Free Web NovelChapter 184: The Evacuation - Part 8
"Hold her steady!"
"Steady..."
"Okay, a little lower!"
"Good! Pull the cables and slip the knots!"
With a heavy *thunk*, a bundle of crates, wrapped up in a rope net, landed on the deck of one of the biggest merchant ships anchored at Sandy Cove.
Following Lucas’ suggestion, nets from the ships were transported to the beach at Sandy Cove, then used to haul large amounts of cargo from the caravan to the boats by a pair of Tartans. It was a bit similar to how he had used these giant beasts to tow the Sunchaser, but much, much simpler to implement.
Everyone participating in this operation, and everyone who was watching it, couldn’t help marveling at the ingenuity of this idea, with some of the merchant captains even pondering if they could implement this kind of rapid loading technique themselves.
The only ones who weren’t fans of this whole idea were the Tartans themselves, who cawed and cried out in protest quite audibly throughout the process.
If these giant birds could talk, they would surely be cursing Lucas for making them go through so much awkward and strenuous work they weren’t used to.
"How does Boss even come up with these ideas?" Joel muttered as he hurriedly worked to undo the knots holding the cargo net together.
Shaking her head, Laura quipped, "If you could figure that out, you’d be the boss, not Lucas."
"Hah! Yeah, that’ll never happen," Joel laughed heartily, as if he had just heard the greatest joke ever.
Having worked for Lucas for nearly 9 months now, Joel was well aware of just how brilliant and talented his young boss was. Despite being more than 6 years younger than him, the thought that he could ever being as smart as Lucas seemed like nothing more than a funny joke.
Joel, Laura, and several other of Lucas’ employees had come together with the river convoy today. They were part of the group selected by Lucas to travel to Herald City where they would then help his Aunt Sasha with managing the situation on the other side.
Despite how Laura and Joel were joking about not measuring up to their young boss, they were actually among the most talented administrators in Redwood Town now thanks to all the training they had received from Lucas. They might not have been very strong individually, but when it came to effectively managing people and projects, there were few who could match them.
At the same time, a small flotilla of rowboats was shuttling refugees from shore to the other ships. It was a time consuming and cumbersome process, especially when it came to loading and unloading people from the boats without the use of a dock, but it was none-the-less proceeding.
Back on shore, Lucas was standing atop a tall wagon, directing the flow of both people and cargo. It was quite a sight to see a 10-year-old boy assuming completely control of such a massive and complex operation, but after many days of exposure to similar scenes, no-one from Redwood Town found it odd anymore.
Even the soldiers from Misty City and the capital had gotten used to Lucas giving out orders, so they no longer hesitated to execute them.
"How’s our progress?" A voice suddenly called out from behind.
Not even turning around, Lucas continued signaling for the next group of refugees to make their way down to the shore while answering, "Not bad. We’ve got about half of the convoy loaded onto the ships already. I imagine we’ll only need another hour or so to complete the process."
Lucas then asked back, "How are things going on your end?"
Grinning slightly, Vanessa said with a hint of pride, "We’re done."
"Already?" Lucas gawked, turning his head to the side where his self-proclaimed Big Sister was gently rolling her shoulder.
"Yup," Vanessa smiled, "Between Starlight and the 3 Tartans, we can carry 2 full wagons’ worth of cargo from shore to the ships in one go, so it only took us 12 round trips to finish loading all the crates and barrels we brought. We would have finished faster if we had more nets."
"Impressive," Lucas commented as a faint grin also crept onto his face. It was nothing more than a casual thought he had an hour ago, one he had left up to Vanessa and her Aerial Knights to figure out how to implement, but not only had they done so, they had exceeded his expectations by a wide margin.
Originally, Lucas would have been satisfied if all the bulk cargo from the convoy was loaded onto the ships by the time he got the refugees aboard; but now, he was the one who was actually lagging behind.
This was a good thing, however, as the entire shore to ship loading operation now could be completed in just 2 hours, rather than the earlier estimated 4.
Glancing over at the flying mounts, Lucas noticed they seemed a bit haggard and couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty. He knew they had been pushing these beasts quite a bit recently, and it was mainly his fault, so he unconsciously asked, "Is there anything Starlight and the Tartans like to eat?"
Raising her brow, Vanessa studied Lucas’ face for a moment before smiling warmly, "That’s very thoughtful of you, Little Brother. Normally we feed them a strict diet of grains and forage, but we also give them treats of fish and fruit every now and then." ƒrēewebnovel.com
"I see..." Lucas muttered, "I’ll arrange for all the fish and berries we have back in Redwood Town that can’t be taken with us to be served for their dinner, then."
"I’m sure they’ll appreciate it," Vanessa nodded before sweeping her eyes over the beach before her.
There were 20 orderly queues, each with 10 people lined up in them, waiting onshore for the next set of rowboats to arrive back from the ships. Further back, there was a crowd gathered around the wagons, some of them snacking on dried rations, while others were busy unloading light bags or sacks from the carts.
While all the bulk cargo had been loaded onto the ships already, that didn’t mean the refugees had nothing to carry themselves. Each of the adults was given 5 days worth of rations, a full waterskin, some extra clothes, a bar of soap, and a few other essentials from Redwood Town’s stockpiles.
Everyone was also allowed to bring whatever personal items they could carry on themselves that fit into a single sack.
It wasn’t much luggage per person, but altogether it made for a sizeable amount of cargo.
Beyond the refugees, soldiers patrolled the perimeter of the forest, maintaining a vigilant watch for any potential threats.
It was, overall, an orderly picture with little to no issues to be spoken of.
Once again, Vanessa couldn’t help feeling impressed with her little brother’s competence. His abilities when it came to planning, organizing, and executing complex operations like this evacuation were nearly perfect in her opinion, at least on the same level as those military strategists who directed the Golden Wings Legion’s missions.
Without even thinking about it, the blonde-haired Commander reached out and ruffled the young boy’s hair, patting him affectionately on the head.
Lucas, confused by this sudden bought of skinship, shot a questioning look towards the Peak-Rank Spirit Initiate, silently asking what she was doing.
Tilting her head, Vanessa thought about it for a moment before shrugging, "I just felt like it."
"Er... okay?" Lucas replied the only way he could before going back to work.
Another hour passed by, and the last of the refugees had safely boarded the ships.
Without further ado, the fleet weighed anchor and began sailing back upstream towards Herald City, ringing bells as they departed.
After watching the ships disappear beyond the bend in the Belton, Lucas braced his butt and climb onto the same wagon he had rode this morning. From there, he signaled to the rest of the convoy to move out.
There job here was done for today, so all that was left to do was return to Redwood Town.
.....
"So, everything went smoothly?" Celestina asked for confirmation.
"Yes, Master. The trip to and from Sandy Cove was uneventful, and loading everyone onto the ships went basically without incident," Lucas reported.
"En, we spotted some weaker beasts approached the convoy a few times, but they all retreated before attacking," Vanessa followed up.
"Indeed," Commander Levins nodded, "None of those beasts was stronger than Mid Second Order, so as soon as one of us released our aura, they scurried away without a fight."
"I guess our luck is still holding out," Charles commented from the side.
"Seems so," Anna agreed, patting her son’s head proudly, knowing Lucas was a major reason for the mission’s success.
"The good news doesn’t stop there," Drake added, "None of the wagons or carts from the convoy seem to have been damaged, and the harnesses for the Tartans are all still holding up."
At the end of the third day of the evacuation, there was nothing but positive signs all around. There had been no major incidents today, making it 3 days in a row.
If all went well, by this time tomorrow, every last civilian in Redwood Town would be safely relocated to Herald City.
Everyone who was left in town had already finished packing up, and a sumptuous feast was being cooked using the food that was going to be left behind, so all that remained was for the Sunchaser to return from its final flight of the day.
With nothing else to do, other than the night watch, everyone would be able to turn in early, something many of the tired volunteers, Town Guard, militia, and even soldiers were looking forward to.
For the first time in many days, there was a sense of optimism lingering around Redwood Town, one that lifted many people’s spirits despite the sadness they felt at having to leave their homes.
That is, until just after sunset when a single, exhausted Tartan fell from the sky and crash-landed in the yard of the Town Lord’s Manor.
