84: Chapter 84: Old comrades enter the scene, war merits are cashed in.

When that figure descended through the air and landed before the high platform, the entire surface of the sea seemed to sink by an inch.

The newcomer was clad in deep black battle armor, with dark golden scale patterns pressed into the gaps of the armor, and his shoulders and back were as broad as a city wall.

A scar ran horizontally across his brow bone, but his eyes were harder than the scar itself.

He did not first look at the battle map Superintendent Mu Yunshang had left for Xuangui Island, nor did he look at the traces of the Black Tide that had not yet completely retreated; he only stared at Lu Changyuan.

He stared for three breaths.

Suddenly, he raised his hand and slapped Lu Changyuan on the shoulder.

A muffled thud rang out.

Two fine cracks instantly split the stone surface of the high platform beneath Lu Changyuan's feet.

The expressions of many people below the high platform changed; Lu Hu even instinctively took half a step forward, his hand already resting on the hilt of his blade.

Yet Lu Changyuan did not retreat.

When that palm landed, his shoulder felt as if it had been struck head-on by a giant beast, and the Qi within him, which had not yet calmed, was shaken, but the opponent's palm force only pressed down without causing injury, clearly controlled with extreme stability.

The armored general looked at him, his voice as low and heavy as a hammer striking a bell: "I would recognize that face of Patriarch Lu Yunshen even with my eyes closed."

"Your eyes, however, are even more like his when he was young."

Lu Changyuan cupped his hands: "Junior Lu Changyuan greets Deputy Commander Tie Zhan."

"Deputy Commander, my ass."

Commander Tie Zhan cursed, but there was no anger in his voice. "Back when I followed your father out to sea to intercept demon ships, I was just the one carrying his flag. Now that I've reached this position, in terms of military rank, I am your superior, but in terms of old ties, I count as half a senior to you."

As he said this, his gaze fell for a moment on Lu Changyuan's bandaged hand, then swept over the blood not yet washed from the hem of his robe.

It was very quiet above and below the high platform.

The people of Xuangui Island had previously thought that since such a large ship from the Command Headquarters had arrived, it was most likely to investigate responsibilities, audit losses, or pursue war consumption. No one expected that when the newcomer spoke, the first thing he recognized was not the accounts, but the person.

Commander Tie Zhan withdrew his hand, turned, and said in a deep voice to those below: "Who are the leaders of the Array Master, the Cavalry, the Northern Ridge rune-bearers, and the Outer Port record-keepers for these three days? Step forward."

Li Heng, Lu Hu, Chen Mo, and two military clerks holding account books all stepped forward.

Commander Tie Zhan did not waste words and directly reached out his hand: "The books."

The record-keeping military clerks were startled and looked toward Lu Changyuan.

Lu Changyuan nodded.

Two battle ledgers, still bearing bloodstains and the dampness of the tide, were quickly handed up.

Commander Tie Zhan flipped through the ledgers extremely quickly.

He was not just putting on a show.

Every time he turned a page, he paused for a very short time, yet he was able to take in the lines, names, material specifications, and battle damage distribution. When he saw the page for the second line of the Outer Port, his brows furrowed; when he saw the lines about "Northern Ridge Old Turtle Head Stone" and "White Bone Armored General personally entering the bone bridge," his fingers paused on the edge of the paper; it was only when he reached the last page and the entry "Remaining one sword" that his eyelids truly lifted.

"The accounts have not been falsified."

He closed the ledger, and that was his first sentence.

After speaking, he swept a glance at Li Heng and Chen Mo: "The lines weren't connected haphazardly either. To be able to pull the Northern Ridge back from the brink of collapse on such a lousy island, you deserve credit."

As soon as these words fell, the breathing of many people below became a bit heavier.

Deserving credit and "we'll discuss it later" are two different things.

Commander Tie Zhan turned around and suddenly raised his hand toward the golden-scaled warship behind him.

A personal guard on the side of the ship immediately descended through the air, holding a small token with a black background and gold edges, and a scroll of sealed war orders in his hands.

"This was temporarily approved by the Command Headquarters."

Commander Tie Zhan threw the scroll of war orders directly to Lu Changyuan. "For the three-day defense line rescue of Xuangui Island, the military merit is recorded as the highest achievement. Your four lines—Sword Ray Cavalry, Northern Ridge rune lines, Outer Port pile removal, and Central Army reinforcement—will be calculated separately; they will not be merged to swallow up merit."

"Whose it should be, it shall be."

"Even those who died will be recorded."

Lu Changyuan caught the war orders but did not open them first.

He only asked: "What about the replacement quota?"

Commander Tie Zhan glanced at him, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly.

This moment made him look even more like someone from Lu Qingyao's lineage.

Not asking first how much merit he could claim, but asking whether this island and the island behind it could handle the consequences after defending it.

"There is."

Commander Tie Zhan raised his hand, and the personal guard handed over a second thin ledger.

"When the front line retreated, the Zhenhai Army salvaged a batch of unregistered Loose Cultivators, family members, craftsmen, and shipbuilders from the two severed supply seams. Originally, they were all to be sent to the fortress's rear camp to be slowly distributed. You held Xuangui Island this time, snatching back half a breath for the rear, so the Command Headquarters opened a loophole for me."

"I have decided to allocate a batch of war damage replacement quotas to Blue Moon Island first."

Someone below the high platform immediately looked up.

Lu Changyuan's expression remained unchanged: "How many?"

"Six thousand four hundred people in the first batch."

Commander Tie Zhan reported extremely quickly: "Among them are three hundred and twenty-seven skilled shipbuilders, one hundred and forty-six craftsmen who know how to repair shallow-sea ship bottoms, seventy-one veterans who are roughly proficient in formation duties and sealing cabins, and the rest are mostly Mortals and family members of Loose Cultivators at the early to Middle Stage of Qi Refining."

"Plus six hundred low-level sea-carrying beasts captured alive, forty-seven small cargo ships that can be dismantled or repaired, and three batches of damaged but repairable Outer Port cranes and winches."

"It's not a free gift."

"Nominally, it is recorded as war damage replacement quota after the Xuangui Island line rescue, belonging to Blue Moon Island to receive, settle, and support. If you can't handle it, I will take back half right now."

It became even quieter on the high platform.

These were not a few chests of Spirit Stones.

This was a living resource that could make the island overeat, or could directly burst the island.

Lu Hu's breathing became a bit heavy, and Chen Mo gripped his broken rune pen, the veins on the back of his hand bulging one by one. Even Li Heng instinctively looked toward Lu Changyuan.

Lu Changyuan only asked three words: "How long until they arrive?"

Commander Tie Zhan laughed.

This time, it was a genuine laugh.

"Before noon tomorrow, the first batch of two thousand people and twenty ships will be delivered to the Outer Port of Blue Moon Island. The remaining two batches will be diverted and arrive within three days."

"I will give you a transfer letter from the Zhenhai fortress. Along the route, at military posts, Outer Ports, and temporary berths, if anyone dares to block you, report my name."

Only then did Lu Changyuan lower his head and open the thin ledger.

There was no exaggeration inside.

The number of people in each batch, their origins, skilled trades, whether they were accompanied by family members, whether they had old contracts, and whether they needed isolation for health checks were all written clearly.

After reading, he closed the ledger and cupped his hands: "Blue Moon Island accepts."

As soon as these three words fell, the last bit of scrutiny in Commander Tie Zhan's eyes truly dissipated.

"Good."

He nodded heavily, "Like Patriarch Lu Yunshen's seed."

After speaking, he suddenly raised his voice, pressing directly over the entire Xuangui Island.

"Defenders of Xuangui Island, hear my order."

Everyone on the island who was still standing turned around almost simultaneously.

"For the three-day line rescue, Lu Changyuan is credited with the highest achievement."

"Northern Ridge, Outer Port, Central Army, and East Shoal will have their merits recorded by line; the names of the dead will not be swallowed, and the injured will not be erased from the records. Original defenders, reinforcements, and temporarily conscripted laborers—all who are on the rolls will be recognized by the Command Headquarters."

"Whoever dares to swallow merit, alter accounts, or suppress compensation after the line handover, I will personally chop him up."

The voice boomed out like a heavy hammer striking the sea.

The tension that had been held on the island finally, at this moment, truly began to settle.

After finishing, Commander Tie Zhan did not look at anyone else and only said to Lu Changyuan: "Accompany me to the Northern Ridge."

Lu Changyuan nodded.

The two of them went down the high platform, one after the other.

Along the way, Commander Tie Zhan asked about everything.

He asked how the breach was repaired, from which angle the bone bridge pressed onto the Old Turtle Head Stone, why the second pile of the Outer Port broke so slowly, how much of the Central Army's Spirit Stone trough remained, whether Li Heng and Chen Mo could be retained, and whether Lu Hu's fifty cavalry could run a second round of hard cutting.

Lu Changyuan answered them one by one.

He did not exaggerate, nor did he claim credit.

When they reached the outermost circle of reefs on the Northern Ridge, washed gray by the black rain, Commander Tie Zhan crouched down and reached out to touch the stone surface.

In the cracks of the stone, there still remained a bit of unmelted frost Sword Intent.

He was silent for a moment before saying: "That sword strike was not your own."

"It was not."

"Can you still invite the person who left this sword strike?"

Lu Changyuan paused: "It's hard to say."

Commander Tie Zhan grunted, not pursuing the matter.

Among military men, asking the boundary was enough.

To pursue further would be to not understand the rules.

"Your father was the same back then."

He suddenly spoke, "He would say what could be said, and not leak a single word of what couldn't. But he never shied away from the accounts he was supposed to shoulder."

The sea breeze blew between the two.

Lu Changyuan asked: "What old accounts did my father leave behind at the Zhenhai fortress back then?"

Commander Tie Zhan looked at the distant sea and did not answer immediately.

After a few breaths, he said: "Accounts of the living, accounts of the dead, and an Old Seal Bid Case that hasn't been sealed shut yet."

"You are not yet qualified to hear it all."

"But there is one thing you can know first."

He turned his head to look at Lu Changyuan, his voice lowering slightly.

"You holding Xuangui Island this time didn't just save this one hub. You snatched back a spine that can speak for the Lu family's main lineage at the Elder Council."

"So after you go back tonight, you will likely receive a message."

As soon as the words fell.

The main lineage communication jade talisman in Lu Changyuan's sleeve indeed lit up.

He probed it with his Divine Sense.

It was Lu Qingyao's voice that came through.

There were no pleasantries.

And no polite formalities.

"Good lad."

"You kept that breath of Xuangui Island going, and the main lineage has taken on two rotten accounts that were originally going to be pressed onto the Lu family. The Elder Council has just dispersed, and no one dares to take Blue Moon Island's foundation as a joke anymore."

She paused, and for the first time, her tone carried a bit of undisguised satisfaction.

"Also, hurry back to the island."

"Su Qingli didn't mess with the rules you set, but she used this wave of the demon tide to pull off a deal for you that even I have to take a second look at."

"If you are any slower, I fear even she will have to calculate the accounts into the second round."

The communication ended there.

Commander Tie Zhan, who heard the three words "Su Qingli" from the side, raised an eyebrow: "That formation manager on your island?"

"Yes."

"Being able to make Lu Qingyao specifically send a message is no small matter."

Commander Tie Zhan stood up, patted the dust off his hands, "The handover on Xuangui Island is tonight; your people will accompany my fleet for a leg of the journey tomorrow, turning to the Outer Sea to deliver the first batch of replacement quotas to Blue Moon Island on the way."

"You go back to take over the island, the people, and the accounts."

"There is an even bigger tide behind."

"If you can't even hold your own affairs steady, this highest achievement on Xuangui Island will only be on paper."

Lu Changyuan nodded: "Understood."

When the last bit of daylight in the evening sank, the military orders for the handover on Xuangui Island were issued one after another.

Li Heng led the newly arrived Array Master to take over the five active lines.

Chen Mo, half-supported and half-carried by others, still insisted on filling in the last stroke of the Northern Ridge rune ledger.

Lu Hu led the cavalry to collect the injured horses that could still move, the damaged armor, and the broken spears onto the ship.

Lu Changyuan stood at the port, looking back at the island that had almost been eaten empty by the Black Tide.

Three days.

Xuangui Island was not his.

But after these three days, many accounts would begin to converge on him.

In the distance, the golden-scaled warship slowly turned.

And from the direction of Blue Moon Island, the sea breeze had already sent over the sounds of another event that felt more like a harvest.