156: Repairing the river channel

High above the Red River, Raine and the others used levitation magic to stand in mid-air, looking down at the surging Red River.

After several days of careful investigation by Raine, Cecilia, and Alistair, Raine had come up with a plan to modify the river channel, and work officially began today.

"The source of the Red River is deep within the Black Mountain Range. By the time it flows to the Red River Valley, the water volume is already significant. According to your plan, Raine, we must start modifying the channel from the northernmost mountain pass."

Master Capdo reached a conclusion after some study.

Although the water flow at the mountain pass was rapid, overall, the water volume was not as large as downstream and the channel was narrower. By the time the Red River reached the Red River Territory, the water volume would increase significantly due to the injection of several tributaries, and the river surface would broaden, making the modification even more difficult.

Raine wanted to widen and deepen the northern section of the river, remove large boulders from the water, and smooth out some sections with slightly larger drops.

Once these modifications were complete, the navigation capacity of the northern river channel would be greatly improved.

"We'll do as you say, Master Capdo. We'll start from the north and head south."

The group headed north, continuously observing the river channel along the way while carefully comparing it with the modification plan Raine had given them.

Especially Kapdo; he was the primary force this time. He had to keep the river modification plan firmly in mind so that he wouldn't make any mistakes while casting spells.

Melissa, who was accompanying them, also became serious. As a fairy, she didn't like altering nature, but she disliked the potential negative consequences of such alterations even more.

She couldn't stop Raine from modifying the river channel, so now Melissa could only try her best to minimize the negative impacts after the modification.

Some of the suggestions Melissa proposed also caught Raine's attention, and he made some minor adjustments to the river modification plan.

Soon, the group arrived at the northernmost point of the Red River Valley, where the Red River flows out of the Black Mountain Range.

This area used to belong to the Bright Moon Territory. Looking at the somewhat familiar scenery, Alistair recalled the days she had lived in the Bright Moon Territory.

"Let's begin!"

Led by Kapdo and assisted by Alistair and Melissa, powerful magical fluctuations rippled through the surroundings. Raine also participated.

Joint casting was something high-level mages often did. Through joint casting, they could release spells that far exceeded the limits of individual casting effects. This was also an important reason why the Mage Corps served as a trump card.

Often, a Mage Corps' joint casting of a super-large-scale destructive spell could end a war.

Although there weren't many of them now, their quality was exceptionally high, so the effect of their joint casting would certainly not be poor.

The steep river channel, over ten meters wide, began to change according to Raine's will. Massive amounts of soil surged and rolled, huge boulders shattered and disappeared, and the narrow channel began to widen.

Once they actually started working, Raine found that the effect of joint casting was even stronger than he had anticipated. A section of the river channel several hundred meters long was modified in one go, and many details were perfected.

Looking at the results of the joint casting, Raine once again marveled at the creativity of mages.

"The creativity of high-level mages is truly powerful. It seems my plan was a bit conservative."

Over the next month or so, Raine led the high-level mages along the Red River, constantly modifying the channel.

Because the efficiency was higher than Raine had expected, he later included the remaining tributaries of the Red River in the scope of the modification.

Not only that, but Raine also opened up irrigation channels along the way that reached deep into the farmland on both banks of the river, instantly expanding the area of the irrigation channels previously modified by Bar by over a hundredfold.

Several small lakes in the Red River Valley that were formed by the Red River were also expanded and deepened by Raine.

Raine planned to develop a large-scale fish farming industry in these lakes later; at the same time, these lakes could serve for water storage and flood discharge.

With refinements made while working, the entire Red River modification project ended up being much larger than originally planned.

Fortunately, Kapdo and Cecilia worked hard without complaint and cooperated actively without saying much. Melissa and Ariya were a bit moody, but after Raine gave each of them a bottle of the few remaining Clansia's Blessing potions, the two fairies' moods improved.

Coupled with Alistair constantly speaking up for Raine, Melissa continued to work, taking Ariya with her.

In truth, Melissa and Ariya would have preferred to return to the Medicinal Herb Field and stay with Dora.

Under the joint efforts of several powerful mages, the Red River, which had flowed through the Red River Valley for untold years, underwent earth-shaking changes.

On April 25th, Raine stood on the brand-new Red River Bridge, looking down at the rushing Red River, his heart swelling with infinite pride.

This bridge, which was once the only bridge over the Red River, was no longer the only one. Raine had built three more new cross-river bridges at key locations upstream, connecting the two banks of the Red River.

And the Red River Bridge beneath Raine's feet had also been expanded and reinforced; the bridge deck was now twice as wide as before, and the bridge structure had been reinforced as a whole.

Such a project could only be completed in a world with magic. In the world before Raine's reincarnation, achieving such an effect would have required tearing down the bridge and rebuilding it.

Transforming nature—a massive project that would have required hundreds of thousands of laborers and years to complete—was finished by Raine and a few powerful mages in less than two months.

The modification of the Red River was the foundational project for Raine to build the Red River Territory, and it was also the most important major undertaking. Having completed this project, Raine was confident that he could turn the Red River Valley into a powerful territory within two or three years.

The modification of the Red River not only improved its navigation capacity but also greatly enhanced the habitability of the entire Red River Valley. The potential of the Red River Valley had now received a qualitative boost.

As his base of operations, he had truly poured his heart and soul into the construction here, trying every possible way to enhance the territory's foundation.

Raine wanted the Red River Valley to shock the Rage Bear Territory in the near future and stand tall in the Northlands, or even beyond. The fire of ambition in his heart began to burn fiercely.

"Thank you all for your hard work. You have all supported me fully over these nearly two months. I am very grateful, and I thank you all."

"Tonight at the Red River Fortress, let's all have a good celebration."

Kapdo nodded with a smile. Melissa and Ariya breathed a sigh of relief; now that Raine's plan was finally complete, the two of them could finally rest.

As for Alistair and Cecilia, their feelings were similar to Raine's. Looking at the transformed Red River, their hearts were also filled with a sense of pride.

They had both participated in the modification of the Red River from beginning to end and contributed a significant amount of power. Now that this major project was finished, Cecilia and Alistair were extremely satisfied looking at the fruits of their labor.

"Finally willing to host a banquet! Our Viscount Raine is really going all out this time!"

Alistair teased Raine. She now knew just how stingy a certain Viscount could be at times.

"Hahahaha!"

Kapdo laughed, and Cecilia also covered her mouth and laughed nearby. The two of them understood Raine best and immediately knew what Alistair meant.

"Hehehe!"

Raine scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Melissa watched Alistair and Raine's familiar teasing, her eyes flickering as she thought about something.

Ariya, on the other hand, spun around happily. Finally, she didn't have to be busy and could eat delicious food, which made the little fairy very happy. She loved human food, especially the food at the Red River Fortress.

After absorbing a large population, especially the large population from the former Bright Moon Territory, Raine had found several experienced chefs, including the chef who had once served Alistair.

The food prepared in the Red River Fortress kitchen had now seen a qualitative leap in color, aroma, taste, and variety, which also greatly improved the living standards of Raine and the others.

"Don't worry, I'm really going all out this time. I'll bring out the high-level magical beast meat and several special magic plants I've been saving to give everyone a good boost!"

"Yay!"

Ariya was the first to cheer happily, and the rest of them laughed as they looked at the joyful little fairy.

"Hahahaha!"