The Ploney River burst its banks and flooded hundreds of miles. Countless Towns, Ratfolk, and entire ecosystems across the vast region were devastated. Most people were swept away in their sleep.
The power of nature worshipped by Druids was that immense. Even several more Legendary figures could not have matched it.
Having scored its greatest victory since the war began, the Rikaner Kingdom grew smug. At home, it claimed to have eradicated the plague. Abroad, it claimed to have wiped out the Blade of Freedom.
On both counts, it had almost succeeded.
As for the cost... if it did not consider its subjects its own people, there was no cost at all.
The kingdom also knew it could never let the evidence come to light, or at least not let Free City learn the truth. The "heroes" the Councilor had sent to destroy the levee were secretly executed as soon as they returned.
Meanwhile, the Blade of Freedom followed the Mum River upstream and learned that the Ploney River had burst its banks.
Yes, that Ploney River—the one people spoke of when they said fortunes could reverse in thirty years.
And clearly, the Snow Mountains were frozen solid at this time of year. A demon would not melt an iceberg for no reason, either.
Downstream on the Ploney River, they found a destroyed town. Marked as Long Lake Town on the map, it was now a wreck. Its ruined buildings and murky lake had lost all their beauty.
An investigation found signs that the Ploney River levee had been sabotaged. Every suspicion pointed to the Rikaner Kingdom, though they lacked proof.
Olmedo thought the Rikaner Kingdom was astonishingly stupid. With the war this far along, did proof even matter?
The Voice of Freedom merely printed a straightforward account of what