Chapter 30: Brother Zhu, take care
Trantor: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
“So please hear my analysis. Brother Zhu has seen Rong Valley City; with itsck of rainfall and dried-up rivers, without that levee, we would have no harvest at all this fall, let alone provide any food to the Dongxu Battlefield,” Zheng Yu began to say.
Zhu Minng was listening while observing the weather.
The weather was changing, and that unusual air pressure also made one feel suffocated.
This kind of suffocation often precedes rainfall.
Teacher Duan Lan was already performing the ritual to summon clouds and rain.
“If our fertile Rong Valley City, blessed with rivers, is in such a state, what about Wutu, with its harsher environment and more barrennd?” Zheng Yu lifted his gaze, staring into Zhu Minng’s eyes.
“We have no rain, Wutu has no rain either,” Zhu Minng said.
“Yes, Wutu has a primitive system, backward agriculture, and a barbaric folk tradition. This fall, they didn’t get a single drop of rain, and winter is almost upon us…” Zheng Yu said, but suddenly, a thunderous roar came from the grey skies!
“Boom!!!!!!”
As the thunder resounded, the sky and earth, which were clear just a moment ago, had somehow turned murky and obscure, and a sh of lightning streaked across Rong Valley City, illuminating the ancient streets ahead and themoners in homespun clothes waiting for the rain at the street corners.
On their faces, there was anticipation, there was the color of joy!
They could already smell the rain, the source of life.
In front of the mansion’s gate, Zheng Yu didn’t move an inch, standing before Zhu Minng with a humble posture.
Zhu Minng looked at the young City Lord, somewhat touched inside.
What really moved him wasn’t the break of dawn with thunder and rain, but Zheng Yu’s words.
It was the angle from which he considered the current affairs.
“This war…” Zhu Minng felt waves rising in his heart. “There can only be one oue,” Zheng Yu said gravely.
Zhu Minng looked toward the east.
In fact, it was only this small valley that was covered by dense clouds; everywhere else was still under the fierce sunlight.
“Drip-drop-
A raindrop,nding precisely behind Zhu Minng’s neck, was cool, was moist…
“Drip-drop-
“Drip-drip-drip-drip-drip-
More and more raindrops fell, hitting the ancient cobblestones of the road and producing a melodious sound, like piano keys.
From gentle to rapid, like a soft and slow movement of a symphony, subtly changing, gradually stirring, getting higher and more excited, until one waspletely engulfed in the wondrous pce of rain sounds.
“It’s raining!”
“It’s raining! !!! ! ”
In the streets, inside the houses, over the fields, cheers erupted.
The rain seemed sweet even to the smell.
The rain washed away the gloom in everyone’s hearts.
The rain was like blood flowing through a parched body, bringing this valley, bringing this city back to life!
The heartfelt cheers of the people exceeded any festivity, even outshone the triumph of battles.
Listening to the rain nourishing all things, listening to the joyous sounds of the entire city, Zhu Minng stood under the eaves of the Mansion’s gate, his sleeves and shoes dampened by the fluttering curtain of rain.
And City Lord Zheng Yu stood outside the eaves, still not moving a step, still maintaining that humility…
But the rain had drenched his hair tie, soaked his robes, rain droplets clinging to his side face, lending his schrly and frail face an exceptional resolve, his eyes, at that moment, shone with an unyielding light.
“Why don’t you join your people in theirughter? You’ve dyed the time, letting this rain fall, and now even if you tell the two teachers of your actions, you can im that this rain has filled the reservoirs,” Zhu Minng said with a smile, looking at the hypocritical City Lord.
“Brother Zhu, how long have you and I been talking?” Zheng Yu asked earnestly.
“Just a few minutes.”
“Did you know that before we met, the front line had already sent a dyed battle report?” Zheng Yu continued. Zhu Minng’s face changed slightly.
A dyed battle report?
Just now, Zheng Yu had already analyzed the Wutu war, and Zhu Minng found himself very much in agreement with what Zheng Yu had said.
Yes, there was only one oue to this war—defeat!
Why would the Ancestral Dragon City lose?
They had superior equipment, skilled military leaders, and towering city wall fortresses…
But what of it?
Wutu faced its greatest catastrophe.
Zhu Minng had lived in Wutu and knew well that most of the Wutu people lived from one year’s toil to feed themselves for the same year.
Theirnd was barren, and just to fill their stomachs was not an easy task, much less storing grain or clothing.
And now, since his departure from Wutu, not a single rain had fallen. Even Rong Valley City, with its valley irrigation, was facing a crisis of dried fields and dead livestock, let alone Wutu!
No rain meant wasted fields, withering fruit trees, and apleteck of food.
In winter, without hemp or cotton for clothes, how could one withstand the cold? The winters in Wutu were already harsh! They were caught in a desperate situation!
They had no space left to survive!!
This was the origin of the riot.
As the end of autumn drew near and winter approached, more and more Wutu people realized they wouldn’t live to see the next year.
It wasn’t that the rioters coveted the fertilends of the Ancestral Dragon City; they were being ruthlessly driven to the brink by a “God of Death” known as winter. They had to either break through the sturdy fortress for a slim chance of survival or perish in Wutu!!
It didn’t matter how well-equipped the soldiers were or how fierce the dragon beasts seemed to them. Their desire to live would drive the Wutu people like moths to a me…
They fought to live.
The Ancestral Dragon City fought for dignity andnd.
Who would win, who would lose?
There was only one oue to this war, Zheng Yu knew it well, and now Zhu Minng understood it too.
So that dyed battle report…
Rong Valley City was merely fifty miles from the fortress front line.
Moreover, being in a valley, even climbing high wouldn’t afford a view of the ins outside. The Wutu Riot Army would soon arrive here!
“Da da da da da da da da-
The sound of the rain was deafening.
The civilians celebrated.
As the City Lord, Zheng Yu stood in the pouring rain, just one step away from seeking shelter under the eaves, but he did not move.
“The rain hase, the city is lost,” Zhu Minng finally understood why Zheng Yu could not smile.
“Brother Zhu, now you can tell them, and please inform the two teachers to have the students leave quickly. On behalf of Zheng, I want to express my gratitude to the two teachers and the Dragon Taming students for theirpassion towards themon people,” Zheng Yu bowed deeply to Zhu Minng once again.
The rain beat against his deste back, water seeped into his clothes, and flowed from his hair down to his cheeks…
Zhu Minng set aside his previous suspicions, brought his hands tightly together, and stepped down the stairs, allowing the rain to baptize him, slowly lowering his body, then lowering it further, bowing deeply just the same.
“Brother Zhu is powerless, Brother Zheng take care,” Zhu Minng said. Having said his goodbyes, Zhu Minng ran through the rain, his heart heavy.
Zheng Yu did not abandon the city and flee.
He was ready to fight to the death with the Riot Army that had just breached the fortress.
He was going to protect the citizens of Rong Valley City who had just received the celebrating rain.
The Flying Bird Pseudo-Dragons ascended slowly through the rain; their lineage came from Pterosaurs, with flesh wings, and the rainwater didn’t wet their feathers but added some resistance.
Thirteen students donned the leather raincoats that had been prepared, and Teacher Duan Lan and Teacher Ke Bei stood on the back of the Eagle Beast Dragon.
They were slowly leaving Rong Valley City, and when they reached a height of two hundred meters, they could see masses of raindrops at the valley’s mouth, where throngs of people, like a stampede of beasts, were surging into the valley, rushing toward Rong Valley City!
It was the Wutu Riot Army!!
Their shouts were getting louder and louder, so loud that not even the heavy rain could drown them out, like endless thunder in the distance growing ever nearer!!!
From the ground, perhaps only some figures were visible, but from high above, these figures were unending, some even wearing armor looted from the city-state soldiers; they were charging into the rice fields, just moistened by the rain, charging towards the city!
“The fortress really fell???” A Dragon Taming student said doubtfully, stupefied by the scene.
“Teacher Ke Bei, we are citizens of the Ancestral Dragon City too, shall we just watch these rioters invade our city? We are Dragon Shepherds; why fear these lowly people!” Nan Ye shouted loudly.
As a member of the Nan Family, he was royalty in Ancestral Dragon City, and seeing his family’s territory trampled like this was unbearable!
With Teachers Duan Lan and Ke Bei, two senior Dragon Shepherds present, and thirteen students, each with a Dragon Son, they should be able to ughter this mob!
“Once you join the Dragon Taming Academy, unless it is to attack Evil City, you must not involve yourselves in any conflict, don’t you understand this rule!” Teacher Ke Bei scolded sternly.
“But those are Wutu Beasts, wicked people, they have their ownnd, yet they step into the Ancestral Dragon City-State territory. They don’t deserve our pity!” Nan Ye protested emotionally.
Why not act?
The two teachers could definitely stop the Riot Army or at least dy until reinforcements arrived!
“They are not beasts; they too are merely seeking to survive…” Teacher Duan Lan’s voice carried a sob.
They were meant for the people, summoning the rain of the dragon, yet they hadn’t foreseen that their Azure Dragon Mystics would only revive a small valley’s residents,pletely unable to save the tragedy inflicted by the natural disaster.
Even without the explicit prohibitions of the Dragon Taming Academy, what should Duan Lan do?
Massacre a group of men fighting to carve out a path of survival for their families, or protect the popce tormented by a drought-ridden autumn?
There was nothing to be done.
Dragon Shepherds.
Transcending ordinary spirits, yet equally insignificant.
“Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble-
Suddenly, bursts of thunderous noise came from the depths of the valley. Through the curtain of rain, one could see that a tiny stream was being blocked by some colossal ancient beast, with rocks and trees violently pulled into it, swept along with the raging torrent towards the entrance of the valley…
“A sh flood???”
Everyone was astounded; how could the long-dry woods cause a flood with just this rain!
The rain, at most, would nourish the forests, not cause such a fierce deluge.
The water filled the stream, unstoppable as it rolled through the fields of Rong Valley City and poured recklessly into the narrow path leading into the valley!
That narrow entrance to Rong Valley City was overcrowded; packed with the Riot Army pouring in from Wutu. Their lengthy columns couldn’t have expected that such a surge of valley flood woulde rushing in from the peaceful valley city..
A mournful wail!
Countless Wutu people were swallowed up by the flood in the valley, They wanted to retreat, but the narrow terrain of the valley left them with no ce to hide from the sh flood!
Tens of thousands suffered from the flood’s ravages, They were savagely smashed against the rocks by the waves, drowned in the water, or washed away to the delta of the valley.
The once overwhelming Riot Army that could have easily breached the city walls crumbled for the most part due to this critical flood, their bodies drifting along with the mountain stream.
Overlooking this shocking scene from above, Zhu Minng’s heart churned with equally massive waves!
He thought of that frail schr at the mansion’s steps, who had been nothing but courteous and polite.
He thought of that young City Lord who was unyielding in the heavy rain.
His eyes, too, in the gloomy rain, sparkled with determination.
Refusing to open the floodgates despite the reservoir’s brimful state.
Prefer the people to suffer, but absolutely not open the water gates.
“Before winter, Dongxu Fortress will surely be breached, When one falls, the next follows. Once Dongxu falls, sparsely guarded Rong Valley City will definitely face ughter by the mob, perhaps even to the point of bloodshed and cannibalism.”
“People can endure hardship. They can get through the winter by various means, but they cannotck the weapons to resist invasion.”
I am aware of their suffering, butpared to misery, I wish for them to survive this chaotic world even more,” he murmured.
“Brother Zhu, take care.”
The heavy rain roared in his ears. The rain cape couldn’t keep out the drifting rain; Zhu Minng’s mind was filled with the image of that slim figure drenched in the rain, and hisst wordless, deep bow was the unspoken sentiments he harbored!
Zhu Minng took a deep breath, inhaling the sour, damp air. Gazing through the swaying curtain of rain and then at the destendscape, we are all but mortals.
“There’s more of the Riot Army behind us, heavens, just how many people from Wutu have joined this uprising!” Li Shaoying suddenly eximed in shock.
Once clear of the valley, one could see the ins, and it was unimaginable that outside that valley were tens of thousands of Riot Army soldiers. Only a part of them had entered Rong Valley City!
The Riot Army had indeed suffered great damage, but it hardly affected their vast foundation!
Eventually, the reservoir would dry up, and the valley path would slowly reappear. The Riot Army would still surge into the granary city in the valley!
Given Wutu’s brutal acts, the civilians of Rong Valley City were unlikely to survive.
“The narrow pathway is low-lying, as if deliberately excavated. Not all the floodwater is gone. It’s now umting into a pond, submerging the valley road. The rioters must swim through the muddy pond to be able to attack Rong Valley City,” said Nan Ye, incredibly excited.
That pondy right at the only entrance to the valley, entirely as if it had been designed that way.
With the road flooded, horses and beasts could not enter, and the steep valley walls on both sides of the pond made climbing extremely difficult. After the rain, it was even easier to fall and get killed…
This pond had be a barrier for Rong Valley City, preventing the Riot Army from flooding in en masse.
“As long as we establish a post on the other side of the pond and shoot arrows at enemies who jump in, a thousand people could hold off an army of ten thousand. Is this miraculous flood a gift from heaven to Rong Valley City????” A female student couldn’t help but voice her joy.
The Riot Army that the fortress couldn’t stop was at a loss against the small Rong Valley City!
“Teacher Duan Lan, this rain has saved all the citizens of Rong Valley City. Even if the Riot Army clears the pond temporarily, it will take a day or two. By then, reinforcements will have already arrived…” Other students couldn’t help but exim in amazement.
This flood was like a miracle!
But only Zhu Minng knew all of this originated from a weak schr.
He held back the water and did not release it. It was he who preserved the city’sst line of defense with his extraordinary insight and wisdom, safeguarding his people!
Brother Zheng, take care as well.
Please also survive in this chaotic world.
Zhu Minng stood on the back of the Eagle Beast Dragon and bowed deeply once more in the direction of Rong Valley City.
(After some thought, I decided that a cohesive read is better, so I’ve released all the drafts I’ve saved.. Show some support with your votes-