Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 792 Bombing
"Sir, the artillery has cooled down. All artillery crews request permission to continue firing!"

Lynx nodded and decisively ordered, "Open fire, three rounds of progressive overlay artillery fire!"

Less than a minute after the order was issued, the entire artillery position resumed its bombardment, and the battlefield, which had been silent for most of the night, was once again filled with noise, the whistling of shells streaking across the sky like thunder.

Load the shell, turn the winch to adjust the firing angle, release the safety, and fire the cannon...

A deep, humming sound suddenly rang out...

A scorching stream of air shot out from the muzzle at high speed, and the shell flew towards the city like lightning, its trajectory too fast for the naked eye to follow.

The entire process was incredibly smooth. The four artillerymen worked in perfect harmony. If it weren't for the need to prevent the gun barrels from overheating and exploding, they could have fired three to five shells at the enemy's position every minute.

This is a true long-range firepower bombardment tactic.

Battle Chief Wayne also arrived at the artillery position and moved the command post, which was originally set up at the rear supply depot, directly to the front line of battle.

"The bomber airship formation set sail from Wind-Eroded Ridge three hours ago and is expected to arrive at Steel Rock City in about an hour." Staff Officer Ross looked at the map spread out on the table, his tone tinged with excitement. "As long as we maintain suppressive fire, once the air force arrives... we can once again replicate the indiscriminate bombing of the Church's holy city of Goris!"

Wayne frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "Can this new type of aerial bomb brought from the rear really effectively kill enemies hiding in underground sewers, even through thick layers of bricks and mud, and stacks of building ruins?"

Ross nodded and explained confidently, "This new type of aerial bomb is named a solidified incendiary bomb. It does not kill the enemy through the shockwave of the explosion, but rather through high-temperature burning to create effective area damage."

Although the Lizardmen often use flammable black water to set fire to and destroy human cities and buildings, they are essentially restrained by fire... This alien race, born from the icy sea, needs to keep its skin moist by immersing it in water. If it becomes too dry, it will easily crack, lose its vitality, and affect its normal movement.

"The power of this incendiary bomb lies in the fact that it does not require any accelerant. Once detonated, it can burn fiercely even if it is attached to rocks. After igniting an entire area, the resulting high temperature is enough to cause the building floors of the entire city to crack and the underground sewers to turn into boiling soup pots!"

This also means that in order to reclaim Steelrock City from the Lizardmen, the Northern Army needs to drop enough incendiary bombs to turn the entire city's surface into a hellish inferno. The magnificent city that has stood in the middle of the grasslands for nearly a hundred years is now almost completely razed to the ground.

"The local resistance forces fighting in the city were notified three days ago, and they have all withdrawn one after another. People from the front line have also been sent to meet them."

Wayne nodded to indicate that he understood, but after a pause, he asked again, still not entirely at ease: "Have the coordinates of the main entrances to the underground waterways provided to us by these local rebels been verified? Once the airship squadrons begin their air raids, these areas will be key targets, and there can be absolutely no mistakes."

"Don't worry, Commander! The locations of these waterway entrances were carved out by the rebels with their lives. In this respect, they are even more eager than we are for the alien monsters in the city to be wiped out."

Driven by an irreconcilable blood feud, they would not hesitate to sacrifice their homes and cities, where they live day and night, for the greater good.

……

An hour later, the airship bombing squadron that everyone had been eagerly anticipating appeared precisely in the sky south of Steelrock City. Chapter Leader Wayne took the receiver from the alchemy communicator, and a familiar voice came through.

"This is the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 airship formation of the Independent Air Combat Mage Regiment. Commander, we have entered the combat airspace and will arrive at the designated bombing location in ten minutes!"

Wayne nodded subconsciously and said in a deep voice, "Understood. The ground forces are maintaining suppressive fire, but there are still many winged beings in the city who will try to intercept us. You must be careful."

A bombing squadron composed of three hundred airships could not possibly launch a surprise attack on the enemy. On the vast, flat grassland, even a bird flying across the sky would attract everyone's attention.

Therefore, Wayne simply laid out his strategic intentions directly: first, to use nearly a week of positional warfare to wear down the enemy's ground forces, and at the same time, to use long-range firepower to attract the attention of the enemy's winged beings, so that they would take the initiative to leave the city and engage the Northern Army... In this way, by the time the bombing officially began, the enemy's air power would have been greatly weakened.

Before the call was interrupted, the command center could see a large number of dark shadows rising from Steel Rock City in the distance. After converging in the air, they rushed towards the direction of the airship formation in groups.

"A swarm of annoying flies!" The Son of Flame abruptly ended the call with Wayne, expressionlessly switching the communication channel to the squadron's internal network. "Attention all crew, enemy winged beings are approaching us. Maintain speed... Proceed with the bombing mission as planned!"

The airship formation maintained a very standard formation, with two hundred fast airships positioned on the left and right flanks, guarding one hundred bomber airships in the center and rear, soaring in the sky in an inverted triangle formation, heading straight towards the winged beings rushing towards them.

When the two sides were still hundreds of meters apart, the shipborne beam weapon with a longer range launched the attack first.

A beam of pure white energy shot out from the front of the airship like stardust, the simultaneous firing creating a giant net of light in the air. The winged beings at the forefront, like moths drawn to a flame, crashed into it and instantly turned to dust.

This is where the advantages of the speedboats became apparent—thanks to their superior speed compared to the winged beings, the airship formations on both flanks quickly extended their formation, forming an arc array that directly surrounded the winged being's combat group in the center. Taking advantage of their firepower and weaponry, they launched a merciless attack on the target.

Meanwhile, the bomber airship formation that had been lagging behind silently and rapidly increased its altitude, disappearing into the clouds to conceal its presence. It then flew directly over the low-altitude firefight zone below and headed towards the nearby Steel Rock City.

"Formation No. 3 has arrived at the designated bombing area and requests permission to begin bombing!"

"Prioritize and lock onto the planned attack coordinates. Bombing permitted!"

After the bombing order was given, the hundred airships immediately dispersed and reformed into several goose-shaped attack formations, dropping heavy new bombs on the city below in a line.

The moment the solidified incendiary bomb slid out of the external weapons bay, its massive warhead immediately plummeted straight down due to its own center of gravity.

The first target was a cluster of castle buildings by the water in the city. Several aerial bombs pierced through the roof of the damaged building and crashed inside. They then instantly turned into a scorching pillar of fire that shot straight into the sky. The entire building collapsed, and smoke and debris rose into the air, causing the ground to tremble violently.

Looking down from the air, the buildings that had just been bombed were still engulfed in flames, which were growing stronger and stronger and even seemed to be spreading to the surrounding areas.

(End of this chapter)