Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 660 - 653: Food Constraints

Chapter 660: Chapter 653: Food Constraints

About ten kilometers out, the Advance Team took a brief rest. They had Fulajie’er and Feng acting as early-warning mechanisms, so there was no need to worry about being caught by those people, but they probably had to endure some discomfort for a while.

Just as they settled down, Luo’er received a message forwarded from Li Si. Wang Xu informed them that the air support from the frontline headquarters had set off from Yazhi City and was expected to reach their area by the next morning. They were asked to report their current location so that the support could quickly locate them.

After tasting the sweetness once in the south, the frontline headquarters couldn’t let go of the airboats. They even spent a fortune to rent an airship from the Ronisca Air Force as a mobile platform for the Advance Team.

Luo’er speculated that the authorities in Yazhi City might send a transport plane to move them, or even bring in an airship directly to assist. After all, the lost virus held high responsibility for the headquarters, and it would be hard to explain to the Earth’s headquarters if the virus could not be found.

After receiving the message, Luo’er pondered for a moment, decided to move another ten kilometers southward, and set up camp there, reporting their location to the frontline headquarters.

Since the Advance Team was now under the control of Li Si’s airboat command, the magic messenger could only receive from him, and he needed to forward it to the frontline headquarters in Yazhi City, which would then continue to forward it to the air support coming for reinforcements.

This was the drawback of magic messaging; it could only deliver messages point-to-point and could not broadcast directly like a radio. Although privacy was ensured, it was highly inconvenient and inflexible.

Due to its proximity to the Masya Mountains, there were not many residents living on the vast plains and hills to the west of the Roen River in the eastern part of Odelanqi. It was largely undeveloped, with many native primitive forests and grasslands.

Over the years, although the population of Odelanqi had exploded, the majority were concentrated in the western coastal areas. After hundreds of years of development, large areas of farmland had been established there, and with plentiful rainfall, it had always been the grain supply area for Odelanqi and even the entire northern part of the continent.

Therefore, it could be said that whoever controlled western Odelanqi, controlled the world. The secular governing power of Odelanqi was based on these agricultural areas in the west.

The eastern and northern parts of Odelanqi, being of a continental climate, were not suitable for agricultural activities and therefore had not been well developed. This was the main reason why the Church Court abandoned development and left it uncultivated for hundreds of years after acquiring Lipei.

Beyond the Roen River to the east were the Masya Mountains. This area had rugged roads and directly faced the North Lead Corridor. In winter, cold air from the North Pole entered the Masya region through the North Lead Corridor causing heavy snowfall to seal the mountains. The Advance Team had a deep impression of this.

From Odelanqi to Masya, the best route was usually to travel downstream along the Roen River, then enter Masya through the hill plains in the south, and finally reach the two major cities of Obus and Galan up the Ebia River Valley.

The reason why the Advance Team had encountered Princess Melia in the mountains of Masya was that the Masya rebels had occupied the southwestern part of Masya, forcing her to travel the northern mountain path between Galan and Holy Heart City.

However, the eastern part of Odelanqi was not entirely desolate. As the connection between Earth and Otherworld deepened, a new inhabited belt had formed around Yazhi City in the territory of Three Kingdoms, with many Otherworld inhabitants wanting to live close to Yazhi City. This bound them closer to the economic and cultural benefits brought about by Earth.

The biggest help Earth provided to Otherworld was a massive supply of food, which sparked the population explosion in Otherworld. Now, between thirty to forty percent of the food in Otherworld was imported from Earth to feed the ever-growing population.

For this reason, although the Church Court had sealed off the Otherworld Gate in Yazhi City, it allowed the exchange and sale of necessities. This included food and industrial products. The Church Court knew what it meant for the Otherworld if Earth people were cut off from food, so, although they repeatedly stated on the surface that Earth and Otherworld were incompatible, they were continuously lobbying representatives of the United Nations in secret, urging them to oppose the sanction agreement on the export of food and essential industrial goods to Otherworld.

Food exports concern the interests of various Otherworld countries, so when they face representatives of Earth countries, they always feel inferior. The reason why Ronisca obeyed the Headquarters was because the Headquarters not only continuously provided them with food but also helped them improve the cold resistance of their crops, significantly increasing their crop output.

For Earth people, selling food to Otherworld is not just about making gold, they also have their considerations. Once these Otherworld countries get used to the food supply from Earth people, they will gradually begin to depend on them. In this way, Earth countries would have a significant trump card over these Otherworld countries.

According to insider information from the Headquarters, the Church Court had reached a preliminary consensus with Earth on the memorandum. The Church Court would compensate for Earth soldiers who died in the third Otherworld War as their consolation payment.

That’s right, the Church Court needed to pay consolation money to the Earth soldiers who invaded Otherworld.

For the Church Court, this was really a helpless move. Since the end of the third Otherworld War, Earth people have been clamoring to cut off Otherworld’s food supply. Even though the Church Court showed toughness, they also clearly understood that once the food supply was cut off, it would bring a heavy blow to Otherworld and lead to widespread famine.

Of course, to maintain the Church Court’s dignity, this memorandum was not made public, and representatives from all nations and the Church Court unanimously agreed to keep the payments secret. The amount of compensation is unknown, but it is said to be more than ten percent of the Church Court’s total assets, which is a significant loss.

Of course, some countries took advantage of the situation and gained benefits but publicly stated that they would give up compensation, including China, Russia, and France. The Church Court expressed gratitude for these countries’ stance because this meant that these countries were temporarily aligned with the Church Court.

The reason why the Church Court sought the assistance from the Headquarters for this epidemic was largely due to the reason of giving up the compensation. The United States initially wanted to win the Church Court’s favor by giving up compensation, but they urgently needed the compensation to fill their domestic welfare gap, so they reluctantly accepted the compensation.

Of course, the Headquarters also suffered. They gave up the compensation and continuously invested in Otherworld, which had long sparked dissatisfaction domestically. Especially the other military branches were particularly complaining about this.

Previously, the Headquarters was under the army’s administration, and as a result, the army gave up the Headquarters and the Origin Project due to the criticism, transferring all of them to the Ministry of Defense, thereby avoiding the criticism.

It can be said that to create this Otherworld, Headquarters had thrown in everything. The money the country invested in Otherworld might not be recovered for half a century, but if they didn’t invest, they wouldn’t be able to firmly control this Magic World.

Only after the Headquarters got Lipei and opened the Otherworld Gate did they feel like they had completed the start of their plan. There was still a long way to go. Lin Wei had long since prepared himself for the criticism. After being criticized for years, he had developed a thick skin.

Luo’er instructed Fulajie’er to patrol non-stop, ensuring the safety of the Advance Team at all times. This area was all primitive forest, so the visibility was extremely poor, and they needed entities like Fulajie’er for circular reconnaissance patrols.

As for Feng, Tangmo adjusted the magic absorption rate of the rune on her blanket to maintain the magical fluctuations in the air at a certain level. While ensuring Feng could replenish her magic, it also minimized the magical fluctuations in the air.

For fear of being discovered by the enemy, the Advance Team didn’t even dare to light a bonfire. Everyone ate a self-heating soldier’s meal and then crawled into their sleeping bags to rest early. According to the Headquarters’ arrangement, reinforcements would arrive tomorrow, and with them would come the Headquarters’ mission, so the Advance Team needed to be well-rested to handle tomorrow’s arrangements.

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