Chapter 410

The turbid river water overflowed the levee, winding into a river on the open road.

Dadada!

The mirror-like standing water was stepped on and shattered, the splashed water spray drew silver-bright arcs in the air, and then smashed heavily back to the ground.

Two tall shadows moved rapidly along the road, stepping out sprays of water.

In the rain curtain, a touch of red flickered, and the visual effect was truly stunning.

The turbulent water flow poured down continuously, and the sound it stirred up was as ear-piercing as thunder.

Zuowen Burns sat upright on horseback, his Sea Hai Shao Bing uniform flapping in the violent wind.

His gaze was as sharp as a falcon's, scanning the water condition: "With the turbulence of this water flow, mages who chose to take the water route are afraid they will have to stop halfway and wait for the water force to lessen before they can set off again."

Under him was a large horse resembling a leopard.

This large horse had a slender and robust body, with smooth and elastic muscle lines, shining with an oily luster in the rainwater.

Its back was slightly arched, like a fully drawn bow, containing huge explosive power.

Besides this, its whole body was also covered with a layer of smooth and tough black scales; the scales were tightly connected, like exquisite armor, and raindrops hitting them bounced off instantly.

Most uniquely, a circle of mane like flames grew on its neck; this mane presented a bright red color, and when it drifted with the wind, it was like burning flames.

Flame-Mane Horse, a type of earth-vein creature that can reach up to the third rank.

The earth-vein creatures in the Jin Jin Quehua Dynasty are mainly water beasts; the rare land earth-vein creatures are all distributed in the three major mountain ranges and are not easy to capture and tame.

Being able to possess such a magnificent earth-vein creature as a mount was enough to show the solid foundation of Zuowen Burns' family.

Uer Newman, who followed him and was obviously older, came to Zuowen Burns' side, "Young Master Zuowen's judgment is still precise, not choosing the water route that seemed faster, but coming by land."

"Otherwise, this water force would take at least another day or two to calm down, but by then, the opportunity would have been lost."

Hu! Hu!

Heavy breathing sounds came.

His mount was naturally not a high-end product at the level of the Flame-Mane Horse, so to keep up with Zuowen Burns, it could be said to have tried its best, and at this moment, it was panting heavily, and the sound was also becoming very restless.

Uer Newman touched its neck with some heartache.

Zuowen Burns glanced sideways at Uer's mount and didn't take it to heart at all.

He took out a map from his bosom, looked at it for a few moments, and then put the map away again.

"About half an hour further ahead, we will reach Taireier Town; this town is considered a safe zone. Historically, there have been many floods along the Luwaier River, but they have never affected Taireier Town."

"The town produces a large amount of grain every year, which is transported to Auckland City by water; it is a relatively important grain-producing town in the Auckland region, so there are many cargo ships in the town."

"We go to Taireier Town, borrow ships in the name of the Sea Hai Shao Bing to organize a fleet, and then provide disaster relief; this is a towering merit." Zuowen Burns said his thoughts unhurriedly.

Uer nodded repeatedly while listening.

This was not just to flatter Zuowen, but because this plan really had no problems.

Mages certainly possess extraordinary power, but in the face of natural disasters, if they really rely on themselves, how many people can they save?

In the end, they still have to rely on borrowing momentum.

"Young Master Zuowen, we are the second batch to set off after all; will there be Sea Hai Shao Bing mages from the first batch who arrive first and borrow the ships..." However, Uer hesitated for a moment but still raised his own question.

"Impossible," Zuowen Burns was full of confidence, patted the magnificent Flame-Mane Horse under his buttocks and said: "Before I set off, I had already inquired about the background of the mages who set off in the first batch; most of them are low-level mages with no tasks to do."

"In the situation of setting off an hour earlier than me, with their foot speed, they must have been overtaken by me long ago."

"And the only third-circle mage among them must also be heading straight for Auckland City and won't come to Taireier Town."

"I am still young, and my mage level is only the second circle; going to Auckland City won't accomplish anything, at most just doing odd jobs, but these disaster-stricken small towns also need rescue, which is exactly where I can exert my ability."

"If this matter is handled well, after going back and operating it a little, a first-class merit is very possible; if a first-class merit is in hand, my military merit for promotion to warrant officer will also meet the standard." Zuowen Burns was in high spirits, his eyes revealing a sharp light.

"This catfish came at a good time!"

Catfish was the name of this super cyclone that swept through the Auckland region.

In Zuowen's eyes, "Catfish" was not a cyclone causing natural disasters at all, but an opportunity.

Otherwise, under normal circumstances, where would he have the chance to earn a first-class merit.

"Speed up; the disaster victims are waiting for me to save them!"

Zuowen Burns clamped the horse's belly with his feet, and the Flame-Mane Horse darted out like an arrow from a bow, dragging a long light band with its flame mane behind it, disappearing into the depths of the rain curtain in an instant.

Uer looked at the red dot that was gradually shrinking in front, gritted his teeth, and urged his exhausted mount to continue chasing.

Traveling upstream all the way, Gao De was getting closer and closer to Auckland City.

His hair had long been blown into a mess by the wind, rainwater kept sliding down his cheeks, and the consumption of physical strength was even greater.

Bypassing a spire building that pierced out of the water, which should be a local church, only a sect emblem remained swaying in the water flow.

A strange combination appeared in Gao De's line of sight.

A large black water buffalo was floating on the water surface, its body rising and falling with difficulty in the waves.

And on the buffalo's back, a little boy of about five or six years old was gripping the buffalo's horns tightly with one hand, his knuckles already white, and holding a yellow local dog with the other hand.

Both the dog and the person were trembling continuously, their wet fur stuck to their skin, their lips purple; he didn't know how long they had been soaked in the water.

As for the large black water buffalo, it was already close to exhaustion, panting heavily.

It struggled to swim toward the nearby shore, but because of excessive physical exertion, it seemed unable to swim anymore; no matter how hard it paddled, it didn't move much distance, and could only emit a weak "moo moo" sound.

"Dahei, Dahei, Dahei!" The little boy kept cheering for the large black water buffalo.

Wang wang wang!

The local dog was the same.

But the large black water buffalo's physical strength had indeed reached its limit; no matter what, it couldn't swim, and even after trying several times, its body began to sink slowly.

The little boy saw the large black buffalo not moving at all and gradually quieted down.

He didn't say anything else, just hugged the local dog in his arms tightly.

But it was also at this moment.

The large black buffalo, which had already stopped moving, suddenly seemed to have been filled with fuel, and paddled toward the shore in a not-so-scientific posture.

The little boy, whose eyes had already dimmed, instantly became excited, "Dahei, I knew you were good!"

Waves surged in the turbid water.

The large black buffalo carried the little boy and the local dog and approached the shore at an extremely fast speed.

The local dog first stepped on the water buffalo's head and jumped onto the shore, shook the water off its body, and turned back to bark at its little master.

The little boy also climbed onto the shore with difficulty; his clothes were covered in mud and water, but his face was filled with the joy of surviving a disaster.

Finally, it was the large black water buffalo; its neck was stretched into a stiff arc, and its front hooves struggled to grab the gravel on the shore.

Mud mixed with sand and gravel surged between its toes; every time it exerted force, it made the mud on the shore slide down with a rustling sound, and its hind legs kicked desperately in the water.

But its weak limbs made it unable to climb onto the shore no matter what.

The little boy saw this scene and hurriedly went forward anxiously to pull the water buffalo.

But with his little bit of strength, where could he pull the water buffalo?

But it was also at this moment that a wave suddenly surged in the water, providing an extra push for the large black water buffalo.

Following this push, it kicked hard with its two hind legs and finally stumbled forward two steps, getting onto the shore.

Once on the shore, its huge body collapsed to the ground, its ribs and abdomen heaving violently, panting heavily, its eyes turning white.

Soaked in the water for nearly two days, it was exhausted.

However, even though it was exhausted, the large black water buffalo still raised its eyes to look at the turbid river water.

In its gaze, it was filled with extremely human-like gratitude and reluctance.

A round head flashed across the water surface.

Tuanzi, who had helped with a small favor, returned to Gao De's side.

"After passing this town, we will reach Auckland City." Gao De wiped the rainwater off his face and said, looking at the cloudy skyline ahead.

Having neared the destination, there was no need for Tuanzi to cruise around anymore.

Sure enough, the wooden boat split the turbid waves with white foam and struggled to row for about another half hour.

In the rain curtain, a dark gray outline gradually became clear—that was the towering city wall of Auckland City.

The city wall was built of mottled stones, the bottom was full of mud marks washed by the flood, and the flags on the battlements fluttered in the wind, like an injured giant beast, standing silently in the flood.

A large amount of debris floated on the river surface in front of the city gate, forming a messy barrier.

Many city guards were standing on temporarily built rafts, struggling to clear the shipping lane with long hooks.

When Gao De's boat approached, a guard mage immediately came over.

"Are you a Sea Hai Shao Bing mage?"

"Yes." Gao De nodded and handed over his identity badge.

The guard mage's gaze swept over the Sea Hai Shao Bing uniform on Gao De's body.

A first-class apprentice mage; that mage level should be the first circle.

A first-circle mage, how could he arrive at Auckland City at this time?

"Where did you come from?" He couldn't help but ask.

"After receiving the order in Duo'en, I rushed here by water route; after arriving in the Auckland region, I traveled upstream along Taireier Town and Yaxi Town."

"I also took the opportunity to organize a fleet in Taireier Town to rescue the disaster victims trapped in Yaxi Town, and also scouted the disaster situation in the surrounding area on the way."

Gao De briefly introduced his experience and then asked: "What is the situation in Auckland City now? Is there anything I need to do?"

The guard mage looked at Gao De in surprise.

Gao De spoke lightly, but he was not an outsider; naturally, he knew the gold content of the information revealed in Gao De's few words.

This was only two days after Catfish landed, and message transmission also required time.

That is to say, in less than a day, this first-class apprentice mage in front of him had actually rushed from Duo'en to Auckland under such bad weather and such bad water conditions, and also rescued the disaster victims of a town on the way?

What kind of efficiency and ability was this?

"Come in first." After checking the identity badge and confirming it was correct, the guard mage said to Gao De.

His attitude had already become very gentle.

Capable people can get respect anywhere.

As the largest river in the Auckland region, the Luwaier River is an important water transportation channel here, and its branch, the Taiwa River, also flows directly through Auckland City.

As long as they get permission, boats can sail along the Taiwa River into Auckland City and then reach the central area of the city.

The reason why Auckland City could become the economic center of the Auckland region, the Taiwa River played a crucial role.

However, passing through the arched city gate, what came into Gao De's eyes was not a prosperous scene.

The stone roads on both sides were full of cracks, and broken lampshades and twisted iron railings floated in the standing water.

Many of the three-story red brick buildings on the street had no roofs, and the exposed beams and columns were teetering in the wind and rain.

Several residents wrapped in oilcloth were dragging moldy flour bags out of the collapsed bakery, and a corpse pressed by a beam lay on the side, revealing only half a leg wearing leather boots.

"How could it be so serious?" Gao De frowned.

Auckland City is located in the cyclone belt and experiences several cyclone attacks every year, having sufficient experience and preparation in dealing with cyclones, including but not limited to towering wind-proof towers, fine drainage systems, and abundant emergency supplies...

Therefore, even in the face of a super cyclone seen once in fifty-six years, it shouldn't be like this.

"This Catfish is too wrong." The guard mage naturally knew what Gao De meant and opened his mouth to explain to him.

"Not to mention the speed and time of the onset were very abnormal; after passing through, three smaller cyclones followed one after another."

"Ah?" Gao De was very surprised.

Earthquakes have aftershocks, but a cyclone is essentially just a tropical cyclone; it brings violent wind and rain when passing through, but after the typhoon theme leaves, its influence will gradually weaken; there is no such thing as after-wind.

"Besides that, this time after Catfish landed, the number of gathered water beasts was also far better than any previous time."

"Is there any non-natural factor?" Gao De said subconsciously.

The appearance of too many abnormal signs meant there was a high probability of this possibility.

"Yes, the mage lords in the city also suspect this, so after the second small cyclone landed yesterday, Earl Roland had already sent mages out to sea to scout the situation."

Gao De nodded and was about to speak.

Weng weng weng!!

Weng weng weng!!

Weng weng weng!!

An incomparably long bell ringing suddenly sounded, the sound low and heavy, as if the whole city was trembling with it.

The bell sound spread from the bell tower of the Municipal Square, and the sound wave shattered the rain curtain in the air.

Gao De was still somewhat confused.

The guard mage's expression had already changed greatly, his hands clenched, veins bulging.

"What's the situation?" Gao De, who had already realized that something big had happened based on his expression, asked hurriedly.

"Something big happened!" The guard mage's voice was almost squeezed out of his throat.

"This is the Mage Assembly Call."

"Mage Assembly Call?"

"If it's one sound, it means an emergency event has been encountered, summoning all official mages in the city to gather."

"If it's two sounds, the event is more troublesome, manpower might not be enough, asking for support from other mages, but this is voluntary; generally, only mages under nobles will respond to the call."

The guard mage spoke very fast, afraid that he wouldn't have time to finish explaining.

"But if it's three sounds in a row, that's a super big event, manpower is seriously insufficient, the situation is very urgent, and all official mages of Jin Jin Quehua nationality in the city are forced to go to the Municipal Square to gather; if anyone is found to be deliberately not going, they will be punished afterward."

"Since Auckland City was built so many years ago, the number of times the three-sound assembly call has appeared does not exceed three!"

Following the guard mage's hurried explanation of the meaning of the assembly call, Gao De's expression stiffened, and he felt his temples throbbing:

I only just entered the city for less than a minute?!

Could it be that I am also a washing machine...

(End of chapter)