Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 782 Information on the Martyrs (Part 1)

After the survivor leaders who came to report on the situation left through the secret passage one after another, the cramped cellar suddenly fell silent.

A follower approached Hughes, who was deep in thought, and whispered, "Sir, the followers responsible for monitoring the Clock Tower Square in the Upper City didn't return at the agreed time after nightfall last night. Should we...?"

Should we send someone to search for them? That would only result in another person dying in vain.

Around midnight yesterday, the survivors who were secretly operating in that area clearly heard several loud noises coming from the streets and alleys... It was the sound that could only be produced by the continuous firing of the magic revolver. Once the gun was fired, it would inevitably attract the attention of more magic lizardmen. The intense magical energy fluctuations released by the weapon were as dazzling as candlelight in the night and could not be ignored.

I can only hope that the unfortunate believer who sacrificed his life saved the last bullet from his gun for himself, so that he wouldn't be surrounded and torn to pieces by those disgusting monsters.

Hughes gave a wry smile and slowly shook his head, saying, "No need to send anyone to look for it... Wait a few days until the alien races that have been entrenched in that area return to their dormant state in the waterways, and then we'll figure out a way to retrieve the Demon Spear."

They didn't carry many magic revolvers with them when they infiltrated Ironhill City this time, only a total of ten short guns. In addition, they also had very few magic stone bullets, which were rare and could be used one at a time. Unless they were facing the enemy head-on and couldn't escape, they were absolutely forbidden from firing their guns indiscriminately unless it was an extremely critical situation.

Instead, Hughes wisely followed the advice of his superiors and used the limited transport capacity to carry more alchemical potions produced in the capital city of Starfire. These potions not only had miraculous hemostatic and healing effects on critical external injuries, but also rarely caused magical erosion side effects when used on mortals. They were simply first-class life-saving supplies for the survivors in the city.

As long as he keeps a firm grip on these portable enchanted pills, Hughes can easily establish close cooperative relationships with survivor groups of all sizes throughout the city, using their familiar areas of activity to extend his intelligence-gathering reach throughout the city.

It can be said that in this magnificent capital city, which once housed nearly 50,000 people, Hughes could obtain information about anything that happened on the surface within three days if he wanted to know.

What worries him most right now is how to determine whether there is a floating island fortress in the underground river, and how much alien force this floating island fortress stores.

Gathering this level of intelligence is far beyond what a few survivor groups operating on the fringes can achieve. Hughes had long ago decided that, when the time was right, he would personally verify the accuracy of the sources.

The demon lizardmen active in Ironhill City rotate about every three days. Whether they are ordinary black lizardmen warriors or winged monsters that constantly patrol the air, they all need to return underground to replenish the black water and soak their anti-magic skin. This period is also known as half-day hibernation by the local survivors.

It is precisely this regular half-day hibernation that provides humans with valuable time for outdoor activities... Whether it is collecting supplies and food, seizing opportunities to ambush lone alien races, or avenging fallen relatives and compatriots, the risks are reduced many times over compared to normal days.

Many people even clung to a sliver of hope, attempting to risk leaving the city during this period and try to escape to the rumored safer south... However, the area around Ironhill City was nothing but a vast, flat grassland, and they were almost always under the surveillance of winged monsters that came and went like the wind. Trying to evacuate on foot without being caught was practically a pipe dream.

……

On the evening of the third day, as night fell, a survivor leader, guided by his followers, once again arrived at the underground wine cellar in the monastery district.

“Mr. Hughes…” The old man’s face was pale and his chest heaved with excitement. “My men have successfully infiltrated the livestock market and, just as you predicted, found the entrance to the underground waterway in a barn where winter fodder was stored.”

Nearly half of the human and animal waste and sewage in the upper and lower urban areas of Ironhill City is discharged outside the city through the vast underground water network built since the city's founding, flowing directly into the surging Chartran River. However, the sewage channels, which even adults cannot normally pass through, could not possibly be used by the Demon Lizardmen to emerge from underground. Only by finding the location of the main waterway entrance can the movement of these underground monsters be determined.

Hughes breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and said in a deep voice, "Very good. Have your men keep a close watch on that place... Record for me exactly how many alien monsters have appeared at the waterway entrance during this period. Remember, I need the most accurate number possible." The old man was somewhat surprised and stammered, "Count their numbers? What's the purpose of that?"

“You don’t need to know, just do as I say.” Hughes said, then beckoned to his men and whispered, “Get Mr. Eriel a dose of regeneration potion. You take the potion with you to his hideout to treat his granddaughter’s plague.”

Eriel's tone became somewhat urgent upon hearing this, "Mr. Hughes, why don't you just hand over the medicine to me directly?"

Hughes waved his hand and patiently explained, "This potion needs to be administered intravenously. If it's not done properly, it won't have any effect at all. Don't worry... you should know my reputation. I would never lie to you about something like this."

Seeing his sincere tone, Eriel finally felt relieved. After bowing deeply to his chest, he hurriedly led his people away.

After seeing off the survivor leader, Eriel, Hughes immediately got up and went to his desk, lit a dim candle, and spread out a city map with wrinkled and tattered edges.

The map was covered with a large number of symbols, interspersed with several large and small eye-catching red circles. Hughes took out a small booklet from his pocket, opened it, and began to carefully calculate in his mind.

[On the fourth day of the second lunar month, approximately a thousand targets were spotted in the waterway of the Bell Tower Square… They had left the city and remained dormant since.]

[On the eighth day of the second month of summer, approximately a thousand targets were spotted in the Royal Palace waterway... After leaving the city, less than a hundred winged monsters returned during their hibernation period.]

[On the eleventh day of the second month of summer, approximately a thousand targets appeared in the Fountain Alley waterway, all of them winged monsters... They left the city and headed south, not returning by the end of their hibernation period.]

……

Hughes stared at the hundreds of densely packed records in the booklet, carefully checking each one, and the more he calculated, the more uneasy he felt.

At the eight underground main waterway entrances he has identified so far, nearly a thousand alien warriors frequently appear every so often. They do not linger or stay in the city at all... A believer responsible for monitoring the movements outside the city climbed the city wall and saw with his own eyes that almost all of these guys disappeared into the Xiatlan River, going straight into the water and disappearing without a trace.

Regardless of where they were deployed to fight against humans... just counting their numbers is far greater than the number that is scheduled to return to hibernation!

If calculated according to the method provided to him by high-ranking intelligence officials, the answer would be almost obvious—

The floating island fortress beneath Ironhill City stores at least 100,000 demon lizardmen warriors, and it is a mixed force with a large number of winged creatures!

Hughes realized that he had to transmit the verified intelligence back to Saint Valentine as soon as possible via the brain-computer interface.

(End of this chapter)