I Became a Plutocrat in World War I: Starting with Saving France-Chapter 91 "Hot Air Balloon

The appearance of the Zeppelin airship disrupted Shire’s plan.

He had originally intended to attract the attention of the German airplanes by blowing up the reconnaissance balloon:

Blow up a reconnaissance balloon, and when a biplane appears and rushes towards another reconnaissance balloon, everyone, including the German airplanes, will think that the target is the balloon. The German airplanes will circle around the balloon to provide protection.

Then, unexpectedly, the biplane would suddenly dive and attack the "Big Bertha" on the ground...

The arrival of the Zeppelin airship made Shire realize that it might be an even more attractive target for the German pilots. When it catches fire, the explosion and flames would shock everyone. The Germans might even forget they have a strategic weapon that is more crucial to protect—the "Big Bertha."

Hence, Shire immediately redirected their target to the Zeppelin airship.

He divided the aircraft into two teams: one team consisted of a biplane and two "Dove" monoplanes; the other team had two biplanes and three "Dove" monoplanes.

The first team, led by Major Fisher, was tasked with destroying the Zeppelin airship.

The second team, led by Eric, was tasked with destroying the "Big Bertha."

Shire’s plan required everyone to be warriors:

"’Dove’ monoplane pilots should be ready to sacrifice themselves at any moment to protect the biplanes!"

"Biplanes are the spear to attack the enemy. If they are taken out, the mission is doomed to fail."

"Biplane pilots, you must entrust your lives and safety entirely to the ’Doves’!"

"Your mission is to destroy the target. It is nearly impossible to complete the mission if you try to avoid the enemy and change your flight path. Even a small maneuver could affect the trajectory of the rockets!"

The pilots nodded heavily. They understood Shire’s words. It was not difficult to understand. The hard part was... having the courage to do it in actual combat?

Sacrifice oneself to save others?

Or entrusting one’s safety to someone else’s self-sacrifice?

It was terrifying just to think about it!

Major Fisher led the first squad to take off first. They rushed towards the Zeppelin, while at the same time, the second squad, led by Eric, took off and stealthily approached the "Big Bertha."

Major Fisher felt a little dissatisfied.

"I should be the one blowing up the ’Big Bertha,’ not that drunk!" Major Fisher muttered. "He always carries that jug of wine. I’ve never seen him sober. Yet the hope of Antwerp is placed on him!"

But when Major Fisher saw the huge Zeppelin in the sky, his eyes widened.

"Blowing this thing up is even more thrilling than blowing up the ’Big Bertha’!" he exclaimed.

The mission went surprisingly smoothly.

When the three planes led by Major Fisher approached the Zeppelin, the Germans did not react at all. Whether it was the machine guns or the planes, they did not even blink an eye; they couldn’t care less about them.

Watching from the airport observation tower with binoculars, Shire initially found it strange, but soon understood: The Germans didn’t think they posed a threat. After all, aircraft of this era were unarmed.

The German pilots were ordered not to let Shire escape, so they would crash the planes attempting to flee Antwerp.

The three planes led by Major Fisher hadn’t left Antwerp, so the Germans thought they were there to admire the "miracle" of the German Empire. They would let them see it for themselves! In any case, they couldn’t do anything!

Realizing this, Shire felt some regret.

He didn’t anticipate such a reaction from the German pilots. If he had known...

There would have been no need for any plan. He could have simply focused the three biplanes on bombing the "Big Bertha," and then dealt with the Zeppelin at leisure.

At this moment, Major Fisher fired a rocket at the Zeppelin.

The rocket hit the Zeppelin directly, but surprisingly, it didn’t explode.

The situation immediately changed... The Germans realized these Belgian planes were not as "harmless" as they had thought. They quickly became tense and launched an attack on them.

The first attack came from the machine guns. With a burst of gunfire, the "Dove" protecting Major Fisher had its wing instantly shot off.

It spiraled downwards, losing balance like a wounded bird, crashing to the ground without a sound or explosion, breaking into pieces upon impact.

Meanwhile, the German "Doves" immediately closed in on Major Fisher. It seemed they had realized only the biplanes were armed, and naturally, Major Fisher became their main target.

As Major Fisher controlled his plane, he complained, "Damn it, this thing does nothing. We’re wasting our effort!"

The previous failure led him to believe that the rockets couldn’t penetrate or ignite the Zeppelin. What should they do now?

With a try-anything mentality, he made another pass, this time firing five rockets at once.

Since they were useless, why keep them? That’s what Major Fisher thought. If time had allowed, he would have fired all the remaining rockets in one go!

"Boom!" An explosion rang out, and flames suddenly erupted from the Zeppelin.

This startled Major Fisher, and he quickly maneuvered the plane to avoid it. The two German "Doves" heading towards him couldn’t stop in time and flew straight into the flames, instantly getting burnt to ashes.

"It works, it works!" Major Fisher burst into laughter, unable to stop himself from looking back at his handiwork.

The explosions on the Zeppelin continued one after another. It had internal compartments, each one triggering the next, like falling dominoes, only far more violent.

Soon, the entire Zeppelin became a fireball, burning fiercely in the sky like a giant lantern.

Incredibly, it still floated in the air. At that moment, it was perhaps not a hydrogen balloon but a magnificent "hot air balloon."

It seemed to want to hover a little longer, to relish in its most splendid and glorious moment, but in the end, it descended slowly with reluctance amidst the desperate screams of the passengers.

Everyone was stunned.

King Albert I was shocked. He couldn’t believe that just a few small trailing devices could destroy such a massive monstrosity. He thought it would at most cause it some damage or force it to land.

But the fact was that this colossal creature, although seemingly invincible on the outside, was actually extremely fragile.

Or rather...

A smile slowly spread across King Albert I’s face. The correct saying would be, it was invulnerable except before Shire.

With his gaze fixed on the burning and falling Zeppelin, he asked leisurely, "General, do you still think Shire is planning to escape?"

General Gis was speechless. He watched in awe, completely shocked by the scene unfolding before him. That unassuming boy actually held such power!

If anyone still thought he was planning an escape, they must be mad. Could it be that he intended to wipe out the Germans?!