Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 162: Battle for the Mineral Vein

The messenger raised the communication alchemy device high in his hand, ran past the group of soldiers and caught up with his captain.

"Captain Wayne! Received combat intelligence from the third team of the first battalion!"

Wayne immediately stopped, raised his hand to signal the soldiers to slow down their march, and grabbed the young messenger. "Isn't Team 3 the spearhead outpost? Did they encounter the enemy?"

"Yes, they discovered a group of demon soldiers near the Green Water Swamp. Taking advantage of the night, they launched a surprise attack and wiped them out!"

Wayne narrowed his eyes and muttered viciously, "Damn it, Tommy got it again!"

Night, dense forest, surprise attack... When these keywords came out of the messenger's mouth, he knew that Tommy would never fail. Although this guy's bloodline talent did not directly strengthen his body, it was equally deadly and more concealed and invisible. He was simply a natural long-range sneak attacker.

Wayne remembered that he had also been ordered by the lord to go to Grizzly Castle to assassinate a spellcaster from the Federation. If he had had Tommy's talent at that time, the difficulty of the mission would probably be reduced dozens of times, and he would not have to lie on the roof motionless for several days.

"Tommy's team is stuck in the Greenwater Swamp. That means... the new spearhead outpost is ours!" Wayne whispered to the soldiers gathered around him. "They've already fought the demons and achieved some success. Now it's up to us!"

He now had only one thought in his mind, which was to reach the natural mineral vein at the end of the wasteland swamp before other teams.

Although Commander Pierce asked them that no matter which combat team arrived first, they must remain on guard and wait for all other teams to arrive and assemble before launching an attack at the same time.

But there is no problem in getting ahead of them and occupying an advantageous attacking position.

For this impromptu combat plan, the Northern Army dispatched a total of one thousand experienced soldiers and formed ten powerful combat teams. Almost every team was led by extraordinary people like Wayne and Tommy who had awakened their bloodline talents.

Wayne believed that it would not be difficult to win this raid as long as the demon troops entrenched in the swamp mines were not several times larger than theirs.

……

A sharp bird whistle sounded, and the temporary military camp built in the dense forest immediately became silently boiling.

Duff rushed out of his tent, which was half-hidden in a thick layer of fallen leaves, ran quickly to the shelter built by the soldiers with earthen mounds, and took his combat position.

He no longer needed to shout at his soldiers to quickly get into position. They had practiced this combat procedure countless times in the valley outposts and territory military camps, and everyone knew what they should do at this moment.

The deputy team leader, hunched over, ran along the shallow trench and whispered to Duff, "Boss, Captain Wayne of Team Two has sent a message asking us to prepare for the enemy. In half a quarter of an hour, Commander Pierce will lead Teams 4 to 10, who have already assembled, to attack the demon camp in the mining area. Team 2 and I will block this valley to prevent them from fleeing..."

Dave nodded to show that he had received it, but turned around and grinned in dissatisfaction. The most elite 1st Battalion of the Northern Army was dispatched for this operation, but unfortunately, Camp Vaughn was seriously injured and lying in the territory hospital. It was Commander Pierce who personally commanded them in the battle.

The result was unexpected. The strongest teams one and two, led by Duff and Wayne, were placed on the second front line, responsible only for blocking the remnants of the demon army that might collapse and escape on the front battlefield.

The three teams led by Tommy are still on their way and probably won't have the chance to participate in the first wave of head-on combat.

But the long training and strict discipline of the army made Duff calmly and quickly carry out all the commander's orders even though he was full of dissatisfaction. He repeatedly went back and forth behind the bunkers of each combat team, carefully checking everyone's ammunition and guns, and constantly sent soldiers to climb tall trees to observe the situation in the mining area below the mountain.

Time passed minute by minute, and suddenly, shouts were faintly heard from the distant hilltop, and then an even more violent riot broke out in the mining area at the foot of the mountain.

"Captain Pierce and his men have begun to attack the demons in the mine!" Dave stood on a high slope and tried to look down, but his vision was completely blocked by the dense primeval jungle and he could not see anything.

……

"Those big guys! They're coming! Everyone, pay attention! Fire!"

A row of soldiers lying in the trenches stood up from their half-crouching positions, raised their guns swiftly, aimed at a conspicuous target a hundred meters away, and pulled the trigger one after another.

Without waiting to see the results of the volley attack, he pulled the bolt again to reload and fire - in a battle at such a close distance, theoretically there was no need to aim at all. As long as he held the magic gun horizontally and fired at the target, he would always be able to kill a large number of enemies who were lining up to die.

After two rounds of volleys, the group of monsters that rushed over fell to the ground one after another, and their huge bodies hit the ground with a bang. The soldiers then discovered that these giant beasts were carrying people on their backs. They were the demon cavalry that the superiors had repeatedly mentioned!
The demon cavalrymen who were thrown off because of being shot by the monsters were trampled crazily by the rampaging beasts in the chaos. They only had time to let out a wail before they died instantly. Some of the lucky ones avoided being trampled and crushed by their mounts, and just as they got up, they were shot in the chest and fell back to the ground.

"Charge! Charge! Pay attention to the enemies ahead. They may be using the corpses of those monsters as cover!"

The captains of the several teams responsible for the main attack kept shouting, directing the soldiers to carefully bypass the corpses of the charging monsters and advance on foot into the mining area.

Sure enough, several surviving demon soldiers hid behind the thick corpses of demon beasts, and suddenly jumped out and roared to attack. A soldier who had just installed a bayonet on his spear had no time to shoot back. He could only grit his teeth and hold the spear horizontally, trying to block the opponent's downward attack.

With a crack, the magic gun made of ordinary cast iron could not withstand the heavy blow and broke in half instantly. The soldier, who was two heads shorter than the demon cavalry, was also knocked to the ground by this powerful blow.

The soldier next to him immediately raised his gun and fired back, roaring and pouring all the magic bullets in the magazine at the demon who had just killed his comrade, instantly turning him into a sieve.

More and more demon cavalry began to use the corpses of various demon beasts, or huge rocks and rough wood as cover, and then suddenly launched an attack when the soldiers approached. The situation of the battle gradually changed from a one-sided shooting in a row to a tragic scene where the soldiers of the Northern Army had to fight hand-to-hand with the powerful demons.

Pierce keenly discovered the enemy's combat intentions and immediately arranged for a large number of wolf spiders that had been on standby to enter the battlefield. They began to expel and search for enemies hiding everywhere, exposing them to the soldiers' guns in advance.

Several Northern Army sergeants who had awakened their bloodline talents, after emptying their magazines, drew out the alchemical swords specially made for them, and rushed to the front to defend the ordinary soldiers from the approaching demon cavalry.

An officer with the appearance of a half-orc, brandishing a long sword that was gleaming with cold white light, collided with a tall demon wearing half-shoulder armor.

The moment the two equally sharp weapons collided, the cold light on the Orc officer's sword quickly spread to the opponent's weapon, and then spread upwards along the opponent's wrist and arm without slowing down, directly freezing half of his body.

The Bloodline Warrior's innate ability "Ice Blade"!
The half-orc officer kicked the frozen demon over and turned his long sword to stab him in the throat. Suddenly, a fireball flew from the side and hit his back hard, knocking him several meters away and falling to the ground.

"Iron Head!" The comrade who was also fighting the demons in close combat roared loudly. However, Iron Head, who was hit by the fireball, twitched twice and slowly got up from the ground.

His back and one side of his face were burned blood red by the scorching flames, and his skin was completely ulcerated, but he still lowered his head to pick up his dropped long sword and returned to the demon he had frozen.

He gnashed his teeth and chopped off the terrified head of the opponent. "Damn it! You almost roasted me! It hurts so much! Damn it!"

The vitality of a bloodline warrior is far stronger than that of ordinary people, and it is no problem for him to withstand several magical attacks from low-level spellcasters.

(End of this chapter)