Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 747 Eastern Defense Line
Central Eisengard, Transport Station No. 7.

"Everyone who got a number, come and line up!"

"Don't push! Anyone who dares to cut in line, get to the back of the line!"

"The elderly and children line up at the front, women go in the second group, and men and young adults go to the back a little later."

"Damn it! No large luggage or belongings are allowed on the vehicle. If you want to come with us, you'd better throw them all away. There will be food and water supplies along the way to the border!"

A large crowd of people thronged the long convoy of vehicles, with refugees arriving at the transport station forming a long, crooked line, waiting to board the vehicles in batches.

As more and more refugees gathered at the station, if it weren't for the Northern Army soldiers maintaining order with their weapons, people would probably have already started fighting over who would be the first to board the train.

"Boss! How come there are only so few vehicles in Highland City? It's not enough to get the refugees off the current station!" The young soldier stood on tiptoe, looked around, and frowned as he counted the number of empty vehicles in front of him.

Benny stood on the high slope, gazing at the yellowish sky in the distance, and said in a deep voice, "It's good enough that the convoy even came... Stations five and six just sent a message that at least two transport teams are stuck there and can't move, all because of this damn sandstorm."

The weather on the grassland can only be described as unpredictable. At dawn, it is sunny, but by the afternoon, the gloomy sky indicates that a sandstorm is brewing.

Thinking back to just a month ago when he was fighting the Lizardmen in the far north of the wasteland, and then suddenly receiving orders to be transferred, traveling thousands of miles to Eisengard to take on the task of receiving and rescuing refugees in the central plains, Benny couldn't help but feel a sense of disorientation, as if he had been in another world.

Compared to the icy frontier where you could easily freeze your ears off, Eisengard in the south is quite comfortable. If it weren't for the occasional sandstorm that would fill his mouth with coarse dust, Benny would have liked to stay here longer.

As time went on, the closer they got to the transport stations in the north-central part of the Kingdom of the Flying Cavalry, the more difficult the evacuation became... On the one hand, the Demon Lizardmen dispatched a large number of small, mobile combat units to repeatedly harass and infiltrate the central region, keeping the soldiers along the entire central defense line constantly on the move.

On the other hand, the number of refugees is increasing, and the transport teams dispatched from the border crossings are clearly experiencing insufficient transport capacity.

For every day the refugees remain stranded, they face increasing danger. The crowds gradually gathering near the transport station are highly likely to attract the enemy's attention. The winged beings who often patrol the skies often attract large groups of black lizard warriors to attack the station after spotting a target.

Station 8, located 50 miles away from Station 7, clashed with the Lizardmen yesterday.

The airship unit responsible for intelligence gathering in the area also reported to several nearby stations the warning that a large alien force was advancing in the area.

As expected, Benny and his men received orders to evacuate to Highland City immediately.

The garrison of a battalion at Station 7 originally had enough military vehicles for their orderly evacuation... but after the attack on Station 8, thousands of refugees flocked there, forcing the army to free up more wheelbarrows to transport them away.

The original garrison could only remain there, relying on the simple defensive line built in the camp to guard against possible attacks by the demon lizardmen.

Benny estimated that their evacuation would be delayed by at least several days, until another convoy of transport vehicles arrived from Highland City.

……

"Boss, the reconnaissance airship has spotted the enemy more than ten miles away!"

When bad luck strikes, it's like whatever you say will happen.

Benny frowned. "They broke through the defenses from Station Eight?" A soldier scurried down from the towering watchtower and said in a deep voice, "No, they came from the direction of Steelrock City."

Another enemy force that broke away from the floating island fortress and arrived by navigating the underground rivers that are densely distributed across the grassland.

"Notify the airships to contact Station 5 immediately... We may need reinforcements."

This was not the first time that Site Seven had encountered the Lizardmen. Just a week ago, a few Winged Beings who had escaped from the main force in the Sang River Valley lingered nearby. After being discovered by the scout airships, they were driven over the camp and shot dead. In the following days, there were also a few scattered enemy activities in the vicinity, ready to attack the passing transport vehicles at any time.

This wasn't the first time Benny had faced these alien monsters, so he wasn't afraid. After receiving the warning, he immediately ordered the enemy approach alarm to be sounded, and then led a squad of soldiers to the combat zone.

The transport station lacked high walls and sturdy fortifications to provide solid and reliable defense. The soldiers stationed there could only rely on the trenches they had dug as cover, and when facing enemies advancing from the ground, they could only offer some minor resistance by carrying barbed wire and metal fences that they placed around the camp.

Once a firefight breaks out, the only things that will truly be decisive are the few machine guns and anti-aircraft beams that have been set up.

Less than ten minutes later, the enemy's figure could be vaguely seen on the distant horizon.

Through the binoculars, Benny discovered that the number of this roaming alien force was not large, barely less than five hundred people... clearly a small group of stragglers that had broken away after being defeated by the main force at the front.

"No trace of winged beings has been found, but there are suspected to be a small number of red lizard people in the enemy ranks."

Benny patiently picked up his weapon and silently observed the enemy's approaching figure... until the enemy was completely within the area covered by machine gun fire.

"Fire!"

The only three magic-powered machine guns in the camp immediately roared to life, their dark, thick barrels spewing out tongues of blazing fire, and a dense hail of bullets rained down on the enemy in an instant.

There was no cover on the flat grassland. The demon lizardmen who rushed to the front were instantly torn to pieces by bullets, while their companions who were slightly behind took advantage of the death of their comrades to create an opening. They immediately reacted, crawled on the ground, avoided the first wave of fire, and slowly moved forward.

Benny squinted his eyes in confusion.

Logically speaking, these deserters who had broken away from the main force were no different from other scattered enemies on the grassland. If they rashly attacked the transport station, they would soon be subjected to merciless firepower, leaving behind dozens of corpses before fleeing in panic like frightened birds.

But this group of demon lizardmen in front of them seemed to have no intention of saving their lives.

It was as if we had returned to the front lines of the icy sea, launching a suicidal charge against the overwhelming firepower of human soldiers in order to defend our floating island fortress.

Do they have any reason to disrupt transportation hubs?
Benny's mind raced, but his finger did not hesitate for a moment as he pulled the trigger.

The garrison has ample ammunition reserves, and the two beam anti-aircraft weapons have not yet been put into use. Completely annihilating these enemies would be no difficult task.

Their demise is only a matter of time.

(End of this chapter)