Liyakade had now confirmed that the excess energy from the Purple Mist Vine Grass would put a human’s mind into a fragile state of defense.
She had only glared at Vidar slightly and applied a bit of the Demon Race’s power, causing Vidar to experience the illusion controlled by Liyakade.
Thus, Vidar’s threat was completely neutralized.
She could crush this insect-like man anytime she wanted.
Of course, it was all Vidar’s fault for abusing the Purple Mist Vine Grass, which had made his mind so fragile.
Reap what you sow—that described Vidar perfectly.
The perspective shifted back to Fied.
Fied had already begun conversing with Caravan Head Graham.
“Lord Fied, you’re here.”
“Yeah, what’s the situation now?”
“My lord, things are still not optimistic.”
Graham shook his head, his tone heavy and confused.
“Lord Vidar just provided all the private water reserves they had brought, but that amount is still not enough for the caravan to reach the next water source.”
“All of it?”
Fied asked coldly, then cast a light, meaningful glance at Vidar.
Now, Liyakade and the others already knew that Vidar was the mastermind behind the poisoning.
They hadn’t exposed him on the spot only to let the line play out and catch the big fish.
Hence, they had let Vidar off for now.
So, Liyakade and her party were in the open, while Vidar was in the shadows.
Fied certainly didn’t believe that Vidar had handed over all his private water.
As the instigator, how could he not have left himself a backup?
“Hey! Fied, what’s that look supposed to mean?!”
Vidar, still shaken from Liyakade’s earlier intimidation, was now on edge.
Fied had only glanced at him, and Vidar immediately struck back.
“Are you implying that I’m still hoarding some water?!”
“Heh.”
Fied let out a cold laugh.
She hadn’t even said much, and Vidar was already crumbling under the pressure.
“I haven’t said anything yet. Why are you getting so defensive? Could it be… that you really are hiding water?”
“You…!”
Vidar was left speechless by Fied’s words.
But he quickly changed his approach.
“What gives you the right to question me? You haven’t contributed a single drop of water, have you? Aren’t you nobles too? Would a noble not carry any spare water?”
“We truly didn’t bring any spare water. But whether we did or not, it’s none of your business, Vidar.”
Faced with Vidar’s barrage of questions, Fied responded coldly and unhurriedly.
“Words are cheap. Who knows if you’ve brought water and are now hoarding it, refusing to share with everyone, and now you’re accusing me of not giving up everything.”
“I can’t be bothered to argue with you.”
With that, Fied turned away and stopped talking to Vidar.
Now that she knew the culprit was Vidar, Fied had no interest in arguing with him.
Let him say whatever he wanted.
Instead of debating, they’d do something practical.
“Graham, how many days will Vidar’s water supply last?”
Even though Graham had already said it wouldn’t last to the next water source, Fied still needed to know the exact number of days.
“For everyone in the caravan, about two days,” Graham answered honestly.
Although Vidar’s backup water could last them ten days to half a month if used only by his group, when divided equally among everyone in the caravan, it was woefully insufficient.
Not only for cooking and drinking, but the horses also needed water, or they would become too exhausted to travel.
And since Vidar hadn’t given up all his reserves, it naturally wouldn’t last long.
“Since we can’t make it to the next water source, let’s just rest here for now. Send some people to the nearest town for help. The others stay here and wait for other caravans to pass by. Maybe one of them will be willing to help us.”
After hearing the exact duration the water could last, Fied made her decision: stay put and continue camping.
On one hand, the poisoned people needed time to recover.
On the other, resting in place would reduce the horses’ energy consumption, thus saving some of the water needed for them.
“Lord Fied, that makes sense, but… it would take three days to reach the nearest town. Even on fast horses, it’s over two and a half days. If we run into bandits on the way, it could be a one-way trip…”
Though Graham thought Fied’s suggestion had some merit, it was far from a foolproof plan.
Too many variables remained.
Even setting aside whether the dispatched people could arrive safely, even if they did, would the guild’s rescue arrive quickly?
And while waiting here, would any passing caravans be willing to help?
“I’m not done yet. That’s just a double insurance. Just send people. In the meantime, I’ll take my group to find a new water source nearby.”
Fied had already considered Graham’s concerns.
Therefore, she also decided to take Liyakade and Alice to search for a new water source nearby within these two days.
While in the carriage, Fied had studied the map.
Although the map didn’t mark a water source nearby, it did indicate mountains and signs of a few bandits.
Since there were mountains and bandits, it was highly likely that there was drinkable water among the peaks.
However, because of the bandits, caravans and ordinary adventurers dared not explore this area, hence no water source was marked.
So Fied’s plan was to find those bandits and, through them, locate the water source in the mountains.
“What? Is that really possible?”
Hearing Fied’s words, Graham was surprised and couldn’t help expressing doubt.
All the caravan’s maps were drawn and provided by the guild.
The information on these maps came from various guilds and other adventurers.
The Adventurers’ Guild even had quests for finding and providing resource point information.
If no water source was marked nearby, it meant that adventurers hadn’t found one either.
Now, this seemingly not very robust Fied was telling him she could find water.
Moreover, the only people she had seemed to be the coachman and her two wives.
Did they really have the ability to find water?
Even Walter, standing nearby, chuckled inwardly.
If he himself wasn’t confident in finding a new water source, what made Fied think she could?
Vidar was even more mocking, thinking she was overestimating herself, and looked forward to seeing her fail.
“Just trust us,” Fied said.
She didn’t elaborate further, simply telling Graham to rest assured.