Chapter 191. Between snatching and fishing (1)
“If there are uniformly distributed loads, such as vehicular traffic near the top of a retaining wall and buildings, these loads increase the earth pressure on the retaining wall. For a dead load such as a building, the weight of the building is converted into the weight of the backfill soil of the retaining wall, and the earth pressure is calculated assuming that there is more soil.”
“Wait a minute….”
Early evening, not long after the sunset.
An inn in the desert city of Kandara.
Under the flickering candlelight, a calm voice rang out.
The voice was sincere.
At the same time, it was very constant.
There was no high pitch or any emotion.
The only thing that dwells there is an excessive array of knowledge.
A woman begged in front of the bombardment of the calm and more merciless (?) lullaby.
please stop
I feel like I’m about to collapse
I closed my eyes bitterly and said that I would not wake up until tomorrow morning.
However, there was not the slightest bit of mercy, tolerance, or sarcasm in the low voice of the man reciting the lullaby.
“The influence of roads or railroads installed near the top of a retaining wall cannot be accurately converted into static loads because they cause dynamic reactions due to repeated loads. However, in the case of roads, it is common to design with the assumption that a uniformly distributed surcharge acts as 1 tonf/m2 for DB-24 and DB-18 loads and 0.7 tonf/m2 for DB-13.5 loads.”
“…Kuuul.”
Serajade, the woman who resisted, fell asleep.
A smile bloomed on Lloyd’s lips, a man without mercy.
“good.”
As expected, it is best to put a patient with Sword Master Syndrome to sleep with a lullaby.
It’s because I’m usually a very deep-rooted insomnia patient.
Because of that, I am always suffering from lack of sleep.
The lullaby works really, really well.
You don’t even have to worry about the side effects of lowering the drug (?) that will happen due to sleeping every day.
‘Rather, it becomes a habit.’
What if a person suffering from lack of sleep experiences a deep sleep with a lullaby?
What if you go through life’s sweet sleep like that?
The experience leaves a strong imprint on the body.
I keep looking for a lullaby.
The body wants more.
to sing a lullaby
It’s the only thing that can make you feel comfortable.
It literally becomes a habit that the body seeks first before the mind.
‘Xaviel has consistently proven that until now, hehehe.’
Even after Xaviel became a sword master, he was able to control his senses, but he still relied on the lullaby to some extent.
‘So the sultan’s daughter won’t be able to do anything.’
There’s no way that woman could quit what Xaviel couldn’t.
I’ll probably get a good night’s sleep until tomorrow morning.
Convinced, Lloyd quietly left Serazade’s room.
He returned to his lodgings with light steps.
“Haviel? Did you wait long?”
But there was no answer coming back.
For some reason, the dorm was empty.
Lloyd shrugged.
“Tsk. Did you go for a walk? If it wasn’t now, I wouldn’t have a chance to fall asleep.”
It’s a pity, but at this rate, Xaviel won’t be able to sleep today.
Because I don’t want to wait for him to come back.
Before that, I plan to go to bed right now from this side.
“Ego. Let’s go to sleep.”
Lloyd took off his boots and immediately lay down on the bed.
You should close your eyes for a moment.
Because I have to wake up at midnight.
Because I have to take Kkomingi and Hamang to fetch water in the western mountains.
I have to close my eyes right now to be able to sleep for three or four hours.
As I closed my eyes thinking about that, I suddenly remembered the events of the past few days.
The residents of this place looked at this side with suspicion and cold eyes.
It must be the sultan’s nemesis.
It must be a despicable pawn.
Eyes staring with resentment.
An iron plate was laid in front of the snow.
Water was brought from the western mountains every day.
By distributing this to those who resent it, they showed all their condescension.
‘Let’s do the same tomorrow. They gather people in the morning and give them water. It’s been a few days now that I’ve been handing out water. It’s been about a fortnight It’s about time the way you look at me changes. It’s time to bite. I wonder if that bite will come today.’
I can not know.
This one just threw a fishing rod.
It is up to the mind of the fish to bite the hook.
So he just waits.
Sprinkle the most delicious bait.
gazing at the quiet sleep.
anticipate the movement below it.
Just waiting for the wave of change to roll in.
So I….
‘….’
Blurred eyes.
I feel hazy.
My whole body seems to rise.
Or as if sinking into bed.
drowsiness came
Consciousness drifted into dreamland.
whole body relaxes
breathe easier
My neck is tight.
Quack!
“…!”
A hand that suddenly grabbed the scruff of the neck and pressed down.
Lloyd opened his eyes.
I reflexively stretched out my hand.
No, I tried to stretch it, but failed.
someone grabbed his arm pressed all over the body. both arms. up to the legs.
“…Yep! Oops! town!”
Lloyd struggled, his neck and limbs pressed down.
There were several opponents.
Tried to check them out.
A dark room with the lights off.
In the darkness, the silhouettes of the assailants caught a glimpse.
‘Ten people?’
no more than that
Five people suppressing themselves.
There were five or six more people standing around him.
He immediately invoked the dark mind method.
Kiyiing-!
“Ah?”
“strength….”
“Don’t miss it!”
Absorbed the mana of those who suppressed the whole body.
I must have felt a sudden sense of dizziness and exhaustion.
I could hear the men’s voices bewildered by that feeling.
But that was then.
Fuck!
hot head.
eyes flashed.
Could it be that he was hit with a club?
I felt the world spinning round and round.
At the same time, the activation of the Asurahan mental method was released.
The men’s busy voices were heard asurai.
“…Heh heh heh. What is this.”
“Don’t be stupid, tie it up quickly. hurry.”
The sound of something being pulled out. tying sound.
My wrists and ankles tightened.
I felt cramped because I was tied up.
Is the blood not flowing well? In an instant, my hands and feet went numb.
The mouth was also gagged.
“Put this on too. You never know when you’ll come to your senses.”
It was dark in front of my eyes, probably because I had put a sack on my head.
“Come on. Before the silver-haired escort returns.”
Javiel.
Where are you?
Lloyd raised his head with difficulty.
However, nothing could be seen through the field of vision covered by the sack.
Belatedly, he re-wrote the hazy method, but since his hands and feet were already tied, it was only a meaningless resistance.
But Lloyd was not taken aback.
Driven by urgency, the fast charging option was not activated.
Instead, I just struggled hard a few times.
The struggle stopped immediately when the tied wrists and ankles were rubbed by the rope.
“Did you understand your situation?”
nod
A question directed towards this side.
At that question, Lloyd nodded.
A satisfactory answer came back.
“Right now, even if we resist, we will only lose strength to each other. It’s good that you’re quick. Do you like it.”
“….”
“Let’s move.”
Someone taller carried this over his shoulder.
Lloyd did not resist.
This is the moment when resistance is meaningless.
While carrying it like a bag of rice on someone’s shoulder, I focused my senses on the surrounding sounds and the flow of air.
‘Am I going to the outskirts of the city after all?’
footstep sound.
The noise of dogs barking in the street.
The direction and smell of the wind blowing.
how much did it move?
placed on a hard floor.
“Get down on your knees.”
I followed the commanding voice.
Finally, the cramped sack came off.
“….”
The forehead that had been beaten earlier is throbbing.
He frowned and looked up.
dark interior.
I could vaguely see the silhouettes of about twenty people surrounding me.
‘Is it like a waste material warehouse?’
The smell of old, rotten wood.
It was full of the musty smell of dust.
The few windows were sparsely blocked with boards.
I could see cobwebs all over the high beamed ceiling.
The atmosphere was about right.
‘Whoa. It really feels like a kidnapping scene.’
Lloyd sighed inwardly.
It seems to be a scene often seen in gangster or noir movies, but this.
He smirked.
As soon as the gag was lifted, he asked the men.
“Who are you?”
But everyone just stared at me without saying a word.
Only the heavy silence narrowed like a siege.
The answer came after a while.
“Are you still not aware of your situation? You seem to be misunderstanding something, but we ask the question. He’s just answering.”
One of the men in the crowd came forward.
Big stature and broad shoulders.
He was a stout, blond man.
A man came towards me.
I knelt down on one knee and brought it to eye level.
He stroked his razor-sharp beard and let his cool eyes shine.
“Why do you do good to our city?”
The man’s question continued.
“Every day, a strange monster puts water in its stomach and distributes it to people. And I’ve been bragging about it all day. so it’s weird Giving, of course, is something I’m thankful for, but at a glance, it looks like you’re asking for something. That’s it.”
The man’s eyes grew colder. sharpened
“what do you want. What the hell are you doing to patronize such obvious good deeds?”
The man’s eyes looking this way.
It was like a detective interrogating a criminal.
Or it was as strict as the eyes of a person questioning a crime in a court of law.
no it was brutal
The atmosphere of those who lined up around them was the same.
If the answer you want doesn’t come back even a little bit.
Or if you resist, if you are stubborn and keep your mouth shut.
It gave off a bloody atmosphere that would not hesitate to do anything.
So it was.
Lloyd’s mouth opened quickly.
“Oh, that’s a very welcome question.”
as if you’ve been waiting
As if he had longed for an opportunity to answer like this.
After putting saliva on the tongue.
without even blinking.
I openly put in a powerful full axel.
“When I was about to fall asleep, he suddenly attacked me and brought me here, which made me very sad. It’s because you shut your mouth. First of all, I’m really glad you asked this question. Apparently, you seem to have a lot of questions about me, but I can’t help but introduce myself first. Nice to meet you. Speaking of myself, I am Lloyd Frontera, the eldest son of Count Arcos Frontera, Countess of Frontera, Magentano Kingdom.”
“Oh, nice to meet you….”
“First of all, looking at the question I asked, I could feel that they doubted my good deeds and were curious about my intentions. I have to admit that my actions were unusual, as examples of people who don’t dare to reveal to others that they are good by nature. So I really wanted to give an explanation and clarification, and it worked really well.”
“Yeah sure….”
“First of all, I am not the sultan’s helper or henchman. Of course, if I tell you this, you will hardly believe me. So, to explain step by step, I have no choice but to reveal the history of the Earl of Frontera and the circumstances of my family. So it was two years and a few months ago. When the Earldom of Frontera was still a barony, the family took on a large debt. It felt like the sky was collapsing and the earth was sinking. It was bleak and dark before my eyes. But I couldn’t give up. Just as everyone goes through difficult and unfortunate things in life, thinking that such storms are also another test in life, I could see little by little the strength and hope to live on. So I made a new proposal to the owner of the tavern in the central village of Yeongji.”
“Wait a minute….”
“That’s why I use Ondol…blah blah…With the will to do better, the paved road…chatter chatter…I felt the enthusiasm that my family and local residents expected of me and went to the mine…I’m blown away…In Cremo to shake off the burden and move forward in the pouring attention…Seedlings…However, with the single-mindedness that he could not retreat in the face of the crisis the king was facing, he launched a triple blast…Blah blah….”
Lloyd’s two-much talk poured endlessly.
Embarrassment lingered in real time on the faces of the men around him.
This was different from what was expected.
He was suspected of being the Sultan’s nemesis.
He was the one who pulled him over by force.
So, I tried to interrogate what you came to this city for and what you were trying to decorate.
From now on, he will be stubborn.
I will resist and choose silence.
Then he wouldn’t hesitate even to harsh lynching.
They were men who had such a strong heart.
I never dreamed that I would listen to such a panorama (?) of one person’s life journey with an endless medley until my eardrums were worn out and my cochleas were blistered.
An impatient blond man hurriedly exclaimed.
“Stop that!”
“…yes?”
“Are you trying to fool us!”
“no. You doubted me while asking about my intentions, so I was just trying to explain it as honestly and in detail as possible to resolve it.”
“but….”
“Anyway, the explanation isn’t over yet. You asked. So, you should listen to the answer. This is the exciting part where Captain Frontera appears and destroys the locust swarm.”
“….”
“So it was from the moment I held the lid of the pot in my hand. From the depths of my heart, a sense of crisis and a sense of duty that I had not even realized myself soared. So it was. I am….”
stop.
please stop you idiot
The blond man rather wanted to beg.
The other men around him also had the same miserable (?) expressions.
The men’s eyes went blank as they listened to Lloyd’s endless, overly candid explanation.
Meanwhile, Lloyd secretly cast his eyes to one side.
A cluttered window in the corner of the warehouse.
I exchanged glances with Xaviel, who had been waiting for me for a while across the gap.
Lloyd smiled inwardly.
‘Fishing done.’
As expected, the rebels took the bait.
So, now is the time to find and obtain the tunnels they used sparingly as hideouts.