Iron Harvest: When Farming Becomes Conquest-Chapter 290 - 26: Flood Control

Afternoon.

The diggers all noticed it, the rain suddenly intensified.

They worked bare-chested, truly embodying their nickname "Mud Legs."

The cold rain pelted their shoulders and backs, causing some to shiver.

It was summer, yet they felt a chill.

Roman had ordered the construction of numerous temporary shelters.

Over a hundred draft horses pulled wagon after wagon.

On the wagons were barrels, inside the barrels were warm salty meat soup, fried bacon, and soft, fragrant bread.

The laborers started to eat in batches, these warm meals replenishing their body heat, making their stomachs warm and much more comfortable. After eating, they rested briefly before continuing to dig.

They worked in phased segments.

They dug trenches and channels, directing the waterflow to lower areas.

But progress was slow.

Damn it! The barren land was too hard to dig through, full of rocks.

Roman’s face darkened,

He rode a white horse, passing through one area after another.

The rain increased, submerging the surface of their feet.

The ditches they dug filled with water.

From his vantage point, he saw that these low-lying areas could not hold much water.

This was normal, each summer the basin downstream would turn into a wetland.

The water from these wetlands would slowly flow to the Bro River, or be absorbed by the soil, anyway it would recede.

But this process could take ten to fifteen days.

What is developed land?

It’s land that, when faced with a downpour, can rapidly drain floodwaters through infrastructure, possessing a certain flood resistance.

Those crops couldn’t handle being submerged for ten or fifteen days.

Even three to five days would be too much.

He was planting bean crops this cycle.

If submerged for a day, they might barely recover once the water receded.

Two days later, the yield would drastically decrease.

Three days later, they’d all be dead.

No, he needed to find a way to dig a drainage channel leading to the Bro River.

Roman observed patiently, searched patiently, and finally found a suitable spot.

Start digging!

...

Evening.

Just an hour or two after they started, the sky grew dark.

Roman had to call it a day.

Agents from each residential area banged gongs, drummed, and blew whistles, using various means of communication to gather the workers.

They wouldn’t be able to return tonight.

They had to quickly set up camp and rest on site, hoping to start work swiftly at dawn.

Roman had already fetched a large amount of dry firewood, cast iron pots for boiling water, and freshly prepared food from the kitchen.

They would make do and get through the night.

He didn’t go back either, eating and living with the stewards,

The sky turned completely dark.

It wasn’t just a downpour, but also sporadic thunder that became the only source of light in the sky.

Darkness descended, thunder roared, heavy rain poured, and water flowed.

The entire world seemed to be submerged.

On the ground, only the bonfires flickered in this dark world, seen from afar like myriad lights in a stormy night, small yet unyielding, just like the Human Clan during ancient times resisting natural disasters to the end—then as now.

...

Roman suddenly woke from his sleep.

He realized it was now the third day of the rainy season.

When he looked at his device, he found that tomorrow would be another day of torrential rain.

Roman’s vision went dark.

His worst fear had come true!

He woke still drowsy, it wasn’t even four o’clock yet, and it was still pitch black outside.

But he couldn’t worry about that now.

Roman led the white horse away from the temporary camp and went to the military camp.

When the soldiers at the camp saw him, the sky was beginning to lighten.

He was drenched through and through, his thick hair sticking to his body, barely recognizable to the guard.

"Master?... Master!!"

Roman entered the military camp, his face grim as water!

...

Half an hour later.

All the troops had assembled.

They were isolated and independent here, only aware that it was raining, with no knowledge of what was happening outside.

"I need you now! Not for war, but for flood relief!" Roman cut to the chase, Jet standing behind him.

The sound of the rain was noisy; his voice wasn’t a whistle, neither sharp nor piercing. It couldn’t even carry beyond twenty meters, let alone be heard by all five thousand soldiers.

But the front row heard him.

And that was enough.

"First Squadron! Ninth Squadron! Eleventh Squadron! All squadron leaders, all team leaders, drop all weapons and follow me!" Aaron shouted, tilting back his head.

Aaron took the lead.

He mounted his warhorse, raising the square flags of the first, ninth, and eleventh squadrons high on the same pole, distinguished by colors.

The so-called Square Flag Knight was the one who commanded the troops.

"Second Squadron! Tenth Squadron! Twelfth Squadron! All squadron leaders, all team leaders, follow me!" Green yelled immediately afterward.

Then Green too mounted, holding the flags high.

"Third Squadron! Thirteenth Squadron! Fourteenth Squadron! Did you hear that? Our master needs us, everyone follow me!" Nathan’s voice boomed like a drum.

He usually didn’t ride a warhorse since he was taller than most, holding the square flag high with one hand.

"Fourth Squadron! Fifteenth Squadron! Serve our King loyally! Die for our King!" Kao’s voice sounded harsh and chilly.

He swiftly plugged the flagpole onto his saddle.

"Heavy Equipment Squadron! Your time has come!" Dick said similarly.

"Scout Squadron! Everyone, keep up!" Dota ordered.

"Cavalry Squadron! Don’t fall behind!" Luca shouted.

"All Archers..."

"Cooking squad..."

...

The flood came.

The army set out.

Their organization surpassed that of the peasants.

No shouting, no talking.

They silently followed their respective captains.

Throughout history, no army had undertaken tasks unrelated to war, plunder, or slaughter.

Everyone believed they were an army meant to function on the battlefield, not to scramble through mud and water.

Their hands should hold swords, knives, long spears, shoot deadly arrows, and commit all acts possible to harm others.

But now was different.

The real army had appeared; they had all sworn oaths at enlistment, to be loyal to their master and the people.

From now on, they would only do what they were supposed to do.

Spirit unified, dignity awakened, souls revived, spines straightened.

The earth started with thunder, and life rose from piles of white bones.

All the pretense would be exposed before them.

Roman also believed that one day, they would sweep away all evil spirits.

This sky and earth would eventually be bright and clear.

...

The torrential downpour lasted for a full seven days.

It was a basin flood, with an exaggerated amount of rainfall, significantly raising water levels in the middle and upper sections of the basin.

To say it caused a disaster was to speak of the flood.

According to elders from the period of Sige Town, it was a flood unseen in thirty to fifty years.

If there was no outlet from the basin, this place would have become the largest freshwater lake on earth.

The army’s involvement significantly accelerated the construction progress.

Roman commanded people to work day and night without sparing any effort in manpower or materials, and finally on the fifth day, they managed to break through the channel.

By that time, the flood had already inundated nearly half of the cultivated land.

But the water was soon redirected, and though there was a reduction in the crop yield, it wasn’t severe.

At the end, Roman’s eyes were red and swollen, his body cold and wet, exhausted and tired, nearly overwhelmed even for a Conquest Knight of great constitution.

And others simply slept directly on the muddy ground.

But the matter wasn’t over yet.

The torrential rain brought floods, and the floods brought disease.