Episode 98
Not only the Duke of Black Breyo, but also his children have proven to be great.
On the other hand, the royal family has not achieved any notable results. Rather, three royal knights were recently killed by branded monsters, and the second son, who personally raised an army and went out, barely survived with the help of a mercenary group.
“Victor Louis de Hebron.”
“Give your order, Your Majesty.”
He prostrated himself before Gaius.
He looked down at me with a solemn expression, pulled out the sword from his waist, and handed it to me.
“Raise Zeno’s status with this sword. His Majesty’s prestige depends on you.”
‘Sword of Zeno!’
The thing I had been longing for finally came into my hands.
With this, he was marked as a knight recognized by King Zeno. He broke through numerous rumors and established himself as a man of ability that no one could dare to object to.
Hebron had few knights compared to its development speed and scale. They had no choice but to train soldiers and raise them as knights, but that took a long time and had obvious limitations.
But from now on, wandering knights would flock to see Zeno’s sword.
“I will serve Zeno.”
“I will send the 500 royal slaves that I lent to Pope Harjan to Hebron. It is His Majesty’s order to teach them the Sardian swordsmanship.”
“I will dedicate my life to you!”
Gaius ordered his slaves to be taught the original Sardian swordsmanship, not the modified swordsmanship. It was intended to show the high-ranking nobles how the family that dreamed of such a republican dream had fallen into such a state.
Even though the solution to Sardia’s swordsmanship has been found, if 500 slave soldiers rush in and use Sardia’s swordsmanship, it will be a powerful force. If the opponent is not the Duke of Braio, but a monster, it is clear that it will greatly strengthen the Zenon royal family.
‘It was a good thing we were short on workers.’
* * *
Five hundred royal slaves who had been sent to the Haryan Order were gathered in Hebron. Gaius entrusted me with the training of the slave soldiers. He was to teach them Sardian swordsmanship and prepare them for the chaos of the near future.
‘I appreciate that you’ve given me access to expensive slaves, but what are you going to do with those who only have half-assed faces? Tsk!’
A distinguishing feature of royal slaves was their good looks.
Even if he was sent out dressed in shabby clothes, he looked neater than an average nobleman.
The 500 royal slaves improved the appearance of Hebron. The streets were full of life just from the crowds of handsome men and women in their early to mid-twenties.
‘Being handsome is the best. But that’s something to consider only when you have enough to make a living.’
Royal slaves were placed in the wilderness.
From dawn until morning, they worked at the construction site of a waterway connecting the Magic Stone mine and Hebron, and in the afternoon, they gathered at the training ground to practice Sardia swordsmanship.
“Hold the pickaxe properly. Posture! Speed! Eyes! Breathing!”
Every time 500 slaves swung their pickaxes at the same time, the ground would be dug up.
The number of people mobilized for the construction of the aqueduct reached 2,000, and even magicians and spirit masters rolled up their sleeves. In particular, the spirit master Beni, who had made a contract with the spirit of the earth, was the greatest contributor to the construction of the aqueduct.
Large-scale city construction was taking place not only in the wasteland but also throughout Hebron. The Hebron fiefdoms were mobilized as if they were all their own, and unlike other fiefdoms, they were paid a lot of wages. The fiefdoms were delighted, saying that they had made a fortune they had never dreamed of before. With so much money in the hands of the fiefdoms, it was only natural that merchants who wanted it would flock to Hebron.
Highways connecting the cities were built, and means of communication, including beacon fires and shelters for the victims, were set up here and there. They were fully prepared to ensure that no one would be left helpless when a branded monster appeared.
* * *
The next afternoon, the slaves and laborers put down their picks and shovels and came up to the surface. They looked down anxiously at the waterway they had dug with their blood, sweat, and tears. There was even a small transport ship along the waterway that stretched for several kilometers.
“I will open the floodgates!”
Phew oh oh oh!
The sound of a horn blew and the workers cheered.
“Open the floodgates! Open the floodgates!”
The water that had been stored upstream began to flow out little by little. The sluice gate was only opened slightly, but the water that had been trapped poured out terribly as if it were escaping from hell.
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
The water stream that was supposed to flow far was sucked up by the dry land. However, the sluice gates were not completely opened. This was because the engineers of Hebron had no experience in opening waterways. They did not rush. Instead, they steadily let the water flow.
The task of filling the canal with water was expected to take several days.
Although the work was not yet finished, many people gathered at the site to watch the process of opening the sluice gates.
I held up Varyan in front of them.
“Everyone worked hard. In particular, Baryan contributed the most to the construction of the waterway. I will not forget his contributions. Baryan, come forward before me!”
Baryan came out to me wearing relatively clean clothes.
I had promised to give a reward, so prepare in advance.
“I hereby bestow upon you the title of Baron, which cannot be inherited. Your name is Barian de Nix. Nix means rainbow in the ancient Brik language. Barian de Nix, let your talents shine brightly like a rainbow in Hebron!”
“Yes, my lord!”
At best, he thought he would be given a few pennies, so Varyan looked as if he was about to stop breathing. I lifted him up and patted his back. I blew a little aura into him to help him breathe, and Varyan took a deep breath.
“I cherish what is mine. Everyone, look at Baron Varyan de Nix! Whoever acts like Varyan will be rewarded accordingly! So use your brains too! Achieve results that cannot be compared to others! I will lift him up and place him at my right hand!”
“Wow!”
There was cheering.
In Zeno, commoners with outstanding talent were generally destined to be exploited and then abandoned. So they did not try to stand out, and were worried that they would hang around the nobles for no reason and be kicked out or killed.
Amidst cheers, he placed Baryan on Syang’s back. They ran along the waterway together and entered the lord’s barracks set up on one side.
I handed the rolled up wad of paper to the blacksmith, Baryan.
“This is the first mission I give you, Baron Varyan de Nix. Carry it out secretly, but do not spare any resources.”
“This, this is… … !”
Baryan’s mouth opened as he checked the seven pieces of paper. He looked back at me. I nodded with a serious expression.
There was a drawing on the paper, and letters and numbers were densely filling the surrounding area. There was a drawing of a large wheeled body on the paper. Six wheels were attached to the left and right in a triangle shape, and a sturdy upper body had a head and long arms attached to it.
In ancient times, it was a huge weapon called ‘Jud’. Jud meant giant.
Translated into Zeno’s language, it could be called ‘golem’.
Although it was very different in form from the modern bipedal golem.
“Batman will join us as soon as he’s ready. Until then, you gather the necessary materials and start working on the exterior.”
“Choo-woong!”
‘You need to be at least class 6 to make that golem.’
Batman entered training to overcome the barrier of the 6th class. I helped him with his mana cultivation method and taught him the 6th class magic that I remembered. From then on, it was up to his talent to overcome the realm.
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If Batman failed, then it would be necessary to bring in outside personnel, as there was no time to wait until Hebron’s young wizards reached the sixth class.
“My lord, what do the words written here mean?”
“Prototype, which means a prototype that is being manufactured for testing purposes. Your name will be engraved on the first golem in Hebron.”
Baryan was burning with fighting spirit like a knight about to go out to battle.
He read the blueprint I had drawn for him as if he was memorizing it, then after looking at it for a while, he looked up at me again.
“The numbers are strange, my lord.”
I smiled and wrote the formula on the dirt floor.
“If you apply this formula, you will get the original value. I changed the value to account for external leakage. If you make a golem with the values written there, the magic stone will explode at the last moment.”
“Oh, I see. You’re thorough.”
Golems were something that could not be made even if one had the technology, due to lack of money. There were only three or four forces that could invest in the production of golems, which consumed a large amount of magic stones each time they failed, but there were no golems in the present age that would appeal to them.
Since the existence of the magic stone mine had to be hidden for the time being anyway, the plan was to make golems using the magic stones mined from the mine.
“I trust you. When I saw the bridge of the Varyan you made, I thought, if it’s Varyan, it can be made like this!”
It was a lie.
Even the golem in the blueprint I gave moved on a bundle of wheels called caterpillars rather than legs.
It was a work of the ancient Dark Kingdom. It was used for carrying heavy objects, destroying rocks, and digging the ground, and it seemed that if this golem were completed, it would be able to replace the manpower of thousands of people.
Baryan shivered and shouted.
“The new Baryan de Nix will surely respond to your lord’s faith!”
While I was talking to Baryan, water began to rise at the bottom of the canal. The floor, which had been swallowing water like a fish, was beginning to feel its limits.
It wasn’t just digging the ground. It was also treated to prevent water from seeping out, but such detailed work was the job of Baryan and his workers anyway.
A stream of water penetrated the barren wasteland. It was not the case that the wasteland did not receive rain all year round or was covered only with sand like a desert. It was just a barren terrain with little rainfall and far from lush bushes.
‘I’ll be able to plow the field soon.’
It is said that there was a time in ancient times when this land was fertile.
I once saw an ancient map, and my heart was filled with excitement as I imagined the things shown on the map unfolding before my eyes.
I followed the stream of water that was advancing, stirring up muddy water.
The waterway only reached the first target point. There was a reservoir there to store water, but beyond that, they were continuing to dig a waterway that would lead to the entrance of the magic stone mine.
Even though we defeated the branded White and Medusia, monsters did not disappear from the Hebron territory. They continued to flow in from outside. Some were even hiding. We could not let our guard down because branded monsters would suddenly appear.
I sat down and opened the tricycle. I glanced around and then got up. I found Draken not far away.
Draken is a monster that looks like a dragon, but is small, less than 2 meters long, but its value is no less than that of a dragon. They are quick and ferocious, and they move in packs, so hunting them is not easy.
I called over the soldiers stationed nearby and gave them orders.
“I found two Drakens over there. I’ll go ahead and send the hunters and cavalry.”
“insect!”
* * *
It took three full days for the river to fill up and be repaired. When I returned three days later, I saw two boats floating on the river. They were small transport ships that were used to transport troops and supplies to the wasteland.
The two ships were manned by Hebron’s cavalry, Amy, and Uriah.
