186: Chapter 186 Combat readiness upgraded, stronghold upgraded (1)

Lu Changyuan continued reading.

Attached to the end of the combat readiness upgrade order was a list—the header of the list read "List of Outer Auxiliary Defense Strongholds on the First Line of the Zhenhai Theater."

The list included nearly twenty islands and reef clusters from east to west—each name was marked with the stronghold's Rank, garrison limit, and military supply quota standards.

Blue Moon Island was on the list.

It was ranked on the outermost edge of the eastern defense line—right next to the exit of the Dragon Burial Trench.

Lu Changyuan flipped down the list—turning to the line for Blue Moon Island.

Stronghold Rank: D-Rank Frontline Auxiliary Defense Stronghold.

Garrison limit: Three thousand.

Military supply quota: Forty sets of standard armor plates, two boxes of array base repair Materials, and five hundred shi of military-grade Spirit Rice per month.

The distribution channel goes through the Logistics Supervision Department of the Zhenhai Fortress—not the Unified Coordination Department.

"D-Rank—" Su Qingli took the Jade Slip and scanned it.

She flipped the Jade Slip to the very beginning of the list—at the start of the list was an evaluation note from the Military Department.

The note was very brief: Blue Moon Island had met the standard for pharmaceutical supply on the left-wing frontline for three consecutive months; the Military Medical Bureau had added the blood awakening pill to the emergency medication list, and the Quartermasters of the four left-wing battalions had jointly submitted a supply evaluation—rating the level as "Reliable."

Based on this, the Military Department had included Blue Moon Island in the list of auxiliary defense strongholds.

"It wasn't Commander Tie Zhan's doing. It was the supply evaluation jointly reported by the Quartermasters of those four battalions on the left wing—the Military Department took notice."

Lu Changyuan flipped the Jade Slip back to the line for Blue Moon Island—pressing his finger on the military supply quota column.

Forty sets of armor plates, two boxes of array base repair Materials, five hundred shi of Spirit Rice—converted into Spirit Stones, that was an extra income of about four thousand Spirit Stones per month.

The quota wasn't large.

Compared to Blue Moon Island's current monthly turnover of over ten thousand, four thousand Spirit Stones was nothing.

But the key to the quota wasn't the Spirit Stones—it was that from now on, Blue Moon Island was an official mark on the Military Department's logistics map.

It was no longer "some young master of the Lu family's private island"—it was a "D-Rank Auxiliary Defense Stronghold on the First Line of the Zhenhai Theater."

It had an official designation, a distribution channel, and a rated Rank.

This meant that in the upcoming great war—if it were attacked—Blue Moon Island could legitimately request support from the defense line.

The prerequisite was that Blue Moon Island had to prove it could hold its ground.

If it couldn't prove it—the stronghold status would be revoked, and the allocated quotas would be reclaimed.

Su Qingli took the Jade Slip back from Lu Changyuan.

She flipped the Jade Slip to the last page—the last page contained a private postscript from Commander Tie Zhan.

The postscript was very short—only three lines of text.

The words were written in vermilion ink, and the brushstrokes were a grade thicker than the rigid font of the official military orders:

"The stronghold on the list closest to the Dragon Burial Trench—is you. Once the Haiyuan Clan surges out from that trench, Blue Moon Island will be the first to be hit. The great battle at the Royal Capital won't wait for you—you must hold the first wave on your own."

Su Qingli read the postscript twice.

After reading it a second time, she placed the Jade Slip on the workbench in the Workshop area—as the Jade Slip was set down, it tapped the edge of the cooling trough, emitting a faint, crisp sound of jade hitting metal.

"Hold the first wave—" She moved her hand away from the Jade Slip.

Her fingers paused on the edge of the workbench.

"How long? How long must we hold to be considered having held it?"

Lu Changyuan did not answer.

He picked up the Military Department's standard distribution list from the workbench—the list detailed the defensive conditions a D-Rank stronghold should possess.

The first point: The outer warning line coverage radius must be no less than thirty li.

The second point: The main defense line's defensive power must be able to withstand a direct assault from Cultivators below the Golden Core Stage or sea beasts of the same level.

The third point: The stronghold must have the self-sustainability to maintain itself for at least two months—food, fresh water, medication, and array base repair Materials.

The fourth point: The stronghold commander must possess real-time communication capabilities with the higher command headquarters.

Blue Moon Island currently—the first point, outer warning line: The people from the first page of the Sin Battalion were already at their posts, the six groups of sampans from the fishing team were patrolling outside the Restriction line, and Leng Feng's personal guard team patrolled the outer Deep Water Zone every three days.

Was the coverage radius enough for thirty li—it was.

The second point, main defense line defensive power: All three phases of the Geng Metal Sword Intent Killing Array had been laid out, and anyone below the Golden Core Stage who tried to force their way in wouldn't make it out.

The third point, two-month self-sustainability: The food self-sufficiency rate was nearly eighty percent, monthly production of purification liquid exceeded five hundred bottles, eighty blood awakening pills, and the public treasury balance was nearly thirty thousand Spirit Stones—enough.

The fourth point, real-time communication: The Receiving Formation was connected to the boundary suppression stele, four sensor array chips covered a sixty-degree arc facing the Dragon Burial Trench, and Su Qingli recorded the fluctuation changes every three shichen—enough.

All four points met the standard.

But what Commander Tie Zhan said in the postscript wasn't "check your defensive conditions"—he said "hold the first wave."

The first wave meant—the main vanguard of the Haiyuan Clan.

Not stragglers, not outer vassals, not exploration teams.

It was an organized battle group, led by Golden Core Stage battle commanders, with unknown numbers, but a confirmed direction—heading west from the exit of the Dragon Burial Trench, the first one they would hit was Blue Moon Island.

Lu Changyuan walked from the Workshop area toward the Lords Mansion.

Su Qingli followed beside him—holding the Military Department's standard distribution list and Commander Tie Zhan's communication Jade Slip.

When they reached the entrance of the Lords Mansion, Leng Feng walked over from the direction of the Outer Port—he was still wearing the wet armor plates from his underwater reconnaissance, and the deep-sea silt clinging to the armor hadn't dried yet.

"The third reconnaissance trip—" Leng Feng took the rubbing Jade Slip out of the waterproof bag.

The rubbing Jade Slip marked the changes in the latest wave of fluctuation sources from the direction of the Dragon Burial Trench exit—the fluctuation sources captured by the sensor array chips had increased from five to six.

The location of the sixth fluctuation source was closer to Blue Moon Island than the previous five—about one hundred and twenty li from the Ring Reef.

The fluctuation intensity was still rising.

"The Haiyuan Clan is pushing forward. They aren't waiting in place—they are advancing."

Lu Changyuan took the rubbing Jade Slip—and placed it on the nautical chart table.

Spread out on the nautical chart table were the incomplete map, Leng Feng's previous two rubbings, and Su Qingli's fluctuation source distribution map.

Now another one had been added—the location mark of the sixth fluctuation source.

He placed the four maps side by side—the red circle on the incomplete map was at the easternmost end, the altar was at the southernmost end, and the middle node was due north.

The equilateral triangle between the three nodes was already marked very clearly—each side was twenty-five li.

The sixth fluctuation source was outside the triangle—on the side closer to Blue Moon Island—less than eighty li from the center of the triangle.

"It is pushing forward—" Lu Changyuan pressed his finger on the location of the sixth fluctuation source.

The force of his finger pressed a tiny dent into the surface of the nautical chart paper.

"The main hub at the center of the triangle—it's getting closer and closer to it."