Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 743 Chain Reaction
The capital city, Starfire City.

Harvey hurried into the Royal Defense Ministry's office hall, and looking at the chaotic scene before him, he couldn't help but frown and ask, "Is the intelligence source absolutely accurate?"

Pierce nodded emphatically and said in a deep voice, "The urgent report sent back from the Great Bear Lake base twenty minutes ago was a clue discovered by the Starfire Warriors who went to the area for field training. The floating island fortress of the Demon Lizardmen has indeed appeared in the Leru Grand Canyon."

Upon receiving the news, Daf, the commander stationed at Big Bear Lake, immediately dispatched a speedboat squadron to Leroux Canyon without delay. Sure enough, they discovered fresh traces of winged creature activity in the area near the canyon.

Two high-ranking members of the airship squad, skilled in stealth techniques, ventured alone into the canyon and immediately discovered the floating island fortress that had just broken through the soft ground from the swamp meadow and surfaced.

"Judging from the appearance, this floating island is not very large. It is estimated that the underground river channels in this area are narrow and cannot accommodate the larger main castle floating island."

Harvey nodded slightly, "But that doesn't mean the enemies on the floating islands are extremely weak... There may not be many ordinary black lizard soldiers, but red lizard people, winged beings... and possibly higher-level evolved beings, all of whom we need to be highly vigilant against."

"Vaughn has already led the Bloodline Warrior Special Forces to Big Bear Lake, and the Ice Sea Base and Snow Mountain Base are also ready to provide reinforcements. We can launch a military operation against Leroy Grand Canyon at any time."

This is the second time these alien races have broken through the ground defenses set up by humans in the wasteland after the appearance of the third floating island in Great Bear Lake, and have made a deep dive into the inland area far from the icy sea... But it is clear that the location of their floating island fortresses is getting closer and closer to the royal capital, Starfire City.

This is hard not to see as an experimental offensive strategy by the enemy.

Whether to launch a large-scale offensive to defeat them before they can fully establish themselves in the Leroux Canyon has become a crucial decision that the Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff need to make in a short period of time.

Of course, the overarching premise for all these decisions is that they must be guided by the emperor's own will.

"What about those Starfire Warriors who first discovered the enemy's tracks?" Harvey asked calmly.

"They have been sent back to the capital via the teleportation array... Would Your Majesty like to meet these new recruits and inquire about them personally?"

Harvey nodded, indicating that he could bring the other party directly to the Ministry of Defense.

……

Since it wasn't an interrogation of prisoners or criminals, Harvey didn't intend to put these new recruits in a state of emotional tension. He simply chose to meet with them in a temporary office set up by the Ministry of Defense.

The first to be brought in was Squad Leader Seke. I still remember that when he was trying out the magic armor, this recruit, who was only in his early twenties, performed excellently in all aspects. And in this field training with the Bloodline Warriors, the team he led also performed quite well.

Although it was just a simple inquiry, it was his first time facing His Majesty the Emperor, and he was still extremely nervous. As soon as he entered the room, his back was soaked with sweat, and he knelt on one knee in front of Harvey, his body trembling slightly.

"Get up, sit on the sofa, and carefully recall what happened before. Describe everything you saw in great detail."

Harvey leaned back in his chair, clasped his hands across his chest, and said with a gentle expression, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Sek got up and carefully sat on the sofa, his stiff back daring not to lean back at all.

"What caused you to suddenly deviate from the training route and choose to detour to the Leroux Canyon area? Did you discover any anomalies in that area beforehand?"

Harvey's first question wasn't about accountability, but rather about figuring out whether the Lizardmen had been planning their plans in the Leroux Canyon for a long time.

Without the slightest hesitation, Sek immediately and decisively replied, "Your Majesty, we did not discover enemy activity in the canyon beforehand. It was because our march was progressing too quickly that we had ample time to reach the end point at Great Bear Lake, which is why we decided to go to Leru Canyon to see the legendary battlefield ruins of the Demon Lizardmen and the Evil Beastmen."

Harvey hummed in agreement and pressed on, "So when you first arrived there, you didn't find any trace of the enemy? And it was only after staying there for a while that you witnessed the floating islands rising?"

"Yes, after we arrived, we immediately split into small teams to explore the surrounding area. We then discovered a cave containing a large number of black water weapon canisters belonging to the Demon Lizardmen. We immediately fired a signal flare to warn and request assistance from the military law department's airship... However, due to the great distance, we did not receive a response."

Faced with His Majesty the Emperor's gentle attitude, the usually talkative Sek gradually relaxed and began to speak eloquently, "Upon discovering the black water weapon canisters, we suspected that there might be a floating island nearby. In order to verify this important intelligence, we did not evacuate immediately... but chose to go deep into the center of the canyon. This led to us being attacked by a group of remnants of the Demon Lizardmen who were dormant in the pool. It took a lot of effort to wipe them out."

Harvey nodded, then turned to look at Pierce, who was standing silently to the side. "What do you think?"

Pierce pondered for a moment before replying, "Clearly, their battle with the remnants of the Lizardmen alerted the floating islands navigating the underground river. After all, the Lizardmen's internal communication is like a beehive, allowing any single individual to establish a short-range connection with the main consciousness within the floating islands."

This was the first time that Sai Ke had heard of such high-level classified information. He was both shocked and frightened and said, "It's...it's our battle that attracted their floating islands?"

Harvey chuckled and shook his head, saying, "You don't have that much ability yet. The floating islands have already reached the canyon, and it's only a matter of time before they are completely exposed... It seems that their initial battle with the evil beastmen was just a test of the area. Once they have completely cleaned it up, the floating islands will be eager to descend."

Although they possessed the crucial intelligence of the Abyss Sea Chart, the Northern Army was unable to systematically monitor all surface water systems connected to the Abyss Rivers across the vast wilderness, let alone the special case of the Leroux Canyon... where there were clearly no deep lakes or rivers, yet the enemy relied on the summer and autumn tides to break through the surface.

The emperor then asked Saik a few more questions, and after receiving detailed answers, he dismissed him.

"Before launching an operation against these five floating islands, we must find out why they came here and why they chose this place... After all, from both a terrain advantage and a strategic point of view, the Leroux Canyon is not a place that is worth fighting for."

Harvey had a feeling that something was amiss. In the numerous battles, large and small, between the Lizardmen and the Northern Army, they had almost always ended in defeat. There was no reason for them to repeat the same mistake and send another wave of "kills".

If the goal is to avoid the main force of the Northern Army and instead adopt a strategy of gradually encroaching on human territory and eliminating the human race's fighting force, then starting with Eisengard or the Evilmoon Mountains would be a much better option.

(End of this chapter)