In this era, blacksmithing is a profession that exists in every village, no matter how small it is.
The reason is very simple. Compared with other utensils, ironware has many advantages - and if there is demand, there will definitely be supply.
Wooden agricultural tools are naturally incomparable to iron tools in terms of efficiency and durability. When it comes to hunting, even hard arrows carbonized by fire are far inferior to iron arrows in terms of penetration and lethality—— Even if these are not mentioned, as an ordinary person, if you want to make a fire to cook, a clay pot will be thrown out of the way in front of an iron pot.
First of all, it is heavier, secondly it is fragile, and finally and the most critical issue is that the thermal conductivity of earthenware pots is completely incomparable to that of metal. Using the same campfire to burn a clay pot would take several hours to bring the water to a gentle boil, but switching to an iron pot would only take about ten minutes.
Various demands have made the profession of blacksmith prosperous, and naturally, tasks to meet their needs have emerged.
The camera focuses on the small town of Chester in the Crant Kingdom where we are currently. After a night's rest, Henry and Mira were the first to visit early the next morning. This was the house with a master and five apprentices. The medium-sized blacksmith shop-the two's armors and Mira's sword all need a certain degree of maintenance, and the sage also hopes that the girl can learn something in the process.
Mercenaries who need to maintain weapons and armor are neither uncommon nor common for the blacksmiths in Chester. Although it is not easy to find jobs here, there are still twos and threes of mercenaries passing by here every once in a while.
Some of them want to go to the south and see the vast grasslands; some want to go further and see the legendary Takzenstein Wilderness, and think about it with sadness. Steal a priceless dragon egg in this fabled "land where dragons live", or better yet, discover the legendary treasures of these massive creatures.
Every year, countless ignorant young mercenaries pass through here. Rudolph Smith, the owner of the blacksmith shop who is over 60 years old, has sent away countless young people who have never returned during the 42 years he has been a blacksmith. As a person, the eyesight he has developed from this also allows him to clearly judge whether a mercenary really has a certain level of strength——
In the current case, the answer is obviously yes.
The rusty mail armor was removed from the leather armor base by the apprentices and placed in a huge wooden basin filled with dry fine sand collected from the seaside. Then a huge wooden stick began to stir the entire basin.
This is quite laborious work. The two blacksmith apprentices alternately stirred and let the fine sand polish the mail over and over again. Mira handed her rusty one-handed sword to another apprentice who was older than the two of them. During this time, it had changed from rusty to completely rusty. The apprentice, who was about 1.8 meters tall and in his twenties, frowned and observed the one-handed sword for a while, then picked up a whetstone from the side, then sat down next to the huge water tank and started polishing it.
Mira didn't need Henry to remind her of the techniques for cleaning these rust stains, and she began to observe and learn them seriously. The sage guessed from the bottom of his heart that for the girl from Luo'an, perhaps the injury to her little body was more than the annoyance of her equipment being soiled. self-esteem.
The equipment is worn but there is no method or knowledge to clean it by yourself. Although Henry, as a teacher, is also responsible for this to a certain extent, in the final analysis it is due to her own incompetence.
The cute girl who stared at each other intently and asked questions from time to time added a lively atmosphere to the blacksmith shop that was filled with the smell of sweat, flames and steel. The three blacksmith apprentices who were busy working on the two people's commissions looked at Mira and smiled from time to time. The remaining two people on the other side who were making other items also looked back from time to time.
The blacksmith Rudolf, who is the mentor, and our Mr. Sage naturally saw all this, but compared to these issues, the two started talking in another direction - or negotiating.
"Are you sure? This is an opportunity to waive labor costs. Anyone who is smart will take it." Rudolf, who is about 1.8 meters tall and looks quite tall even though he is over sixty years old, touches his gray hair. The bearded chin said this, to which Henry responded with a noncommittal shrug.
"Alas..." The blacksmith didn't insist anymore. While busy on the other side, the plan he proposed to the sage was to use the inspection and observation of his big sword as the cost of equipment maintenance. A master with more than 40 years of experience could naturally judge Henry at a glance. The special feature of the sword is not to mention the exposed half of the blade. Even the guard and counterweight, which are also made of steel, show no trace of rust.
If he could master this craft, it would be almost certain that he would become famous.
You can't ask for it. Since people don't agree, then you can only give up - the idea of taking it by force was thrown out of the sky without even stopping for a moment. As mentioned before, Rudolph can easily judge the other party. Do you have real strength?
The whole morning was spent chatting and observing and learning. Amidst the sweaty breathing of the two apprentices and Mira's thoughtful expression, the mail armor and long sword quilt became shiny again. Handed it over. At the same time, there are also some tips on maintenance.
Various greases are usually good materials that can keep weapons from rusting so quickly. The most common one is tea tree oil, which is often used to brush on the surface of wood. However, most people cannot or cannot afford to buy them. In the hands of soldiers, the fat dripping from hunted animals is also a good material.
Use a brush made of pig hair and brush it on the outside of metal armor or weapons to achieve maintenance effects. The disadvantage is that it doesn't smell that good, so most mercenaries and adventurers who travel will add crushed mint or plant roots to it to neutralize the smell. Trembling smell - This is not only for your own comfort, but also to avoid attracting carnivorous beasts and monsters due to this food-like smell to a certain extent.
Mira, who learned humbly and politely responded with a big smile and a sincere "thank you", made the blacksmith apprentice who helped her polish the sword feel that her whole body and mind had been healed, and then she When Henry was about to pay and leave, Rudolph thought for a while. Another decision was made.
"The wages are waived. We happen to be going to the swamp for mining, so you can act as guards."
The blacksmith who was over fifty years old said this, and Henry glanced at Mira and nodded.
…
Time passed and it was afternoon.
The iron ore used by the blacksmiths in the Ridela area is not like the magnetite or hematite mined directly from the mountains in Avenella. It is filled with a lot of swamps and soft soil and is inferior in all aspects. Plains and mountains come with comfort and superiority. In addition to life, this is also true in various development resources.
A group of six people set out from the back door of the blacksmith shop in the center of the small town of Chester. The three apprentices were carrying huge rattan baskets, and Rudolf, as the master, was carrying an old wooden stick - Mira and Henry. I didn’t ride a horse because the roads here are more suitable for walking. And the distance is not particularly far.
It took a lot of time to go around left and right before everyone got on the dirt road that could be regarded as a road. This road was very narrow, and Henry could only see the top of the tall reeds on both sides.
The road in the middle was obviously worn away by many years of walking. The road was only as wide as a person. Both sides were blocked by tall reeds. Only the unknown environment could be seen in front and behind. Even in broad daylight, Several people were also a little frightened. After all, there are many large reptiles including humans on the menu around here.
There are more than a dozen species of crocodiles known in the Ridela area. Except for the Deinosuchus that Henry killed last time, there are all kinds of habits and distribution ranges, ranging from more than one meter to seven or eight meters long. Many different other species are also found throughout.
But they are not the most feared. Crocodiles with flat bodies that like to lie on the ground are bulky creatures. Even if some individuals have the ability to sprint, they can only run a short distance by swinging their tails.
Crocodiles are more like ambush hunters than pursuit--so the most dangerous creature to the local humans is not actually them, but the dragon lizard.
Some scholars believe that even if a dragon lizard has the character "dragon" on one side and the character "lizard" on the other, the relationship between it and the dragon or lizard is actually not that close - in comparison. More and more fossil evidence shows that this large reptile that has been misunderstood should actually be regarded as a primitive crocodile.
With longer legs and a taller and thinner body, coupled with scales that are very similar to those of a crocodile, this large reptile can reach up to six meters long and is about as tall as a war horse. Even a brown bear would be defeated when it gallops. , not to mention humans.
With a flexible body, a cunning mind, and a powerful sense of smell, dragon lizards in the swamp are responsible for the disappearance of countless villagers and adventurers every year.
The way to avoid them is very simple, just take a path close to the territory of large crocodiles such as Deinosuchus. The cunning dragon lizard will avoid the territory of larger predators than itself. Although this behavior is often jokingly called "choosing whose table to jump on," it is undeniably very useful.
The entire journey was speechless. Henry took the lead, and Mira stood in the middle. Fragmented footsteps sounded intertwined. The girl tightly held the hilt of her one-handed sword, ready to pull it out at any time. But the sage in front was just strolling around.
The gap between the two can be seen more or less at this point. Even though Henry has taught Mira some knowledge about identifying dangers, the girl who has witnessed these large reptiles several times before is still nervous and sweating.
Fortunately, there were no attacks until the end of this section of the road. The spring breeze blew through the reeds and swayed gently. The surrounding environment was peaceful and peaceful, and it didn't look like a huge dragon lizard was lurking there. Rudolf passed Henry and came to the front. He used his wooden staff to push aside the reeds, and then walked forward.
There are only a few places in the Ridela region where high-quality ore can be mined, and these places are usually occupied by merchants or nobles.
For civilian miners and blacksmiths, the only low-grade ore that is convenient to obtain is limonite.
After a little exploring, Rudolph found some traces on the ground nearby.
"Iron ore is always inseparable from water." The old blacksmith muttered, as if talking to himself. The few people behind him did not answer, and just followed him walking forward on the soft soil.
Rudolf poked and prodded with the old wooden stick in his hand, leading everyone about twenty meters away, and then stopped at a place that looked like a dried up creek bed.
The two sections before and after the river bed were already covered with reeds. The height difference was not particularly large, only less than two meters. But just when the old blacksmith wanted to slide down on the dirt, Henry reached out and grabbed his collar.
"What?" Rudolph stabilized his body and looked back at Henry. The sage raised a hand and pointed at the reeds opposite. Everyone else followed his instructions and saw a dry riverbed more than three meters wide. A small reptile the size of a puppy crawled tremblingly on the opposite embankment.
"You are such a big man, but you are afraid of such a little cub?" Rudolph frowned his golden eyebrows and looked quite dissatisfied, while Henry glanced at him calmly and explained: "Dragon lizards have parenting behaviors. If the baby is there, the mother is probably nearby too.”
"Hiss--" Before he could finish his words, everyone saw the reeds on the opposite side shaking violently, and then a dark green head that was larger than the entire length of the little dragon lizard poked out of it.
"Ugh-" Mira hid behind Henry, and the others wanted to retreat, but the sage stopped them with a steady voice.
"Don't show weakness." He said: "We have an advantage in numbers. It comes out to find cubs, not to hunt. Don't show weakness, but don't do any sudden behavior. As long as you don't stimulate it, it will Leave with the cubs soon.”
The sage's explanation made everyone feel more or less at ease, and his words came true once again. The huge dragon lizard stared at them with its yellow-green vertical pupils for a while, and then gently picked up the trembling dragon lizard in its mouth. The cub turned around and disappeared into the reeds again.
"Huh... I thought I was going to die." "Yes, yes," the three blacksmith apprentices sighed, while Rudolf turned around and faced Henry with a tighter frown than before: "You This kid is not simple."
"Actually, I am a sage." Henry shrugged, and the old blacksmith laughed in return.
After a while, after checking for movement and confirming that it was safe, the group descended into the dry river bed and began to pick up ore on the dam.
There was no danger. Although several blacksmith apprentices speeded up because they were worried that the dragon lizard would turn back again, they did not run into each other again until they finished mining the ore and returned to a place where they could see the smoke of the town.
The day passed so quickly. After bidding farewell to the blacksmiths and returning to the hotel to wait for dinner, Henry noticed some thoughtful expressions on Mira's face.
"What's wrong?" He asked, and Mira turned her head and stared directly at the sage with her bright eyes.
"If the teacher uses a sword, he can kill it, right?" She said. The "it" in her words obviously referred to the dragon lizard she met before. Henry nodded.
"But it would be better not to do this." The girl continued: "I can't explain clearly, but I just feel that being able to solve the problem without fighting is more powerful than simply using a sword."
She wrinkled her beautiful little eyebrows and nodded while talking like a rigid scholar, and the sage smiled slightly and reached out to touch her head.
"That's true, little Mira."
"It is indeed the case."
…
R: Double update today, the second update will be sent at 16:00 (To be continued.)
