Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 257 Magic Version of "Optical Camouflage"

Harvey had only one thought in his mind at this moment - "Thank you so much for the gift of nature!"

He unexpectedly discovered that the "optical camouflage" coating technology could replace what he knew in his previous life, which required the application of nanotechnology.

This is actually a special property that can be naturally evolved from a small herbal magic plant. It can only be said that in this world full of extraordinary powers and magical elements, there are still too many unknown magical things worth exploring.

"Submit a detailed report on the growth environment, planting requirements, and catalytic yield of this magical plant to me as soon as possible," Harvey said hurriedly. "If we can incorporate it into military equipment on a large scale, we might very well have a powerful assault force capable of surviving invisibly in the wilderness!"

Chris and Egno immediately understood what Harvey meant and changed their minds. "Sir, you're saying this isn't just for dyeing beautiful, color-changing fabrics... but should be used on soldiers' uniforms and equipment, allowing them to blend seamlessly into the battlefield and achieve exceptional concealment?"

The two of them took a deep breath together. In this regard, they were really not as open-minded as the Lord, whose ideas were bold and imaginative!

……

"Sir, please lie down in the mud for ten minutes..."

"Okay, please lower your body again and completely fit yourself into this bush..."

"Sorry to bother you, but please completely submerge your head above the water. Uh... we'll provide you with a metal tube to ensure underwater breathing..."

"Can you try to bury yourself in this pile of cotton? Haha, it's not snowing yet, so we can't verify the color-changing effect in the snow. We can only use cotton instead..."

Vaughn, expressionless, was wearing a strange, ill-fitting cotton coat. He followed the instructions of an alchemy laboratory apprentice stiffly, repeatedly rolling and tumbling among various objects, or lying down for a while, or curling up and hiding himself in them.

These alchemy apprentices, whose hair had not even grown fully, did not care about his identity as the commander of the Northern Army Battalion. They kept asking him to do all kinds of funny actions, and even asked him to try to lie on the back of a smelly long-haired wild boar to see if he could blend into the boar's dark long hair.

If it weren't for the fact that Lord Harvey was watching from a distance, he would have responded impatiently with a sour face.

"Lord, the preliminary results of the color change experiment are out..."

Harvey took the stack of experimental reports handed to him by Chris and quickly flipped through them while listening to the other party's report.

The dye juice, temporarily named "Fantasy Fruit", can only produce the magical effect of color-changing camouflage when it is applied to the surface of inanimate objects. However, it will have no effect at all when applied to the human body or animal surface.

Moreover, this dye only shows the best color-changing effect on metal and fabrics, and the effect is much less effective on leather, wood or rubber products.

"The dye changes color most quickly and accurately when used to simulate solid-colored objects like soil, rock, and grass. Soldiers wearing this camouflage uniform only need to stay close to these objects for tens of seconds to quickly change color, achieving excellent concealment..." Chris's report was meticulous, even detailing the dye's reaction time down to the second. However, in more complex simulated environments, the color change reaction was somewhat slow and inconsistent, and it was almost ineffective in water, dispelling Harvey's hopes of achieving near-transparent stealth.

However, in colorful flower beds and indoors, it takes nearly half an hour for the color change reaction to slowly appear, and the simulated color fit is extremely low, which completely fails to achieve the effect of blending into the environment and being hidden.

Harvey quickly figured out the core properties of the "Fantasy Fruit" dye - the purer the color of the surrounding environment, the better the simulation speed and effect, and vice versa. This means that the most suitable use of this camouflage paint is for painting military soldiers' combat uniforms, weapons and vehicles.

This way, you can get the best appearance concealment effect whether fighting in dense forests, grasslands or snow.

He waved his hand, calling the dusty-looking Battalion Commander Vaughn over to him, and asked gently, "How comfortable are these clothes made with color-changing dyes? Do you feel any discomfort where they come into contact with your skin?"

Vaughn scratched his head and answered honestly, "My Lord, these are definitely inferior to the standard uniforms we usually wear. They feel a bit too rough, and the friction against the skin is a bit painful... But these magical color-changing clothes will be of great help to our surprise attacks. A little discomfort is completely unnecessary. We can just give the soldiers some ointment to apply to damaged skin..."

Harvey smiled and shook his head, earnestly addressing his veteran, renowned for his endurance. "I'm not denying the soldiers' resilience, but if they're out in combat for extended periods, even a minor skin injury could easily lead to a serious infection. So this problem must be addressed."

In his previous life, he had heard many real war stories, such as the non-war casualties in which soldiers suffered from "trench foot" due to design problems of leather boots issued by the army, which eventually led to avascular necrosis and amputation.

There was also the "German Popsicle" incident in which a large number of soldiers suffered hypothermia and casualties due to misjudgment of the weather temperature. The German army's blitzkrieg "Operation Typhoon" against the Soviet Union in World War II resulted in a large number of soldiers being frozen to death or frostbitten in Moscow.

"First, try adding a soft cotton lining inside the camouflage uniforms to see if that alleviates the friction..." Harvey instructed the military factory supervisor. "If that doesn't work, add a few more layers, or find some soft leather as a substitute. In short, it must be both breathable and warm, and there's no need to skimp on cost."

Chris interrupted, "Sir, don't worry too much about the coating on weapons and alchemical vehicles. Once Egno has transplanted and catalyzed these plants in large quantities, I can immediately begin equipping the army with camouflage weapons!"

Harvey nodded and asked them to implement it as soon as possible.

With the arrival of the new winter, the day when the evil orcs will invade the south is not far away...

……

"Among the magical plants you brought back earlier, there's one you haven't submitted the experimental test report to me yet... Is there any problem or difficulty with it?"

Egno smiled wryly and shook his head, explaining, "Sir, it's not that we encountered any technical difficulties. We still don't know what use that thing has for now. We reluctantly brought it back because it is indeed a magical plant that has never been discovered. So we use it to enrich the plantation's magical plant variety..."

Harvey asked curiously, "Oh? You haven't discovered its use yet? What kind of weird magical plant is this?"

(End of this chapter)