I raised stunning young ladies, but they all wanted to possess me.

Further behind was an elderly man with white hair, wearing a gray robe and a long beard that reached his chest. He had his eyes closed as if he were asleep, but the calm and steady spiritual energy emanating from him made everyone subconsciously keep their distance from him.

Li Xuanzhen, the first elder of the ancient martial arts family of the Great Xia Dynasty, ranked seventh on the combat power list. Rumor has it that he is a descendant of Lao Tzu.

There are even older ones.

An old woman dressed in a faded shrine maiden's robe was slowly pushed in in a wheelchair by a young apprentice shrine maiden. The old woman was as withered as the bark of an ancient tree that had been blown by the wind for hundreds of years, but two very faint silver lights shone in her deep-set eyes.

Chiyomiya Rei, a sealed-away shrine maiden.

He has been retired for decades, spending an unimaginable lifespan in the secret rituals of the sealing array.

Beside her sat an elderly man with white hair and beard, dressed in an ancient-style martial robe of the Great Xia Dynasty, with cloud patterns of Kunlun embroidered on the cuffs.

The former leader of the Kunlun Sword Sect, whose Daoist name was Xuanweizi.

It is said that he had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship, and that his last move was to cut off a tributary of the Yangtze River with a single sword, thus protecting hundreds of thousands of people downstream from the spread of the Black Tide poisonous fog.

These elderly people, who have never appeared in front of the media before, are now sitting quietly at the command table, as if they have been cut out of a history book and pasted directly into the scene of the most critical moment of this era.

Yuzuru walked to the front of the main seat and stood still.

He didn't remove the pheasant knife; his hands were on the edge of the long table, and his deep brown pupils swept over everyone present.

"We lost too many people when we retreated from the third line of defense to the fourth line last time."

"The fleet suffered more than half its losses while covering the evacuation of civilians."

"The mech force was almost completely wiped out in order to plug the gap on the flank."

"Tens of thousands of soldiers used their own bodies to fill the Kuroshio's charging line, until even the reserves were wiped out."

"This retreat cannot be like the last one, where lives were sacrificed."

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word pierced the ears of everyone present like nails.

"This evacuation plan is divided into three echelons."

"The first echelon, consisting of all civilians and wounded, will be transported westward along the evacuation road network from Kyoto to Nagasaki, with air and sea cover provided by the remnants of the East China Sea Fleet and the Pacific Fleet."

"All transport vehicles are equipped with at least one B-level or higher superhuman or ancient martial arts practitioner as an escort."

"The second echelon, consisting of non-core combat units and rune technicians, will board the ships in an orderly manner according to the war zone organization after the civilians are evacuated. Captain Han Jae-hee will be responsible for coordinating the departure order of each formation."

Han Jae-hee nodded.

Give me a window of time.

"Third tier,"

Yuzuru's finger moved across the holographic map, illuminating the mountain pass that ran through the central part of the Sakura Country.

"All combat forces of S rank and above, as well as volunteer garrison troops, shall establish blocking positions at the western pass of Nagoya."

"The terrain here is narrow, with steep mountains on both sides, so the Kuroshio's numerical advantage cannot be fully utilized."

"We need to keep the main force of the pursuing calamity pinned down at this pass for at least three hours."

Volunteers stay behind.

These two words were spoken casually, but everyone present knew what they meant.

Yuzuru began to name his men one by one.

"Lord Chiyomiya Rei and Senior Genweizi are in charge of the aerial interception above the pass."

"The two predecessors are in full charge of dealing with the skeletal dragons and flying calamities."

Xuanweizi slightly opened his eyes and nodded.

Chiyo Miya Rei tapped the armrest of her wheelchair very lightly with her aged fingers as a sign of acknowledgment.

"Captain Han Jae-hee led the Lightning Assault Team to deploy in the mountains south of the pass, using their speed advantage to carry out point-to-point elimination of the elusive calamities that had broken through the main defense line."

"receive."

"Sakamoto Shingo-san."

"exist."

The old man raised his eyelids.

"It's been a long time since this old man's sword has tasted the blood of an S-rank."

"Please, Mr. Sakamoto, guard the core breach in the pass."

"You will face the steel colossi and Titan-class battleships head-on."

The old man nodded slightly, then flicked his finger lightly on the scabbard of the ancient sword, producing a very clear ringing sound.

"Senior Li Xuanzhen and Ms. Pei Youyi."

Li Xuanzhen slowly opened his eyes, and a bright light shone in his seemingly cloudy eyes.

Pei Youyi bowed slightly.

"Please have the two of you form the last line of defense at the pass."

"If all the troops in front can't hold them off, your wind-based defensive wall and ancient martial arts shield will be the last guarantee for the survival of everyone on the three transport ships behind the pass."

"Commander Lin Jinyu."

Lin Jinyu stood up from the corner, her long golden hair gleaming under the cold light.

"arrive."

"You are in charge of air mobility support."

"Go wherever there's a gap."

"No need to stay in a fixed position."

"clear."

"Deputy Commander Gu,"

When Yuzuru uttered those three words, her voice softened slightly for a moment.

While others didn't notice, Gu Yan caught it.

"You will be stationed with the 7th Army Corps of East Asia to guard the eastern entrance of the pass."

"That was the most vulnerable point in the entire defensive line, and the Seventh Army Corps was the weakest."

"Your mental control has the widest range, so you can protect it."

She looked at him, her deep brown eyes appearing especially gentle under the cool light.

Two hours.

"If we hold out for two hours, the last few transport ships will be able to complete the boarding process."

"I don't want to hold out to the death; I want you to bring them back alive."

Gu Yan looked at her and nodded.

"receive."

Yuzuru withdrew his gaze and placed his hands back on the edge of the long table.

"This retreat is codenamed Tide."

"The armed forces of all East Asian countries have been formally integrated into a unified command system for the East Asian Theater Command."

"The Great Xia Expeditionary Force, the remnants of the Russian Federation, the Southeast Asian Allied Forces, and the Japan Self-Defense Forces will no longer belong to their respective home countries when they withdraw from this defense zone."

"If any unit is surrounded, the nearest friendly forces must provide unconditional support."

Her voice remained calm and composed, but every word seemed to be carved on a stone tablet.

Gentlemen.

"We'll meet on the other side of the sea in three days."

......

Time flies, and war has begun again.

Nagoya West Pass, East Entrance.

Gu Yan stood behind the bunker of the Seventh Legion of East Asia, with a valley filled with steel and flesh before her.

The evacuation order was officially issued in the early hours of the morning, and "Operation Tide" was launched.

Abandon all land in Japan and build a fifth line of defense with the entire East China Sea as its depth.

This means that tens of millions of civilians must board ships at coastal ports and evacuate within a limited time, while all soldiers who are still alive and able to carry guns must stand guard at the pass to block the black tide surging in from the rift.

Millions of soldiers were deployed along the entire defensive line, from Nagoya to Hiroshima, from Nagasaki to Sasebo. Every port city's evacuation route needed to be guarded, but the western pass of Nagoya was the closest place to the Kuroshio Current, and also the place where the Kuroshio Current was bound to come.