Chương 185: The Accident

The paratroopers and crew boarded the vessel as the magical propulsion engine whirred into motion. The airship's massive propellers spun up to speed, slowly lifting the craft off the ground and into the sky. This marked the very first jump featuring live humanoids. Prior to this, Li Qinwu had run extensive drop tests using supplies and dummy payloads, consistently proving that the spider-silk parachutes were exceptionally reliable.

Even so, executing the first manned drop left Li Qinwu feeling a tinge of anxiety as he watched the airship ascend. A catastrophic failure on its debut would cast a heavy pall over the development of airborne infantry. To mitigate operational risk, he had coordinated with the Magic Tower to track a gentle high-altitude mana tide—a stream flowing roughly 1, 500 meters above the ground.

Sky-1 operated on a relatively basic magical engine that couldn't handle prolonged exposure to high-density, high-velocity mana tides. Intense environmental mana scrubbed away etched runic arrays, causing system failure. Consequently, the airship usually operated at lower altitudes between 500 and 1, 000 meters. Dropping from such low heights constituted ultra-low-altitude jumps, leaving almost no margin for error.

To lower the barrier to entry, Li Qinwu had the Magic Tower monitor environmental currents day and night until they identified a stable, low-intensity stream at 1, 500 meters—a threshold the engine could safely endure. At 1, 500 meters, the jump carried significantly lower operational risk. Sky-1 reached target altitude and locked into a stable hover. Inside the control room, Gob-Air spoke into a heavy brass speaking tube routed back to the cargo bay:"Attention all personnel!

Reached target drop position, 1, 520 meters above ground level. Cargo bay doors open in 30 seconds. Prepare for jump!" Inside the cargo hold, Gob-Eagle shouted over the wind to his men: "Final check on parachute packs! I'll take the lead; once I'm out, line up and follow me out the door according to drills.

"Don't let the height get to you! The Boss oversaw thousands of drop tests with this rig over the past few months. The gear works! As long as you follow your training, you'll touch down safely.

"Once we assemble on the ground, everything is waiting for us—medals, hot intestine soup, fried cassava, and maybe even a few thick Troll maidens if I push for it!" The remark drew a wave of dark chuckles from the soldiers, many smacking their lips as they recalled the Trolls who had recently joined the Alliance. A certain goblin had once declared that bigger is better, and better is bigger —a phrase that had somehow morphed into an unofficial guiding principle across the ranks.

Averaging three meters in height, Trolls represented the largest female humanoids the average goblin soldier ever encountered. dangling such incentives served as effective motivation, prompting the troops to run through their jump procedures one last time in their minds. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. The thirty seconds vanished quickly. The heavy cargo bay doors swung outward, exposing the vast drop below.

Gob-Eagle stole a glance downward, his heart pounding against his ribs. Gods above! That is high! If a canopy fails to deploy, there won't even be enough left of me to scrape into a coffin! His knees wobbled slightly under an instinctual wave of vertigo, but the allure of career advancement pushed him forward. Gritting his teeth, he shut his eyes and roared back at his squad: "Brothers! We've all bled through real firefights! Don't lose your nerve now—I'm setting the example!"

He kicked off the wooden decking and leapt into space, vanishing instantly from view. The goblins rushed toward the bay door, watching below as a white silk canopy blossomed in the air.

"It... it opened!" someone yelled. Morale surged through the hold. The deputy company commander barked: "Move, move, move! Down in order! Step lively!!" The paratroopers began filing out, shutting their eyes and leaping out into the void one after another. Yet a small handful froze, paralyzed by fear and backing away toward the interior of the hold. They had convinced themselves they could conquer the fear, only to find themselves completely helpless when confronted by the vast drop.

With the cargo hold cleared of freight for the drop, the deputy company commander instantly spotted about ten soldiers cowering against the far bulkhead. His temper flared.

"Useless cowards! Get up and move to the door! Right now!!" He stormed over, grabbing the terrified soldiers by their gear and shoving them toward the bay door. Nine of them, gritting their teeth through sheer panic, tumbled out into the open sky. The final soldier refused to budge, curling into a ball on the wooden deck and sobbing hysterically.

"I can't... I-I-I can't jump! I don't want to be a paratrooper anymore! It's too high, I'm scared, aaaaah!!!"

"Dammit all!!" The deputy commander was livid. The Boss was watching from the ground below—he couldn't allow a single coward to ruin the entire demonstration!

"Get up!!" He tried repeatedly to haul the soldier to his feet, but the goblin went completely limp, offering no support. Furious, the commander grabbed him by the leg, dragged him across the floor to the edge of the hold, and threw him over the side—stepping off into the void right behind him. On the ground, Li Qinwu watched as canopy after canopy blossomed across the blue sky, feeling a surge of pride.

His mind drifted forward in time, imagining a future fleet of Alliance airships filling the skies over enemy territory, raining down waves of airborne troops to deliver swift, devastating strikes. Amidst his vision, the first canopy touched down. The moment Gob-Eagle hit the grass, he executed a clean roll to dissipate momentum, absorbing the impact without injury. dragged a few meters by the deflating canopy, he unbuckled his harness and stood up under his own power.

A mage-led medical team headed by Lady Hana rushed over, but Gob-Eagle waved them off, directing them to assist the other jumpers before sprinting toward Li Qinwu.

"Boss!" Gob-Eagle halted before Li Qinwu and snapped a sharp salute.

"First live airborne drop successfully completed!" Li Qinwu thumped his fist gently against the officer's chest plate.

"Outstanding! Excellent work! You have officially introduced airborne doctrine to this world—you've made history today! Enemies will tremble at your presence, and I will personally pick the grandest stage for your unit to make its mark!!" Gob-Eagle felt a surge of pride. He knew his future was secured; it wouldn't be long before he commanded a full regiment of his own.

Just as Li Qinwu was about to offer further encouragement, a heavy, sickening impact echoed across the landing zone—a wet, explosive THUD, like a soft object striking solid rock at terminal velocity. Li Qinwu and Gob-Eagle turned toward the sound, their expressions instantly hardening. A deep crater scarred the grass at the edge of the drop zone. Bone fragments, torn flesh, fabric scraps, and tangled lines were crushed into the dirt.

The jumper had been obliterated on impact, flattened as if run over by a heavy road roller. Panic rippled through the assembled medical teams and landed troopers. The very accident Li Qinwu had feared had come to pass—and in the worst possible manner.