Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 503 Harvey's "Mongolian Navy"

Although autumn has officially arrived, the fast-flowing glacial river has not yet frozen over, and the temporary naval base next to the shipyard is crowded with officers and soldiers.

Harvey stood on the spacious military dock surrounded by his personal guards, staring intently at the river.

Not long after, a few bubbles suddenly gurgled up from the calm river surface, followed by a loud splash... A huge elliptical spindle-shaped submarine suddenly emerged from the water.

The soldiers watching on the side immediately cheered. The ironclad ship cruising on the river slowly approached the submersible, extended its grappling hook to secure it, and then towed it to the shore.

The hatch on top of the submersible creaked and began to turn. The gray-haired Guterres climbed out of it nimbly, followed by seven or eight young naval soldiers.

"Lord City Lord! Reporting to you..." Guterres, having just stepped onto the dock, trotted over to Harvey, clenched his fist on his chest, and gave a Northern Military salute. "This time, the submarine descended directly to the riverbed, reaching a depth of 107 meters and remaining silent for 60 minutes. Due to the muddy autumn water, we were unable to locate the metal beacon that had sunk in advance."

Harvey nodded with satisfaction. He knew very well the visibility in the water of the Glacier River. If he wanted to conduct real diving cruise training, he would probably have to go to the Ice Sea Exploration Base.

He turned and signaled to Egno, who immediately came forward with two hybrid elf doctors and began to perform physical examinations on Guterres and others.

"How are you and the other soldiers feeling now? Are you feeling any noticeable discomfort?"

Guterres subconsciously pinched his earlobe and answered honestly, "It's the same as always. Most guys experience intermittent tinnitus, chest tightness, and dizziness after diving for too long. However, the medicine provided by Dean Egno effectively alleviated the symptoms... and there were no other major problems afterwards."

Harvey nodded slowly. He didn't expect that the oxygen shortage problem inside the submarine, which he had been worried about, could be almost ignored with the help of the magic medicine. In order to ensure the speed and stability in the water, the submarine strictly limited the number of people and the load of energy and ammunition. The oxygen cylinders it carried could only sustain diving operations for a maximum of six hours. Once the time limit was exceeded and the soldiers did not surface for breathing, they would gradually enter a state of oxygen shortage, and eventually suffocate and coma and completely lose their combat capability.

However, with the magical potion called "breath-slowing potion" prepared by the medical center, not only can the soldiers' heart rate and breathing rate be reduced during diving operations, but also the oxygen consumption is reduced accordingly. The chest tightness and tinnitus caused by long-term underwater training are also greatly alleviated, so that these soldiers who originally had a fear of deep-water diving are no longer afraid.

"Lord City Lord, although the Glacier River is deep enough, it can never fully simulate the real situation in the ocean. When will we be able to truly..." Guterres looked at Harvey with hope, "Heading to the Ice Sea Exploration Base for actual diving training!"

Over the past six months, this navy, which consists of only 500 people and has been gradually recruited and formed, has been questioned by various departments... If it was just operating military ironclad ships to fight on inland rivers, no one would think there was anything wrong, but these naval soldiers successfully completed ship driving and water combat training in just the first three months of enlistment. After that, they have been soaking in the glacial rivers, operating expensive submarines to surface and dive, and carrying out extremely rigid training programs.

Many army officers in the military do not have any expectations for their combat capabilities, and privately call submarines "iron turtles" and these naval soldiers "underwater sentinels"... It is clear that they do not regard them as a main combat branch with combat capabilities.

As the acting captain, Guterres was calm and had been strictly following Harvey's instructions and training hard, but the younger soldiers in the team generally felt indignant. They were all regular troops from the North. Why did your army look down on our navy?

Ironclad ships and submarines were similarly equipped with magical cannons and machine guns. Navy soldiers also underwent rigorous daily physical and shooting training, and their qualifications were no less than those of the Army. Harvey, knowing the soldiers' plight, smiled and reassured Guterres, "The first batch of submarines is currently under construction. By winter at the latest... once the glacial rivers freeze over, you'll have the opportunity to travel to the Ice Sea Base."

He paused, then continued, "However, right now, there is a combat mission that requires your participation. This is also the first actual combat exercise since the formation of the Navy. Let me see the results of your training over the past six months."

Guterres' eyes lit up, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Sir, what is the mission?"

"Three military ironclad ships, along with a battalion of troops stationed at the valley outpost, will sweep northward along the glacial river. This year, I don't want to wait for the fel orcs who are raiding south to arrive. We'll just push back!"

Upon hearing this, Guterres and the surrounding naval officers immediately stood at attention and saluted, excitedly responding in unison, "As you command! Lord City Lord!"

……

"Sir, why do we have to sweep north to wipe out those fel orc tribes?" Reiner said, puzzled. "They weren't a big deal in the past. Ever since the establishment of the River Valley Outpost, they've even avoided Jackdaw Ridge and no longer attempt to invade the southern border from that direction."

Harvey stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the map hanging on the wall. "It's true they haven't appeared as frequently in the past two years, but have you ever considered... what will happen to these large and small fel orc tribes scattered across the wasteland if the main force of the demon lizardmen appears at the border between the frozen sea and the wasteland?"

Asdalen said quietly, "They will still be driven south, but I'm afraid they won't wait until winter ends and the weather warms up before returning to the wilderness like they did in the past..."

Even among intelligent races, the evil orcs are a low-intelligence and ignorant group. For thousands of years, there has never been a unified concept of a country. To them, there is no essential difference between internal fighting and external invasion. Naturally, they do not realize that they need to unite to fight the enemy when they are facing a powerful enemy. If they cannot win, they will run away and migrate to a place where they can reproduce. The vast land of the northern wilderness can feed these barbaric races who eat raw meat and drink blood everywhere.

Reiner suddenly understood. "Are you worried that the appearance of the Demon Lizardmen will cause a large number of evil orc tribes to migrate south, and because their land has been occupied and they can't return, they will choose to compete with us for resources for reproduction and survival?"

Harvey nodded. "Yes, the scattered fel orc tribes that have fled to Jackdaw Ridge are nothing to be feared. But if the tens of thousands of tribes in the wasteland truly all squeeze north of the Divine Spine Mountains, we'll probably be facing two hostile forces at once."

Actively sending troops to sweep northwards was naturally intended to clear out a relatively vast buffer zone. As long as their sweeping operations were frequent enough, the evil orc tribes entrenched within hundreds of miles north of Spark City would gradually get wind of the news. Not daring to confront the Northern Army head-on, they would naturally choose to protect their entire tribe and migrate in the opposite direction.

It might be a good choice to let these barbaric guys replace me and stand at the forefront of the Lizardmen's invasion of the [Corner of the Continent].

(End of this chapter)