Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 801 "Reinforcements"

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The military bayonet mounted on the front of the magic gun easily pierced through the bullet hole and entered the alien's body. The soldier gripped the weapon and twisted it with his backhand until the skinned monster in front of him completely withered away before cursing and reluctantly stopping.

Guided by the sentry who found them, Alva met the leader of the rebel group. After a brief conversation, he discovered that they were actually composed of two armed forces from different regions.

“My name is Fleming, and the twenty-odd men I’m leading are indeed from Sandgold Town…” The burly middle-aged man raised his hand and pointed to another officer with a stern face beside him, “This is Baron Herrera… uh, Major Herrera, they are Northern Rangers from the border region.”

Northern... Rangers?

Alva was stunned for a moment, clearly sensitive to the word "Northern Frontier" mentioned by Fleming. Among the various armed forces currently fighting in Eisengard, the main force responsible for resisting and counterattacking the alien races is the Saint Valen people... and their army calls itself the "Northern Army".

"You guessed right..."

Herrera strode closer and explained calmly, “Our Ranger Regiment was indeed recruited and formed by Saint Valentine, but most of those who enlisted were native citizens of Eisengard, just like you… to fight to reclaim our homeland from the alien races and to avenge our blood relatives!”

But aren't the people of Saint Valen... sworn enemies of the Church?

Why would they support and aid the grassland people, who are mostly devout believers...?

Alva cautiously kept his doubts to himself, only secretly glancing at the follower tattoo on Fleming's wrist.

Fleming was unfazed by the other party's cold attitude and continued to explain with a smile: "We have come here to establish contact with the resistance forces active in the Ironwood Hills area and to provide you with weapons and supplies free of charge in accordance with the instructions of the Northern Army!"

Upon hearing this, Alva and his men were stunned and bewildered, and couldn't help but turn their attention to the weapons and equipment the other party was carrying.

Several rangers, who were wrapping up the battle, were methodically dismantling a strangely shaped metal construct, which was... the very same terrifying weapon that had just rained down magic stone bullets on the enemy.

"This is a magic-powered machine gun. Its operating principle is not much different from that of a magic-powered gun... but its advantage is that it can load hundreds of magic-powered bullets at once and fire them continuously at the enemy at an extremely high speed. When facing these monster hordes charging, it can play a very effective role in suppressing them."

Fleming patiently explained, while also coaxing, "We brought three machine gun kits with us this time, along with an equal amount of ammunition, which will be distributed appropriately to your local resistance forces."

Of course, there's no such thing as generosity without a reason. Alva immediately understood and asked in return, "What's the price for acquiring these magical weapons and supplies? If I'm not mistaken... we need to submit to the Saint Valen people and swear allegiance, right?"

The Saint Valen people, currently engaged in battle with the main force of the alien race in the Chensang River Valley, have indeed sent people to contact them. However, the alien race's recent offensive has become increasingly rapid, and the Northern Army stationed in strategic locations is not in an easy situation, making it difficult to truly spare the time to pay attention to these civilian resistance organizations.

Not to mention their long war supply lines, which are constantly harassed by foreign tribes, leaving them preoccupied with their own supply problems and with no extra ammunition or weapons to aid the locals.

“His Majesty the Emperor doesn’t care whether you are loyal or not…” Herrera paused for a moment, then frowned and continued, “Joining hands to resist the alien races and completely annihilating them is our ultimate goal, and it is also our primary mission!”

Alva shrugged, not intending to argue with the other party further on this issue. "The weapons you brought are indeed powerful enough, but the problem is... even if the main force of the alien race is currently fighting against the Northern Army, the number of enemies roaming and active in the Ironwood Hills area alone is probably close to ten thousand."

As an enemy-occupied area in the northern grasslands near the Shenji Mountains, the sheer number of enemies present meant that a few regular army supplies could not turn the tide of the battle.

The team that has come from afar has only about a hundred members... and the weapons and ammunition they have brought are simply not enough to go around.

Herrera nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips. "As long as you're willing to cooperate and fight together against the enemy, there's nothing else to worry about..."

He pointed to the regrouped troops behind him and said proudly, "Apart from the aid squad led by Captain Fleming, the rangers I brought have nearly five hundred men. They are currently divided into five teams operating in the surrounding area. They will soon wipe out the scattered enemies in the Muddy Swamp area and make it a temporary base for us!"

……

Chensang River Valley, Reed Bay.

A month ago, this place was completely occupied by the Lizardmen. The once prosperous town on the river bend plain has now been turned into ruins, with walls and ruins burned by the black water everywhere.

Three days ago, the elite Northern Army, led by Commander Daf, launched a massive counter-offensive against Reed Bay. Thousands of human soldiers, with the support of bombing airships and armored vehicles, caught the Lizardmen entrenched in the city ruins off guard. After a day and a night of fierce fighting, the main force of the alien race was finally forced to abandon River Bay City and retreat northward along the Chensang River.

When the army officially replaced the enemy and fully entered the ruins of the newly occupied city, they were shocked to discover that... the abandoned underground sewers in the city contained a large number of jet worms carrying black water, which was obviously caused by the demon lizardmen's hasty retreat and their inability to take them with them, and they could only leave them behind.

By comparing the map of the abyss provided by the Northern Army General Staff, the strategic intentions of these alien races became clear: there were no underground river channels in the Shensang River Valley that could allow the floating island fortresses to navigate. At most, they could only send a very small floating island from the northern rift to the source of the Shensang River, which was more than a hundred miles away. Then, they would use jet worms to transport the black water, which would be carried downstream by ordinary demon lizard soldiers and eventually stored in the Reed Bay area.

Once River Bend City has stockpiled enough Blackwater to supply tens of thousands of Lizard Warriors, they will inevitably use it as a springboard to completely breach the northern defenses and invade the southern grasslands, even directly threatening the border region between Eisengard and Saint Valen.

However, before this plan could be completed, it was discovered by humans with a more acute sense of smell, and the "Blackwater Reserve Plan," which was only half-finished, was completely aborted amidst the roar of artillery fire.

(End of this chapter)