Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 739 Hunting Rally

Once the scorching summer sun dips below the horizon, the night in the wilderness immediately turns cold.

Sek shook the chainsaw sword stained with bright red blood in his hand, looked up at the sky, and frowned, saying, "The magic armor's energy reserves are running low. We need to find a place to spend the night as soon as possible, replenish our magic energy... and then rest for the night."

Only after venturing deep into the desolate wilderness did Sai Ke truly understand the rigorous trials that this wilderness training, originally reserved for warriors of the bloodline, required.

The sparsely populated primeval forest is fraught with deadly dangers, and the temperature difference between day and night is astonishingly large... During the day, wearing the magic armor is like being in a steel canister; in less than half an hour, one's entire body will be soaked in sweat. And once night falls, the sudden drop in temperature will quickly steal all the body's heat. If one does not find a suitable place to make a fire and spend the night, one will probably fall ill within three days.

They were originally going to set off with the bloodline warriors for this field training exercise, heading from the river valley outpost towards Great Bear Lake, clearing out any stray beastman tribes they encountered along the way while learning wilderness survival and combat skills.

However, just two days after setting off, the two groups clashed as expected... The Bloodline Warriors and Starfire Warriors had a mutual dislike for each other, and after several arguments, their relationship plummeted to a freezing point. If it weren't for the accompanying military judge keeping a close eye on them, they probably would have already started fighting.

With the tacit approval of the veteran leading the team, the two teams decided to split up and secretly compete with each other... The journey to the Great Bear Lake base would take about a week, and the Starfire Warriors and Bloodline Warriors began to compete on their achievements in clearing out the evil orc tribes along the way, as well as their speed and efficiency in marching in the wild.

Without veterans leading the way, the Spark Warriors were at a disadvantage compared to the others.

……

Baler lifted a corpse of a ferocious orc that had been cut in half at the waist, and with the help of his armored arm, he pulled out the grotesque, twisted fangs from the corpse's face... This was a record of the number of kills. Although it looked somewhat primitive and barbaric, it made the new recruits, who were experiencing real combat in the wild for the first time, feel excited.

"Gregor has taken his wolf cubs to explore the surrounding area and should be back soon."

Sek nodded and began to instruct the other warriors to quickly clean up the battlefield and mark the temporary orc settlement on the sketched map.

Less than half an hour later, Gregor indeed returned with several new recruits... These Starfire Warriors, who had fused with the souls of the Wasteland Wolves, seemed to suddenly possess a special ability to communicate with each other once they arrived in the wild—following tracks, tracking, sniffing, and luring to kill. In battle, they cooperated perfectly, just like a real wolf pack, and became the main force in the team.

"Going east over a mountain ridge, there's a stone platform on a cliff that's perfect for us to stay tonight. The surrounding water is clean, and the open view makes it easy to observe and warn others. It's just that we don't have much emergency rations left..."

Not every seemingly harmless plant or animal on the wasteland can be hunted at will... They had made many mistakes before and learned a lot of lessons. In the end, in order not to affect the marching progress and combat efficiency, they simply gave up obtaining food from the wild and instead chose to directly plunder the rations of the orcs.

The dried meat, smoked and brittle, looked completely unrecognizable as to what kind of animal it came from. It was cured in jars with bitter and astringent coarse salt by the orcs, making it almost impossible to swallow.

Not to mention the cassava tubers that smelled slightly musty, which had been stored in burlap sacks for who knows how long, and tasted no different from chewing wood.

Fortunately, among their group of over twenty people were several refugees from the northern wastelands. Although they were also in their early twenties and lacked experience in surviving in the wastelands, they were still much better than the southerners like the Bek. "Boss, this orcish temporary camp doesn't have any extra supplies. I guess they rely on hunting for food. Should we send a few brothers to check the surrounding area?"

Gregor's squad had just played a key role in the clearing operation, and immediately set off to find a suitable place to stay for the night. Sek felt embarrassed to let them take on the responsibility of finding food for the main force, so he could only look up at Baler beside him.

"I'll go... You guys go set up camp first, we'll meet up in an hour." Baler rubbed his hands together, tucked his chainsaw sword back into his waistband, and led a few warriors into the dense forest.

The others did not linger and followed Gregor's directions, heading straight for the mountains to the east.

……

The temporary camp, located on a cliff terrace, quickly lit a campfire. A field stove hung on it, bubbling away, but instead of cooking meat to quickly replenish energy, it contained the standard emergency rations issued to the special forces—refined wheat flour with added sugar and salt.

As expected, the strange giant lizard that the Baler team hunted back was a full two meters long. After being identified by several Wasteland Warriors, Sek took out his field manual to verify it again and again... The meat of this venomous iguana was completely inedible, and its flesh and blood contained paralyzing toxins, except for the skin.

"Do you think... our kill count might have fallen far behind those bloodline warriors?" Santas asked Sek quietly, gazing at the campfire in front of him.

Sek shook his head slightly. “They are indeed more experienced than us in the wild, but I don’t think we are inferior to them in terms of combat efficiency… Don’t forget, those guys are also rookies who have just awakened their bloodline talents, and they are about the same as us.”

Baler leaned closer, scratching his head, and said, “But their supernatural abilities are innate after awakening. They only need to rest for one night after a battle to recover completely. However, we have limited magical energy reserves. Every battle we fight will consume more of our magical energy… I’m worried that if we keep fighting them, our remaining magical energy won’t be enough to get us to Great Bear Lake.”

"So you mean... abandon the clearing out of the orcs encountered along the way and head straight for the Great Bear Lake base at full speed?" Sek raised an eyebrow, thinking the suggestion seemed feasible.

Gregor nodded and agreed, "I also think it's feasible. The battles in the first few days were too frequent, and our mana was being consumed too quickly... Since we can't compete with them in terms of kill count, we might as well choose to win in terms of marching efficiency!"

Winning either of the two competitions would be considered a draw in this covert contest, ensuring that the reputation of the Starfire Warriors is not tarnished and that the instructors can save face.

The four squad leaders quickly finished their discussion, then urged the soldiers to take turns eating, and then personally donned their magic armor to patrol the area around the camp... The most dangerous time of day in the wasteland is at night.

According to the Field Marching Manual and the Starfire Warriors' Code of Conduct personally compiled by His Majesty, when they spend the night in the field, they must abide by the "Three Ones Principle"—that is, at all times, one-third of the Starfire Warriors in the team must be equipped with magic armor and a full set of weapons, and be in a state of combat readiness and alert.

This is to ensure that, in case of an emergency, the soldier on duty can buy enough time for his comrades to put on their armor.

(End of this chapter)