Chapter 262: The Bridge Across the Redwater River
A week later, Roland officially launched the great steel-bridge construction project.
“You mean I should raise two islands in the middle of the river, to serve as the foothold of the bridge piers?” Lotus looked out at the surging current and asked in amazement. “Don’t tell me you plan to build an actual bridge — not a pontoon?”
“Yes.” Roland unrolled the scroll in his hands. “Taking into account the force of the current, each island needs a certain volume. They should also be shaped like this, to reduce the impact.” He tapped the blueprint.
“This… looks like a ship,” Lotus said.
“That’s right — technically called a spindle form.” He nodded. “Built parallel to the direction of flow, it presents the smallest possible face to the current. The question is whether you can raise the riverbed when the Redwater runs nearly ten meters deep.”
“That shouldn’t be difficult, Your Highness,” Lotus said simply. “Leave it to me.”
For safety, the ship carrying the witches was Little Town — standing on the cement hull floating in the river felt no different from standing on solid ground. Lightning again took the helm; Wendy again provided the wind.
During the past week, Wendy had seemed to avoid Roland’s line of sight, visibly uncomfortable whenever their paths crossed. Today she walked past him with her chin level and her usual composure restored, and as she boarded she murmured a soft “thank you.”
“That’s something you can thank me for,” Nightingale whispered into his ear from within her fog.
Little Town left the pier and drove toward the center of the wide river. Carter had already stretched a hemp rope across the water, with two red cloth strips tied to mark the positions for the piers. When the cement boat reached the first marker, Lotus stepped to the railing and put her ability to work.
The river surface began to move — first a trembling, then small eruptions of displaced water, rising and falling like something vast drawing breath beneath the surface. Gravel, algae, and silt came churning upward through the current, slowly clouding the water dark. The riverbed itself was rising.
So that’s how it works. Her ability reached water as readily as solid earth — more easily, even, since loose silt offered less resistance. The current kept washing the lifted mass sideways, but the bed was lifting all the same.
Not long after, a grey mound of mud broke the surface. It was clearly very soft; it also released an odor that drove everyone to cover their noses.
To Roland, it was the finest kind of fertilizer — centuries of fish bones, aquatic plant matter, the accumulated refuse of the river depths. In another world he would have collected every bucket of it. Here, the logistics made that impossible. It could only be taken by hand, by wading directly into the water.
Once the soft layers had cleared away, the yellow-brown solid earth appeared beneath. Then the process repeated — lifting, rinsing, consolidating — until both spindle-shaped islands were fully formed.
Roland had estimated a week. But breaking the surface was only the beginning. The river would work at the exposed silt constantly, and without reinforcement the spindle-form islands, for all their elegant hydrodynamics, would not survive ten years.
He called Karl van Bate over and crouched down with a piece of charcoal to sketch the method for consolidating the ground.
“Your idea is to dig trenches into the soil and fill them with cement?” the newly promoted Minister of Construction asked, studying the drawing. He had earned his way out of the King’s City Stonemason Guild with precisely this quality — he needed only a few words before his mind completed the structure. “You want to form a wall that runs from the surface all the way down to the riverbed.”
“Exactly. But each segment shouldn’t exceed five meters in length, and around one meter deep. When you fill them with cement, have Lotus sink each segment another meter into the earth. Repeat that until the wall runs from the river surface straight down.” Roland had worked out the approach while watching Lotus raise the islands — if she could lower the earth’s surface, she could presumably bury a structure above the earth into it. “This way, even if the river wears away the outer soil, the cement wall will still hold the water back.”
“Your idea is truly ingenious,” Karl said, eyes bright. “What should I use to determine the wall’s total height?”
“That’s on your shoulders. If it’s too shallow, the foundation becomes unstable. Too tall and you waste cement and delay the schedule.” Roland straightened. “Looking at the silt that came up, I’m guessing around twelve meters total height.”
“One more thing,” the Prince added. “After you’ve surrounded all sides with the cement wall, leave the interior open. Don’t pave it over. I want to plant grass and flowers on top afterward.”
Karl stared at him. “Flowers?”
The reasoning was practical, even if it sounded decorative: the cement segments could never be made perfectly watertight; over time, gaps would appear. The simplest way to lock the remaining soil in place was vegetation — roots would reduce water absorption and prevent erosion, especially after Leaves came through and extended the root systems with her magic, knitting the earth firmly together. A brief explanation of how plants strengthen soil seemed to satisfy Karl’s bewilderment without fully resolving it.
Roland turned to look at the workers busy along the banks. “What’s the status of the approach ramps?”
“We’re laying the cement-gravel surface now,” Karl reported without hesitation. “They should be finished by this week.”
The approaches on either side of the river were built from packed fieldstone and cement — the same method used for the city walls. As long as the positioning and measurements were right, the construction itself was not complicated. The highest point of each ramp rose seven meters above ground, connecting to the city streets by a long, gentle curve. The river’s natural embankment added further height above the waterline. When the bridge was complete, the clearance between water and deck would be approximately twelve meters — high enough for sailing ships to pass beneath.
Only the first span of the bridge itself was finished so far, undergoing a load test on shore. The span was short; the loads would be modest. A thirty-centimeter I-beam would hold even if the bridge deck were packed edge to edge with people. And since Anna had personally handled every step from assembly to welding, the probability of jerry-built workmanship was as close to zero as anything Roland had encountered in this world.
The installation itself would be simple. When all three spans were complete, Hummingbird would reduce their weight and Lightning would carry them to position. Two wagons could then cross the Redwater River side by side — the northern and southern banks connected at last.
“Even the greatest mason would have difficulty imagining a bridge like this,” Karl said quietly, looking out at the wide sparkling river. “Does Your Royal Highness have a name for it?”
Roland thought for a moment. “Call it the Redwater Bridge.”
Chapter 262 The bridge across the Redwater River
A week later, Roland officially started the great steel-bridge construction project.
“You mean, I should raise two lands in the middle of the river, which will act as the foothold of the bridge pier?” Lotus looked at the surging river and asked in amazement, “Don’t tell me you plan to construct an actual bridge, rather than a pontoon bridge to connect both sides of the river?”
“Yes,” Roland spread out the scroll he held in his hand, “Taking into account the impact of the river current, it is necessary for the two pieces of land to have a certain volume. They also need to be constructed in this way to reduce the force of the impact.”
“This… looks like a ship,” Lotus let her view wander across the blueprint.
“That’s right, speaking accurately it’s called the spindle type,” he nodded, “As long as they are built parallel to the direction of the flow, the impact it receives from the front will be reduced to the smallest amount possible. The problem is that the Redwater River is nearly ten meters deep, will you still be able to make the earth rise?”
“This shouldn’t be hard to do, Your Highness,” Lotus simply replied, “Just give it to me.”
To be safe, the ship responsible for carrying the witch was Little Town, standing on the massive hull of the cement ship floating in the river was like standing on land. It was still Lightning who took over the position of the helmsman, while Wendy was again responsible for providing the wind.
But during the last week, it seemed that the latter had avoided the Prince’s line of sight, seemingly feeling a bit uncomfortable. Until this day when Roland saw her walking around with her head held up, looking as if she was
back to her usual self again. And finally, when she went past him to board the ship, he even heard her whispering a soft “thank you”.
“This is something you can come thank me for,” Nightingale whispered into his ear from within her fog.
The Little Town soon left the pier, driving to the center of the wide river. Carter had already pulled a hemp rope across the river, there were two red cloth belts tied to it which marked the location for the piers. After the cement boat arrived at the site of the first pier, Lotus went to the ship’s railing and began to put her ability to use.
Looking at the river, its surface suddenly resembled boiling water, sending up one bubble after the other, while slowly forming a “hill”. Not long after, gravel together with algae and silt began to rise from within the surging river water, gradually turning all of the water muddy.
So, that’s how it works, Roland thought. Her ability could not only transform a solid surface, but also water. Furthermore, it was even easier to lift than loose gravel was. Even though the surging river was immediately washing it away, but by now the river bed had already been lifted up a little.
Not long after, a gray mass of mud appeared on the water surface. It seemed to be very soft, but it also gave off a very unpleasant odor, making it impossible for all those present to not cover their noses.
However, in Roland’s eyes, this gray mass was the best kind of fertilizer. The soil contained hundreds of years of fish and other aquatic bones, aquatic plants, as well as the inhabitants of the depths’ excrement. If the transport wasn’t too inconvenient, Roland would like to gather all of this soil and use it as fertilizer. Unfortunately, at present, it could only be collected by hand through directly entering the river water.
So, after clearing up the fertilizer layers and improving the section, he finally saw the yellow-brown solid earth he had waiting for. The following steps were to repeat the process again and again until the two pieces of land had been fully formed.
Roland expected that this course of event would at least continue for around one week, but even after the soil was lifted up and broke through the water surface, it didn’t mean that the land could be used. The flow of the river would unceasingly carry away the silt, and without further protection, even if the piers were formed according to the spindle design, they wouldn’t be able to persevere for longer than ten years.
Trying to come to a conclusion, Roland called Karl van Bate to his side, took out a piece of charcoal, and began to paint the steps needed to solidify the ground.
“Is your idea to dig holes into the soil and fill them up with cement?” This newly promoted Minister of Construction asked after analyzing the drawing.
He once more proved why he had once been one of the most exceptional members of King’s City’s Stonemason Guild, Roland thought in satisfaction. With only a few words of what I was able to remember, and he immediately managed to understand my intentions.
“That’s right, but every segment mustn’t exceed five meters in length, while it should be around one meter in depth. When you’re filling it up with cement, call for Lotus to let her bury it one meter into the earth. By repeating this we will be able to form a cement wall which goes straight from the surface of the river and into the river bed.” Roland had come up with this plan after seeing Lotus’ ability in action. Since she could control the surface and make it drop, she could presumably also bury a structure that was above the earth into the ground.
“Your idea is indeed extremely ingenious,” Carl said with sparkling eyes. “This way, even if the river washed away the outer soil, there will still be the cement wall left to block the water.”
Roland nodded, “The crucial point is to control the overall height of the cement blocks. If it is too small, it will lead to the problem where the bottom part will become unstable, while if it’s more than needed, besides the waste of cement it will also delay the construction. So, I am laying responsibility for this take on your shoulders.”
“Yes, Your Royal Highness,” Karl agreed, “Looking at the silt and soft soil coming up, I am guessing that the final height of the cement wall should be around twelve meters.”
“Also, after you surround all sides with the cement wall, don’t cover the land in the middle with cement, I want to grow several kinds of flowers and grass on top of it afterwards,” the Prince warned repeatedly.
“Several kind of… flowers?” Karl looked confused.
After all, these walls were unable to be made watertight, and when the segments had to be repaired, there would always be gaps left behind. If you wished to consolidate the soil, the simplest method was to plant different kinds of grass and flowers – the vegetation would reduce the water within the ground, while also reducing the soil erosion. That would be especially true after Leaves came and used her magic to lengthen the weeds’ root system, in that way ensuring that the earth would be firmly knit together.
After a simple explanation on how plants could strengthen the soil, Roland turned to look at the workers who were busy on the river banks, “What is the current state of the bridge’s approach construction?”
“We are right in the middle of laying the cement gravel for the road’s surface,” Karl reported without thinking, “They should be completed by this week.”
According to the plan, the approaches on either side of the river would be made by piled up fieldstone and cement, just like they had done with the city walls. As long as the positioning and measurement was correct, the construction itself wouldn’t be that complicated. The highest point of the ramp was seven meters above ground, and it connected with the city streets through a long gentle and curving slope. There was also some further height difference between the river’s dike compared to the water surface. After finishing the construction of the bridge, the difference between the water surface and the bridge should be around twelve meters. Which ought to be high enough for sailing ships to pass through.
So far only the first step of the bridge itself was completed, and it was currently undergoing a strength test on the shore – due to its small span, the load placed on it would be very small. This way the bridge would still be reliable even though Roland was ignorant about bridge engineering. In the absence of the eight wheel trucks from appearing in later centuries, a thirtycentimeter strong I-beam should guarantee the bridge’s stability. Even if the bridge was completely filled with people, it would still be impossible to break the steel beam. Even more so since the process of its construction, from assembling to welding it, had been completely taken care of by Anna, so the probability of a jerry-built construction project was extremely low.
Equally, the installation of the bridge would also be very simple. When the three-span bridge was completed, Hummingbird would use her ability to reduce its weight and would then give it to Lightning so that she could take it to its intended location.
From that point on two wagons in parallel could use the steel bridge to cross the Redwater River at the same, something which truly connected the northern and southern side.
“Even if they were the greatest of mason, it would still be hard for them to imagine such a magnificent bridge,” Karl lamented as he looked at the wide river’s sparkling surface, “Your Royal Highness, does this steel bridge have a name?
After thinking about it, Roland announced, “I presume it should be called ‘Redwater Bridge’.”