Chapter 200
The conflict between the Red Storm Brigade and the Iron Fortress ended in a way no one had expected—by the two forces joining together.
Both the Red Storm Brigade and the people of the Iron Fortress were stunned by the unexpected outcome.
It was all thanks to Deborah that such an agreement had been achieved.
And her efforts didn’t stop there.
“Clean up the bodies and debris. Treat the injured first. Distribute the remaining food.”
Watching her personally take command of the awakened fighters, Zeon couldn’t help but click his tongue in admiration.
The most important task was stabilizing the morale of the original residents of the Iron Fortress.
Surprisingly, that problem was resolved rather easily.
Although the civilians had suffered heavy losses, they all understood that such things could happen in battle.
The survivors’ anger was directed at Gerwen.
He had enforced a strict isolation policy and favored only the awakened.
As a result, the residents had long harbored dissatisfaction toward him, even if they didn’t openly express it.
Because of that, they didn’t strongly oppose the Red Storm Brigade joining.
Moreover, Deborah’s efforts—working tirelessly to restore the ruined fortress while accompanied by her three children—left a deep impression on them.
Zeon, too, was quite moved by her.
“She’s an exceptional woman.”
“She’s more than I deserve. Meeting her was the greatest fortune of my life.”
“Aren’t you going to help?”
Zeon looked at Urtian beside him with disbelief.
Urtian was simply sitting next to him, leaving everything to Deborah.
“I fight. She manages things. That’s how we divide roles.”
“Sounds like an excuse for laziness.”
“Call it what you want. This is how we’ve led the Red Storm Brigade all this time.”
Despite the jab, Urtian remained unfazed.
“So you’ll keep looting?”
“What choice do we have? We have more mouths to feed now, but not enough food or water. Food can be managed by hunting monsters—but water is the real problem.”
“And if the water issue is solved?”
“Water? I already checked. There’s barely enough to keep people from dying of thirst.”
While cleaning up the fortress, the first thing they checked was the water source.
There was a spring rising from underground.
Clear water flowed endlessly—but far too little to satisfy everyone.
“So if water is solved, you wouldn’t need to loot?”
“Well… more or less. If we had enough water, we could manage the rest somehow. We could even open this place as a base like a mana stone mine and trade food in return. But if that were possible, the Iron Fortress wouldn’t be in this state.”
“Remember what you just said.”
“Why? Are you going to find water?”
“Yes.”
“Are you serious?”
Startled, Urtian jumped to his feet.
As Zeon began walking, he replied calmly.
“If there’s truly no water at all, then no. But if a source exists—I can find it.”
“That’s insane. How is that even possible?”
“Did you forget? I’m a sand mage. If there’s a water source within the range of my sand control, I can detect it.”
“That’s a ridiculously broken ability.”
Shaking his head, Urtian followed Zeon.
Seeing the two walking together, the children came running.
“Dad!”
“Where are you going?”
“Can we come too?”
The eldest, Reior, the second, Diane, and the youngest, Samuel, chattered as they followed.
Though ruthless during raids, Urtian softened completely in front of his children.
“Sure, come along. This man’s going to show you something amazing.”
“Something amazing?”
“Yeah! You’ll see.”
“Waaah!”
The children cheered excitedly.
Zeon found their voices oddly pleasant.
Places with children always felt more alive.
“Where are you going, brother?”
“Come with us.”
“Ugh, noisy.”
Levin, Brielle, and Eloi followed as well.
“Pretty sisters!”
“Wow!”
Urtian’s children clung to Brielle and Eloi.
Whether in Neo Seoul or the Iron Fortress, beautiful women were always popular.
Eloi snorted.
“Heh. At least they have good taste.”
“Can I hold your hand?”
“Here.”
As Eloi reached out her hand, Reior grabbed it immediately.
“You’re awfully bold for a kid.”
“Hehe!”
Despite her teasing, he didn’t let go.
Eloi tightened her grip slightly.
‘Half-elves like me… I hope you grow up in a better world than I did…’
She didn’t like Urtian—but she felt affection for his children.
Because they were half-elves, just like her.
Brielle asked Zeon,
“So what are you planning?”
“I thought I’d try a little miracle.”
“A miracle?”
“Yeah. A miracle.”
Zeon stopped in front of the spring.
Closing his eyes, he extended his control.
Shhhhh—
His senses spread deep underground through the sandstone.
After all, sandstone was just compressed sand.
It fell within his domain.
His awareness stretched further and further—
until it finally reached its target.
Drip.
He could feel the sound of water droplets falling.
It was the same sensation he had noticed when he first arrived yesterday.
“Hoo…”
Taking a breath, Zeon began to move the sand in earnest with his control.
Crunch!
The sandstone beneath Zeon’s feet began to shift.
The displaced rock piled up to either side, forming a passage leading underground.
The children’s eyes widened at the sight.
“Waaah!”
“The sand is opening a path by itself!”
“That’s amazing!”
As the children jumped around in excitement, people watching from afar began to gather, drawn by their reactions.
Even then, the underground passage continued to form.
Crunch!
The tunnel kept pushing out endless sandstone.
Watching this, Urtian stepped forward and began helping.
“Haaah!”
He started moving the massive chunks of rock to clear space.
Seeing this unusual sight, Komak—the second-in-command of the Red Storm Brigade—approached and asked,
“What are you doing, Captain?”
“Just move the rocks out first.”
“Understood.”
Without another word, Komak followed Urtian’s lead.
Soon, other awakened fighters joined in, clearing away the sandstone being pushed out of the tunnel.
As they moved, the bystanders also approached, curious about what was happening.
Before long, most of the people in the Iron Fortress had gathered near the spring.
And still, the underground passage kept extending.
Sweat beaded heavily on Zeon’s forehead.
Moving sandstone was far more exhausting than manipulating loose sand.
Even so, he didn’t stop.
He continued to exert his control.
A tunnel stretching dozens of meters underground was formed.
Zeon stepped into it and began walking down.
Urtian followed behind him.
Zeon reached out and touched the wall.
This was no longer sandstone.
It was solid rock.
Unlike compressed sand, this was true stone.
Zeon spoke.
“Can you break this?”
“This rock? Let’s see.”
Urtian drew his shamshir.
Swoooosh—
An Aura Blade formed along its edge.
With a single swing, the massive rock was sliced cleanly.
Slice! Slice!
The center of the rock was cut out into a square, like a door.
Urtian kicked it—
Thud!
The chunk fell backward.
Beyond it, a cavern appeared.
But it was too dark to see inside.
“What is this?”
Urtian stepped in—and froze.
A cold, damp air filled the space.
“…Don’t tell me…”
As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, the scene became clear.
“Impossible!”
His eyes trembled.
“What is it?”
“What happened?”
The children behind him jumped, trying to see.
Curious about his rare reaction, they squeezed past him and entered the cavern.
Then they shouted—
“A… a lake!”
“There’s so much water!”
“This is crazy!”
What they saw was a massive underground lake.
Formed over countless years by groundwater, it was filled with an enormous amount of water.
“A lake?”
“Water?”
Hearing the children, the people behind them rushed in.
As Urtian stepped aside, they too saw it.
“Oh my god…”
“Sniff…”
“There’s really a lake…”
Seeing the vast underground lake with their own eyes, people collapsed to the ground.
Some even wept.
Their reaction wasn’t strange at all.
In this world, everything was precious—
but water was even more so.
Even in the Iron Fortress, water had always been scarce.
They had to ration it constantly.
Gerwen had even manipulated them into believing it could run out at any time.
Because of that, they had never been able to drink freely.
Deborah, who entered later after finishing outside tasks, froze in shock.
“To think something like this was beneath the fortress… With this much water, tens of thousands could live here.”
She knelt and dipped her hands into the lake.
The cold sensation proved it wasn’t an illusion.
There was truly an immense amount of water here.
Water was the most essential element for survival.
With enough drinking water, everything else could be managed.
The greatest problem had been solved in an instant.
Deborah lowered her head to the ground and began to cry.
And she wasn’t the only one.
Every woman from both the Iron Fortress and the Red Storm Brigade approached as if possessed and fell to their knees.
“Sniff…”
“It’s water… real water…”
They wept before the underground lake.
They had always lived by rationing water.
Even when their children cried from thirst, they could only give them a little.
Some had even lost children because they couldn’t drink enough.
Those women cried the hardest.
Some had chosen not to have more children out of fear—
but now, with abundant water, they could finally raise families without fear.
As the women cried, the mood among the men and awakened fighters also grew solemn.
‘This is our home now.’
‘We must protect this place.’
No longer would they wander the desert searching for water.
They would settle here.
Put down roots.
Live.
Brielle spoke softly to Zeon.
“You really did it.”
“Hm?”
“A miracle. You actually performed a miracle.”
It was—
a miracle created by the only sand mage in the world.