“I know very well.”
Illya replied with a gloomy face as she sighed.
“We have to be well prepared.
Because we are going to dig now...”
“Drilling work?”
She nodded.
Excavation work.
Also known as fortification building.
It is maintenance work on dilapidated fortifications and trenches.
But it was just hard labor, not “building” in the literal sense.
Digging with a pick, tapping with an axe, moving sandbags...
All this is done by human power alone, without any help from machines!
Lennox and the rest of the unit surrounding her listened to her explanation, laughed as if it was unbelievable, and waved their hands.
"Oh, Elle!
This is a very cruel joke.
How can we do such things without any equipment?"
“True, even when we built our palace, the workers brought their equipment~”
Illya sighed again.
'I thought they had improved a little, but their minds are still very simple.'
Certainly, these noble young men had never done such deeds before.
But once they do it, they'll realize it's possible.
They will also understand how structures like the pyramids and the Great Wall of China were built by human power alone.
'Of course, it's so painful that the body feels like it's going to collapse...'
In the army of her previous life, fortification-building work, combined with outdoor training in extreme weather, were among the most grueling activities in the military.
So much so that training in the training ground seemed like a break in comparison.
Because they didn't know what might happen during the operation, military doctor Theo accompanied them carrying this big first aid box.
'Moreover, since the human-beast war has taken place, haven't the facilities become a complete chaos?'
This means that their hard work will be even more difficult.
I felt anxious.
‘Ah, but they must have done some renovations little by little during this period…’
Didn't the war happen a long time ago?
There's no way they've left it neglected all this time...
•
“...Impossible.”
Illya heaved a deep sigh as if the ground would open, as she looked at the scene unfolding before her eyes.
What appeared before her eyes was a completely destroyed land.
Facilities, etc., everything was completely destroyed.
Keisha threw them a package containing shovel handles.
“We will be maintaining the facilities here all day.
Move quickly!”
One by one, the unit members, including Elijah, began to pick up the shovel handles and began digging into the rough terrain.
It was the process of leveling the land to rebuild fortification facilities.
It was simple manual labor, but after several hours, they were dripping with sweat, and they felt like their backs were going to break.
The rugged terrain began to take shape suitable for erecting facilities.
“Oh my God, we're finally done...”
“Now it's the other area's turn!”
Keisha shouted as he pointed to the rough terrain on the other side.
(torture angel keisha😂)
Theo handed the unit one tonic at a time.
“You better prepare well.
This area has been completely destroyed horribly because it was the scene of a great battle with monsters.”
The great battle with monsters!
Elijah's eyes widened when she heard those words.
As a ten-year-old girl at the time of the war, she had of course not participated in the war between humans and beasts, but she was very familiar with the great battle.
The Imperial Army had already retreated, and the monsters took advantage of this momentum, gathering in the thousands and attacking at once.
The situation was desperate for anyone looking at it.
Just then, the Grand Duchy Family's army led by Keisha appeared and fought the monsters.
Despite the strength of the Keisha army, the monsters' all-out attack was not easy.
The battle was a bloody mess.
At the end of this bloody conflict, the leader of the monsters fell, and then the humans achieved victory.
It was no exaggeration to say that this world survived thanks to that battle.
‘A great historical battle like this took place here…’
Illya stuck the shovel handle deep into the ground and stood leaning on it, silently staring at the wide plain stretching out before her eyes.
Strong feelings surged in her chest.
Seeing that sight, Lennox approached and put his arm around her shoulder.
"That this is the place where that fight took place, makes my heart feel great in some way.
El, you're feeling the same feelings as I am right now, aren't you?"
“No.
I'm angry because there's a lot of ground I still have to dig...”
Why, what a shame, the place where that battle took place was a wide plain!
‘There are narrow valleys too!
There are small castle ruins too!
How many places are more suitable for fighting in the empire than this vast place!’
Tears gathered in her eyes.
Thanks to this, they will have to dig for days, not just one day.
And Kesha seemed to have taken all of that into consideration, even bringing along field tents.
“Move quickly!”
Keisha urged them, and they started working hard again.
Elia was sweating profusely as she scooped dirt with the shovel.
She no longer knew whether she was a human or a dirt-scooping machine.
‘Now I fully understand why extreme misery is expressed as “digging with a shovel.”’
She looked around as she dug with the shovel.
Everyone was barely digging with a shovel, completely exhausted and as if their souls had left their bodies.
Only Axion was digging with the shovel at the same pace he had started, without getting tired.
'It's amazing.'
'Did his father, the Grand General of the Imperial Army, even teach him how to dig with a shovel?'
She stuck the shovel into the ground, shaking her head in amazement.
Knock!
Something got stuck on the end of the shovel handle.
Got stuck on a big rock?
Ilya lifted the shovel handle with all her might, but it didn't move at all.
trap!
Another shovel was planted next to her shovel handle.
“I'll do it myself.”
She turned her head to find that Axion had approached her side without her realizing it.
'What's wrong with him these days?'
'This is in addition to him helping her prepare for training last time.'
When she saw his blue eyes staring at her, her heart began to race.
"It's okay.
I can do it."
To calm her pounding heart, she refused help.
Then she gritted her teeth and tightened the hand holding the shovel handle.
Berries!
"Yes!"
She felt a sharp pain in her waist.
Axion asked in a worried voice.
"Are you well?"
“I, I'm fine… ah!”
With a groan, she fell to the ground.
At that moment, her body suddenly rose into the air.
Before she knew it, Axion had lifted her into his arms.
she shouted, confused.
"You, you!
What are you doing now?"
Even the princess's pregnancy position?!
Her face immediately reddened.
Then, Axion whispered in a low voice.
"Don't move, stay still.
It will only make you hurt more."
He picked her up and walked with long strides towards Theo.
The eyes of the unit members who were digging with a shovel were fixed on them all.
Elijah's face reddened and burned with embarrassment.
Theo stared blankly at Axion and at her in his arms, then said.
“Axion, Erhan.
Are you two dating each other?”
Hearing those words, Elijah's body trembled involuntarily.
But Axion didn't care, and answered calmly.
“Army doctor, it seems that this comrade has been injured in the waist.”
"Really?
Put him down here then."
Axion bent down to put it on the ground.
As a result, their bodies connected, and Elijah's face turned red again.
Theo approached and looked at her and said.
“Erhan, the color of this fellow’s face really looks a bit strange?
Let me check the condition of your waist, lower your pants a little.”
Upon hearing those words, Elijah's features froze.
I got up quick as a spring and screamed.
"I, I...
I'm fine!
It's just a slight sprain!
Look at this!
I'm completely intact!"
I deliberately walked normally in front of Theo.
Of course, every time she stepped, a stinging pain shot through her waist.
'I must endure!'
Seeing this, Theo nodded in agreement.
“Hmm, it certainly doesn't look serious.
Then, return to your position.”
“Yes sir!”
Illya returned to her original position, whispering to Axion in a rude tone.
“Why are you interfering in what does not concern you?
I told you I was fine.”
Axion did not answer and returned to their place, and began digging with the shovel again.
She, too, held her sore waist and continued digging with the shovel.
Every time she bent her waist, the pain intensified like crazy.
‘Ah… I have to secretly get the painkiller from Yusar later.’
But she realized something strange.
There were much fewer rocks stuck to the end of the shovel than there had been before.
Digging with a shovel is much easier than before.
'My luck!
Did you win easy ground?'
Just when she was about to heave a sigh of relief, her eyes widened.
Axion was digging diligently, picking only the largest boulders from the surrounding ground and removing them with the shovel.
Elia approached him and asked him.
“Are you doing this to help me now, I wonder?”
Then, Axion replied coldly, immersed in digging with the shovel without even looking at her.
“No way.
It's just that my shovel gets particularly stuck on rocks.”