episode_0004

“Lendor, what the hell is this guy thinking?”

Lendor was a despicable person who couldn’t be adequately expressed even with the term “thorn in one’s side.” Duke Fellings muttered irritably, repeatedly tapping the table nervously with his finger.

Lendor was like a slippery fish.

After relentlessly tracking him for nearly three years, they had succeeded in uncovering a significant portion of the embezzled funds. However, Lendor knew very well that there were far more undisclosed funds that they hadn’t been able to capture as evidence.

Duke Fellings anticipated that Lendor’s next move would involve transferring the remaining funds, fearing that they would be exposed. While it would be difficult to uncover the funds when they remained still, any movement would leave traces behind.

Seizing that opportunity, Duke Fellings planned to expose all the remaining funds and deal a severe blow to Lendor’s influence.

However, nothing went according to his expectations. This guy willingly took all the attacks thrown at him and then, instead of fleeing, disappeared with all the remaining funds, calling himself Elond, a detested noble of the lowest order.

It was far more satisfying than losing all the funds, but strangely, Duke Fellings became increasingly uneasy as things unfolded too favorably for him. Whenever this guy, Lendor, willingly complied, there was always some suspicious plot lurking behind it.

“When the hell is this guy going to report?!”

A week ago, he had already sent a spy to gather precise information about Elond’s movements and issued orders to report back. The fact that the guy who was supposed to report by now remained silent infuriated Duke Fellings.

At that moment, a crystal on his desk began to glow. Realizing it was long-distance magical communication, the Duke hastily grabbed the crystal.

“Report.”

“Lendor is using all his resources to dig a tunnel in the Raco Mountains.”

And without any preamble, the spy blurted out something nonsensical and bizarre.

“What did you say?”

“Lendor is digging a tunnel in the Raco Mountains, Your Grace.”

The Duke’s expression turned incredulous at those words.

“Are they digging a tunnel in the Laco Mountains? Are they considering creating a trade route with the West?”

Rather than taking a month-long detour, it would be much more convenient to have a tunnel through the Laco Mountains, which separate the West and the East. No imperial citizen had ever thought of such an idea.

However, everyone gave up on that seemingly impossible task.

The Laco Mountains were famous for their treacherous nature. Even if one had the ability, equipment, and funds to dig a hole in a single mountain, it was by no means an easy task.

It was a place plagued by bitter cold and countless monsters.

“Is this guy insane?”

While saying so, Duke Pellings couldn’t help but think that the Iron Blood Legion could handle the monsters in the Laco Mountains. If they used the shamanic magic of the nomads in the North, it might be relatively easy to dig a tunnel through the mountains and create a trade route. He wondered if they could truly accomplish it.

However, the duke quickly realized how absurd that thought was.

“Do you even know where to dig?”

Adventurers had spent years risking their lives to create a detailed map of the Laco Mountains. Many merchants and nobles abandoned their dreams of opening a trade route after realizing that even if they had the ability to dig holes in the mountains, they had no idea how long it would take to find the precise locations to create a passable path due to the maze-like nature of the mountains.

Pellings seemed to be nothing more than a fool, wasting his time on something nonsensical.

“Is he crazy?”

“And there’s another thing. The legion’s engineers have been mobilized to carry out large-scale construction in the Lordship of Elond.”

Duke Pellings became even more bewildered and asked again.

“What kind of construction are they doing?”

“A large-scale accommodation establishment, a shopping district, and they’re also improving the roads that lead to other regions. And they were building something a bit strange as well.”

“What is it?”

“A… amusement park? They were definitely constructing a peculiar building called that.”

After receiving all the reports, Pellings became even more irritated.

“Has this bastard finally lost his mind?”

His questions remained unanswered and only grew deeper.

The territories near the Laco Mountains were mostly impoverished areas. Small villages, insignificant rural towns with nothing but cold and snow. Naturally, the lords of this region didn’t want to live here, so most of them expanded their territories and moved up to the capital to live.

I asked the emperor if I could pay him to incorporate this area into the Elond Marquisate, and both the emperor and the lords of the territory agreed. As a result, the scope of my territory greatly expanded.

Then, I offered gold to the gloomy and sullen-faced residents there. The visa funds of 7.5 million gold were enough to bring smiles to the faces of the depressed residents.

“Work from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Lunch provided. Daily wage of 7 silver.”

From the perspective of the residents, after presenting them with a staggering amount, I instructed them to assist the legionnaires of the Iron Blood Corps in constructing buildings and maintaining roads. The Elond territory, which was nothing more than ruins, gradually began to transform into a magnificent city with an abundance of gold coins poured into it.

The power of money was tremendous.

Like all other nobles, the nobles who governed the territories near the Elond territory squeezed the residents with excessive taxes, causing resentment among the already impoverished people. As a result, they were gradually perishing while being exploited by the imperial nobles.

However, as the newly appointed lord, when I suddenly presented them with a staggering amount and neatly organized and developed the surroundings, the residents were quite surprised.

Before long, the neighboring residents began to respect me even more than the imperial emperor.

I spared no expense.

There were nobles in the capital who called me crazy for building buildings capable of accommodating thousands of people in remote mountainous areas where no one would come. But that was just something they could say because they didn’t know what would happen in three months.

I continued with the foolish acts that the capital nobles called me.

No.

I was carrying out even crazier acts.

This place was bound to become the region with the highest population mobility across the entire western and eastern continents in no time.

So, shouldn’t there be landmarks or enjoyable places?

“Amusement… park?”

When I told the combat engineers to build an amusement park, even Karima, who would give her life for my words, looked bewildered.

“What on earth is that?”

“This is the northern region, and it snows a lot, right? We’re going to build a ski resort. Along with an ice skating rink.”

“Ski resort… ice skating rink. What are those exactly?”

“Just wait and see, Karima. Soon you’ll understand what I’m talking about.”

The combat engineers and residents felt perplexed about what they were creating, but with Karima’s heavenly presence and my command, they worked without uttering a word. There was no reason not to, and the wages would be generous.

The hills suitable for a ski resort and the nearby frozen lake began transforming into a splendid playground with exquisite accommodations. The surrounding buildings also started turning into shopping districts and lodging facilities capable of accommodating hundreds of thousands of people.

After completing that task, I began polishing the roads with great effort.

“Immaculate. They must be paved to the standard of the Emperor’s roads in the capital!”

The elementalists smoothed out the roads and the shaped stones, which were refined by the earth spirits, were laid down by the residents and combat engineers with calmness. Cement was poured onto them, and when dried by the cold winds of the north, it became a solid road.

Since the scale of the work was significant, I had to contact Karl Hanson in the capital.

“Send around 20,000 skilled workers.”

“What?! Where do you suddenly need that many people from?”

“Not from the capital, but from the farmers in the provinces. Recruit them and send them our way.”

“What on earth are you doing? Are you really serious about creating a trade route?”

“Yes.”

There was no response from Karl Hanson for a long time through the communication crystal. It was a silent lamentation that conveyed the meaning of “This idiot is causing trouble again,” but I confidently laughed.

“That’s enough. Send them quickly.”

Although he probably wanted to tear me apart, Karl Hansen, who was under a mind control spell, had no choice but to obey my command. A week later, he sent people looking for work on hundreds of carriages towards me.

“Really… Do you really offer wages under these conditions?”

Most of the peasants, who were half-dead due to the nobles’ looting and oppression, agreed to work eagerly at the groundbreaking high profits I offered them as an equal wage condition for those who came here thinking of finding a side job because farming didn’t pay well.

“Hey, Karl. Send a few people from the Merchant Guild. People who are capable of handling accounting and ledgers.”

Once again, I made a request for support to Karl, and without shouting or questioning why he was sacrificing money and people for such an unreasonable task, he resignedly sent the people.

As time went by, rumors naturally spread that there were plenty of good jobs available, and upon hearing those rumors, peasants from all over the continent flocked to Lord Elond’s territory in search of work. The nobles did not try to stop this phenomenon. It was because they thought I wouldn’t last long.

“They’re acting like idiots with their money talk. How far do they think that will go? They’re just wasting money without a source of income!”

The nobles’ disregard and ridicule. Support from the Emperor and the Merchant Guild. With the strong support of the Iron Blood Legion, I continued to create work.

And as time passed, more buildings began to be erected, and the roads extended even further.

And one by one, tunnels were being dug in the Laco Mountains.

“It’s monsters!!!!”

The nomads in the north, who were using fire elemental salamanders to melt frozen earth and gnome earth elementals to dig tunnels, screamed in horror. Monsters were pouring in from both the ground and the sky.

The monsters living in the rural valley and the flying monsters had never seen such a large number of humans entering their territory. Without hesitation, they rushed towards the humans, not wanting to miss out on such a delicious buffet. However, it didn’t take long for them to feel the same regret that many other monsters had felt before.

“Kill them!”

Beings that disregarded common sense and beings that followed common sense appeared and began to block the monsters. The wind spirits summoned spirits and started intercepting the flying monsters, while the soldiers of the Iron Blood Legion armed with magical equipment dealt with the monsters pouring in from the ground.

“Cast the aura!”

As the troops armed with magical armor, shields, and spears pressed the buttons on the handles of their spears, mana poured out from the mana batteries embedded in the back of the armor. Mana crystallized on the blade, forming a chilling red aura.

Defensive magic also formed on the shields. The troops, in their fortified state, easily turned the incoming monsters into beehives and pushed them away.

“Hey! What are you all doing? Clear the passage again!”

In an instant, the swarming monsters were all dealt with. After confirming this, Tameer Khan commanded the villagers to continue clearing the passage. They moved the massive rocks with the help of earth spirits and transformed them into desired shapes. Then, they placed them on both sides of the road, turning them into excellent walls.

“Bring the excavated soil here!”

The frozen soil was melted with fire and used to make paths or level the ground. If the soil was simply laid flat on the ground or compacted like clay to make a bridge, the eerie cold of the Laco Mountains would quickly harden the soil even stronger than steel.

It had already been three months since they started working. Just like the troops who had overcome various dangers coming from the north, not a single person had died so far. Moreover, everyone present here in the past few days had clearly felt it.

“The temperature was different. The temperature and smell were gradually changing. The cold was slowly fading away, and the air, which had only carried the scent of snow and rocks, now emitted a faint sweetness. Everyone realized that they had almost cleared the path.

“Khan! A massive rock is blocking the way, and further excavation is impossible!”

“Noas!”

Tameer Khan immediately summoned the high-level spirit he had contracted with for the land. Then, he asked it to remove the huge rock blocking the passage.

“Not difficult. Contractee.”

Noas’s enormous hand began to exert its force on the rock. It started trembling, and soon enough, with a creaking sound, it started falling from the mountain.

“We did it!…”

Tameer Khan finally saw the newly opened 9th tunnel and was about to shout in triumph but suddenly stopped. All the soldiers of the loyal legion and the tribal people who had worked together until now stood still alongside Tameer Khan. Under the brilliant sun, a vast prairie stretched infinitely, boasting a different scent and color.

They realized.

They had created a trade route connecting the Eastern Continent and the Western Continent, which they had deemed impossible for a long time.”