Volume 2 Ace Empire 021 The Great Wall: First Summit
"Kyle, is the work on the Wall hard?" Locke asked, riding on horseback, Kyle.
"It's hard work," Aggie snapped up, "you have to keep moving and piling up stones every day, you little devil may not be able to bear it!"
"Don't listen to him, Locke. Kyle gave Aggie a blank look, "I'm not going to let you do that." β
"Young man, you're no longer a knight-apprentice," Aggie said to Kyle, "and now you're just a sapper, and when you get to the Wall, you still have to listen to the overseer, understand?"
Kyle had nothing to say, indeed, he was demoted to the rank of sapper, and when he got to the Wall, he had no say at all.
"Is the overseer of the Great Wall good-tempered?" Locke asked Aggie.
"They," Aggie looked up at the sky, as if thinking, "their mood, like the weather, is sometimes good and sometimes bad. β
"Why?"
"They're on the Great Wall, but they're leaders!" said Aggie pretendly, "but I have to be exposed to the wind and sun with the coolies every day, and the income is not high, so of course I will be in a bad mood!"
"It feels like a prison," Kyle sighed as he listened.
"Little Locke, if you can have a good relationship with the overseer, the next days won't be so hard!" Aggie said to Locke jokingly.
Locke smiled slightly, he seemed to have thought of a good way to "get along" with the overseers.
"And shall we have a chance to walk outside the Wall?" Locke continued, "There is always a break from hard work, right?"
"Think beautiful!" Aji immediately poured a basin of cold water, "Unless the Great Wall is repaired, all the sappers will eat, drink, and Lazar on it, and it will be impossible for you to go out!"
Locke and Kyle looked at each other, and it seemed that their plan to return to Kailin would be greatly hindered.
"Butβ" Aggie pondered again.
"But what?" Kyle asked quickly.
"Again, if you can get on good terms with the overseer, then anything is possible!" said Aggie confidently.
"Aji, when will the Great Wall be repaired?"
"I don't know, see for yourself," Aggie pointed to the Great Wall in the south, and all three of them looked at it, "Even if it's tall enough, it's not long enough, it's going to surround the entire Ace Empire!"
"That's crazy!" Kyle was furious, "when is that going to be fixed!"
"Then you don't have to worry," Aggie hurriedly explained, "Commander Ryan told me that you can come back after the Century Conference next year. β
Kyle remembered what Commander Ryan had said during the morning verdict, and it was.
The three of them chatted about the situation of the Great Wall all the way, and the distance became shorter, and soon, they arrived at the foot of the Great Wall.
"Here's for you. Aji threw two wooden signs, "This is your job number, when you get to the Great Wall, no one will ask your name, it's all numbers, remember to hang it on your chest." β
Kyle and Locke catch the sign, which has the numbers "10001" and "10002" engraved on it.
"Are there more than 10,000 people on this Great Wall now?" Kyle asked Aggie as he looked at the sign.
"No, that's the total number of people in the 15 years since the Great Wall was built. β
"Then why mark it like that?" Kyle grumbled, "It's such a long number, it's a lot of trouble. β
"Little knight," Aggie leaned closer and said coldly, "They want to count how many people died in the construction of the Great Wall!"
Kyle shuddered as he listened to Aggie's words. This behemoth in front of you turned out to be the graves of tens of thousands of sappers!
"Alright, let's go up!" Aggie retracted his horse and said to Kyle and Locke, "The stairs are high, be careful not to fall, no one will come here to meet you!"
"Thank you, Aggie. Locke looked at Aggie and said gratefully.
"Don't thank me, I also collect money to do things. Aggie gave Locke a look, "Remember, money can make a ghost!
With a strange scream, Aggie led his horse and ran in the direction of Varange.
Kyle and Locke looked at Aggie in the distance, and then looked up at the Great Wall with no top in sight.
"Let's go, Locke," Kyle stepped up the stairs first, "I haven't seen it yet!"
"Kyle, did you bring any money?" Locke asked Kyle as he climbed the stairs.
"No," Kyle replied disapprovingly, "there's no market up there." β
"But we can use it. Locke said confidently.
"What?" Kyle turned to look at Locke, he didn't understand what the imp meant.
Aggie said that money can make ghosts grind. β
"Just listen to what he says!" Kyle turned back and continued to crawl, "You know, he's a failed promotion." β
"No, he's a nice guy, he won't lie to me. Locke completely disagrees with Kyle's statement, and it seems that he wants to clear Aggie's name.
"What's the matter, did he say anything when he sent you to Valanger?"
"Hmm," Locke pretended to be mysterious, "I'll tell you later." β
...
Finally, with all their might, Kyle and Locke climbed to the top of the Wall.
The wind was strong on the high Great Wall, which made the sweaty two feel very cool, and they couldn't help but open their arms to embrace the cool wind.
"Hey, what are you doing there!"
Before the two of them could enjoy enough, they were startled by a stern reprimand.
A shirtless man with a small iron kettle hanging from his waist walked up to them. He doesn't have a sign around his neck, so he should be an overseer.
"We are..."
"I know," the Overseer snapped Kyle's words, "you're Valanger's relegated sappers and you've been assigned to my ranks. β
It seems that Valange's side has explained the situation to him.
"Don't give me nonsense, hang up your signs, take off your clothes and go to work!"
"Is it okay not to take off your clothes, sir," Locke asked politely, smiling.
"Lock!" Kyle shouted softly, motioning for Locke to shut up.
"Stinky boy, do you want to taste what it's like to be beaten?"
The overseer shook the rattan to the ground, and the crisp voice of the rattan seemed to warn them that the overseer's words were sacrosanct.
"No, I have important things in my clothes, so I can't just leave them around. Locke took out a silver coin from his clothes and shook it in front of him, "If these things are stolen by someone else, what will I give to my lord?"
"Locke, you're crazy!" Kyle kept winkling at the sidelines, telling the imp not to be so unscrupulous.
The overseer was stunned when he saw the silver coin, he didn't expect this young boy to be so rich, and he was overwhelmed by this sudden wealth.
"You... You're dressedβ" The overseer's tone softened a lot, "You don't look like someone who can move bricks, I have a suitable job for you!"
Kyle was also confused when he heard the overseer's words. He didn't expect that Aji's wise words would also be applicable on the Great Wall.
"What about you," the Overseer looked at Kyle with a dodgy look in his eyes, "what about you... Is there anything... Something valuable?"
Kyle was embarrassed to be asked. He understood what the overseer meant. However, when he left Valango in the morning, he had no idea that money was still useful on the Wall.
"Iβ" Kyle touched his body, not knowing how to respond.
"Get off and get to work!" the Overseer understood what Kyle meant, and his tone instantly became impatient.
"All his valuables are with me, sir. Locke pulled out another silver coin.
The Overseer was stunned by this, and his eyes were shining with silver coins.
"Now can he do the right job with me, sir?" Locke deliberately shook the two silver coins in his hand, they were as seductive as the girls in the Red Pavilion.
"Exactly... There are still two people missing from the logistics and sentinels on the Great Wall, and you are more suitable. The Overseer was completely captivated by the magic of the silver coins, "Follow me!"
Kyle turned his head to look at Locke, who was holding the silver coin and smirked smugly. It's not an exaggeration to say that others are big ghosts.
They followed the overseer, walking along the way, taking in their surroundings along the way.
It has to be said that the top of the Great Wall is much wider than the wall of the Valange, almost like a slender square, with some small sheds and small thatched huts next to it, which should be a resting place for the sappers.
"Is there no one here, sir?" Locke looked around, as if he didn't see anyone.
"It's all built here, what do you want people to do!" the overseer's tone returned to coldness, "My team is very efficient!"
Neither Locke nor Kyle spoke again, knowing in their hearts that this was a fake overseer, but money could put him down.
"No," said the overseer, pausing and pointing ahead, "the battlements ahead haven't been built yet, they're all there." β
Kyle and Rock looked ahead, a dozen shirtless, sweaty men busibling about them.
They mixed several different colors of earth and powder on the ground, poured the juice of the mashed branches, stirred vigorously, rubbed the unrepaired buttress openings, and superimposed a feldspar. And so on and so forth.
"Yo, isn't this Kyle!" The sapper who was working saw Kyle behind him, and hurriedly greeted happily, "You little knight, what are you doing here?"
"He's a sapper like you now!" the overseer said in a fierce tone, "all work hard, and you don't have to stay here when you're done." β
"How can the Great Wall be repaired!" After listening to the words of the overseer, some people didn't seem to appreciate it, "There is still a section of repair, only those who come up, and no one has ever gone down!"
"Don't talk too much if you want to live!" the overseer seemed enraged, pumping the ground with his rattan, "Give me a good job!"
"Cut..."
Although there was dissatisfaction, everyone still began to bury their heads in hard work.
"Work here is regular, every day at sunset and sunrise starts," the overseer said, turning to Kyle and Locke, "I'm going to count the number by number plate." You can't leave the Great Wall without permission, understand?"
"Sir, you haven't said what we need to do. Locke didn't answer the overseer's words, and just threw out his own question.
The overseer suppressed his anger, because no one on this section of the Great Wall dared to ignore what he said, but now, this imp was challenging his authority...
"I'll take you there now..."Seeing that the silver coin was still in Locke's hand, the overseer took a deep breath to control his emotions, "There are no guardrails ahead, you need to be careful!"