Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 183 Oil Confirmation and Control Preparation
At the lord's command, the entire team immediately sprang into action, like a well-wound machine, with every gear meshing tightly together and turning at high speed.

The city defense forces' reconnaissance units and the field army's special forces immediately began to expand outwards, moving towards the area of ​​the Great Swamp on the map.

Dozens of drones took off in swarm, forming a neat array in the air with almost equal spacing, and began a carpet scan in unison.

What made the core management team even more nervous was that the lord issued a series of complex commands, starting the engine of the [Penglai] airship.

This "sky eye" of the Vast Ocean Territory has been hovering dozens of kilometers above the Qishan Pass, closely monitoring the orc camp, the Razor Corridor, the Cloud Mist Border, and parts of Dongguan and Vast Ocean.

Now, as this behemoth slowly swept through the clouds and headed northeast, it meant that the lord had not only abandoned reconnaissance coverage of the Skyfrost City area, but had also left the Vast Ocean Territory aside.

This is an extremely significant and clear signal: the lord attaches unprecedented importance to this region!

As for Chen Mo, at this moment, all his thoughts were focused on this black water.

If Amu's description is correct, there is likely oil in this swamp!

The search for oil has been almost an integral part of the entire development cycle of the Han Hai Territory. When it first arrived in the desert, the equipment that Dong Xia brought in included a considerable number of exploration and surveying equipment.

The continuous transport of various geological soil data back to Dongxia was also intended to allow the local geological experts to conduct in-depth analysis and try to find some clues about oil.

However, it seems that the god of nature has been playing a joke on the vast ocean—iron mines have been found, gypsum mines have been found, and even some special metal mines have been discovered, but the two major basic energy resources, coal and oil, have remained nowhere to be found.

Chen Mo's survey team even went to the sea to collect samples, but they still had no clue.

Coal can be imported to some extent, and it is a common resource in mainland China, but oil is nowhere to be found.

Chen Mo even doubted at one point whether the Starry World produced any oil.

Now, with this sudden clue appearing, how could he not be overjoyed?

This swamp, known as the Rotten Swamp, is very large, and the Blackwater area that Amu mentioned is located to the north of the Rotten Swamp. The relatively safe access route is in the hands of the Rotten Swamp tribe, the Otter-Headed Beastmen.

However, there is no need to enter now. The reconnaissance team quietly approaches from the other side of the swamp, and the drone sweeps over the woods surrounding the swamp and into the inner area.

Forest ranger Selir even stepped right in, sometimes skimming across the wetlands like a dragonfly, sometimes leaping across the canopies of the large trees growing in the water, the camera hanging around her neck making the monitoring recorder almost vomit.

The next morning, the drones of the Hanhai Field Army were the first to spot the target.

On the screens inside the camp, the Skylark VII drone transmitted real-time high-definition images. Lord Chen Mo stood in the center with his arms crossed, and all the staff officers and officers unconsciously gathered around, watching the scene on the screen with bated breath.

In the scene, the once clear swamp suddenly transforms into a completely different zone of putrid water after crossing an earthen embankment. These areas form pools of varying sizes, with colors ranging from dark to light, some slightly greenish to pitch black.

Under the sunlight, large patches of colorful oil film are reflected on the water surface, like a spilled palette of colors.

As the camera zooms in, in the center of this swamp, a black, viscous liquid has filled the surface of the lake, forming a nearly still pool of oil, with occasional bubbling glimpses rising slowly from the center of a puddle.

The thick oil and water slowly seeping from the riverbank mixed with the surrounding mud and sand, forming a viscous, occasionally gurgling black pool. The surface appeared to be solidified or semi-solidified, but in some of the open areas, the bottom was still black liquid.

Upon seeing this amazing live feed, Amu, who had been called over to confirm, rubbed his eyes repeatedly to make sure he wasn't seeing things. This was indeed a scene from a very, very far place, deep in the swamp.

Facing the lord's eager gaze, Amu nodded emphatically: "This is it, my lord. The orcs often pry up some of the clumps of black mud above and take it back. After a while, the black water below will solidify into clumps again."

"It's all black water down there, absolutely all of it! In some places, even a pole several people tall can't reach the bottom!"

Amu learned very quickly and had already begun addressing the lord.

Chen Mo did not hesitate to appoint the human who had made such a great contribution as an advisor on the spot, which was equivalent to a civil servant in the Han Hai Territory.

While the lord waited anxiously, the drone and Selyl retrieved the samples respectively.

Selyl expressed her utter disgust: "That place is no place for a human to live, the smell is disgusting! I feel like I'm covered in this stinky smell, and I can't get it clean no matter how much I wash."

Well, Loma, who was also an elven guard like Selil, was hit by the fumes and had long since disappeared somewhere.

Chen Mo was quite indignant. A sixth-level expert? That's all?
If the enemy comes covered in excrement, can these two elven guards be trusted or not?
Lifting up the dark, gooey mess, Chen Mo took a deep breath.

That's right, that's it, the smell of industrial blood!

Without a moment's delay, Chen Mo immediately returned to his office in the camp and used the bloodline altar of psionic energy diversion to send the video, samples, and situation report back to Blue Star.

Without a doubt, this immediately triggered a special meeting of three permanent members and two special agents from East Xia on Blue Star.

The senior members of the Cihang Engineering Department who attended the meeting have just finished watching the video materials, and over there, the test results for the samples have come out.

The sample sent back from the Starry World is a heavy, viscous oil with almost no difference in composition from Blue Star's petroleum!
"Distinguished leaders, although we cannot yet see the underground structure of this area, several geological experts unanimously agree that there must be a fairly large oil reservoir beneath this swampy area!"

"Due to certain special geological reasons, underground pressure squeezed some oil to the surface, forming such oil lakes and asphalt lakes. Preliminary assessment suggests that the reserves here may be quite considerable."

“The samples taken from the surface, whether solid, semi-liquid, or liquid, have all had their light components evaporate, leaving only the heavy components.”

The technicians nearby promptly added that the so-called light components refer to the gasoline-like parts of petroleum, while the heavy components are the highly viscous parts like diesel and heavy oil, which contain a large amount of impurities.

Well, that means that at least in the upper layer of this black water, the gasoline has evaporated, but we don't know what's going on in the lower and bottom layers.

But whether it's light oil, heavy oil, gasoline, or diesel, these are the true cornerstones of industry.

More importantly, this is an oil field that requires almost no deep-mining equipment and can be directly extracted from the surface, which almost hit the point of excitement for everyone present.

Although Dongxia has been striving to develop various clean and renewable energy sources, in terms of applicability, the convenience and stability of fossil fuels remain irreplaceable.

More importantly, with oil as the foundation, a series of chemical industries can be developed, and with the chemical industry, a complete industrial system is within reach!

Don't think that only white eagles go crazy when they see oil. Dongxia will also be unable to restrain itself when it sees oil, and will be eager to get involved.

After a day and a night of discussion and research, Dongxia sent back detailed analysis results, suggested steps, development plans, precautions, and other documents to Chen Mo. Meanwhile, Chen Mo had already arranged for his team to thoroughly familiarize themselves with the surrounding environment.

The core stronghold of the Otterboar Orc tribe is called the Rotten Swamp Camp, which is in a very good location, occupying a small high point between the swamp and the plain.

Further ahead, the Otter-Headed Beastmen stronghold controls a large area of ​​farmland downstream of the river, while further back, they control the main safe passage leading to the depths of the swamp.

Meanwhile, the Otter-Boar Orcs also established two smaller bases: one positioned upstream at a bend in the river, and the other controlling a pontoon bridge downstream. The three bases were distributed in a triangular pattern, supporting each other and forming a fairly complete alert and defense system.

Orc tribes that have grown to this size may not be good at humanities, but they are certainly not bad at martial arts.

Over the course of its long development, the "Rotten Swamp" tribe and neighboring powerful tribes constantly waged war, almost completely wiping out the surrounding micro and small tribes, ultimately leading to the current situation where three medium-sized tribes stand in a tripartite balance.

The "Rotten Swamp" tribe's base is in the north. Seventy kilometers to the north is the "Black Mouth" tribe, which is also a vassal of the "Long Teeth" tribe. About sixty kilometers to the northwest of the "Black Mouth" tribe is the main camp of its main tribe, the "Long Teeth" tribe.

If Lord Chen Mo concentrates his forces, taking down the "Rotten Swamp" tribe should not be a problem.

However, what Chen Mo wanted was not to wipe out an orc tribe, but to gain complete and secure control over this area.

We need to mine, store, and transport the materials, and if conditions permit, even consider refining them on-site.

How to avoid harassment from hostile orc forces in the surrounding area, and how to evade retaliation from the "Longtooth" tribe and its vassals, are the main problems that the Vast Ocean Territory will face after defeating the "Rotten Swamp" tribe.

At this moment, Chen Mo had completely forgotten about the instigation on the White Deer Plain and the autumn hunt by the orcs in the northern and southern camps.

The lord was responsible for making the demands, while his subordinates were responsible for translating strategic ideas into tactical execution. The officers of each department began another round of brainstorming.

First, following the principle of "trying before you can get away with it," Liu Zaiyue sent the dog-clawed beastman Shortclaw as an envoy, carrying a generous gift, to visit the "Rotten Swamp" tribe.

In the name of Motianling Conch Port, a proposal was made to try to 'buy' or 'lease' the swamp in the long term.

Unfortunately, the other party accepted the item but immediately chased the short-clawed creature away.

In the footage recorded by the front-facing camera on their chests, one of the enemy's underlings stood behind the fence on the high ground, emitting a mocking laugh.

"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle! Has your leader's head been soaking in the sea until it's gone stupid? Has it turned into a water buffalo?"

The otter-boar orc chieftain patted his enormous belly dramatically. "You dare to covet the territory of the Rotten Swamp Clan? That's where our chieftain bathes!"

"Go back to your fish! If you keep arguing, we'll arrest you all and send you to Vulture Cliff to mine!"

The orc guards nearby also burst into laughter, revealing their uneven, yellowish-black teeth.

Shortclaw had no choice but to lead his team back dejectedly.

At this moment, Chen Mo felt a pang of nostalgia for the "wise general" Sagris; at least the latter had a brain and could communicate.

These otter-boar orcs didn't even ask about the price or discuss the conditions. Just because they had a strange quirk and liked the smell of oil, they rudely closed the door to negotiations.

If we can't talk, then we can only fight! To some extent, all the orcs on the White Deer Plain have the original sin of plundering and slaughtering humans, so they are enemies in themselves and there is no psychological barrier to fighting them.

However, both the suggestion from the Eastern Xia General Staff and the plan from the Han Hai Military Officer Corps pointed to the same core strategy: to minimize strong reactions from the surrounding areas, it would be best to fight a "civil war" among the orcs!
Inside the command post, the young staff officer Ma Qianzu spoke eloquently, drawing circles on the map with a laser pointer in his hand.

"Thank you for your guidance, Lord, and thank you for Commander Kaga's special reminder. Also, thank you to the reconnaissance team for their intelligence support."

I expressed my gratitude politely, and then got to the point.

"After repeated communication, we propose the following solution."

"The best strategy is to create internal power struggles among the Otter-Boar Orcs. This way, after the change of regional rule, the subordinate relationship with the 'Long-Tooth' tribe will remain unchanged. As long as they pay their dues to their superiors normally and show their strength to the surrounding areas appropriately, they can avoid external conflicts to the greatest extent possible."

"As a second-best option, we can disguise the war as a conflict between other orc tribes in the surrounding area and the Otter-boar orcs. This might provoke armed intervention from the 'Blackmouth' tribe and the 'Longtooth' tribe, but the impact will be limited to this area."

"The pressure is a bit high, but it's still relatively controllable."

"If there is really no other way, we will launch a stronghold war in the name of Conch Harbor and seize the Rotten Swamp."

"However, such long-distance, cross-border attacks are very likely to cause unease in a wide range of orc strongholds in the surrounding area, and may lead to us facing continuous attacks from various enemies for a long time to come."

The officers had a lively discussion and made some miscellaneous and piecemeal additions to the details.

Finally, Lord Chen Mo gave a concluding speech. The young lord, dressed in a crisp military uniform, rested his hands on the table, his gaze intense.

"Time is tight, so preparations for all three strategies must proceed simultaneously! This will ensure that if one strategy is hindered, the next one can be launched immediately."

"My demand is that control of this area be secured before the orcs' autumn hunt!"

After the lord set the main tone, various combat orders were quickly issued.

The reconnaissance forces began to expand their reconnaissance area, intensify intelligence gathering, and search for possible weaknesses in the "Rotten Swamp" tribe and surrounding tribes.

The disguised caravan, carrying a considerable amount of [Smoothing Potion] and [Exorcising Pagoda], attempted to infiltrate various strongholds, make contact with orc leaders of all ranks, and see if there was any room for exploitation.

The "Penglai" airship has arrived at its reconnaissance position and has begun a high-intensity, detailed scan of the entire area to create a precise operational map.

The lord issued a summons to Skyfrost City, requesting that they arrange troops to take over the guard duties along the Flag Mountain line, the Razor Corridor, and even the outposts of the Vast Sea. Meanwhile, the core manpower and weapons that were freed up by the Vast Sea itself are being continuously transferred northward through a maritime transport team led by the "Enlightenment".

The accompanying engineers began surveying the surrounding terrain to find suitable long-range fire positions and troop deployments.

Dark clouds are quietly gathering over this swamp.

A violent storm is about to break!

(End of this chapter)