Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 804 Alchemy Torpedo
Thorn City, southeastern border of Eisengard.

The border city, which had just been ravaged by war, looked dilapidated. The body of the former lord, Baron Taffer, was hanging on a makeshift gallows erected at the city gate, swaying slightly in the cold wind.

After the Northern army captured the city, Baron Tavern, who was trying to rally his followers to resist to the end, was captured alive. The military judge then executed him on the spot in front of the city’s refugees and slaves on charges of persecuting his fellow countrymen and trafficking people.

The refugees currently stranded in the city have been gradually transferred to the Saint-Valen border transit station, and Thorn City has been completely transformed into a border military fortress garrisoned by the Northern Army.

Less than a mile outside the city, in the valley, a main branch of the Châteauneuf-du-Champa flows through, nourishing the surrounding fertile grasslands and farmland. The river channel is restricted by the valley topography, forming a lush lake in the center of the valley.

The original simple lakeside dock has now been expanded into a solid and spacious military dock thanks to the full efforts of the Northern Army Logistics Engineering Team.

The surrounding flat land was also used to build lakeside docks, where a large number of mechanics transferred from Saint Valen gathered to operate countless alchemical beasts.

Even though the military dock was only fenced off with barbed wire and wooden stakes, the civilians living nearby still dared not approach it easily, for fear of being arrested as spies. Only a few shepherds with a bit more courage stood on the high slope several miles away and looked down.

The dock was filled with loud noises during the day and was a brightly lit and bustling scene at night, with cargo ships constantly coming and going, but no one knew what was being done inside.

……

Major Guterres stepped out of the airship and, as soon as he landed, asked the sergeant in a deep voice, "Have all our submersibles been delivered?"

"By last night, all of them had been transported to the dock via the magic network teleportation array... The mechanics are currently reassembling and welding the disassembled submersibles, and the major can go and inspect them at any time."

The gray-haired naval lieutenant nodded and walked straight toward the dock with a stern expression.

Inside the enclosed dock, dozens of mechanics in work clothes were busy at work. A large number of spider-shaped alchemical beasts clung to the hull of the shuttle-shaped submersible, operating welding torches mounted on their limbs to carefully weld the modular joints of the ship.

Compared to the first-generation alchemical submersible, the current third-generation underwater vessel is vastly different from its predecessors in both appearance and function. As a revolutionary underwater vehicle combining magical energy technology and industrial technology, its appearance is not only more streamlined and adapted to submersion, but it is also equipped with a brand-new magical power core. The overall shape is an olive shape with sharpened ends, and the tail and sides are equipped with metal propellers that provide power and steering.

Because it needs to carry and accommodate at least ten naval soldiers to operate together, its internal design has also undergone major improvements. In addition to the double-layer waterproof and airtight design, it also adopts the compressed air tank technology of airships to provide the submersible with a full 72 hours of oxygen supply, which is twice the combat endurance of the past.

In addition, the driving system, weapon control system, and fuel storage system have all been completely upgraded, making it a veritable small underwater combat fortress. Even during their deployment in the Coral Sea, the Northern Navy had already begun to adapt to operating this new submersible, accumulating considerable combat experience through missions of eliminating and driving away sea monsters for the marines.

"How much longer until the submersible assembly is complete?" Guterres frowned and asked the shipyard manager. "His Majesty has only given me half a month. At the latest, in three days... the navy will need to complete the deployment of defenses along the underground rivers in the border region."

The project leader took out a handkerchief and wiped the oil and sweat from his face. He said seriously, "We have been working on the assembly as quickly as possible. If all goes well, it will be completed by tomorrow. However, we still need to set aside half a day to test the sealing and waterproofing of the assembled submersible."

After saying that, he pointed to the equipment that had just been pulled into the dock by the wheelbarrow and said with a hint of pride, "And these new boat-borne weapons that have just been transferred from the capital, alchemical torpedoes and mines... are used to drop them into various dangerous passes in the underground rivers, and can replace you in doing a lot of defensive and guard work."

This is a new gadget that the Royal Capital Weapons Research and Development Center just developed a month ago. It hasn't even been transported to the Coral Sea yet to be used in the Navy's live-fire exercises. Although Guterres had heard about it beforehand, its actual power and effectiveness... were still unknown.

But ultimately, it is a new type of weapon that enhances underwater combat capabilities, and it is enough to show the support and importance that the capital city attaches to the navy. As the naval commander-in-chief, the major was extremely pleased.

"Then we should complete the assembly as soon as possible, and when we test the waterproofing, we can have the soldiers conduct weapon trials at the same time."

Several young officers who had arrived with him earlier showed great interest upon hearing this, and one of them couldn't help but ask, "Sir, what's the deal with this newly developed weapon? We only vaguely heard about it a few days ago..."

Could it be a trump card, like the self-propelled magic cannon, that can compensate for the lack of heavy firepower on submarines underwater?
Seeing that Guterres also looked confused, the engineering team leader and the staff officer listening in quickly explained: "Torpedoes and mines are two different underwater weapons. The former requires a launcher to be installed on the ship, and the sailors actively aim and launch it... while the latter is directly dropped into the water, like a trap waiting for the enemy to trigger it."

"Of course... the rate of fire of torpedoes is far inferior to that of self-propelled artillery, but it was not originally designed to target individual Lizardmen soldiers, but rather to deal with their floating island fortresses..."

Although the rate of fire is slow, underground rivers are not as vast as the ocean, and they are dark and have limited visibility. In addition, the river channels converge and branch out in many ways, which is more than enough for submarines to hide in the dark and launch a preemptive strike against the enemy.

As for alchemical mines, they are the ultimate weapon for blocking underground river channels. By deploying a large number of them in key defensive areas where underground rivers converge, they can not only effectively block the navigation routes of floating island fortresses, but also inflict effective damage on the underwater scouts of the demon lizardmen, achieving two goals at once.

It can be said that the development and advent of torpedoes and mines have effectively compensated for the current disadvantage of insufficient number of submarines in human navies, greatly alleviating the pressure of their deployment and control in underground rivers. With just the deployment of all fifty submarines, an underwater blockade line can be drawn across the southeastern border of the grasslands and deep underground.

This also bought the royal capital's military factories enough time to mass-produce more submersibles and underwater weapons to deal with the possible underground river blockade war that might break out later.

(End of this chapter)