The storm has subsided, the sea has calmed down, and sunny Alpgis Island feels less like a battlefield and more like a tropical getaway.

Every sailor of the fleet did not bother to pay attention to the beautiful scenery, and they looked grim and buried themselves in sorting out their weapons and equipment.

The beautiful tropical island is full of murderous opportunities, and a new storm is being born here, a storm of light and darkness, blood and fire.

Hot air balloons float in the blue sky, and on the sea, small boats full of Imperial Marines are approaching the beach.

Although he was no longer young, Count Neulay was still an impulsive and irascible young man, and he did not listen to the persuasion of his subordinates at all, and insisted on boarding the gondola of the hot air balloon.

However, after liftoff, he soon regretted it.

Even a strong and brave man like him can't stand the fear brought about by his fear of heights.

The tall and strong Neulay shrank in the corner of the basket like a fluffy bird, and he did not even dare to stand up and take a look, as the commander of the balloon unit, Colonel Charlotte, and her colleagues were laughing at him.

"What's wrong with you, Mistress Neuer, do you need to change your diaper?"

Although Neulai is afraid, he does not admit defeat:

"! Charlotte! You unlucky, aren't you just a balloon for a few kids to play with, what's there to show off! I...... I'm not afraid! ”

"Then why are you crouching, Lord Earl, the view below is so beautiful, stand up and watch."

"You have to take care of it! I have seen a lot of tropical islands when I am on vacation, so it is not uncommon to see them! ”

"Hey, I can't believe it, a warrior like you has a fear of heights, but now you can stand up because we've dropped in height."

"Ah, really?"

Neule grabbed the edge of the basket with his fingers, poked his head cautiously, and glanced downward, where the hot air balloon was sailing among the clouds, and he was so frightened that his legs went limp:

"Fuck you! Charlotte, dare you lie to me! ”

"Hahaha, it's so funny, I must tell Your Majesty about this."

"Don't, don't! Please, big sister! ”

Neulai was afraid of this, and if he was ridiculed by the person he admired the most, it was better to let him die: "Don't tell Your Majesty, I will listen to you for everything." ”

"Hehe, it's pretty much the same, on earth you are an earl and a field marshal, but when you go to heaven, you have to be obedient."

Neulai snorted unconvinced: "Let's see how long you are proud!" ”

Five minutes later, the young observer began to report to Colonel Charlotte:

"Big sister, we are about to arrive at the target location, the altitude is 900, the wind direction is 34 southwest, and the visibility is level A!"

"Nice, the weather was perfect! A signal was sent to the entire balloon unit, the altitude dropped to 350, the first team dispersed to reconnoiter the whole island, and the second team covered the landing force. ”

"It is reported that the marines have landed on the south side of the island, they are advancing towards the mountains to the north, and there is no sign of the enemy at this time."

"There must be an ambush, the height drops 240, let the shooter prepare!"

As the air signalman conveys orders with flags, the hot air balloon basket is busy,

All the pilots are meteorologists who are skilled at finding different wind layers to adjust the direction of the balloon.

The Imperial Air Force shooters are armed with specially made heavy barrel precision rifles,

The newly modified conical ammunition casing is soft lead and is wrapped with steel balls that fit snugly into the spiral rifling inside the barrel.

After the gun, under the impetus of the gas generated by the gunpowder deflagration, the high-speed rotating bullet keeps a steady forward, and the new formula of low-smoke gunpowder burns only a small amount of gunsmoke, which is conducive to accurate aiming.

Compared to ordinary smoothbore guns, this new weapon has an exponential increase in range and accuracy, and is not susceptible to wind direction, with the disadvantages of high cost and slow reloading.

Neulai saw that the soldiers around him were holding rifles on guard, and his hands began to itch, but he still did not dare to stand up due to his fear of heights, and he felt a little bored, so he shouted to Charlotte:

"Hey, big sister, aren't you afraid?"

"Huh? You say you're afraid of high altitudes? ”

"Uh-huh."

"I'm not afraid of heights, so there's nothing to be afraid of."

"Tell me why you joined the Imperial Air Force."

"Let's put it this way, I have lived in a poor ravine since I was a child, and I envy the birds in the sky the most, and I dream of growing wings and flying outside to see.

When I was 15 years old, I left my hometown to go to military school, and after graduating, I was assigned to another ravine to garrison, which was so depressing! It's so aggrieved!

When the new hot air balloon unit was established and began to recruit, I couldn't wait to sign up.

My companions advised me not to go because of rumors that a number of people had died during a test flight, and there was a lot of skepticism about the new thing like a hot air balloon.

With the dream of flying, I still went to participate,

Most of the trainees who came during the same period were women, and because of their low weight, they could carry more people.

Things are full of twists and turns, all kinds of flight accidents have not stopped, worse than the rumors, half of the trainees fell to their deaths during the test flight.

At that time, I lived in fear every day, and I always had a will on my body.

Thanks to the special favor of the god of luck, I lived to the day when the hot air balloon technology matured, and His Majesty valued my courage and talent and appointed me commander-in-chief of the Imperial Air Force. ”

"Oops! Big sister head ...... Sounds inspiring! ”

Neulai's eyes changed when he looked at Charlotte, he was a rough man with a personality like fire,

I have never liked the fat, bloated, and vulgar ladies in the imperial capital, so I am still unmarried.

The lady in front of him, who has a strong figure, a sunny personality, and dares to challenge fate, just has an appetite for him, both of them are in their forties, and their height and temper are also matched, which makes him itch.

"Charlotte."

"Huh?"

"Aren't you afraid of being killed in an accident?"

"Of course I'm afraid."

"Then why haven't you been discharged from the army when you reach your age, and once you get the annuity subsidy, how good it is to live a free life."

"It's not easy to realize my dream, so I won't give up, wearing a handsome Air Force uniform, galloping in the blue sky like a bird, for this, I am a bitter child who crawled out of a poor ravine, and I would rather die than retire."

"There must be a noble person to show you the way."

"My old instructor, Mr. Cavill, said that you may die while lying in bed, and there is a chance of surviving on the battlefield, he is my mentor and has trained many excellent hot air balloon pilots, but unfortunately the old man fell to his death in a flight accident."

"Uh...... To ask a personal question, are you married? ”

"Hahaha!" Charlotte laughed and looked at the sky with a pair of big light blue eyes: "Who would dare to marry a crazy woman like me!" ”

"That's not necessarily, someone is just like that."

"Huh? What do you mean? ”

"I mean......"

Neulai, who had always been very aggressive, seemed a little embarrassed at this time, and before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the shouting of the observer;

"Report! His Majesty and the Prime Minister landed in a dinghy...... Wait, there's movement up north! ”