After three more days of tense preparations, Dark Flame finally completed the initial phase of mobilization and issued the order to fight. The entirety of Southern Blue was aboil as fully-armed soldiers poured out of their barracks and assembled at the airship port.

A seemingly endless motorcade blocked the streets, each loaded to the brim with resources. Temporary inspection camps were set up along important intersections, where logistics officers flipped rapidly through their lists as they did the final checks on the supplies.

The inspection process was extremely strict—the car number, destination, and goods had to match perfectly before they were allowed to pass. This caused considerable delay, as well as a congestion of countless trucks outside of these checkpoints.

There were people who complained secretly, but military discipline had been established by Dark Flame and Song Zining. As such, no one dared to complain openly.

The scene was different from a bird’s eye view. The entire city seemed to be in an absolute mess, but after a period of observation, one would see that the vehicles and people were still moving slowly after a certain point. There was no single place where the congestion was unsolvable. This orderly rush...