Chapter 1308: The Great Evacuation of Archduke Island

The order spread outward from Cage Mountain on the wings of the animal courier, and wherever there were Graycastle forces, it was carried out without hesitation.

Half a year under Roland Wimbledon had been enough. The nobles who had chosen to serve him now understood, without needing to be told twice, how he did things. What surprised many of them — pleasantly, and with a disorientation they hadn’t anticipated — was the power they discovered inside themselves when the moment demanded it. Push hard enough in the right direction and people produced results they’d have called impossible beforehand. A difficult problem presented itself; they thought; they solved it. They were the same people. The difference was entirely in the system they were operating inside.

Baron Jean Bate was one of them.

He stood at the window of his mansion and watched the organized chaos below with something he couldn’t quite name. His family had always been small — deliberately, carefully small, the kind that posed no threat to anyone and was therefore permitted to go on managing Sedimentation Bay indefinitely, a convenient counterweight in the balance King Tusk and Redstone preferred to maintain between the noble houses.

Now his scholars and subordinates were coordinating the movements of tens of thousands of people and thousands of ships. The air in the mansion smelled of ink and candle tallow from the table behind him where his staff had been working through the night. Many of the vessels below were fishing boats; even the smallest needed to be docked and unloaded in sequence or the whole operation would strangle itself in the harbor. Tens of thousands of people was the equivalent of a large inland city’s entire population. The number of ships under his command exceeded the combined total of all merchant vessels that had ever docked on Wolfheart’s shores.

He wouldn’t have believed it possible. If someone had suggested it to him a year ago, he would have thought they were either joking or fundamentally misunderstood what management was.

Now he could see what he had underestimated — not just himself, but the clan. As long as the structure was sound and the direction was clear, astonishing capability could be coaxed from the most ordinary people.

He had joined Graycastle’s service because he’d had no real alternative; his family’s fate had been in Graycastle’s hands, and disobedience was a kind of suicide. But somewhere along the way, that had changed. Thousands of people moved at a word from him. They completed what they were given with precision and speed. The expressions on their faces as they rushed past — not resentment, not exhaustion, but something that looked remarkably like purpose — told him his subordinates felt the same.

Leading one hundred capable people surpasses leading ten thousand mediocre ones. That was the most durable lesson the baron had taken from his service so far.

A governing system that was the opposite of everything the old aristocracy stood for — and somehow, it made not-so-bright people sharper. What it could do with people who were naturally gifted, he didn’t want to put a ceiling on.

Jean Bate no longer had doubts that Roland Wimbledon would one day rule all four kingdoms.

— If humanity survived the Battle of Divine Will.

The mood among the civilians was its own kind of hectic, though different in texture.

Graycastle’s reputation for keeping its promises had preceded this moment. When the announcement came that the First Army would pay generously for anyone who helped transport soldiers and weapons, those who could participate did, and without much persuasion.

The sailors moved first. They had spent months on the mainland borrowing wagons and hauling goods overland, doing work that didn’t suit them. Now they were going back to what they knew.

The fishermen came after. The First Army’s reward was calculated by headcount and cargo weight; the strait between Archduke Island and the mainland was narrow; anything that floated was eligible. Men brought out their sloops, their old family dinghies, craft that hadn’t seen the water in years. Where there were no sails, there were paddles. A single round trip across the strait earned several gold royals. The arithmetic was simple.

To carry more in a single crossing, civilians lashed small boats together into train formations and built improvised multi-hulled configurations. Even if the constructions broke apart after one or two passages, the calculation still held.

The First Army had issued only one restriction: no shade or overhead covering that could trap falling snow. Everything else was acceptable. Within a few hours the strait was thick with vessels of every possible kind, weaving back and forth between the two shores in a migration that, from high enough above, resembled the movement of ants between nests.

The Witch Alliance was not idle.

Seagull proved the single most effective transport in the operation, completing nearly fifty round trips in a day. Lightning and Maggie flew with the Aerial Knights along the western edge of Archduke Island, keeping the scattered devil beasts pushed back. Molly and Hummingbird — already called the “ultimate pair” by the construction crews — made the unloading at the wharfs almost effortless; without them, the harbor capacities would have become a hard ceiling on the whole evacuation’s speed.

People, weapons, construction equipment — everything that had taken weeks to bring onto the island came off it in days. Most had expected a chaotic mess, the kind where you counted yourself lucky if you got the people out and wrote off half the materiel. The reality was different. Nearly everything came back. The abandoned construction materials and a handful of minor tools were the only losses; weapons and explosives came in under ten percent attrition. The efficiency of it surprised even the people managing it.

Graycastle’s prowess settled into everyone’s minds a second time, deeper than the first.

Then, as the evacuation neared its end, Sylvie issued the highest-threat-level warning to the command HQ.

In the red haze to the north — traces of a demon force, and it was large.

At almost the same moment, through his Parasitic Eye Demons, Hackzord saw her.

She materialized in his awareness as though she had always been there and he had simply not looked: a female Awakened with long, curling green hair, unmistakable against everything around her. Ursrook’s report had named her as a primary extermination target. Her field of view was extraordinarily wide — strategically, she was among the most dangerous individuals the humans possessed. A God’s Stone was the only thing capable of suppressing her ability.

He noted her appearance and looked away.

She was positioned at the center of a heavily defended city. Eliminating her was a sensible objective, but not one that required his personal attention. He was the King’s most valuable instrument — if he was damaged, it would be an irreplaceable loss for the entire race. There was no reason to expose himself.

Besides, Hackzord had a more immediate target.

His sentries had reported heavy activity along the Wolfheart coast, concentrated around Archduke Island. His enemy had clearly fixed their attention on the strait and had no intention of yielding it without a price.

They were going to pay.

According to the intelligence gathered from Everwinter’s nobility, the Graycastle army numbered in the tens of thousands. If he could swallow all the defending forces on Archduke Island in a single stroke, the blow to the human war effort would be decisive.

He was going to show the other grand lords — and anyone else who needed convincing — that the Sky Lord could lead the western front to victory.

Hackzord summoned the first Distortion Door.

Chapter 1308 - The Great

Evacuation of Archduke Island Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations Via the flying animal courier, the evacuation command rapidly spread outwards from Cage Mountain. The instructions were carried out to the maximum capability wherever there were Graycastle forces. There was no prevarication or fooling around. Over half a year under Roland Wimbledon was enough to make the nobles who chose to serve him clear about the way he did things. Honestly, they were shocked by the unexpected “power” they were exhibiting themselves—going all out in the current situation, they were achieving demands they used to think impossible. When they encountered a complex problem, they thought about it and then solved it. Although they were still the same group of people, they produced vastly distinct results under a different governing system. Baron Jean Bate was one of these people. Jean Bate felt conflicted as he watched the busy scene inside his mansion. Originally, he regarded his family as an insignificant family lacking in both ability and ambition. It was only because he posed no threat to them that the King of Wolfheart, Tusk and Redstone allowed him to perpetually manage Sedimentation Bay, thus maintaining the fine balance between the noble families. Now, his scholars and subordinates were responsible for planning the movements of tens of thousands of people and thousands of ships. Even though a large number of those were fishing ships, they were under his jurisdiction nevertheless as even the smallest of ships needed to be docked before they could be unloaded. Tens of thousands of people was equivalent to the total population of a large inner city in the continent and the number of ships he now controlled was more than all the merchant ships docked on the shores of Wolfheart added together. Ordinarily, the baron would never believe that his family could manage a project of such immense scale. If someone had suggested it prior, he would have thought that they were either joking or didn’t understand the complexities of management at all. Now, Jean Bate realized that not only had he underestimated his own abilities, he had underestimated his clan’s. As long as they were given a hard push, and led via appropriate methods and regulations, astonishing potential could be squeezed forth from the people. In the beginning, he mostly served Graycastle because he had no other choice; after all, the fate of his family and assets had been completely in Graycastle’s hands; disobedience was not an option. Gradually, however, he found himself taking a liking to this feeling. Thousands of people moved just from a single command of his, accomplishing their given task with high precision and efficiency. Perhaps this was the true essence behind power. Even though he had many more superiors above him compared to the past, the power he held in his hands was now far more physical and tangible, and he was certain from the energetic expressions on their faces as they rushed about that his subordinates shared his sentiments. Leading one hundred intelligent people surpasses leading ten thousand idiots by far.This was probably the most memorable lesson the baron got out of this. This governing regime, which was polar opposite to the “aristocrat way”, could turn not-so-bright people into clever ones. Then what would be the potential of people who were naturally geniuses? Jean Bate no longer held any doubts that Roland Wimbledon would become Emperor over the four countries. —That is, as long as humans could survive the Battle of Divine Will. … Reminiscent to the higher-class managers, the situation among the civilians was also hectic. What Graycastle had demonstrated in the past—that they were true to their words and always repaid their debts—caused their evacuation announcement to be held in high esteem. Upon hearing that the First Army was handing out a munificent reward to all who helped transport soldiers and weapons, everyone who had the ability actively participated in order to get a share of the spoils. People who relied on the sea to make a living were the first to respond. The sailors had been searching all over the place to borrow carriages in hopes of transporting goods on the mainland to earn a living. Now, they were all returning to their main professions. Following them were the fishermen. The value of the reward given by the First Army was calculated by the number of people and weight of cargo transported. Because the strait separating Archduke Island and the mainland was not wide, people were bringing out their sloops and even their heirloom dinghies. If they didn’t have sails, they used paddles. Just one round trip across the strait earned them several gold royals. Anyone could do the math. Thus, in order to hold a larger number of people and supplies in one go, civilians even created multi-bodied dinghies and dinghies connected to each other in a train-like formation. To them, it was still worth it even if their creations broke apart after one or two voyages. The First Army only made one requirement: “Boats are forbidden to contain any sort of shade that would block falling snow”. Aside from that, all other floating apparatuses were accepted without a question. Within a short period of time, the sea was covered in boats of all sizes coming and going from the shore. From afar, they looked like the migration of ants to different nests. Of course, the Witch Alliance was not idle either. “Seagull” was the most effective transporter out of all the transporting apparatuses. Within a day, it made almost fifty round trips between the two shores. Lightning and Maggie accompanied the Aerial Knights in patrolling the western side of Archduke Island, fighting away the occasional beasts that were scattered around the area. Molly and Hummingbird, coined the “ultimate pair”, made the originally extremely time-consuming labor of unloading a breeze. It could be said that without their help, it would have been impossible to undertake such a large-scale moving operation, especially when the handling capacities of a few harbor city wharfs were considered. People, weapons, construction equipment… What had taken several weeks to transport onto Archduke Island were all transported back within a couple of days. Most people had expected such a hasty evacuation to end up in a catastrophe. It would have been unsurprising if over half of the paraphernalia went missing; in fact, managing to transport all the people back alone would have been a great feat. But reality proved that pretty much all of the objects came back in the same way they were delivered on the island. Excluding the abandoned construction materials and some insignificant tools, the losses incurred in items such as weapons and explosives were less than ten percent. The shockingly efficient management of this whole event reminded everybody of Graycastle’s prowess once more. Just when the evacuation was nearing completion, Sylvie sent a warning of the highest threat-level to the command HQ! Traces of a huge number of demons had appeared in the red haze! … At almost the exact same time, Hackzord “saw” the observer through the parasitic Eye Demons. It was as if she had suddenly materialized in his mind; her every single movement was clear and precise. She was a female Awakened with long, curly green hair, the one described in Ursrook’s report as the key extermination target. With her extremely expansive wide field of view, she was strategically a huge threat to the demon race. Only a God’s Stone could stop her. He silently remembered her appearance and looked away from her. She was staying in the center of a highly guarded city. Getting rid of her was a good suggestion, but it was not something he needed to do personally. He was the King’s most important asset, his right-hand man. If he was harmed, it would be an indelible pity for the whole race. Thus there was no reason for him to put himself in danger. What’s more, Hackzord had a more important target right now. According to the reports of his sentries, the humans had been moving about a lot near the coast of Wolfheart, especially around Archduke Island. Clearly, his enemy had set their eyes on the strait and was not ready to hand it over to him on a silver platter. Without question, the humans were going to pay a terrible price for their mistake. According to the intel he acquired from the nobles in the Kingdom of Everwinter, the Graycastle’s army numbered in the tens of thousands. If he could devour all of the defending troops on Archduke Island in one fell swoop, it would deal a huge blow to the humans. He was going to prove to all the other demons and grand lords that he, the Sky Lord, was also a grand lord that could lead the western front to victory! With this in mind, Hackzord summoned the first distortion door!