Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 730 Frontline Transportation
Dozens of volunteer transport drivers were quickly taken to the Northern Army camp in Highland City.

“You are all non-combatants who have not undergone military training... but the war is urgent right now, and we don’t have time to send drivers with driving skills from our border posts.”

The officer leading the group swept his gaze steadily over them, and said sternly, "Furthermore, I know that some of you are even locals from Eisengard who were temporarily recruited and only received less than a week of crash training. Although your driving skills are up to standard, you have been to the front lines and do not know how brutal the situation there is..."

Before he could finish speaking, a grassland man, around forty years old with graying hair, stepped forward and said loudly, "Sir, everyone is participating in this operation voluntarily. There is no need to worry that we are afraid of death. You people of Saint Valen are willing to risk your lives to help your fellow countrymen in neighboring countries, so we grassland people should naturally contribute our share as well!"

The other steppe people in the group also chimed in, expressing their determination to follow orders and complete the transport mission.

These nomadic people were indeed fierce, and the officer couldn't help but show a satisfied expression.

“Very good! Your mission this time is actually quite simple.” He raised his hand and ordered the soldiers to distribute a thick stack of regional maps. “The target is a temporary defensive outpost south of the Chensang River Valley, about 300 miles from Highland City. You need to bring enough supplies from Highland City and arrive with the army before dawn. Then, you need to pick up the refugees stranded there along the way. There are no supply points to stop at along the way. If you are lucky enough… you might not encounter the pursuing alien enemies.”

The Northern Army is currently fighting the Lizardmen in the Shensang River Valley area, which means that the nearby defensive outposts are merely temporary structures set up to prevent small groups of wandering alien races from pursuing fleeing civilians. They will not be heavily garrisoned, and those remaining there are likely mostly ordinary civilians who were driven away by the alien races or rescued during the battle and have nowhere else to go.

A commotion immediately arose in the crowd.

The Northern officer's meaning was quite clear... they had to rescue the survivors from the clutches of death before the Lizardmen's blades came down!
On the return journey, they could only hope for good luck, otherwise they were very likely to encounter pursuing alien races!

"Sir...sir, will soldiers escort our convoy along the way?"

"The soldiers at the temporary outpost will accompany you on your return journey, don't worry! Even if we encounter the enemy, the Northern Army soldiers will still be responsible for the combat mission. You just need to focus on driving and push the vehicle to its maximum speed!"

As he spoke, he took a stack of palm-sized, colorful pieces of paper from his adjutant and waved them in his hand.

"The pilots who successfully complete this rescue mission will receive a combat allowance that is twice their usual salary. If any of them are newly recruited Eisengards, they may even be granted official resident status in Saint Valen without having to go through layers of vetting in the future... Of course, the mission is inherently dangerous, and we will not force anyone to withdraw now!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wood was the first to step forward.

"I choose to join! Sir, please consider me first!"

Holmes, who was in the same car, also stood up. His youngest son was currently studying at the public academy in Grizzly Bear Keep and urgently needed to earn some merits from the military so that he could successfully enter the spellcaster academy in the capital for further study, thereby advancing from an ordinary mortal to an extraordinary one.

Then the remaining people stepped forward one after another, and not one of them voluntarily signed up and chose to drop out halfway.

The officer's stern expression softened, and he immediately ordered the soldiers to begin assigning vehicle crews.

"Get ready as quickly as possible. Once the supplies are loaded onto the trucks in two hours, we'll set off immediately!"

It was dusk again, and the distant sky was tinged with the dark yellow of the setting sun, as if a sudden sandstorm was brewing.

Under the dim light, dozens of wagons loaded with military supplies lined up in a long queue, slowly driving out of Highland City in the wake of the massive convoy of war vehicles.

Accompanying them were dozens of transport airships carrying important military supplies. With their energy cores running at full speed, these alchemical vehicles were almost as fast as the airships, heading towards their designated destination at a rate of fifty miles per hour.

Around midnight, the transport team crashed into a sandstorm-stricken area and soon lost contact with the airship squadron overhead.

In the darkness, sandstorms raged, and even with the huge magic stone lamps illuminating the scene, the driver almost lost most of his vision. He was only able to keep up with the vehicle ahead and avoid falling behind thanks to the constant instructions sent by the vehicle's onboard alchemy communicator.

To avoid accidents, everyone was fully focused on driving the vehicle. Many co-drivers even climbed from the front of the vehicle into the back of the truck to repeatedly check and prevent the transported goods from falling off due to the violent bumps during the journey.

Only after struggling to break out of the sandstorm area did the transport team slow down and begin a rapid self-inspection at the signal from the army ahead... Only then did they discover that during that extremely dangerous journey, several vehicles in the rear had unfortunately overturned and broken down for various reasons. The logistics and maintenance team accompanying the army had to send a small team back to rescue them.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly in the latter half of the night, and before sunrise, the army, along with its transport convoy, arrived at their destination on time.

Wood leaned out of the cockpit, looking at the situation at the temporary outpost in the distance, his expression a mixture of shock and fear.

"Glory is here... Oh no! Good heavens! Holmes, look!"

Above the hastily constructed outpost camp, dozens of long-winged, pitch-black monsters were hovering, constantly brandishing sharp weapons they had conjured and shooting them down at the soldiers retaliating below.

Holmes seemed to have seen such a terrifying scene before. He frowned and said in a deep voice, "It's the Winged Ones, the Winged Ones of the Lizardmen... Only these damned flying monsters have the ability to break through the army's battle lines and sneak into the rear to harass."

Despite having mustered all his courage before setting out, Wood's voice trembled slightly upon seeing these legendary alien monsters with his own eyes: "Then... what should we do? Should we charge in with the army in front?"

The soldiers stationed at the temporary outpost were clearly engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy in the sky. It seemed that they were not equipped with anti-aircraft weapons, but they were still unable to do anything to those agile winged beings.

Holmes chuckled and expertly flipped two steel plates with round holes in the middle from behind the seat, inserting them straight into the windshield of the driver's cab, obscuring most of the view... Only through two fist-sized round holes could one barely see the road ahead.

"Of course, our task is to go in, unload the cargo, and pick up the people."

(End of this chapter)