Chapter 260 General Mu Cheng suffers from severe acrophobia
The rotors of the military transport helicopter began to spin, emitting a tremendous roar.
The two special operations team instructors, as well as Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi, remained calm.
Both the Xuanjia soldiers and Mu Cheng were somewhat surprised.
But seeing that the emperor and the fairy were present, they dared not show any unusual behavior.
Immediately afterwards, they suddenly felt their bodies become heavier, as if an invisible force was pressing down on them from above.
This feeling is quite peculiar.
They vaguely felt that they had experienced it before, but not so obviously, and couldn't recall it for the time being.
The cabin was extremely noisy; the roar of the machinery made it impossible for them to communicate with each other, so they could only ponder things in silence.
Mu Cheng was also trying to recall when he had had a similar feeling.
As the pressure on his body gradually increased, Mu Cheng finally realized what was happening.
That was when riding a horse or in a carriage.
If a horse suddenly accelerates, its body will involuntarily lean backward in a short instant.
It felt as if my body had become heavier, or as if a force was pressing down on my body from front to back.
Although this situation was common for soldiers who rode horses all year round, it was so brief that Mu Cheng had to recall it for a while before he remembered it.
He couldn't help but smile with sudden realization. He glanced at the Xuanjia soldiers beside him who were still confused, thinking that he could explain it to them later. If he wasn't mistaken, the vehicles they were riding were some kind of peculiar mode of transportation.
Therefore, when this tool moves at an accelerated speed, it creates the same sensation.
Mu Cheng sighed inwardly, realizing that this tool was not only enormous but must also be incredibly fast, otherwise this feeling wouldn't be so intense.
However, the smile on Mu Cheng's face only lasted for a moment before freezing.
He realized that when riding a horse, the force that compresses the body when the horse suddenly accelerates comes from the front to the back.
But now...
The same oppressive force, but from top to bottom!
what does that mean?
Mu Cheng's pupils contracted sharply, and his hands unconsciously tightened around the straps binding his body.
"Could it be...could it be that this vehicle isn't moving forward, but...is moving rapidly upwards?" he murmured, blurting out his speculation.
"But...this...how is this possible?"
"What kind of transportation can fly into the sky and carry dozens of people at once?"
"Impossible...this is impossible..."
Mu Cheng became increasingly frightened as he thought about it, muttering to himself incessantly.
The armored soldiers beside him saw that his face was pale and his lips were moving, but they couldn't hear what he was saying.
After a while, the invisible force that had been pressing down on his body disappeared.
Mu Cheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his expression returning to normal somewhat. "Looks like I was just overthinking things and scaring myself..."
At this moment, the helicopter has climbed to an altitude of about 1,000 meters.
Under the precise control of the special operations team members, it maintained a stable state in the high-altitude airflow and remained hovering.
The machine's roar and the airflow noise during acceleration were much quieter.
Although it's still noisy, it doesn't affect loud conversations inside the cabin.
"Everyone!" The instructor in the cabin loosened his safety belt, stood up, and shouted, "We have now reached the designated position. I will now give you a demonstration!"
Another instructor relayed a message to the cockpit via a communication device.
A few seconds later, under the curious gaze of Mu Cheng and the Xuanjia soldiers, the cabin door slowly opened.
Whoosh—
A strong gust of air rushed into the cabin, making everyone sway and grip the edge of their seats tightly.
When everyone saw what was happening outside the cabin, their expressions instantly froze.
"Where...is this place?!"
Why can't I see the ground?
"Wait, what's that in the distance... is it a cloud?"
"Are we in the sky...?"
Discussions arose.
The Xuanjia soldiers were all panicked, and Mu Cheng stared wide-eyed at the scene outside that looked like the sky.
Xiao Qidi was also quite nervous at this moment, and unconsciously tightened his grip on Ning Jinli's hand beside him.
Prior to this, Ning Jinli had explained helicopter takeoff and parachute training to him in detail and had even shown him relevant videos, which had prepared him mentally.
However, being mentally prepared is one thing.
Once you actually experience it, it's a completely different story.
He's never been a thousand meters in the air before...
Actually, Ning Jinli wasn't much better off than him, since Ning Jinli had only ever flown in an airplane before and had never tried skydiving.
She wouldn't have wanted to train together if it weren't to keep him company and put his mind at ease.
Two instructors in the cabin, holding onto safety ropes, walked up to Ning Jinli and asked:
"Miss Ning, are you alright?"
"If you feel unwell, we can return to base."
Upon hearing this, Ning Jinli forced a smile, shook her head, and indicated that she was fine.
Her physical condition is now far superior to that of ordinary people, and she also has martial arts skills to rely on, so she wouldn't feel any discomfort. She's just a little scared...
The two instructors then moved to the cabin door.
One of the instructors shouted, "One of you just guessed right, we are indeed all in the sky right now!"
Upon hearing this, the expressions of the Xuanjia soldiers changed drastically.
Some people felt weak all over.
Some people were utterly shocked.
Some people showed curiosity and excitement.
As for Mu Cheng, his mind went completely blank.
The instructor continued, "You can unfasten your seatbelts, leaving the safety rope around your waist, and move to my side. Don't worry, the safety rope is not long enough to extend beyond the cabin and will not cause you to fall out. Do this in groups of five, in order."
Xiao Qidi took a deep breath, removed his seatbelt first, gripped the safety rope, and moved towards the instructor in a horse stance.
Ning Jinli then followed.
Then three of the bolder Xuanjia soldiers also left their seats.
"So this is what it feels like to soar through the sky..." Xiao Qidi quickly adapted, looking down at the earth with great interest from beside the cabin door. "It's very similar to the scenes I often dreamed of when I was young, when I was flying. It's so spectacular..."
The other three Xuanjia soldiers stared wide-eyed, the feeling of looking at the sky and the earth from such a high altitude was so novel that it made them even more excited.
"Alright, next batch!" the instructor shouted.
Xiao Qidi, Ning Jinli, and the three Xuanjia soldiers returned to their seats, still feeling unsatisfied.
Next, groups of five Xuanjia soldiers took turns going to the cabin door to watch and experience the aircraft.
Those who went to check first were obviously the bolder ones, and their movements were naturally quicker.
The later the five members joined, the more they dawdled.
Forty Xuanjia soldiers, plus Xiao Qidi, Ning Jinli, and General Mu Cheng, totaling forty-three people.
When it was everyone's turn, the last group consisted of three people.
This included Mu Cheng.
"Your turn!" The instructor looked at the last three people who hadn't unbuckled their seatbelts and whose butts seemed glued to their seats.
Mu Cheng lowered his head and gritted his teeth, while the other two Xuanjia soldiers trembled all over, their expressions as if they were about to burst into tears.
The instructors were actually quite satisfied with the performance of these people. You have to understand, these were all people from ancient times, and they had no concept of flying in an airplane before.
Unlike modern people, even if they have never been on an airplane, they at least know what it is.
It's remarkable that only three out of so many people showed obvious fear reactions when they had absolutely no idea what was going on.
At this moment, Xiao Qidi whispered something to Ning Jinli, and then he got up and walked to General Mu Cheng.
He first looked at the two trembling Xuanjia soldiers beside him and said in a deep voice, "You are both soldiers of the Xuanjia Army, the elite of the Great Xuan Army, and you were specially selected this time. If you two feel that you are not up to the task, I will not force you."
Upon hearing this, the two armored soldiers' faces flushed red, and they said in unison, "Your Majesty, we'll do it!"
Immediately, the two gritted their teeth, unbuckled their seatbelts in one go, grabbed the safety ropes, and rushed to the cabin door.
Even if they're terrified, the Xuanjia Army can't lose face!
"Well..." the instructor said to the two of them with a hint of helplessness, "It's good that you mustered up the courage to come over, but... you have to open your eyes."
The two Xuanjia soldiers' faces were contorted in pain. Despite the fierce wind blowing against their faces, they slowly opened their eyes a crack, and then almost collapsed to the ground with their legs giving way.
The instructor lent a hand, preventing them from falling.
"General Mu, what about you?" Xiao Qidi looked at Mu Cheng, who was huddled up with his head down. "Raise your head!"
Mu Cheng's shoulders trembled, and he slowly raised his head.
This old general, who was over forty years old and had been a veteran of many battles since his teens, was now deathly pale, and even his wrinkles revealed fear.
"Your Majesty...Your Majesty..."
He forced out the words with great difficulty, "Even if you asked me to climb mountains of knives or plunge into seas of fire, I wouldn't blink an eye, but... but I truly didn't expect... you would bring me to the sky. I told you, I'm afraid of heights... If you hadn't told me it was a little higher than the city walls, I..."
"Isn't this a bit higher than the city wall?" Xiao Qidi's tone carried a hint of authority. "Are you implying that I lied to you?"
Mu Cheng wanted to cry but had no tears.
It was indeed a bit higher than the city wall, but he never imagined that the so-called "a bit higher" the emperor was referring to was by such a large margin.
Seeing General Mu's distressed state, Xiao Qidi felt uneasy.
However, if he cannot overcome the difficulties, it will greatly reduce the chances of success in the subsequent operation against the capital of the wasteland.
“General Mu,” Xiao Qidi bent down, placing his hands on his shoulders, “there are still hundreds of thousands of people in the capital of the Desolate Kingdom waiting for us to rescue them. Didn’t you once hope that all the people of the Desolate Kingdom could live a peaceful and stable life? Haven’t you been working hard for that? Now only the capital city remains. Do you really want to—”
Before he could finish speaking, Mu Chengteng stood up.
Despite his frighteningly pale face and his trembling, tall body, his eyes had hardened.
Xiao Qidi looked into his eyes and said, "General Mu, I will always be by your side."
“Your Majesty…” Mu Cheng’s eyes instantly reddened.
“Come on, I believe you can overcome this.” Xiao Qidi grasped his rough hand.
The fact that a monarch could do this moved Mu Cheng deeply. Recalling his life's wish, he also remembered the sincerity and effort Xiao Qidi had put in to save his entire family.
Deep within him, a powerful courage to overcome his fear of heights finally welled up.
Then, guided by Xiao Qidi, he finally managed to move shakily to the side of the cabin door.
When you see the sky with clouds floating outside, and the vast land below.
His vision went black instantly, and he felt dizzy and his internal organs were churning.
Even though the two instructors kept reassuring him that he was safe and wouldn't fall, he couldn't hold on any longer. His legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground, not daring to look out again.
Mu Cheng has already done his best to achieve this level of success through sheer willpower.
Judging from his appearance, he is still a long way from being able to skydive.
Xiao Qidi nodded slightly to Ning Jinli.
Ning Jinli then walked over, whispered a few words to the two instructors, and then put her hand on Mu Cheng's shoulder.
"General Mu, you have a severe fear of heights, something that most people can't overcome with willpower alone. But the fact that you've come this far proves that your willpower far surpasses that of ordinary people. Don't be afraid..."
As she spoke, Ning Jinli secretly activated the Heavenly Profound Heart Technique, channeling a wisp of internal energy into Mu Cheng, precisely injecting it around his heart meridian.
Xiao Qidi also possesses internal strength, but it is not as powerful as Ning Jinli's, nor can he control his internal strength as precisely as she does.
Therefore, only she can do this.
This was something the two had discussed in their whispered conversation.
“Fairy Jinli…” Mu Cheng felt a warmth in his heart, his eyes filled with gratitude and self-reproach. “I… I’ll try again. I don’t think I’m so scared anymore.”
Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi helped General Mu to his feet, one on each side. Ning Jinli quietly unfastened the safety rope buckle on Mu Cheng's lower back.
Mu Cheng, panting heavily, tried to look out of the cabin door again.
Just then, Xiao Qidi, Ning Jinli, and the two instructors exchanged glances.
Ning Jinli nodded.
"General Mu, this was a last resort, please don't blame me!" Xiao Qidi suddenly kicked Mu Cheng in the buttocks.
Bang!
Before Mu Cheng could react, he was thrown straight out of the cabin!
This scene terrified the Xuanjia soldiers present!
Mu Cheng's heart-wrenching screams echoed through the sky.
The screams faded into the distance as he plummeted, and faintly, incoherent curses could still be heard mixed in with them.
The two instructors put on goggles and jumped out of the cabin one after the other.
Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi hurriedly grabbed the edge of the cabin door and peered out.
High in the sky, Mu Cheng was terrified, howling and wailing, his hands and feet flailing and struggling desperately, spinning like a top as the air currents blew him around.
The two instructors tensed their bodies to reduce air resistance, descending at an even faster speed and closing in on Mu Cheng.
At about 500 meters above the ground, the two finally caught up with Mu Cheng and controlled his erratic movements. One instructor hugged him tightly from behind, while the other instructor helped to tie the two together with a lock.
The two moved quickly and calmly, as if it were as simple as drinking water or eating.
During this process, poor General Mu Cheng fainted from fright, only to be awakened by the cold wind. He then fainted again, repeating this cycle of fainting and waking up countless times...
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