"Bangul!"
Woof!
Bangul opened its mouth wide.
It chomped down refreshingly on the lump of dirt in front of it.
In the space where the dirt vanished, a black lump appeared.
This was different from before.
Whenever it dug up dirt, more dirt would follow.
Or sometimes grayish rock would emerge.
But what had revealed itself this time was...
"Coal seam. Bangul? Stop!"
Lloyd quickly stepped forward.
The coal vein had finally been exposed.
In other words, from now on, everything hanging on the tunnel walls would be money-making coal.
It was far too precious to let Bangul gulp it down.
"This is where it gets important. Everyone, stay sharp."
He calmed the workers who were about to cheer.
Major disasters and accidents always struck in the most complacent moments.
Like right now, with victory in sight and tension easing.
Lloyd etched that fact into his heart and spoke swiftly.
"Completion's not yet. We've only just touched the end of the coal seam. Save the cheers for later. Ceremony after the goal line's crossed for sure. Got it? Good work, everyone. Switch to the next shift. And tell the next crew to bring the support pillars."
From here on, precision work was needed.
He sent out the exhausted workers.
He called in the fresh next shift.
In the meantime, Lloyd offered Bangul some blue sunflower seeds.
"Bangul?"
"Bangul!"
"Yeah. You did great too. Without you, we couldn't have dug this hole so fast. Seriously."
"Bangul! Pababangul!"
"Haha, got it. I'll give you something tasty when we go up. So for now, settle for this?"
"Bangul!"
He placed the blue sunflower seeds in its mouth.
Bangul swallowed the seeds whole.
Gulp.
And three seconds later.
Bangul shrank.
Poof!
"Bangul!"
"Yeah, good job. Thanks."
Lloyd tucked the shrunken Bangul into his bosom.
By then, the new workers had arrived at the face, carrying support pillars on their shoulders.
"As you can see, we've hit the coal seam here. This is the crucial part now. We'll expand the face along the seam. It's dangerous work, so follow orders to the letter. Understood?"
The workers nodded.
Lloyd activated his Intermediate Surveying skill.
'Survey.'
Tssst!
A faint light glimmered in his eyes.
Soon, countless pieces of information about the tunnel surfaced in his mind.
The coal seam at the end of the face, and the surrounding info, all displayed in abundance.
'Luckily, the ground near the seam is solid. Even without the shield, collapse risk is low. And the seam's direction... good, this way.'
Lloyd turned to the workers.
"Alright, we're dismantling the shield now. As slow as possible. As careful as possible."
The shield's job was done here.
No pulling it back.
So disassembly right here was the only option.
"Alright, grab there. Two, three, pull!"
Clank!
At Lloyd's command, the workers moved.
They methodically dismantled the shield piece by piece.
Once disassembly had progressed some, Lloyd shouted.
"Support pillars!"
Three waiting workers reacted instantly to his call.
They advanced into the face with support pillars and top-and-bottom planks. They set up the base plates and pillars where the shield had been removed.
A temporary measure against face collapse.
"Start reinforcement. Don't forget your training, everyone!"
"Yes!"
The workers moved in perfect unison.
They began shoveling along the face wall.
The face area expanded.
They added more temporary base plates and pillars to match the expanded area.
Securing mining space.
Meanwhile, Lloyd kept the Surveying skill active nonstop.
He monitored the load on the face walls and ceiling in real time.
To evacuate everyone at the first sign of collapse.
Fortunately, the work proceeded smoothly.
No signs of collapse appeared.
'Done.'
The hardest part was over for now.
Stopping here for today should suffice.
Then, starting tomorrow, reinforce the tunnel further?
Coal mining could begin by next month at the latest.
"Phew."
Tension finally eased.
Proud smiles crossed the workers' sweat-drenched, weary faces.
The basic tunnel excavation was complete—they could really feel it.
"Alright, good work everyone. Let's head up. Meat, booze, and fat bonuses tonight."
Hard work deserved equal reward.
That was Lloyd's personal iron rule.
The Engineering Corps had picked up on it while working with him.
'Phew! Proper bonus this time too, right?'
'What to do with this bonus?'
'Hold on, Rosalia. Bro's earning all your tuition!'
This job had been tougher than any before.
Nothing like ondol rooms or paved roads.
So the bonus would be thicker than ever.
At that thought, everyone's lips curled to their ears.
Even packing tools felt lighter.
Their hearts were already basking under the bright sunlight outside the tunnel.
But then.
Plip, plop.
A faint sound came from the exposed coal seam.
Crumbled rock falling?
Lloyd instinctively turned that way.
The moment he did.
Plop, plip!
The sound grew louder.
But no crumbling debris fell.
Instead, another dull thud echoed from beyond the seam. Plip.
'What?'
Something felt off.
No, ominous.
Sound from beyond the coal seam.
He reflexively triggered the skill.
'Survey.'
Tssst!
Lloyd scanned the sounding seam with Surveying.
And his eyes widened unwittingly.
'Huh?'
About three meters beyond the seam.
A tunnel had formed there that wasn't before.
No—a two-meter-diameter tunnel was being dug in real time!
'What? Collapse? No. Not like a collapse.'
Precisely, something was digging the tunnel.
Straight toward them.
Faster.
More brazenly.
Crunch!
It poked its head out.
"...!"
A massive ant head burst through the seam.
A head twice the size of a watermelon.
Its wide-open mandibles longer than a forearm!
"Ugh? Whoa!"
Lloyd hastily retreated.
He ended up falling flat on his butt.
Lucky he did.
Clack!
The mandibles lunging toward him snapped shut right before his nose.
Saw-like mandible edges gleamed in the torchlight.
Bitten by that?
Arm or leg—severed in one go. Guaranteed.
Chills ran down his spine.
"What the hell! Why's an ant coming out here!"
"Gahhh!"
Screams erupted among the workers.
No time to question why an ant suddenly appeared.
Or how it was wolf-sized.
Lloyd reached out.
Grabbed whatever was handy. His trusty solid steel shovel. He lifted it. Swung.
Crunch!
The sharp shovel blade sank half a handspan into the giant ant's head side.
"Keeieek!"
The ant shrieked.
It shook its head violently in pain.
Transparent fluid sprayed from the wound onto his face.
His mind sharpened.
"Everyone, get back!"
He shouted reflexively.
That cry started it.
The frozen workers bolted upward through the tunnel.
Lloyd scrambled up too.
But no time.
"Kieeek!"
Enraged by the counterattack, the ant charged further.
Mandibles wide.
Aiming for his neck.
He was still half-risen, awkward.
'Ngh!'
No dodging.
Posture too poor.
The mandibles closed on his neck in an instant—he felt it.
'Damn!'
Then.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a silver flash streaked from above.
Slash! Slice!
The fiercely snapping mandibles were severed.
The silver flash plunged into the ant's crown next.
Crunch!
The downward sword pierced the ant's head. Pinned it like a spike to the floor. Twisted. With a crackle, the ant's crown shell shattered.
"Kieeek!"
The thrashing ant went limp.
The sword withdrew.
A hand extended toward him.
"You alright?"
"..."
A callused, sturdy palm.
Even in the dim mine, a cool, composed face.
It was Haviel.
He offered his hand.
Lloyd gripped it and stood.
"What the hell was that!"
"No idea. But—"
"But?"
"Perhaps the beast ants that inhabit the wasteland beyond the mountains."
"Beast ants? Why would those show up here?"
He was utterly baffled.
Beast ants lived in the eastern wasteland beyond the mountains.
Yet appearing here, beyond the mountains—underground or not.
Impossible.
"Unlike what people think, their nest tunnels reached this far underground. Or..."
"Or?"
Another beast ant emerged from the seam hole.
It shook its club-like antennae and charged upon spotting them.
"We dug our tunnel, they sensed the noise and dug toward us from the other side."
Crunch!
Haviel's sword flashed silver again.
The charging ant's head split vertically.
But another followed behind.
The hole spewed endless ants!
"Damn."
Curses slipped out.
Haviel's second guess seemed right.
'No tunnel behind the seam when we found it.'
Certain.
He'd kept Surveying the face area.
No ant nest then.
Only after—real-time digging and emerging beast ants.
'What to do?'
Total surprise.
But regretting no prep hurt.
'Previous lord's geological survey had no ant nest record. That's why I let my guard down.'
Sure, how to prep for unrecorded threats.
But what happened, happened.
Had to handle it.
'Block here?'
Chaos and fatigue.
Heat and stale air.
Amid it, he desperately thought.
One fact certain.
'If those ants reach outside the tunnel, we're done.'
Tunnel exit led to the territory.
Ants there?
Soldiers couldn't stop them.
Too many ants.
Worst case, territory wiped out.
Unbearable disaster.
'Can't let that.'
Cold sweat just imagining.
But Haviel misread his look.
"Lord Lloyd, snap out of it."
Thud!
Suddenly, a punch flew.
Lightly jabbed his solar plexus.
"...Guhk!"
Breath caught.
Haviel meant light, but caught off-guard, it stung.
"What the hell!"
"Can't afford fear in this situation."
"Not scared? Was thinking!"
"Then think of a plan."
Sshrik, crunch!
Even replying calmly, Haviel blocked the ants.
Breath steady.
Each sword flash—ant neck flew or head split.
But his upper body was sweat-soaked.
Muscular frame, shirt discarded, pulsed with sweat.
'No good like this. Even Haviel has limits.'
Instinct told him.
Sure, Haviel strong.
But hot, stale dead-end face.
Even he'd hit stamina wall blocking endless ants.
'Think of a way while he holds.'
Block ants.
Prevent territory escape.
Minimize casualties.
'Collapse tunnel here? No. Shield-method planks too sturdy—damaging spots won't drop it. Plus, their digging speed means territory unsafe anyway.'
Lloyd shook his head.
Might fail to block, just die pointlessly.
'No half-measures. Control ant horde, wipe out at once... Huh? Wait.'
Urgent crisis.
Something flashed.
Lloyd looked up. At Haviel. Shouted.
"Hey, Haviel! Can you break through like this?"
"Break through? What do you mean."
Slash!
He asked while slicing charging ant antennae clean.
Lloyd shouted.
"What else! Charge straight ahead, possible?"
"Toward this horde?"
"Yeah!"
"..."
Haviel glanced back.
Busy splitting heads, eyes screaming "madness."
Lloyd shouted more calmly.
"Seems the only way to save everyone and stop the ants! Don't believe? Scared? Then die!"
"You saying I'm scared now?"
"Obviously!"
"...Such misunderstanding offends."
"Then possible?"
"Of course. But not just holding—breaking through? How far?"
"Deep into their nest!"
"You mean keep going? To the end?"
"Yeah!"
"Really got a plan?"
"Of course! Awesome one!"
"..."
"What? Don't trust me?"
"What else."
"Hey! Even now you..."
"Hope that 'awesome' isn't insane."
Resolved?
Or sensed no other choice.
Crack!
Haviel's sword-grip creaked coldly.
His voice turned fiercer than ever.
"Stick close. Don't lag."
With deadly sword storm flashing, Haviel's breakthrough began.
Sshrik, slash, slice!
For a moment, Lloyd found Haviel's flashing sword truly beautiful.
Five charging ants shredded by sword wind.
Haviel leaped through.
Silver beast momentum.
Lloyd clutched torch and steel shovel, followed.
"Run! Don't stop!"
They crossed the seam hole into the ant tunnel in seconds.
Luckily, ants didn't climb the tunnel up.
Instead, pursued the intruders into their nest.
They slashed, split blocking soldier ants.
Ran nonstop through the ant tunnel.
"Keep downward!"
While running, Lloyd Surveyed every nook.
'No choice but this. Do or die.'
One goal.
Deep in the ant nest—the methane gas layer buried somewhere.
(End of Chapter 25)
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