Free Web NovelChapter 235: Lucas’ New Assignment
It was early evening by the time Vanessa Clark made it back to Herald City, and the scene she returned to was very different from the one she left.
Yesterday, all had been quiet in the city, at least on the surface.
Fewer and fewer people had been capable of leaving, so most of the refugees were just trying to scrape by, working whatever jobs the temporary ruling council could offer in exchange for a share of rationed food.
Today, however, there was far, far more activity.
From up in the sky, Vanessa immediately noticed a new group of ships flying the banner of the Raging River Legion had anchored at the western docks. It seemed the first 2 Regiments worth of reinforcements had arrived very recently; so recently that the 2,000 soldiers were still disembarking.
Most of these soldiers were assembling in the open spaces next to the docks before marching towards the garrison, but a couple Battalions worth of troops were also rushing west through the streets, heading towards the city walls.
Following these running soldiers with her eyes, Commander Clark noticed that a battle was actually taking place on the far western side of the city, one between about 100 of the city’s defenders and a few hundred beasts.
Unlike with the massive Beast Tide a few days ago, the current situation seemed well in hand, so Vanessa didn’t think it necessary to intervene and instead signaled the 10 Tartans behind her to follow as she descended towards the garrison where she sensed General Balfour was waiting.
.....
"I take it things didn’t go well in the capital," Celestina said bluntly upon seeing the look on Vanessa’s face. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Knitting her brow, Commander Clark nodded, "The Imperial Overseer is stalling for some reason, so no one from the Royal Council or the military dares to make any big moves."
With a sigh, Celestina nodded and dismissed Vanessa, allowing her to retire to rest.
It was only a few days ago that Commander Clark had suffered from extreme Internal Qi exhaustion, leaving her unconscious and bedridden, so she still needed to rest and recuperate. If not for the fact that only Vanessa and Starlight could reasonably make the trip to the capital and back within a 2-day span, Celestina wouldn’t have even asked her to go.
After giving a few instructions to the newly arrived Aerial Cavalry, Celestina headed back to the main hall where the council was still meeting.
Their topic of discussion? How best to evacuate Herald City.
.....
Initially, Count Richard Baker was vehemently opposed to abandoning Herald City, insisting that they stand and fight to protect the kingdom’s territory from foul beasts. At least, that was the message which was conveyed to Celestina and the council by Arnold Baker.
Had Richard Baker displayed true leadership and initiative during his tenure as Count, these words might have rung true and possibly even been somewhat inspiring; however, everyone on the temporary ruling council knew better.
Most likely, Richard Baker feared that abandoning Herald City would leave him poor and powerless, a Count in name only, and he was probably right. Arnold Baker also had similar concerns, so despite the situation appearing grave, he too was not in favour of running.
That is, until Celestina revealed that a Mid-Rank Seventh Order Beast had appeared in Redwood Town and completely flattened it before ’mysteriously’ succumbing to a superior foe.
Up until then, Celestina had been keeping this particular point a secret, ordering those who had fled Redwood Town to remain silent about it and even directing the Aerial Knights to avoid getting too close to the site during their patrols.
She had may reasons for this, such as trying to avoid a panic, as well as wanting to limit the spread of this information to gain some advantages in future negotiations, but understanding that a compelling reason was needed to carry out her next plan, Celestina decided to reveal part of the truth.
Upon learning that such incredible danger was lurking nearby, Richard Baker’s attitude flipped completely and he now advocated for the immediate evacuation of the city, preferably with him and his closest entourage going on ahead to scout the way.
Celestina was well past caring what the ball-less, quite literally, Count Baker had to say at this point. She wasn’t seeking the Baker Family’s approval for her next plan; she was simply informing them of what was about to happen as the barest minimum of courtesy to the ruling local Lord.
As for working out the details of the coming evacuation, that role ultimately fell on the shoulders of the one who had proven most competent in such matters, Lucas.
When his Master had dumped this responsibility onto him, Lucas had accepted without any hesitation.
If it had been a month ago, the young boy would have immediately tried to refuse, citing his age, his inexperience, and any number of other obvious reasons he wasn’t qualified to coordinate such a complex operation.
However, after the events of the past 16 days, and having watched his precious hometown and family being swept away in the disaster, Lucas realized that self-doubt and hesitation were just a waste of time.
Honest self-reflection and assessment of his own abilities was a necessity, but backing down or trying to pass-off responsibilities he knew he was capable of fulfilling was no longer something Lucas was willing to do.
If his Master wanted him to plan the large-scale evacuation of over 100,000 people, and had confidence in his ability to do so, then his job was to respond to that trust.
Of course, Lucas wasn’t foolish enough to believe he could accomplish such a monumental task on his own, so he quickly sought help from the others around him.
In rapid succession, Lucas consulted with his Aunt Sasha, Steward Warren, Captain Gage, Commander Crest, and many others. He even made a special effort to discuss this matter with Arnold Baker, much to the balding old man’s shock.
Initially, Arnold was flabbergasted and more than a little insulted that such a young child had actually been put in charge of planning the general evacuation of the county he had essentially ruled over for the past several decades.
In fact, the old man had only agreed to meet with Lucas because Celestina had given him no choice.
Naturally, Arnold was extremely dismissive of Lucas at the start, acting both patronizing and contemptuous during their first meeting; however, it didn’t take long for the wily administrator to realize he wasn’t dealing with an ordinary child. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Lucas also wasn’t interested in wasting time, so he took full advantage of the powerhouses backing him to quickly grind down Arnold’s arrogance and put him in his place before extracting as much information and worth as he could from the old man.
As far as the boy was concerned, if Arnold treated him with respect, he would reciprocate, but if he insulted and ignored him, then he would respond in kind.
Needless to say, after a couple days working with Lucas, Arnold adjusted his approach accordingly, no longer daring to look down on the boy who was less than a tenth his age, instead treating him almost like a superior.
It was ego-bruising, no doubt, but compared to a physical bruising, Arnold Baker was more-than-willing to compromise. He had always been good at sniffing out what path to take in order to benefit himself the most, and right now, cooperating fully with Lucas so as not to get on the bad side of all the strongest and most influential masters in Herald City was an obvious choice.
Several days worth of planning later, Lucas was ready to present his plan to the rest of the ruling council.
Calling it a presentation wasn’t exactly accurate, as most of the members present in the meeting had participated to varying degrees in drafting this plan, but Lucas still felt it necessary to give a complete outline of it today.
The meeting had been delayed by the arrival of the Third and Fourth Regiments of the Raging River Legion and a probing attack launched by the Nightmares, but once Celestina Balfour returned from dealing with these two matters, Lucas walked to the front of the main hall and began writing on the slate board with a kind of chalk.
Because of his height, Lucas needed to stand on a stool to properly reach the slate, making him appear a bit comical, but no one present laughed as all of them were focusing on the words their young companion was writing.
Setting down the chalk, Lucas turned around and declared, "5 days. We’ll use 5 days to complete the entire evacuation."
Hearing this number, many who had gathered in the hall could hardly believe their ears. This was especially true for the natives of Herald City who simply couldn’t imagine evacuating some 70,000 people in any kind of orderly fashion in just 5 days.
Unable to hold back, a rather fat local merchant who owned several large trading ships couldn’t help asking, "Young Master Lucas, are you certain that’s even possible? Clearing out the entirety of city in just 5 days without causing utter chaos sounds, well, impossible."
Shaking his head, Lucas turned to the middle-aged merchant who sported a rather impressive beard and declared, "Not just Herald City. This evacuation will encompass the entirety of the Baker County, Moore Viscounty, and half of the Carlson County."
"Within the next 5 days, we’re going to clear out every human settlement in the kingdom’s South-Western Province that lies to east of the Belton River."
This time, audible gasps went up from around the room, as even some of those who knew Lucas best began wondering if their ears were working properly.
What Lucas was proposing was far, far grander than anyone, with the exception of just two people, had been expecting.
