Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 779 Assault
As night deepened, a silver moon hung high in the misty sky.

Michelle piloted a high-speed airship, flying smoothly in close behind the fleeting taillights of the flagship.

The temperature on the grassland dropped sharply after nightfall, and even though the cockpit was sealed on all sides, gusts of biting cold wind could still seep in through the gaps.

All mid-level mages who serve as airship pilots are equipped with a pair of finely polished enchanted crystal eye masks, which allow them to maintain a clear field of vision even during high-speed flight, preventing them from being blinded by the glaring sunlight.

A standard full-coverage thick leather hat, plus a military uniform lined with camel and cow wool, is not enough to completely ward off the biting cold of late autumn. Many people even simply lift the cover under their feet where the energy core is located, so that the airship's only power supply device can provide a little heat to the pilot while running at full speed.

It is said that His Majesty the Emperor has personally urged the airship research and development department of the alchemy laboratory to develop airship seats that can be directly heated so that the bodies will not freeze during long-distance flights.

Thinking of this, Michelle couldn't help but rub her numb face and chin, then turned to her partner and asked, "Rahm, have you found anything?"

Since Colonel Horden took over as commander of the independent airship regiment, he has rarely teamed up with Michel for flight missions. Instead, another young mage, Ram, who had just been promoted to the intermediate level, took over the communication observation and aerial fire control of the speed airship on the direct recommendation of Dean Durt of the Spellcasting Academy.

"The lead airship did not transmit any instructions, and our formation did not deviate from the course... In theory, we should arrive at the Falling Star Lake area in about 15 minutes."

Falling Star Lake is the only freshwater lake in the central grasslands. The rushing Charitland River flows into this area, nourishing a vast and fertile grassland, and allowing Steelrock, the second mighty city of the Hussars' kingdom of Essengard, to remain prosperous for nearly a century.

The constant hum of the airship's energy core resonated throughout the cockpit, making Ram's voice sound somewhat low amidst it.

"After Steelrock City fell, Falling Star Lake should have been completely occupied by the floating island fortresses of the Demon Lizardmen... The enemy's winged beings have a wide range of activities, and we should have encountered them by now."

Michelle nodded and looked up at the direction indicator on the control panel.

"Perhaps the enemy is entrenched in Steel Rock City and not active around the lake area... If the intelligence from the city is accurate, their two floating islands should be one visible and one hidden, but the floating island in Falling Star Lake has not chosen to rise..."

As the two were discussing, the alchemy communicator suddenly emitted a buzzing sound, interrupting Michelle's analysis.

"Buzz—Buzz—Left flank formation, observe carefully! Suspicious target spotted at 11 o'clock northwest!"

Lahm's expression froze, and she immediately put on her crystal goggles, opened the observation window, and peered out. Michelle followed suit, crowding around the left-hand windshield to observe.

Following the instructions in the communicator, the two quickly discovered the anomaly on the ground ahead—a small patch of low hills suddenly rose up on the flat grassland, with scattered, dim lights gathering like fireflies and moving down the hillside.

These are clearly lighting objects such as torches and candles, indicating that humans are currently moving on that hill.

"This place is so close to the lake area, how can anyone be so reckless as to be active nearby?"

After carefully examining the torches, Michelle said in a deep voice, "Judging from the number of torches, there are quite a few people... about two or three hundred."

"My God! Look down the hillside behind them!" Ram suddenly exclaimed in alarm. "It's the Demon Lizardmen! They're chasing... no! They're killing these people!" There were nearly a thousand of these pursuers, and even a few winged beings flying low among them.

"Buzz—Buzz—Left wing formation, prepare to descend and deploy for attack! We need to rescue our compatriots who are under attack below!"

Attack commands came through the communicator at the right time, and two scarlet indicator lights lit up at the tail of the lead airship at the front of the formation. The lights flashed three times quickly, indicating that the fan-shaped formation needed to immediately change from a cruising formation to a dive formation.

Without further hesitation, Michelle pushed the control stick down, and in less than half a second, she completed the deceleration and hovering. Then, the nose of the speedboat dipped slightly, assuming a diving flight posture.

"Left wing, let's go first!" Michelle shouted to Ram. "Warm up the beam weapons!"

Several airships on the left flank of the formation drew a gentle arc in the air before diving straight toward the distant hillside, reaching their target in less than three minutes.

When they were only seven or eight hundred meters away from the hill, Michelle finally saw the figures of the group trying to escape the pursuit of the alien race, illuminated by the torches.

Dozens of people dressed as samurai, each holding a small and exquisite metal crossbow, brought up the rear of the column. They would occasionally turn around and fire crossbow bolts at the approaching enemy. As the bolts shot out, they could be faintly seen to show fluctuations of magical power.

"They're using magic-piercing crossbows? These are the masterpieces of the Alchemy Exploration Society, copied by the High Wizard Council!"

Ram, who came from an academic background, clearly knew his stuff and immediately spoke up with some surprise.

This magic-breaking crossbow, powered by arcane magic stones, can naturally pose a certain threat to alien races with magic-resistant skins. Unfortunately, its drawback is that its range is too short, only fifteen steps, which is not even enough to threaten winged beings flying at low altitudes.

Every time the Black Lizard Warriors raised their hands to throw spears or spray crystal spikes, they would hit the few people at the back of the group. Occasionally, those with shields would be lucky enough to avoid fatal blows, but people were still constantly hit and fell to the ground, dying before they could be rescued.

Michelle, however, didn't care about anything else. She steered the airship to the forefront and, when it was less than a hundred meters from the ground, she pulled the control stick sharply, forcing the airship's nose to rise and begin climbing again.

The firing position located at the front of the bottom of the pod was also positioned to target the enemy on the ground.

"Ram, fire!"

Just as Ram pulled the trigger and unleashed a hail of bullets on the ground, the other airships around him also opened fire simultaneously.

The rain of bullets spraying from the gun barrels quickly formed a giant, woven net that enveloped the enemy below.

The bullets pierced through the enemy's body with ease, their dark skins instantly bursting open, and the red and black flesh inside gushed out, with limbs and pieces of flesh flying everywhere... Before they could even react, they were thrown into a meat grinder and turned into dust in one fell swoop.

After a round of strafing, the airships returned to a stable course as they rapidly ascended. Michelle skillfully pressed the signal light button, leading the remaining airships of the left wing to turn around in mid-air.

Charge towards the enemies on the ground again!
(End of this chapter)