69: Chapter 69 Vanguard Meat Grinder, Auntie Paves the Way

The map in the main tent was ten times larger than the one in the Blue Moon Island Lords Mansion.

Red Flame Island, Zhenhai Fortress, the Xingyan shipping route, Black Reef Archipelago, Deep Sea Seals—layers of Array Pattern light pressed down upon the Spirit Sand Map.

Three of these sea areas were already stained red.

The red edges were still slowly seeping outwards.

Members of the various Lu Clan branches sat on both sides.

The main seat was empty.

Lu Dingshan sat on the left, his expression even gloomier than it had been before the camp gate.

When Lu Changyuan arrived with Lu Hu and Shi Jian, several gazes immediately bore down on him.

Some looked at his youth.

Some looked at Lu Hu behind him.

Most, however, were looking at the fifty Sword Ray Cavalry outside the tent.

Lu Dingshan did not mention the allocation of supplies again.

He tossed a military government token onto the desk.

"The wartime quota given to the Lu Clan by the Zhenhai Army command has been seen by you all."

"The Vanguard Meat Grinder Battalion—it sounds awful, but in reality, it is the first group to plug the gaps."

No one in the tent replied.

Plugging the gaps.

Plugging the breaches torn open by the Devilish Qi tide.

Whoever stood on the front line would be the first to face the half-demon sea beasts, the Abyss Demon Qi, and the probing of the deep-sea Yao Race.

A rather plump Lu Clan steward said in a low voice, "My branch only has twenty-seven Qi Refining Late Stage Cultivators and three at the Foundation Establishment stage; our warship is just a modified cargo vessel. If we really get thrown in, we'll be wiped out in one wave."

Another person said, "The Zhenhai Army has made it clear: the Lu Clan has acquired quite a few shipping routes and island rights in the Outer Sea over the years, so we cannot just contribute money this time."

"Contributing money requires someone to receive it."

"What's lacking now isn't Spirit Stones, but people who can survive delivering things to the front line."

The argument quickly became uncontrollable.

Some cursed the Zhenhai Army for treating the noble families like meat shields.

Some cursed the garrisons of the preceding islands for their incompetence.

Others cast their gazes toward Lu Changyuan.

Young.

Fresh troops.

Ample supplies.

Plus, he had the favor of Lu Qingyao.

This kind of person was the easiest to push forward, and also the easiest to make others feel resentful.

Lu Changyuan had not spoken the entire time.

Until Lu Dingshan called his name.

"Changyuan, what is your take?"

The tent fell silent.

Lu Changyuan looked at the three patches of red on the map.

"The Vanguard Meat Grinder Battalion cannot be avoided."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of those who had wanted to hear him complain turned ugly.

Lu Changyuan continued, "The Zhenhai Army has already named the Lu Clan. If the Lu Clan stalls during the first round, all subsequent shipping routes, island rights, and market shares will be recalculated."

"What's even worse is that the devil tide will not wait for us to finish discussing."

The plump steward frowned.

"You speak lightly, but your Blue Moon Island has cavalry."

Lu Changyuan looked at him.

"That is precisely why I cannot take it lightly."

He reached out and pointed to the outer line of Red Flame Island.

"Half-demon sea beasts are not a normal beast tide. Sea beasts tainted by the Abyss Demon Qi will strike the formation first, the wounded second, and human resolve third."

"If the Vanguard Battalion just piles people up, even a thousand or two thousand deaths won't be enough to plug the hole."

Lu Dingshan's eyes narrowed slightly.

"How do you suggest we plug it?"

Lu Changyuan said, "Divide into three categories first."

"Those capable of charging should not be used to guard posts."

"Those capable of guarding should not be used for pursuit."

"Those only capable of transport should not be armored as elites."

Someone in the tent wanted to object, but swallowed the words back.

This logic was not new.

Yet, in wartime, this logic was the easiest to break.

The higher-ups wanted numbers, and those below cobbled together rosters.

In the end, those skilled in Alchemy were pushed to guard ships, those skilled in charging were kept in warehouses, and newly recruited Loose Cultivators were shoved into the vanguard.

When the devil tide struck, the entire line collapsed together.

Lu Changyuan pointed to the Ding-character East Reef where the Lu Clan camp was located.

"If the Lu Clan really wants to survive, we must organize ourselves first."

"The Qingyuan branch has guarded shipping routes and can serve as the skeleton for the ship formation."

"Several merchant fleets are familiar with the sea routes; they should handle transfer and casualty evacuation, not be forced into the front line."

"Loose Cultivators and Qi Refining Late Stage Cultivators should be mixed to guard the second reef line; they are not allowed to form independent teams."

"I will lead the Sword Ray Cavalry, and we will only do two things."

"One: break through small groups of half-demon sea beasts."

"Two: drag out any fleets that get caught."

Upon hearing this, the Battle Intent in Lu Hu's eyes subsided.

He understood.

This was not a tactic to steal the glory of the first strike.

This was using the cavalry as a blade, and also as a hook.

The blade was used to cut through the beast swarms.

The hook was used to drag those on the verge of death back to the second line.

Lu Dingshan looked at Lu Changyuan for a long time.

"You don't look like someone on their first major battlefield."

Lu Changyuan did not explain.

He truly had never been on such a large battlefield.

But from the moment he took over Blue Moon Island, every day had been about learning the accounting of a major battlefield using the lives of those in a small place.

Few people.

Few supplies.

Few retreat routes.

Any careless assignment of personnel would cause the entire situation to collapse.

Footsteps came from outside the tent.

They were not the footsteps of a guard.

Those footsteps were very light, yet they stifled all the arguments in the tent.

The curtain was lifted.

Lu Qingyao walked in.

She was not wearing the plain Dharma robes she had worn when she met Lu Changyuan at the Xingyan Grand Market, but rather a set of Zhenhai Army deputy commander armor.

The armor was not heavy, but it had Purple Heaven sword patterns falling from the shoulders to the wrists.

The Lu Clan Cultivators in the tent stood up one after another.

"Elder Qingyao."

"Ninth Great Aunt."

Lu Changyuan also stood up and bowed.

"Ninth Great Aunt."

Lu Qingyao swept her gaze over everyone, her eyes resting on Lu Dingshan's face for a moment.

"Are you finished arguing?"

Lu Dingshan gave a bitter smile.

"We haven't finished arguing yet."

Lu Qingyao walked to the map and picked up the military government token.

"I have seen the roster for the Vanguard Meat Grinder Battalion."

The expressions of several people in the tent changed slightly.

Lu Qingyao said, "It is not that the Zhenhai Army is specifically setting up the Lu Clan."

Her tone was very cold.

"The outer line of Red Flame Island has broken too quickly. What the military government lacks right now are Family troops that can form teams on their own, manage ships, carry supplies, and not fall apart immediately in the filthy tide."

"If the Lu Clan doesn't go, the Wang Clan will go, the Zhao Clan will go, the Loose Cultivator Alliance will go."

"Everyone will have casualties."

She looked at Lu Changyuan.

"I heard your division method earlier."

Lu Changyuan lowered his head.

Lu Qingyao did not praise him.

"It is usable, but not enough."

She raised her hand and drew a line on the map.

"The Vanguard Battalion is not one line; it is three."

"The front line plugs the gaps, the middle line handles transport, and the rear line clears the filth."

"The places where the Zhenhai Army is truly in chaos are the latter two lines."

"When people die on the front line, everyone can see it."

"When the accounts are in chaos on the rear line, more people die, they just die slowly."

The tent fell silent.

Lu Qingyao said, "If the filth-clearing supplies cannot be distributed, if the wounded cannot be dragged back, if the fleets don't know whether to deliver grain or talismans, and if the warehouses are being looted by several families at once, the front line will run out of breath on its own."

She looked at Lu Changyuan.

"What you have been doing on Blue Moon Island is exactly this."

Lu Dingshan caught a hint of something.

"Qingyao, are you thinking of transferring him to the rear line?"

"It is not a transfer."

Lu Qingyao said, "It is giving him a way to survive, and also leaving a path for the Lu Clan to catch its breath."

Lu Hu frowned.

Lu Changyuan, however, remained silent.

Lu Qingyao continued, "Superintendent Mu Yunshang of the Zhenhai Army logistics department is looking for someone to take over a mess of accounts."

"The anti-demon supply transport line between Qingyuan, Xingyan, and Zhenhai was originally managed by three merchant firms and two Quartermasters. Once the outer line of Red Flame Island broke, all three merchant firms wanted to protect their own ships first; one Quartermaster was injured, and the other was detained by military law."

"Now, that line is missing someone who dares to shoulder the accounts, understands supplies, and still has troops in hand."

The plump steward's eyes lit up, but he quickly reined it in.

This position sounded like a good job.

But to be responsible for logistics accounts during a devil tide—it was truly lucrative, but it was also truly easy to lose one's head.

Lu Dingshan said in a deep voice, "He is only at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage; is he qualified?"

Lu Qingyao looked at him.

"That is why I am coming to take him to see Superintendent Mu Yunshang."

With that one sentence, no one in the tent opposed it further.

Lu Qingyao turned and walked out.

"Lu Changyuan, follow me."

Lu Changyuan looked back at Lu Hu.

"Organize the camp according to the division I just mentioned."

Lu Hu nodded.

"Who will come to snatch the cavalry?"

Lu Changyuan said, "Demand a transfer order."

Lu Hu smiled.

"Understood."

Shi Jian hugged the account books and followed.

Lu Qingyao did not stop him.

After leaving the Lu Clan camp, the clamor of the Zhenhai Fortress rushed toward them.

Damaged ships docked, talisman masters ran about, Artifact Refining furnaces were temporarily set up on the reef platforms, and the air was filled with the smell of scorched wood, blood, medicinal powders, and the sea.

Lu Qingyao walked very quickly.

"Do you think I've fished you out of the Vanguard Battalion?"

Lu Changyuan said, "Ninth Great Aunt has given me a different battlefield."

Lu Qingyao's footsteps paused slightly.

"It is good that you know."

She did not look back.

"Logistics is not hiding in the back to eat the spoils."

"If you take on logistics at this time, if the front line loses, they will curse you; if supplies run low, they will investigate you; if ships sink, they will blame you; if any Family doesn't get their share, they will hate you."

"But if you can handle it, the military merits, reputation, military government connections, and supply channels will all fall into your hands."

Her voice lowered a little.

"The foundation you have saved up on Blue Moon Island is not enough to survive the next round of the devil tide."

"If you want to live longer, you have to reach your hands into a bigger account."

Lu Changyuan looked at the brightly lit logistics hall ahead.

Above the hall doors hung four iron characters.

Zhenhai Military Warehouse.

Each character was pressed with heavy Array Pattern.

Lu Qingyao stopped in front of the hall.

"After you go in, talk less nonsense."

"Superintendent Mu Yunshang is not short of people who know how to cry poverty."

"She is short of people who can deliver things to where they need to go."