"Splish... splash..."
On the Whispering River, several hundred ships were advancing. The thirty-plus ships in the lead were packed densely with refugees. Following behind them were seven or eight ships led by the Sakura City Lord. They had encountered Aiden's disaster relief ships halfway through their journey.
"We're here! We're finally here!" Camilla shouted excitedly, gazing at the port in the distance. "Freya, look, we've reached Sedona City's port!"
These past few days, she had been calculating food rations every day, which had kept her nerves stretched taut.
"Yeah." Freya's eyes had heavy dark circles. She hadn't slept well for five days, either patrolling or on her way to patrol, terrified that the refugees would riot. A riot on the ship would mean the ship would sink.
"The population this time should be enough." Aiden turned his head to look at the refugees, who were craning their necks, all standing on tiptoe to look toward the port.
These past few days, they had been indoctrinating the refugees with how good Sedona City was, what the welfare was like, almost praising Sedona City to the skies, making the refugees extremely expectant.
"Gaba, go and patrol one more time. Tell the refugees not to cause chaos. We absolutely cannot have chaos at this time," Freya instructed the bear-eared woman in a deep voice.
"Yes, I understand," Gaba replied grimly. She turned and led the veteran soldiers into the cabin. This 50-meter-long ship could not, under any circumstances, have an accident.
"Wow, that port is huge! Is that Sedona City up ahead? This is too amazing!"
"Are we going to live here from now on?"
"Can we really eat our fill every day? And have new houses to live in? They're not lying to us, are they?"
"We'll know when we get there. Our homes are gone anyway."
"..."
The refugees all broke into discussion, afraid that what they had heard before was all lies. After all, being so far from home, it was inevitable their hearts would be filled with anxiety.
"Everyone, please rest assured, our Sedona City will not treat you unfairly! As long as you work hard, new houses and new clothes are all within your reach!" Aiden turned his head and shouted to the refugees. He was also afraid of trouble at the last minute.
"Sir Aiden, please rest assured. I will keep everyone in line," Alton said in a low voice beside Aiden. He knew what Aiden and the others were worried about.
"In a moment, you will come with me to see the City Lord," Aiden said quietly. He believed Alton was a talented individual, especially since he had helped him a great deal these past few days.
"Yes." A look of joy appeared on Alton's face. Who wouldn't want to climb to a high position? Being valued by others was, in the end, a good thing.
In any case, the Lord of Sedona City had sent people to rescue the commoners of Maplewood City. How bad could he possibly be?
"..."
On the seven or eight ships further back, the Lord of Sakura City was currently staring at the ships ahead with schadenfreude.
"Hmph, to actually bring in this many people. I'd like to see what Lucas does now." The Sakura City Lord sneered as he stared indifferently at the thirty-plus ships ahead, packed densely with refugees.
Rescuing so many refugees... is everyone in Sedona City, from top to bottom, a fool? Can they afford to feed them? Do they think they have as much stored grain as Sakura City?
He was now just waiting to watch the joke unfold. As long as the other party couldn't afford to feed that many people, Sedona City would be too busy to manage its own affairs. At that point, he would have his chance to seize Sakura City's salt shops and the like for himself.
"City Lord, will the Lord of Sedona City really take our people? This is almost three thousand refugees." The knight said worriedly. They had only brought two days' worth of food. If Sedona City refused to accept them, it would mean tearing all pretense of cordiality. Most importantly, Sakura City couldn't win a fight against Sedona City.
"Lucas will take them. Didn't you see they've already gathered so many refugees themselves?" The Sakura City Lord sneered.
"This..." The knight was not very optimistic. This Lord Lucas isn't an idiot, is he?
"..."
The several hundred ships even further back belonged to those nobles and merchants. They had fallen behind, but when the great flood subsided, they caught up. Who could blame them, when the refugee-filled fleet was moving so slowly?
"This Lucas... has he had a brain fart? Why did he get so many refugees? Is he insane?" Scott's expression was extremely ugly. He already considered Sedona City to be the Fourth Prince's city.
So many refugees... Can Sedona City afford to feed them? If they eat all the food, what will the hundred-plus knights he brought with him eat? The wheat they had brought was only enough for two or three more days.
"Just watch. So many people... can he feed them? I'm afraid more than half of them will starve to death." Kevin's face was dark; his thoughts were the same as Scott's.
In fact, the two had originally planned to contact Count George's knights in the western lands. But unexpectedly, the great flood had completely disrupted all their plans. They could only come to Sedona City first and then make new plans.
"What do we do later? Should we lead the knights to seize the port?" Scott asked in a low voice.
"Not yet. Too many things have changed here. We don't know how many knights the First Prince and Second Prince have brought. Let's not alert the enemy prematurely. Tonight, we'll go directly to Lucas and make things clear. We'll see if he dares to defy the Fourth Prince's orders," Kevin sneered.
"Alright, we'll probe him first." Scott nodded. Plans really can't keep up with changes.
But at this moment, the port was being guarded by three hundred fully-armed cavalrymen. They had been dispatched by Lucas to maintain order and prevent the refugees from rioting.
On the ships, Scott, Kevin, and the others felt their faces darken when they saw these cavalrymen. They all secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness they hadn't followed their original plan to cause trouble. Otherwise, they really might have been thrown back into that "little dark room." After all, Lucas hadn't given either of them any face last time.
"Furl the sails! Enter the port!"
Following Aiden's command, the crewmen on the ships all started running, quickly furling the sails as the ships slowly approached the port.
"Drop anchor!"
"Plunk!"
One by one, the anchors were thrown into the water, pulling the ships to a halt. The 50-meter-long ship stopped steadily beside the port. The crewmen's skills were becoming more and more proficient.
"Whew... finally here." Dahlia let out a light breath, looking at the familiar port, which made her feel very emotional. She never expected that after more than a month and a half, she would finally be back in Sedona City.
"Catherine, I will definitely convince Lord Lucas to send people to rescue you." Dahlia clenched her fists, her face full of determination.
"Miss Dahlia, the Master is down below. Let's hurry down," Aiden said. He had spotted the familiar carriage at the port, with Miss Mina standing beside it.
"Okay." Dahlia nodded. For some reason, she also felt a little bit of anticipation to see that handsome Lord Lucas.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Dahlia disembarked first. Aiden and the others maintained order. They could already see many tables set up at the port, presumably for registering the population.
"Everyone, line up properly! Don't be disorderly! Get off the ship one by one. We have people to arrange food and lodging for you!" Aiden shouted.
"Yes!" A collective shout came from the ships. The wide, spacious port had already won over these refugees. Or perhaps, the cavalrymen down below were more persuasive.
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