Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 576 Air Defense Alert
By the time Nelson brought his son Larry to Harvey, Reiner and Chris had already arrived after hearing the news.

The fact that the public secretly uses their connections to resell and modify engineering alchemy beasts is a problem that is neither big nor small... On the one hand, His Majesty the Emperor and the government have tacitly turned a blind eye to this, but on the other hand, it has also exposed the fact that there are indeed illegal elements seeking personal gain among the officials.

"Your Majesty, the issue of scrapping and destroying the alchemical beast's soul core was indeed a mistake made by the laboratory. From now on, I will strictly discipline the experimenters below and such a situation will never happen again." As the person in charge of the alchemical laboratory, Chris knew that he had an obligation to do so. Before Reiner could speak, he took all the responsibility on himself.

Reiner remained calm. After inquiring about the details of the incident, he turned to Harvey and said, "Your Majesty, shouldn't the more important issue be the intelligence regarding the suspected activities of the Lizardmen in Great Bear Lake? The issue of the Alchemy Beasts entering the civilian population should be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for further investigation. For now..."

"Of course, the first thing we have to do now is to send an airship reconnaissance team back to the Great Bear Lake area to conduct a comprehensive search and thoroughly determine whether the demon lizardmen are indeed lurking in that area." Harvey tapped the table with his fingers and chuckled. "Do you think I really can't distinguish between priorities? The military had already launched operations before you arrived."

He paused and turned to look at the boy Nelson brought. He was about fifteen or sixteen years old... He looked like he had just graduated from a public college and was not even old enough to join the army or work.

"Mr. Larry, tell me in detail what you and your hunting team discovered in the area around Big Bear Lake... including, of course, your use of the modified Alchemy Beast."

The young man named Larry bore a striking resemblance to his father, Nelson. This was also his first time meeting the Emperor so closely. His body trembled slightly with fear, but his voice remained steady. "Your Majesty... We set out a month ago for the Great Bear Lake area... Due to the government exploration team and the military's ongoing raids around the capital, local ferocious beasts like the Blood Claw Bear have been forced to migrate further afield, and Great Bear Lake is their favorite winter hibernation spot."

The claws of the Blood Claw Bear are a magical material that is unique to the North. Since it cannot be bred and is time-consuming to track and hunt, official hunting teams do not often list it as a primary target. Alchemy laboratories and medical institutions often openly purchase it from the public, and the prices offered are enough to attract people to spontaneously form hunting teams to go and pan for gold.

After all, the bloodclaw bears that hibernate in winter are not inherently very aggressive or dangerous. The difficulty lies only in how to search for and find their hidden bear caves.

But no matter what, it is an expedition deep into the wilderness. Without the protection of magic guns, the hunting team only has bows and crossbows and melee weapons, and they will be in danger when encountering evil orcs and ferocious beasts... Therefore, a "folk mechanic" like Larry who knows how to modify and control alchemical beasts has become their best choice to hire privately for a large sum of money.

And what Larry brought to Big Bear Lake were the three armed alchemy beasts that he had modified himself. They were loaded with soul cores that were not completely destroyed after the alchemy laboratory was scrapped... The boy had been a leader in mechanical repair when he was in public college, and his father was a high-ranking military officer. He knew a lot about the technology related to alchemy beasts through observation and learning. In the process of trial and error, he was able to reactivate the soul core that was on the verge of exhaustion and assemble three tattered second-hand soul creations for himself.

The Engineering Alchemy Beast was originally modified from the prototype of the Wolf Spider Beast. Its four pairs of spider-like limbs naturally have the ability to climb off-road. Its sharp legs and sharp mouthparts are also a favorable guarantee for dealing with dangers in the wild. With its protection, the hunting team spent more than half a month to advance safely to the Big Bear Lake area, and was preparing to hunt the Blood Claw Bear.

"But when we finally arrived at Great Bear Lake, we... discovered that the area around the lake seemed to have just experienced a major fire. Traces of burning were everywhere, and much of the vegetation that hadn't been completely burned was covered in a large amount of sticky black water... It was very similar to the black water weapons of the Lizardmen reported by the city hall and in the newspapers. We didn't dare approach the lake, so we collected a small amount of black water and immediately returned the way we came..."

The alchemy lab technician hurriedly delivered the test report. Harvey took it, quickly glanced through it, and nodded. "Yes, after comparative testing in the lab, what you found in Big Bear Lake is indeed the Black Water weapon of the Demon Lizardmen, the incendiary material they use to spray and burn the wasteland."

"Your Majesty, now that we have confirmed the presence of the Demon Lizardmen, is it enough to just send a reconnaissance airship? I suggest that you immediately convene the military headquarters and notify General Pierce who is currently at the Ice Sea Base." Reiner spoke decisively and suggested to Harvey.

Harvey nodded in approval and ordered two guards to immediately call for high-ranking military officials. Unlike the Ice Sea Base thousands of miles away, Great Bear Lake was less than eight hundred miles from Spark City. At full speed, a reconnaissance airship could reach it in just ten hours.

The Demon Lizardmen were effectively touching the very face of Spark City. If the other party also sent Winged Creatures to launch a surprise attack, in principle, they could also achieve the effect of launching an attack the next day and arriving the next day in the blink of an eye.

"Notify the military headquarters and activate a Level 1 air defense alert. All defense forces and the Northern Frontier Army are on combat readiness. The garrison at the valley outposts must mobilize two battalions and immediately advance northwest toward the Great Bear Lake area. Cooperate with the air force to conduct a blanket search. Don't miss any opportunity for the Demon Lizardmen to infiltrate!"

He paused, then turned to look at the pale, embarrassed Nelson. He said coldly, "Let's put aside the question of Colonel Nelson's guilt for now... You will immediately return to the Defense Corps and await the military's combat readiness order."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The Orc officer instinctively put his feet together, clenched his fists to his chest and saluted. Then he thought of something and added with a bitter expression, "Your Majesty, my son Larry... I beg you to show leniency."

Harvey waved his hand impatiently, urging him to leave as soon as possible. "Your son's crime is not as serious as yours. Don't worry, he won't be executed by shooting or hanging... Follow my orders immediately!"

Nelson looked at his son reluctantly, but turned around and left decisively.

……

Larry, left alone, looked terrified, sweat dripping down his young face. He trembled and asked, "Your Majesty... Will my punishment be the revocation of my student status and expulsion from the country?"

Since he had not offended His Majesty and was not directly sentenced to execution by shooting or hanging, the boy's first thought was naturally to be stripped of his citizenship of the royal capital, sentenced to imprisonment and hard labor, or deported.

Harvey looked up at him and chuckled, "It's not that serious. Although you have violated several laws of the kingdom, there is still a chance for meritorious service and a reduction in your sentence."

He gave Chris a meaningful look, who immediately understood and stepped forward, saying cheerfully, "Larry Nelson, you will be assigned to the Alchemy Laboratory Department and placed under my direct supervision. The specific duration of your stay... I'll discuss this with the Ministry of Justice after the capital's Level 1 air defense alert is lifted."

Harvey stood up, walked over to the pale-faced boy, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Don't be discouraged. Following Director Chris, you can learn the alchemical knowledge you've always dreamed of. You no longer need to secretly collect alchemical parts like before. You will see many alchemical creations you have never seen before..."

"But before that, you need to tell us how you reactivated the alchemy beast whose soul core was on the verge of exhaustion."

(End of this chapter)