CHAPTER 1721: CHAPTER 37 AIRSHIPS AND GLIDERS

The weather was uncooperative, with endless clear skies.

The Conquerors had already suffered once; how could they let others take advantage again? Every day, someone was surveilling the deck. Even when they chose to launch at night, their hot air balloon was shot down before it was fully inflated with hydrogen.

There were plenty of high-level individuals, and one person even brought a piston-style wooden airplane onto the cruise ship, greatly shortening preparation time. As long as the engine was launched, it worked.

The Conquerors noticed the anomaly, and when they fired to stop it, the airplane had already begun taxiing on the deck. Despite taking a few hits, it still successfully took off.

"Goodbye, everyone!" The pilot saluted with his hand on his forehead, ready to ascend in altitude and fly at full speed. Suddenly, the airplane exploded into a ball of fire.

"Bah, what an idiot!" A group leader looked at the falling plane, tossing away the detonator in his hand.

He had already noticed the airplane, then stuffed a homemade bomb into the seat cushion. Even if the pilot checked, he wouldn’t find the flaw.

With these unfortunate souls serving as examples, some people made hot air balloons, but they didn’t dare bring them out. In this stalemate, the cruise ship arrived in Swansea.

This is a port city located in Wales, UK. It’s possible to reach London directly by train from here, making it the final stop of the death rally.

The Conquerors couldn’t bother with the battle and rushed to the train station once disembarking.

Some people, desperate for time, fearlessly rode homemade hot air balloons. They figured that controlling the height should be fine. However, making a parachute required a lot of technical skill, and if it didn’t open at high altitude or was unbalanced, they would definitely fall to death.

"Why is Tang Zheng still fiddling with his hot air balloon? It won’t work; the Demon Hunter will definitely appear," Jiang Xiuming believed the leader was too stubborn about the rankings. "If he kept going at this pace, as long as he reaches the finish line, he’d be undefeated."

"He should be prepared, right?" Dantai noticed Tang Zheng carrying a long wooden box, not knowing what was inside.

Tang Zheng opened the crate at the harbor, assembling the hot air balloon on the spot. However, when his gaze fell upon a newspaper thrown on the ground, he froze.

"At two in the afternoon on August 16, the Prince William airship will hold its grand launching ceremony!"

A large bold black font marked the front page, making this the headline news of the day.

Tang Zheng picked up the newspaper and quickly read it. As he participated in the rally, he remembered the date well; today was the 16th, less than an hour away from the ceremony.

"Noble Racecourse on the outskirts." After finding out the ceremony’s location, Tang Zheng only brought the wooden box, rushed out of the pier, and hailed a carriage heading to the outskirts.

Tang Zheng caught up, looking at the bustling crowd coming to watch. He felt a headache seeing all the people responsible for security since it wasn’t difficult for him to deal with them. However, the wristwatch displayed red dots, indicating many competitors were also eyeing the airship.

With such a grand event, citizens would undoubtedly discuss it, with details easily obtainable by paying attention.

Tang Zheng didn’t wait—he squeezed through the crowd and quickly walked towards the airship, but some were faster. However, they were also discovered by policemen, initiating a shootout.

"No time!" Tang Zheng forcefully pushed the citizens in front of him, sprinting full-speed towards the airship.

Amidst dense gunfire, chaos erupted in the suburbs, with citizens fleeing in panic everywhere, and screams rising and falling.

Huangfu Xiong was still sprinting when a bolt of lightning suddenly ripped through the sky. Fortunately, he dodged in time, or he’d have turned into char.

"Damn, the South Americans! Even these muscle-bound fools can catch news about the airship?" Huangfu Xiong saw a dark-skinned man with braided hair, his anger escalating.

Braid-haired man swung the magic wand again, and lightning burst forth.

This was snatched from the leader of the Punishment squad, an Indian native Shaman, and it was incredibly powerful.

"Huangfu Xiong, Tang Zheng, let’s cooperate; you kill him, I’ll rob the airship!" Su Han shouted, "You can trust my integrity."

Su Han was the leader of Su Ameng, and Tang Zheng once cooperated with him in the Dead Bug Starship, but Su Han had died. It seemed Su Ameng resurrected him.

"Stop fighting; the airship can carry at least twenty people—all of us have a share." Having gotten this far, Huangfu Xiong didn’t want to fight anymore.

"Stop, or keep fighting will only benefit others," a group leader roared at the braid-haired man, who acted like a mad dog, using the Shaman’s Wand to attack recklessly.

"Everyone, let’s take him down first!" Huangfu Xiong was enraged.

"Stop, or I’ll destroy the airship!" Seeing no quick way to defeat his adversaries, the braid-haired man signaled to cease fire.

The airship was filled with flammable and explosive hydrogen, and the outer materials couldn’t withstand bullets. If the Conquerors were iron-hearted to attack, it would undoubtedly explode into a ball of fire.

"Ceasefire, everyone aboard!" The group leaders shouted in unison, reluctantly accepting this outcome.

Tang Zheng was the sixth to rush into the airship’s passenger compartment, akin to a bus carriage, with two rows of seats and a cab in the front.

Su Han had already entered, controlled the driver, and got ready to ignite, preparing for takeoff at any moment.

The sixth competitors had good endurance, and within twenty seconds, all sixteen contestants boarded the airship, shooting back at the policemen while pressuring the driver to take off.

The policemen were cautious about damaging the airship, resulting in weak firepower. Combined with the ferocity of the contestants, they were completely suppressed.

Inside the cabin, the contestants were divided into three groups according to their regions, glaring at one another.

"Everyone, calm down. At this speed, it will only take half a day to fly to London, not much slower than the first group," Huangfu Xiong pressed his hands down, making a gesture for patience. "We are definitely the second group, don’t destroy the Great Wall ourselves."

"Lower the altitude. If the Demon Hunters attack us, even if the airship is shot down, we won’t fall to our deaths," Su Han was still worried.

"We’ve reached the final stretch; we must go all out, fly at full speed!" urged Tang Zheng. "Lowering the altitude will slow us down."

"That’s right, I don’t believe I’ll be that unlucky," agreed the man with the braid. He held the Magic Wand in his hand like a mighty weapon; otherwise, someone would have crushed him a long time ago.

"Accelerate, accelerate!" Lu Fan mumbled, cheering for Tang Zheng.

Seeing Tang Zheng and the group of sixteen spot the airship, the other teams in the lobby were furious but helpless, merely anxious.

"Attention, Death Rally, first place, Night Saint team, completed the course in 78 days, rewarded with 3,000 points and one Roulette Spin Opportunity."

People in the lobby sighed in admiration, acknowledging their solid foundation.

Half an hour later, the second and third places arrived, Vasily and the Earl Qian Nian’s teams, each rewarded with 1,000 points.

"Tang Zheng, what’s in that box of yours?" The braided man’s beast-like intuition told him that in the cabin, this man was the most dangerous and needed caution.

This question also drew everyone’s attention.

"Weapons, powerful enough to take you all out with one hit," Tang Zheng smiled, patting the wooden box. "Would you like to try?"

"No thanks!" The braided man seemed modest, but his Magic Wand was pointed at Tang Zheng, his warning obvious.

"Can we go any faster?" Huangfu Xiong didn’t have time to listen to their nonsense. He was pacing anxiously because taking the airship would get them there two days earlier, and with good luck, they could make it into the top ten.

"We’re already at maximum speed," Su Han said, looking through the window at the white clouds being left behind, feeling content. But in the next second, his eyes nearly bulged out.

A swirling Teleportation Gate appeared in the sky, and Demon Hunters riding twin dragons suddenly charged out. After a quick spin, they flew straight over.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, the Demon Hunters’ crossbows fired, and fluorescent arrows shot randomly.

"Ow, let them fall to their deaths!" The teams in the lobby cheered gleefully as they witnessed this scene.

"This is bad," Bai Guo said anxiously. "Hurry, land now, before it’s too late if we get shot down."

"Don’t worry, Tang Zheng surely has a plan!" Dantai was very calm.

"How do you know?" Dong Zixuan was curious.

"Uncle dared to prepare a hot air balloon, which proves he had methods to deal with flying dragons. The secret is in that wooden box," Lu Fan crossed his arms confidently. "Just watch, Uncle never disappoints."

"Descend, lower altitude quickly," Huangfu Xiong shouted. He didn’t want to be smashed into a Meatloaf. The airship’s speed was like a turtle before the flying dragons, unable to do anything but take hits.

"Shoot, don’t let them get close!" Su Han was also shouting.

Tang Zheng, holding a revolver, dashed towards the window and shot at the flying dragons. He chose a position close to the braided man, and in a flash, went all out to assault him.

Not only was the braided man stunned, but everyone else froze too. In times of united resistance against a common enemy, if the airship crashed, no one would survive.

"Are you crazy?" The braided man was both shocked and angry because the Demon Hunters’ raid drastically reduced his vigilance towards Tang Zheng. Most importantly, this guy’s attack was too swift.

Tang Zheng, having been strengthened by three kinds of magical substances, unleashed his maximum might at this moment, seizing a fleeting opportunity.

The heavy punch exceeded sonic speed, seemingly breaking the shackles of space, suddenly appearing in front of the braided man, striking his armature.

Crack, amidst the sound of bones breaking, the braided man couldn’t hold onto the Magic Wand, letting it fall.

"I’ll kill you!" The braided man wanted to counterattack but was suddenly dumbfounded because he saw this guy catch the wand and then headbutt through the glass, dashing out.

Crackle, crackle, lightning bolted through the window, hitting the braided man, making him stumble back.

"Has he gone mad?" Fifteen group leaders were beyond shocked, and even those in the lobby, seeing this scene, stood up in amazement.

Tang Zheng smashed the wooden box with the wand, revealing a wooden three-meter long triangular model amidst the flying wood chips, then pulled the control lever.

Woosh!

The well-oiled pulleys made no noise, and with a swish, the triangular board unfolded, transforming into a glider!

Taking advantage of the wind, the rapidly falling Tang Zheng suddenly halted, then, like an eagle, soared straight upwards! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations, monthly tickets on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)