Maplewood City was located at the junction of the inland and the western lands. It took about five days to reach from Sedona City.
At this moment, Maplewood City was already mostly submerged by water. Many civilians stood on the city walls. Fortunately, the walls of Maplewood City were made of stone bricks, but they couldn't accommodate many people. More people had made rafts, which they tied with ropes to heavy objects to avoid being washed away.
The city walls were crowded with civilians, standing, squatting, and lying packed together. Their faces were pale from hunger; they had been trapped for three days without food.
The flood had come too suddenly three days ago. The water had surrounded Maplewood City overnight, and then, in just half a day, it had submerged the ground level of the city. Over the next three days, the water level rose higher and higher, soaking most of Maplewood City and causing many of the commoners' mud-walled houses to collapse.
"Sigh... if this continues, we'll all starve to death," An old man sighed helplessly.
"I'll go and beg those people again, ask them to lend us a little wheat," A sturdy middle-aged man with a thick beard, clad in a suit of armor, said in a low voice.
"Knight Alton, don't go. How could they be willing to lend us wheat? Not every noble or merchant is as kind as Miss Dahlia."
The old man waved his hand, trying to dissuade him. "Be careful they don't insult you again."
"I'll try one more time," Alton hesitated, then insisted, "Maybe there will be one or two good people?"
Alton was a knight of Maplewood City. He had not left with the city lord and the others but had stayed behind to help the commoners, which had earned him the love and respect of many.
Last year's flood had been the same for Alton. He just hadn't expected another major flood this year, and one even fiercer than the last. It had been three or four days, and the water showed no signs of receding; instead, it seemed to be rising.
If this continued, in less than two days, everyone would be soaking in the water, waiting to die. Even those on rafts would likely be swept away.
"Sigh... Knight Alton is truly too righteous," The old man said, watching Alton make his difficult way along the crowded city wall.
He turned his head to look in the direction Alton was headed. Over a hundred ships were moored there. The dozen or so ships closest to the wall were packed with people. These belonged to a Miss Dahlia; she had allowed civilians to board for refuge and had saved many lives.
The remaining hundred or so ships were all unwilling to let the commoners on board, nor would they spare even a little wheat. The old man felt this was normal; after all, not everyone was selfless, let alone these nobles and merchants. Kind merchants and nobles were, in the end, a minority.
Step, step, step...
"Everyone, please make way," Alton said softly. There were too many people on the wall; he had to be careful not to step on anyone.
"Knight Alton, are you going to see them again?"
"Don't go. Those people won't pity us. Don't debase yourself."
"..."
The civilians were all trying to persuade Alton not to go to the nobles and merchants. They remembered last time when those nobles had actually demanded that Alton jump into the water and swim to their ships to negotiate, only to be cruelly toyed with. Those people would not give the commoners any wheat.
"It's alright, I'm just going to ask," Alton said with a gentle smile. He couldn't just let everyone wait here to die. He had to try every possible solution.
He was an orphan who had grown up eating meals from all his neighbors. It was these simple commoners who had allowed him to live and grow up well. As long as he could help everyone, what did a mere insult count for?
Dahlia was standing on the roof of the main ship's cabin. She looked at the civilians on her deck, at the civilians on the city walls, and then at the distance. As far as the eye could see, there was only a vast expanse of water.
"This flood really came at the wrong time. We've already been delayed for three or four days. I really don't know when it will recede," Dahlia said bitterly. She had delayed the time she promised Lord Lucas again, and now she didn't quite know how to face his trust.
The ships' speed had been reduced to a crawl, moving like a tortoise each day. The wind direction was also wrong, causing the fleet to halt, and many ships had failed to keep up with them.
Splash...
The sound of someone falling into the water drew the attention of many, including Dahlia. She saw a figure clinging to a piece of wood, struggling to swim. The direction was towards Kevin and Scott's ships.
"Knight Alton, come back quickly, it's too dangerous!"
"Don't go! Even if we starve to death, we can't beg them!"
"..."
Dahlia quietly watched the commoners on the wall, listened to their shouts, and sighed, murmuring to herself, "I can't help much more either. The people on my ships also need to be fed."
She had already distributed most of her wheat, but unfortunately, there were nearly ten thousand people here. The small amount of wheat she had brought was not even enough for one meal for everyone.
"I hope this flood subsides quickly." Dahlia blinked her eyes, gazing at the water in the distance. The situation downstream was even worse; she feared even the city walls there would be submerged. The scope of this flood was too vast. Except for some high-lying areas, everything else was flooded.
"Hahahaha... who let you up here? Get the hell down!"
"Scram! Do you think a lowlife like you can come up here?"
"Still want wheat? Buy it with coins! One silver coin for a 1 pound, that's cheap enough, right? Hahahaha..."
Splash…
Alton clenched his jaw, the veins on his forehead bulging as he kicked his legs with all his might. These nobles were getting more and more outrageous. Indeed, all the nobles in the world were just as corrupt.
"Knight Alton, come back up, you shouldn't have gone, it's too dangerous!"
"How could those nobles possibly help us? Knight Alton, don't risk it again, we'll be fine."
"..."
"Hey, hey, everyone, look! There's a fleet of ships coming from upstream!"
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