Chapter 24. Underground Beasts (2)
“Blobs!”
Wow!
The bell opened its mouth wide.
I coolly cut a lump of soil in front of my eyes and asked.
A black lump appeared in the space where the soil had disappeared.
It was different from before.
If you ate dirt, there was another dirt after it.
Or, grayish-white rocks appeared.
But what appeared this time….
“It is bituminous coal. bell? stop!”
Lloyd came out quickly.
Finally, the coal seam veins were exposed.
In other words, from now on, everything hanging on the wall of the mine is coal that will become money.
It was too precious to let the bell swallow it.
“It is important from now on. Everyone, get your head straight.”
He comforted the workers who were about to cheer.
Great disasters and accidents always happen at the moment of greatest care.
Just like now, when you finally reach your goal and relax.
Lloyd took that fact to heart and spoke quickly.
“Completion is yet to come. We’ve only just touched the end of the coal seam. Cheers later. The ceremony is after the goal has been clearly scored. okay? Workers did a good job now. Let’s switch to the next group. And tell the next group to bring the supporting pillars.”
From now on, careful work was required.
The tired workers were sent out.
After briskly, I called in the workers of the group.
In the meantime, Lloyd held out blue sunflower seeds to Bell.
“Bell?”
“Bell!”
“okay. You did a really good job too. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to dig this far so quickly. Seriously.”
“Bell! Drop!”
“Haha okay. I’ll give you something delicious when you go up later. So, can you please be satisfied with this for now?”
“Bell!”
I passed the blue sunflower seeds into his mouth.
The bell swallowed the seeds like wild husks.
Klopp.
and after 3 seconds.
The drops got smaller.
Popon!
“Bell!”
“Good job. thank you.”
Lloyd took the smaller bell in his arms.
In the meantime, new workers carried the supporting pillars and came down to the finish line.
“As you can see, coal seams were found here. It’s important from now on. I’m going to expand the dead space along the coal seam. It’s a dangerous job, so you have to follow the instructions strictly. okay?”
The workers nodded.
Lloyd activated an intermediate surveying skill.
‘survey.’
Tsutsutsutsu!
A faint light shone in his eyes.
Before long, a lot of information in the tunnel came to mind.
A lot of information was also displayed around the coal seam at the end of his gaze.
‘Fortunately, the ground near the coal seam is hard. Even if the shield device is removed, the risk of collapse is small. And the direction of the coal seam…Okay, this is it.’
Lloyd looked back at the workers.
“Now, I will dismantle the shield. as slowly as possible. carefully.”
Shield’s role ended here.
cannot be pulled back or
So the only way was to unassemble it here.
“Hold it there. Pull two or three!”
Clap!
Following Lloyd’s command, the workers moved.
I dismantled the shield device one by one.
Lloyd shouted when the dismantling had progressed to some extent.
“The supporting pillar!”
Three waiting workers immediately responded to his call.
He carried the support pillars and the upper and lower boards and advanced to the end. In the place where the shield was removed, a support plate and a pillar were erected.
It was a temporary device to prevent collapse.
“Start reinforcement work. Don’t forget everyone practiced!”
“yes!”
The workers moved in perfect order.
I started shoveling along the wall of the curtain wall.
The area of the blinds has been enlarged.
To accommodate the enlarged area, additional temporary support plates and pillars were erected.
It was an operation to secure a mining space.
In the meantime, Lloyd continued to activate his surveying skill.
The load on the wall and ceiling of the curtain wall was monitored in real time.
It was to evacuate everyone at the slightest sign of collapse.
Fortunately, the work went smoothly.
There were no signs of collapse.
‘done.’
Once the most difficult process is over.
I’ll just have to make it this far for today.
And what if we proceed with additional tunnel reinforcement work from tomorrow?
It seemed that coal could be mined next month at the latest.
“Whoa.”
The tension was finally relieved.
Even the sweaty and weary faces of the workers were smiling proudly.
It was finally realized that the basic tunnel excavation work had been completed.
“Well, everyone has been through a lot. let’s go up Today is meat, alcohol, and a big bonus party.”
A decent reward for hard work.
That was Lloyd’s iron rule.
The Corps of Engineers had been working with him for a while and had understood this policy to some extent.
‘Whoa! Will the bonus be right this time too?’
‘What should I do if I receive this bonus?’
‘Wait, Rosalia. Oppa earns all your school fees!’
This project was more difficult than ever.
It was incomparable to the ondol room or the paved road work.
Bonuses will also be much thicker than before.
Everyone’s lips caught in their ears at the thought.
The act of arranging work tools has also become much lighter.
My heart felt as if I was already walking under the bright sunlight outside the tunnel.
But that was then.
Tuduk took.
A faint sound came from the exposed coal seam.
Did the pile of stones break down and flow down?
Lloyd looked back involuntarily.
That moment.
Tuk-tuk-tuk!
The sound got louder.
However, no crumbs were visible.
Instead, once again, a dull sound came from the other side of the Tuduk Coal Seam.
‘what?’
The feeling was strange.
No, it was kind of harsh.
The sound coming from the other side of the coal seam.
He reflexively activated the skill.
‘survey.’
Tsutsutsutsu!
Lloyd looked at the sounding coal layer with his surveying skill.
And without realizing it, I had to open my eyes wide.
‘uh?’
A point about 3 meters beyond the coal seam.
There was a oyster that didn’t exist before.
No, an oyster with a diameter of about 2 meters was being created in real time!
‘what? collapse? no. It’s different from the collapse phenomenon.’
Exactly, something was digging a hole.
definitely headed this way.
faster.
blatantly.
Tuck!
He stuck his head out.
“…!”
A giant ant head popped out of the coal seam.
A head twice the size of a watermelon.
His wide open upper jaw was longer than his forearms!
“What? oh!”
Lloyd hurriedly stepped back.
I got hit on the butt by the chain.
that was luck
Iron Cup!
The upper jaw that suddenly came towards me closed in front of my nose.
The teeth of the upper jaw, standing like teeth, glistened in the light of the torch.
What if you get bitten by something like that?
Arms and legs are cut off at once. It is certainly.
I got goosebumps.
“what! Why are ants here!”
“Aaaagh!”
Screams broke out among the workers.
Why did the ant come out of nowhere?
Does it make sense that the ant is as big as a wolf?
I didn’t have the time or the mind to pursue such things.
Lloyd reached out.
I grabbed whatever I could catch. It was a regular steel shovel that I used to use. Lifted. swung
Kujak!
The sharp blade of the shovel plunged into the side of the giant ant’s head about half a span.
“Kuiyeek!”
The ant screamed.
He shook his head violently in pain.
Transparent bodily fluids pouring out of the wound sprayed all over his face.
I woke up.
“Avoid everyone!”
cried reflexively.
That cry was the beginning.
The frozen workers scrambled to the top of the shaft.
Lloyd quickly got up from his seat.
But there was no time for that.
“Kieek!”
Receiving a counterattack from this side, the venomous ant rushed further forward.
open upper jaw.
I was aiming for this neck.
On the other hand, this one was in a state of hesitation, unable to get up.
‘Awesome!’
There was no way to avoid it.
My posture was too bad for that.
I could feel my upper jaw trying to close against my neck in an instant.
‘shit!’
It was then.
Wedge liquid!
Suddenly, a silvery light flashed from above.
Shocked! Awesome!
The upper jaw, which had been clenched violently, was cut off.
Then, a silver flash penetrated the ant’s crown.
Kwajak!
The sword, which came down from above, pierced the ant’s head. It stuck to the floor like an awl. twisted With a crackling sound, the outer shell of the ant’s crown broke.
“Kieek!”
The ant, which had been struggling to the fullest, drooped.
The sword was pulled out.
A hand reached out this way.
“Are you okay?”
“….”
A strong palm full of calluses.
Even in the dark mine, he still had a cool and calm expression.
It was Haviel.
The guy was holding out his hand.
got up and got up
“What the hell is that!”
“I do not know. Just-”
“Just?”
“I think they are beast ants that live in the wilderness on the other side of the mountain range.”
“Beast ant? Why are they here?”
I was genuinely bewildered.
The beast ants lived in the eastern wilderness across the mountain range.
By the way, it’s underground, but it’s over the mountain range.
It made no sense.
“Contrary to people’s perception, the ant nest must have reached this area through the underground. If not….”
“If not?”
Another beast ant came out of the hole in the coal seam.
As soon as he saw this, he charged forward, waving his club-like antennae.
“I don’t know if they sensed the sound of us digging a tunnel and approached while digging a hole this way.”
Kwajak!
Xaviel’s sword sprayed silver light again.
The head of the ant rushing at it was split vertically.
However, there was another ant behind him.
In other words, ants were poised to come out of the hole endlessly!
“shit.”
I cursed out.
Apparently, Xaviel’s second guess was correct.
‘When I discovered the coal seam earlier, there was no such thing as a cave behind it.’
sure
I continued to look around the curtain with my surveying skill.
I didn’t see anything like an ant nest back then.
However, after that, I only saw the ant burrow excavated in real time and the beast ants that came out of it.
‘What should I do?’
This was completely unexpected.
But it hurts that I wasn’t prepared.
‘In the geological investigation of the former lord, there was no record of finding an ant nest. That’s why I was careless.’
Of course, I thought about how to prepare for something that was not in the record.
But anyway, what happened was what happened.
It has to be rectified somehow.
‘Should I stop here?’
confusion and fatigue.
heat and stuffy air.
In it, he desperately shook his head.
I felt that one thing was certain.
‘It’s the end if those ants go out of the tunnel.’
The tunnel exit leads to the manor.
What if those ants go out there?
The soldiers of the territory will not be able to stop it.
There must be too many ants for that.
In the worst case, the entire territory could be wiped out.
This is an unpredictable disaster.
‘That’s not allowed.’
Just imagining it made me break out in a cold sweat.
However, Xaviel seemed to have misinterpreted the appearance of this side.
“Calm down, Lloyd.”
puck!
Suddenly, the guy’s fist flew.
I lightly stabbed this side of the stomach.
“…Quoc!”
I was out of breath.
It must have been a weak hit in his own way, but it hurt quite a bit because he was beaten while he was careless.
“What are you doing!”
“It’s embarrassing to be gripped by fear in a situation like this.”
“Aren’t you afraid? Were you scratching your head?”
“Then please think of something.”
Shirik Kwajak!
Even while responding calmly, Xaviel was blocking the ants.
The sound of breathing was not disturbed once.
Every time his sword flashed once, it was unfailing.
One ant’s head was blown off or its head split.
However, Xaviel’s upper body was already covered with sweat.
His muscular body, which had even taken off his shirt, was wet with sweat and pulsating.
‘There is no answer to this. Even Xaviel has limits.’
I could tell intuitively.
Of course, Xaviel is strong.
But it was a dead end full of sultry and stale air.
No matter how much Xaviel did, he would run into the limits of his stamina if he tried to endlessly fend off the swarms of beast ants.
‘I have to come up with a way while he endures.’
How to fend off ants.
A way to stop him from going up to the territory.
How to minimize the damage to everyone.
‘Shall we break down the tunnel here? no it’s impossible The panel walls built using the shield method are so strong that they cannot collapse even if one or two areas are damaged. Besides, even if it was destroyed like that, I can’t guarantee the safety of the territory given the speed at which these ants dig their tunnels.’
Lloyd shook his head.
If you did that for no reason, there was a possibility that you could not stop the ants and only suffered the death of a dog.
‘So you can’t do it in an ambiguous way. Control the ant colony and annihilate it at once…what? for a moment.’
dire situation.
Something flashed in him.
Lloyd raised his head. I saw Xaviel. shouted
“Hey Xaviel! Can you break through like this?”
“What do you mean break through?”
Chew!
Xaviel asked as he cut off the antennae of the ant that rushed at him.
Lloyd shouted.
“What are you talking about! Can you advance forward while breaking through head-on!”
“Are you talking about this group of ants?”
“uh!”
“….”
Xaviel looked this way.
When he was busy splitting the head of an ant, he threw his eyes at him, asking, “What kind of crazy sound is that?”
Lloyd shouted even more calmly.
“I guess that’s the only way everyone will live and stop the ant swarm! Can’t you believe it? Or are you scared? If you’re scared, you’ll die!”
“Are you saying I’m scared?”
“of course!”
“…Such misunderstandings are unpleasant.”
“Then is it possible?”
“Of course. But it’s not blocking while maintaining this position, but breaking through. How far can I break through?”
“All the way to the inside of the ant nest!”
“Can you keep talking? to the end?”
“uh!”
“Do you really have any other thoughts in mind?”
“of course! There’s a crazy way!”
“….”
“what’s the matter? Can’t you believe me?”
“What an obvious thing to say.”
“hey! Even in the middle of this….”
“I hope it wasn’t a maddening attempt at that terrific method.”
Have you made up your mind?
Or did he intuit that there would be no other choice but to listen to them?
Wood deok!
A bleak sound came from Xaviel’s grip on the sword.
The boy’s voice became more brutal than before.
“Stay close and follow me. Don’t miss out on me.”
Xaviel’s breakthrough began with a fatal flashing sword storm.
Shririk snap snap!
For a moment, Lloyd felt that Xaviel’s gleaming sword was truly beautiful.
The five ants that were rushing at them were swept away by the black wind and broken into pieces.
Xaviel jumped in between them.
It was like a silver beast.
Lloyd also ran after him, holding a torch and a steel shovel in both hands.
“run! Don’t stop!”
In an instant, he climbed over the hole in the coal seam and entered the anthill.
Fortunately, the ants didn’t go up the shaft.
Instead, they pursued the intruder who broke into the ant nest.
The two of them blocked the front and cut the soldier ant to pieces.
I ran and ran through the anthill without rest.
“Keep down!”
Throughout the run, Lloyd searched every corner of the anthill with his surveying skill.
‘Anyway, there’s no other way. Whether it’s porridge or rice, let’s try it.’
He has only one goal.
It was a layer of methane gas that must have been buried somewhere deep in the anthill.
