Page 147 of Sumanika

Suddenly, the wall broke, and a flood hit me like a mountain.

I could not believe it; a ten-metre-tall wall collapsed like a castle of sand. The rock hit my head, and I cried out. The water crashed into me, smashing me into the wall.

My breathing swallowed, and I noticed the tunnel filling faster with the water. It began flowing towards the low point, taking me with it effortlessly.

I had to reach the high end, to the well.

I lifted my axe and, at one point, hit it in the tunnel ceiling to stop myself from running into the water.

It missed.

I groaned.

I threw my hands and legs to swim through the monstrous flow.

I hit again.

Missed.

“What the hell?” I yelled.“Urghhhhhh,”

My shoulder hit the wall, cracking skin and drawing blood. The water rushed into my mouth, reaching to my nose. I lifted my face, panting harder against the ceiling.

But it didn’t work.

I hit the axe again, trying to find a spot where I could hang.

Missed again, flowed along the water.

But amid all this, a smile appeared on my face, noticing the cannons drowning in water.

As I said, I would ruin them with water if I could not burn them.

The cries of soldiers dying, hitting against the cannons, and drowning hit my ear.

I immediately hit the axe again and finally hung on the ceiling, waiting for the water flow to calm down.

My knuckles whitened. I held myself with one hand, rotating with the other, consuming all my energy.

Thankfully, the groundwater was not that cold and dense.

I waited until it calmed, filling the empty spaces in the tunnel.

Now, you can’t take the cannons out until the water drains. And in this life, the water would never drain.

I exhaled deeply and started swimming toward the river’s prime point, where the rope awaited me.

It was pitch dark here.

My only hope was my memory. I began swimming with the axe to take breaks between small sessions.

Suddenly, my head hit hard against a rock,“Urghhhhhhhh,” and I cried out in pain.

“Oh, my god!”

I didn’t know if I bled since I couldn’t tell the difference between blood and water.

But I kept going.

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