I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 94

Chapter 94: The "Hot Air Balloon"

The appearance of the Zeppelin disrupted Charles’ plans.

Initially, he intended to attract the attention of German aircraft by destroying reconnaissance balloons:
Destroying one reconnaissance balloon would draw the Germans’ biplanes. When these planes rushed toward another balloon, everyone—including the German pilots—would believe the biplanes were targeting the balloons. The Germans would then cluster around the balloons to protect them.

Then, contrary to all expectations, the biplanes would suddenly dive to attack the ground-based Big Bertha...

However, the arrival of the Zeppelin made Charles realize it might be an even better target for luring German pilots. If set ablaze, the explosion and flames would astonish everyone. The Germans might even forget they had a more critical weapon—the Big Bertha—which needed protection.

As a result, Charles promptly shifted his focus to the Zeppelin.

He divided his forces into two groups: one biplane and two "Dove" monoplanes in the first group, and two biplanes and three "Dove" monoplanes in the second.

The first group, led by Major Fischer, was tasked with destroying the Zeppelin.

The second group, under Eric’s leadership, was assigned to destroy Big Bertha.

Charles’ plan demanded every participant to be a hero:
“Pilots of the ‘Dove’ monoplanes, be ready at any moment to sacrifice yourselves to protect the biplanes!”

“The biplanes are the spears that attack the enemy. If they are destroyed, the mission is doomed to fail.”

“To the biplane pilots: you must entrust your lives and safety entirely to the ‘Doves’!”

“Your job is to destroy the target. If you’re also evading enemies and changing flight paths, it will be almost impossible to complete the mission. Even minor maneuvers could affect the trajectory of the rockets!”

The pilots nodded heavily, understanding the weight of Charles’ words. They were not hard to comprehend. The real challenge was... in battle, would they truly have the courage to act accordingly? To sacrifice themselves for others?

Or to entrust their safety to someone else’s sacrifice?

The mere thought of it was terrifying!

Major Fischer’s group took off first, heading straight for the Zeppelin. Meanwhile, Eric’s team followed quietly, closing in on Big Bertha.

Major Fischer was initially disgruntled.

“I should be the one bombing Big Bertha, not that drunkard!” Fischer grumbled. “He’s always lugging that flask around—I’ve never seen him sober. And yet, we’re pinning Antwerp’s hopes on him!”

But as Fischer spotted the massive Zeppelin in the sky, his eyes widened.

“Blowing up this thing will be way more thrilling than Big Bertha!” he exclaimed.

The mission unfolded unexpectedly smoothly.

As Fischer’s three aircraft approached the Zeppelin, the Germans showed no reaction at all—neither machine guns nor aircraft stirred. They didn’t even glance at them.

Watching from the airport’s observation tower through binoculars, Charles was initially puzzled, but he soon understood: the Germans didn’t consider them a threat. After all, airplanes of that era were not armed.

The German pilots had orders to ensure Charles did not escape. Thus, they would ram into any planes attempting to leave Antwerp.

The three planes under Fischer’s command hadn’t left Antwerp airspace, so the Germans assumed they were simply admiring the "miracle" of the German Empire. Let them feast their eyes! In any case, they couldn’t do any harm!

Realizing this, Charles felt a tinge of regret.

He hadn’t anticipated this reaction from the German pilots. If he had known...

There would have been no need for such an elaborate plan. He could have concentrated all three biplanes on bombing Big Bertha, then taken his time dealing with the Zeppelin.

At that moment, Major Fischer fired a Congreve rocket at the Zeppelin.

The rocket hit the Zeppelin directly but, surprisingly, did not explode.

The situation quickly changed... The Germans realized these Belgian planes were not as harmless as they had assumed. They immediately grew alert and launched an attack.

Machine guns were the first to open fire. A burst of bullets tore through the air, shattering the wing of a "Dove" that was covering Fischer.

The stricken monoplane spiraled out of control, plummeting like a wounded bird. It hit the ground with no explosion, shattering into pieces upon impact.

At the same time, German "Doves" moved in on Fischer, seemingly deducing that only the biplanes were armed and making him their primary target.

As Fischer maneuvered his plane, he muttered curses. “Damn it! This thing is useless—we’re wasting our efforts here!”

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

On a whim, he decided to give it another shot. He looped his plane around and fired five rockets in quick succession.

“Boom!” An explosion erupted, and flames burst from the Zeppelin.

The sudden blast startled Fischer, who quickly veered his plane away. Two German "Doves" that had been rushing toward him failed to stop in time and flew directly into the inferno, where they were instantly consumed by flames.

“It works! It actually works!” Fischer laughed aloud, glancing back to admire his handiwork.

The Zeppelin’s explosions came one after another. Its internal compartments ignited in sequence, like falling dominoes—but far more violent.

Before long, the entire Zeppelin turned into a fireball in the sky, resembling a massive lantern engulfed in flames.

Amazingly, it remained aloft for a moment, as if it had transformed from a hydrogen balloon into a "hot air balloon."

It seemed reluctant to descend, basking in the most glorious, radiant moment of its existence. But eventually, amid the desperate screams of its passengers, it began its slow, mournful descent.

Everyone was stunned.

King Albert I stared in disbelief. He couldn’t fathom how a few small rockets with fiery trails could destroy such a massive monstrosity. He had assumed at most they would cause some damage or force it to land.

Yet the reality was that this seemingly invulnerable giant was, in fact, incredibly fragile.

Or rather...

A smile gradually spread across King Albert I’s face. The truth was, in front of Charles, it was utterly defenseless.

As the King watched the burning Zeppelin slowly fall, he asked calmly, “General, do you still think Charles is planning to run away?”

General Gillis was speechless, utterly dumbfounded by the scene. He couldn’t believe his eyes. This unassuming young man had accomplished such a feat!

At this point, anyone still thinking Charles was planning to flee must be insane. Could it be... he intended to destroy the Germans instead?

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