Volume 1: The Most Absurd War Chapter 12: Misunderstandings and Miscommunications

  Twelfth: The difference between yin and yang is wrong

  "Cut off the Blue River?" Everyone present, except for Chairman Zena, felt that this idea was a bit exaggerated - there were only a few days left, where would they find the time to carry out such a large project?

  Ludwig glanced at the wide blue river outside the door, then looked at Governor Nohm's face, and after making sure that the governor was not joking, carefully organized his words: "Your Excellency, cutting off the Blue River is a major project. At present, there may not be enough time to complete it, and the labor force is also insufficient..."

  Governor Norm waved his hand: "You think I'm daydreaming, don't you? That's not your fault, any normal-thinking person would think this is impossible, but rest assured, I absolutely won't be bored running to the battlefield talking nonsense."

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin map, spreading it out on the ground. The crowd immediately swarmed forward, gathering around the governor to observe.

  "Ten years ago when the Bluefort project started, I happened to be the chief engineer for some reason. During construction, we discovered a very strange thing." Governor Norm pointed to the starting point of the Blue River on the map, where it flows out of the Light Sea, "Although the Light Sea is so vast, the amount of water flowing into the Blue River is pitifully small, and this section of the riverbed is extremely shallow, making it impossible for deep-draft warships to pass through. At that time, we spent a great deal of effort dredging this section of the river, which also caused serious budget overruns, resulting in the project being abandoned."

  "It's now early July, the rainy season hasn't arrived yet, and the water level of this Blue River is at its lowest. If we can build a simple dam in the shortest time possible, from Blue Fort to downstream Reindeer River will immediately dry up!" As he spoke, Governor Norm cast his gaze towards Fili, his eyes seeming to convey something.

  Fei Li felt a faint sweat on his forehead. Was he supposed to use magic to build a dam to block the river, this was too far-fetched.

  "This, Your Excellency, I am only an alchemist, not an engineer, nor a geomancer skilled in earthworks. A large-scale project like building a dam is really beyond the capabilities of a 14th-level mage like myself."

  "Haha, you misunderstood, how could I make such a low-level mistake." Governor Norm seemed very confident, "The parliament has already sent out emergency notices to the states, requiring each place to dispatch law enforcement officers over. You just need to refine some relevant potions and that's it. Next, let's discuss the specific steps."

  The desolate banks of the Blue River suddenly turned into a huge construction site, bustling with activity. Under Ludwig's passionate speeches and Chairman Zena's high-paying temptation of five gold coins per person per day, thousands of militiamen, herdsmen, and fishermen who were temporarily recruited burst out with amazing labor enthusiasm, even old people, women, and children joined in the labor. Two earth dikes quickly appeared at the narrowest point of the river mouth, and as the number of workers increased, they extended towards the center of the river at an increasingly rapid speed.

  The New Mazob State Council spared no expense in implementing this plan, a stark contrast to the stinginess shown when the militia departed. The bright white light of the precisely positioned transmission array shone from dawn till dusk as batch after batch of magicians scoured from various states were put into construction. Phil had never thought that in the so-called Magic Desert of New Mazob, there would be so many mages, although they were mostly low-level mages below level 10, but the number of over 50 people was enough to cope with such a rough project.

  Under the arrangement of Governor Norm, Phil, an alchemist and Zena, a speaker who is familiar with magic item manufacturing, are responsible for producing large quantities of energy potions to keep those high-paid laborers working day and night without rest. The great druid brings his bear friends to do the most physically demanding work, unloading the big stones from the construction site of Bluefort and the military port, which will be used as building materials for the dam. The necromancer is responsible for summoning skulls, letting these skeletal frames hold the stones that the bears have unloaded and jump into the river in groups, making themselves and the stones part of the dam, and then let the laborers fill the gaps with soil and compact them. Finally, at some critical points, a few transmutation wizards use the "mud to stone" spell to reinforce it.

  In order to give the lake water a way out, the governor personally led all the combat mages of the system and used various aggressive magic and almost all the gunpowder in his hands to blast a half-mile-long trench on the north shore of the lake, diverting the lake water into a large cave that was said to lead to an underground dark river. As for whether it would trigger a flood in the dark region, no one cared about it for the time being.

  As the fairy fleet drew near, everyone's heart was filled with a sense of urgency. Finally, on the fifth night after work began, the great druid inserted a massive stone, twice his own size, firmly into the last gap in the great dam, thus ending this limited but astonishingly expensive project.

  For this one-ri-long simple water dam, the New Mazosabra State Council spent 50,000 gold coins just on the recruitment of law clerks, and with other expenses, it is enough to put the council in a state of severe debt within three years.

  Looking at the empty riverbed, the exhausted crowd let out a sigh of relief. The laborers who had collapsed from exhaustion due to the ineffective energy tonic lay scattered on the grassy banks of the river, and it would take at least two or three days for them to recover. The mages all eagerly squeezed into the teleportation room in the fortress, but unfortunately, not one of them could leave. Because of the extent of the teleportation mages' exhaustion, it was likely that a high-ranking priest would be needed at the destination to revive the unlucky ones who had been teleported incorrectly and were stuck in walls, floors, or ceilings, in order for the mages to return home safely.

  It wasn't until everyone had adjusted their physical and mental state that two more days had passed, fortunately without any news of the Spirit Army approaching. The crowd continued to wait for three more days, when Charlotte arrived at Bluefort with the main force of the Giant Bear Corps, accompanied by a piece of news that left people unsure how to react.

  In the gray morning sky, a veil of rain floated, and the clear river water flowed slowly through the deep valley. The air was filled with the fragrance unique to primeval forests. This should have been the favorite scenery for the spirits who loved forest life, but at this time these long-eared uninvited guests were completely out of mood to appreciate it.

  "Where is the Blue Fortress, where is the Light Sea?" Looking at the towering cliffs and dense coniferous forests by the ship's side, Idriel felt a wave of dizziness, with fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

  "Your Excellency, what we need to make clear right now is where we are!" Gilbert, who usually only murmured in agreement, also raised his voice loudly, "Even if we slaughter all the flying dragons, we'll only have three days' worth of food left. If things continue like this, it's hard to guarantee that there won't be a riot!"

  "What can I do now?" Idriel paced irritably on the deck, having to admit that his rash advance into the interior was a major blunder. The losses along the way were not worth mentioning, and now he was at a loss for what to do next, with morale wavering, and he didn't know how to make things right either.

  Suddenly, a cheer came from the warship ahead. Idriel stopped in his tracks and looked at Gilbert with a puzzled expression, seeing that he was also bewildered, so he loudly asked the signalman on the mast, "What's going on?"

  "Captain, report! A town has been spotted ahead, and it's a human settlement!" The signalman stumbled down from the mast, excited to the point of incoherence.

  Idril let out a long sigh.

  "Pass the order, all infantry ashore, occupy this place at the fastest speed, pay attention to occupying and protecting the granary in the first time." He drew out his own command knife and inserted it fiercely on the deck, "Life and death, in this one battle!"

  "Has the Spirit Fleet entered the Reindeer River?" Governor Norm, Speaker Zena and Ludwig among others stared with wide eyes, momentarily speechless, unsure of what to say.

  The Reindeer River is the largest tributary of the Blue River, originating from the great glacier in the far north, with abundant water and its lower reaches even far exceeding the width of the Blue River. Due to the guerrilla's harassment being too successful, until the interception was successful, the Elf Fleet had not sailed over the Reindeer River estuary, thus avoiding a great disaster. Since the main stream of the Blue River has dried up, the fleet naturally entered the Reindeer River and went northward.

  "The upper reaches of the Reindeer River are in the direction of North Province, and further north is the Great Marsh, where the source is we're not even clear." Ludwig frowned and gestured on the map, "What to do now?"

  Unfortunately, no one reacted to his words. Despite the enormous cost, they still failed to capture the Spirit Fleet, and words like impeachment, prosecution, and special hearings that foreshadowed a tragic future became a nightmare haunting Governor Norm and Speaker Zena's minds, both of whom were still in a state of shock. The others, seeing their superiors had not spoken up, naturally did not dare to express their own opinions prematurely.

  An awkward silence lasted for a long time until the next shocking news came.

  "The Spirit Army has broken through Fog Town, and the Northern State Citizens' Association Headquarters has fallen!"