Cthulhu Gonfalon

There was only one country on the entire Main Plane unaffected by the drought, and it was the Republic of Northwest. It was on the most northwest area of the plane, and it was always cold there. Because of the freezing cold, there were large amounts of snowfall, and underground water sources were plentiful as well.

Other than that, the land was not rich. Farming was not the main trading activity, and there were few crops and animals, requiring fewer water sources. Major activities that required water were construction-based and could be halted if water was scarce.

Furthermore, they did not have a large population, and their living needs were rather basic. Even with a big drought, they managed to supply sufficient amounts of water for the residents to maintain their simple lifestyles. Many humans had already flocked to the Republic of Northwest as tourists to enjoy the plentiful water supply.

Sui Xiong was not particularly concerned about the Republic of Northwest at this point in time as they did not lack water.

While he busied himself with trying to remedy the drought situation overall, he received some pleasing news.

The Commonwealth of Gold Coins’ northern-most city, Double-Headed Stork City, had decided to leave the Commonwealth to join the Republic of Northwest.

“Why is that?”

Sui Xiong was shocked when he first heard the news and paused to ponder about it for a moment.

“Because of the water issue.”

Great Governor Felix, who was in charge of the update, sighed.

“They severely lack water, and they realized that Rye City has plentiful water sources. They got jealous and had several discussions about the issue, eventually coming to this decision.”

“They were willing to give up their country just to obtain water. Do they have no values in life? The governors who decided this must be crazy!” Sui Xiong was extremely shocked.

“Life values are only important if one is actually alive. Furthermore… look at all the females and children. All of them have become so thirsty that their lips are all cracked! Under such an urgent situation, would one care about face? I think their solution makes sense.” Felix shook his head.

Sui Xiong was silent for a while.

After some time, he spoke again.

“Did you agree to their request?”

“We have not rejected them yet. The decision is yours to make.”

“That means to say… I’m the only one who can decide whether to take on the good cop or bad cop role…”

“You could say that. After all, the choice is not in my hands to make.”

Sui Xiong thought for a while before instructing Felix to wait. He decided to visit the Goddess of Wealth to discuss the matter.

The Goddess of Wealth was not angered but rather somber for a while. In the end, she sighed lightly and said, “I guess it’s for the best. This way, they won’t have to bear with the thirst any longer.”

“I have an uneasy feeling about this.”

“Maybe, but I can’t think of a more appropriate plan at the moment. If you really feel like this is unsuitable, you can always reject them.” The Goddess of Wealth laughed bitterly.

Now, Sui Xiong was the one who became silent.

He felt that he was unable to reject them, somehow. It wasn’t that he approved of the plan, but rather, he was not heartless enough to watch people die of thirst.

Previously, Sui Xiong had approached the Republic of Northwest on whether they could provide aid for the Commonwealth of Gold Coins. However, after rigorous debates, he realized that the former did not have sufficient resources to do so. It was not that they lacked water, but rather, the distance between the two countries was too far away. This factor decided the transportation costs; even a cup of tea would cost about a Silver Dragon as there were thousands of miles between them. The Republic of Northwest was on the extreme end of the Main Plane, far away from the main civilized world. Even if they wanted to help others, this distance alone would make traveling unthinkably costly.

The reality was that even if Double-Headed Stork City joined the Republic of Northwest, they would not be able to receive much in terms of water aid. Whether or not they could receive the amount needed for farming was debatable. However, they were already at their wit’s ends and were about to die from thirst; thus, they clung on to any glimpse of hope, however small. To them, any little water aid could save a life. A life!

Sui Xiong sent out a separate entity of his body to take a tour around the city, and he fell silent.

The drought was extremely severe, and it shocked him. This emphasized the impossibility of rejecting their pitiful request. Thus, he decided to agree to their request to join the Republic of Northwest.

A few days later, mages from the Republic of Northwest came in groups with various water storage tools, filling the previously prepared water pools and tanks to the brim. The troops of Double-Headed Stork City put aside their thirst and maintained order among the people to prevent fighting from the desire to access water. After supplying sufficient water, the mages headed for the fields and attempted to use the most water-saving ways to water the crops. This was a much harder task, and they hustled like letter pigeons, scurrying back and forth the Rye Canyon to bring water.

Upon watching this scene, Sui Xiong felt enraged.

Eventually, he could not stand it anymore and yelled aloud to Javier.

“Damnit! Do you know where the God of Drought’s kingdom is?”

Javier was spooked for a second.

“Why? Why do you want to know this?”

“I want to capture him and force him to end this despicable drought.”

“What if he refuses to do so?”

“I’ll beat him to death then!”

“That would be useless. If violence could have solved the issue, the God of Justice would have taken action long ago!”

“Useless?”

“Yes. Rain and droughts are all-natural occurrences. The God of Drought can vow to bring droughts to the world, but he is unable to reverse the process and stop them. The issue can only be solved when the God of Rain makes a similar vow to bring about rain. This issue cannot simply be solved with violence.”

“Even if I beat him to death? I agree that violence is not always the solution, but at least I could deal with this bastard properly.”

“Even if you kill him, the drought will not end. The problem had been identified by him as well, and the God of Drought had been trying to help as well, actually.”

“What!?” Sui Xiong was extremely shocked.

“The drought is so severe, and yet you’re claiming that God is Drought is trying his best to help the situation? I think you’re being too lenient.”

“Lenient? Haven’t you noticed that recently, Yorgaardman has stopped speaking? He has been by the God of Drought’s side in his God Kingdom, pressuring him to take action. The God of Drought is so stressed that he may burst into tears at any moment now!”

Sui Xiong had the sudden realization that those around him had already long begun to take action. It was just that the effects of these attempts were limited.

“Well, what will happen if I kill him now regardless, then?” Sui Xiong was persistent in his idea.

Javier thought and eventually said with a sigh, “Well, then… I guess the drought will really continue to an unsalvageable stage…”

Towards this, Sui Xiong was silent for a long time before eventually resorting to a string of exasperated curses.