Chapter 323: Change approach
After explaining what he had learned, he also couldn't help but realize that perhaps the enemies were still unaware that they were aware of their plans to wage war with the sea folk and the magic people. Still, they knew that Rain had freed the prisoners, so that didn't make sense at all.
"I will bring some people to help you with this endeavor, and before you say anything, Father declared that any place that has water belongs to him," Seadir said. "You might have one side of the waterway, and the other might belong to the human king, but if the border is made of water, then it belongs to us."
That sounded like something the sea emperor would say. Besides, Rain didn't mind anymore since they were going to make good use of the waterway. They might as well help. Rain was starting to think that he was being too stubborn about some things, and it would be better if he cooled down a bit.
Before long, some of the sea folk arrived, and they tried to help Rain. Combining their spells wouldn't be the best option, so they had to alternate between them in order to get the most efficiency. Still, even without using mana potions, the magic folk couldn't do as much as Rain. Even though Seadir already had another coral spear.
"How many of my brethren have already woken up?" Seadir asked.
"All of them, but half still can't get up; some of them can't even eat without help," Rain replied.
"They will feel better once they have the chance to sense seawater touch their skin," Seadir declared. "In any case, this is making a lot of noise, don't you think? What are you going to do if some people see us here?"
"The war hasn't started yet, so I will knock them down and keep them locked for a while," Rain replied. "We can't guard them forever, and just killing so soon will only make the enemies have an easy time making the population stand against us."
While constructing the waterway, Rain had realized something about himself. He understood that he didn't quite fit the mold of a strategic genius or a heroic figure. The main reason behind this was his reluctance to embrace ruthless tactics. He was, at heart, an athlete, after all.
Rain knew that he could potentially adopt a cutthroat approach if he were solely concerned about his personal future. However, he couldn't bring himself to do that. The lives and futures of his family and friends were at stake, and he felt a deep responsibility towards them.
This responsibility weighed heavily on his conscience and demanded a level of thoughtfulness that didn't align with the ruthless pursuit of power or glory. Rain's top priority was the well-being of those he cared about, and he couldn't compromise that for his own gain.
"Father asked if you are going to investigate how to counter the anti-magic substance. While you can fight without worrying about that. It isn't that optimal, right?" Seadir asked.
"When did he ask that?" Rain furrowed his eyebrows since that was the kind of thing he should have told sooner.
"Just now," Seadir replied.
While Rain worked on carving out the waterway, he couldn't help but wonder about the sea emperor's whereabouts. There was no sign of the sea emperor nearby, and Rain figured that he must be in his castle or some other secluded place.
This got Rain thinking about how the sea emperor might have communicated with Seadir and the others. Did he use telepathy or some other method to send his messages? Rain's curiosity was definitely sparked, and he pondered the various possibilities.
As he continued to shape the waterway, Rain's mind turned to the idea of learning similar communication techniques. He contemplated whether he could use natural elements like the sound of the waves to send messages over long distances. It was a skill that intrigued him, and he decided to explore it further in the future.
"Once I finish this, I will start working on counterattacking," Rain explained. "We can't focus on going to the offensive when our defense isn't good enough."
Speaking of foundations, Rain decided to level up the Wizard's path while he was making the waterway. He also used all of his free points into intelligence to increase his magic power and speed up that work, even if by a little bit.
Thanks to all that and his spear, he was able to create the waterway at the same speed a horse could move… but even so, at that rate, he would probably need two weeks to finish the job.
Name: Rainendall
Level: 119 (6000/11.100)
Current Path: Wizard's Path (Lv 25 (520/2500)
Health: 16.970/16.970
Mana: 24.430/24.630
Stamina: 18.365/18.315
Strength: 1542
Dexterity: 887
Intelligence: 1825
Vitality: 1698
Wisdom: 2443
Endurance: 1741
Luck: 307
Free Points: 00
Main Skills:
[Enhanced Intelligence Lv 22)
[Magic Ward Lv 11]
[Reinforced Wisdom Lv 05]
[Focus Lv 10]
[Intelligence Bonus Lv 11]
Support Skills:
[Arcane Initiation Lv 11]
[Unyielding Endurance Lv 37]
[Language Lv 88]
[Insightful Mind Lv 50]
[Meditation Lv 93]
When night came, the sea folk looked exhausted, even though they would feel immediately better after just half an hour of break. While it seemed that the ocean could make them recover faster, it wasn't something that they could do over and over again.
Even Seadir looked beaten. Even though he could use his own spear, he wasn't used to working for so long nonstop. He wondered for how long Rain was willing to keep working… he only asked because he didn't know that Rain wanted to finish that task in one week.
"It isn't as efficient as I had envisioned… I thought that I was making more progress, but that isn't the case," Rain thought.
Rain could increase the effectiveness of the work if he used his physical strength, but that would make even more noise. At the same time, he had to keep an eye on the area around him for possible enemies. He couldn't just do that.