Chapter 25. Beasts of the Underworld (3)
“Baron! Big big big big big deal!”
It was a sunny noon.
One of Yeongji’s enlisted men came running in a hurry.
Etiquette, formality, and everything broke, jumping into the baron’s office.
After a while, the baron’s teacup fell to the floor.
Chaeng-Geurang!
“…what?”
The baron’s face darkened.
“Tell me again. what? A beast ant?”
“Yes, sir. Beast ants have appeared. In the tunnel where Master Lloyd was digging.”
“Then what about Lloyd?”
“The workers who were with me say they stayed behind. While shouting to everyone to get away….”
“You mean alone?”
“no. Lord Asrahan stayed with us.”
“….”
After the report, the soldier’s face became tearful.
A beast ant that lives beyond the mountains to the east.
They were scary creatures.
Each individual was much stronger than a wolf.
The number was too many.
I didn’t know fear.
It was organized.
In other words, I had to see that there was no way to come out alive once I was taken by them.
It was even more devastating when I encountered it in the ground.
“Lord Bavaria summoned the soldiers first. It is gathered in front of the tunnel. With preparations to close the mines.”
that was the best
What if beast ants came up through the tunnel?
They destroy the hunting grounds.
The territories will be massacred.
All of the people here, as well as livestock, would be hunted and turned into meat dumplings. If you’re lucky, you’ll be paralyzed alive and stockpiled in storage or turned into tasty food for the larvae of ant colonies.
To prevent such a situation, it would have been right to close the tunnel before it was too late.
But for some reason the baron didn’t say anything.
“….”
“Lord?”
“….”
“That Lord of Bavaria, be sure to follow the lord’s command….”
The soldier looked intently at him.
The baron’s silence followed.
Then, at one point, the baron jumped up from his seat. I opened the closet in my office. He took out the armor that was stored inside and started putting it on.
“That lord?”
However, Baron Frontera still had no answer.
In the office, only the sound of the baron arming himself echoed instead of an answer.
Clap clap clap! Kuduk!
Wearing a brigandine with iron plates.
She wrapped her knees in Pauline that glittered silver.
He wore a demigreve and a besanite helmet.
An iron-rimmed shield was slung on his back, and a longsword stained by hand was hung on the waist of his armor.
It was a look that anyone could see armed for battle.
However, it was unexpected to the soldier that the person involved was a baron who hadn’t held a sword for at least 10 years.
“Hey, lord? now….”
“Let it go.”
“yes?”
“If you can’t follow me, I’ll throw you away.”
Quaang!
The Baron ran out, almost kicking open the door of the office.
I ran down the hallway, ran to the stable, and climbed onto the horse’s back.
“under!”
Kicked the horse in the side.
In the meantime, only one thought filled the baron’s mind.
‘Wait a minute, Lloyd. Hold on. please!’
The baron’s heart became more urgent as he spurred on toward the mine.
♣
Do-do-do-do! shhh!
Rough steps kicked the ground.
A fierce swordsman split the space.
fell vertically.
Kwajak!
“Kieack!”
The head of one beast ant was split vertically by the longsword.
Transparent bodily fluid splashed out with a scream.
But at that time, the longsword had already been pulled out of his head.
Looking for the next target, it was pouring a calm and cool light.
Snap! Kagak! hooked!
Slash sideways and turn your body.
Remove the bottom and block it.
poke, pull, and lift
I wanted to lift it up, but it moved forward like a gale.
‘One knife to the left, one knife to the right, upper left cut, side stab, then a slash?’
Running through the narrow tunnel, Lloyd stuck out his tongue.
It had to be.
Xaviel rushes two steps ahead.
Watching the guy’s sword attack, I burst into admiration.
‘It’s really cool. That’s the skill of a real knight.’
Sir Neumann, whom he competed with before, was on a different level.
All movements were unobstructed.
It was as natural as flowing water.
At the same time, it was fierce and unstoppable.
In addition, between the connecting movements, there were an enormous number of subtle movements that were difficult to detect with the naked eye. A fleeting flash. Numerous fakes and deadly attacks were brilliantly mixed.
In a word, Xaviel’s swordsmanship was like an art in itself.
Beast ants were literally sliced apart before that graceful and destructive sword strike.
“…Raman! Aren’t you tired!”
Lloyd followed and shouted.
Swinging his sword earlier, Xaviel glanced at me.
“It is difficult.”
A breathless answer.
It doesn’t seem difficult at all just by looking at the voice.
But Lloyd knew.
‘I don’t have much time.’
No matter how strong Xaviel is, he is human.
Humans have physical limitations.
can’t fight forever
If he had reached the level of a sword master, the limit on his physical strength would be lifted thanks to the endless circulation of mana, but that is not yet the case.
Right now, I’m just slowing down my exhaustion with a vague mental method.
It will soon reveal its limits.
“Has Lloyd-sama been talking about the thrilling method yet?”
Scar!
Xaviel asked while cutting an ant blocking his way into three pieces: head, chest and abdomen.
Lloyd frowned.
“yet!”
“When will it be?”
“I don’t know either. I’m looking for the best!”
“You’re still looking….”
“Stop talking nonsense and explore your career path. You have to move as much as possible to increase your chances!”
Lloyd shouted.
His cry was true.
Even now, he was in the process of activating his intermediate surveying skills to the limit.
As an optional feature of the surveying skill, he was constantly grasping the soil within a range of 5 meters from the passage of the anthill.
The goal he is desperately seeking.
It was a layer of methane gas that must have been buried somewhere under the anthill.
‘Obviously there is. This is a place where veins of bituminous coal are embedded everywhere. So there must be methane gas.’
Lloyd continued to run.
I ran through every nook and cranny of the anthill, with Xaviel at the fore.
He saved the measurement range of his surveying skill as much as possible and detected all directions.
How hard did you search for it?
Finally something caught Lloyd’s eyes.
‘found!’
In the ground 5 meters below.
I could see some methane gas lurking there.
body was not.
stem?
It seemed to be about that much.
‘But there’s no way to contact them right now.’
Confident oysters and stems of methane gas layer.
Between them was about five meters of dirt and rocks.
It was so thick that it would take a year to dig it out with a shovel.
However, the burrow was not wide enough to enlarge the bell.
“Javiel! over there!”
Lloyd pointed his finger at one aisle.
It was the direction in which the stems of the methane gas layer were connected.
“From now on, only run in the direction I point!”
“All right. Just-”
“Just?”
“Can we go outside?”
“….”
The eyes of a guy who calmly slices up an ant and asks for it.
It was the look in his eyes that had already made up his mind to meet his end here.
Lloyd stopped laughing in front of that sunken gaze.
“why? Are you scared?”
“I am not afraid.”
“then?”
“It’s a little unfair.”
“Are you afraid you will die in a place like this?”
“no.”
“Then, did you hide any erotic pictures under the bed in the dorm? Are you afraid you will find out?”
“Of course not. To be honest-”
Xaviel said with a deep sigh.
“I was afraid I would die with someone like Lloyd-sama.”
“omg.”
“Maybe it’s my greed as a knight. Giving one’s life for someone more worthy and respectable would be the most honorable death a knight can face.”
“Hehe, so it’s unfair to hold hands with someone like me and get killed in the order of Oh Soon-do?”
“That’s an accurate summary.”
“okay? Are you leaving soon?”
“Aren’t you going to die here anyway?”
“Are you saying that your friends from the underworld will reveal their true colors?”
“I’m doing this because I think it would be a little less unfair to be honest about this.”
Kagak! chin! Spaw!
The ants were still running toward us.
In front, a large soldier beast ant blocked the way.
Every time that happened, Xaviel ran without rest, slashing and slashing the ants blocking his way.
Of course, Lloyd also followed breathlessly.
With torches and steel shovels in both hands, he diligently kept in check the swarm of ants pursuing him from behind.
As such, the two physically fought against the ants.
Mouth-to-mouth grumbled at each other.
“under! okay! Since you’re dying, why don’t we try some coconut time?”
“What is Yaja Time?”
“Take off your rank and say whatever you want! Whoops!”
“That’s good. Suck!”
Cacan! Snap!
Jumped into the aisle on the left.
He thrust his sword, raised his torch, and swung his shovel.
The battle of words continued between the two.
“Then let’s start with me! You are humanly unlucky!”
“Why?”
“You are so handsome!”
“My face is something I was born with.”
“Is that why you are unlucky?”
“Have you finished speaking?”
“What if you didn’t?”
“I will take my turn. It would be unfair if you just suffered one-sidedly.”
“Ugh. Would you like to save some time?”
“That’s right.”
“That is good. Time is money, my friend. Of course you won’t have all three!”
“….”
“Wow? huh? Why are you getting beaten up?”
“It’s because I suddenly feel sorry for you.”
“Hey why?”
“Now that I think about it, my nipples are more handsome than your face.”
“Herl….”
It was a stronger blow than I thought.
Lloyd gritted his teeth and fought back.
“under! But with a face like that, what have you been doing up until now, so you haven’t had a girlfriend?”
“I’ve lived my life focusing on swordsmanship training.”
“aha. So, did you live as a solo from your mother’s womb?”
“Lloyd-sama must be the same as not having a girlfriend.”
“what?”
“As far as I know, yes. Besides, I’m actually-”
“Really?”
“I have received quite a few confession letters.”
“what? A confession letter?”
“That’s right.”
Xaviel still wields his sword and fights.
There was a hint of confidence in the boy’s eyes.
Lloyd shouted back while blocking the ant’s lower jaw with a steel shovel.
“how many?”
“Umm, I think I’ve gathered about two boxes in the dorm.”
“lie!”
“It is true.”
“Does that make sense? How many people does our estate have? Do you think it would be possible to accumulate that much by receiving confession letters from almost all of the young people whose gender is female?”
“Heh.”
“Don’t ignore Solo!”
“When brushing your teeth, use a toothbrush.”
“….”
“hello nice to meet you. Do-re-mi-fa solo, right?”
“….”
“Are you planning to stay up all night solo today?”
“…You bastard like a gorilla, all the way there!”
Lloyd shouted.
Pushed by a horse’s teeth?
It wasn’t.
It was because we had finally arrived at the point we were aiming for.
Xaviel, who had been arguing with them, seemed to have sensed it, and his eyes changed.
“Do you think so?”
“uh.”
Lloyd scanned the ground.
The bottom of the ground that can be seen with the surveying skill.
I could see a cavity extending about 1.5 meters below.
However, the cavity was not just an empty space.
‘It’s a layer of methane gas. It’s huge.’
The space visible through skill was only a small part of the entire methane layer.
In other words, he had found Wang Geon (?) properly.
Lloyd said quickly.
“From now on, I sell land here. Watch over me in the meantime.”
“All right.”
This is the yard that came all the way here.
The only thing you can trust is each other.
There was no need or reason to question it.
It was from then.
Lloyd started digging frantically down the passage with his shovel.
Xaviel defended Lloyd by keeping the ants in check from both sides.
But it was the next moment.
“Qua ah ah ah!”
A tremendous groan was heard from one side of the aisle.
Then came something large, thumping through the aisle.
A head twice as large as that of other soldier beast ants.
It’s big enough to completely fill the aisle.
A longer, sharper upper jaw than a longsword.
‘Queen ant?’
It seemed that way.
But Lloyd didn’t care.
‘A queen ant is not my goal anyway!’
This is not the Three Kingdoms game where you win by simply cutting off the head of the monarch.
Even if the queen ant is captured, the rest of the ant colony will not be disturbed.
If you’re unlucky, you’ll only buy more anger.
For now, it was best to focus on the original goal.
“Stop it properly! Until I sell all of this!”
“All right.”
Xaviel raised his longsword.
I blocked the way between the queen ant and this side.
Were you angry with that look?
The queen ant rushed.
“Chur uh uh uh!”
thud! Cuckoo Cuckoo!
It was as if the aisle was being crushed.
No, the queen ant actually rushed, forcibly crushing and widening the wall of the cramped passage.
However, Xaviel did not back down.
“Huh.”
choose one breath
With just one sip of breath, mana in all directions is shaken. It fluctuates. focus on him It gathers in a triple circle of three stems. amplified pouring out
Wedge liquid! Cacan!
A long sword containing the rotation of the triple circle.
A pair of chitinous upper jaws loaded with super strength.
The two weapons collided with the momentum to crush each other.
The first clash was a draw.
Kagagagak!
“…!”
“Kowok?”
The longsword and the upper jaw were replaced with similar power.
With each other’s weapons between them, Xaviel widened her eyes.
The queen ant bristled the cilia that had grown in her upper jaw.
Baekjungji tax.
We were surprised by each other’s strength beyond our expectations.
The first to move was the queen ant.
“Kuuk!”
Whoa!
A pair of large antennae swung.
It was the club itself, bigger and heavier than an Ohamma or a baseball bat.
“…!”
Xaviel quickly ducked.
Utilizing the momentum, I raised my longsword.
The queen ant also swung her upper jaw in response.
It was from then.
Xaviel and the queen ant.
The two rivals, beasts, poured out all their aggressive instincts towards each other.
blocked and cut
kicked and hit
took and pushed
I was pushed and then I was beaten.
I dodged and raised it.
I rolled over and ran.
However, the situation gradually turned against Xaviel.
‘He’s tired!’
Lloyd’s shoveling got busier.
This one, too, was tired.
However, Xaviel, who continued to risk his life, would do more.
‘more! little bit more!’
If Xaviel collapses, this is the end.
When this is over, the plan also fails.
Beast ants will then be released into the manor through the excavated tunnels.
‘Damn it, I shouldn’t have made the mine too strong!’
It was too late to come and destroy it now.
Even if I tried, only some of them barely collapsed.
It was certain that such a collapse would not be able to stop the beast ants.
‘So I must succeed.’
Lloyd’s shoveling intensified.
Dirt splattered everywhere as his shovel danced.
Sweat dripped nonstop down his neck and back.
And finally, his shovel dug the ground to the target.
Pushus!
‘done!’
Gas began to rise from the pit.
It was an eruption of methane gas.
Lloyd quickly grabbed a shovel.
I shouted at Xaviel.
“Hey man! Come on first!”
Xaviel immediately responded to that cry.
I shook off the queen ant with a powerful sword and ran towards it.
I waited for him to come running.
We ran together through the aisle on the other side.
The queen ant pursued furiously from behind.
I looked back.
The queen ant’s eyes met.
At that moment, Lloyd laughed.
I threw a torch at the queen ant.
The torch hit the head of the queen ant.
It bounced away with a thumping sound.
It circled the air and flew behind the queen ant.
Then, they encountered methane gas, an invisible transparent gas.
Methane gas mixed with flames.
A violent chemical reaction began.
An energy of 891 kJ per mole (mol) was generated.
Accurate…!
It was a huge explosion that engulfed everything.
