Chapter 176: The Miseries of the Carlisle Family
The cold wind blew, carrying waves of stench.
The deeper the soil, the stronger the smell of rot.
Thousands of soldiers busied themselves in a massive pit.
From the spiral-shaped edges of the pit, carts full of foul, mushy sludge were hauled upward.
Occasionally, water beetles crawled out from the muddy stone pathways, desperately searching for food.
This pit, dug downwards, resembled the gaping maw of an abyss.
Murky water gathered at the bottom, the foul-smelling sludge making excavation a near-impossible task.
Covered in muck, the soldiers endured the stench.
They scooped the foul sludge with bucket after bucket, trying to clean it out.
Their eyes were filled with exhaustion, and grumbling complaints could be heard:
"How long do we have to keep scooping this muck with these buckets?"
"I've had enough of this—if we were just fighting, that would be one thing, but dragging us out here for this work?"
"What can we do? Just keep digging."
"I'd rather those mindless fishmen attack us—at least then we wouldn't have to wallow in mud all day!"
"Who knows how much deeper we have to go? Let's just hope it doesn't rain in the next few days, or all our work will be for nothing."
"The swamp's not like the hills around Bloodmoon City; this muck has a mind of its own…"
"If we keep at it, everything we eat and drink is going to start tasting like this muck…"
"Why haven't the folks from Bay Territory made a move yet?"
"They've only got a few hundred men—they wouldn't be that foolish, would they?"
"If they did attack, it would at least break the monotony—what's with them just watching us?"
"Who knows?"
"..."
After nearly a month of work, the soldiers were grumbling constantly, and even the officers leading them had complaints.
They had originally thought they were coming to fight. Sure, war involved the risk of death, but it depended on the enemy.
The forces from Bay Territory never even showed themselves!
They stayed holed up in their fortress, leaving the Carlisle family with their prized excavation site.
Were they supposed to march over and demand a fight?
With no battle to fight, the soldiers initially thought they might have gotten off easy—no danger, no risk, and they could ride out the conscription.
It seemed like a good deal.
But soon enough, they were disillusioned.
The site that Bay Territory had painstakingly found was nothing more than a pit in the ground.
After some magical investigation, Carlisle's experienced surveyors confirmed.
This was indeed the closest entrance to the ruins.
The Carlisle family, well-prepared, quickly established a camp around the site.
They surrounded it completely, forbidding anyone from approaching.
Especially Bay Territory!
To settle matters once and for all, the Carlisle family resorted to their usual tactics.
After the first 1,000 reinforcements arrived, they provocatively sent a challenge to the 500 soldiers guarding the fishman fortress.
If Bay Territory retaliated, a battle would break out, and Carlisle's forces would wipe them out.
Then they could explore the ruins in peace.
After all, Carlisle assumed Bay Territory would respond just like they did—offended by such shameless provocation.
But after days of waiting, with several waves of reinforcements arriving, the family's private soldiers and new recruits crowded the area...
Bay Territory remained silent.
The Carlisle family had no idea what was happening in Bay Territory.
Nor did they care—securing the ruins was all that mattered.
As the backbone of the family's wealth, uncovering new ruins was like discovering a new gold mine.
Why would they care what the soldiers thought?
So, the Carlisle family continued pouring resources and manpower into the area, commanding the soldiers to keep digging.
Most of the soldiers were simply citizens from the Carlisle territories—if there was no war to fight, and food was provided, they might as well keep digging.
But the unruly swamp had other plans, and Carlisle's family faced their first setbacks.
First, they lacked proper excavation tools. Transporting supplies from Bloodmoon City involved a nearly 200-kilometer journey.
Along the way, restless fishmen caused trouble, harassing the supply convoys.
Then, the family realized their usual digging tools, which worked well in sandy terrain, were useless against the swamp's foul sludge.
Frustrated, the Carlisle family had no choice but to send for more supplies.
They also began building a semi-permanent camp to protect against fishmen raids and potential attacks from Bay Territory.
In Carlisle's mind...
Even if the ruins were buried hundreds of meters underground...
They were confident they could carve a path down within a month and open the entrance to the ruins.
Then, all their investments would pay off.
On the first day, thousands of soldiers worked tirelessly, digging a pit 10 meters wide and 4 meters deep.
They were all eager, knowing there would be a handsome reward once the ruins were uncovered.
On the second day, they were shocked to find the pit filled with oozing sludge, undoing all their work.
Undeterred, the soldiers dug again, managing to replicate their progress from the first day.
To prevent the encroaching sludge, they placed wooden planks around the pit to form barriers.
It was a solid plan!
But on the third day, they watched in horror as the sludge surged from below, filling the pit halfway.
The soldiers were at their wit's end.
Realizing the severity of the situation, the Carlisle family quickly devised a new strategy, taking about a day to finalize it.
Once again, they had to send for more tools and supplies—yet another large investment.
This time, they played it smart.
They brought in several Earth Elemental Giants, whose natural "Soften Earth to Stone" ability helped stabilize the ground.
They cordoned off a sizable area, transforming the surrounding sludge into stone, which also doubled as material for semi-permanent camp walls.
Slowly, methodically, they resumed their excavation.
Progress was steady.
In about 20 days, they were halfway there.
Just when the ruins seemed within reach...
A torrential downpour hit for three consecutive days!
The pit was nearly filled again.
On the brink of despair, the soldiers were ready to give up and head home.
Even facing the ferocious orcs of the northern Bloodfortress would be better than this!
Fortunately, Carlisle's resources were vast. They ordered the construction of proper shelters so soldiers wouldn't have to sleep in the mud.
They also brought in a steam pump crafted by subterranean dwarves.
After a day's work, they finally drained the water from the pit.
But the resulting sludge was now the soldiers' next nightmare to deal with.
Despite the constant setbacks, the soldiers hadn't fled—Carlisle should have considered themselves lucky for that.
After a series of unfortunate events, the pit was now 80 meters deep.
Just when hope was rekindled, and the soldiers were ready to put in the final effort to solve the problem...
Bay Territory mobilized its forces!