Chapter 26: New Crisis
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Zhao Hai and Wood stood by the lake. Merlyn stood beside them and chanted softly. Soon, a transparent aqua blue shield appeared around them. Then, a wave emerged from the lake. Just as Zhao Hai was stunned, the wave swept the three of them into the lake.
However, Zhao Hai realized that the three of them were standing in a transparent blue sphere, and the lake water was carrying them forward.
This was the second time Zhao Hai had seen the wonders of magic. The first time, Merlyn had only used a simple illumination technique and a simple water ball technique, but even so, it had made Zhao Hai, who had seen magic for the first time, feel amazed. This time, it was even more magical than the previous time. They were actually moving on water, and furthermore, one person was bringing two others along. It was even more awesome than the “running on water” and “crossing the river on a reed” in Chinese martial arts.
Compared to Zhao Hai, who was considered half an outsider, Wood was much more calm. He had long known about the amazing effects of magic, not to mention that Merlyn was a level-eight water-type advanced mage. Fighting with such a mage in the water was every enemy’s nightmare because that was their home ground.
Merlyn also looked relaxed. She was very confident in her ability. On the water, she believed that she was an invincible existence, so when she said that there might be water-type magical beasts in the water, she did not look worried at all because she believed that she could easily kill them.
Moving on the water with magic was very fast. It took them more than three hours to arrive, but it only took them half an hour to see the entrance of a cave. Fortunately, this cave was the one behind the castle. This also proved that this lake could indeed be used as a waterway to secretly transport people to the valley.
When Merlyn removed the spell and Zhao Hai landed on the ground, he could not help but jump. The feeling of having his feet on the ground was really good.
Although he looked carefree when moving on the water, Zhao Hai had been feeling like he would fall at any time which was very uncomfortable.
When the three of them came out of the cave, they saw the slaves working outside. It was not noon yet, and they had not rested. There were many places to clean in the cave, and many slaves were doing woodworking in the cave.
If this cave was to be changed to a place to raise blue-eyed rabbits, it would need a lot of fences. They were using wood to make them, since they did not have much iron.
Considering the situation in the castle, Grimm and the others bought some wood, but it was not a lot. Most of the things they bought were finished products, because Grimm knew that even if some of those slaves knew how to do carpentry, they could not make anything too complicated, because good craftsmen slaves were not at the same price as these ordinary slaves.
The appearance of the three of them shocked the slaves. They immediately bowed to the three of them. The three nodded and left the cave.
Meg and Rock were standing outside the cave. When they saw the three of them come out, they were shocked. Meg quickly went forward and said, “Young Master, Grandma, why are you guys coming out of the cave?”
Merlyn smiled and said, “If you follow the lake, you will reach a valley. That is the most suitable place for farming. Young Master has just improved ten acres of land there, so we came back.”
Meg’s eyes lit up. “Really? That’s great. I didn’t expect things to go so smoothly. Grandma, Young Master, go back to the castle and rest. I’ll watch over here.”
Merlyn turned to Zhao Hai and said, “Young Master, let’s go back. I have something to tell you.”
Zhao Hai was stunned. He did not know what else Merlyn had to discuss with him, but seeing Merlyn’s solemn expression, he did not dare to delay. He immediately nodded and said, “Alright, let’s return to the castle first. Wood, stay and help Meg and Rock.” Wood stayed behind, and Zhao Hai followed Merlyn into the castle.
After the two of them arrived at the castle’s living room, Zhao Hai looked at Merlyn in confusion and said, “Grandma Merlyn, what is it that we can’t talk about outside?”
Merlyn nodded and said to Zhao Hai, “Young Master, when I returned today, I checked the situation in the lake, but I didn’t find any powerful water magic fluctuations. There are only two explanations for this situation. Firstly, that water-type magical beast is very powerful and is very good at hiding its whereabouts, so I can’t discover it. However, this situation is almost impossible. I’m a level-eight water mage, and I’m confident that nothing in the water can escape my detection. The second possibility is that there is no powerful magical beast in the water at all. There should be another reason why there are no fish in the water.”
Zhao Hai was stunned, but he immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. The lake in the mountain was one of the important plans for the development of his fief. If there was really no way to raise fish there, he would lose an important source of funds. Moreover, it would be a waste to not use such a large lake.
Zhao Hai said with a dark expression, “Can you find the specific reason?”
Merlyn said with a heavy expression, “I’ve heard of a rumor. I don’t know if it’s related to the situation in the lake, but I heard that because the Black Soil Wilderness is too close to the Carrion Swamp, some undead creatures and poisonous magical beasts will often run to the Black Soil Wilderness. They will kill all the living creatures here, so the Black Soil Wilderness has become a dead land. However, no one has come to the Black Soil Wilderness to verify it. If this news is true, this might be the reason why there are no fish in the lake.”
Zhao Hai’s expression changed. If it was really like what Merlyn said, then the situation would be troublesome. Among his people, other than Merlyn, Meg, Grimm, Wood, and Rock who had some combat strength, the others were all slaves with no combat strength. If the undead creatures and poisonous magical beasts in the Carrion Swamp really attacked them, they would be dead meat.
Zhao Hai lowered his head and kept rubbing his forehead. This was a habit he had in his previous life.
Merlyn looked at Zhao Hai and was very worried. If that really happened, all their agriculture would have to stop. It was difficult to say if they could survive.
Zhao Hai could not think of a good solution, so he could only say, “If this is true, we will be in big trouble. Grandma Merlyn, let’s wait for Grandpa Grimm to return and discuss this matter. How about this? From tomorrow onwards, let’s not clean the mine. Let’s gather all the resources in our hands and create some simple weapons. Then, we can train the slaves and repair the fort. If those creatures really attacked, we can at least rely on the fort to resist for a while. If it really doesn’t work, I can send everyone into my Space Farm. After the undead creatures and magical beasts retreat, we can come out.”
Merlyn frowned and thought for a while, but she could not think of a good solution. She could only nod and say, “Looks like this is the only way now. We’ve been in the Black Soil Wilderness for a while now, but we haven’t seen any abnormal movements in the Carrion Swamp. There shouldn’t be a problem. I hope my worries are unnecessary.”
Zhao Hai shook his head and said, “Whether it’s a baseless worry or not, we have to do this. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Now, the last of our Buda family’s assets are here. If we lose all of them, our Buda family will have no hope of making a comeback.”
Merlyn nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll arrange it immediately, but we didn’t bring many weapons this time. Moreover, those supplies are mostly daily necessities. They can’t be used as weapons at all. What should we do?”
Zhao Hai did not have a good solution now. If his Space Farm was at a higher level, he could plant some trees to produce wood for weapons, but his current level was too low. He could not plant trees at all. He could not possibly let someone fight those undead creatures with a corn stalk, right?
Zhao Hai rubbed his forehead hard. His forehead was already red, but he still could not think of a good solution. Suddenly, he noticed the stone ground and a bold idea appeared in his mind. He raised his head and said to Merlyn, “Grandma Merlyn, how about this? Tomorrow, we can organize people to gather stones and make some stone weapons. Although these weapons are not very lethal, we can use them to defend the city. What do you think?”
Merlyn thought for a moment and nodded. “Alright, we don’t have that many supplies now. When we left the capital, they didn’t let us bring weapons at all. We can only do this now. When Grimm returns, let him buy a batch of weapons as soon as possible.”
Zhao Hai nodded. He did not expect that he would have to adopt the methods of the stone age one day.
It seemed like the nobles in the capital really did not want to let them live. Otherwise, they would not have prohibited them from bringing weapons to a place like the Black Soil Wilderness. He did not believe that the nobles in the capital had not heard of the rumors of this place.
Now, they were not only facing a food crisis, but also the possibility of being killed by those undead creatures and poisonous magical beasts.