Chapter 113: The Conqueror of the Fountain (2)
“Lake Kapua? The one that sits in the middle of the eastern range? Are you saying you plan to wake King Storma, who rules over that area?”
The baron broke the silence in the room. His urgent question pierced everyone’s ears, and it was only then that they were jostled out of their trance. The baroness found herself clutching her handkerchief. Javier’s blue eyes flashed coldly while Sir Bayern gulped dryly. Sir Blanc’s heart jumped in expectation. Baron Frontera tossed the question again.
“Isn’t Lake Kapua the place where you constructed the intake station for the waterway because of Viscount Lacona?”
“Yes, it is,” Lloyd said.
“And isn’t sleeping King Storma a formidable monster?”
“Yes, that is right as well,” answered Lloyd again.
“Do you have some special purpose in mind for waking such an evil monster?”
“Yes, it is the one I told you about a while ago.”
“What do you mean you told us already?”
“I plan to make him work for us.”
“King Storma? Do you mean to wake him up and put him to work?”
“Yes,” Lloyd answered, his voice sounding assured.
“…”
How is that possible? What kind of job does he plan to give to a monster?
The baron and the others felt dazed by Lloyd’s words as they were completely in the dark about his plan. Meanwhile, Lloyd continued to speak.
“Well, I am planning on putting him to work, but it is nothing grand. Twice a day. Morning and night. I will make him roar.”
“Roar?”
“Yes, it can be understood as an act of marking his territory.”
“The roar of King Storma. Will it change anything?”
“Yes, there will be a large change.”
“Could you be more specific?” asked the baron.
“The barony will not be damaged by the monster domino phenomenon.”
“How so?”
“The monsters rushing to the west from the wilderness will never dare traverse the eastern range,” Lloyd reasoned.
“Wait, because of King Storma’s roar?”
“Yes,” Lloyd said as he nodded. He then fished an old booklet out of his embrace.
“This is an old record I found in the study.”
Crunch. Crunch Lloyd carefully flipped open the booklet, its old paper giving off a moldy smell.
“Please take a look at this. About 350 years ago, that is, before our family was bestowed this fiefdom, a lord that used to rule over the province left a record.”
Lloyd pointed to one page.
“The record shows that King Storma arrived at the mountain range at that time. No one knows where he came from. But the record shows that he was very active at that time. He chopped countless trees and brought them to the middle of the mountain range.”
“To the middle of the mountain range? Why?”
Lloyd grinned at the baron’s question.
“To make a natural dam. And so, a huge volume of water stagnated in the middle of the mountain range on and on, and I am sure you can guess what comes next, right? The origin of Lake Kapua.”
“Oh…”
Everyone’s eyes broadened when they found out that Lake Kapua wasn’t a natural occurrence. It was formed by King Storma. They started to give more ears to Lloyd.
“Well, it’s not a surprise that you never heard of it. I, too, learned about it for the first time from this record. Anyway, soils piled, and trees grew on the dam, eventually transforming the scenery into the natural mountain lake it is right now. And King Storma went into hibernation in satisfaction in the center of the lake he had created.”
“So, are you telling us that Lake Kapua was created to make a home for the monster? By King Storma himself?”
“Yes, but what we must pay attention to is what follows.”
Flip. Flip.
Lloyd flipped the pages some more.
“According to the records, life in this part of the region grew rougher after King Storma went into hibernation.”
“How so?”
“Simple. Monsters came here, crossing over to the range from the east. They caused trouble, ate people, and so on. You know, the same events we experience once or twice a year at the foot of the mountain.”
“Oh…”
A glimmer appeared in the baron’s eyes. Listening to his son, the baron naturally understood. The Frontera Barony had always suffered from intermittent monster attacks. Most of them were the attacks of the monsters coming down from the eastern range. It had always been a problem here, even before the monster domino phenomenon. But what would happen if a giant monster started to become active in Lake Kapua, which sat along the range down to their fiefdom? The answer was crystal clear.
“So, are you thinking that King Storma will deter the monsters?” asked the baron.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I think,” replied Lloyd.
“That’s why you want to wake King Storma up?”
“Indeed. Once he roars twice a day to mark his territory, the monsters coming from the east will naturally turn back in fear. He would be likened to a biological wall to put it one way,” Lloyd explained.
“A biological wall…” the baron said as he nodded his head.
Everyone shared the same sentiment about this idea. Lloyd’s suggestion was more than what they imagined. But it was convincing, and it was worth giving it a try.
“But don’t you think this is too dangerous?” asked the baron.
“By dangerous, you mean…”
“I am talking about the chance of King Storma storming into our fiefdom and attacking us,” the baron said in a faintly concerning voice. “Should that formidable creature charge at our fiefdom, the damage will be catastrophic. D you have any measures in plan to avoid such a mishap?”
“Of course I do,” Lloyd said with confidence.
“What is it?”
“Staying still,” Lloyd replied.
“Staying still?”
“That’s right,” affirmed Lloyd.
“How?”
“Just doing nothing. Staying still.”
The baron remained silent.
Lloyd smiled faintly.
“I mean it. This record tells me that King Storma never ever left his habitat. He manifested a highly territorial quality. I believe the same thing will happen again,” Lloyd reasoned.
“However, should something were to happen-”
“Yes, I know what you mean and are worried about. But we have Sir Asrahan with us.” Lloyd looked at Javier.
“What?” The baron looked at Lloyd, confused.
“As you know already, he is a sword master.”
Everyone’s gaze traveled to focus on Javier, who must have become embarrassed. He forced out some coughs. Lloyd smiled in a mischievous way.
“If King Storma storms into the fiefdom to wreak havoc on us, the answer is simple. We have Sir Asrahan, a sword master. Moreover, we are joined by the brave White Cavalry. Regardless of how powerful the monster is, we should be able to hunt him down with ease,” Lloyd assured.
It was true. Lloyd studied King Storma by reading several works of literature and scholarly journals of many scholars. He reached the conclusion that the barony’s current capabilities would be enough to hunt down the monster.
“We expect that King Storma will be as powerful as the Gigatitan we went up against back in Cremo,” Lloyd continued. “So, if our goal is just hunting it down and nothing else, Sir Asrahan should be able to fight it alone. He could even kill it. It would be much easier than hundreds of thousands of locusts or hundreds of Mastodons. There would only be one opponent to go against.”
“But our goal is not hunting but to make him work for us?” asked the baron.
“That’s right. It appears that this is the best measure we have in our hands right now,” reasoned Lloyd.
“Hmm… It does appear so.” The baron nodded. Lloyd’s explanation allowed him to visualize the plan in his head. In summary, King Storma wasn’t that difficult to take care of on the off chance he went berserk and threatened the fiefdom. And if they achieved the goal, King Storma was set to effectively deter a large number of peskier monsters from dealing with than King Storma himself. Controlling him wasn’t that hard, and yet, he efficiently blocked bigger threats. That was what King Storma was to the barony.
“In short, he would be a gigantic guard dog. A guard dog on a leash in our front yard that scares and deters other monsters,” said the baroness, who had been quietly listening to the conversation.
Come to think of it, King Storma was certainly set to be a guard dog. It was a good summary. Thanks to her analogy, everyone was able to get a clearer picture of Lloyd’s plan. But that didn’t mean that everyone didn’t have any questions.
“Hmm, I somehow see it now. But I wonder…” The baron muttered as he cocked his head to the side. “How do you plan on waking him up and controlling him at your disposal?”
“We won’t be controlling him,” answered Lloyd.
“Then?”
“We’ll put him to exercise.”
Lloyd brought his hand to the old booklet, turning the pages until it landed on the last one.
“Take a look here.”
Everyone’s eyes followed Lloyd’s fingers, which were pointing at the sentence that defined King Storma.
[Very similar to a beaver.]
“A beaver…?”
Everyone tilted their heads to the side with the exemption of Sir Blanc, who thus spoke.
“A beaver is a large animal that looks like a rat and lives in the river to make dams, right?”
“Very good. You are right, Sir Blanc. It appears that the others are not familiar with the animal,” said Lloyd as he smiled.
“It’s just like what Sir Blanc said. Beavers tend to make dams in the rivers or lakes by gathering up tree branches. They show a great obsession with dams. Sometimes, they create one from generation to generation. Therefore, when a dam is broken, they leave everything behind and try to make another one.”
“Are you saying,” said the baron, “that King Storma will be the same?”
“Yes.”
Lloyd nodded his head as he recalled the time he watched a program about beavers back in South Korea.
In a TV program, I don’t know, was it episode 202? It showed beavers raised in zoos.
Their daily life consisted of creating dams. They worked hard to build one. But once they succeeded, the zookeeper shattered and destroyed it to pieces without any mercy.
I thought the zookeeper was evil and abusing the animal. But that wasn’t the case.
The zookeeper’s interview came to Lloyd’s mind. She said destroying the dams was a way to keep the wild nature of beavers. It kept them moving. If the dam was left all built and strong, the beavers accepted the reality and settled there. They got lazy and fat and sick. That was the rationale behind the constant demolition of their dams. Giving them work to do—that was the way to keep them industrious, mobile, and healthy.
Several scholars analyzed and concluded that King Storma was much like the beavers in that sense. So, this method will probably work as well.
Lloyd briefly walked them through about the nature of the beaver, excluding the part about the TV program. And around the time everyone started to nod in understanding, Lloyd spoke with confidence.
“As such, we just have to use that method as well.”
“That method?”
“Yes, we will slightly destroy the edge of Lake Kapua while King Storma is asleep.”
“And you think King Storma will wake up to repair the dam after feeling the damage?”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
“What happens if the dam is all repaired?”
“We can sneak again and destroy it.”
For a split second, everyone couldn’t find the words to respond. It was because they suddenly felt compassion toward King Storma, who was in hibernation. But Lloyd was indifferent to everyone’s gaze.
Right now, we just don’t have the time to mind that.
As of now, the fiefdom was on the verge of being swept away by the monster domino. So, if he could bring peace and wellness to the fiefdom by harassing a giant monster for about a year, Lloyd was ready to do it even a hundred times.
“Plus, you don’t have to feel compassion for King Storma. We have our own share of risks by waking him up.”
“Hmm, yes, since he surely is a giant monster.”
“Yes, and on top of that, we might cause a great flood if we destroy the dam after inaccurately calculating the demolition scope.”
“A great flood, eh?” asked the baron.
“Yes.”
Lloyd’s gaze turned serious.
“That is the thing with dams, just a tiny fraction is all it needs for the entire thing to be demolished. And more than the miscalculation, King Storma going berserk in the lake can cause trouble. That would cause a tsunami, overflowing the water out of the dam. Then there would be another flood,” stated Lloyd.
Everyone became speechless. They never ever thought about such a type of disaster.
Well, not so surprising that they’re speechless. I mean, they have never encountered a huge dam before.
But the two types of disasters he had used as an example held the possibility of happening anytime at the fiefdom.
First case was the demolition of the Stava dam in Italy in 1985. A little damage on the outer wall collapsed the entire dam, and about 66,000 gallons of water swept the village at the speed of 55 mph.
The second case, the lake tsunami, was worse.
In 1963, the Vajont dam collapsed. That was even more awful. The two sides of the dam contained a limestone and clay layer. And when the water level increased because of the dam, it touched this layer until the foundation weakened and created a landslide. 238 million square meters worth of soil slid into the dam all at once, whose impact power was twice the impact of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb.
The aftermath was horrifying. The large amount of soil fell out of the dam lake to create a mega-tsunami that soared as high as 820 feet. The shocking and terrorizing wave went over the dam, sweeping the entire village nearby. It was a mega catastrophe, with around 2,500 to 5,000 people losing their lives.
“But, well, attention must be paid to ensure that those disasters will not be happening here. You can leave that to me. Surveying and designing are perfect for a job like this.”
Lloyd planned to make meticulous calculations to avoid any damage to the dam when they awakened King Storma and put him to work by purposefully destroying a part of the dam. And he would also lead and design King Storma’s movement.
“And so, since King Storma is a dangerous monster, only Sir Asrahan, the White Cavalry, and I will be working on this job.”
“Us?” asked Sir Blanc.
Lloyd grinned and spoke.
“Yes, since the job is too risky for ordinary engineers to partake in. Even when King Storma notices us and acts up, your men will able to respond to him and get ready for combat.”
That would be something impossible for ordinary soldiers. There was a chance of massive casualty should King Storma go berserk. Thus, Lloyd needed strong men who could fight right away when things went south during the shoveling.
“So, this is the reason why I hurried to bring your men to the civil engineer corp and make the Megalania structure,” Lloyd went on. “Why, you ask? To make you all used to shoveling.”
“…”
Lloyd’s nonchalant voice rang aloud in the office. Everyone clamped their mouths shut. And soon, it hit them that Lloyd had been holding various projects with this very plan in mind. As such, everyone could only get on board with his plan, thereby kickstarting Lloyd’s evil and sly scheme of intentionally waking the sleeping ancient lake monster and taking advantage of him.