225: Heavy rain is coming

Chapter 221: The Storm Approaches

The drainage ditches on both sides of the old road, which ran through the entire town, had been thoroughly cleaned by the diligent labor of many workers.

This way, when the heavy rain came, at least this area would no longer be at risk of flooding.

Arthur sat casually on a broken log that had been dug out of the ditch.

Iron Shovel stood beside him, directing the workers in the final reinforcement of the channel.

Dark clouds rolled incessantly above the town, and the wind, laden with damp moisture, blew against their faces.

"My Lord, once this last section is reinforced, it should be just about done."

Hearing Iron Shovel's words, Arthur closed his intelligence panel.

Today's intelligence had given him quite a headache.

Most of it had no direct connection to him, yet it could trigger immeasurable consequences.

The most important piece of information concerned the noble coalition army.

After an entire winter of bitter fighting, the Eastern Noble Coalition Army had ultimately failed to withstand the Beastmen's offensive.

According to the intelligence, the coalition army would soon completely disintegrate.

The Beastmen would then fully invade the territories of the Stag Family and the Evil Wolf Family.

In Arthur's view, this would be the prelude to the chaotic situation in the East.

And this chaos, in turn, could buy him ample time to develop.

Another piece of intelligence indicated that other dark forces in Qingfeng Valley were secretly uniting.

The vampires, led by Elizabeth Vantrace, were desperately lobbying other dark forces.

The Vantrace Clan had currently secured the support of the Throne Seer and the Toreador Clan. According to the intelligence, the forces they had yet to win over included the Beastkin entrenched in the mountain fortress, the cultists of the Olden Hills, the Phantom Knights of the Nameless Temple, the renegade elves of the Royal Winery, and the half-breeds in the Wizard's Tower.

Looking at this dense array of enemies, Arthur felt a headache coming on.

Fortunately, Airo had said that these forces were constantly warring among themselves, and uniting them would be harder than ascending to heaven.

This, at least, offered Arthur some comfort.

The young Baron looked up at the sky and said to the Old Dwarf: "The heavy rain will fall in the evening.

"There's still some time. After you're done here, take your men to clear a few more important drainage ditches.

"Especially near the supply warehouse, make sure the warehouse isn't flooded."

"I know, I've already arranged for some people to go over there," Iron Shovel replied.

The Old Dwarf had long grown accustomed to his Lord's foresight.

Therefore, he would execute any command without complaint.

The newcomers, however, who were being moved around, were full of confusion.

But at this moment, they could somewhat understand why the Baron had suddenly called them to repair the drainage ditches.

Arthur didn't notice the five soldiers working in the ditch who were looking in his direction.

The leader among them said to his companions: "See?

"The Lord is working just like us, so what's there to complain about?"

Another soldier, shoveling dirt, replied: "I'm not complaining about working.

"It's just that we were clearly protecting the Lord's reputation, and yet we ended up in this situation."

The leader reminded him: "Didn't the Captain say?

"We were all misled by that bastard named Pike; he made us the scapegoats.

"Originally, we just needed to report this matter, and someone would have handled it naturally."

"Then would you have reported it?" the man pressed again.

The leader remained silent, looking up at the Lord once more.

This time, the Lord happened to notice him.

He quickly lowered his head and muttered: "No, I'd still beat up those bastards."

The soldiers laughed at his words and worked even harder.

"Are they new?" Arthur asked Iron Shovel, pointing at the unfamiliar faces.

The Old Dwarf glanced in the direction he pointed, shook his head, and said: "They are Grey's soldiers.

"They committed an offense and were sent to work as punishment.

"Grey said if they behave well, he'll let them go back;

"If they dare to cause trouble again, then they'll be under my command."

At this, the Old Dwarf smiled and added: "These are rare laborers, look, each one is healthy and strong, worth two ordinary men."

Arthur said with a wry smile: "I'll arrange some reliable people for you as soon as possible.

"The physical condition of these Refugees is indeed a bit poor, but you can't blame them, after all, they've been wandering for a long time."

"I didn't mean anything by it, My Lord," Iron Shovel quickly explained, "I just meant to say that we've done our best.

"If they were all healthy, we might even be able to clear the ditches outside the town."

In Arthur's opinion, this was probably unlikely.

Even if all the people assigned to Iron Shovel were healthy, wanting to completely clear all the ditches was merely a beautiful aspiration.

According to Iron Shovel and Short Finger's estimates, when the heavy rain fell, the water level of the Paw Claw River would rise significantly, and the river water and rainwater would rush into the clogged ditches, then spread to the surrounding fields.

Large areas of farmland on the outskirts of Mist Town would likely be submerged.

Fortunately, the mushroom-growing fields were close to the town, so there would be no danger.

"Just do what we can, Old Man," Arthur said, "Do your best and leave the rest to fate."

With that, he stood up and walked towards the five soldiers.

His arrival made the soldiers particularly reserved.

"Tell me, why are you here?" Arthur asked them.

Godwin's face was as gloomy as the sky outside.

It looks like it will be a heavy rain, he thought, this will affect the transportation of supplies by the convoy.

Just then, Newt walked quickly into his office.

"Sir, I think we should depart now."

"No, have the convoy stand by first," Godwin waved his hand, "You won't make it to town before the heavy rain.

"This shipment is almost entirely food; if it gets damp and rots, it would be a huge loss."

The Captain was silent for a moment, then said: "According to my estimate, Mist Town's supplies can last at most three more days."

Godwin heard the warning in Newt's words.

"The new convoy has only just been formed, and its operations in all aspects are not yet perfect.

"Are you sure you can deliver the supplies safely in the heavy rain?" Godwin retorted.

Under his and Newt's management, a new convoy of six carriages had been formed.

Its members, in addition to the previous crew, also included some Refugees.

However, this newly formed convoy still had many problems.

Because most of the selected Refugees had been assigned to train as guards, very few people could be allocated to the convoy.

Furthermore, there wasn't enough time to modify the carriages.

All the goods were exposed; although covered by tarpaulins, in heavy rain, the tarpaulins probably wouldn't do much good.

The new Captain no longer spoke.

Paul, who had been handling documents nearby, suddenly interjected: "You are full of ambition, Newt, we all know that. Don't worry, you'll always have a chance to prove yourself.

But there's no need to risk important supplies, is there?"

Newt looked at this young man, who was not much older than himself.

To be honest, he wasn't convinced by Paul.

He had initially worked with Catherine; Paul was merely a latecomer.

Now he was already a Captain, while the other party was still just Catherine's aide-de-camp.

He didn't think the other party had the right to tell him what to do.

Perhaps sensing his displeasure, Paul analyzed further: "The cultists of Imperator have not yet been completely eradicated.

"They might launch an attack on the convoy.

"Additionally, the inclusion of the Falcon Family requires us to re-evaluate the current situation."

Newt turned to look at Godwin, who nodded, agreeing with Paul's assessment.

"I'm just as eager to get to Mist Town as you are," Paul added, "We are also equally concerned about Mist Town's supply issues, but we must not act rashly.

"The situation is chaotic now, we must proceed cautiously at every step."

Newt nodded helplessly.

Paul stood up, picked up a document, and walked towards the Captain: "Take a look at this."

Newt took the document and examined it; it was a recruitment order.

A recruitment order open to everyone.

"You understand this place better than we do," Paul explained, "Mr. Godwin and I both agree that you can help recruit some talented people."

"I will," Newt's brow relaxed a little, "At least I have something to do."

With that, he bowed and turned to leave the room.