Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 376 Magical Mutation
It was already afternoon of the next day when Harvey received the news and arrived at the outpost fortress on an armored icebreaker.

The corpses of the three terrifying beasts were still lying quietly in the snow on the riverbank. The black and red blood had long been frozen. Even in such cold weather, one could still smell a strong and disgusting stench when approaching.

"The size of these monsters is indeed terrifying, but they are just flesh and blood after all. They are completely vulnerable to our powerful magical weapons." Pierce took the initiative to step forward to examine the corpses of the monsters and commented in a cold tone.

The two alchemy apprentices who came with Harvey walked up to the corpse with record books in their hands and began to record in a rigorous manner. The research and development of shrapnel bombs was originally designed to have a certain degree of penetration while penetrating the target's defense and then produce severe explosive damage. The "living target" in front of them, which was the size of half a city wall, was the best actual combat feedback data.

After the pointed shell pierced the target's external bone armor at high speed, it drilled into its body and caused a terrible ballistic tumble. This terrible kinetic energy directly turned its internal organs upside down, and finally transmitted the pressure back to the surface of the body. Not only were the flesh and blood internal organs squeezed out, but even the hardest external shell was shattered in the shock, and completely shriveled and collapsed.

The Eye of Illusion, following closely, observed the creature and asked doubtfully, "It's been decades since we've seen such a massive magical beast active in the Southern Continent... Did you see how it released its innate magic before you killed it?"

Wayne answered honestly, "To prevent them from crashing into the outer walls of the fortress, we fired at them at a very high frequency... Only the last beast, which lagged behind, tried to spit out a huge fireball at us, but it was just like a spellcaster's magic fireball; it only flew about ten meters before exploding on its own."

The Eye of Illusion felt his face getting hot, as if the answer from the other party was a blatant mockery of him. After all, compared to the magical weapons that could shoot hundreds or even thousands of meters, the combat mages' attack range of only tens of meters was really not enough.

Even the single-target spell with the longest attack range recognized by the magic world can only reach the limit of 100 meters after being released. Compared with the "Barrett" ultra-long-range magic sniper rifle that he had seen with his own eyes, it is simply useless.

He stole a glance at Harvey without leaving a trace and found that the lord, who was also a spellcaster, seemed to be normal. Come to think of it... After all, these magical weapons that subverted the extraordinary status of spellcasters were made by the real agent of the forum himself.

"The strength of bones and muscles of any living creature has its limits. This guy is several sizes larger than the woolly mammoth. How on earth can he support such a huge body and not be crushed by his own weight?" Harvey walked around the corpse, really unable to understand.

If it were a marine creature that grew into this appearance, it would be normal. After all, the buoyancy of seawater can offset gravity to a certain extent.

"Maybe it has something to do with the magic power within the body. After all, ancient wizards have studied these magical creatures. They are born with veins in their bodies that can store magic power." After all, the Eye of Illusion specializes in illusion magic, and his research on magical creatures is quite in-depth.

Harvey nodded in agreement, but then frowned. "But this thing is rumored to only be active deep in the ice sheet. Why would it suddenly appear in the Divine Spine Mountains?"

They have migrated across thousands of miles. Wouldn't they encounter the evil orc tribes living on the ice field?
This immediately touched upon the Eye of Illusion's "blind spot in knowledge," and he could only hesitantly reply, "Why not... use the Image Stone to record this guy's appearance? After returning to the territory, ask Teacher Duncan and Mr. Asdalen. They might know the reason behind this strange behavior."

……

"How is this possible?" Asdalen stared at the scene presented in the magic stone with wide eyes. "Isn't this the source beast of magic power?"

"Source Beast? That's its name?" Harvey asked curiously. "Have you seen one in the Land of Eternal Night?" "They're rare. These magical creatures usually form small groups of four or five, living in the frozen deserts of the far north, deep within the glaciers. It's said that the intense surge of magic within their bodies causes their blood to boil, so they must rely on extremely cold temperatures to survive and reproduce..."

Duncan pondered for a moment before saying, "The demonic beasts that the demons ride on are a hybrid subspecies of this creature. I've captured quite a few of them for experimental observation in the past, and they share many similarities."

"Will wild source beasts actively attack other creatures? For example, demons, evil orcs, or humans living on the ice field?" Harvey just wanted to figure out why these huge guys left their original habitat and came all the way to the Divine Ridge Mountains.

At least judging from their size and powerful magical attack power, it is unlikely that they were captured and domesticated by demons or evil orcs to be used as heavy weapons or vehicles in war.

Asdaren was visibly stunned for a moment, as if something suddenly occurred to him. He spoke uncertainly, "It's... foraging and reproduction! That's right! They were drawn here by the instinct of food and reproduction!"

"Huh?" Harvey was a bit confused. "Logically, this slow-moving creature shouldn't be a carnivore. What else could it possibly eat in the Divine Ridge Mountains? Why haven't we seen them migrating here to feed before?"

Asdalen said in a heavy voice, "It's magic power... My Lord, these source beasts feed on magic stone ore. Similarly... they also love to mate and reproduce near veins rich in magic power..."

Harvey's heart sank as he immediately thought of the magic stone vein beneath his castle, and the huge mineral vein ruins with traces of artificial excavation in the underground base at the foot of the southern slope of Jackdaw Ridge...

But why...

How could these behemoths, thousands of miles away, so accurately detect the magical stone reserves near their territory? They live in the frozen tundra deep in the far north...

"Compared to us human spellcasters, magical creatures are far more sensitive to magic... After all, we cultivate a set of magical channels within our bodies through learning and meditation, whereas these creatures blessed by magic are born with veins capable of channeling and containing magic."

Duncan spoke at the right time to make speculations and judgments, but his tone couldn't help but reveal a hint of imperceptible emotion and envy.

Harvey immediately thought of the energy-absorbing beetles that were kept in captivity in large numbers - these insects also fed on magic stone ore. Were they also attracted by the huge magic stone veins contained in this area?
So where did the beetles originally live? At least there had been no signs of them in the southern border. Could they also be in the tundra deep within the ice sheet?
Harvey was racking his brains over the crux of the matter when the door of the conference room was suddenly slammed open by a young bodyguard.

"Lord! This is bad! The energy-gathering array in the South Slope underground base... suddenly exploded! The energy ranch and underground mines have partially collapsed, trapping many personnel inside..."

(End of this chapter)