Chapter 156: Irrigation system (2/2)

”Two of them will by the border of the current housing district,” Layn pointed at a small box and two lines that run parallel to it. ”The first one will end up spilling through the smaller canals to the south. We will use those canals to water the fields we will prepare there,” Layn continued his explanation as he pointed his stick at various parts of the picture.

”If we are already bringing up a single line there, what's the point for making another canal right beside?” Al asked, looking all puzzled. ”Wouldn't it be easier to just make a single canal… but wider?” he asked, proving that he at least had the basic idea of what the construction of canals was all about.

”While the southern line will be used to water the fields, we will use the norther one to create the reservoir past the fields,” Layn continued his lecture, explaining every piece of his carving to the people despite it being just a makeshift picture he drew to help himself formulate the plan in the first place. ”As for the line going east right off the bat, we will use it to create another massive field, boxing the camp between those two crops-focused areas,” Layn said before lowering his head and spitting. An unwise action with how dry his throat already became.

”Wouldn't that make it hard to fortify this position?” Al asked, looking up at Layn with concern in his eyes.

”We are out in the desert. To a point, this camp is at the very heartland of both deserts, be it the sandy or the grassy one,” Layn pointed out before yawning. ”If someone is determined and skilled enough to pass through either of the deserts, no matter the fortifications, they won't pose any challenge to them,” Layn countered without as much as a second thought.

Those came later.

”Wait, you might actually be right,” Layn suddenly admitted, as if it was the most natural thing for him to do. ”Now that we can't know for sure whether the monsters will continue to roam the land, we cannot take our detachment-born safety for granted,” he said in a harsh voice. 'How could I fail to notice it?' Layn asked himself, feeling as if all the memories from his journey back to the camp flooded his mind at once.

Ever since he was blown away by that Overlord of Origin in its dying moments, Layn didn't encounter a single monster. His first time to see a single monster again only happened when he went into the sphere of influence of another monster.

'Did the monsters migrate? Did they change their patterns? Or maybe they all disappeared along with the Overlord's death?' Layn posed yet another series of questions before tightening his fists. The aura of powerlessness spilled all over his soul.

In a single instant, his joyous mood turned sour.

'If the lack of monsters is something really triggered by the demise of the Overlord, some sort of fortifications will be of utmost importance,' Layn thought, noticing his single flawed detail about his plans.

All of them included the presence of the monsters roaming the desert as a deterrent factor. Be it for the opponents or candidates to Layn's academy, a march through hell accompanied by those demonic creatures would be a fitting trial to anyone wishing to challenge the gates of Layn's academy.

Be it to graduate or to claim its riches and knowledge for one's own.

”Now that I thought about it, you are fully right,” Layn once again admitted to his mistake before scrapping the entire picture with a few swift strokes of his stick. ”Let's do it all over again, but this time with defenses in mind,” Layn muttered to the public all over him while, in fact, using those words to encourage himself.

Layn simply sat down on a small hill and carved out doodles directly in the ground in the next few moments. But what could look like a random set of lines and dots for a stranger was actually a detailed plan on what would become the foundation of Layn's academy and, later, maybe even a city.

”We will start from three points. First two arteries, we will cross to enclose the area as big as ten of our current camps,” Layn said, once again pointing his stick down at the carving he made. ”Between two massive canals and the lake itself, we will be surrounded with water. Once we add some ramparts, ditches, and traps, the camp will become virtually unsiegable. The problem is….” Layn suddenly stopped his lecture as if a sudden question appeared in his mind.

But what Layn decided to keep silent about, Al voiced out without any fucks given, ”Unsiegable? And who would wish to siege it in the first place?”