The Greatest Estate Developer - Chapter 53: Strength in Unity (3)

“Master Lloyd!”

“What should I do to help?”

“My lord! Please give me a task!”

“I’ve brought all the tools I have—shovels, pickaxes, everything!”

“I brought my sons with me!”

“We came as a couple!”

“We’re here too, squeak!”

The chatter and clamor were deafening.

It was early morning, a time that would normally be quiet and peaceful—a moment to prepare for the day amidst the crisp early autumn mist, stretch out stiff bodies, and wash faces.

But today was different.

The space in front of the Baron’s mansion was bustling with activity.

Hundreds of farmers had gathered, each holding up shovels, pickaxes, and other tools, shouting with all their might.

At first glance, it might have looked like an uprising that would drain the color from any noble’s face.

But it wasn’t a rebellion.

These were farmers who had gathered to volunteer for the construction effort.

Through the office window, Baron Frontera watched the scene unfold, utterly dumbfounded.

“Did you anticipate this?”

“Hmm, to be honest, not to this extent,” Lloyd replied with a wry smile.

It was true.

He had not expected the proclamation issued the previous evening to have such an overwhelming impact.

Lloyd had merely suggested that the Baron transparently inform the residents about Viscount Lacona’s vile deeds and the extortionate demands he made.

But the Baron’s skill with words far exceeded expectations.

To put it bluntly, the Baron had a gift for literature.

What was supposed to be a simple proclamation had turned out to be unexpectedly moving.

As one read it, their heart raced. Their fists clenched with righteous anger. Tears welled up.

Even Lloyd, a man hardened by life’s trials and cynicism, had felt moved.

For the pure-hearted farmers, the proclamation’s impact had been explosive.

‘The Baron might have been born in the wrong era or the wrong world.’

Lloyd briefly wondered how things might have turned out if the Baron had been born in modern-day South Korea—perhaps as a popular novelist on a platform like Naver.

Shaking off these idle thoughts, Lloyd spoke up.

“Anyway, since the proclamation worked better than expected, we can proceed with the work more smoothly.”

“You mean the plan we discussed yesterday?”

“Yes, the construction of a temporary reservoir. I’d like to begin immediately.”

The residents’ anger toward the Viscount had united them, creating a perfect opportunity that couldn’t be wasted.

Lloyd quickly exited the Baron’s office and stepped outside to address the gathered residents.

He didn’t give a grand speech or use flowery rhetoric.

Instead, he simply acted—lifting a steel shovel high above his head.

The gesture was clear: let’s begin the work together!

“Hurrah!”

“Woo-hoo! Squeak!”

Human farmers and orc miners alike raised their tools in unison and marched across the estate, following Lloyd.

They arrived at a site that Lloyd had already surveyed and designed the previous night.

There, Lloyd summoned Ppodong.

He fed the creature a red sunflower seed.

“Alright, Ppodong?”

“Ppodong?”

“Time to eat!”

“Ppododong!”

With a loud bang, Ppodong grew to a massive 10-meter size after consuming the seed.

The arrival of the dependable, heavy-duty summoning creature was met with cheers from the residents.

Amidst the excitement, Ppodong began digging.

“Ppododododong!”

With its enormous, chubby body swaying and its oversized front paws moving like the wind, dirt flew into the air in explosive bursts.

After about 30 minutes of digging, what had once been an empty field was transformed into a rectangular pit 50 meters wide, 100 meters long, and 2.5 meters deep—a space resembling a swimming pool.

Lloyd issued the next set of instructions.

“Okay, Engineering Corps Unit 1, refine the pit Ppodong dug. Smooth out the surfaces, make the corners sharp, and get to work!”

“Got it!”

The engineers enthusiastically stripped off their shirts and leapt into the pit.

Lloyd turned his attention to the gathered residents.

“Now, Engineering Corps Unit 2 and everyone else, gather flat stones and bring them here. The larger and flatter, the better. Like this one—see? Stones like this are perfect. But don’t overdo it; we don’t want anyone getting hurt!”

“Yes, sir!”

The residents sprang into action.

Old farmers, young woodcutters, shepherd boys, and huntresses all spread out across the estate to collect stones.

Some brought large, table-sized rocks; others carried smaller, hand-sized stones in bundles. Even todderls and children joined in, clutching pebbles in their tiny hands as they followed their parents.

Lloyd worked alongside them, gathering and transporting stones himself.

After a couple of hours, a substantial pile of stones had accumulated beside the rectangular pit.

“Good. Engineering Corps Units 1 and 2, and all residents, take a break. Engineering Corps Unit 3 and the plastering team, move the stones into the pit and line the bottom and walls. Get to it!”

“Understood!”

Unit 3 and the plastering team got to work, laying the flat stones inside the pit and plastering them as if they were tiling a pool.

The work wasn’t done haphazardly.

“Hey! That spot’s too high! Lower it! Keep the slope consistent!”

The reservoir needed to hold drinking water for everyone, so drainage was crucial for hygiene.

The bottom of the pit was carefully sloped to allow water to flow out. A proper drain was also installed on one side of the reservoir.

‘Standing water breeds bacteria and algae—it’s not just a saying. It’s a fact.’

This attention to drainage was vital for preventing diseases caused by stagnant water.

“Alright, orcs! Time to install the drainage boulder!”

“We’ve been waiting for this moment! Squeak!”

The orcs eagerly carried a boulder the size of an elevator to the reservoir’s drain and placed it with a loud thud.

The boulder fit the drain perfectly, acting as a cork to hold the water in place. When it was time to release the water, the orcs could easily remove the boulder.

And with that, the 50×100-meter reservoir was complete.

The entire process, from morning to midday, had taken only half a day.

‘Wow. The construction speed is unreal.’

As the residents cheered, Lloyd marveled at the progress.

But his work wasn’t done yet.

Now that the reservoir was built, it needed to be filled with water.

“Alright, everyone, stand back from the reservoir. Hamang’s about to work, and I don’t want anyone getting squashed. Javier?”

“Yes.”

“You’re coming with me to fetch water. Get the horses ready.”

“Understood.”

Lloyd and Javier mounted a horse and rode south, following the Frona River, past the Marez reclaimed land, and beyond Viscount Lacona’s territory, until they reached the unpolluted upper reaches of the river.

There, Lloyd released Hamang.

“Alright, Hamang. You know what to do, right?”

“Hamang! Huff huff huff!”

The moment Hamang saw the clear river, its eyes sparkled, and its hips wiggled excitedly like a dog about to be taken on a long-awaited walk.

Lloyd grinned and gave the signal.

“Go for it—one big gulp!”

“Hamang!”

With a splash, Hamang leapt into the river.

Instead of being swept away, the little creature began sucking in water, and the river’s surface visibly receded.

“Hamamamamaang!”

Shwoooosh!

Hamang unleashed a torrent of suction, slurping up the river water with hurricane-like force. The creature grew larger in real-time, surpassing its previous maximum size of 50 meters and swelling to an impressive 60 meters.

‘Good. Hamang’s “One-Shot” skill has leveled up thanks to the Marez reclamation project.’

Hamang’s “One-Shot” skill had advanced to level 3, climbing two levels. Its capacity had nearly doubled, allowing it to hold far more water than before.

“All right, let’s go! Yah!”

Lloyd tapped Javier’s shoulder from the front saddle, prompting him to spur the horse forward.

The horse whinnied and galloped away, with Hamang rolling along behind them, flattening the terrain beneath its massive body.

“Hama-hama-hamang!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A terrifying sight—a 60-meter water balloon barreling along.

The absurdity of it pushed Javier’s horse to run at full speed, and Lloyd experienced firsthand the painful jarring of his pelvis against the saddle.

At one point, he had a wild urge:
‘I’d love to just charge Hamang straight into the Viscount’s estate.’

Or perhaps to storm the Viscount’s land with the Iron Sand Orc tribe, their sworn allies.

But Lloyd held back.

The villain here was Viscount Lacona, not the innocent residents of his estate. There was no reason to make the common folk suffer. Moreover, such a move would have disastrous repercussions—both legally and financially.

“This way!”

Lloyd grabbed Javier’s shoulder from the rear saddle, guiding him along a route that circled around the Viscount’s estate.

Finally, they returned safely to their own territory, greeted by the cheers of the Frontera residents.

When Hamang released its load, filling the temporary reservoir in a single go and even causing water to overflow, the cheers turned into a thunderous roar.

For the time being, they now had an ample supply of clean water.

‘Of course, this is just a temporary solution.’

Amidst the enthusiastic crowd, Lloyd kept a calm demeanor. His mind was already calculating the next steps.

‘Thanks to the residents’ participation, we finished the reservoir in a day. That’s great, but it’s not enough. Temporary measures have their limits.’

While the reservoir filled with clean water supplied by Hamang seemed like an effective solution for now, it wasn’t sustainable.

The problem lay in its reliance on both Lloyd and Hamang.

‘Hamang is a summoned creature and only listens to me. No one else can control it. This means I have to stay here and regularly refill the reservoir myself.’

This dependency meant that Lloyd couldn’t leave the estate for more than a few days.

And what if something happened to him or Hamang? If they were unable to refill the reservoir, the residents would be forced back to drinking polluted water, suffering from headaches all over again.

‘That’s why this is only a stopgap measure. We need to start building the water supply system right away.’

Time was not on their side, and there was no reason to delay.

The next day, Lloyd began preparing for the water supply construction.

The first step was surveying.

Together with Javier, Lloyd climbed the Eastern Mountains, their destination clear.

“We’re heading straight to Lake Capua,” Lloyd said as they navigated steep and gentle mountain paths.

Lake Capua, located halfway up the Eastern Mountains, was a pristine alpine lake.

Javier, following behind, tilted his head in curiosity.

“Lake Capua? I have a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“Why Lake Capua specifically?”

“What’s the issue with it?”

“There is one. Have you heard of the King Stoma?”

“Of course. It’s an incredibly strong and ferocious monster, isn’t it?”

“Then you know that Lake Capua is part of the King Stoma’s territory?”

“Yes,” Lloyd nodded, adding, “And I also know that the King Stoma is currently in its dormant phase.”

“Dormant phase?”

“Yeah. It’ll probably stay that way for the next 50 years.”

“How do you know that?”

“The Iron-Blooded Knight told me.”

“…The Iron-Blooded Knight?”

“Yep.”

“And who is that?”

Who else but the protagonist of this story?

Instead of answering, Lloyd simply smiled and recalled a detail from the original novel.

‘It was right after the novel’s version of me died, and Javier had just left the estate.’

At the time, Javier was a wanted man, having slain two loan sharks at the Baron and Baroness’s funeral. Although his actions were later justified, and he was acquitted, he had to flee immediately after Lloyd’s death.

While on the run, Javier had hidden at Lake Capua, safe thanks to the King Stoma being in its dormant phase, a detail he had reflected on in the story.

‘And he spent a month safely evading pursuers there.’

That memory bolstered Lloyd’s confidence.

“Anyway, Lake Capua is the best water source for our system. The perennial melting snow from the peaks ensures a steady water supply year-round. The water quality is excellent, with low turbidity, and the terrain from the lake to the estate is stable and gently sloped.”

Lloyd sat on a rock to rest, wiping sweat from his brow as he surveyed the surrounding terrain. As he had described, the slopes around him were mostly gentle—except for one spot.

Javier pointed to it, his expression curious.

“And what about there? How do you plan to lay the water pipes across that?”

He gestured toward a valley where the terrain abruptly dropped off into a gorge about 80 meters wide, flanked by steep cliffs.

Lloyd’s proposed pipeline route appeared to cut straight across the gorge.

‘A pipeline over that valley? How?’ Javier wondered, doubting the feasibility but not Lloyd’s ingenuity.

Having witnessed Lloyd’s innovative methods countless times—whether building underfloor heating, paved roads, mines, ice storage facilities, or reclaiming the Marez lands—Javier had learned not to dismiss his ideas.

“Do you already have a method in mind?” Javier asked, suspecting Lloyd had a plan.

As expected, Lloyd grinned and replied confidently.

“Of course. I’ll build an aqueduct.”

“An aqueduct?”

“Exactly. A structure to carry the water across the gorge. The siphon principle won’t work here, so we’ll use something better.”

Lloyd’s grin widened as he envisioned the solution—an arch-shaped aqueduct modeled after the brilliant engineering feats of the Roman Empire.