Chapter 351. Switchback system (1)
“It’s been 19 years since Gwain has been the complete ruler of this kingdom, commanding hundreds and thousands of elites. How could this have happened…Great.”
The southwestern part of Magentano Kingdom.
Across the damn high and rugged Pantara Mountains.
In the center of the castle, the capital of the Kingdom of Veneto, King Venetogna was letting out a deep sigh.
It had to be.
This was because the Veneto Kingdom was in the midst of the biggest national crisis since it was founded 300 years ago.
“Yes, after destroying the peaks of the Pantara Mountains? Is there a change in the trend of the bone dragon?”
“I apologize. We haven’t figured it out yet, Your Highness.”
“Hmm…then….”
“However, the wardens dare to predict that there is a high possibility that Magentano’s army will come through the peak destroyed by the bone dragon.”
“okay. Perhaps.”
King Venetogna nodded with a calm face.
In fact, it was an easy and reasonable prediction.
“Since the founding of the country, the Pantara Mountains have served as a natural shield to protect our kingdom. With its unique rugged terrain. but…Judging from the collapse of the peaks of the Pantara Mountains today, it seems that Alicia, the greedy girl of Magentano, is determined to reveal her ferocity.”
“Your Majesty, our forces are formidable. I will undoubtedly risk my life to stop their advance.”
“Do you think that would be possible?”
“Of course, Your Highness!”
The commander-in-chief of the kingdom’s defense forces replied with determined eyes.
his words continued.
“The land that has been kept for 300 years is coming. An elite army has been prepared for the invasion of the great powers for 300 years. Although Magentano’s army is incomparably stronger, it will inevitably be greatly worn out while advancing over the Pantara Mountains.”
“So, are you going to target them at that time?”
“That’s right, Your Highness. I am sure that no matter how powerful an army may be, it will not be able to properly cope with an ambush received while crossing a rugged mountain range.”
“yes. Please, we should hope so, for our part.”
King Venetogna shook his head.
The commander-in-chief was right.
What if the Magentano Kingdom really invaded this side?
Objectively, there would be little way to stop them.
If there’s even a single ray of hope, wouldn’t it be the moment Magentano’s main body gets tired and vulnerable as it crosses the mountain range?
“If we do, we will have to risk the national fortune on that one surprise attack.”
“Please trust the warden, Your Highness.”
“Yes, I will try to trust only you. So, lead the fastest elites and quickly go to war.”
“The castle is ruined, Your Highness!”
unlucky or fortunate
The capital of the Kingdom of Veneto was located less than 50 kilometers from the Pantara Mountains.
It was because they believed that the place close to the mountain range was the safest rear.
But now?
It turned out to be the opposite.
As soon as Magentano’s elite crossed the mountain range.
The entire capital of the kingdom was immediately in danger of being invaded.
Of course, the distance from the mountain range is close, so it is possible to respond quickly to the elite troops dispatched from the capital.
That alone could be said to be the least consoling part of the situation.
“please…Hey kings Please give us the strength to overcome the national crisis.”
The commander-in-chief withdrawing from the palace.
looking at his back
King Venetogna held on to the slightest hope and prayed earnestly.
And looked forward to it.
May the Commander-in-Chief’s operation be successful.
May peace be preserved in this kingdom.
Actually, it’s the Magentano Kingdom that I don’t even intend to invade.
In reality, it’s just a civil engineer’s mountain range railroad construction going on.
King Venetogna, who did not know the truth(?), felt desperate and desperate.
and the next moment.
Before he knew it, the kingship froze.
It happened all too quickly.
…Shizuzu Damn it!
The walls, floor and ceiling of the royal castle froze.
The sighing King Venetogna, the retreating commander-in-chief, and the busy palace staff all froze.
And that wasn’t all.
The curtain that was hung on the terrace of the royal castle and fluttered in the wind froze.
The cumulus clouds in the sky beyond the veil froze.
The people of the capital who came and went on the main road under the clouds, the flowing water, the leaves blown away by the wind, all the places around the capital, and the entire world beyond.
Even the passing time of Samramansang.
It was frozen evenly without exception.
Across the Pantara Mountains, 50 kilometers from here.
It was the effect brought about by the ‘time freeze’ option activated at the construction site there.
♣
[Skill-only option ⑤: Time freeze is activated.]
[3000 RP is consumed.]
[Current RP: 7071]
Tsutsutsutsutsu…!
[Time freeze has been completed.]
[The range of the unfrozen area cannot be changed until the activation of the option is canceled.] [
If you leave the unfreeze area, the activation of the time freeze option is canceled immediately.]
[In the future For a year, all living things in the unfrozen region, including you, will not experience aging.]
A message pops up in front of your eyes.
A strange feeling of the cold air generated from the Mana Heart and the Heart of Winter escaping in large quantities.
At the end of that stormy feeling, Lloyd gasped.
“…Whoa.”
The time freeze option was successfully triggered.
So what now?
‘I have to work!’
The work had not been started for several days due to a blizzard.
Lloyd put in the work group he had organized earlier.
That’s how the Pantara Mountains Gorge Railway work began.
Fortunately, most of the ground on which the railroad tracks would be laid had been cut, polished, and compacted by Yongyong.
Thanks to this, we were able to start roadbed construction right away.
“Proud Orc warriors, there was something I emphasized before starting construction. What was it?”
“If water builds up on the track and drains out, the earth and sand from the ground will drain away!”
“Did you say that was the same situation?”
“Muscle loss is good!”
“So what should we do?”
“drain! Construction of the track gutter!”
Lloyd thought that drainage was the most important point in the railroad construction.
It was natural.
‘Because this is a steep slope. Besides, it’s a place where snow often falls and piles up, then melts and freezes over and over again.’
So melted water seeps into the ground.
The soaked water flows out and loses the soil from the inside.
Then the ground itself sinks.
Like potholes or sinkholes.
A catastrophe occurs when the roadbed and railroad collapse and go out.
Or other types of disasters may occur.
It was a case where the water was still frozen inside.
In that case, the ground itself expands.
bulging upwards
Even the rails laid on it are bound to be seriously damaged.
‘Then you’re screwed. Drainage is always a top priority. Every time snow falls on the railroad tracks, the management forces will work hard to clear it, but no matter how hard it is, they won’t be able to clear the snow 100 percent.’
Some leftover snow ice.
When it melts, you have to let it flow right away.
That is why drainage is important.
A path must be opened so that the water can flow smoothly in an accurately calculated path and direction so as not to damage the roadbed, which is the foundation of the track.
As such, Lloyd worked on the roadbed and meticulously supervised the construction of the gutter.
I didn’t forget to make a drainage hole at the place where the steep slope at the top and the track at the bottom meet.
As such, the command of the Orc Work Squad resonated vigorously along the hillside throughout the day.
“Dig and kwuik!”
“Cut and make!”
“Chop it up!”
“Let’s go out and get acquainted!”
“…There is a traitor here!”
Elven archers meanwhile took charge of stabilizing the slope.
“So you’re saying you can spray the water in the bucket on the slope before it freezes?”
“yes. That is enough.”
Lloyd grinned at Muira, the representative chief of the elven archers.
“The slope is quite steep, but at least it’s a solid bedrock.”
What he said was true.
In the first place, the slope of this place was the result of Yongyong’s fun destroying and cutting.
Thanks to this, the whole bedrock was exposed intact.
Investigations showed little risk of collapse.
However, it was necessary to prevent weathering of the rock.
“Little by little, crumbs of stone or larger pieces of stone will come off. Then it will roll down. It may cause damage to the rails. If you’re unlucky, you could damage a running train. Or it could be placed on a railroad track and cause a derailment accident. That’s why.”
Lloyd’s words continued.
“All you have to do is sprinkle water evenly on the slope and freeze it. As soon as you spray it, it will freeze as it is and the rock wall will be coated.”
Water is better than cement here.
Rather than using cement clumsily and then being hit with a freeze-thaw critical hit, all the reinforcement surfaces freeze, float, crack, and go through an uproar?
It’s much easier and cleaner to just sprinkle water and freeze it.
‘Of course, it’s not that the water doesn’t melt very much, but due to the nature of the climate here, more snow will accumulate and freeze than melt.’
Rather, it would have to be periodically shaved so that the ice on the slope did not become too thick.
But that’s for later.
This is the area of post-construction management.
With that management method in mind, Lloyd said.
“So please take care of me. The slope is steep and slippery, so be sure to wear a safety rope.”
“Don’t worry about that. This level is nothing short of flat for us.”
Myura smiled softly.
As if to prove that smile.
She and the elves performed movements reminiscent of a circus.
Chew! Chow!
The steep and slippery slope was so easy to navigate.
Just like a first-class honor student solving a 1+1 arithmetic problem.
Just as the basketball king Michael Jordan showed basic dribbling.
Or like nuclear fist Tyson bursting bubble wrap with his punches.
They easily stepped on the precarious slope, sprinted, leaped, flew, sprayed water, landed, and then fetched water again and flew naturally.
In addition, Kkomingi carefully spread two layers of spider webs.
It’s okay to protect the slope like that.
Next was the construction of railroad tracks.
“Bell! Drop!”
Chew Chemistry!
Bell used a dragon every day.
It produced (?) steel knuckles gruntly.
Then, the artisan Cogidus and the Dwarf blacksmiths pounded and smelted the steel.
Just as Lloyd ordered.
Railroads were produced in rapid succession.
The produced rail was moved to the site.
In the sweat of the Corps of Engineers and Bone Troopers, the White Lancers.
It was laid on the road and assembled in a narrow gauge size.
That’s how I progressed step by step, 10 meters, 20 meters, and 30 meters every day.
The process of making a drainage ditch, laying gravel, laying sleepers, installing railroad tracks, and on top of that, the elves reinforced the slope by freezing it, went back and forth like cogwheels.
There was no wastage in any process.
It was a moment when Lloyd’s experience and dignity, which had already carried out numerous large-scale construction projects, shined.
‘of course. Waste is a sin!’
Time, material, and money.
Eliminate inefficient processes while putting safety first.
A workplace where everyone, including workers, is happy (?).
That was the ideal scene that Lloyd was pursuing.
Just like that, a day, two days, ten days, a month, and three months passed.
In the midst of time rolling like a cogwheel, the rough outline of the ascending railway line finally began to emerge.
“So that’s the loop-type track and switchback system you just mentioned?”
“Oh, that’s it.”
Lloyd grinned.
I looked back at Xaviel.
“why. Have you ever seen something like that?”
“….”
what a reasonable thing to say.
Xaviel grumbled inwardly and lowered his gaze.
Beneath the peak you are now standing on.
Along the slopes of the canyon, the results of everyone’s sweat over the past three months were spread out.
First of all, the first thing that stood out was the loop-shaped trajectory.
‘It looks like a snake coiled around.’
It was a thought that came to my mind as soon as I saw the loop-shaped trajectory.
It did not run in a straight line like common train tracks.
Instead, go round and round.
Tracks were laid to keep the train moving in a series of large circular routes.
Thanks to this, the railroad, which would have to go up a steep slope if it moved in a straight line, became a relatively gentle structure thanks to the long circular path.
It was an easy-to-understand principle.
This was the case even though Xaviel had no particular relationship with the talent of a ballerina (?).
‘But that thing called a switchback…I don’t think a train can move in a place like that.’
Xaviel frowned as he looked at one side of the canyon.
It was the steepest area in the canyon where the ascending line was laid.
The railroad tracks zigzag along the slope.
However, it was not connected like a loop-type orbit.
If you go all the way to the left along the gorge, the railroad is cut off there.
Instead, it was possible to back up again and climb to the right through a strange intersection.
So that’s….
‘The train goes forward and backwards repeatedly. Along the path that splits and splits the slope countless times horizontally. It’s a way to go up the slope very little by little while drawing a zigzag like that.’
Xaviel understood the principle of the switchback a little bit.
A deep wrinkle formed between the eyes of the silver-haired knight.
I know the principle.
But is that really safe?
Is it possible for the train to move accurately without errors while climbing such a narrow slope in a zigzag pattern?
If I made the slightest mistake, I wonder if the train would fall down the slope.
‘But Lloyd-nim must have an idea.’
Perhaps.
Surely there will be a solution.
Because it’s Lloyd, not anyone else.
Thinking so, Xaviel reassured himself.
But that was then.
“It’s okay if it’s your first time seeing it. Then watch me ride it from now on.”
“…yes?”
Is Lloyd riding that?
That one that hasn’t been properly tested for safety? now?
Xaviel looked back at Lloyd with some misfortune.
“no way. Mr. Lloyd?”
“uh. That’s right. It’s a test run.”
“But why, Lord Lloyd?”
“Because it is dangerous.”
So it seems I have to do it myself.
It seems like such a normal thing.
Lloyd smiled brightly and without wrinkles.
