Chapter 803 (1/2)

Chapter 803: “Festivity”

Translator: TransN Editor: TransN

Simbady had thought it was just a bluff. He had never expected Osha clan was serious.

When the warriors from Osha clan were about to execute the order, a clash broke out between the two groups. Over 50 people, who regarded the punishment as unreasonable and attempted to escape the discipline, started to tussle with the ones who tried to catch them.

Unarmed, the wrongdoers soon lost their battle to Osha clan equipped with clubs and shields. They were, as a result, stripped naked and prostrated to the sandy ground.

Thuram whipped them himself.

The whipping scene inflamed some of the spectators, who were on the verge of starting a virulent altercation but were eventually deterred by the flintlocks carried by Graycastle men.

Everybody had learned the miserable defeat of the watchdog in the oasis that night.

Even cavalrymen swift like winds had failed to penetrate Graycastle’s defensive line.

What had crushed them was exactly the same shiny iron weapons in those soldiers’ hands.

In a second, screams and shrieks filled the bank.

Osha did not plan to flog those clansmen to death. After he showed their bleeding backs to the whole group, he instructed them to treat the wounds with herbs and bandage them with gauze. Normally, there was rarely any plague in the freezing Months of Demons. As long as they were physically strong, they should survive the whipping.

Carlone and most of the clansmen were outraged, except Molly, who rejoiced over the punishment.

After the fearsome whipping was over, the group formed two lines and headed to the depth of the desert under the guidance of the whistle.

Thuram did not utter a word, but everybody became automatically self-disciplined. The procession was in an exceptional order.

When they were close to an iron tower, Simbady discovered a drying oasis, or rather a pond. This was probably what Thuram referred to as the water fountain for the vanguard. No shades of trees overhung the pond, except a few dying bushes around it. The pond was very shallow, the depth of which was no more than a man’s height. Perhaps, it had been a verdant oasis a few decades ago. However, as the water vein of Silver Stream gradually diminished, the oasis, in the end, reduced to a cup of sand.

The pond would not even suffice to provide drinking water for the few hundred labors working here, let alone to nurture a tribe. That water could still be seen was because of the remnant of underground streams. Once summer came, those meager water would soon evaporate under the scorching sun. Even if no one drank the water, the pond would become completely dry in no time.

Simbady had seen a lot of ruins of oasis like this.

In other words, if those Graycastle men failed to find a new water source within two or three months, they would have no choice but to leave this land, not to mention establishing a new town.

Thuram did not pretend that he was not aware of the scarcity of the water. He hollered at the team, “Do you see this pond here? This is going to be the only drinking water for us in the next couple of months. So, make your water elsewhere. Are you all clear?”

“What about… food?” someone asked.

“Somebody will deliver food to us. If there isn’t enough, we can go fishing,” Thuram replied.