Abatai was confused.
The Qing soldiers were confused.
The Han army had released a gigantic Kongming lantern that floated above their heads. What kind of bizarre move was this?
What was the point of it?
After several seconds, Abatai suddenly realized something.
"Oh. That thing is for reconnaissance. It flies high and sees far, so it can observe our deployment."
He snorted.
"But what good does that do? Once they see all my defensive fortifications, their Great Iron Vehicles will be even less willing to come here."
Right at that moment, the reconnaissance soldier on the Flying Balloon took a deep breath and shouted toward the ground.
"I am beginning the test flight!"
Mo Li shouted back nervously.
"Be careful! We've tested it countless times already, but this is the first time it's entering real combat. You must be cautious."
The scout burst out laughing.
"Off I go!"
He grabbed a rope and pulled hard.
The rope activated a mechanism. On the north side of the balloon, several air vents opened and began blasting wind outward.
Whoosh.
Force works both ways. When the balloon pushed air northward, it gained momentum moving south.
And just like that, the Flying Balloon slowly began drifting toward the Qing border fortress.
Very slowly.
Painfully slowly.
After all, this was a first generation machine. The technology was extremely primitive.
But it was flying.
That alone was a massive victory.
On the ground, scientists, graduate researchers, and technicians erupted into cheers.
Across the field, Abatai and the Qing soldiers stared upward in confusion.
"What the hell?"
"That giant Kongming lantern is flying toward us!"
"There is no wind today!"
"How can it fly wherever it wants?"
While they stared stupidly at the sky, the Flying Balloon crept forward at a snail's pace until it reached the airspace above the Qing fortress.
Abatai tilted his head back and stared upward.
"Damn it. That thing is right above my head. I really want to shoot it down."
He waved his hand.
"Bring me a bow!"
A Qing soldier handed him a large bow.
Although Abatai was nearly fifty years old, his arm strength was still formidable. With a grunt, he pulled the bowstring to its fullest.
He barely even aimed.
The arrow shot toward the balloon like a meteor chasing the moon.
But halfway through its flight, the arrow lost its strength and dropped helplessly back to the ground.
Abatai clicked his tongue.
"Too high. Can't reach it."
He remained calm.
Unfortunately for him, the scout on the balloon had already begun preparing for battle.
Inside the hanging basket were piles of grenades, along with a specially made giant explosive pack.
The scout glanced at the largest bundle and decided to save it for last.
He had a bad habit.
Whenever he ate a meal, he always saved the best dish for the end.
First he ate the dishes he liked the least.
He casually picked up a grenade and held its fuse near the fire brazier that heated the balloon.
Sssss.
The fuse ignited.
The scout leaned over the edge of the basket and tossed the grenade toward the fortress below.
A small black object fell from the sky.
Abatai looked up.
"Is that bastard throwing rocks at us?"
Before his sentence finished, the object landed on a corner of the fortress wall.
BOOM!
Two Qing soldiers on the wall screamed as the explosion blasted them flying through the air.
Abatai's eyes widened.
"That's a bomb!"
Rage surged through him as realization struck.
The enemy was not flying overhead to sightsee.
They were bombing them.
"Ahhh!"
"Everyone be careful!"
"That guy up there is throwing bombs!"
"Take cover!"
"Where do we hide?"
The Qing soldiers suddenly realized something terrifying.
There was nowhere to hide.
Meanwhile the scout in the sky showed no mercy.
He grabbed two grenades at once.
Ignite.
Throw.
Ignite.
Throw again.
One grenade dropped straight into a trench.
BOOM.
The Qing soldiers hiding there were blown into the air like rag dolls.
Another grenade fell into a small pit.
BOOM.
Inside that pit, Qing soldiers had prepared fire pots meant to burn the underside of the Great Iron Vehicles.
Instead the grenade ignited them.
Flames erupted upward.
The soldiers inside the pit were instantly turned into Zibo barbecue.
The scout kept throwing.
Left hand grenade.
Right hand grenade.
Left toss.
Right toss.
Explosions erupted everywhere below.
The Qing soldiers completely lost their composure and ran wildly in every direction.
This was too fun.
Far more entertaining than playing whack a mole.
The scout laughed like a madman, dancing in the basket as he kept tossing grenades.
Left throw.
Right throw.
He had no idea how many soldiers he had killed.
All he knew was that the fortress below had become pure chaos.
Just as he was enjoying himself, he reached down to grab another grenade.
His hand touched nothing.
The grenades were gone.
"Damn it!"
No choice.
Time for the main course.
His eyes turned toward the giant explosive pack.
Meanwhile, the Qing soldiers on the ground had been blasted into complete stupidity. Many of them no longer even knew where to run.
They simply ran in circles in blind panic.
Then suddenly...
The bombing stopped.
Abatai crawled out from a small building inside the fortress and looked up.
"It stopped?"
He laughed loudly.
"Out of explosives, huh? Can't keep bombing now, can you?"
He pointed at the sky and cursed.
"Do you even realize how expensive all that gunpowder is? How much military funding do you think you have?"
The soldiers around him suddenly regained confidence.
Right!
The bombs must be used up.
What were they afraid of?
A large group of Qing soldiers looked up and shouted insults.
"Come on then!"
"Throw more if you dare!"
"Out of bombs already?"
"Hahaha!"
Right as they were laughing their loudest...
The scout leaned out from the basket.
Both hands held a massive explosive pack.
The fuse was still burning.
Sparks crackled.
The scout grinned and hurled it downward.
"Take this!"
The enormous explosive pack dropped from the sky and landed directly in the center of the fortress roof.
Then.
BOOM!!!
The earth shook.
This explosive pack had been manufactured by Xu Dafu, director of the Firearms Bureau, using the granulated black powder formula provided by Dao Xuan Tianzun.
The power was terrifying.
The fortress roof shattered instantly and collapsed inward.
At the same time, the enormous shockwave blasted outward in every direction.
Abatai suddenly felt as if the air itself had punched him in the chest.
His body flew backward through the air.
He slammed into the ground, rolled several times, and finally crashed against a half broken wall.
Only then did he stop.
Pain exploded across his entire body.
It felt like every bone had fallen apart.
He forced himself to look around.
His subordinates inside the fortress were scattered everywhere.
Some were twisted.
Some were motionless.
Some were screaming.
Thick black smoke billowed through the ruins.
No one even knew how many soldiers had been buried beneath the collapsed structure.
The scout in the sky was extremely satisfied.
Since he had no bombs left, he pulled out a metal loudspeaker and shouted downward.
"Did that feel good?"
"Don't worry!"
"I am going back to refill my ammunition!"
"Wait for Grandpa to come back!"
Then the Flying Balloon slowly drifted away toward the grasslands.