Sorcery Monarch Part 1

Chapter 176: The Miseries of the Carlisle Family

Chapter 176: The Miseries of the Carlisle Family

The cold wind blew, carrying waves of stench.

The deeper the soil, the stronger the smell of rot.

Thousands of soldiers busied themselves in a massive pit.

From the spiral-shaped edges of the pit, carts full of foul, mushy sludge were hauled upward.

Occasionally, water beetles crawled out from the muddy stone pathways, desperately searching for food.

This pit, dug downwards, resembled the gaping maw of an abyss.

Murky water gathered at the bottom, the foul-smelling sludge making excavation a near-impossible task.

Covered in muck, the soldiers endured the stench.

They scooped the foul sludge with bucket after bucket, trying to clean it out.

Their eyes were filled with exhaustion, and grumbling complaints could be heard:

"How long do we have to keep scooping this muck with these buckets?"

"I've had enough of this—if we were just fighting, that would be one thing, but dragging us out here for this work?"

"What can we do? Just keep digging."

"I'd rather those mindless fishmen attack us—at least then we wouldn't have to wallow in mud all day!"

"Who knows how much deeper we have to go? Let's just hope it doesn't rain in the next few days, or all our work will be for nothing."

"The swamp's not like the hills around Bloodmoon City; this muck has a mind of its own..."

"If we keep at it, everything we eat and drink is going to start tasting like this muck..."

"Why haven't the folks from Bay Territory made a move yet?"

"They've only got a few hundred men—they wouldn't be that foolish, would they?"

"If they did attack, it would at least break the monotony—what's with them just watching us?"

"Who knows?"

"..."

After nearly a month of work, the soldiers were grumbling constantly, and even the officers leading them had complaints.

They had originally thought they were coming to fight. Sure, war involved the risk of death, but it depended on the enemy.

The forces from Bay Territory never even showed themselves!

They stayed holed up in their fortress, leaving the Carlisle family with their prized excavation site.

Were they supposed to march over and demand a fight?

With no battle to fight, the soldiers initially thought they might have gotten off easy—no danger, no risk, and they could ride out the conscription.

It seemed like a good deal.

But soon enough, they were disillusioned.

The site that Bay Territory had painstakingly found was nothing more than a pit in the ground.

After some magical investigation, Carlisle's experienced surveyors confirmed.

This was indeed the closest entrance to the ruins.

The Carlisle family, well-prepared, quickly established a camp around the site.

They surrounded it completely, forbidding anyone from approaching.