Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 791 Logistics Support
"Fifty boxes of dried wheat cakes, twenty boxes of canned salted meat, frozen camel cheese..."

Wood was hanging with one foot on the edge of the carriage, a thick manifest tucked under his arm, intently counting the neatly stacked goods... These food supplies were to be sent to the front lines immediately by the transport team.

Holmes strode over, a cigarette dangling from his lips, whistled at him, and tossed a small paper packet from his hand.

"【Victory Brand】herbal cigarettes? Good heavens! This is a brand new product just produced by the Wangdu Cigarette Factory. Where did you get it?"

Holmes chuckled smugly. "The army has increased our supply quotas. How about that? Much better treatment than last time we went on a transport mission, isn't it?"

Having lived in the capital for nearly three months, Wood, under the tutelage of his local colleagues, had "unfortunately" picked up the bad habit of smoking cigarettes. Upon hearing this, he naturally grinned, expressing his satisfaction with his current generous treatment.

A short, stocky logistics officer hurried over, quickly inspected the long line of cargo wagons, and beckoned Wood and Holmes over.

"This convoy isn't fully loaded yet; there are some additional goods that we need you to take along the way."

Before the two could react, several logistics soldiers drove a flock of sheep into the transport team's camp.

"Live sheep? What's going on?" Wood was stunned. "Where did the logistics headquarters at Langya Ridge Pass get these animals? Are we going to send them all to the front lines?"

It is common knowledge that the army of Saint Valen enjoys generous treatment. Whether it is soldiers fighting on the front lines or logistics personnel, they are always well-supplied with supplies... Weapons and ammunition, two seasons of uniforms, medicine and rations are never lacking.

From time to time, luxury supplies would be distributed regularly, with batches of battlefield "hard currency" such as tobacco and candy being transported over, which were highly praised by the soldiers on the front lines.

Fresh, lively meat... just thinking about it seems too luxurious!
Although Wood had never served in the military, he knew how difficult it was to supply fresh food to the front lines during wartime. These “outsourced” transport teams, urgently recruited by the army, often needed to be rationally allocated to use their precious transport capacity as much as possible to transport artillery ammunition.

Seeing the two men's puzzled expressions, the quartermaster smiled and patiently explained, "These livestock weren't sent from the border crossing. They come from the southeastern grasslands and were delivered to us by the herders who live nearby."

Local herders?
In the grasslands southeast of Essengarde, it is only near autumn that herders in the central and northern regions drive large herds south to protect their livestock through the harsh winter in slightly warmer areas.

"These herders arrived here after being escorted south by the Northern Army along the way..." The quartermaster's tone was filled with undisguised pride. "The foreign tribes were rampaging in the north, and they fled here with their families. If it weren't for the army, they would have been robbed clean by the local nobles and bandits long ago."

"So... out of gratitude to the Saint Valen army, the herdsmen's chieftain took the lead in donating many lively cattle and sheep to us, hoping that we would transport these fresh meats back to the central front, so that we could make a small contribution to the warriors who are bravely fighting against the foreign tribes."

Wood and Holmes exchanged a glance, unsure of what to say.

For herders living on the grasslands, their herds are more important than their lives. During the previous rescue and evacuation mission, many people were unwilling to abandon their cattle and sheep and evacuate alone. No matter how much the officials in charge of evacuating refugees tried to persuade them, they could only drive their herds far behind the transport team and move south in fear.

But now, these same ignorant people, who were considered to be "more interested in money than life," have turned around and handed over their precious cattle and sheep to the army.

The quartermaster patted the fat sheep he had herded to his side with a touch of emotion. "It's not just these cattle and sheep. Some merchant guilds that fled from the occupied central regions have also offered us assistance... The fresh fruits and vegetables you've been eating in the mess hall these past few days were sold to us at discounted prices by them." Wood's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately recalled the overwhelming propaganda from the government he had heard in the capital—this war against the northern barbarians was not merely the responsibility and obligation of the Saint Valen people, nor was it limited to the northern wastelands and Eisengard... Its victory or defeat would determine the future fate of the human race, a life-or-death choice concerning the continuation of the race or its extinction.

Therefore, whether it is the blood debt of personal or family hatred, or the fall and destruction of a country or city... they are all insignificant byproducts in the tide of this battle of destiny.

This is a war concerning all of humanity, and it must be a contribution and sacrifice made by all humankind.

"The Pan-Human United Front..." Wood murmured to himself, as if he had finally begun to grasp the meaning of the slogan.

Originally, it was just to avenge his family... Now it seems that what he did was perhaps much more important than he imagined.

……

Fireflygrass Town, a logistics transit and transportation base for the Northern Army.

Dozens of transport airships slowly landed on the newly built and leveled take-off and landing field. Saike and others took the lead and stepped out of the manned pod, standing in place and looking around.

"We must be getting close to the front lines of the fighting in central Eisengard, right?"

Baler stopped where he was, squinted, and took a deep breath. "Ah... the familiar taste of home, it's finally back!"

"What does the taste of home taste like? Cow, sheep, and horse manure?" Santas and Gregor followed closely behind, immediately teasing him upon hearing this.

"You southerners don't know anything!" Baler rolled his eyes and guessed along with Sek's topic, "Firefly Town is about a hundred miles from the southeastern border of Eisengard. It only takes half a day to reach the Burning Wind Fortress pass from here by airship, so we are still far from the front line."

Commander Dean stepped down from another airship, frowned at the four men, and said, "What are you all standing around for? Quickly assemble your teams. We're only stopping here for one night to let the soldiers rest... We'll set off for our final destination, the Wind-Eroded Ridge frontline garrison base, early tomorrow morning!"

The group immediately responded in unison and turned to organize the soldiers under their respective squads.

Sek slowed his pace and lagged behind Dean, whispering, "Instructor, when will our magic armor be delivered?"

Dean paused for a moment, then chuckled knowingly, "What? You're already feeling insecure without the magic armor by your side?"

Sek nodded. As he gradually adapted to combat as a Starfire Warrior, he began to feel that the Demon Armor was not just an external shell or weapon armor... but rather a part of his own flesh and blood, like a symbiotic body and limbs.

If it weren't for daily eating and living, or needing to act independently without the armor, he wouldn't even want to leave that massive suit of armor that he was already so familiar with.

(End of this chapter)