Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 441: Lion of the North (Part )

Harvey stood on the deck of the ironclad ship, looking at the long fleet arranged in a V-shape behind him, and couldn't help feeling a little emotional... Apart from the last Fengyuan City raid, this trip to the royal capital Jinhui City could be regarded as his true "personal expedition".

Although it is still in the form of controlling the soul puppet - the senior officials and officers of Xinghuo City will never allow their city lord to take risks.

This time he was on a modified ironclad ship that was temporarily used as the city lord's flagship. Compared with other ordinary ships that were only equipped with "single-cylinder" magic power engines, the city lord's flagship was not only larger in size, but also had a dual-unit power system, and its speed in the river was much faster.

The flagship's onboard weapons and equipment include a magic cannon at the bow and stern, and a magic machine gun on each side of the ship. They are installed and fixed on a circular metal winch, which can flexibly adjust the direction and angle of shooting, basically achieving a barrage defense without blind spots.

Behind the flagship followed seven or eight conventional ironclad ships, and on the deck of each ship stood a large number of soldiers armed with live ammunition. The fleet was sailing on the wide Ralph River, and even the river water was stirred up and became a little turbulent, which further highlighted the indomitable momentum of this fleet, which can be called the overlord of the inland river.

"What does the royal capital, Jinhui City... look like?" Battalion Commander Dafu asked with longing. "Can it be more prosperous and bustling than our Xinghuo City?"

Captain Tommy smiled and said, "Impossible! Aside from the magical capital of Alaye, there's no city in the Southern Territory more prosperous and affluent than our Spark City."

Wayne also quickly followed suit. The two of them had accompanied Harvey to Alayeh in person. They were among the few guys in the Northern Army who had seen the "world", so naturally they had more say than others.

"Tsk, I really want to see what those big cities in the south, where a lot of people live, look like..." Vaughn muttered, adding softly, "But not like Grizzli Fort and Fengyuan City, which we took down..."

The number of orcs and other half-bloods in Spark City is not small. Most of the human refugees have lived and multiplied in the northern wilderness for hundreds of years, and have more or less a bit of foreign blood in their bodies, which makes their body shape and appearance obviously different from those of the southern people - this is also the main reason why they are discriminated against and driven away.

Orcs like Vaughn and Dave, who have ferocious and beastly faces, would never be accepted and recognized by the people of the Southern Territory and would never walk openly on the streets of human cities.

Harvey heard the whispers of his own officers behind him, turned around and smiled, "Once we capture the capital and put an end to this conflict between mortals and spellcasters, I will issue a decree throughout Saint Valen. From now on, whether orcs or other half-bloods from the northern wastes... they will be able to live freely and equally in the southern territories like everyone else, and will never again be subjected to slavery or discrimination."

These words naturally caused many half-blood and half-orc officers behind him to kneel down on one knee and salute with their hands on their chests. Many of them looked at the lord they were loyal to with fiery eyes, their eyes full of excitement and fanaticism.

……

Commander Pierce hurried onto the deck of the flagship. "Sir, over ten miles away on the Alva River, there's indeed a fleet from Jinhui City stationed there... It matches the information our intelligence agents sent us: six sloops, flying the insignia of the Royal City Guard."

Harvey nodded to indicate that he understood, then turned and entered the ship's command room. In the narrow command room, which was less than six meters square, there was only a simple long conference table fixed to the floor, with a river section map spread out on the table.

Commander Pierce, Guard Captain Tommy, Vaughn and Wayne, commanders of the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the Northern Army, as well as Duff, deputy captain of the special operations team, and Bobcat, commander of the artillery battalion, stood in a row on both sides of Harvey and formulated a simple battle plan for the upcoming encounter.

Dealing with a few sloops wouldn't have required such fuss, but information from intelligence personnel in the royal capital indicated that although the fleet did not carry a large number of soldiers, each ship was fully loaded with flammable and explosive items such as dragon flame powder, kerosene, and whale blubber. There was a certain risk whether it was a long-range bombardment or a close-in boarding operation.

Once they force the other side into a desperate situation, they will most likely detonate their ships and blow up the river mouth, directly blocking Harvey's fleet's route to Jinhui City.

"Sir, if we can lure them out of the river mouth area and destroy them directly with artillery fire on the wide river, wouldn't there be nothing to worry about?" Vaughn's thoughts were as straightforward as his brain.

Wayne said in a deep voice, "How do we lure them out? The river channel in the Alva area is flat and offers a wide field of view. The enemy can spot us from afar, so how could they possibly get close? Unless we launch a surprise attack from a very long distance before they notice..." Artillery Battalion Commander Bobcat shook his head and said, "Lord, officers, our naval guns struggle to hit moving targets at long range. This isn't a matter of lack of capability, but the double challenge of both the enemy's ships and our own moving simultaneously. Our hit rate will be greatly reduced."

Pierce said gloomily, "Then tell me, how close do we need to be to hit the target?"

Lynx shrank his neck, held up three fingers, and answered cautiously, "Three hundred meters... within three hundred meters, even if it's a moving target, I can guarantee that a single shot will sink an enemy ship!"

Dave scoffed and said in a muffled voice, "At 300 meters, do we really need your artillery battalion? Our special operations team is ambushed underwater. When they get close, can't we just board the ship and engage them?"

"What if the enemy gets desperate and sets themselves on fire? Wouldn't you be blown up with them?"

Harvey pinched his brows and turned to look at the trainee naval officer Guterres who was huddled in the corner of the command room - that's right, this time for foreign operations, Harvey also brought his "Mongolian Navy" along, the main purpose of which was to let them accumulate some experience in water combat.

“Guterres, what do you think?”

A group of high-ranking officers from Spark City turned to look at him, which immediately made the old helmsman, who had served as the first mate on a merchant ship, so nervous that he dug his toes into the ground.

Harvey waved his hand and soothed him, "It's okay, feel free to speak freely. After all, you're the only one who has real experience sailing on the rivers of the Southern Territory. You must have often encountered conflicts with pirates and the like, right?"

Tommy quipped quietly, "Being the target of robbery for many years, does that count as experience in water warfare?"

"Uh, Lord Mayor..." Guterres, a trainee officer without a single ship, felt a little guilty. He hesitated for a long time before cautiously suggesting, "I think... we can disguise ourselves as large merchant ships laden with valuable cargo, lure them out of the river mouth, and come plunder us."

"Huh?" Vaughn and Duff stared.

Guterres quickly added, "Except for the city lord's flagship, the other ironclad ships are of the same size as ordinary three-masted sailing ships. With masts erected and fake sails hoisted, they can easily be mistaken for large merchant ships. When they get too impatient and come within range, we'll immediately open fire and sink them in the middle of the wide river, preventing them from blocking the river mouth."

Wayne asked in a deep voice, "That's the Royal City Guard's ship. Why would they rob passing merchant ships like ordinary pirates?"

Guterres gave a wry laugh. "Sir, the Royal City Guard is the largest pirate organization on the Ralph River... They really disdain ordinary small merchant ships. That's because only the fleets of large chambers of commerce are considered fat meat. Even if the royal chamber of commerce of another country passes by, they will [politely] board the ship and charge a hefty toll."

Tommy cursed disdainfully: "Shameless and greedy aristocratic army."

Harvey and Pierce looked at each other and said in unison, "This is a great plan. Let's do it!"

"Pass on my orders. The city lord's flagship lowers its stern, and the other secondary ships advance forward. The four leading ships raise their masts and sails, and pile their decks with ballast and military supplies to disguise them as merchant ships laden with cargo!"

(End of this chapter)