Seven days passed, and the previously bustling outskirts of the Imperial Capital quickly fell silent again.
After completing their assessments, the adventurers immediately departed in groups to the empire's south, ready to make a fortune.
However, the tent residential area that had been established for these nearly ten thousand adventurers was not dismantled.
Because these tents were about to welcome new owners...
...
"What is this? An evacuation notice?"
The old farmer who received the government announcement from the guard's hands showed an expression of disbelief.
Unlike the past form of administrative notices posted at district government offices, this evacuation notice adopted what appeared to be a more elaborate form.
The government had issued one evacuation notice to each household.
The farmer held the evacuation report in his hands, observing it from top to bottom with trembling hands.
The first thing that caught his eye was the blood-red title at the very top of the notice.
"Emergency Evacuation Notice"
Looking at these blood-red characters, the old farmer's hands trembled even more violently.
Something big was probably about to happen...
The old farmer continued reading.
"The government has predicted that large numbers of goblins lurking in the Imperial South Mountain Range are about to launch an attack on the Imperial Capital."
"And the goblins will inevitably pass through the Imperial South Plains during their march."
Reading this, the old farmer's hands shook even more violently!
So... if what the government said was true, then he and all the residents of this plain would be in danger!
But... what if the government was deceiving him?
If he left this place, where else could sustain him?
The old man forced himself to continue reading...
"To ensure the safety of every subject's life, please heed the following evacuation orders, residents of the Imperial South Plains—"
"Please quickly proceed to the northern outskirts of the Imperial Capital for evacuation, residents of the Imperial South Plains."
"The evacuation period is one week. After one week, to ensure enemy forces do not expand, the army will conduct a sweep of the Imperial South Plains, so please bring your personal belongings while heading to the evacuation site as quickly as possible."
"If you need to carry large, difficult-to-move items, please go to the surrounding garrison areas for assistance after receiving the evacuation notice. The soldiers will not refuse to help."
Reading this, the old farmer's hands had trembled to the point where he could barely hold the notice steady.
However, the last line of small text at the bottom of the notice suddenly calmed him down.
"This plan has been approved by Her Majesty Elashia, and every notice bears Her Majesty Elashia's personal signature."
When he saw the word "Elashia," his hands almost instantly stopped trembling.
Looking further down, there was indeed a line of quite elegant script—"Elashia."
This... was this really Her Majesty's personal signature?
The old farmer was actually somewhat skeptical.
No matter how much Empress Elashia cared for them, it couldn't be possible for her to write her own name on everyone's notice, could it?
However, at this moment, the old farmer truly felt at ease.
It seemed this notice couldn't possibly be the government deceiving him, after all, it bore the Empress's signature.
And regardless, as long as Her Majesty had approved this plan, then the plan's intentions absolutely couldn't be bad, and its execution should probably not have any problems either.
Having experienced Empress Elashia's rule during this period, he, like all other Elasians, had absolute trust in Her Majesty the Empress.
The Elasian government might not stand with the people, but Empress Elashia would definitely stand with the people!
But this personal signature... probably wasn't real.
Her Majesty couldn't possibly value them, such a small number of people, to this extent, could she?
However, while he was still immersed in doubt about this "personal signature," someone knocked on his door.
After opening the door, he saw his neighbor.
It was a middle-aged man with a large bundle on his back.
The neighbor asked the old farmer:
"Big brother! Are you ready?"
The old farmer hesitated:
"But... leaving this place... where else would we have a way to make a living?"
Hearing his question, the middle-aged man suddenly smiled:
"Big brother! Didn't you read the notice?"
The old farmer waved the notice in his hand.
"I did read it."
The middle-aged man smiled:
"That's Empress Elashia! Could she let us starve to death?"
The old farmer nodded.
"But... could this be the government using Empress Elashia's name without permission?"
Hearing this, the middle-aged man laughed again.
"Oh! Big brother, stop joking! Look at the bottom!"
The middle-aged man also took out the notice from his hand, pointing to Elashia's signature on it.
"Look carefully! What's this! Elashia's personal signature! Who would dare use Her Majesty's name without permission!"
The old farmer nodded.
"Indeed..."
The middle-aged man pointed to Elashia's signature at the bottom and added:
"Look! That's a personal signature. Since Empress Elashia could send each of us a notice with her personal signature, it shows she absolutely values us greatly!"
"So, big brother, don't worry. Her Majesty absolutely won't let us starve to death!"
The old farmer still said with some concern:
"But... is that really Empress Elashia's personal signature? Could it just be a stamp?"
"Could Empress Elashia really value this matter enough to sign every single notice?"
He had no doubt about the authenticity of this signature, because the royal family had explicitly decreed many years ago that no one was permitted to sign on the emperor's behalf.
But this could also just be government workers using a stamp bearing Empress Elashia's signature for "signing," couldn't it?
The middle-aged man thought for a moment and felt his words did make some sense.
"Then... wouldn't we know by checking if the signatures on our two evacuation notices are exactly the same?"
The old farmer nodded.
"That's right."
Although the old farmer had indeed made up his mind to evacuate, he was still somewhat skeptical about whether the so-called "Empress's personal signature" on the notice and in his neighbor's words was real.
In any case, he still didn't quite believe the Empress would value this matter enough to write her own name on every evacuation notice.
However, when he saw the signature on his neighbor's evacuation notice that was considerably more rushed than his own, he didn't even need to compare it with his own—he immediately realized—it was real!
Had Empress Elashia really valued this matter enough to personally write her own name on every evacuation notice?
Seeing the old farmer's reaction, the middle-aged man also understood—Empress Elashia truly valued their evacuation to this extent!
The two looked at the evacuation notices in their hands.
At this moment, they had never felt such a small notice in their hands so heavy.
This brief notice reflected the Empress's care for them like a mother's care for her children!
After confirming this, the middle-aged man quickly said to the old farmer:
"Alright, now you believe it! Hurry up and pack! Going late might cause problems, so let's set off early. Although the evacuation site isn't far from us, at your age there might be some risks going out, so I'll take you along."
The old farmer looked at the middle-aged man and nodded.
Soon, the old man had packed up his few belongings.
Seeing that the old man had almost finished packing his luggage, the middle-aged man asked:
"What do you plan to do with your farmland?"
The old farmer stated what he had already thought through.
"Burn it all down! Can't let those damn goblins benefit from it!"
Before long, these two had joined the vast evacuation army.
...
Flying in the air, Elashia looked at the large crowds surging toward the Imperial Capital on the ground and couldn't help but show a satisfied smile.
She didn't know what role those papers with her name played in Candice's plan, but these people had actually basically all voluntarily left the plains.
Once many people left, the remaining ones would follow.
Seeing this scene, Elashia decided she must ask Candice properly how she had managed this when she returned...