'When the moon is full, it begins to wane; when water is full, it overflows; and things that reach their extremes must reverse.'
Moderation is key in all things.
With the previous resource rewards, the Freedom Nation had indeed become incredibly powerful in certain areas, but now...
Water resources had always been sufficient; they weren't lacking, but they weren't exactly overflowing either.
Hydraulic engineering projects hadn't been a priority since things were usually fine, but now they were facing the national destiny reward.
A 500% increase in resources!
What did that even mean?
It had quintupled!
Even for a normal household, if their water supply suddenly increased fivefold, the sinks would overflow and soak everything.
Now imagine that across the entire nation!
A mere doubling would have given the water department a headache; quintupling was a nightmare.
It was far beyond a simple headache.
"Sir, have you ever heard the story of Noah's Ark?"
The head of the water department asked, his voice trembling with terror.
Of course he knew about Noah's Ark; there wasn't a single person in the Freedom Nation who didn't know that classic myth.
He had intended to say he understood it perfectly—how a great flood came and people built a massive ship following God's guidance to survive.
Suddenly, the words caught in the Blonde Elder's throat as he froze.
"A flood? Our current infrastructure can't possibly contain a flood of this scale!"
The Blonde Elder finally realized what the official was implying, and his expression shifted instantly.
To them, quintupling their water resources was a catastrophe!
"Sir, disaster! A local reservoir has suddenly burst its banks, flooding everything within a ten-mile radius!"
"Sir, bad news! Torrential waters have breached the coast, sweeping vehicles into the deep sea and destroying the bridges!"
"Sir, the flood is raging! It's leveling entire towns..."
Of all the natural disasters, floods were undoubtedly the most difficult to manage.
A massive flood was as destructive as a punishment from the Block World; weaker nations would have been wiped out on the spot!
Man was powerless against nature.
The Blonde Elder finally lost his composure.
"Quick, where is the helicopter? It's no longer safe here!"
The secretary moved swiftly, summoning a helicopter immediately. Under the protection of bodyguards, the Blonde Elder was hurried aboard.
With the Blonde Elder fleeing, the other department members fell into a panic, scrambling to find their own ways to escape.
As they ascended, the current state of the Freedom Nation was laid bare before the Blonde Elder's eyes.
The good news was that they had taken off just in time to avoid the water.
The bad news was that because the water levels had surged so much, overflows were everywhere. Nearly the entire Freedom Nation was submerged!
People were trapped on rooftops and high ground, looking exactly as if a death sentence had been handed down!
"Oh my god! Where did this flood come from?"
"It just drowned the brand-new car I picked up! Damn it!"
"What? You're telling me this is a national destiny reward? That we spent an extremely valuable item to get this?"
"Good heavens, what are those people thinking? Look at this! Does this look like a reward?"
"I can't take this anymore! God, please end this prank!"
"I pray to you every day! For the sake of my devotion, please spare me..."
Wails and curses filled the air across the land.
The audience in the Nine Provinces, however, was thoroughly enjoying the show.
"Good! Excellent!"
"Oh, you like stealing rewards, do you? Still want to steal?"
"Thankfully you stole it, or we would be the ones with the massive headache right now!"
"Exactly. This is what you got using your 'wisdom'!"
"Who knew anyone would actually want a natural disaster? I don't get it, but enjoy your flood!"
"Hahaha! This feels great!"
Watching the reports and the helicopter footage of the flood, the viewers from the Nine Provinces felt a profound sense of satisfaction.
This was the price for their theft!
After receiving the reports, Fries finally understood why Headmaster Quill's expression had been so odd.
"So basically, the Freedom Nation brought this entirely on themselves!"
Fries couldn't hold it back anymore and burst into laughter.
"I can't... this is too much! The Samurai Nation and the Freedom Nation, haha!"
"One is 'Water Flooding Goldcrest,' and the other is covered in fire!"
Coincidentally, there was even a place called Old Goldcrest near the water.
It was literally 'Water Flooding Goldcrest' in every sense of the phrase.
Foreigners really do put on the best shows; Fries laughed until his stomach hurt.
"It is quite the coincidence,"
Headmaster Quill said, caught between amusement and disbelief.
Out of all those resources, he just had to draw water, and the Blonde Elder just had to steal it.
Perhaps this was karma.
Meanwhile, inside the Block World.
The Alliance was struggling to hold off the zombies.
"These damned zombies! Is there no end to them?"
They had been killing zombies from dawn until dusk, losing count of the bodies.
They only survived this long by relying on their food stores, but without a way to gather external resources, their own farming was far too slow.
Food had become the Alliance's scarcest resource. According to Soren Park's calculations...
At their current rate of consumption, they would run out in five days, not ten.
Yet the zombies kept coming in an endless stream. They had to stay alert at all times, which meant they couldn't skimp on food.
"Ammo is running low too. Oakmoor, what is the status on your end?"
Mark frowned as he looked at the meager amount of gunpowder remaining in the chest.
Food was critical, but the gunpowder situation was even more dire.
With enough gunpowder, they could produce enough bullets—the most vital firepower for defending against zombies at range.
But they had barely hunted any Creepers; few wanted to get close to those dangerous green things.
But they had barely hunted any Creepers; few wanted to get close to those dangerous green things.
Despite their rationing, the entire Alliance was down to just three units of gunpowder in the chest.
How many magazines of ammo could three units of gunpowder even make?
They could limp along for a while longer using spider webs, but at this rate...
They had two days at most!
Once the gunpowder ran out, and those block-building zombies finished their stairs, even the common zombies would have a way in.
They would find it nearly impossible to repel the invasion!
"My SlashBlade has broken. Ronan, do we have enough repair materials?"
"For now, yes. But our biggest problem is the lack of resource replenishment!"
The situation for the two samurai was equally grim.
The SlashBlade was powerful, but it had its drawbacks.
The Muramasa lacked ranged attacks. If it hit an Elite Mob or a special zombie with Thorns, the user could easily die from the reflected damage.
"Wait, Mark, did I hear that right? Galen Yu killed a dragon?"
Jett cried out in shock as the announcement circulating among all players reached him.
They hadn't even seen the Ender Dragon yet, and Galen Yu was already slaying actual dragons!
"That bastard... but we don't have time to worry about him. We need to focus on the zombies!"
"No, he triggered a national destiny reward, and the leader used that item. Maybe...!"
The two exchanged a look; Mark immediately caught Jett's drift.
The reward for killing a dragon was bound to be incredible. If the Blonde Elder had managed to snag something good...
...it might be enough to supply the Alliance and help them survive this crisis!
"They might have even rewarded us with a dragon of our own! Quick, let me see what we got!"
The sudden news perked up the ears of everyone else in the Alliance, sparking a wave of excitement.
If they were given a dragon, its immense magical power could sweep away the zombies in an instant. They would all live!
But as everyone looked at him expectantly, Jett suddenly froze.
"How... how could it be this...?"