Chapter 1 When the Airship Flies in the Canyon

As the airship flew through the canyon, Xie Bo couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead again and again.

Their attack was launched exactly one month after Ye Tao and his party were ambushed. In these days, too many diverse preparations had been made. Related to the airship squadron was the modification of the light boxes and a series of measures to reduce the airship's weight, thereby reducing fuel consumption during flight. The original light crossbows and ammunition were removed and replaced with semi-automatic controlled lights in the front and rear. On both sides of the airship gondola, the non-load-bearing baffle armor plates were also removed. No one felt insecure about removing the armor plates. When attacking at night, they really weren't worried about encountering any anti-aircraft fire. They were not attacking military camps that were already aware of aerial attacks, nor fortresses in Yunzhou that started conducting anti-aircraft drills every now and then, but the headquarters of a religious organization. Even if the other party had the intention to fight back, the large number of non-combatant clergy and believers gathered at the headquarters would nullify all counterattack plans in the chaos. However, the things added to the airship once again demonstrated the power of the Ye Family Workshop in detailed technology.

Reflectors made of glass were installed on the inflatable part of the airship and the gondola respectively. As long as light shone from the rear or side, bright spots could be seen immediately. This greatly enhanced the ability of the airships to control distance and formation when traveling at night.

The two sets of signal lights installed on the airship were even more magical. The signal lights no longer used the original light source made of whale oil mixed with other items, but electronic light sources. Each light set had only one light source and one set of batteries. But this one light source was fully utilized. The light bulb was placed in a condenser, and the light was directed into five paths in front of the condenser. One path was transmitted through the red glass cover in the middle, and two paths were transmitted through the transparent glass cover on both sides of the red light cover. One path of light was transmitted through a yellow fog lamp cover below the three lamp covers in the middle. The last path was directed to the control panel of this set of lights.

There were three dials, a trigger-like button, and a main switch on the control panel. After turning on the main switch, the light directed to the control panel was slightly transmitted through the glass-embedded dial and button, which was convenient for use at night. The three dials corresponded to three indicator lights respectively. After adjustment, the indicator lights would flash at the set frequency. Although this was achieved by using an old-fashioned method of mechanically covering and releasing the light shield, the change in the flashing frequency of the three lights could be used to adjust the formation in the air and carry out overall instructions. Usually, the red strobe in the middle indicates the flying speed, and the two transparent strobes on both sides indicate the direction of travel. Not only can they indicate left and right, but they can even indicate the turning radius of turning left and right. Using a total of three lights to indicate is indeed a bit cramped, but being able to do this for the time being has made everyone in the airship squadron feel much more secure. The large light below is manually controlled by the trigger-like button to strobe, which is used for various contacts between airships. Now, although it is only the second generation of lead-acid batteries, the effect is still quite good. One battery pack can guarantee that such a light set can work continuously for six shichen (an ancient Chinese unit of time, approximately two hours). Now, the lifespan of the light bulb is not very long, about six shichen. Each airship is equipped with a set of spare batteries and a set of spare light bulbs.

With this kind of guarantee, Xie Bo still felt uncertain. Everyone else was very calm. Most of the airship crew members had a feeling of resignation, but Xie Bo couldn't think that way. He had to bring the airship squadron back intact. Fortunately, although Ye Tao agreed to his risky plan, the original rendezvous point on the ground was still prepared. In case an airship could not return, there would be a retreat. Xie Bo was so nervous that his command airship in the middle of the entire airship formation almost made a mistake. Fortunately, most of the airship crew members were calm and experienced, and now the strobe lights guided the flight, relying on the two airships in the front to guide the flight, the difficulty was not very high, and the team did not mess up at all.

The reserve team of the Zongmo Tuan (Demon Sect) were guiding the way on the ground in Zuifeng (Drunken Wind) Canyon, lighting torches on the mountain tops to provide guidance to the airship squadron. With the cooperation of the air and ground, the journey was thrilling but safe. During this high-difficulty, high-speed, downwind flight, only one airship was forced to land due to mechanical failure, and was immediately protected by the Zongmo Tuan and evacuated.

After flying all night, the airship squadron finally rushed out of the canyon and transformed into a bombing formation, flying towards the Daoming Sect's main altar centered on the Hunyuan (Primal Chaos) Hall. They were actually more than a quarter of an hour earlier than planned. According to the planned schedule, the contact point for final ground contact and attack launch had not yet opened.

"General, we have reached the scheduled airspace." The observer on Xie Bo's airship had extremely keen eyesight. Relying on the extremely weak starlight and referring to the surrounding mountain shapes and water reflections, he made this judgment.

"Okay. Is there still no contact signal from the ground?" Xie Bo asked anxiously.

"No, if there was, we wouldn't be able to miss it," the observer said confidently.

"Order the formation to proceed at speed one, decelerating." Xie Bo considered for a moment and ordered. Speed one was the slowest and most fuel-efficient speed. Now they were behind Zuifeng Canyon, and it was impossible to hover in place waiting for contact. They had to drift slowly.

The waiting time was the most difficult. But the contact signal appeared on time. In a house with a large courtyard, several people ran out, set up three strobe lights, and released the signal.

"General!" The observer chuckled and said, "General, I see the signal."

"Signalman, contact the ground. The airship squadron is all normal, awaiting final instructions."

"Yes." The signalman immediately pressed the button and sent a series of signals.

The ground signal reacted extremely quickly. The signalman read it out while watching: "All is ready. Airship squadron attack. Good luck."

Xie Bo breathed a long sigh of relief, and then issued the order boldly: "The whole team turns to the target direction, set speed four. Airship squadron, attack!"

Following the signal from the command airship, all the signalmen on the airships eagerly sent a response signal on the very useful light set: Airship squadron, attack! Airship squadron, attack!...

Although it was just a flashing signal, and even neighboring airships would not shout loudly, the airship squadron, which had developed a habit of silence, expressed a strong fighting spirit through the signal.

On the ground, groups of instructions were also transmitted from the courtyard through strobe lights and other methods. But the ground preparation work was much simpler. The main force had already sneaked to the edge of the Daoming Sect's main altar. Starting from the second half of the night, people such as the secret guards of the Inner Court, the Special Operations Battalion, Ye Tao's guard battalion, the Dai family's elite soldiers led by the Dai family's offering, and even the people of the Zongmo Tuan couldn't hold back any longer. They had successively abandoned the lurking method of avoiding the patrolling Guardian Army and the main altar's guards and the Ying Hall's people, and instead eliminated the enemies who ran into their teams. Everyone had successively arrived at the best starting point. The soldiers of the Guards Infantry Battalion even set up ballistae and other things in advance under the guard of the guard team, and even made detailed target location calculations...

Another group of people were accumulating strength and trying to rest under the protection of Ye Tao's guard team. They had no weapons other than a short knife, but they each carried a camera. This was the first time a camera had appeared on the battlefield, and these nine people would be forever remembered as the first batch of war photographers.

For these people waiting around, as long as the final decision to attack was made, they would have to wait for the airship squadron to finish bombing before they could move. For these people, waiting was also boring.

"General, arrived above the target. First team, second team, third team report ready." The signalman said loudly.

"Very good, attack according to the predetermined plan. Remember, attack according to the 'predetermined plan.'" Xie Bo said with a sneer.

"Yes!" The signalman was very excited. They naturally knew that this predetermined plan was a bit different from the plan originally reported.

Some people observing on the ground soon began to mutter: "What is the airship squadron doing?" In their telescopes, they could barely capture that the airship squadron had collectively descended one altitude level and divided into three teams, diving towards different targets. After dropping the first batch of fire oil bombs, they quickly pulled up with the thrust of the rocket nozzles...

That's right, it was different from the plan. Xie Bo and everyone in the airship squadron felt that horizontal bombing was too uninteresting and had too little power, so they internally changed the horizontal bombing plan into dive bombing... Although their dive angle was not large, the accuracy was increased exponentially. Amidst the screams and cries they immediately caused, they began to eliminate the possibility of being strongly countered.

Xie Bo personally led the first team, taking the lead in conducting a thorough naming attack on the area where the most important figures in the main altar lived, with almost every magnificent building and pavilion receiving at least one fire oil bomb. Then they turned nimbly in the air and came back again.

The second team rushed to the architectural complex of the main hall of the Hunyuan Hall. This was the most fundamental symbol of the Daoming Sect. Although it was in the middle of the night, there was no one there except for a few practicing scholars on duty, but everyone understood how much psychological impact destroying the Hunyuan Hall would have on all the believers of the Daoming Sect.

The third team conducted horizontal bombing in a more conventional manner, not being too picky about targets. They attacked the living areas where most of the believers and members of the Daoming Sect lived. Whether it was the scripture halls where believers were instilled with doctrine, the impoverished living areas where believers lived, the living areas of the Guardian Army and the main altar's guards, or the large training grounds, etc., were all within their bombing range.

Under the orderly pouring of fire oil bombs by eighty-four airships, the entire Daoming Sect's main altar was ignited in just less than a quarter of an hour. On a nearby hillside, a photographer adjusted the shutter to manual and gently pressed the shutter... Not everyone could see this scene of fire illuminating the sky.