Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 798 "Rangers"

"Baron... Your Excellency, how much longer... will it take us to arrive..."

With the biting cold wind blowing, the soldiers riding in the speeding Moto vehicle found it difficult to even speak, as they were immediately met with a bellyful of icy air whenever they opened their mouths.

Herrera, fully focused on driving the alchemical vehicle, adjusted the crystal goggles covering his face and replied loudly, "According to the sentries and the map, we'll reach Sunset Valley in about fifteen minutes..."

He paused, slowed the car down slightly, turned to look at his adjutant hunched over in the trailer, and frowned as he added, "How many times have I told you? After you officially join the army, don't call me Baron anymore... From now on, address me by my rank!"

The adjutant shrank back, stammering, "Yes...yes, Major..."

This "militia guerrilla force" is composed of 80-90% young men who fled from the grasslands. They were recruited and assembled in the eastern and border areas of Saint Valencia. After a summer of rigorous training, their military skills and discipline are now almost indistinguishable from those of a regular army.

The only thing lacking... is probably practical experience in guerrilla warfare.

Herrera, as one of the few young noblemen among the avengers returning to their homeland who had received cavalry training, naturally took on the role of combat commander with the support of the military. He was promoted to major according to the organizational specifications of the Northern Army and was given full command of more than two thousand "steppe rangers" he had personally recruited.

However, following the instructions of His Majesty the Emperor and the military, they would not assemble their entire army and march to the front lines to fight those alien monsters head-on like regular combat troops.

The tactical content provided in the St. Valentine Militia Reserve Training Manual... is the target task they need to follow and strictly implement.

The location of Sunset Valley is a strategic stronghold on the eastern defense line of Eisengard, with the North Pole as a crucial point. Although it is still dozens of miles away from the front line of battle, the number of alien enemies that have broken through the defense line and fled here is not small. In particular, the winged beings with large fleshy wings who fly nimbly often shuttle through the area to attack supply troops arriving from the rear, causing considerable trouble for the front-line combat troops.

More importantly, the terrain around Sunset Valley is extremely complex and unique, with a dense network of canyons and ravines stretching for dozens of miles. Among them are even several "rift corridors" that run through the fighting lines and can directly reach the northern occupied areas, allowing Herrera's "Rangers" to reach Ironwood Hills silently right under the noses of the alien race.

Their ultimate destination was naturally to reinforce the local resistance forces still active in the Timur Hills, resisting the foreign invaders.

……

The Moto convoy sped along, arriving at Dusk Valley before nightfall. Following the coordinates indicated by the sentries, they successfully located a dense forest at the valley entrance and parked and concealed more than two hundred camouflaged vehicles.

Once inside Sunset Valley, the Rangers could no longer rely on these amazing high-speed vehicles. The valley was full of complex terrain and obstacles, and in some places it was so narrow that only an adult could pass sideways. The magic carts simply could not move normally. This also meant that if they wanted to cross Sunset Valley and reach Ironwood Hills, the soldiers would have to walk the entire distance of several dozen miles.

“I’ve heard that the most elite soldiers in the Northern Army can march fifty miles in a single day while fully loaded,” the adjutant muttered as he walked to Herrera’s side. “That’s exactly the distance needed to cross the Sunset Valley Rift Corridor, but with our capabilities…” “What the regular army can do, the rangers can do too!” Herrera said resolutely, gazing at the map spread out before him. “The soldiers of the Northern Army are just ordinary people. As far as I know, before they enlisted, they were just ordinary farmers, shepherds, and porters… no different from us. They even only underwent three months of basic training before heading to the battlefield with their guns.”

They were issued the same weapons, enjoyed the same supplies and food, and even had special tactical training manuals... Herrera firmly believed that the only thing his Ranger unit, which he had personally trained, was inferior to the regular army was its combat experience.

No! The Rangers may even have certain advantages over the Northern Army in some aspects.

These grassland people, who lost their homes, property, pastures, livestock, and even their families and relatives to the innocuous slaughter of the invaders, had a stronger desire for revenge than the Saint Valen people. They longed to return to their homeland and avenge the blood debts owed to the enemy!
"We entered Dusk Valley under the cover of night, bypassing the fighting area before dawn... avoiding the scattered Lizardmen forces roaming nearby, and heading straight for Ironwood Hills!"

Ere stretched out his finger and emphasized the marching route marked on the map, then gave the order to his adjutant, "It's a journey of forty or fifty miles. We may encounter enemies along the way, so we must be careful at all times and try to avoid those damned monsters."

The two lieutenants, who had been his knight squires in the past and were also rigorously trained apprentice knights, reminded him with some concern: "Male... Major, this may not be easy. Although marching in the canyon corridor is highly concealed, once we are discovered by those winged beings who can move freely in the sky, we may be trapped in the valley and unable to advance or retreat."

This is, after all, an army that has not experienced any real combat. Relying solely on the courage for revenge and the magical weapons they have only recently mastered, it is difficult to guarantee that they can gain the upper hand in battles against alien races.

More than 500 people are still too conspicuous...

Those winged beings roaming the skies have eyesight as sharp as eagles on the plains, and can often spot traces of human troops on the ground, even at night.

Herrera nodded, but he already had a whole plan in mind. "Of course, we can't act as a group... I'll lead fifty soldiers into the canyon to scout ahead, while the remaining four hundred or so will be divided into several hundred-man squads. Even if one squad is discovered by the enemy, we can lure them away to provide cover for the other squads..."

As they were talking, a scout on guard duty rushed over and reported to Herrera with a mixture of surprise and delight: "Major! The weather has changed!"

The group hurried to a high point in the dense forest and looked north. Under the glow of the setting sun that was about to sink below the horizon, a vast expanse of dark yellow, obscuring the sky, rose in the distance.

“It’s…it’s a sandstorm!” the adjutant murmured involuntarily.

Herrera burst into laughter, pointing north and shouting, "It seems good fortune is on our side; this sandstorm has come at just the right time!"

With the cover of this sudden extreme weather, the winged beings not only found it difficult to take to the air for patrols, but their vision was also greatly obstructed. The rangers were able to safely cross the canyon and successfully reach the designated reinforcement location.

(End of this chapter)