Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 471 "Ice Fishing" Plan

After quickly returning to Spark City, Harvey did not delay at all and gathered all the team members who had participated in the ice field exploration early the next morning.

In addition to Duncan, Eye of Illusion and Astrologer, White, the injured Blake and Michelle were also present.

"The weapon the masked monsters use is a type of black water of unknown nature..." Duncan slowly stood up and spoke first. "This liquid weapon comes from metal canisters they carry on their backs. It's released through tubes and then manipulated into various forms of offensive weapons."

The astrologer added solemnly, "The most common form is tiny crystal thorns, which are silent, swift, and have extremely strong penetrating power."

"The second is the whip form... It's flexible and tough, with a huge attack range. Just one enemy can use it to hold back both my teacher and I in our phantom form." The Eye of Illusion also recalled the dangerous situation at that time and frowned as he continued.

There is also a spear form with an extremely long attack range, which can be thrown from the ground to a height of fifty or sixty meters in the air and pierce the airbag of the airship... and a sword form that is also suitable for close combat.

Harvey listened silently to the team members' detailed descriptions, then suddenly asked, "Ms. Astrologer was suddenly attacked because the opponent's attack had no magical fluctuations at all and was completely undetectable...is that correct?"

"Indeed..." The astrologer nodded affirmatively. "Astrological mages may not have much of an advantage in frontal combat, but in terms of magical detection and danger perception, they will definitely not be caught off guard by surprise attacks."

This means that the weapons controlled by the enemy and the abilities they exert are completely different from magic or divine arts... Harvey even dared to boldly guess that the way they draw energy might not come from the magic network in another dimension.

He suddenly recalled the battle scene described by Duncan—the black crystal spikes that had pierced his body, even after being freed from the enemy's control, still seemed to be alive, constantly drilling under his skin...

"This seems to be a biological weapon..." Harvey muttered to himself.

While waiting for Chris and Egno, who had arrived late, to take over the battle report and read it, Harvey asked Blake, who had been seriously injured and nearly died, "After you had killed the enemy together and were trying to remove their mask... you were suddenly struck by a strange red light?"

Blake gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, their strange skins look seamless, without any gaps. Aside from the crystal mask embedded in their faces, I can't think of any way to see the enemy's true faces... so I took a risk."

The integrated skin has extremely high magic resistance. The only breakthrough point is the crystal visor on the face... Once it is forcibly removed, it will trigger a certain defense mechanism.

"The description sounds like some kind of bioelectric reaction..." Harvey couldn't help but bring in some physical knowledge he learned from his previous life, muttering to himself.

He then gathered his thoughts, cleared his throat, and said, "But at least we've stumbled upon an important weakness of the other side."

The bullets from the magic gun can penetrate the strange magic-resistant skin and easily detonate the black water tanks they carry on their backs!

The opponent's main weapon... is a highly flammable substance similar to dragon flame powder and kerosene!
Harvey stood up and excitedly walked to the conference room's blackboard. He scrawled three lines of text with a thick charcoal brush. "It's assumed that these masked creatures were attracted to the wilderness and dense forest by three things the exploration team accidentally revealed... and that's why they quietly followed and attacked us."

Written on the blackboard were: airship, campfire, and magic fluctuations.

But the enemy obviously did not have the ability to pursue at high speed, nor did they have the support of high-level flying techniques, so after the airship took off and accelerated to escape... they could no longer lock onto the target and continue chasing.

In addition, the location where the exploration team encountered and fought with the enemy was very close to the ice sea... It is hard not to prove that the enemy might have come from the deep sea under the ice, and landed in the form of a small team to fight.

Duncan suddenly realized something and said, "No wonder we couldn't find any trace of their camp no matter how hard we searched... If they landed quietly at the small swell at the edge of the frozen sea, it would be quite well hidden!"

Harvey nodded in affirmation and continued, "I suspect that strange full-body covering is a diving suit designed to insulate them from the freezing cold water or the terrestrial air. The reason they're completely enclosed is probably because they can't be exposed directly to the ground. The truth behind this won't be revealed until we capture them alive."

Chris and Benoit were taking notes quickly when they suddenly looked up and interrupted, "If they regularly return to the sea and never stay on land for long, how can we catch them? We can't actually dive into the freezing water, can we?"

The research, development and manufacturing of the submarine is still in a critical stage and cannot be officially put into use at the moment.

Harvey chuckled and scribbled a crude sketch on the blackboard. "You've lived in Spark City for quite some time now. Have you ever seen the Fisheries Department's fishing operations at the docks?"

The Eye of Illusion was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "Sir, are you talking about using an armored fishing boat to forcibly break through the ice and then casting a bottom trawl net to catch glacial salmon?"

"First, the ice above the frozen sea is several times thicker than that on the glacial river... Second, the enemies we're trying to capture are aliens who look very similar to us, with arms and legs. They're not ordinary, defenseless sea fish!"

Harvey curled his lips and explained helplessly, "I'm not talking about industrialized fishing. I'm talking about the way people in the territory would spontaneously go fishing on the glaciers in the winter to improve their food intake before ironclad ships became common!"

Chris suddenly realized, slammed the table and laughed, "I know! It's hole-drilling ice fishing!"

He had lived in the territory longer than anyone else present and was very familiar with the lifestyle of the local residents. Naturally, he knew the unique ice fishing method of the wilderness - using a pyramidal spear to break a bowl-sized hole in the ice, throwing down the hook and bait to attract extremely hungry glacial salmon to flock to it, and in less than half a day, he could get a full harvest.

And use exploration-type alchemy beasts to drill through the thick ice and expand a large enough artificial sea vent... set up "bait" nearby to lure them to surface and land. As long as the action is secretive and the timing is right, there is a high chance of catching these "big fish" hiding in the sea.

Harvey nodded and said with a smile, "Next, we need to discuss... how to set up a clever and appropriate [bait]."

(End of this chapter)