Having borrowed two horses from the Ranch Mistress, Fat Dior did not hesitate to send two of the best riding third-year students to expand the area of their patrol and focus on the town marked "Epolon Leaf" on the map.

The 80-mile journey takes seven or eight hours on foot, and a quarter of the time it takes to ride a horse.

Weiss had no objection to the arrangement of Chubby Dior. His "friend or foe identification system" was used in reconnaissance to the effect of the sky, but his riding skills were unsatisfactory, and riding a horse for two or three hours in a row was already the limit. Therefore, the opportunity is still given to the trainees who are more suitable to perform this task.

After eating and drinking, the group of cadets led by Chubby Dior, together with Major Brooks and his two intelligence officers, politely thanked the mistress and prepared to go to the forage warehouse to rest.

Before leaving the door, Nikolai casually glanced at the bookshelf in the living room and found a model airplane made of wood. So he went over and took a closer look, and asked the hostess about the origin of the model.

The hostess told him that her husband was a graduate of the Thornton Laier University of Engineering, who had worked as a technician and engineer at the famous Cadiz factory, and that he had left his job to return to his hometown because of his father's serious illness, and had accompanied him through the last year of his life. In this year of life, her husband gained a new understanding of ranch life, so he gave up the opportunity to work hard in the big city and stayed to become a rancher.

Hearing that the rancher had worked in mechanical engineering and in a well-known engine factory, Nikolai couldn't help but be amazed and asked the hostess with concern if his husband had tried to build a real flying machine at home.

The hostess gave an affirmative answer, but she added that her husband never had the courage to try to fly it. The reason is simple, a husband and father with a strong sense of responsibility cannot risk their lives for the so-called dream.

"Can you show us the flying machine your husband made?" Nikolai asked pretending to be calm.

The hostess was a little embarrassed: "I don't know, maybe...... My husband didn't want outsiders to touch his dreams without his permission. ”

Nikolai advised: "Don't worry, ma'am, we have no ill will, and maybe, we can help him realize his dream." ”

"Achieving your dreams?" The hostess looked at him with a wary expression.

Nikolai laughed: "I was the winner of the last Kaslos Flying Competition, and flying the aircraft was a breeze for me. ”

"Kaslos Air Competition? Really? "The hostess has obviously heard of the name of this event.

Nikolai pulled out his wallet and, as if by juggling, pulled out a golden badge from inside.

"That's the proof of the championship!"

The hostess's eyes widened: "Oh my God...... If my husband had known that you were a champion flyer, he would have bowed silently. ”

Nikolai said slyly, "So, can you take us to see it now?" I promise that I will never take his treasure without his permission. ”

The hostess finally hesitated: "Okay, please follow me!" ”

She led the group into a low, ugly wooden warehouse behind the stables. Upon entering, you are greeted by an ugly fuselage with no wings attached, and a pile of wood parts. If it weren't for the hostess's words first, how could ordinary people see that these things could be pieced together into a flying machine?

The warehouse was a mess, and there was a bad smell in the air, but instead of holding his nose and fleeing, Nikolai looked at the various objects with great interest.

"Cadiz C6 engine? Belch...... This guy is a bit bulky and has a low power output, and to be honest, it's not very good for powering flying machines. Well...... These hardware pieces are not bad, but these wood materials are not well processed, the workmanship is not standard, in fact, your husband's carpentry work is really not flattering! ”

The hostess replied, "He bought it from the thrift market for 200 crowns, and I heard that it was in the car of Mr. Katri, who lived in the town." A few months ago, Mr. Katrei accidentally drove the car into a ditch, the car fell apart, and people were injured, so in a fit of rage, he disposed of the car as scrap. My husband thinks he's picked up a treasure, but I always think he's paid a lot of money for something completely useless, and even if it can be converted into a tractor, we don't need to plow! ”

After going around, Nikolai shook his head: "It's a good thing your husband didn't risk trying to get it to fly. ”

The hostess breathed a sigh of relief: "I remember him saying that he was mainly responsible for engine manufacturing at the Cadiz factory, and flight power was just a personal interest when he was a student, and his hobby and profession were two different things!" I really don't understand, since he knows that interest and major are two different things, why waste time tossing these unprofitable jobs! Haug is only 13 years old, and if he can get into college, he will have to spend a lot of money to go to school! ”

Nikolai ignored the hostess's chatter, he lowered his head and pondered for a moment: "If I am given a day or two, I may be able to make it fly." Is there car fuel? ”

The hostess nodded: "Well, in that corner, most of the half bucket was also bought for some money." ”

Nikolai stepped forward to look and sniff, then turned to the hostess and said, "If your husband wishes, I would be happy to buy everything here for 2,000 crowns." ”

"2000 kroner?" The hostess almost cried out, and the surprise was palpable.

"Yes, 2000 kroner, cash deal." Nikolai said disapprovingly.

The hostess hurriedly said, "Oh, I think he will be willing, he will definitely be willing." After all, these things can't be turned into real flying machines in his hands. Besides, he'd be especially happy to see you fly into the sky with what he's made. ”

Nikolai took out his handkerchief, wrapped it and picked up the crank on the ground, gently tapped different parts of the engine, then unscrewed the engine cover, put the screwdriver in and probed it, and carefully examined the liquid on the tip of the screwdriver. Finally, he handed Weiss the crank and motioned for him to use it to start the engine.

Weiss inserted the crank into the engine crank and jerked it off a few times, before a dull roar was heard.

Looking down, his hands were full of oil, and then at Nikolai, this guy checked the engine, and there was not a trace of oil on his hands.

Weiss just wanted to write a big word "suit" on the ground.

Ignoring Weiss's curiosity and the hostess's apprehension, Nikolai circled the engine, observing and listening, and it took several minutes before he cut off the oil and turned it off.

"As you know, we are conducting exercises and time is limited. If you can make it easy for us to start the retrofit now, I'll be happy to pay you in advance. When your husband returns, if he disagrees with the price, we can negotiate separately. ”

The hostess was obviously still apprehensive about Nikolai's request, but she could not resist the temptation of such a large sum of 2,000 crowns, so she finally nodded and muttered, "I think he should agree, yes, he should agree." ”

With Nikolai's character, that's just doing what he says.

He asked Weiss to recruit from among the students those who knew a little about carpentry and a little about mechanics, so that he could work together and improve efficiency, and he asked for a pair of clean gloves from his hostess to cut and polish the wooden propellers himself.

Weiss went to the forage warehouse to pull the strong men, and at the same time had to explain the importance and reliability of the flying machine to the little fat Dior, and it took a long time to bring four second-year students to join Nikolai's work.

After briefly asking about the strengths and experiences of these students, Nikolai clarified the specific work of each person, and explained the requirements and significance of these jobs simply and clearly, and he himself buried himself in hard work for more than three hours, and finally changed the two-bladed propeller that he felt was barely qualified on the original basis.

When it got dark, the little fat Dior came to inquire about the progress, and Nikolai replied that the transformation of the aircraft was halfway through, but everyone worked for an afternoon, and at most two hours in the evening, which meant that the aircraft could not be assembled and tested until noon the next day at the earliest.

For the role and value of flying machines, Chubby Dior doesn't seem to value it so much. Shortly after dark, two cadets on horseback brought back the enemy's situation, which they found signs of enemy force activity in the small town of Epholon Leaves, 80 miles away, and along the road through the town, they found enemy posts, especially the four road bridges marked on the map, all of which were garrisoned by enemy troops.

After listening to the reconnaissance report, Dio quickly gathered the battalion headquarters and the captains and lieutenants, and explained his analysis and judgment of the situation and his operational disposition: the immediate goal was to attack and seize a bridge farthest from the town of Eppolon Yet, where he would wait to ambush the enemy convoy and use the captured transport vehicles to quickly move north.

In response to this operational deployment, Dio made a precise time calculation: that night, all the staff advanced to the vicinity of the target bridge, lurked for a day, reconnoitred and collected intelligence by the way, and waited until around dusk to start, striving to get the vehicle in the first half of the night, and using the cover of night in the second half of the night, to escape to the forest area two hundred miles away.

According to Theo's estimate, after this vote, they will have enough supplies to play with the enemy until the defenders launch a Jedi counterattack, and then join up with their own frontal troops. According to the scoring method of the exercise, the third-class collective meritorious service will definitely not be able to run away, and it may even be possible to get the second-class - with this honor, the time for formal promotion to the ranks of officers after graduation can be shortened by at least 6 months!

In addition to Weiss, the other two captains expressed their support.

At this time, Nikolai made a request, he could stay here alone and rush to join the troops a day later.

As long as you can make a guy who can fly normally, the reconnaissance vision of this enemy rear harassment force will be increased geometrically in an instant. After that, whether you attack or flee, you will be able to gain early insight into the enemy's movements.

After a moment's consideration, Dio agreed to Nikolai's request, and assigned him two helpers.

Weiss had been honorably promoted to Squad 1 commander, and of course there was no way to stay with Nikolai.

At the moment of leaving, Weiss suddenly felt very reluctant, and even regretted fighting for the position of commander of this team. Thinking that Nikolai had two helpers, and a group of bodyguards led by Major Brooks were guarding every inch, except for the fact that there were certain hidden dangers in piloting the aircraft, there should be no mistakes, so he persuaded himself to go on the road with peace of mind.