Wizard: I devour the stars with swarms of insects.

"What I just added to the test tube was an extract of the 'Crispy Heart Vine', a medicinal coloring agent that can reveal certain transparent and colorless substances in the liquid."

"Water samples taken from the second ditch, after being treated with this extract, revealed these colorless, transparent planktonic filamentous organisms."

"But after testing the water in the ditch you were drinking from, nothing was found."

At this moment, Wayne gently shook the glass test tube in his hand, watching the thread-like creatures floating and swimming in the water.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he analyzed the situation in a calm voice.

"I think... Senior Brother Holman, this thing is probably the 'culprit' that caused the outbreak of drought and plague in Gray Eagle Fortress."

"All the residents who drank the water from the wells along that ditch should have been infected."

"This, this... so that's how it is!" Holman's voice trembled as he saw the irrefutable experimental results before him.

Its azure eyes were fixed on the red, thread-like creature swimming and suspending inside the glass test tube in front of it.

"But what exactly is this thing?" Holman asked.

"I don't know." Wayne shook his head. "It might be some kind of parasitic creature, who knows?"

"Senior Holman, where does this ditch end? Did something happen to cause this situation?"

At this moment, Wayne asked.

After all, as a water supply facility in the city, the residents of Greyhawk Fortress have always drawn and used water from here.

Before, everything was fine, and there were no cases of people being infected with the plague.

Why did these red threadworms suddenly appear, leading to the outbreak of drought?

"Nothing...it shouldn't be anything serious." Hearing Wayne's question, Holman recalled, "Since I came back, I haven't heard anything about what happened in that ditch..."

"And besides, I didn't think about it that way at the time, so I didn't pay much attention to it, um..."

"I need to ask my father if anything happened on the family territory while I was away from the family!"

After thinking for a moment, Holman said.

So he hurriedly left the room.

......

One hour later.

Lord's Hall, Earl's Mansion.

"You mean... the water intake canals in the city?"

At this time, Earl Victoria is overwhelmed with the crisis of dealing with the drought and plague that has brought the city and villages to a near standstill.

Hearing Holman's question, he looked up, his aged eyes showing a hint of surprise.

"Yes, we suspect that one of the city's canals is the cause of the plague's spread! And we've found some 'strange' things in the water."

Holman said.

He then glanced at Wayne beside him.

Because he was worried that he was bad at speaking and wouldn't be able to convey the message clearly, he simply invited his junior brother Wayne to come with him to the Earl's office.

"Father, before I returned, did anything happen to the water ditches in the city?"

Holman said.

"Let me think about it..."

Earl Victoria tried to recall, got up and paced back and forth in the room.

But he frowned, unable to recall it for a moment.

After all, the daily affairs in the Earl's mansion are complicated and involve all sorts of things, so it's really hard to recall them all at once.

At this moment, Alfred, the old butler serving beside him in the room, suddenly seemed to remember something and hesitated slightly.

"Your Excellency, I've just thought of something, and I wonder if it's related to this matter..."

"You said, Alfred."

Upon hearing this, Earl Victoria quickly replied.

Everyone around also turned their attention to the old butler, Alfred.

"Hmm... I remember, about a few months ago, some city residents reported that when they drew water, they could always hear strange noises coming from the wells, which sounded quite frightening."

Alfred recalled.

"At the time, we suspected that the noise might be caused by the waterwheel in the canal being old and in disrepair. We even sent a few craftsmen down to investigate and repair it, and replaced a few parts of the waterwheel. Later, the noise disappeared, so we didn't pay much attention to it and thought it was just a problem with the windmill."

"But I remember that a few more residents reported that the well water tasted a bit strange when they drank it recently. However, there weren't many people, and no one else reported it after that."

"Since these issues weren't considered particularly important at the time, I didn't remind you to pay special attention to them after sending the materials to you. Could it be... related to these matters?"

Alfred said with some confusion.

"Waterwheel, making strange noises?"

Upon hearing this, Wayne's expression shifted.

"Yes, the city has several wells connected to several ditches, and waterwheels are installed in the waterways to supply water."

Alfred said.

"Otherwise, the accumulated silt would easily clog the canals. At the time, some people reported that there were sounds coming from the well water channels, and others reported that the well water tasted strange."

"I'm afraid there's something strange about the canal. I think... we'd better go and check it out in person," Wayne said. "Can we go now?"

"Of course, no problem, but... we need to send someone to stop the waterwheel in the canal first, otherwise the water is flowing too fast and it will be difficult for us to get in; it's easy to slip."

Alfred said.

"Send someone to arrange it immediately!" Holman urged from the side. "Shut down the main sluice gate and waterwheel of that canal!"

"Yes, young master, I'll be right there."

Alfred respectfully accepted the order, turned around and went downstairs to find the craftsmen inside the castle, and went to the scene to quickly stop the waterwheel in the canal.

Holman, Wayne, and the others immediately packed their belongings and took a carriage to the entrance of the canal outside the city.

Furthermore, for safety's sake, Wayne also called upon his own knight squad, Isabel's team, before setting off.

When leaving, Earl Victoria summoned a squad of her personal guards, armed with various weapons and torches, to accompany the procession.

......

Twenty minutes later, the group arrived outside the city. A light white mist hung over the area, and small groups of zombies appeared and disappeared within it.

The city's water supply in Greyhawk Keep is provided by several independent water supply canals, and the water used is drawn from several different lakes nearby.

The problematic canal is a ditch along one of the city's main roads, with wellheads along its course supplying water to many urban areas and streets.

When the troops left the city, circled the drainage canal, and arrived at the entrance of the canal, they opened the iron gate of the canal and entered the canal.

The canal was constructed from huge cut bluestones and rammed earth mixed with lime and broken pottery.

The top is arched and nearly two meters high, making it feel quite spacious.