Chapter 1206: Consolidating Forces
Even though Yang Haoran had always been calm when facing issues, the constant stream of distress messages appearing within the Underworld Iron Tome still caused a subtle change in his expression.
After all, barely two hours had passed since the Talisman Order's declaration, yet he had already received dozens of distress messages, with requests for reinforcement still mounting. If this continued, his Ninth District would surely be wiped out by the enemy.
As the Guardian of the Ninth District of the Jingling Continent's Underworld Office, Yang Haoran naturally didn't want to see such a thing happen. He hadn't even warmed his seat in this Guardian position yet; he certainly didn't want to become a commander without troops so quickly.
Thus, without hesitation, he immediately began to consolidate his forces, acting upon the directives conveyed by the Five Underworld Emperors.
As for which cities should be abandoned, which could temporarily be held, and how forces could be consolidated in the shortest possible time — these decisions couldn't be made haphazardly. Rash orders wouldn't just fail to solve problems; they would cause even greater losses. To achieve the desired effect, one had to consider numerous factors: the strength of the local Underworld Office, the city's geographical location, and even what other factions were present within the city. Only then would the decisions made and orders issued carry true weight and potentially resolve the crisis.
Yang Haoran's jurisdiction encompassed thousands of local Underworld Offices. To consider the situation of each and every one, and to issue various commands promptly, would be impossible for him alone. Forget having just one head; even with ten, he couldn't accomplish it in a short time.
He understood this clearly, so he wasn't going to handle the matter by himself.
With a sweep of his hand, Yang Haoran made the Underworld Iron Tome vanish, stowing it away in his personal space. Immediately afterward, numerous Communication Talismans appeared before him.
These Communication Talismans were all of the Black Talisman grade, vastly different from the Yellow Talisman grade. Yellow Talisman grade ones were single-use consumables that would spontaneously combust into ash after activation, whereas Black Talisman grade ones could be used multiple times. As long as their power wasn't exhausted, the talismans wouldn't self-immolate, allowing them to be stored and reused.
After activating the Communication Talismans, Yang Haoran didn't head to his favorite study, but instead went to the combat command center that had been recently constructed. He had personally outfitted this command center with a full suite of necessary equipment.
When Yang Haoran had learned that the Talisman Order was siding with the Spirit Mediums, he had already realized that the battles ahead would only grow more intense. Without a proper combat command center, a widespread conflict would leave them extremely vulnerable. Thus, he had expended significant resources to prepare an excellent one in advance.
Because Yang Haoran had torn through space to rush to the combat command center immediately after activating the talismans, no one else had arrived by the time he got there.
However, just as he swallowed a Soul Pill to boost his strength, and then lit a cigarette and took a couple of drags, people began to arrive one after another.
The first to arrive at the combat command center was none other than Lu Wu. While Lu Wu might seem like a simple brute on a normal day, he dared not delay Yang Haoran's orders in the slightest. Furthermore, his work area was within the Guardian District, which was also the safest area in all of Lecheng. As the captain responsible for security, he actually didn't have many critical duties. Therefore, upon receiving Yang Haoran's Communication Talisman, he immediately rushed to the command center at top speed, becoming the first one to arrive, ahead of everyone else.
The others were not slow either. Just as Lu Wu arrived, the rest followed in quick succession. From Lu Wu's appearance to the last person's arrival, the difference was no more than a minute.
Once all his trusted subordinates had gathered in the combat command center, Yang Haoran wasted no time on pleasantries, immediately cutting to the chase and briefly informing everyone of the grave situation currently facing the Underworld Office.
He then began to assign duties. For someone like Lu Wu, who possessed bravery but lacked strategy, it was naturally impossible to involve him in brainstorming. If Lu Wu were forced to stay and discuss which cities to abandon, which to retain, and how to consolidate forces for the best effect, it would probably be more agonizing than killing him.
Yang Haoran understood this, so he didn't intend for Lu Wu to participate in the subsequent tasks. Instead, he instructed Lu Wu to be absolutely vigilant from that moment on, protecting the Guardian District and preventing any suspicious individuals from infiltrating it.
After giving his instructions, Yang Haoran sent Lu Wu immediately to his work. Lu Wu thus became the first to arrive at the combat command center and also the first to leave, spending less than five minutes from entering to departing.
Lu Wu felt no dissatisfaction about this; on the contrary, he breathed a sigh of relief as he left the combat command center. Yang Haoran had briefly informed him of what the others would be doing next, and knowing it wasn't his strong suit, and that he wouldn't be able to help, only making himself awkward, it was naturally better to quickly leave and throw himself into his own work of protecting the Guardian District.
In truth, Yang Haoran only needed Lu Wu to protect the Guardian District, and there was no actual need for Lu Wu to rush to the combat command center; a single Communication Talisman could have conveyed his intentions. The reason he still summoned Lu Wu to the command center wasn't out of idleness, but to consider Lu Wu's feelings. He didn't want Lu Wu to misunderstand that he wasn't valued. Hence, he had Lu Wu come, assigned him a task first, and briefly informed him of what the others would be doing next. This way, Lu Wu not only wouldn't misunderstand but would actually feel fortunate.
And indeed, as could be seen from Lu Wu's relieved expression after leaving, Yang Haoran's objective had been achieved.
After Lu Wu's departure, at Yang Haoran's command, the technical personnel brought by Zhu Rong immediately busied themselves. Various equipment whirred to life, displaying a map of the Ninth District on the large screen. Cities were clearly marked, and the strength of each city's local Underworld Office was also retrieved by Zhu Rong's technical team.
This alone wasn't enough. Yang Haoran also displayed the continuous stream of distress messages from the Underworld Iron Tome on the large screen. With this latest information, they could better and more accurately filter and exclude, making their arrangements more effective.
The value of this newly constructed combat command center and its accompanying equipment was fully demonstrated at this moment. Without these devices and the pre-filed data, Yang Haoran would have been completely at a loss when faced with such a situation.
The technical personnel brought by Zhu Rong were equally indispensable. Without them, it would also be a troublesome matter. It wasn't that Yang Haoran and his people didn't know how to use these devices, but rather that they were, after all, non-professionals. Their speed couldn't possibly match that of experts, and if their speed lagged, time would naturally be wasted.
Of course, each of the trusted subordinates Yang Haoran had summoned was quite intelligent. Faced with a vast amount of data, they systematically locked onto areas and deliberated. After some time, they selected the first batch of cities to abandon and also devised several decent routes for consolidating forces.
Given the pressing time, Yang Haoran couldn't afford to spend too long reviewing. After all, his people were dying in battle every moment. The sooner he made a decision, the fewer casualties there would be. So, after a quick review, finding it feasible, he immediately issued orders via the Underworld Iron Tome.
For any city designated for abandonment, regardless of whether the local Underworld Office had been attacked by Spirit Mediums or the Talisman Order, and regardless of who held the upper hand in battle, they were to immediately retreat and relocate to the cities temporarily designated for retention.
In this way, the cities temporarily chosen for retention would become stronger with the addition of other local Underworld Offices, thereby achieving the goal of consolidating forces.
Just as Yang Haoran was making arrangements and deployments, and others were watching the screen, discussing the next steps, a sudden distress message appearing in the Underworld Iron Tome immediately captured Yang Haoran's attention.
This distress message, surprisingly, came from Ancheng, Lecheng's neighboring city.
Ancheng, like many other cities, was chaotic with numerous factions. It had been that way when Xu Meijing was there, and it remained so after she left. Although Yang Haoran had promoted a new Emissary of Death to govern it, he hadn't had much time to pay attention to the Ancheng Underworld Office. It wasn't until the Emissary of Death from Ancheng sent a distress message just now that he even remembered the Ancheng Underworld Office.
When Xu Meijing became a Guardian and left Ancheng, she took all her trusted subordinates with her. Yang Haoran had not only not refused this, but had strongly supported it. Only if Xu Meijing took all her close associates could he feel more at ease; otherwise, he couldn't help but worry about her.
Afterward, Yang Haoran promoted an Emissary of Death to take over the Ancheng Underworld Office. However, this Emissary of Death was a temporary promotion, with very limited strength. Moreover, Xu Meijing had taken all the powerful Night Watchers from the Ancheng Underworld Office with her, leaving behind only ordinary ones. This resulted in the Ancheng Underworld Office's strength being less than half of what it was when Xu Meijing was in charge.
Although Yang Haoran knew this, he hadn't given it much thought. After all, Ancheng was right next to Lecheng, and his Ninth District's Guardian District was in Lecheng. If the Ancheng Underworld Office truly had any problems, he could dispatch support and resolve the issue immediately.
Furthermore, he believed that other factions wouldn't dare to easily move against the Ancheng Underworld Office, precisely because his Guardian District was in Lecheng.
And indeed, this had been the case. Since the establishment of the Guardian District in Lecheng, even though the Ancheng Underworld Office was weak, no forces had dared to provoke it, and it had remained peaceful. Yang Haoran had gradually pushed Ancheng, this small city, to the back of his mind. But now, the sudden distress message made him remember the Ancheng Underworld Office.
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