Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 158: Demonic Trace Appears
Vaughn ran at high speed with his long legs through the dense primeval forest full of various natural obstacles.

After activating his bloodline talent, the long-distance marches that used to be extremely painful for him now became as easy as a leisurely walk after dinner.

He heard hurried footsteps behind him, and without looking back he knew that Dave and Wayne were desperately chasing him.

Looking up slightly, he saw a wide mountain stream not far away blocking their path. Vaughn took a deep breath, let his chest swell up, and used his feet to jump several meters high, grabbing the thick vines hanging from the huge trees above his head.

He twisted his waist strangely in the air, and kicked the tree trunk in a completely unreasonable posture. With the rebound force, he swung across the mountain stream and fell into the bushes on the opposite side.

"Damn it! He got away again!" Dave slammed on the brakes and stopped running at the edge of the mountain stream. He watched the faint rustling sound in the bushes opposite gradually fade away and cursed loudly.

This is the "simulated pursuit training" they conduct every week.

A total of thirty bloodline warriors who have completed their talent awakening will be divided into two teams. As "hunters" and "prey", they will engage in a hunting game of chase in the vast primeval forests surrounding the pioneer territory.

This is a combat training plan that Lord Harvey personally drew up for these extraordinary soldiers. Except for not being able to use lethal magic guns and sharp blades as weapons, everyone can make full use of the special abilities brought by their bloodline talents and use all means to complete the target mission of escape or pursuit.

The bloodline warriors who bear the identity of "prey" set out half a day earlier than the hunters. They tacitly choose to hide and flee separately instead of moving in a group. This can maximize the distraction of the hunters' attention and consume their hunting time.

Vaughn was always chosen as a hunting target first - because his innate abilities were absolutely lethal, he was forbidden from using them during training, and could only rely on the improvements in his physical functions brought by his bloodline talents to cope.

Orcs have lived in the vast and dense forests of the northern wilderness since childhood. They are born excellent hunters. Therefore, even though they are forbidden to use their innate abilities, Vaughn still uses his rich experience and flexible mind to repeatedly evade the hunting teams led by Duff and Wayne.

Vaughn listened to the roars of his close comrades coming from the other side of the mountain stream behind him, and couldn't help but chuckle. Two days had passed in the three-day actual combat training. As long as he was not surrounded by them, he would have passed the test perfectly after tonight.

Next, you need to find a natural shelter that can barely shelter you from the wind and rain, survive the night with a huge temperature difference between day and night, and then wait for sunrise to return to the territory.

Vaughn leaped onto the crown of a tall tree and reconfirmed his current location. He discovered that the pursuit that had lasted the entire night had inadvertently forced him to a col far away from his territory. Looking to the southeast, he could already see the edge of the Green Water Swamp in the distance.

It seems that I have to set off early in the second half of tonight. Otherwise, with such a long journey, I may not be able to make it to the gathering tomorrow afternoon, and I will also miss the luxurious and nutritious meal specially provided for bloodline warriors in the military camp.

Recalling the golden and crispy fried pork chops, the orc couldn't help swallowing his saliva and quickly climbed down from the treetops, wondering whether he should catch two fat rabbits to make do with their dinner.

According to the requirements of the actual combat drill, in addition to completing the tasks of hunting and evading, they also had to learn the skills of surviving in the primitive jungle with their bare hands - making weapons, identifying natural medicines, building temporary shelters, obtaining food, and practicing the application of bloodline abilities...

Vaughn pulled out the casting line supported by vines from his waist, picked up a few pebbles of suitable size, and prepared to hunt in the area near the swamp at the bottom of the valley, where the view was wider and it was easier to spot small wild animals hiding in the bushes and grass.

"If I could have the equipment Lord Harvey had made for me, I wouldn't have to hide like this. Dave and the others wouldn't be enough to fill my teeth..." Vaughn muttered a few words under his breath and slowly moved towards the swamp.

A group of plump pheasants poked their heads out from the bushes, cackling as they gathered at the edge of the swamp to eat wild fruits. The Green Water Swamp was home to a large number of delicious mushrooms and fresh wild fruits, which were not only greatly loved by wild beasts, but even the civilians of the pioneering territory were willing to come and collect them with great difficulty. The fresh ingredients everywhere always allowed them to return with a full load.

Vaughn lay on a meadow more than ten meters away, using the dense weeds to cover his body, trying to adjust his breathing frequency. He just needed to wait for the group of pheasants to get a few more inches closer before he could throw the stone on the lasso.

Suddenly, a strange noise came from the depths of the swamp. Vaughn, who was about to stand up and throw a stone, was startled and lay back on the ground, squinting his eyes and looking towards the swamp.

"What's the noise? Could it be that another resident of the territory has sneaked in to collect food? Didn't the lord strictly order that no one is allowed to go near the swamp during this period?" Vaughn knew that there were always some people who were reluctant to give up the delicious food in the swamp. Because they were greedy or wanted to earn some money from selling game, they were willing to take the risk and sneak here at night.

But the noise was getting louder and louder, totally unlike what an ordinary person could make, so he didn't dare to show up or act rashly.

The pheasants were frightened and flapped their wings and flew to the treetops, making warning sounds of "cuckoo, cuckoo".

The next second, a group of huge beasts, as big as camels in the desert, rushed out of the swamp, panting and roaring. Their huge limbs stomped on the ground, causing tremors. The rumbling sound made the surrounding birds and beasts flee frantically.

Vaughn raised his head slightly and was immediately horrified to find that on the backs of those giant beasts sat tall and strong strange men with dark red skin.

These weirdos were talking to each other in a strange and difficult foreign language, and Vaughn couldn't understand a word. But when he saw that they were covered with natural scales that reflected strange patterns in the sunlight, Vaughn knew that these weirdos were the demons that Lord Harvey and Mr. Asdalen had mentioned!

The demons had silently invaded the Green Water Swamp, which was less than three days' march away from their territory!

Had they really set up camp at that natural mineral vein? Why hadn't the defense sentries monitoring their movements discovered it in advance?
Vaughn estimated that there were about a dozen demon soldiers riding on giant beasts, but he remembered what Mr. Asdalen had repeatedly emphasized to them in the theoretical class - when encountering demon soldiers riding on monster beasts alone, never take the initiative to attack.

Moreover, he did not have his greatest military support - the magic gun. Relying solely on his body strengthened by his bloodline talent, he had no way of confronting a dozen demon cavalrymen who were over two meters tall and carrying magical beasts.

This team of demon cavalry rushed past the meadow where Vaughn was hiding, causing Vaughn's heartbeat to be completely out of control due to nervousness, and he felt that every second was like a year.

He slowly supported himself on the ground with both hands and gently rubbed backwards, trying to bury his body lower into the grass, but unfortunately, a dead branch under him made a slight cracking sound.

A demon soldier running at the end of the team immediately turned his head alertly and looked in his direction.

Vaughn subconsciously looked up and happened to meet the soldier's bloodshot eyes.

not good! Found!
(End of this chapter)