Chapter 1183: All Things Proceeding Smoothly (II)

“Let’s do this one step at a time, we’re in no hurry,” Li Hao declared after a long while. “The warships are too small, so we’ll use the ancient cities. We can use Boundless! Boundless can hold one hundred million at full capacity. We’ll tell the people not to bring anything other than food and drink. They will only need to leave their homes for ten days at most...”

“My lord!”

“This... this is too much of a hassle and it’s not that easy to corral people.”

“That’s right!” Many protested as they felt this undertaking was too much. Not to mention, what of the rest after Boundless took in one or even two hundred million? Where would they get so many ancient cities from?

“Ah, my lord, we can use Boundless and move some of the old, infirm, women, and children into it. Cultivators won’t necessarily die from an intrusion of chaos presence.”

“Then what about a slaughter from desolate beasts?” Li Hao turned to him.

“Ah...” Director General Zhao was immensely resigned.

I want to say that if that really happens, then they’re very unlucky. What else can we do about it? That’s better than evacuating one billion people.

There had not been such a large shift in population ever since Silver Moon world came to be. No matter how long it took, moving one billion people was a recipe for disaster. They were only able to have this discussion because this was a world of superhumans. If this was an ordinary world, everyone would treat Li Hao as a lunatic.

At least half would die in the migration process.

“What a pity...” sighed Director General Wang. “If the Exalted Heavenly Dog Emperor was still present, it could swallow the entire eastern continent with one gulp and store it in its stomach. Would we need to go to so much trouble then? Granted, with such a heavyweight present, we wouldn’t need to evacuate anyone then.”

This was a paradoxical statement. If there existed a powerhouse so formidable as to swallow an entire continent in one go, would there be a need to evacuate anyone?

Everyone was both resigned and conflicted. Many looked at Gan Wuliang—

you tell him!

No one bore strong ties to those of the eastern continent. At this stage of their plans, seeing victory at hand and a chance to change the layout of the world... It was entirely too much of a hassle for Li Hao to propose moving the general population.

Gan Wuliang didn’t make a sound.

Don’t! I’m not saying anything!

“It’s actually good to move our people,” he actually said upon further thought. “It would beguile our enemy and make them think that we are indeed out of ideas, that they are encroaching upon us step by step!

“Second, it will test everyone’s execution and organizational ability. We might have to repeat this action again in the future. We are only fighting Barren Dynasty now, but if traitors appear in the north in the future or the exalted emperor breaks free of the seal, we might have to migrate all of the citizens in the north then. This is a rehearsal, a drill!”

Everyone glared at him. Gan Wuliang ignored them.

“Also, evacuating the people and safeguarding them is a chance to win over the hearts of the fearful eastern continent residents! This will build the marquis’ reputation! It will also demonstrate the dynasty’s capabilities to the eastern continent, to all of the continents!

“Only Skystar will have ever evacuated one billion people since the dawn of time! Granted, this undertaking will also come with a lot of trouble!” Gan Wuliang thought it over. “There is a limit to the number of people that Boundless can hold. Where should the rest go? Even if it’s only ten days, trouble will easily arise given the numbers of people we’re dealing with...”

“Watercloud is creating a new continent in the middle of the sea,” Li Hao recalled after some thought. “And they’re preparing to migrate their people from Watercloud Dynasty. The continent is empty for the moment, but it’s being developed. What do you think about shifting the general public there first?”

“That is doable.” Gan Wuliang nodded. “But there’s still too many of them to fit on the continent. So many people are a problem no matter where they’re settled.”

Li Hao nodded and looked behind him. Numerous cities populated the land. If the Barren wasteland was permitted to develop as it would... there might be bodies littered throughout the wilderness before long.

He wouldn’t have considered any of this before and might not have possessed the ability to contemplate such matters either. It might be too late when it all happened. But... this was the light that his teacher and others had fought for. He could not just turn a blind eye to its partial extinguishment.

If he did, they would make it past this hardship, but he would not be able to live up to the light that his teacher and others had traded their lives for. Who would’ve thought that they would run into a stumbling block here after everything was in readiness?

Someone spoke up at this time—Director General Wang. He looked at Li Hao and set his jaw. “If the marquis is insistent on this course of action... I have a suggestion.”

“Speak of it.”

“Don’t move the people little by little, that’s too troublesome! Just outright move the cities onto the four seas! The seas did not exist when Silver Moon world was first formed. They came into existence only later. If the marquis does not find it a hassle, you can fill in the four seas. That will be preparation for a future combination of the various continents!”

“What?” Li Hao blinked.

“My lord, Saints are mighty! Back in the day, it was very easy for a Saint to move an entire city! Of course, Saints now are not what they once were. They are only the bare equivalent of Immortals now, but there is strength in numbers! We can carry the cities on our back and haul them out of the eastern continent...”

The group’s collective jaws dropped. They’d never considered the problem from this angle. The idea had never occurred to Li Hao either. He knew that he was very powerful and that Battle Heaven had previously shifted its location, but that was because the entire city was a treasure.

When it came to an ordinary city... it would be much more troublesome to relocate it. Not to mention, there were people inside the city and the structures within weren’t that durable. They could not be overly shaken or unsettled. Otherwise, the move would become an earthquake that left half the city in rubble.

“Your Lordship, this means that we won’t need to move the cities back after the fact,” Director General Wang continued. “You can just outright fill in the four seas! Once you identify the demarcation, you only need to move half of the eastern continent over to fill in the East Sea.

“From that moment on, the eastern continent and central region will be fully connected to each other. There will only be four continents left out of five from then on!

“The remainder does not need to be moved. It will become the outermost half of the new combined continent. That can make defense easier if the world changes again in the future or if strong foes attack...”

Li Hao was struck dumb by the proposition and said, “Moving cities... Even half of the eastern continent is three hundred some cities...”

“It’s a lot!” Director General Wang nodded. “But if we’re quick about it and move thirty a day, the task will be completed in ten days. We can fight as we retreat and buy more time for Barren Dynasty. It will take some time for the chaos to expand.

“The marquis can even utilize the sky canopy system to publicly announce your intentions to the four continents! That will serve to both intimidate and win over the people! As strong as powerhouses may be, people don’t truly have an idea of what they’re capable of.

“But if we move thirty cities a day and fill in the East Sea, I’m sure this level of effect will ensure that no one will dare defy the marquis any further, apart from those wicked beyond redemption!

“There is another point that the marquis hasn’t considered, and that is that half of the eastern continent will become bleak and wasted after the cities are moved. Galewind city must be near the Barren border, but we’re uncertain of its exact location. Once its surroundings are completely empty, any movement from Galewind will cause an enormous disturbance. It will have to stay away from Barren in order to avoid us!

“Otherwise, once Barren feels that it is losing an engagement and the desolate beasts find themselves at the end of the road, they might welcome more Galewind powerhouses into the desolate wasteland. That will be incredible trouble for us then!

“If there is nothing around them, Red Dust will absolutely refrain from exposing the city’s location, given his personality. He is much more likely to move Galewind to another locale or even depart the eastern continent entirely!”

Li Hao hummed with thought. He’d considered this possibility before, but he was also betting that the desolate beasts wouldn’t dare enter Galewind!

However, would current reservations still be relevant if they were about to die? Li Hao was betting that when the desolate beasts came back to their senses, he would’ve already dispatched them. He could take shelter in the Hao Cosmos at any time; he wouldn’t be afraid of Red Dust even if the latter set foot into the chaos.

Director General Wang’s new idea was much safer.

“But a city is enormous and therefore, quite burdensome to relocate...” Li Hao raised after thinking on the notion.

“We can utilize formations!” replied Director General Wang. “Formations will stabilize the cities—we just need multiple Suns and Moons to steady the four corners. The marquis can then bring your formidable power to bear and raise up the city. We simply need to dig into the ground as deeply as we can! Otherwise, we will sink into the East Sea. That place may become the sea in the future!

“But that’s alright. It will further stop Barren from invading and chaos from spreading. The desolate beasts will not grow stronger as a result. Without people or land, the desolate beasts will not gain much from the Barren invasion.”

Li Hao was tempted again and nodded. This was a good idea, it simply had... high personnel demands! He could already envision the results of moving thirty cities a day. He might die from overwork.

But at the moment, he was the strongest when it came to battle strength. The ancients could not easily appear in the world. He was the only option.

Each instance would likely be the equivalent of a battle in terms of effort. Moving three hundred cities in ten days... was an incredible endeavor.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

“My lord, you can publicly announce that you are shifting the eastern continent and filling in the sea in preparation for combining the five continents as one in the future. There is no need to mention the Barren invasion.

“That way, the people will not panic. They will simply be shocked by what they hear and find it incredible. They will treat it as a marvelous journey and not as fleeing for shelter. Nothing will be a problem so long as we dispose of Barren after that!

“We are the only ones who control public discourse now and can say whatever we want when we win!”

Li Hao suddenly grinned. How interesting! Director General Wang had rarely volunteered suggestions in the past, he at most introduced a fellow New Martial to the rest of the group when encountering one. But today, he voluntarily supplied his thoughts and ideas.

Director General Zhao and the rest nodded. It was a good suggestion! While it demanded much from the personnel involved, that personnel was primarily Li Hao. In that case, the mighty and all-inspiring Li Hao surely wouldn’t mind.

It would be a most monumental, incredible, and colossal undertaking in the one hundred thousand years after New Martial.