The Cornflower Witch

Book 2: Chapter 93: The Torrential Rains of the Gale Season

Vol 2 Chapter 93 The Torrential Rains of the Gale Season

The golden wind violet grass floated up, fading in color within the wind.

The great serpent advanced through the vast sea of clouds, its back undulating slowly, and the Fourth Continent carried upon its back gradually descended from the high altitude.

Fierce, surging winds arose from the edges of the continent. Among them, the most massive and violent air currents surged over the high mountains at the northwestern corner of the continent, sweeping southward.

Wherever they passed, grass and leaves tumbled, large trees swayed, and the beasts running through the forests halted their steps, listening to the endless, clamorous sound of the wind.

Farmers in the fields stopped their movements in the wind, pressing down on their straw hats that threatened to fly off as they looked up. In the distant castle, soldiers emerged from the towers, striking the iron bell. Its clear, crisp sound spread throughout the town.

'The Morning Winds have scattered, the Gale Season has arrived.'

After learning of the Gale Season's arrival, people would reinforce their doors, windows, and houses, preparing to face the gales and torrential rains of the season.

The once roaming orange-furred Tili Wolves had vanished. They either lost their Aspect, their fur fading to ordinary gray-brown, or, weakened by the loss of power, were defeated by rivals in subsequent struggles, easily bitten at the throat and left dead in the grassy fields.

Dandelions in the wind became tainted with a faint trace of the 'Vaulted Sky' Aspect, all blooming. Their white seeds scattered into the wind, drifting into the sky. They would travel to various places with the wind, the farthest even crossing the sea of clouds to reach distant foreign continents.Antelopes ran and leapt across grasslands and mountainous lands, their speed becoming increasingly swift, even capable of leaping several meters into the air. Few hunters could keep up with their pace anymore. During this season, they would reproduce in great numbers, and their fur would turn grayish-white.

Thus, people would call this period the 'Wind Antelope Festival', a joyous pastoral holiday of lush plant growth and herds of cattle and sheep dotting the wilderness.

;

Darkmist Mountains, Lantern Town.

Sylutia, wearing a white dress, stood on the town's inner watchtower, gazing at the churning air currents at the horizon's edge. They tore slight fissures in the perpetually shrouding dark clouds, occasionally bringing scattered fragments of light.

"The Gale Season is about to arrive, Tia." Grant, along with several first-phase apprentices, ascended the stairs, arriving behind Sylutia.

"Mhm." The young girl nodded softly, then inquired.

"How are the windproofing preparations within the garrison going?"

"Currently, we've had the craftsmen reinforce the structures. Overall, it's not a major issue," Rachel answered, after which the scholar Grant beside her added a few more points.

"When our town was first established, we considered the fierce winds blowing from the Darkmist Mountains, so the various construction standards are set quite a bit higher."

"If we're talking about the biggest impact, it's probably the travel of the transport convoys. It will become more difficult."

"Before, it was about once a month for a round trip. Afterwards, it might take 2-3 months. During seasons of raging storms, it might take over half a year for a single round trip."

"I see..." Sylutia pondered the implications of this situation.

"How are the material stockpiles currently? If the transport convoys don't come, how long can we last at maximum?"

"Food, water, most things we have in sufficient supply, even enough to produce a surplus ourselves. But a few items like salt, fuel, and training materials will face shortages."

"Actually, the ones in danger aren't us, but those frontline garrison outposts within the Darkmist Mountains."

"Whenever the wind seasons change, the environment of the Shadow World also transforms. As the surface continent sinks, the Shadow World also touches deeper into the dark abyss."

"At that time, new resource yields will appear, but it will also allow more monsters to fall from the Twilight Sea into the Shadow World."

"It seems the defense systems need reinforcement as well." Sylutia thought about what might happen if monsters attacked the town.

"Yes."

"First, inspect the various buildings within the town to see if they can all be reinforced. Afterwards, we'll think of ways to enhance the town's defensive resistance."

"Yes."

Everyone acknowledged and gradually departed.

The watchtower grew quiet again. Sylutia looked at the churning layers of clouds in the sky, lightly raised a finger, and a translucent card materialized.

'Autumn Garden (Foundation Stage)'

Within the card was a circular clearing built from mossy stones and water channels, its interior covered with soft soil. Currently, the stone bricks inside were neatly fitted together, and clear water flowed slowly in the channels.

In a while longer, probably another two weeks, she could begin the second step: transplanting plants.

...

In the following days, the heavy clouds in the sky churned incessantly, until one day, the dark clouds suddenly descended, and torrential rain began to fall.

Raindrops the size of beans continuously struck, hitting the glass of the windows, leaving faint water trails that then flowed into the gutters on the ground.

These raindrops were saturated with the toxins of Distortion pollution, making the glass increasingly fragile, and the polluted water worsened the environment.

If this continued, the greenhouse glass probably wouldn't hold up for much longer. Sylutia couldn't help but worry.

To avoid extensive glass damage, the apprentices in the town used leftover harvested straw to bundle and cover the greenhouse surfaces, trying to guide the water flow over the straw to reduce erosion of the glass. And to prevent the straw from rotting, becoming soaked, and failing, the apprentices had to replace it daily.

And so, the torrential rain persisted for five days before gradually weakening and dissipating.

After it ended, Sylutia and the others took stock of the glass damaged by erosion, patched the greenhouse gaps, and only then restored them to functionality.

"This is just the beginning of the Gale Season. In the future, torrential rains will become more and more frequent." Many apprentices were concerned.

"That means we either shut down the greenhouses, or we must find better resistant materials," Sylutia analyzed.

"Higher-tier glass..." Unfortunately, her current focus was entirely on constructing the core garden, unable to spare the time and energy to delve into the formulation ratios of glass spirit liquid.

"We can only seek help from other organizations within the association. If they are willing to help, paying some price in compensation would be worth it."

"I'll write a letter to report to the association's superiors immediately," the scholar beside her nodded.

A week later, the first phase of Sylutia's 'Autumn Garden' was completed, and she began transplanting plants.

The first type was, of course, the 'Cornflower' she currently had the highest affinity with and was most fond of.

Numerous cornflower seeds were scattered around the periphery of the water channels, beginning to germinate and grow, then sprouting green tender shoots.

Subsequently, these cornflowers spread around the water channels, gradually blooming. Flowers of varying shades of blue blossomed, emitting a faint, clear aura, adding a touch of vitality to the card's surface.

Not too difficult, Sylutia thought. Feeling the cornflowers had stabilized, she then added the second type of plant, the third type, the fourth type.

When adding the sixth type of plant, the 'Golden Lump Pear', she began to feel some difficulty. Because adding each new plant meant introducing another change to the environment, doubling the difficulty.

If the difficulty of adding cornflowers was 1, then now it was difficulty 32.

The young girl lightly pressed her finger on the card, sensing the delicate changes within, then once again invested the seventh type of plant: 'White Camellia'.

The seventh type took a bit more time. The eighth was still alright. The ninth was somewhat tricky, requiring a bit more time. The tenth was a bit troublesome. The eleventh required pondering and planning for the various plants, making space.

For the twelfth, after planning for a while again and finding the right moment, Sylutia placed the 'Purple Jellyfish Mushroom' inside. This mushroom, bearing the 'Fungal Threads' Aspect, quietly grew in a corner sheltered by mossy stones.

That should count as completed.

Looking over the garden now planted with all the plants, Sylutia breathed a sigh of relief. And this was only two months since she took the first step of constructing the core Ability Card.