Herald of Steel

Chapter 1480: Zanzan's Aftermath (Part-2)

"Dammit! This fucking rain! Hey! Get the food and money upstairs! Quickly, quickly!" 

"Ahhhh… ruined! My clothes! They are all ruined Wuuuuuuu…" 

"Amir! Stop crying and go help your father get the firewood! There are no crocodiles in the water! Or else you won't get any breakfast!" 

"How will you even start a fire in this water mother? Let me go buy some food instead!" 

"Donkey of a brat! Which shop is open in this weather? Now go to your father before I whip your ass!" 

Such and many more cries pervaded throughout the streets of Zanzan as morning broke, letting the people come to the realization of the disaster striking them.

Many had their homes and shops submerged by the dirty, grimy water, which carried with them all sorts of nasty rubbish and harmful wastes from all over the city, as well as various broken pieces of stone, wood, and metal debris, making moving around even in the homes very difficult.

While the roads, although paved with stone and concrete, were now covered with a slick covering of muddy, filthy slurry, making it both sticky and slippery. Wading over it through waist high water was undoubtedly a dangerous endeavor, with many slipping and some even losing their shoes and sandals in the objectionable muck. 

And all this was not to even say about potholes or hidden manhole covers for the still being built sewage system. 

If someone was unlucky to encounter them… they would be fortunate to get away with it just a sprain. Many times, they even died, falling through the cover and being washed away by the underlying currents.

However, despite the dangers, the people in the city still went out, persevering to secure their livelihood. Because for most people, if they did not work, they had no food on the table that day.

Thus the most affected by this flood was predictably the workers and day laborers, who shuffled out into the streets despite the stagnant water and ongoing rain, determined to join their stations come 'rain or high water'. 

Most of these poor folks traversed their once monotonous yet now deadly route on foot, carefully stepping over the slippery cobblestones while trying to keep an eye out for dangerous sharp objects like broken shards of pottery or bits of metal scrap, and deep, dangerous puddles, only occasionally breathing a sigh of relief when they spotted a series of makeshift stepping stone placed at various intersections by some good samaritan, thus letting them avoid wadding through the putrid waters.

But such luxuries were sparsely distributed and for most, they had to simply endure the stench of damp stone, rotting food, decaying animal carcasses, and unclean water mixed with all sorts of sewage and refuse assaulting their nose, and just forcefully ignoring the unsightly 'delights'.

In this instance, a bit better than these lowest of the strata were the various small and medium businesses. 

These markets, stalls, and workshop owners mostly lived in their shops, or at least in the same building, so could skip the deadly commute. 

Many of them were even used to the regular flooding, and observing the rising water at night, had quickly put up pre arranged sandbags or wooden planks in front of their domiciles, thus managing to at least mitigate some of the effects of the flooding.

As for those not fortunate enough to have their own shops or ones who were just renting a place in the marketplace…. well they had to just follow their poor brethren on the road, making the difficult trek to their destination.

Some had the choice of using a litter or a cart, but the chances were these themselves might get stranded as drivers struggled to steer their animals through the floodwaters.

Hence the most reliable way for the people to travel might have been to hire a small boat, although such services were rarer than an unicorn hair and only limited to very few parts of the city. 

The water needed to be deep enough to allow access and the destination 'rich enough' to attract money paying clients. It was no use having a boat service to the poor, northern district, was there?

Not to mention the question of scarcity- just who had a spare boat specifically lying around to ferry people around during such times?

Not many for sure.

They also could not use the large fishing boats in the ports here because they were too big to easily turn around the 'cramped' streets of Zanzan, and their weight demanded far deeper waters. The last thing a fisherman would want is to have the tool of his livelihood get suddenly stranded on the road.

But whichever the methods used, all businessmen tried to reach their shop even through rain soaked cloaks and wet as fish pants, knowing that even if they could not open their stores for business, they had to go there to at least rescue much of their submerged inventory. Anything would begin to perpetually stink if submerged in this 'dubious' water.

The only ones that were left mostly unaffected by this disaster were the wealthy nobles, able to hole up in their large, multi storied manors without much worry. Even if the water rose up to their heads, they could simply abandon the first floor and take refuge in the second or even third floor. 

And if they wanted to move- they could send servants to rent a boat or just have the slaves carry them on elevated sedan chairs.

…..

"Ahhh…. What time is it?" 

As Alexander was observing the state of 'aquarium city' out of the window with a sinking heart, the drifting, dull morning light seemed to have broken Lady Parthia out of her sleep, making her absentmindedly sit up and look around. 

She had been sleeping on the corner of the bed that was right next to Alexander and so naturally spotted him first.

"It's just past dawn! You can sleep for a bit more." Then she heard him quickly chime. 

Nobles tended to get up a bit later than the general people, so indeed, Lady Parthia had a few hours before the kitchen served breakfast.

"Ahhhh!" 

However before Alexander could get another word in, the still bare lady suddenly let out this cry of exclamation, first by seeing Alexander in his state of complete undress, his impressive member freely hanging around, and then more shockingly, by looking down at her breasts.

Because hanging off the pink tips like delicious fruits were her golden ornaments, letting off a slight stinging sensation from the recent piercing, as well as occasionally making chiming sounds from the heavy breathing, thus leaving the lady in absolutely no doubt that all this was real.

"What have I done?" As all the memories of last night's event then came rushing back to her, Lady Parthia could not help but suddenly cry out as such, a sense of slight despair assaulted the regal lady.

These 'unsightly' piercings were so much more than a mere accessory for Lady Parthia. They represented a permanent mark on her body by a man other than her husband.

And this was something her mind was still unable to accept. 

She could not even still believe she had actually let the others do this to her. 

'How could I get swept away in the mood? Was I drunk? How drunk was I?' Lady Parthia shouted to herself, convinced she had only done so under some influence. Because any other explanation was right now too damaging to even consider.

"....." While Alexander secretly enjoyed the sight of the panicked lady from the side, for this was a side he had yet to see.

Lady Parthia was usually very composed, never betraying too much emotion.

Yet now… she was like a young maiden who was afraid her father was going to catch up with her boyfriend.

It was so cute that Alexander wanted to tease her by pinching the nose.

"My lady, I want you to see this! Come!" 

However he decided not to indulge in such things right at the start of the morning, and instead, suddenly grabbing the lady by her arm, pulled her towards the window.

"Kyahhh…. No! What are you!" And this snapped her out of her thoughts, she cried out in alarm, clearly horrified by the destination. 

She still had no clothes on her, so to make her stand in front of an open window… where all could see her in her full glory…. 

Thankfully, Lady Parthia quickly piped down as soon as the sight graced her eyes, the strangeness of it completely capturing her. 

"My guess is that more than half the city has been flooded by the rain. And I do not even dare to think of the fields and crops in the suburbs! What do you suggest I do, my lady?" Alexander posed from the back in a very serious tone, eschewing any amorous tone. 

"Hmmm…" And seeing the seriousness of the problem, the regal queen too quickly gathered her thoughts, sharpening her eyes with a ruminative hum.

She quickly realized Alexander was specifically asking her because of the passing mention of the flood she had made last night.

"There is little you can do." But try as she might, this was the best answer she could give, repeating, "All you can do now is send relief and then wait for the water to reside." 

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