## Chapter 930 – How Long Has It Been?

I raced Elise as if we were in a competition, and we arrived at the excavation site in no time. The dungeon excavation was in full swing.

ㅡThwack!
ㅡThwack!
ㅡThwack!

“Oooooooooh!!!”
“Uooooooooh!!”
“Verde-ssiiiiiiii!!!”

Middle-aged and older muscle-bound paladins with their shirts off were powerfully shoveling. A blue light shone from their eyes, making it seem as if they were crushing the flesh of a giant demon rather than digging into the earth.

These guys are overflowing with energy.

Of course, besides the paladins, other laborers and scholars were also pulling carts or moving equipment. Were the laborers hired separately? Well, you need general laborers for construction.

ㅡThud!
ㅡThud!

On the other side, ascetic warriors and paladins from the Church of the Savior were wielding pickaxes. Religious people working together on manual labor? It somehow felt sacred.

ㅡFlap flap flap!

More than anything, the momentum of the dirt flying around was quite considerable.

Whatever the case, the paladins here were all but superhumans. Thanks to that, the excavation work seemed to be progressing very smoothly.

“…”

But.

“Saint?”

It doesn’t quite meet my standards.

This.

Shoveling.

“I need to show them the essence.”
“The essence… you mean?”
“Watch closely, Elise.”

The inhumane, large-scale construction schedule had turned our squad members into one-man armies, and the painful experience and skills from that time still remained in my grasp.

“I’ll show you the `real` thing.”
“The real thing… what is it?”
“You’ll see. Ah, turn around so I can take off my armor.”
“T-take off your armor…? A-alright!”

Elise turned around, and I immediately took off my armor.

ㅡClang.

Just take off everything except the pants and shoes. So, I took off the armor, including the top, and placed it in a suitable spot.

“Let’s go.”
“Ah… yes!”

ㅡThump thump.

I confidently walked onto the site, `releasing` my presence.

“Walk confidently anywhere.”

First, I’ll start by greeting them.

“S-Saint, what are you…”

I gave Elise, who was following me, a smile, and then.

ㅡWham!!!

I immediately used the Heavenly Demon’s Descent to soar high into the air, and then.

ㅡBoom!!!

I landed on the site like a meteor.

“Huh?”
“That young man is the one who came to support us…”
“A paladin, is it? Hooh? An extremely trained body… that’s a warrior’s physique.”

ㅡTzzzz!

Then, all the paladins around me, overflowing with blue light, stopped shoveling and looked at me at once. It seemed they were curious about my flashy entrance.

In that case!!!

“Greetings, members of the Holy Exploration Team!!! I’m Kim Kat, the paladin directly under the Saintess of the Bronze Celestial Angel Order!!!! It’s an honor to meet you!!!”

I immediately bowed 90 degrees!!

Good! These are the guys I’ll be working with until I explore the dungeon! I need to make a good first impression!

Whatever the case, adults value loud voices and politeness, and that tendency is amplified in an organization like the military. And if it’s a religious group? Then this kind of attitude is the best.

“I’m here to help!!! Tell me to do anything!!!! I’m confident in my shoveling!!!”

I shouted as if squeezing out my soul, and there was an immediate reaction.

“Ooh! He’s young, so he’s full of enthusiasm!!!”
“We’d be more than happy to have your help!!”
“He’s very polite!”

ㅡThwack!

The paladins, each sticking their shovels into the ground, gathered in groups of three or five and approached me.

“Since I’m here to help, I want to start right away without delay! What should I do? I’m a soldier who’s very good at following orders! I don’t have any knowledge about excavation, so please tell me where to dig!!!”

ㅡKuaaaaaaaaah!!!

I grabbed the shovel and roared, holding it high!

“Hahaha! Good! A very good attitude!”
“He’s full of energy!!!”
“That’s youth for you! When you’re young, you can’t help but be full of energy!!”

The muscular old men laughed cheerfully and shared their opinions about youth. No, for someone who looks like they could crush ordinary young people with their bare hands to say that?

“Kim Kat Paladin, was it! Here! Dig around this area!!”

An old knight with his long hair tied back pointed to a spot and said.

“Yes, yes! That seems like a good spot!”
“A young friend should use his strength!!”

So I should dig there?

“How deep should I dig!!”
“As deep as possible! Just dig very deep!!”
“Alright!!”

I guess I should shovel the dirt over there.

“Show us your skills, Paladin!”
“Show us the power of youth!”
“I used to be full of energy when I was young!”

I was getting support from muscular old men who seemed to have more energy than most young people, so I felt a bit uneasy, but it would be rude to think that.

“Understood!!”

I immediately went to the spot they pointed out and stomped on the ground.

Good…!
I’ll show you my true skills!!

ㅡGrip!!

I poured my mana into the shovel I grabbed.

ㅡPatzztzzzt!!

Then, an intense blue aura went up the handle and settled on the shovel blade. An extremely refined sword energy, no. Shovel energy.

“Heavenly Demon Shoveling—!!!!!!”

And so, I held the aura-infused shovel high. Filled with anger and hatred. And with intense loathing and the desire for destruction, I slammed it into the ground like a meteor!!!

“Dejaaaaaaaaaaaatㅡ!!!!!!!!”

ㅡThwack!!!!!!

A fierce explosion.

The moment the shovel blade touched the earth, a huge amount of dust and soil flew up.

“Oooooh!”
“Such momentum!!”
“An amazing amount of power!!!”

I briefly heard those voices through the dust, but as always, my attack never ends with a single strike. The essence of the Bureaucrat Sword Style was the infinitely continuous series of attacks.

And the earth.

It’s an opponent that doesn’t resist.
In that case, the continuous attacks are also infinite.

ㅡThwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack!!!!!!

That’s how I ravaged the `land`.

I unleashed an infinite number of destructive strikes, putting all my power into each one. This was the essence of shoveling.

ㅡThud!!!
ㅡThud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!!!

Dirt flying everywhere like crazy. The ground being mercilessly smashed. And the surface disappearing. At this moment, I was a kind of inhuman earthworm. No, a mole. No excavator could be stronger than me.

“Kieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!!”

The shovel, wrapped in sword energy, dug into the ground with truly destructive momentum, and in just a few seconds, a crazy pit began to form. A pit? No!!! This is a crater!!!!!!!!!

ㅡSssssssst!!

I felt myself sinking deeper and deeper underground… I shoveled in a trance, and when I finally came to my senses.

“Ah.”

I was inside a deep pit.
I was inside the crater I had created.

I had dug this much in an instant.

When I looked up, I could see the blue sky.

“What a beautiful sky.”

Like Icarus longing for the sun, I lightly jumped out of the pit. As soon as I got out, I saw a group of paladins staring at me with blank faces.

“Kim Kat Magic.”

As soon as I declared that.

“O-Oooooooooh!!!!!”
“Such amazing shoveling…!”
“Wow! This is quite something, quite something!!”

The paladins clapped while admiring.
This is my true skill.

Superhuman strength. And a shovel wrapped in aura combined with that. I wasn’t that tired, but this was very dramatic power.

“S-such power!!! Amazing, Saint!! Truly unbelievable power!!!”

Elise’s eyes sparkled as she raised her fist. It had been over a year since I had parted ways with Elise, and I had become extremely strong during that time.

I wouldn’t have been able to pull off such a feat before.

But, I have grown.

“To become so strong…! I’m so moved that I feel like I’m going to cry!!!”
“Just don’t actually cry.”

Elise was genuinely moved by my growth.

In that case.

I need to show her more.

“Where should I dig next!!!”

I shouted at the paladins.

“Wait a minute…!”

At that moment, a paladin who seemed to be the foreman approached. He briefly examined the pit I had dug, then pointed to a location with his hand.

“Paladin! Dig around this area to the same depth!! Amazing! We might be able to excavate the dungeon today!”

Around this area to the same depth?

“Leave it to me!!!”

It’s nothing for the Heavenly Demon Kim Kat.

“Nogada Heavenly Demon Dejaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!!”

And so, I spent several hours shoveling, tearing up the area. Shouting, screaming, and occasionally accompanying it with bizarre jump shots, literally grinding the surface and the earth.

Fighting against the ground was easier than fighting against other monsters.

While I was diligently excavating, I discovered something strange.

“What is this?”

ㅡThud.

At some point, I felt something different from dirt at the end of the shovel.

It was a kind of rock.
I immediately called the paladins.

“T-this is…!”

The paladins, who had hurriedly dived into the pit, shouted excitedly.

“It’s the roof!! The roof of the sunken dungeon!!”
“The roof has been discovered!!!”
“It’s this way! We found the roof!!!”

The roof?

You mean there’s a roof under here?

“It’s the roof of the buried dungeon! The Paladin did it!!”
“Ooh! Is that so!”

Anyway, I immediately went up to the surface, and other paladins and scholars went down to the bottom of the crater I had dug for verification.

A short analysis followed.

“It seems to be the roof of an ancient building!!!”

The conclusion was reached.

“This guy!! Our Paladin is perfect for the Holy Exploration Team!!”
“Hahaha! He’s a natural! A natural!!”
“I’d believe you if you said he was a ground-digging magician! Such speed…! He did alone what we’ve been doing for almost three days!!!”

Then the paladins patted me on the back, laughing cheerfully as if they were overflowing with joy.

“Hehehe! It’s nothing! I’m lucky it was discovered!!!”

I laughed with them as well.

“As expected of the Saint…! That conspicuous divinity and power wherever you go!!! As soon as the Saint came, we discovered a clue to the dungeon!!!”

Elise shouted, putting her hands together near her chest as if she was moved once again.

“Hehehehahahahahaha!!! Did you see that, Elise! I have become stronger!! I mean, I have obtained power!!! I have become stronger by hunting heretics and slaughtering demons!!!”

I also shouted, spewing out my joy.
This means I have drastically shortened the working time.

It’s a very big contribution.

“Let’s start the remaining work!”
“Ooh!!”
“Let’s go!!”

The paladins carried out the remaining work, focusing on the area I had dug.

“Elise! You too, grab a shovel! Quickly grab a shovel and dig into the ground!! With me!!!”
“Understood!!!”

Elise, burning with enthusiasm, grabbed a shovel and stood next to me, venting her hatred towards the earth.

“Aizermart!!!”
“Yes! That’s it!! Think of this ground as a heretic! Shout! Dejaaaaaaaaaat!!”
“Huh? Huh? S-Saint?!”
“Shout! Dejaaaaaaaaaat!!!”
“T-that shout doesn’t seem to change at all!”
“Quickly!!”
“D-dejaaaaat…!”

Elise, her face red, let out a shout.

As expected, a shout suits Elise.

ㅡWham!

But Elise, who had only shouted that Bureaucrat Shout once, concentrated on shoveling as if she was refusing to shout any more.

ㅡThud!

It was like hammering in a pile driver.

She started shoveling like crazy, but she wasn’t very skilled. Still, it’s admirable to see her doing it.

Yeah… Elise.
You’ve grown.

ㅡSwish!

I noticed her long hair flying around as she shoveled.
Long hair suits her too.

And so, we continued the excavation work.

At this rate, we might be able to enter the building submerged under here by tomorrow.