The seemingly safest squad station was attacked, and Hongyuan Haili's home was burned to the ground. In this chaotic situation, everyone present was unsure of what to do next.
Everyone's eyes are focused on Lin Nan, waiting for him to make a judgment.
Lin Nan rolled his eyes, thought about the nearby terrain in his mind, and finally determined a place:
"The living area closest to the headquarters is the ninth block. I heard Deputy Captain Nagano mention that a battle to annihilate the rebels was fought there, and many residents were unfortunately caught in the war and died. Maybe there will be empty houses there.
And there are also residents living around, so I have some kind of care. And it's the closest to the headquarters, so if anything happens, I can get there as soon as possible. Hongyuan Haili, do you mind if someone has lived in the house there?"
Someone has lived in a house, which is just a euphemism for someone who has died in it. But Hongyuan Haili doesn't care about this. How many residents on Rukongai have never seen a dead person? How many people live in a house where no one has died?
Seeing that everyone in the Hongyuan family agreed, Lin Nan immediately led everyone to the ninth district.
There are approximately more than two hundred houses in the ninth block, but only less than a hundred are still inhabited. Lin Nan found an empty house with neighbors living in front, back, left and right by sensing the weak spiritual pressure of the Rukong residents.
Looking around at the furnishings in the house, although it is a little dusty, it is generally tidy. After tidying it up, you can live in it directly.
"You guys live here first. Remember to keep a low profile these days and never go back to your original home. When you settle down at the squad headquarters, I will come back to pick you up and find a way to help you find a new home to settle in."
After Lin Nan said to Hongyuan Haili, he reached out and rubbed Hirohara Edelweiss's little head, "You have to listen to your parents and your uncle will bring you delicious food next time!"
Hirohara Edelweiss smiled happily and nodded heavily.
After bidding farewell to Hongyuan Haili's family for the time being, Lin Nan and the two team members returned to the headquarters as quickly as possible.
The body of Soul Reaper, who died in the attack, has been properly packed together and covered with a large tent. The wounded have also been arranged to rest in the medical tent.
Fortunately, many of the small strongholds closest to the headquarters have returned, which has added a lot of combat power to the headquarters. Otherwise, this raid may very well have resulted in the tragic death of all the defenders of the headquarters.
Lin Nan visited Twenty Seats who had lost his right hand and found that he had been simply bandaged and had fallen into a deep sleep. He couldn't help but sigh with a heavy heart.
Tonight, he met a total of three Seated Officer. Except for the 19th one who returned last with him, the remaining two, 20th, had their hands broken off; and the 18th one he met first had been killed in the battle to defend the headquarters.
Lin Nan Before I could even ask what their names were.
The garrison Soul Reaper from other small garrison points returned to the headquarters one after another, but after headcount verification, the total number of people returned was still not enough. Moreover, deputy captain Nagano was killed in action, and there is no one in the headquarters who is familiar with the situation at the outlying garrison points.
The highest officer at the scene, No. Fourth Seat Tsuchiya Yoshio, found Lin Nan with a troubled face:
"It's a mess now, and I want you to help me."
Lin Nan is a little surprised. He hasn't officially joined the team yet, and there are other Seated Officer in the team at the moment, so it's not his turn to shine.
"I'm just a college student, and I'm not an official team member. Isn't this arrangement inappropriate? Tsuchiya Fourth Seat?"
"We usually work in the captain's office and have contact with core team affairs. Apart from the captain, there are only vice-captain Nagano, you and Ukitake Jushiro.
Now that deputy captain Nagano is dead and Ukitake is still in a coma, you are the only one who is most suitable!" Tsuchiya Fourth Seat said with determination.
"But..."
"There is no but, you are the only one who is most suitable on the scene now!"
"What about the other Seated Officers?"
"Seated Officer Most of them are assigned to lead the work at the station. Some stations have just received the order to withdraw and are still on their way back; however, more stations are still out of contact."
Tsuchiya Fourth Seat had some worry on his face. In order not to let other team members hear clearly, he could only lower his voice and said to Lin Nan,
"We Seated Officer currently have insufficient numbers. If the soldiers are not effectively commanded, they will be headless. So I will focus on on-site command, and you will assist me in sorting out military information and other work.
I know that you are a disciple of Captain-Commander and a genius student of the Spirit Arts Academy. Tonight you survived the attack by black men, which shows that your force has at least reached the level of Seated Officer. So believe in yourself, you can definitely do it.
I am now the highest officer on site. If I authorize you to carry out your work, no one will have any objections. You just need to do it with confidence and boldness. At least before the captain comes back, we must ensure that there are no more big problems here at the headquarters."
Lin Nan weighed it up and agreed.
Tsuchiya Fourth Seat smiled with some relief, "I will arrange for the existing team members to prepare for defense. You first count how many strongholds we have not returned to the team, so that we can have a clear understanding of our remaining combat power."
After saying that, Tsuchiya Fourth Seat left, arranged for the soldiers who could still fight to stand guard, and lined up the battle formation to prepare for the enemy's sneak attack.
Lin Nan turned around and returned to the captain's temporary office. Thanks to deputy captain Nagano's desperate protection, the fierce battle just now did not have any impact on this place.
Ukitake is still asleep on the camp bed.
Lin Nan was a little panicked at the moment. Although it was not the first time to see a bloody scene, it was the first time to face the battlefield directly, with a pool of blood on the ground and broken limbs, which still had a great impact on the soul.
For some reason, Lin Nan suddenly thought of Katori Batsunsai who was leading the team out.
If she leads the team out, she won't encounter any danger, right?
Lin Nan suddenly felt a strong urge to leave the headquarters and catch up with Katori's team to confirm whether they were safe.
But looking at Ukitake with his eyes closed in front of him, he shook his head vigorously and thumped himself on the head.
Hurry up! We must hurry up and sort out the existing combat power! We can't let any more problems arise at the squad headquarters. Instead, they become the weakness behind Katori!
Lin Nan doesn't know much about the art of war, but he also knows that a rear area full of loopholes and unstable is the biggest hidden danger for forward troops.
He placed all the information he could find on the large desk, and the detailed information about 8th Division's overseas stationing station was finally displayed in detail before his eyes.
According to the number of residents, there are three types of strongholds: large, medium and small. There are five Soul Reaper in the small stronghold, ten in the medium stronghold, and fifteen in the large stronghold.
A total of two large strongholds have been confirmed to have been attacked. One is the 39th stronghold that Lin Nan and Ukitake visited; the other is the 43rd block stronghold that Katori personally led the team to.
There are three medium-sized strongholds, and it has been confirmed that two of them have returned to the headquarters normally.
There are a total of 48 small strongholds, of which only 15 have returned to the team normally. And only 2 strongholds have responded to the order.
Seeing this number, Lin Nan felt a sudden chill rush up his back to Tianling Gai.
Regardless of the mysterious men in black or the sudden attacks, the string of numbers in front of you is the most frightening fact tonight.
There are a total of 300 Soul Reaper people stationed abroad, but now only 105 people are confirmed to be able to return to the team!
Adding in the remaining people in the headquarters and the number of people Katori took with him when he left, the total number of people in 8th Division has dropped to less than half of the original number!
How much combat power does the enemy have that he can inflict such a huge blow to 8th Division in one day and two nights??
You know, 8th Division's combat attrition in the battles to exterminate the rebels over the years is not as large as the number of people in these two nights!
Could it be that, besides those mysterious men in black, the rebels also have back-ups?
Lin Nan frowned and immediately turned around and left the captain's temporary office. The situation was worse than imagined. Action must be taken immediately to preserve the remaining strength. We must not wait for the enemy to come to our door and defeat all of our own forces.
He found Tsuchiya Fourth Seat and stated his findings. Just as the two were discussing how to arrange the next step, Hell Butterfly, who had been floating next to Lin Nan, heard the voice of Katori Batsunsai:
"Attention 8th Division all! Get ready immediately and prepare to withdraw Seireitei!
Repeat! Get ready immediately and prepare to withdraw Seireitei!
Nagano, deputy captain, count the number of strongholds that have not yet returned to the team! Those who cannot return to the team in time will directly turn back to Seireitei! Arrange the second rendezvous point immediately, we will meet halfway!"
Tsuchiya Fourth Seat quietly listened to Captain Katori's order and said to Lin Nan with a serious face:
"Oops. It seems things are more serious than we imagined!"