**Chapter 151: The Storm**
A calm day passed just like that.
As March approached, the storm season gradually came to the Overseas Islands.
On the second day after Soren returned, a heavy rain fell here. The rainfall was hard to quantify, but it was indeed very heavy, with several houses experiencing minor leaks. This was unavoidable; the craftsmanship of this era was limited, and there’s bound to be wear and tear in the face of strong winds and heavy rain. Fortunately, Soren had already prepared for the climate of the Overseas Islands; otherwise, if they were using thatched houses like in the mainland, they might have been blown away entirely.
The heavy rain fell in a crackling manner.
Even though Soren had laid out drainage channels in advance and emphasized road repairs, there was still some flooding. The channels were newly excavated, lacking sufficient depth and draining too little; thus, the heavy rain caused the roads to become a bit bumpy. The stone-paved roads were somewhat better, but any road with soil had turned into a mire, making it almost impossible for carts and horses to pass. Because of this rain, the slaves could not work and were all confined, with people appointed to guard against disease.
The indigenous people were somewhat better off; among the newly arrived mainland slaves, some were suffering from diarrhea due to acclimatization, but thankfully a physician was present, and no casualties occurred.
Not having a priest was indeed a trouble!
The climate in the Overseas Islands was harsh, with frequent storms, and being a region of faith to the Lord of Storms, these storms often came with thunderstorms!
Like now.
Lightning streaked across the sky, occasionally striking down into the distant tropical rainforest, looking as if someone was undergoing tribulation!
The rain lasted all day long.
If it were wooden houses, they would surely be drenched inside by now.
However, Soren had built many brick houses; from this perspective, they were better suited to the climate of the Overseas Islands and also had a stronger resistance to storms.
With the rain coming, the entire camp fell into silence.
The pirates were hiding indoors to avoid the rain, and the three taverns were already packed, while outside, it was dark and murky, visibility reduced to five meters.
“The climate here!…”
Gloria looked up at the sky and stood beside Soren, reaching out to hold his hand, she slowly said, “This place probably isn’t suitable for farming. If such weather occurs frequently, the seeds will be hard to survive.”
Soren nodded slightly, his expression serious as he replied, “I know.”
“Fortunately, we haven’t sown any seeds yet; otherwise, they would have probably been washed away. There’s too much to build here for development, like drainage and irrigation channels, flood control embankments. All of these require a lot of manpower; for now, we can only take it step by step. This kind of weather isn’t impossible to change; in a couple of days, I will prepare for the Sea God’s worship.”
Hearing this, Gloria slightly furrowed her brows and said slowly, “Are you going to rely on the power of the deities?”
“The price of seeking the deities’ help is not small! Unfortunately, I haven’t ascended to legend yet. Otherwise, I could leverage the power of the Wizard Tower and magic circles to forcefully alter the nearby climate.”
Soren turned to look at her and gently gathered Gloria into his arms, speaking in a deep voice, “There’s no need to go to such lengths.”
“It requires too much energy!”
“Unless there’s a Wizard Tower to maintain the energy consumption. Forcing a weather reversal, while temporarily feasible, will inevitably lead to side effects in the future.”
“Nature is very mysterious!”
“Unless there’s a power capable of changing heaven and earth. Otherwise, it’s best to go with the flow.”
Gloria found herself somewhat unable to comprehend Soren’s words; while she could understand the individual terms, united, they felt somewhat obscure. However, being the wise witch she was, she had a rough understanding of Soren’s meaning.
She nodded gently, resting her head on Soren’s shoulder, slowly saying, “In the short term, we can draw on the power of the gods, but in the long run, it will lead to dependency, which is not beneficial for your rule here. The influence of the gods will surpass your prestige.”
Soren took a deep breath at her words, saying solemnly, “I know.”
“As long as we can get through this period.”
Boom!
A bolt of lightning struck down, the electric light dancing like dragon snakes.
Soren stood under the eaves, gazing at the horizon, his eyes seeming to pierce through space, witnessing more things.
That was the realm of the gods, where the power he needed resided.
………………
A torrential rain lasted a full three days before it finally ceased.
The camp experienced some flooding, although this was a headache, it also exposed some flaws in the development plans. After the rain stopped, Soren hurriedly mobilized manpower for repairs, fixing the damaged roads and houses. After the storm, the sky cleared, suggesting that another storm would not arrive in the short term. From a climatic standpoint, farming here required a bit of luck; balanced weather was needed, but strength, to a certain degree, could also alter climatic phenomena.
A busy morning quickly passed.
After initially being inseparable, Soren and Gloria regained their usual routines.
Soren busily planned the camp while also honing his spells with the mastery of spellcasting; in the afternoon, he trained combat skills, with the Drow and Adele as his sparring partners. Gloria usually conducted research in the house, occasionally stepping outside. Recently, those carnivorous plants had drawn her attention a bit, but she soon turned her focus back to researching the Shadow Plane. Gloria hoped to establish a portal, utilizing the seams of the Shadow Plane to stabilize the connection between the two worlds.
This way, whenever they encountered a sudden situation while exploring the Wizard Tower, they could return to the Material Plane at any time and close the portal.
This was the safest method!
Additionally, they maintained a rhythm of indulging in their two-person time every three days.
Neither Soren nor Gloria was the type to easily lose themselves in lust; they sought something beyond the material body, a realm transcending the mundane world.
Perhaps because of Gloria’s presence, Soren’s aura of malice had weakened significantly.
This caused many pirates to feel gratitude toward this witch, as in the past, Soren was undoubtedly someone who could k*ll without blinking, ruthless and bloody in his methods, instilling more fear than respect from the pirates under him. Now, instances of Soren killing had decreased, and even when some subordinates made mistakes, they were more often than not subjected only to flogging.
Getting whipped was certainly better than losing one’s head!
………………
The slaves began to busy themselves.
There were still many things to do in developing the camp; starting from nothing was truly not easy.
Sometimes, even Soren felt weary.
But everything was worth it, as roots had already been established here, and even the Drow gradually developed a sense of acceptance after witnessing the growth of this place.
In fact, some Drow warriors proposed relocating their clan here.
This place was safer, more comfortable, more convenient, with abundant food, fine equipment, and various daily supplies.
However.
Because there were still those among the Drow who worried that Soren would shift from cooperation to annexation, completely consuming the Drow clan, the female Drow were particularly opposed to this.
Soren wasn’t anxious.
He planned to leave this to time; if the moment came and they still didn’t understand, he wouldn’t hesitate to use some ruthless methods.
The southern side of the camp had already cultivated a large tract of wasteland.
However, no seeds were sown yet, and it was estimated that they would have to wait until around March. The firing of bricks and tiles to build houses was still in full swing, with Soren’s initial plan encompassing nearly five hundred houses, sufficient to accommodate all his subordinates, and even considering a few slaves. Wizard Saruman had already begun researching how to turn bird droppings into high-quality fertilizer, expecting results in about a month. By then, they would nearly be ready to sow seeds in the fields, as the slaves brought from the mainland had mastered deep plowing.
Farming here required meticulous cultivation.
Recently, Soren learned from his subordinates that Saruman was very interested in those carnivorous plants, which piqued his curiosity.
Fortunately, Saruman was not delayed in his primary tasks, so Soren did not ask further.
In the afternoon,
Soren was practicing the White Raven Sword Technique in the training ground. Just after finishing sparring with Adele, he suddenly heard shouts and calls from the direction of the slaves and pirates.
Bang!
Soren seemed to have heard something, his figure instantly leaping into the air, rushing towards the direction of the fields.
Figures began to spring up one after another.
The various pirate leaders under Soren rushed out, each leaping onto rooftops and swiftly heading towards the cultivated land.
A vibrant and growing force had already given them a sense of belonging.
Nearly ten pirate leaders, around level four in strength, rapidly approached, then all jumped over the fence, charging towards the cultivated land. Leading was, of course, Soren. As his figure drew nearer, he immediately spotted two large Bipedal Wyverns ahead. They flapped their dragon wings and dove down from the sky, massive claws piercing through two indigenous slaves in an instant. Amid the dying screams, the Bipedal Wyverns seized their prey like eagles and flew away into the distance.
“Seeking d*ath!”
Soren’s face darkened. Upon witnessing the Bipedal Wyverns preying on his slaves right before his eyes, a surge of anger and murderous intent immediately rose within him.
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Soren’s hand manifested an elven war bow. Once the distance closed within shooting range, he rapidly shot out a volley of arrows, with more than half striking the Bipedal Wyverns, but most hit their wings instead of their vital points.
The Bipedal Wyverns emitted a mournful cry, their figures swaying slightly, but they continued flying further away.
“Trying to escape?!”
Soren remained expressionless as he intoned a spell, his figure soaring up into the air.
—— “Flight Spell!”
His figure ascended into the sky while, in that instant, he nocked another arrow and aimed at the abdomen of the Bipedal Wyvern!
………………
(PS: There will be one more update today. Finishing this chapter felt very real, like a return of inspiration.) (To be continued ~^~)
