Chapter 91: Sky-Walking Bridge (1)
“I’m entrusting it to you because it’s important.”
“Huh?”
Julian’s eyes trembled visibly. He couldn’t believe it. Entrusting it to him because it’s important? Julian wondered if he was serious. And besides… Seriously, is this Lloyd Frontera?
Not once in his life did he expect to hear such a thing from his brother. If someone had prophesied about this in his dream, he’d have laughed out loud at the prophecy. However, that very impossible event was happening now right in front of his eyes, so clear and vivid that it was undeniable.
Entrust it to me because it’s important? He gawked at the shovel in his hands, and though he was a bit numb, it didn’t feel unpleasant. Just then, he was hit with an important fact. That was…
“Uhm, how do you use this shovel?” asked Julian.
“How, my ass. Have you never used a shovel before?”
“Uhm, no, never.”
Julian nodded because he had never used this tool before. He was unsure whether he could take up such an important job. Lloyd will probably be disappointed. He’s going to scold and downplay me for not having done this before. Julian was ready to receive such. And just as he had expected…
“Tsk. Whatever, give it to me,” Lloyd said as he held out his hand.
Of course.
Julian, a little bit disappointed, gave the shovel back to Lloyd. Instead of ignoring or criticizing Julian, Lloyd instead rolled up his sleeves and stretched his shoulders.
“I’m going to show it to you once. Watch me.”
“Eh…? Okay…”
“Watch how I do it.”
Lloyd didn’t wait for a response. He was already posing in front of the piles of sand. His lower torso and waist were slightly drooped, and the back of his left hand faced the sky.
“Take a look at my left hand. This is how you grab it. Don’t stab the ground, dig into it, and scoop up the sand. See this?”
“Oh, yeah,” Julian said.
“From here to the left rear. Like this!”
The shovel drew a soft trajectory in the air after scooping. It then returned to the sand pile at lightning speed. Lloyd dug in the sand, scooped it, moved it, sprinkled it on the ground, and stacked it up.
“Got that?”
In no time, Lloyd was holding the shovel like it was a cane. Lloyd smiled, and in Julian’s eyes, he looked like a seasoned master of labor. Julian found himself nodding at the sight in front of him.
“Eh? Okay.”
“Good,” said Lloyd, “Do what you just saw.”
“Okay.”
“But make sure that you straighten your back only when you’ve filled up the one-legged cart to the brim. Am I clear?”
“Why is that?” asked Julian.
“That’s how I do things.”
“Anyway, do a good job. The speed of Bangul making wires depends on how fast you shovel. I’m off now,” Lloyd said as he passed the shovel.
Julian took it, and he could feel the warmth in the hilt and handle. The moment Julian touched it, he suddenly wanted to know. Why didn’t Lloyd ignore or mock him when he said that he wasn’t good at shoveling? Why did Lloyd teach him so nicely instead? And…
“Uhm, Lloyd.”
“What?”
“I have something to ask you.”
Julian lifted his head, and he got ready to say the question he had all along.
“Where did you learn all this, Lloyd?”
Julian wanted to know. It was strange. He wanted to ask what Lloyd went through all this time. It’s as if he has become a different person. Lloyd Frontera was standing in front of him, but he seemed poles apart from the man he knew. He was sober and gentle. The two changes were enough to give him goosebumps.
“I’m curious. You didn’t know how to use the shovel before.”
“That’s right.”
“The same goes for the summon magic. I heard you called for the summon creatures.”
“Yes, I did.”
“And Sir Asrahan told me that you have a manaheart.”
“You’re right.”
“What in the world happened to you back when I was in the academy?”
Something happened. Otherwise, this would be impossible. But the response Lloyd gave only plunged him into deeper confusion.
“Something happened… I’ll tell you next time.”
“When?”
“When I’m ready.”
Lloyd smiled bitterly, and his eyes seemed to hold a backstory, which made him look inexplicably alienating and mesmerizing. So, Julian couldn’t probe any longer. He eventually thought to himself that the time would come when Lloyd would tell him everything. At last, Julian nodded, much to Lloyd’s relief.
Whew. It worked.
His operation to dodge Julian’s probing questions was a success. After duping his brother with his masked seriousness, Lloyd hurried and left the area, saying that he needed to look at the field quickly. Now, left alone, Julian picked up the shovel.
“Whew.”
The shovel felt heavy in his hands. Nonetheless, he decided to try his best. He just earned Lloyd’s trust, which came rare. To be honest, it weirded Julian out a bit but not in a bad way. He was rather happy. He even resolved not to disappoint his brother. Recalling how Lloyd had gripped the shovel, Julian grabbed it and moved. He stabbed the sand pile with a shovel, but the result was terribly different from Lloyd’s.
The shovel made a weird noise as it hit the sand. It failed to dig deep into the earth. Instead, it slipped to the side and left his hands.
The shovel bounced in the air and was sent away so that it shamed Julian. Bangul, who was watching the scene, tapped the ground with her fat tail. Ppoddong joined, writhing his fat body in amusement, and forgetting to interlace the strands of wire.
“Bangul! Bba-ba-babangul!”
“Ppodong! Ppo-do-do-dong!”
Are they laughing at me…?
Heat rushed through Julian’s face as he sprinted to pick up the shovel again. He was a red tomato. This was just the start of the many challenges ahead of the short young master.
The construction took off with full force. The survey and design were already over. The trusses and cables were being produced without any hurdles. So, Lloyd proceeded to work on building the bridge towers of the suspension bridge. The first step was constructing the base.
Lloyd’s triple circle rotated violently. two: three: three. With the Alpha circle at the center, the other two rotated in a ratio of two: three: three. They clashed and bumped into each other, backed by the ideal rotation ratio. At that instant, Lloyd dug the shovel into the ground, transferring the power of the triple mana blast into the land.
Lloyd bore holes into the ground that were about sixty feet in diameter and 114 feet deep with terrible force, not missing a fraction of an inch. He dug one hole per day for a total of nine holes on each side of the riverside. Those holes would support the bridge towers of the suspension bridge. Next, Lloyd poured a large amount of cement into the holes. The cement, which was mixed with the volcanic ash of Bangul, filled them up just like how Lloyd did when he built the artificial ground in the water in Cremo. They solidified, turning into huge cement poles that stretched down to the underground.
The spring rain came right after the basic construction was finished. It was torrential spring rain. Heavy rain kept coming for over ten days, quickly increasing the water level of the Magena River. Eventually, that created cracks in the stone bridge that sat about one hundred yards off the suspension bridge. It was the first time it had happened since sixty-one years ago when it was first built. Lloyd smiled internally.
Even heaven is helping with this project.
The stone bridge showed signs of collapse, and that prompted the palace to change its stance on the project. The officials started to shower him with support in building the suspension bridge instead of spending the resources on repairing the damaged stone bridge. They heavily invested in the construction, starting from employing more laborers for the project. Expert craftsmen and skillful men joined the force, and the support of the palatial magicians just topped everything off.
Thank you! Thank you so much!
Once the magicians joined the construction efforts, everything started to quickly progress at an unbelievable speed. Lloyd’s design, which was supported by his surveying and data, was as detailed and comprehensive as a microscope. When that was compounded together with the palace’s unreserved monetary support and labor, the construction took off at lightning speed.
This is nuts. This is absolutely nuts!
Lloyd clucked his tongue in disbelief as he commanded the construction. The tower was mainly composed of stones, and Lloyd simply needed to let them know the size to cut out. Once the shape and function of the blocks were made plain to the expert stonemasons, they jumped into action. Magicians joined as well. As such, the job ended in no time. The same went for stacking the blocks to make the tower. Normally, Lloyd required a crane or Ppodong to lift the massive blocks, and it was a challenge to stack up more than ten blocks a day. But when magicians came into the picture, everything changed. They were not your average magicians. They were royal magicians.
Magicians imbibed magic into the large blocks and reduced them to one-fifth of their giant size. That alone completely changed the construction speed.
“Pull! Count during the process!”
“One! Two! One!”
Large blocks hoisted up each time dozens of people turned the lever of the crane. The downsized blocks took a lesser toll on Javier and Ppodong, who received the blocks. Magicians used magic to lift them up, while those above received the blocks without any concern of spraining their backs. Every task proceeded like an impeccable cogwheel, and it was obvious that Lloyd’s meticulous design work was behind it. Just like that, time continued to pass.
The wind grew warmer. Magnolia flowers blossomed and wilted. The cherry blossom leaves wafted in the air against the wind. The aroma of roses permeated the air every morning. Julian’s arms thickened from all the shoveling. On the day the cicadas started singing, 295-foot bridge towers stood tall on both sides of the Magena River. Citizens in the royal capital exclaimed in joy because they had been nervous about the existing stone bridge, which could collapse anytime. But now, the construction for a new bridge was nearing its completion. The unique shape of the suspension bridge garnered much attention from people.
“What do you think he plans to do by setting up the tower so high?”
“Did you not hear?”
“Excuse me? Hear what?”
“He’s said to plan hanging cables at the peak of the towers.”
“Cables, you say?”
“Yes, indeed. Just like a hanging clothesline.”
“What kind of…”
Some citizens tilted their heads as they chatted, while others were expectant.
“Did you hear? He’s planning to hang a clothesline there.”
“Clothesline? Wait, in between the towers on both sides of the river?”
“Yes, I heard from the lady beside the house. The hanging clotheslines will become bridges.”
“Come on, how’s that possible?”
“I’m telling you. The cable work is happening later in the afternoon.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I’m telling you. I reserved a spot to watch it for myself.”
“Can I tag along?”
“Of course.”
People gathered near the river in groups of threes and fives. They set up mats where they could get a good look at the towers. Lunch boxes were open. When they laid their eyes on the cables being delivered under the bridge towers, they were overwhelmed with shock.
“What… is that?”
“Good gracious. They’re very thick.”
“Clothesline? That’s a clothesline?”
“Oh, who said it’s one?”
“They’re thicker than tree stomps.”
“Plus, that’s not hay or anything. It’s made from metal.”
It was true. The cable was pure metal. Ppodong interlaced the 0.2-inch-thick wires Ppodong had excreted. Those 120 strands of wires tightly clustered together to form a cable. Then the outside was wrapped with chains. So, it was too heavy and thick to be called a simple “clothesline.” When people saw the cable, everyone became nervous, thinking of one thing.
How is he going to transfer that to the peak of the bridge towers? Is he going to bring a large giant to toss and receive the cables? Is he going to use ships? There are no sailing boats around here in the river, and it might even sink if it’s small.
Curiosity filled everyone’s minds, and they all became worried about how the large and thick metallic ropes would be hung on the bridge towers like a clothesline. No matter how they thought about it, it looked impossible. The mere act of trying looked like an accident waiting to happen. Thousands of anxious and expectant gazes focused on the peak of the bridge towers, where Lloyd and Bangul were.
“Bangul, you know what to do, right?”
“Bangul!”
“You bite it and go boom!”
“Bba-bangul!”
Bangul, who had already gotten large, nodded her round head up and down. At last, Lloyd noticed the cable being lifted from the foot of the tower. It was being lifted by the crane after growing light with the help of the magicians’ magic. Its end was attached to a tightly knit chain, which Lloyd tugged and put on one side. Afterward, he held up the sand-filled bucket.
“Hey, Bangul. Time to eat something good.”
“Bangul!”
Bangul opened her mouth wide, and Lloyd emptied the whole bucket by pouring the sand into her mouth. He quickly stepped back.
“So, Bangul. Just as we practiced,” reminded Lloyd.
“Chomp, chomp! Bangul!”
Bangul gulped the sand, and she turned her round head to bite the chain that was set aside on one side. Then, she coiled her body. A chemical reaction took place inside her body. The food she consumed in one go digested in her body at a fast speed.
“Bungul! Bbu-bungul!”
JBangul wagged her fat tail, and the clear ringing sound of the bell drummed in everyone’s ears. Next, a fierce volcanic explosion took place in Bangul’s buttocks.
The volcanic ash and gas emitted out of her body with such ferocity. The repulsive force sent Bangul to fly away into the air, and she bit on the chain with her mouth. And as she traveled airborne, the cable attached to the chain followed suit.
“Buuuung-ul!”
That day, the people’s jaws dropped as they saw a giant snake with a cable in its mouth travel across the Magena River, just like an arrow fixed to a rope.