The best territory designer ever - Episode 24
24fury. beasts of the underworld (2)
“Bell!”
Wow!
The bell opened its mouth wide..
I took a refreshing bite of a lump of dirt in front of me..
A black lump was seen in the space where the soil had disappeared..
It was different from before..
If you scoop up dirt, there is dirt behind it..
Or a grayish-white rock appeared..
But what appeared this time was…….
“It is bituminous coal. Bell? stop!”
Lloyd quickly stepped forward..
The coal seam vein was finally revealed..
In other words, from now on, all that is hanging on the walls of the mine is coal that will make money..
It was such a waste to let Baeul-i swallow it all up..
“It's important from now on. Everyone, come to your senses.”
He comforted the workers who were about to cheer..
Major disasters and accidents always happen at the most unguarded moments..
Like now, when the tension is relieved as the goal is finally achieved..
Lloyd took that fact to heart and spoke quickly..
“It's not yet completed. We've just reached the end of the coal seam. Cheers later. The ceremony takes place after a goal is clearly scored. okay? Well done to the workers. Let's switch to the next group. And tell the next group to bring the support pillar..”
From now on, careful work was needed..
Exhausted workers were let go..
The next batch of workers was quickly called in..
Meanwhile, Lloyd held out blue sunflower seeds to Baulgi..
“Oh, bell?”
“Bell!”
“okay. You did a great job too. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have dug a hole this far this fast, seriously..”
“Bell! Drop drops!”
“Haha, okay. I'll give you something delicious when I go up later. So for now, will you be satisfied with this??”
“Bell!”
I put a blue sunflower seed in his mouth..
The bell swallowed the seed hard..
Gulp.
And 3 seconds later.
The bell got smaller.
Popong!
“Bell!”
“Yes, good job. thank you.”
Lloyd took the smaller bell in his arms..
Meanwhile, new workers came down to the end carrying the supporting pillars..
“As you can see, a coal seam was discovered here. It's important from now on. We will expand the dead space along the coal seam. This is dangerous work, so you must strictly follow instructions. okay?”
The workers nodded..
Lloyd activated the intermediate surveying skill..
‘survey.’
Tsutsutsutsu!
There was a faint light in his eyes..
Soon, a lot of information in the tunnel came to mind..
The coal seam at the end of the block where his gaze was directed was also displayed in countless amounts of information around it..
‘Fortunately, the ground near the coal seam is solid. Even if the shield device is removed, the risk of collapse is low. And the direction in which the coal seam extends is… … Okay, this way..’
Lloyd looked back at the workers..
“Now, we're going to dismantle the shield. As slowly as possible. carefully.”
The role of the shield ended here..
Can't take it back or anything.
So the only way was to unassemble it here..
“Now, hold on there. Two, three, pull!”
Clap!
Workers moved according to Lloyd's commands..
The shield device was dismantled one by one..
When the dismantling had progressed to some extent, Lloyd shouted.
“support pillar!”
The three waiting workers immediately responded to his call..
Carrying the supporting pillars and upper and lower plates, he advanced to the end. A support plate and pillar were erected in the place where the shield was removed..
It was a temporary device to prevent the collapse of the block..
“Begin reinforcement work. Everyone, don’t forget to practice.!”
“yes!”
Workers moved in perfect order.
I started shoveling along the bare wall..
The area of the curtain has been expanded.
Additional temporary support plates and pillars were erected to accommodate the expanded area..
It was an operation to secure mining space..
Meanwhile, Lloyd continued to activate his surveying skill..
The load on the walls and ceiling of the curtain wall was examined in real time..
This was to evacuate everyone if there was even the slightest sign of collapse..
Fortunately, the work went smoothly..
There were no signs of collapse.
‘done.’
Once the most difficult process is over.
That's all I need to do for today..
And if additional tunnel reinforcement work begins tomorrow,?
It seemed likely that coal could be mined starting next month at the latest..
“Whoa.”
The tension finally eased..
Proud smiles appeared on the sweaty, exhausted faces of the workers..
It finally felt like the basic tunnel excavation work had been completed..
“Well, everyone had a hard time. Let's go up first. Today is a party with meat, alcohol, and a big bonus..”
A worthy reward for hard work.
That was Lloyd's own iron rule..
The Corps of Engineers had worked with him for some time and had some understanding of that policy..
‘Whoa! The bonus will be good this time too.?’
‘What should I do if I get this bonus??’
‘Wait, Rosalia. My brother earns all your tuition.!’
This construction was more difficult than ever.
There was no comparison with ondol room or paved road work..
The bonus will also be much bigger than before..
At that thought, everyone's mouths turned to their ears..
The act of organizing work tools has become easier..
My mind already felt like I was walking under the bright sunlight outside the mine shaft..
But that was then..
Tuduk, tuk.
A faint sound came from the exposed coal seam..
Did the pile of stones break down and flow down?.
Lloyd unconsciously turned to look that way..
That moment.
Tutuk, tutuk!
The sound got louder.
But I couldn't see any falling debris..
Instead, once again, a dull sound was heard from across the coal seam..
‘what?’
It felt strange..
No, it was somehow strong..
A sound coming from across the coal seam..
He activated the skill reflexively..
‘survey.’
Tsutsutsutsu!
Lloyd examined the sounding coal seam using his surveying skills..
And without realizing it, I had to open my eyes wide..
‘uh?’
A point about 3 meters beyond the coal seam..
An oyster that had not been there before had appeared there..
No, an oyster about 2 meters in diameter was being created in real time.!
‘what? collapse? no. It's different from a collapse phenomenon..’
To be exact, something was digging a hole..
definitely heading this way.
even faster.
blatantly.
Tookkuk!
I stuck my head out.
“……!”
A giant ant head protrudes through a coal seam..
A head twice the size of a watermelon.
The wide open upper jaw was longer than the forearm.!
“Ugh? Ugh!”
Lloyd hurriedly took a step back..
I got kicked in the butt by that razor sharp edge..
that was lucky.
iron cup!
The upper jaw, which suddenly approached me, closed right in front of my nose..
The upper jaw blade, standing like a sawtooth, glistened in the light of the torch..
If you get bitten by something like that?
Whether it's an arm or a leg, it gets cut off in an instant. It is certainly.
I got goosebumps.
“what! why do ants come out here!”
“Wow!”
Screams erupted among the workers..
Why did an ant suddenly pop out?.
Does it make sense that that ant is as big as a wolf?.
I didn't have time or mind to think about such things..
Lloyd stretched out his hand..
I grabbed whatever I could get my hands on. It was a full steel shovel that I used a lot. Lifted. swung.
Kujak!
A sharp shovel blade was stuck halfway into the side of the giant ant's head..
“QUIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”
The ant screamed.
I shook my head violently, probably in pain..
Clear bodily fluid poured out from the wound and splashed onto the face..
I came to my senses.
“damage to all!”
I shouted reflexively.
That cry was the beginning.
The frozen workers rushed to the top of the mine shaft..
Lloyd also quickly got up from his seat..
But there was no time for that..
“kieek!”
After receiving our counterattack, the poisonous ants rushed forward even further..
wide open upper jaw.
I was aiming for this neck..
On the other hand, this person was unable to get up and was in a state of hesitation..
‘Sigh.!’
there was no way to avoid it.
My posture was too bad for that..
I felt the upper jaw suddenly closing towards my neck..
‘shit!’
It was then.
nettle!
Suddenly, a silver flash flashed from above..
Surprise! Suddenly!
The upper jaw, which had been closing fiercely, was cut off..
Then a silver flash pierced the top of the ant's head..
Kwajak!
The sword struck from above pierced the ant's head. I stuck it into the floor like an awl. twisted Suddenly, the outer layer of the ant’s head broke with a sound..
“kieek!”
The ant, which had been struggling as hard as it could, fell limp..
The sword was pulled out..
The hand is extended this way.
“Are you okay??”
“…….”
Strong palms full of calluses.
Even in the dark of the mine, his expression remains cool and calm..
It was Habiel.
The guy was holding out his hand.
We stood up together.
“What on earth is that?!”
“I do not know. but-”
“but?”
“I think it's a beast ant that lives in the wilderness across the mountain range..”
“Beast ants? Why are they out here??”
It was truly absurd.
Beast ants were those that lived in the eastern wilderness across the mountain range..
But even though it's underground, it appears on the other side of the mountain range..
It made no sense..
“Contrary to people's perception, the ant tunnel must have extended underground to this area. If not…….”
“If not?”
Another beast ant came out of a hole in the coal seam..
As soon as it saw this direction, it rushed towards me, waving its club-like antennae..
“I don't know if they sensed the sound of us digging a tunnel and came towards us while digging..”
Kwajak!
Haviel's sword once again emits a silver flash..
The head of the rushing ant split vertically..
But there was another ant behind it..
In other words, an endless number of ants were poised to come out through the hole.!
“shit.”
Cursing came out of nowhere..
It seemed like Haviel's second guess was correct..
‘When we discovered the coal seam earlier, there was no cave behind it..’
It was certain.
I continued to look around the makjang using my surveying skills..
At that time, I didn't see anything like an ant cave..
However, after that, I only saw the ant tunnel being excavated in real time and the beast ants coming out of it..
‘What should I do??’
This was completely unexpected.
But it was painful that I was not prepared..
‘There was no record of discovering an ant cave in the previous lord's geological survey. That's why I let my guard down.’
Of course, I wondered how to prepare for something that wasn't recorded..
But anyway, what happened happened..
It has to be fixed somehow.
‘Should I stop it here??’
confusion and fatigue.
heat and stale air.
I was desperately trying to get my head around it..
I felt that one thing was certain.
‘If those ants get out of the tunnel, it's over..’
The tunnel exit leads to the estate..
If those ants go out there?
The territory's soldiers will not be able to stop it..
There would be too many ants for that to happen..
In the worst case, the entire territory may be wiped out..
A disaster that cannot be handled is happening..
‘That's not allowed.’
Just thinking about it made me break out in a cold sweat..
However, Haviel seemed to have misinterpreted this appearance..
“Lloyd, come to your senses..”
puck!
Suddenly, the guy's punch came flying out..
I lightly poked this solar plexus..
“……Kuok!”
I was out of breath..
It may have been a weak hit, but it hurt quite a bit since I was caught off guard..
“what are you doing!”
“It would be difficult to be caught by fear in a situation like this..”
“Aren’t you scared? I was just spinning my head.?”
“Then please think of some way..”
Shriek, quack!
Even while responding calmly, Javiel was fending off a swarm of ants..
The sound of my breathing was not disturbed even once..
Every time that guy's sword flashed, there was no fail..
An ant's neck was blown off or its head split open.
But Javiel's upper body was already covered in sweat..
His muscular body, which had even taken off its shirt, was drenched in sweat and pulsating..
‘There is no answer to this. Even Javiel has his limits..’
I knew it intuitively.
Of course Javiel is strong.
However, this place was full of hot and stale air..
No matter how much Javiel tried to block the endless swarms of beast ants, he would reach the limit of his physical strength..
‘I need to figure out a way while he holds on..’
How to stop a swarm of ants.
How to prevent them from going up to the territory.
How to minimize damage to everyone.
‘Shall we collapse the mine shaft here? No, it's impossible. The plate walls built using the shield method are so strong that there is no way they will collapse even if one or two areas are damaged. Moreover, even if we destroy it like that, we cannot guarantee the safety of the territory considering the speed at which these ants dig their burrows..’
Lloyd shook his head..
If you do that for no reason, there is a possibility that you will not be able to stop the ants and will only end up dying..
‘So you can't do it in a vague way. To reliably control ant colonies and annihilate them all at once... … what? for a moment.’
urgent situation.
Something flashed within me..
Lloyd raised his head. She looked at Javiel. shouted.
“Hey, Habiel! Do you think you can break through like this??”
“Breakthrough, what do you mean?.”
Well done!
Javiel asked back as he cut off the antennae of the rushing ant..
Lloyd shouted..
“What are you saying! Breaking through head on and moving forward, do you think you can do it?!”
“Are you talking about this flock of ants??”
“uh!”
“…….”
Javiel looked this way..
While I was busy splitting the heads of ants, people looked at me as if I was saying something crazy..
Lloyd shouted even more calmly..
“I guess that's the only way for everyone to survive and stop the ant colony! Don't you believe it? Or are you scared? If you're scared, just run away.!”
“Are you saying I'm scared??”
“of course!”
“……That kind of misunderstanding is unpleasant..”
“Then it is possible?”
“Of course. But instead of protecting this position and blocking, it breaks through. How far can I break through??”
“All the way inside the ant cave!”
“Is this still true? to the end?”
“uh!”
“Do you really have something else in mind??”
“of course! There's a clever way!”
“…….”
“what's the matter? Don't you believe me??”
“What an obvious statement.”
“hey! Even in the middle of this…….”
“I really hope that this crazy method isn't a crazy attempt..”
Have you made up your mind?.
Or did he intuit that there was no other way than to listen to what he had to say?.
Crackling!
A chilling sound came from Haviel's grip on the sword..
The guy's voice also became bloodier than ever before..
“Please stick close and follow me. Don't miss out on that..”
Javiel's breakthrough began with a deadly storm of flashing swords..
Shririk, chook, skunk!
For a moment, Lloyd felt that Javiel's sparkling sword was truly beautiful..
Five ants that were running were blown into pieces by the sword wind..
Javiel jumped in between them..
It was like a silver beast..
Lloyd ran after them, holding a torch and a steel shovel in both hands..
“run! don't stop!”
In an instant, I jumped over the hole in the coal seam and entered the ant cave..
Fortunately, the swarm of ants did not climb to the top of the mine shaft..
Instead, I chased after this intruder who broke into the ant cave..
The two cut down the soldier ants blocking their path and split them into pieces..
I ran and ran through the ant tunnel without stopping..
“keep going down!”
Throughout the run, Lloyd used his surveying skills to thoroughly inspect every corner of the ant cave..
‘There is no other way than this anyway. Whether it's porridge or rice, let's try it.’
There's only one goal he's looking for.
It was a layer of methane gas that must have been buried somewhere deep inside the ant cave..
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