Chapter 1667
Chapter 1667 - 1663: Three-Line Ignition
1,593 words
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8 min read
Beast Taming and Gardening, Life and Life, Producers and Consumers, together they form the cycle of life.
But merely this is still not enough...
"With birth, naturally, there should be death and when life dies, it is not completely obliterated; it just enters another cycle..."
Life points return to the living, while the Water of Life from the "Black Holy Grail" is recycled for use by the Dead. Big Cat’s gift to Lu Ping’an was not merely the opposition between "Energy Producers" and "Energy Consumers", but also the cycle between "Life Sustainers" and "Environmental Inorganics".
Under the whims and favor of fate, Lu Ping’an inherited the "great" legacy of Chris from the start... Of course, it might also be that the world loves its own children, snatching away treasures from the hands of outsiders.
Regardless of the reason, now that "Life Points" have started circulating in the world, Lu Ping’an’s "World’s Reason" has spread throughout the world, and in a sense, like Lord Xiuyi, he has already possessed some traits of a Deity in advance.
Including, casually bestowing Divine Grace...
"Don’t lose the card... This thing can save your life."
Lu Ping’an had the ability to grant abilities to Door Cards (VIP Cards) before; at that time, it was actually "Sharing the Extraordinary".
But in the end, it was akin to borrowing the power of the Courtyard, with limited scope.
And now, Lu Ping’an is still distributing cards... but this time, the "Divine Grace" that needs charging can be used all over the world!
However, this time, it is another form of Divine Grace, very much in the style of the God of Trading; it requires Life Points to exchange, charging is prohibitively expensive... but just a Postponed Payment can save lives, impossible to refuse.
As a Top Combat Power, when Lu Ping’an does not unleash his full combat power, he does seem to lack offensiveness... but most of Lu Ping’an’s logistics abilities share a trait of mutual benefit; his presence in the rear means that even a major source of troops, if placed on the frontline, would become a super healing totem and logistics arsenal.
"Are new ships launching again today....
His Land of Life has even started producing new ships!
The Raw-Wood Ships grow especially quickly in the Land of Life, and what’s more, it’s about incorporating various facilities and armaments. Some of these can be produced by Rebirth Commerce, and some just require placing an order with the Ancient city’s shipbuilding and equipment manufacturing industry.
Three years have passed, and the Raw-Wood Ships have evolved beyond just sea-based mobile platforms... well, their main function is still a platform, but various complementary facilities make them resemble a hybrid of a large amphibious assault ship and a transport ship. In the current state of the Great Counteroffensive, these ships are the hottest sellers.
Regrettably, when the conflict erupted and Lu Ping’an applied to go to the frontline, whether it was his superiors or himself, they discovered that his staying in the rear seemed more useful... even if dealing with issues related to the war, Lu Ping’an was forced into a super-overtime state.
All he could do was to sell a bit more "Postponed Payment (Cards)" to friends in logistics, wishing them good luck on their journey.
At this time, only a few border regions had ignited the flames of counterattack, but everyone knew that eventually, the war would set everything ablaze, and everyone would be drawn into it.
"...Be patient, my friend, good steel should be used on the edge. Now is not our battlefield."
"If you have nothing to do, you can train your disciples more, they can indeed join the battlefield."
The superiors and Lin Nu’s Church’s Quasi-God both advised Lu Ping’an to be patient and wait for the right time to enter the fray.
"Uh, I don’t really have an objection, after all I’m profiting from this war..."
Although he said that, Lu Ping’an also paid close attention to the battlefields in the Foreign Domain.
He knew that the three battlefields now were actually sacrificial offerings... igniting a War Zone to attract the opponent’s firepower, both testing the enemy’s defenses and ascertaining their strength and resolve to resist.
From the current feedback, the south side is having a tough battle, the enemy has also brought many reinforcements, and there is no hope in the short term.
As for the Red Star side, it’s totally a situation of fighting with the wind at their backs, subsidized with money... Their Fleet is indeed attacking, but the effect of that...
Have they arrived? Yes, they have.
Have they killed the enemies? They have, but it seems there were only dozens or hundreds of them.
Have they reclaimed the lost territory of humanity? Uh, fighting to the death up there would mean casualties, right? That piece of land doesn’t border the Red Star Republic, and it’s too far from our homeland. It’s impossible to take it back, so why should we go there to die?
They just circled around twice and bombed the area with ships and blackfish... Lu Ping’an even heard about Ms. Olga’s fury. She angrily scolded those people for not keeping their promises.
Lu Ping’an also made some inquiries, and this was completely different from what Ms. Olga had described before. Lu Ping’an didn’t think top professionals would be so easily deceived.
"The Arctic Fleet and the West Sea Fleet were in charge of the attack this time, each with their own independent military regions, uh, you know what I mean..."
Do I understand? Do I not understand?
"...Their system is different from ours. Their military has grown strong over many years, and in reality, the official authority has little influence over the military. I heard that the promotions of their generals are internally decided and then officially signed and announced."
Alright, the military’s excessive power is a known issue, which Lu is quite familiar with.
Olga probably settled things with the Red Star Republic’s officials, but clearly, those military regions weren’t very enthusiastic about the war. Sending ships to circle around twice and give the Red Star Elite a semblance of acknowledgment was about it.
Even without considering the payback of benefits or any other messy issues, these military regions wouldn’t want to waste too many human resources and arms on a battlefield unrelated to the protection of their own territory.
"Don’t worry, our decision-makers must have anticipated this..."
Lu Ping’an was rather open-minded about it. Did Olga not know what the Red Star Military was like, or were the Eastern Country Elite unaware? They surely were prepared well in advance.
In fact, if the Eastern Country really wanted to drag the Red Star into the war, they could directly trade with the military regions, which were de facto independent warlords. Not to mention anything else, just Lu Ping’an paying them a visit, handing over a few dozen warships (Arks), and allowing them to use some of the repair facilities could drive them mad... Nowadays, the Red Star Republic is no longer the industrial powerhouse it once was. Those military regions would treasure those warships, which are not only products of forty or fifty years ago but also mostly lacking in maintenance.
The reason? Nothing fresh—when the economy is close to collapsing, it’s good enough for the military to maintain its size, let alone maintain warships or develop new technologies, both of which burn money.
Lu Ping’an looked at the map and reviewed the battle reports, then roughly understood the situation.
The real main force was still the people from New Tokyo; their enthusiasm was through the roof.
But indeed, they had no ships left... They had ordered some inland, but clearly, it wasn’t enough to form a fleet. A navy can’t be cultivated by a single "city-level" entity. A large number of specialized personnel and matching arms required time and industrial support.
Moreover, given their subtle identity and status, they probably could not purchase real warships and only get some second-hand civilian-to-military converted ships.
Having the Red Star Fleet provide support along the coastline, making New Tokyo’s ground forces the main effort, and letting their top combat powers deal with attrition, must be the strategic decision of the Eastern Country Elite.
And the land they conquered, whether called Kansai, Kanto, or Kanzhong, the Easterners most likely wouldn’t care...
"Taking it down is actually easy; keeping it is much harder."
As the first step in the current strategic layout, it’s a test by the entire Eastern Country.
When humanity begins the Great Counteroffensive, how will the invaders react? Will they transfer legions from other regions, or will they let the local lords die and the land fall into the enemy’s hands?
During this process, the Eastern Country can gather countless valuable pieces of information and strategically plan their next move.
As for the proxy... Wasn’t the Eastern Country supporting it to build a nation with the land of the Leduc Peninsula? Since it’s not Easterners, whether it can be defended or not naturally doesn’t concern the Easterners.
"...Uh, it couldn’t really come to that, could it? That ’not until the last drop of blood of the Sakura Islanders has been shed will the Easterners frown.’"
— End of Chapter 1667 —