Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 740 Danger Signals
On the eighth day of the field combat training exercise, the Xinghuo Special Forces team, led by Saike and his three men, had advanced to an area only about 150 miles away from Daxiong Lake.

The deeper they ventured into the wasteland, the more these inexperienced recruits felt their own insignificance—the wasteland railway built from the outpost had not yet reached this point, and many of the places they arrived at had never been set foot in by humans. Whether it was the ruins of settlements left behind by the migration of the orcs, or various amazing continental wonders, they all appeared before their eyes during the march.

"No wonder the instructor told us before we set off... As Starfire Warriors who have touched the realm of the extraordinary, it would be a lifelong regret if we didn't personally enter the wasteland, experience the cruelty of hunting and fighting, and the vastness of the world beyond human kingdoms."

Sai Ke stood beside a gushing mountain icefall, muttering to himself with a somewhat complicated expression.

Baler held up the map and gazed into the distance, then repeatedly checked the coordinates before marking an unexplored area.

"I heard that about twenty miles north, in a place called the Leru Grand Canyon, a great battle took place between the Beastmen and the Demon Lizardmen. Should we go and check it out?"

Santas glanced down at the map and noticed that the only missing blank area was the battlefield ruins in the canyon. He nodded in agreement and said, "This morning, the military law department's airships patrolled our temporary camp. I mustered up the courage to ask the military judge... those bloodline warriors are currently quite far behind us. It will probably take them at least a day to catch up. Perhaps we can go and take a look, and complete this marching map while we're at it."

The newly recruited bloodline warriors seem to have run into a sizable orc tribe on their way, and the tribe is currently waging a vigorous purge of their settlement, which will inevitably slow down their progress.

According to the requirements of this field combat training, they only need to arrive at the Big Bear Lake base in four days at the latest to be considered to have successfully achieved their goal. Giving up the task of killing the evil orcs along the way has given the team such a generous time limit, which is sufficient for them to conduct one last exploration before arriving at the base.

It was still early morning, and the late summer sun had just risen over the mountains. Thick fog filled the vast primeval forest, and as far as the eye could see, only a rushing waterway meandered forward, pointing them in the clear direction to the Leroux Canyon.

The marching manual details the general exploration of the wasteland by the royal capital's exploration department. During the dry season in winter and spring, a large number of orc tribes migrate to the Leru Grand Canyon, while during the flood season in summer and autumn, dozens or even hundreds of waterways, like the wide stream in front of us, converge here, turning the entire canyon grassland into a flooded marsh.

The special forces team quickly assembled and set off, activating the power core of the magic armor with all their might, and arrived at their destination in less than an hour and a half.

……

The Leroux Canyon, which had just experienced a fierce battle less than half a year ago, was finally revealed to these Starfire Warriors.

"Wow! It seems that the battle back then was extremely fierce!" Gregor removed his magic armor mask, raised his head, and gently sniffed the remaining decaying scent in the air like a wild wolf.

Sek noticed a skeleton crushed to pieces beneath his feet by heavy armor. Rotten, grayish-black skin clung tightly to the skull, and black and red bloodstains stained its jagged fangs. "It's said that the tens of thousands of orcs entrenched here were mercilessly slaughtered by those alien monsters. They were far more efficient than us..."

An army of several thousand demon lizardmen, accompanied by winged beings, crushed tens of thousands of evil beastmen, completely razing this vast settlement to the ground. It must be said that from the perspective of bloodshed and brutality, they were indeed no less brutal than humans.

Bale stared blankly at the canyon grassland before him, and couldn't help but mutter, "Such fertile land, such a naturally suitable place for grazing and farming, if only a few dams could be built to hold back the rivers that converge during the flood season, and then all of it could be reclaimed into farmland, how wonderful that would be..."

The yearning for oases and fertile fields among rootless people is always deeply ingrained in their blood. Even knowing that this place is far too far from human settlements, a sliver of delusion still inevitably arises in their hearts. Sai Ke nodded firmly, taking out a map from his military pack and beginning to draw and record it. "Don't be discouraged. His Majesty's grand plan of northward and eastward expansion encompasses the entire northern wasteland as far as we can see. Once we completely defeat the Demon Lizardmen and drive the Evil Beastmen to the frozen seas and tundras, one day this place will become fertile fields and pastures!"

Santas couldn't contain himself any longer and suggested, "Why don't we split up and each lead a small team down to... survey the situation in the canyon? I'd like to see how many Demon Lizardmen were killed by those stupid, beast-like beings like the Fel Orcs in that battle. Perhaps there are any of their corpses left nearby."

After a moment's hesitation, Sek nodded and said, "Don't go too deep. During the flood season, the canyon is probably full of swamp traps. Our magic armor is too heavy. If we accidentally get stuck... it will be very troublesome."

Gregor rubbed his hands together and chuckled, "I'll lead the brothers to pave a safe route for you, but don't let the teams be too far apart. Come back here to regroup in an hour."

After saying that, he led the few "demon wolf" warriors beside him and ran down into the canyon without looking back.

After Bale and Santas led their men down from different directions until they completely disappeared from sight, Seke turned his attention back and began to count the remaining warriors who had stayed by his side.

"You guys come with me to higher ground, we can survey the entire canyon's terrain to avoid making a wasted trip..."

……

Not long after they climbed up a nearby cliff, they suddenly heard a series of rapid footsteps below, as if some enormous magical beast was charging towards them.

He was one of the "Demonic Wolf" warriors that Gregor had taken with him. Because of his high-speed running, even the core heat dissipation vents on the back of his armor were spewing out thick white steam.

"Whoosh—whoosh—Captain Sek! Something's wrong! The boss has discovered traces of Lizardmen activity in the canyon below!"

Sek's heart skipped a beat. There were actually demon lizardmen here? What was their purpose?
Could they have already discovered them?

"How many targets are there? Are there any winged species present?"

The "Demon Wolf" warrior removed his mask and took a deep breath before explaining, "No... we didn't find the target directly. Instead, at the edge of the canyon grassland, there's a natural stone cave... We found a large number of replaced blackwater weapon canisters inside, all of them... empty!"

Are they all empty?
Why would the Lizardmen store their weapon canisters, now depleted of black water, in a cave? Logically, unless they were killed instantly, they should have carried their black water canisters back to the floating island untouched to resupply…

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind like lightning!
No! Could it be that they're waiting for a supply base that's about to arrive here, which is why they left behind weapon canisters to retrieve when they return?
That means... there will be a floating island fortress of unknown size, which may have sailed here through the underground river!
(End of this chapter)