Chapter 100: Successful Diversion
"Open it!"
A farmer braced both hands against the wooden lever beside the irrigation channel. It refused to move at first, clogged with mud from months of regular use, until another man threw his weight against it.
"Push, Tilly!"
"I am pushing!"
"Push harderrrr!"
The gate finally jerked upward.
Water rushed through the opening and spilled into the adjoining channels, overflowing them within moments. Under the moonlight, dark water spread steadily across the low farmland.
The first farmer grabbed an oil lamp from the ground and backed away.
"That’s enough! Leave it open!"
Tilly stared at the field they had spent months tending as water swallowed the rows.
"My wife is going to kill me."
"If this works, you’ll still have a wife to kill you. Come on ya bastard, the channels ain’t gonna open themselves!"
They ran toward the next gate.
...
A squad of Red Persimmon Kingdom soldiers moved backward along a dirt road they had spent most of the night defending.
One soldier kept glancing behind himself.
"Are we seriously leaving this open?"
"Orders from above. Can’t help it."
"What happens when the beasts come straight at us?"
The sergeant pointed toward the fields on either side. Oil lamps marked the positions where the men were supposed to stand.
"I was told that we need to dodge and get out of their way, to always stay on the sides."
"Sounds like an excellent idea, sergeant. Can I have whatever the higher ups have been smoking?"
The sergeant shoved a battered metal sheet into his hands.
"I was supposed to bang this with a hammer but I don’t mind using your head, boy."
The soldier rolled his eyes. "This is still tame to what you’ve said about Sir Joffer’s wife—"
Clanggggg...
"Ahhh—!"
A loud ringing sound echoed. The sergeant found it pleasing to the ears and looked at the visible dent in the metal sheet.
"This works well. Line ups, boys!"
Several soldiers quickly raised rifles while others took hammers, shields, pans, and whatever pieces of metal had been gathered.
They did not bother themselves with the slight scuffle as it was a usual occurrence.
The sergeant looked down the empty road.
"Remember. Don’t shoot the herd unless it turns toward the village. Noise first."
"Yes, sir!"
...
"Move the cart!"
Three Golden Quince Kingdom laborers dragged a loaded farm cart from the middle of a narrow road while two soldiers hacked through a wooden fence farther ahead.
An older hunter stood beside them, pointing toward a dark gap between the mountains.
"Keep that whole path clear! They need to see nothing standing between them and the saddle."
A young farmer looked toward the mountain.
"You really think animals will climb through there?"
"Even their father has to climb!."
"What? Their numbers are too great."
The hunter looked at him.
"Lad, why do you keep being so bitchy? Would you rather invite them into your house?"
The young farmer immediately grabbed the cart and went back to work.
The hunter did not seem to be in a mood to converse so he might as well put his head down and follow orders.
"Move faster!"
...
By the time the next migration reached the populated lands, hundreds of torches and oil lamps had spread across the valley kingdoms.
People watched from rooftops, walls, raised roads, and behind temporary barricades.
Moonlight covered the Valley in pale silver while the warmer lights below revealed pieces of the operation one field at a time.
The new group of beasts finally arrived.
The first deer entered the flooded farmland at full speed.
Its front legs sank into the wet ground.
It slipped, rolled sideways, scrambled back up, and immediately changed direction.
The animals behind it followed until the front of the herd encountered the same problem. Mud dragged at their legs, water splashed beneath them, and the mass began turning toward the dry road beside the field.
A boar tried pushing farther through.
It sank almost to its knees.
The animal backed out with an angry squeal and joined the others.
Farther down the route, another group started turning toward a cluster of farmhouses.
"Now!"
A rifle fired into the air.
Then came a deafening crash as twenty men struck metal at once.
Bang!
Clang!
Clang!
The beasts recoiled from the sudden noise.
"Again!"
Another rifle shot.
The soldiers hammered their shields and sheets of metal while waving torches from behind the fence line.
The animals turned away from them and ran toward the open road instead.
"It’s working!"
"Don’t stop! Keep them moving!"
The same pattern repeated farther ahead.
Blocked roads, people, noise, flooded ground, and torchlight made some directions unpleasant.
Empty roads and cleared fields offered no resistance.
The beasts chose the easier path.
From one village, they were guided toward another open stretch. From there, farmers and soldiers pushed the edges of the migration toward a dry riverbed. Another branch followed an emptied grazing road before disappearing toward one of the mountain ravines the hunters had selected earlier.
The entire Valley seemed awake.
Bells carried warnings ahead of the migration.
Men shouted from field to field.
Women carrying torches moved between work groups and helped shift children, animals, tools, and supplies away from the prepared routes.
Soldiers who had spent hours trying to kill everything they saw were now mostly standing aside and allowing hundreds of beasts to run past them.
A farmer climbed onto a fence and raised both hands.
"They’re leaving!"
"Hell yeah!"
"They’re actually leaving!"
"The king is wise!"
"Long live His Majesty!"
"Long live His Majesty!"
Cheers erupted all around.
Someone hugged the man beside him.
Another farmer laughed so loudly that his voice cracked, while an old woman holding a lamp began crying as animals passed the far end of her family’s fields without entering the village.
"Praise the gods!"
"—and keep banging that metal!"
More laughter followed.
The success, however, was not universal.
Near one of the western routes, a group of frightened soldiers fired too soon when several large boars approached their position. The gunfire panicked the front of the herd and sent a dozen beasts charging sideways instead of continuing along the open road.
"Damn it! Brace for impact everyone!"
The warning came too late.
One boar smashed through a fence and another rushed directly at the soldiers.
The men fired their rifles properly this time and scattered, regrouped, and fought to the best of their abilities.
The engagement lasted less than two minutes.
When it ended, several animals lay dead, one soldier had a bleeding arm, and the rest of the herd had already returned to the open route after encountering another line of noise farther ahead.
The sergeant kicked the dead boar beside him.
"See? That’s what happens when you idiots panic."
"You fired first!"
"I was warning you what not to do!"
"That doesn’t even make sense!"
They were still arguing when another bell rang, forcing everyone back into position.
...
Vincent watched everything from the top of Harrowfield’s watchtower.
By now, the dark masses moving across the Valley were visibly changing direction.
Some vanished toward ravines.
Others entered dry riverbeds.
Several broad streams curved around villages instead of crashing into them.
It wasn’t clean and definitely wasn’t perfect, but at least it worked.
Vincent released a long breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
"Amazing."
Anastasia stood beside him, watching the distant lights move through the fields.
"Yours truly has done it again with his brilliance."
Vincent turned to Anastasia and smiled proudly.
Anastasia looked back at him.
She gently took his hand and nodded with a light smile.
"You’ve done well, young master."
Vincent’s proud smile faded, realizing Anastasia was actually praising him.
Anastasia could tell what he was thinking and continued, "I won’t skimp on the praise tonight, but before that, I have something I wish to say."
Vincent tilted his head. "What is it?"
Anastasia looked out over the Valley again.
"Young master, you need to become the ruler of these kingdoms."
Vincent blinked in confusion, then followed her gaze, saw the vast kingdoms, then looked back at her with more confusion.
"What?"
Anastasia met his gaze and calmly said, "White Apricot Kingdom. Red Persimmon Kingdom. Golden Quince Kingdom. Young master, you need to become their ruler."
Vincent was dumbfounded.
He stared at her for several seconds, then grabbed Anastasia lightly by the shoulders and turned her toward the valley.
"Look."
Anastasia looked.
"Look at how huge this place is."
They weren’t at the highest point but even from here, they could see the enormous and vast mountains circling the wide and spread out valley.
It would take at least a few hours to reach the other end of settlements. The farmlands were an entirely other matter.
When Anastasia had a brief look, Vincent then pointed at himself.
"Now look at me."
Anastasia did. Though she could not understand what he was trying to convey.
"Look how insignificant and small I seem compared to this place. Do you think I would be able to rule over it all?"
Anastasia was taken aback by the comment.
Vincent suddenly realized what he just said and frowned.
"Wait. I meant small compared to the valley. Not small-small, if you know what I mean."
Anastasia, in fact, did not know what he meant.
Vincent could tell. He hurried, "Look, whatever it is, you know the best that I’m not small in places which need it the most."
Anastasia slightly raised her eyebrows.
"Hmph!" Vincent harrumphed and held her hand. "If you still don’t believe me, I can prove it to you again."
Anastasia smiled and lightly shook her head.
"You can prove me wrong after you’re done with the important matters, young master."
"There’s no important matters. We can go now."
"There is," she said and pointed down at the square. "You still have Larry to deal with."
"Ah..."
He clicked his tongue.
’This damn Larry...’
"Alright, let’s go deal with him first."