Around noon, Levi found Knight Si Kai in the rchant caravan’s camp, grooming his warhorse and preparing to depart.
"Knight Si Kai, I need you to deliver this letter to Miss Liya. Please give the Duke my regards as well."
Si Kai took the wax-sealed envelope and solemnly tucked it inside his tunic.
"Rest assured, Lord. I will see that it is delivered."
Levi nodded.
He would rather entrust the letter to Si Kai than to Miriel, precisely because the middle-aged knight possessed a true knightly spirit.
Levi had always been a good judge of character. This was the kind of man who valued his creed and honor more than his own life; he would never stoop to secretly reading the letter.
’Not that I’m afraid of anyone reading it, of course.’
’Lord Li has always been upright and honorable, open and aboveboard his entire life!’
With his hands clasped behind his back, the Lord watched the rchant caravan depart. A cool breeze blew, and he felt a strange sense of emptiness, shaking his head to dispel the fleeting sentint.
The departure of Muto and the rchant caravan had certainly diminished so of the life and bustle in High Cliff Castle.
But within a few days, more smoke and fire began to rise over High Cliff Castle.
Slaves served as laborers under the direction of the Feder Craftsn, erecting one earthen blast furnace after another not far from the Bengyong River.
Under the persuasive influence of the Lord’s three-finger-thick Cowhide Whip, the two Wendigo Beasts beca much more cooperative, beginning to haul mined iron ore from the Feder Tribe to High Cliff Castle.
These two Giant Beasts stood two and a half ters tall at the shoulder, weighed over a thousand pounds, and possessed incredible stamina, making them perfect for hauling cargo.
A single Wendigo Beast could pull a wagon piled high with iron ore, consuming only ten bundles of ryegrass per hundred kiloters.
And such lush green grass grew everywhere in the Wilderness.
The most experienced Blacksmith in the Feder Tribe was a man nad An Zhi. The mont the Lord laid eyes on him, he was certain the man would get along well with Dwarf Blacksmiths.
He was a short old man with white hair and a full beard. Whether from his long years of smithing or not, his fra was stout and densely muscled.
If the Lord hadn’t asked if he was a Dwarf—a question that angered the old man so much he nearly produced his family tree—no one would have doubted he had Dwarf blood in him.
The na, however, reminded the Lord of the Dwarf nad Migen. ’Speaking of which, I still owe him six hundred Gold Coins.’
Since the Feder Tribe and the Evil Fang Tribe had joined him, they had voluntarily presented their wealth, causing the Lord’s personal coffers to swell once more to over two thousand Gold Coins.
But Levi had no intention of repaying the debt imdiately. ’After all, the contract gives a year, which ans soti next July or August.’
’Six hundred Gold Coins now is worth far more to than six hundred Gold Coins next year.’
An Zhi poured the prepared charcoal into the blast furnace, added iron ore in the correct proportions, and then removed the separated dross. He repeated this process again and again.
This continued until only irregular, variously sized chunks of crude iron remained. Finally, these chunks were lted down into molten iron and cast into palm-sized, trapezoidal ingots.
Once cooled, they were stacked in neat rows. These ingots could then be used directly, whether for forging weapons or Armor.
To further improve the quality of the iron, the carbon content would need to be reduced. Through additional refinent, it could be made into steel.
And weapons forged from Fine Steel were highly sought-after goods anywhere on the Middle Ages Continent.
Zat squatted on the ground like a curious bear, watching the ingots slowly cool. He scratched his bald head, unable to comprehend how rock-like iron ore could turn into bars of iron just by being burned in a fire.
Truthfully, he had co over specifically hoping to secretly learn the craft. After all, the Beastn lacked Blacksmiths, and he believed that with their intelligence and eagerness to learn, they could beco just as good at forging weapons as those potato-shaped Dwarves.
"Stop staring. You’re only suited for swinging a hamr."
Levi couldn’t stand the look of limpid stupidity in his eyes.
However, it did give Levi an idea. ’In a world with such backward technology, things like blacksmithing rely entirely on manpower.’
’Therefore, a powerfully built man is naturally suited for the forge.’
’Although these Federation People are skilled smiths, and are considered burly for humans, they really can’t compare to other races like Beastn or Trolls.’
’High Cliff Castle’s smithing industry is booming now. All it needs are so employees willing to work around the clock.’
The Lord was actually considering whether he should go capture a few Trolls or Ogres specifically to swing the sledgehamrs.
’After all, it would be a real sha to let such hulking brutes go to waste. They’re perfect for smithing.’
But all that would have to wait a few days. Right now, Levi had sothing more important to verify.
Several experienced Feder Blacksmiths led their Apprentices, setting up a row of anvils and beginning to forge the iron ingots into weapons.
That brute Zat also joined in, grabbing a smithing hamr. The Iron Hamr, which looked quite large in the hands of a Federation Person, appeared as comically small in his grip as a water bottle in O’Neal’s hand.
Levi bought a Double-Bladed Axe from his system—the one specifically used by the Tier Five Beastman Giant Axe Guards—and instructed the Blacksmiths to forge a weapon as similar to it as possible.
He was conducting a simple experint.
Soldiers from the system all ca with standard-issue equipnt. For example, the Tier Four Soldier had its Warhamr, while the Tier Five Giant Axe Guard had its Double-Bladed War Axe, Horned Iron Helt, and Iron Armor.
This equipnt could always be purchased from the system’s store.
But his military budget had been so tight before that the Lord had to stretch every coin as far as it would go. As a result, he had never once fully equipped his Beastn with a complete set of standard-issue gear from the system.
The Beastman Guard Team had always used weapons purchased from the Migen Weapon Shop in Bailiu City, and even the Stitched Armor they wore was pieced together from individual parts the Lord had bought.
So far, this approach didn’t seem to have any negative effects; every ti the Beastman Barbarians advanced a tier, their power still increased significantly.
But Levi wanted to know if there was a real purpose behind the system providing different standard-issue equipnt for soldiers at each stage.
In other words, was there a difference between having the Barbarians use equipnt from the system versus equipnt he had crafted in the real world? Would the standard-issue system gear provide a greater boost to their power?
The Feder Blacksmiths were all highly experienced. The mont they handled the Double-Bladed War Axe Levi had bought from the system, they were full of praise, declaring that the weapon was undoubtedly the work of a master craftsman.
Everything from its weight and form to the exquisite patterns etched upon it was simply perfect.
"Lord, we can’t guarantee we can forge a weapon comparable to this one. We can only try our best to minimize the difference."
the Feder Blacksmith finally said with great regret.
"It’s fine. Just do your best," Levi reassured him. "The most important things are the weight and the shape; there’s no need to worry about the decorative patterns at all."
He had never expected the Blacksmiths to forge a weapon identical to one from the system anyway.
’The system’s weapons were expensive, but their quality was undeniable. You truly got what you paid for.’
User Comments
0 comments from readers