Chapter 1939: Encounter with a Giant Ape
The passionate youths of the Great Qing were traveling to the Holy Roman Empire by airship. Their journey lasted two days. The initial excitement, curiosity about the unknown, and the eagerness to achieve great things gradually began to cool down.
However, they were still excited. They had the experience of looking down upon the European landscape from high above, from Iberia to France, and then to the Holy Roman Empire. Along the way, they saw many towns and villages, and even witnessed an Adventurer Squad battling a giant monster.
This occurred within France. Someone spotted a colossal beast, half the size of a mountain, resembling an enlarged ape. It could easily shatter mountains and smash city walls with giant stones. A single leap caused an earthquake that made it difficult to stand.
However, someone was fighting it. A squad of seasoned, high-level adventurers was attacking it, but to no avail. Compared to the giant ape, these adventurers were like tiny ants. Yet, the giant ape couldn’t do anything to these minuscule humans, and was instead covered in wounds.
The battle had been ongoing for some time when the airship passed by. They saw the giant ape swatting at a person below. The middle-aged man was wearing tight martial arts attire, his entire body erupting with magic power. He raised his hands, intending to block the giant ape’s punch directly.
Instantly, the surroundings shook. The ground where the giant ape’s fist landed cracked open, forming a large pit with a radius of over a hundred meters.
Witnessing this for the first time, the overseas students couldn’t help but cry out loudly, their worry evident. Even the airship’s captain nervously shouted, “Open the cannon ports, prepare for fire support!”
But Immortal Master Li and Zen Master Qiuye watched the battlefield with calm expressions, as if they had nothing to worry about.
Monsters were the common enemies of humans, and even the common enemies of all races. Theoretically, unless there was a deep-seated hatred between them, people would usually draw their swords to help. Both the Hunter’s Guild and the Adventurer’s Guild had similar regulations and rewards for saving lives.
Of course, whether they could win was another matter. The airship captain likely believed that since the ship was in the air, the monster would find it difficult to attack, which is why he ordered support.
But everyone seemed to have worried unnecessarily. The giant ape let out a cry of pain and raised its fist. One of the joints on its finger was twisted and deformed.
From the shattered ground below, a figure burst out from between the giant stones. It was the middle-aged man in the martial arts uniform from before. He was likely a Fighter.
“Roar!” The giant ape stomped on the ground in anger. Numerous stone pillars shot up from the ground, piercing towards the Fighter. At that moment, a youth rushed out from the side, holding a gleaming long sword that was clearly no ordinary weapon.
He swung forward, unleashing a long sword light. The dazzling sword light traveled straight ahead, cutting through all the rising stone pillars and leaving a bloody gash on the giant ape.
Although the giant ape’s skin was thick and it didn’t suffer a fatal blow, a large wound appeared on its skin, bleeding profusely. Its skin was covered in similar sword wounds everywhere else, the most conspicuous among all its injuries. It was likely inflicted by the youth.
Swordsman – this was the youth’s profession. Unlike Warriors who focused on defense, Swordsmen sacrificed most of their defenses to pursue the strongest output. Being able to unleash such powerful Sword Energy, it felt as though ordinary city walls would be no match for this youth.
Furthermore, this squad had two people riding flying beasts. One was a bald man on a Griffin, and the other was a hunter girl riding a colorful bird.
The Griffin was fierce, repeatedly charging onto the giant ape’s back, scratching and biting, determined to tear off a piece of its skin. The bald man held a hand cannon and fired at the giant ape every time he got close.
The woman riding the colorful bird held a bow. Every arrow she shot split into countless others. At the same time, the colorful bird would shake its feathers, scattering countless poisonous liquids with various effects.
These colorful liquids, under the sunlight, actually appeared somewhat beautiful, living up to the name of the colorful bird. Each drop of poison was precisely pierced by an arrow, and after being stained onto the arrowhead, all of them were shot at the giant ape.
“Captain, the cannon ports are open, the shells are loaded, and aiming is complete!” the gunner shouted loudly at this time. Their reaction speed was quite fast.
“Excellent. This ship will now enter combat posture. Guests and the wounded, please move to a safe distance. Port cannon, fire!” the captain shouted at a copper-tube megaphone, his voice able to reach the entire ship.
No one moved away; instead, they pressed themselves against the glass windows, intently watching the battlefield below. It was a rare opportunity to witness the combat capabilities of an airship. Who would leave at such a time? Besides, with just one airship, there wasn’t much room to retreat to.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” The portside cannons fired. Streams of steam erupted. Due to the large caliber, the firing produced a blast similar to the sound of a popcorn machine opening. The powerful recoil pushed the airship over ten meters to the right.
Ten shells streaked across the sky, trailing white steam. Although the giant ape sensed them and tried to dodge, with its enormous body, it actually managed to evade six shells. However, it was hit by four.
“Boom!” The powerful steam cannon made the giant ape stagger, almost falling. Its thick skin was torn open, and the remaining six shells hit the ground, creating six large craters filled with smoke.
“Reload!” the captain shouted. No wonder he dared to offer support; the airship’s firepower was indeed quite strong. If all the shots had hit, the giant ape, even if it didn’t die, would likely have lost its combat ability.
The members of the Qing delegation were also filled with excitement, simultaneously looking enviously at the airship. Such powerful and sophisticated craftsmanship was precisely the strength that the Great Qing needed.
Even Supervisor Liu and several procurement officers showed interest. Why not persuade the Zongli Yamen to purchase airships upon their return? If they weren’t practical for civilian use, they could start with military applications.
But before they could finish contemplating, they heard an angry roar from below. It was the giant ape. It had suffered the most severe injuries of the battle and was now furious.
“The second round is loaded!” the gunner shouted. As expected of the steam cannon system, reloading was fast. The captain immediately shouted, “Aim, fire!”
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” Another volley was fired. But this time, the giant ape slammed the ground, and a colossal wall, as high as a mountain, rose up, blocking the cannonballs.
“Boom!” The tall wall was shattered by the ten cannonballs, but it protected the giant ape behind it. The giant ape grabbed a massive chunk of the debris and threw it into the air.
This is bad! To pursue the strongest firepower and destructive power, the captain had chosen a salvo. Now all the steam cannons were in the process of reloading and could not intercept the flying boulder.
If only they had fired in batches earlier. What should they do? They had finally gathered a group of talented individuals, and their enterprise was about to be cut short by a monster before it had even started?
