353: Chapter 353 begins to provide a detailed drawing of the Yunmeng Marsh.

Wei Ping and Wang Jin stood on the Straight Road, gazing into the distance.

At a bend ahead, a stretch of mountain forest blocked their view.

They truly wished they could hollow out the forest; it obstructed their line of sight, preventing them from seeing the arrival of the Heavenly Palace Force sooner.

Under the expectant gazes of Wei Ping and Wang Jin, the Heavenly Palace Force finally arrived.

The Heavenly Palace Force that arrived in Nan Commandery brought a total of ten Hot Air Balloons.

They would simultaneously begin high-altitude reconnaissance of Yunmeng Marsh to minimize errors.

The accompanying escort team numbered over a thousand; besides their security duties, they were also responsible for transporting supplies.

Every one of them carried a revolver for self-defense.

After meeting with the Heavenly Palace Force, Wei Ping and Wang Jin wanted to host them, but they were refused.

They needed to complete the mapping of Yunmeng Marsh.

Yunmeng Marsh was vast, and Hot Air Balloons were not like reconnaissance planes that could fly wherever they pleased.

They had to drift with the wind, which meant there were many unpredictable factors.

It would take considerable time and multiple launches of the Hot Air Balloons to complete the mapping of Yunmeng Marsh.

Seeing this, Wei Ping and Wang Jin didn't know what else to say.

Conveniently, they also wanted to see how the men of the Heavenly Palace Force made the Heavenly Palace take flight.

The Heavenly Palace Force was divided into thirty squads; after assigning tasks, they began mapping Yunmeng Marsh from different directions.

Wei Ping and Wang Jin followed one of the squads to see how they launched a Hot Air Balloon.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

After unfolding the Hot Air Balloon, the pilot used a flamethrower to continuously blast fire into the envelope.

The envelope immediately began to swell.

Because the air inside the envelope was lighter, a portion of it slowly rose into the air.

The Hot Air Balloon pilot continued to use the flamethrower to heat the envelope, filling out its shape while transitioning the entire balloon from a lying position to an upright one.

Wei Ping and Wang Jin had never seen such a scene before and watched with great interest.

Under the pilot's skillful use of the flamethrower, the Hot Air Balloon shifted from lying down to standing upright.

It even lifted slightly under the blast from the flamethrower.

Before the mapping personnel boarded the basket, the pilot toggled the burner on and off.

Those responsible for the tether ropes pulled hard on the Hot Air Balloon to prevent it from taking off immediately.

Wei Ping and Wang Jin watched in wonder; they had never seen anything like this.

Once the mapping personnel were in the basket, the pilot kept the burner going, and the ground crew released the ropes.

The Hot Air Balloon began to ascend slowly.

"Wow!"

Seeing this, Wei Ping and Wang Jin shouted in excitement.

"It's flying!"

"It's really flying!"

Both of them looked incredibly moved.

Even though they knew the Heavenly Palace could fly, seeing it actually take off made it hard for them to control their emotions.

Zhao Fusu's large-scale high-altitude mapping operation in Yunmeng Marsh naturally could not be hidden from the Water Bandits within.

"What is that!?"

Many Yunmengze Water Bandits saw the Hot Air Balloons suspended motionless high in the sky or drifting over their heads.

Each Hot Air Balloon reached an altitude of over a thousand meters.

Thus, those aboard the Hot Air Balloons were not afraid of being shot down by the bandits below.

News of the Hot Air Balloons reached the ears of Xiang Liang and Zhang Liang respectively.

Given their knowledge, they quickly realized what those things flying over Yunmeng Marsh were.

"The Heavenly Palace!"

The expressions of both Xiang Liang and Zhang Liang became very solemn.

The Heavenly Palace created by Zhao Fusu, both in name and practical utility, put immense pressure on Xiang Liang and Zhang Liang.

Xiang Liang thought to himself that this Heavenly Palace could carry people to high altitudes, and it could also carry Skyfire!

Those of them on the ground would have no means of retaliation against an attack from the sky!