Knights and Magic Wand
Chapter 489 - 489 229 Harm to Heaven and Harmony

489: Chapter 229: Harm to Heaven and Harmony 489: Chapter 229: Harm to Heaven and Harmony In front of the camp, Azeryan was sitting on a small stool, holding a candle for his companion as Leon used a wooden stick to sketch the flow of Ustato Territory’s major river on the muddy ground.

“…This is the main river channel that flows from the eastern upstream to the western side.”

Leon spoke while sketching, roughly thirty kilometers to the west, a winding southward branch of the river appeared.

“And this, is the branch of the river where we are currently situated.”

He outlined the dense forest separating the Ustato Hills and plains on the eastern and western banks of the branch.

“…This region has a gradually descending terrain from the northeast to the southwest.

If we excavate a diversion channel upstream of the branch and construct a reservoir dam to block the water, we can redirect the branch to flow southwestward.

If successful, the enemy will struggle to obtain water sources east of the forest, effectively cutting off their ability to establish a large army camp south of the upstream area.

At that point, their tens of thousands of troops will be forced to cross the river at the southern downstream, engaging in a direct frontal assault…

…But simultaneously, the redirected branch will scour the fertile river valley north of the forest, transforming the terrain into an impassable muddy mess.”

Saying this, Leon looked up at Azeryan.

“I’ve been flying back and forth in recent days, inspecting the soil quality on the south bank.

Ustato Territory indeed has good land, but it isn’t sandy.

Once submerged in shallow floodwaters, it will take a considerable amount of time to drain…

Floodwaters ankle-deep may not drown anyone, but the Urians’ horses will be completely ruined.

I don’t believe those grassland people would willingly dismount and slog through mud, continuing to serve the Kantadar people as infantry in a grueling fight.”

With that said, Leon tapped the proposed locations for the reservoir dam and the diversion channel with his wooden stick.

“Once enough water has been accumulated here, if the enemy tries to camp north of the forest’s river valley to approach the upstream, we will break the dam and unleash the floodwaters to wash away their encampment.

Without deploying a single soldier, however many troops they bring will be forced to retreat the way they came.

The enemy will then have no choice but to cross the mid and lower downstream head-on.

Of course, they’d never be foolish enough to do that, and it wouldn’t take long before Duke Ablo would be forced to withdraw his troops from Ustato Territory.”

Listening to his companion unveil such unprecedented tactics, Azeryan widened his eyes.

But he furrowed his brows in confusion, reaching out to press his calf as he incredulously asked, “This…

Can it really work?

But didn’t you say it’s only ankle-deep floodwater?

How could it have any effect?”

He had never witnessed flooding firsthand, and while he’d read about the dangers of floods in books before, those were massive floods capable of drowning people.

If it was only shallow, ankle-deep floodwater, Azeryan wasn’t convinced it could produce the retreat-inducing effect his companion described.

Leon shook his head and patiently explained, “The enemy won’t be able to obtain clean water in areas covered by floodwaters.

Floodwaters aren’t the same as river water; they lack sedimentation and natural filtering through river channels.

As a result, floodwaters churn up mud, silt, and various pollutants.

If consumed directly, we wouldn’t even need to fight them—disease would break out in their ranks, and they’d collapse without a fight.

They’d also struggle to light fires in flooded areas.

Finding dry firewood would be nearly impossible, and they’d be unable to establish proper campsites for their large army on this soggy terrain.

Even if they tried to set up camp, how would they transport supplies and provisions through the mud?

No commander would dare lead an exhausted army across a swamp to launch an attack; doing so would be sending the troops to their deaths.”

Azeryan finally pinched his cheek, hastily calming himself from the astonishment.

He wasn’t foolish, and after thinking it through briefly, he understood how seemingly shallow floodwaters, if widespread, could pose massive threats to a large army.

“But can redirecting a river really flood such a large area?” he continued to question.

“I’ve calculated it.

The water volume from the branch alone is enough to submerge the south bank’s forest valley and the lower downstream river lowlands.

Moreover…

the weather here, based on my aerial observations and the local civilians’ accounts of previous years, suggests Ustato will soon enter the rainy season.

The upstream’s water level will also rise accordingly.” Leon nodded.

Taking advantage of the griffins’ aerial perspective, he had entertained the idea of “using water as soldiers” almost instinctively the moment he began surveying Ustato Territory’s terrain and rivers during his initial flight observations.

This terrain, this season…

Everything was so perfectly aligned.

There was no need to replicate the catastrophic flooding described in the legendary “Water Engulfing Seven Armies” feat of Master Guan Yu.

It was sufficient to transform the south bank into a muddy swamp, nullifying the Urians’ overwhelming cavalry advantage.

Additionally, cutting off the water source of the branch would eliminate the enemy’s ability to maneuver upstream and flank around for a crossing.

Duke Ablo’s numerical superiority would thus be substantially neutralized.

Leon recalled the performance of the two Urian vanguard units he’d observed earlier today, further solidifying his confidence in the plan.

This war, at its core, had little to do with those grassland people.

It was the Kantadar Kingdom’s internal power struggle, the Southern Kingdom’s political conflict.

If not for the dispersal of Nightmare Forest coinciding with Orland’s Southern Expedition opening up a southbound path, they wouldn’t have risked intervening in such a perilous situation during past years.

If the water-based strategy succeeded, it would undoubtedly sow retreating intent among the Urians’ massive army.

They wouldn’t foolishly sacrifice their forces to fight in Kantadar’s internal feud.

By then, with Duke Ablo’s soldiers losing their numerical edge, facing logistical strain, and suffering from flooding-induced diseases, retreat would be his only option.