Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 780 Survivors

The sound of something cutting through the air overhead was deafening, but it was clearly different from the flapping of wings of those winged monsters.

Even so, Dean didn't dare to look back at the situation behind him.

Only by running for our lives at all costs, and by running faster... could we possibly escape from those alien monsters.

For Dean, escaping Steelrock City by sheer luck was a stroke of luck... When the city fell, he had no idea that the situation would be so cruel. He was only concerned with helping his father move their valuables and hiding in the cellar together. They stayed there for three whole days without any reinforcements sent by the surrounding noble lords. When the father and son, who were starving and thirsty, carefully crawled out of the cellar, they found that Steelrock City had been turned into a hellish place of fire.

The city was littered with the corpses of innocent people who had been slaughtered by the alien race. The hideous monsters indiscriminately slaughtered everyone, whether they were old people, children, or cattle, sheep, pigs, or dogs kept in the yard. Any living thing exposed to their sight was doomed to die.

Dean's father was discovered by aliens patrolling the ruins of the city while venturing out to find food, and was brutally killed by them.

Fortunately, Dean was quite lucky. Although the Steel Rock Knights under the city lord were defeated by the alien race, there were still many warriors with bloodline power who were secretly active in various places, trying their best to transfer the rescued survivors out of the city through tunnels.

Having fled all the way from the city to here, if he still couldn't escape the clutches of these alien races... Dean felt extremely unwilling. He gritted his teeth and continued running forward, but his legs gradually felt as heavy as lead.

The sound of the winged monster flapping its wings came again from behind, plunging Dean into despair.

No matter how fast you run on two legs, you can't possibly beat a winged alien race.

In his confusion, he stumbled and fell to the ground, finally breaking down and clutching his head... By the light above, why punish your devout followers so severely, releasing these demons of calamity from the abyss?
The crystal spear did not pierce his body as expected.

Instead, a strange clicking sound came from my ears... low but rhythmic, even interspersed with terrifying sounds of flesh tearing apart.

"What is that thing floating in the sky?" his companion, who had fallen not far from him, cried out in surprise.

Dean subconsciously looked up and opened his eyes, and immediately saw a scene he would never forget.

Under the high-hanging silver moon, five or six spindle-shaped sailboats, seemingly floating in mid-air, were hurtling towards them at an extremely fast speed. When they were only a hundred meters or so above the ground, they all raised their bows and drew a gentle arc in the air.

The next second, the exposed part of the ship's hull below suddenly spewed out a blazing tongue of fire... After a series of rapid, clattering sounds, the alien monsters directly beneath the sailboat collapsed to the ground as if pierced by tens of thousands of invisible swords, their bodies mangled and torn apart.

Caught off guard by the aerial attack, the alien race could no longer pursue Dean and his group of refugees. After futilely hurling a few spears into the air, they began to show signs of disintegration and escape.

Dean lay half-reclined on the ground, almost stunned.

A painful groan from not far away brought him back to his senses. It was a steel rock warrior who was responsible for rescuing and escorting them. He had unfortunately lost an arm to a monster while covering their retreat. Although his companions were dragging him away to continue their escape, he collapsed to the ground due to severe injuries and profuse bleeding.

Dean scrambled over, pulled off his sweat-soaked belt, and tightly bound it to the upper part of the samurai's severed arm wound, managing to stop the bleeding somewhat.

"My lord, these... these could be... reinforcements who have come to rescue us?" He cautiously looked at the wounded warrior.

The warrior grimaced from the intense pain in his wound, and after a moment, he said in a trembling voice, "It's...it's the Saint Valen people, it must be the Saint Valen people's magical army!"

Saint Valen? They can actually control sailing ships that sail in the sky... This is truly terrifying. Are these people spellcasters with extraordinary powers?

"Never mind that, at least we're saved for now." The warrior tossed aside his crossbow, which was already empty of arrows, with a look of relief at surviving a close call. "Rumor has it that the Saint Valen army has been active in the central grasslands, and now that they've appeared here... they must be after the alien race of Steelrock City."

Dean, however, had no time to consider these battle-related issues and asked urgently, "Sir, will they escort us to a safe area in the south?"

The samurai gazed at the massive airship formation hovering in the distant sky, then looked up at the five or six airships that were about to end their one-sided "slaughter" of the alien races, and gave a helpless, bitter smile.

"It seems they have more important tasks to carry out... It's unlikely they'll escort us out."

Unless these refugees possess some intelligence value.

……

The airship landed lightly on the high slope. Michelle pushed open the pod door and walked side by side with Ram toward the huddled refugees.

"You escaped from Steelrock City? Who is the leader in charge?"

A middle-aged man with graying hair limped out, his blood-stained armor torn in many places, clearly indicating that he had been through a lot of fighting.

“I am the leader of the refugees, Your Excellency… please call me Perez.” The man gave Michel a standard knightly salute with difficulty. “Before the city lord died in battle, I served in the Steel Rock Knights, as the captain of the squires under the chief knight.”

Michelle and Ram exchanged a glance. The reason their airships were left behind to pick up these people was to gather intelligence on Steel Rock City.

"Are there still human resistance fighters active in Steelrock City?"

The samurai gave a bitter laugh and honestly replied, "We no longer have the ability to organize an effective counterattack. Those who can still fight are doing their best to help the survivors escape... I estimate that there are at least several thousand innocent civilians hiding in the city. If those alien monsters are still entrenched in the city, even if they hide and are not discovered, they will soon starve and die of thirst."

"Where are the survivors like you who escaped the city?"

"In a valley a dozen miles away, there is a large forest of sand willows, which can provide a safe place for survivors to hide... Even if those winged monsters fly by, it is difficult to detect any trace of human activity below."

However, staying there for an extended period was not a solution. Resources were scarce in the Shaliulin Valley, and even wild animals for hunting were extremely rare. Water scarcity was an even more critical problem.

Perez and his team originally planned to escort the last group of survivors over there and then begin organizing the refugees to evacuate south.

Upon learning that there were over a thousand survivors in the Salix Valley, Michelle had no choice but to return to the airship and use the communicator to contact the flagship again for help.

The nearest safe haven for these refugees is probably only two hundred miles away at the newly brought-under-control Wind Erosion Ridge, where the Northern Army is currently building the Yonggu military base.

(End of this chapter)