Chapter 1621
Chapter 1621 - 1617: Relocation
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War has inevitably become the main theme of the era.
And the rescue fleet of the Eastern Country, from initially defensive tasks, has shifted to search and rescue and evacuation.
For efficiency, they naturally began patrolling the coast. Since this area has already broken into an "Archipelago", dispatching separate ships greatly increases effectiveness.
If it is a coastal city, it can be more conveniently rescued, and if a call for help is sent via radio or satellite phone, the ships that receive the message will consider the real situation before deciding whether to send a rescue team inland.
In fact, more brave and wise refugees have also begun moving towards the western coasts... There’s undoubtedly a high risk, but it holds more hope than waiting for unlikely reinforcements.
If the target is not very valuable, or there are a lot of refugees, it indeed isn’t necessary to risk a several hundred kilometers assault.
During this rescue process, the fleet of the Eastern Country inevitably suffered losses, but overall, it was still acceptable, especially since many reports have already indicated they’ve substantially acquired Divine Artifacts and top combat powers from the Sakura Kingdom.
When the Flood rises, the tallest survive the nearest, those elite forces often carry unique traits of Sakura island, and many have their own sects, legitimate lines, and families, which can indeed be considered a wealth of assets.
The first ship of refugees has already headed north; they would take them to the northern borders of the Eastern Country, to become the primary workforce and the first residents of the new area.
𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
And on Lu Ping’an’s side, knowing the sparsely populated areas in the western region of the Eastern Country, similar efforts were also underway.
Obviously, the judgement of the Eastern Country Elite and Lu Ping’an is consistent: they have identified this as a prolonged war, where the coast has already become unsafe.
It may be that next, there will be a larger scale migration from the coast to inland... Thus, whether it is the new cities in the north, the Underground Cities, or the development in the west, all are crucial strategies.
Lu Ping’an estimated that the west might even be more critical, as it is relatively safe and is the deepest inland part of the Eastern Country.
Indeed, during the past war, similar events had transpired, industries along the coast moved inland, and when the enemy almost reached the Capital, they continued to relocate.
"Uh, isn’t this an opportunity for the central cities? The Ancient city should benefit from this trend." Not to say, it’s indeed very likely.
Already being a directly governed city, the Ancient city has excellent development potential. Due to Lu Ping’an’s "Courtyard Division", it has become an essential strategic location. With a full guard and its exemplary shipbuilding and industrial capabilities, it is destined to be a key town in the center.
And industries need to cluster; considering all factors, the Ancient city will likely become a focal target of the migration plan.
Next, once the country conducted its reallocation, fortresses will be erected along the coasts.... Now that the Sakura Island has substantially fallen, there is no longer any possibility of peace along the coast. Even if they can’t form the "Great Wall" along the coast, they must create an actual uninhabited isolation zone.
But then Lu Ping’an remembered, once the Eastern Country pulls back, it seems like selling out other allies...
"Worse yet, this is just the beginning. The northern Peninsula..."
Sakura Island fell too quickly, and the surrounding countries are likely to suffer as a result.
The Leduc Peninsula (Korea) in this era is actually stronger than another timeline... Without the restraint of Huaqi, the two countries north and south established a nominal alliance. With North Leduc free from economic sanctions, it can also be considered a powerful nation.
But however strong they are, they are no match for the Sakura Kingdom... Now that Sakura Island has fallen, it is indeed destined to become the front line, and its fall is probably just a matter of time.
The most tragic part is that their entire peninsula is coastal, and it’s unclear where they would even relocate to.
Perhaps, consider borrowing land from the Red Star, as the sparsely populated Siberia needs more manpower to farm potatoes, or the Sakura Islanders might encounter their old neighbors, where they can continue to love and kill each other...
"Too much like hell, better not think about it."
Yet, Lu Ping’an’s reason tells him that all this is highly likely to happen.
But for now, it’s better to deal with the aftermath of the fall of Sakura Island first.
Ships were busy, prioritizing rescue missions in most scenarios... This also meant that if confronted by numerous enemy forces or top combat powers, ships from the Eastern Country would not opt for a direct confrontation, nor was there a need for the Eastern Country’s top combat power to fight desperately here.
It seemed that the top combat powers from the Foreign Domain Forces such as the Octopus also lacked motivation... This was expected by Lu Ping’an; the Octopus was a collective of warlord factions controlled by the Monarch, and now that these wolves had their fill and completed their master’s mission, they naturally did not want to move, much less engage meaninglessly in a deadly battle with human advanced combat power.
"Are you sure the Kusanagi Sword is here?"
"Not sure... But I think there’s a big guy here."
Walking above a river, Lu Ping’an seriously conducted his sensing but still came up empty.
This wasn’t good news; it meant that their opponent this time was quite formidable... and they had actively shielded their tracks at a high level, definitely for some special reason.
"Any news from their Royal Family?"
Lu Ping’an focused on the Kusanagi Sword; since he was here, he was determined to take back the most famed one to show off.
It seemed like many copies were made... The original was said to have disappeared, and the copies only possessed a fraction of the power, not too strong which made it convenient for Lu Ping’an to privately keep, presumably not encountering too tough opponents.
For Lu Ping’an, the important thing was actually its traits and rules; even a slightly weaker "Sub Sword" was completely acceptable.
And this Kusanagi Sword, it was reportedly kept under the custody of the Royal Family of the native country.
But yesterday, the land combat team tasked with liaising with the local Royal Family also lost contact; they sent a distress signal at the end.
Lu Ping’an came personally, organizing the search himself. Yet it seemed he still found nothing.
"....Wait, I found the target. Uh, seems a bit late."
Lu Ping’an didn’t find any survivors, but he did find the corresponding "pollutants" and then began to dig a pit directly.
In a buried hole, Lu Ping’an found the "fleet" with the Royal Family’s markings... but there were only some mutilated corpses, hardly any were intact.
"Sheesh, quite a ruthless handiwork, quite tragic."
Checking against the information, Lu Ping’an found most of the Royal Family personnel and bodyguards, and among them, a few of higher status had peculiar deaths.
Their bones and heads were intact, but the backs of their heads had been hollowed out, their brain pulp and brains were gone... Just by one glance, Lu Ping’an knew that their "intelligence" had probably been extracted.
An ancient Kingdom, who else would understand the secrets of the ancients better than the Royal Family?
And the adversaries apparently didn’t need pork cutlet rice or to coercively extract information; they could dig everything out directly from the brain... It seemed, this meant the end of the Island Kingdom’s Royal Family, which had survived through substantial ages.
"Are they all here...?"
"There are two more... well, maybe just one."
On the list, only a Princess named Yizi wasn’t there... Don’t be mistaken, this princess was already in her fifties, and despite being divorced twice, she had no children, and her reputation among the civilians was quite poor.
"Are you sure they fled together?"
"Confirmed, the Senior Princess seemed to even have had a conflict with her bodyguard."
This was getting interesting; if the enemy was after intelligence and could engage in "Brain Eating," there was no need to leave a live person.
"Let me find them first..."
— End of Chapter 1621 —