Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 164: Harvesting the Fruits of Victory
Pierce stood in the mining area that had just begun to clear the battlefield, raised his hand and gave Wayne and Duff two slaps each.

The blows were heavy and symmetrical, one on the left and one on the right. The only difference was that Duff's face was swollen for only a few seconds and then quickly subsided, while Wayne's face was swollen so much that the corners of his mouth were almost torn apart.

"Have you not even paid attention to the usual command lessons? You left your own ranks, leading your bloodline warriors single-handedly to attack a fleeing demon army that outnumbers you ten to one? I think you deserve military justice!"

Dave and Wayne hung their heads and dared not say a word. They could only stand there and listen to Pierce's cursing.

"If Tommy hadn't just arrived and asked him to rush to your aid, you would have died right there today... Don't think you're invincible just because you've awakened your bloodline talent. The demons aren't enemies you can easily control like the evil orcs. If there's even a demon priest hiding among these fleeing soldiers, I'll have to collect your bodies today!"

Pierce took the battle report handed to him by his deputy, glanced at it with a frown, and still felt extremely distressed.

Even though this isolated demon army entrenched in the mining area did not have a powerful spellcaster like a priest, it still caused considerable casualties to his combat team.

The highest number of casualties was caused by the fireballs spitted by the monsters. More than 30 ordinary soldiers died in the explosion caused by the fireballs, and about 100 soldiers suffered burns to varying degrees. Fortunately, he brought a medical alchemy beast and a large amount of magic potions with him on this operation, which were able to stabilize the condition of the seriously injured and allow them to return to the territory for treatment.

More than ten soldiers died in a head-on confrontation with the demon soldiers. After losing the long-range attack advantage of the magic gun, ordinary soldiers were simply unable to compete with the tall and strong demons in close combat. If the alchemy beasts had not been sent into the battlefield in advance and there were bloodline warriors in the team, the casualties would probably have been even greater.

Lord Harvey once mentioned to him inadvertently that a one-tenth casualty rate in a small-scale battle was already a very ideal result, which could basically be described as a great victory.

But soldiers' lives are always precious, and soldiers who have received rigorous training, are proficient in using magic guns, and can obey orders in battle are even more precious. Every loss makes Pierce feel painful.

Fortunately, there was no loss of bloodline warriors who were trained with great difficulty. Although several of them were seriously injured and almost lost their combat ability, their enhanced vitality was strong enough, so there was no need to worry too much about the worst-case scenario of them dying from their injuries.

"Commander! We found some strange things in the demon camp... Some of them look like the strange alchemical instruments invented by the Lord."

"Huh? Alchemical equipment?" Pierce frowned slightly. He had never heard from Mentor Asdalen that there was such a profession as alchemist among the demons.

He followed the soldiers in charge of cleaning up the battlefield to the center of the demon clan's ruined camp, and sure enough, he saw an ugly and strangely shaped tower-shaped instrument standing in a temporarily excavated mine near the mountain wall in the mining area.

"Can this thing be called an alchemical instrument?"

Whether in terms of material, shape, or aesthetics, it can't compare to the sophisticated and structurally beautiful alchemical devices assembled by Harvey and Reiner...

Why would the demons temporarily dig a shallow mine here and then move this machine into the hole?
The soldier quickly handed over an even stranger thing—a cylindrical metal can about the length and thickness of a forearm, with rusty exterior.

"We've discovered a large number of these strange jars in the demon soldiers' tents and in this mine. They appear to contain some liquid... but everyone strictly adheres to the rules and doesn't dare to open them easily."

Pierce was very satisfied with the soldiers' vigilance. He asked them to place the jar on a rock deep in the cave, and then ordered everyone to retreat to the cave entrance. He took a magic gun, casually aimed at the upper opening of the jar, and pulled the trigger directly.

After a slight "sizzling" sound, the jar was knocked over to the ground, and a pool of colorless transparent liquid slowly flowed out from the broken hole, but it evaporated and disappeared in an instant.

Pierce sniffed and used his vampire's extraordinary sense of smell to carefully identify, but did not find any unusual smell or strangeness.

"Strange... This is clearly not water or alcohol, nor is it poison. After being exposed to the air, it evaporated so quickly..."

He was too lazy to explore further and decisively waved his hand, saying, "Take them all back. The knowledgeable Lord will naturally know its origin and use."

The task of clearing and cleaning up the battlefield wasn't tedious. This demonic army numbered only five hundred, and none of them had mounted magical beasts. There were fewer than a hundred of them, all of whom had been killed on the spot by the Northern Army. The beasts' flesh and blood smelled extremely rancid, and Pierce had no intention of using them as rations. The territory's newly built food factory had already mass-produced a wide variety of special agent rations, meticulously packaged in perishable tin cans. From tender stewed beef and mutton to delicious mushroom and chicken soup and incredibly filling compressed wheat cakes, the supply was plentiful, ensuring the soldiers could always fill their mouths even while on the battlefield.

"Don't waste the leather of these monsters. They actually have two layers of hides, the outer layer is extremely tough, and the inner layer is extremely soft and skin-friendly. It is simply the best material for making marching uniforms..." The non-commissioned officer in charge of military supplies and logistics was very happy and called on the soldiers who were cleaning the battlefield to carefully cut the hides.

Pierce quickly ordered, "Take their weapons and armor with you as well... Send them back to the iron foundry and they can be melted down into ingots to forge new weapons."

Life had to be lived frugally, and Pierce always kept in mind Harvey's advice - an excellent modern army relied on strong logistical support and equipment configuration.

"Commander! Commander! Something happened!" A young military doctor ran over in a hurry.

Before he could report the situation, Pierce felt a dull pain in his head. It was his first time leading a team in a long-distance battle, and so many unexpected situations occurred. The casualties were not small. He felt that he was not qualified to be a commander.

"What happened again?"

The young military doctor had a strange expression on his face, his mouth twitching as he hesitated to speak. "Come with me to the medical station..."

Because there were too many wounded in the battle, the team in the logistics team responsible for field medical care had to temporarily build several tents to serve as field medical stations.

When Pierce arrived, he found that it was not a sudden worsening of the injured soldier's condition, or any other sudden situation that caused casualties.

Instead, several ordinary soldiers covered their mouths, squatted at the door of the medical tent with sweat on their foreheads, and looked at their commander in panic.

"What on earth happened? You! Stand up and tell me!" Pierce was furious. He randomly called out a soldier who was squatting and covering his mouth, and asked him to report directly to him.

The soldier stood up immediately as a reflex, but he was reluctant to let go of the hand covering his mouth, and made a stammering sound.

"Commander, those idiots found some wild fruits in the demon soldiers' tent. They smelled sweet and delicious, so they couldn't help but share them and eat them..."

The young military doctor rolled his eyes in annoyance and continued, "Before he could swallow it, he found that his mouth was stuck for some reason and he couldn't open it at all. He tried to reach out and dig out the strange fruit, but his hand got stuck too..."

"What? You dare to eat the things you looted from aliens? Are you the reincarnation of starving ghosts?" Pierce's eyes almost popped out, and he didn't know what words to use to describe these idiots.

The military doctor quickly handed Pierce a strange fruit that was stuck to the soldier's mouth.

"It's not poisonous, otherwise they would have died long ago. There are actually quite a few of these fruits growing in the nearby mountains and forests, but the demon soldiers seem to know not to eat them, so they just pick and collect them."

Pierce looked at the bright red and plump wild fruit in his hand, smelled the sweet fruity aroma, and immediately understood why they couldn't help but be greedy.

"Hurry, have the first group of soldiers returning to the territory take these fools with them and ask Lord Egno to find a way to pry their mouths open. If we delay any longer, they'll probably die of thirst and starvation."

He turned around and instructed the young military doctor, "Send someone to the nearby forest to collect more of these fruits, bring them back, and give them to Lord Harvey..."

(End of this chapter)