass cover of Sun Xiang's cockpit, and pulled him out of the driver's seat. The situation was the same for Harvey and Ponorski. The atmosphere at the airport was like boiling water, with the three men being passed overhead by the crowd, and the frenzied atmosphere gave Sun Xiang a glimpse into the passion of the Iberian Peninsula people.

  The carnival lasted for an hour, during which the returning pilots were treated to this reception. Every pilot who landed was lifted onto the shoulders of the crowd and celebrated wildly. The three men were dazed after landing, and the crowd lingered for a long time, unwilling to leave.

  Ponorsky's legs trembled, and he looked at the crowd with a frightened glance: "I'm dizzy, oh God, I'd rather fight another aerial battle again."

  Havie's face also turned white: "The pilots can't take it either, I just want to find a place to lie down now."

  Xun Xiang also swayed twice before stabilizing his figure: "Really don't want to come again, too brutal."

  At this time, Turiyev led a man to come over and introduced him to Sun Xiang: "This is our Soviet Aviation Regiment Commander Viktor Dunev." This regiment commander looked about thirty years old, with a big beard on his face, sturdy build, and was about the same height as Sun Xiang.

  Captain Viktor Dunev gave each of the three a bear hug, accompanied by hearty laughter and a string of incomprehensible Russian words.

  "The captain says: It's a pleasure to meet you, you are all true heroes. I'd like to invite you for a drink as a sign of respect. Thank you for making up for my mistake and saving the honor of the Soviet Air Force."

  "It's our honor to meet you, and coming to the Madrid base, I saw the quality of the Soviet Air Force, it's indeed the highest quality among all the air forces I've seen!" Sun Xiang gave a small flattery, which obviously pleased Captain Big Beard, whose laughter became even more pleasant.

  In the evening, General Gómez organized a dinner party, attended by all pilots who participated in this interception mission. Before the dinner started, everyone observed three minutes of silence for the pilots who sacrificed themselves in air battles. Regardless of ethnicity, race or religion, at this moment, reverence for death and mourning for the dead are the same.

  After the minute of silence, General Gómez began to speak as the highest-ranking officer in the base: "First of all, thank you, international friends, liberal fighters who have crossed regions, countries and religions to gather in Madrid. It is your help that has filled the Spanish people with confidence and more firmly opposed the rebel military government. You have shown great internationalist spirit, you are the first international brigade to support the Spanish people's fight against fascism. In the battle to defend the newborn Republic, defend Spain's independence and freedom, you have made immortal merits! Now let us raise our glasses together! A toast to these internationalist fighters!!"

  A loud "Cheers" erupted, and at this moment, all languages were the same, because they expressed the same voice.

  Put down the wine glass, Gómez pressed his hand and said: "Today, our Madrid air base welcomed the biggest challenge since the start of the war. More than 70 enemy planes are ready to launch an air raid on Madrid. In this battle, the Soviet Air Force's First Volunteer Squadron burst out with incredible combat power, repelling the opponent's attack with a crushing advantage of 10 to 4 in the dogfight against enemy fighters! Let us congratulate them!" After a pause, Gómez raised his wine glass: "Finally, let us welcome the creators of this aerial miracle, Spaniard Javier, Pole Ponurski and Chinese Steve Sun!"

  The scene was chaotic, with whistles and cheers, as they, also soldiers, gave their companions the most sincere blessings and congratulations. In the joyful atmosphere, the three became the busiest people in the field, and Captain Viktor Dunev even pulled the three to drink three large cups of vodka, while Spanish boy Xavi was directly knocked down by the captain, this night no one slept!

  After the banquet ended, Harvey and Ponomarevsky were carried back to their rooms after getting drunk, while Sun Xiang accepted an interview with a reporter from Madrid Daily.

  "First of all, congratulations on winning this aerial battle"

  "Thank you."

  Reporter: "Can you describe in detail the specific battle process?"

  Sun Xiang nodded: "At the beginning of the alarm, the Soviet-made planes were parked very neatly on the outside of the airport. They took off quickly. Harvey, Ponursky and I were blocked by a crowd of panicked people for a while. By the time we caught up with the main force, the Soviet-made plane squadron had already engaged in combat with local fighter jets under the leadership of Captain Vikdunyev. Their strength was evenly matched, so I didn't need to worry. However, the enemy's bomber fleet continued to advance towards Madrid. The old World War I planes following behind were clearly not enough to pose a threat to this 40-plane bomber fleet. Later, I heard that only one British-made SE·5 plane hit a bomber.

  Based on this judgment, we three turned around to chase after the bomber fleet. We first shot down their relatively fast JU87s. Then we faced their medium bombers BR·20. These planes were very slow, but they had impressive firepower. Facing their massive fleet, our three planes seemed insignificant. The three of us worked together to shoot down two of their planes, and then they contracted their formation, using dense fire to prevent us from getting close.

  Heh heh, unexpectedly, their dense formation became the root cause of their failure. Our gunfire caused them to panic, one plane crashed into another nearby plane, triggering a chain explosion. These guys packed together were sent to hell by their own bombs..."

  The next morning, the headline of the Madrid Daily: "Foolish Nationalist Army Commander!" In the following days, newspapers from all over the world reprinted this report, and many journalists and scholars wrote a series of articles such as "Air Defender", "Miracle Creator", "Advanced Aircraft I-16 in Modern Warfare", "Burning Wheat Field" and "On Single-Wing Aircraft". The names of Sun Xiang and his two companions were mentioned most frequently. They became famous overnight!