High Martial: I Grind Professions

This former peerless prodigy had also attained the rank of Marquis.

His expression was just as grim. He had clearly received the same orders.

"Junior Brother Li." Ling Feng strode closer, his voice low. "I assume you received the orders?"

"Mm." Li Wen nodded, his gaze sweeping over the city as its lights began to twinkle on, one by one.

Ling Feng's brow furrowed. "I'm worried the migration itself... will be a major hurdle. The populations of hundreds or even thousands of cities will have to pour into a few dozen remaining locations in a short amount of time. The sheer pressure of transportation and resettlement is hard to imagine.

The old, the weak, the sick, and the disabled; women and children... How will we keep them safe on the road? And with so many people concentrated in just a few cities, will basic supplies like food, water, and power be able to keep up?

I heard the logistics department is already going all out to produce compressed food and liquid nutrient packs, but it's a drop in the bucket."

Li Wen looked up at the darkening sky, his voice heavy.

"Logistics are a problem for the Fire Hall and the local governments to solve. We're responsible for order and security.

The orders mentioned a ten-day deadline. That means our window is very small.

The Headmaster didn't give a specific date, but the Demon Race will likely make their move within these ten days. Perhaps... even sooner. They won't just stand by and watch us consolidate our forces."

He paused before adding, "They'll probably choose to strike when the mass migration is at its most chaotic."

Ling Feng's eyes sharpened. "A storm is brewing..."

The two exchanged a look, each seeing the gravity and resolve in the other's eyes.

...

The news hit like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, and the ripples spread across all of Blue Star within the next twenty-four hours.

「June 2nd.」

A new day had just begun, and an intangible sense of panic and confusion was already spreading among countless ordinary people.

In Ming Lake City, one of the cities slated for abandonment, a construction worker named Wang Jianguo packed a small bag of belongings, his fingers fumbling awkwardly with his communicator.

He was on a video call with his old friend Zhang Hai, who lived in Changning City—one of the core fortresses that would be saved.

"Old Zhang, look at my luck..." Wang Jianguo's voice was laced with bitterness and thick envy.

"You've got it good in Changning, getting to stay instead of being uprooted. I've got my whole family with me, and we're about to be sent to a temporary settlement zone over by you. I hear it's packed, and I have no idea what kind of work I'll find...

Food prices are already going up. How are we supposed to get by? My job in the city is gone for sure. I'm strong, but will I be able to find any work in the settlement? And what about my kid's school?"

On the other side of the screen, Zhang Hai's face held a hint of relief, but it was overshadowed by sympathy and concern for his old friend.

"Jianguo, try not to worry too much. The government is bound to have a plan. Just get over here first. You can squeeze in with me for a while. We'll find a way to get through this.

The food prices have gone up, yeah, but we're hearing that the Fire Hall is mobilizing resources. They should be able to get it under control. The important thing is...

we're still alive, so there's hope. But this Demon Race... *sigh*. I really don't know if we'll be able to hold out."

Zhang Hai's voice trailed off. Living in a fortress city didn't completely erase his fear of the future.

...

In Qinghe City, another metropolis slated for evacuation, retired professor Lin Shuhua silently placed his treasured books into special protective cases, one by one.

He gazed out the window at the familiar streetscape he had called home for decades, his eyes full of sorrow and apprehension.

He wasn't just worried about the upheaval in his own life, but about the very continuation of human civilization.

'Concentrating our forces for defense... is a choice born of desperation. But by abandoning so many cities, humanity's territory will be compressed to its absolute limit.

Our industrial and agricultural systems will be devastated. Even if we hold the fortresses, the road to recovery will be long and arduous.'

He murmured to himself, worrying if human civilization had the resilience to withstand such a crushing blow.

Relief and worry intertwined. Sorrow and uncertainty coexisted.

Across Blue Star, society was thrown into turmoil and unease by the cold, hard decree.

Similar scenes played out among countless families and friends on the verge of separation.

While the residents of the core fortress cities felt a sense of relief, they also worried about the massive influx of people and the inevitable resource shortages and social pressures that would follow.

Meanwhile, those forced from their homes were filled with a profound sense of anxiety about their unknown destinations, their livelihoods, and their very survival.

Under the looming shadow of war, the very social fabric of Blue Star was undergoing its most violent and painful restructuring.

...

Meanwhile, in the distant Demon Realm, the atmosphere was an extreme of a different kind—one of murderous intent and fervent zeal.

Deep within the Celestial Fox Hall, the Talisman Emperor's icy gaze swept across a massive Star Map suspended in the air. On it, the coordinates for Blue Star pulsed with a blinding red light.

A deep, imperious command spread like an invisible shockwave, piercing through space to reach every corner of the vast Demon Realm:

"Assemble!"

The command was issued, and a myriad of demons answered the call.

The regions near Blue Star's various Stargates had long since become a roiling sea.

The earth trembled and the sky was blotted out.

Rhino Demons, as massive as small hills and clad in thick, rocky carapaces, stomped forward, leaving deep hoofprints in their wake;

Packs of savage-faced Wolf Demons and jackal demons, their eyes glinting with bloodthirsty green light, let out a rising and falling chorus of low growls;

Winged eagle demons and Peng Demons blotted out the sun, their shrill cries piercing the sky. Agile and swift as the wind, Leopard Demons and cat demons weaved through the horde;

Then there were the countless, grotesquely shaped beings of the Insect Race, Snake Demons, and Tree Demons, all exuding auras of decay or deadly poison...

An innumerable host of the Demon Race poured out from their lairs and territories, converging into black torrents that swept across the land.