Iron Powder and Spellcaster

[wilderness]

[The "no man's land" between Tiefeng County and the Territories of Terdun]

The vast grassland stretches as far as the eye can see, and ten patrol cavalry search forward along the Shilian River.

The attire of the riders looks a bit nondescript: tanned animal skin trousers and linen cardigans appear on the same person, and the Hed horse with its tail trimmed and the Plato horse with its tail never trimmed walk side by side, giving an overall impression of peasantry. The pragmatism style unique to the pastoral mixed zone.

"[Herd] Why are you looking so sad?" The young rider at the head smiled and asked the two companions with similar looks and carrying guns and bows: "[Herd] What's the matter? Come with me on patrol, your brothers are not satisfied."

Among the two riders carrying guns and bows, the younger one was about to stick his mouth to the sky. He pulled a piece of sweet grass root distractedly and said angrily and plaintively:

"[Hidden] Batu is going to war with another big tribe. Why did he leave my brother and me alone? My brother and I joined Batu to go into battle, kill the enemy, and receive rewards. But Batu left my brother and me alone. If you work as a patrolman here, you won’t even get a piece of iron armor..."

"[Herd] Lord Beast Spirit Speaker." Another rider carrying a gun and a bow interrupted his younger brother and bowed slightly: "[Herd] My brother and I really don't understand why we don't even carry a bow. My brother and I went to war, but I was definitely not dissatisfied."

The two brothers carrying guns and bows were naturally Dabai and Xiaobai, who had just been given names not long ago.

The young rider who asked them questions was none other than Bell, one of Winters' original four "personal guards", the son of Ralph, and the beast spirit whisperer recognized by the great shaman.

"[Herdese] Iron armor? There are plenty of them." Bell laughed dumbly. He waved his hand to Dabai and said to Xiaobai: "[Herdese] But patrolling the border wearing iron armor, don't you feel tired?"

"[Hedian] No problem!" Xiaobai replied firmly.

Although Bell is not very old, he still has the dignity of an adult in front of the more immature boy: "[Hurd] Okay, I'll ask you for a pair of iron armor."

When Xiaobai heard this, he shouted excitedly.

But then, a low growl of dissatisfaction came from the Lele car at the end of the cavalry.

Xiaobai suddenly covered his mouth.

"[Herd language] The iron armor has been promised to you." Bell tied a knot in the reins, let the reins rest on the horse's mane, and commanded the horse with only his knees, leaving his hands free to continue polishing a bone whistle: "[Herd language] ] Are you satisfied?"

Xiaobai rolled his eyes, ignored his brother who was shaking his head, and chased the beast spirit whisperer on horseback, complaining: "[Hurd language] I want the iron armor because I want to go into battle. If I can't go into battle, what will happen if I get the armor?" What’s the point?”

Bell frowned slightly, already a little impatient. But he imagined in his mind how "Brother Montagne" or the "White Lion" would handle this situation. In the end, he did not get angry or scold him, but just asked Xiaobai: "[Hurd] Do you want to go into battle?"

"[Herd] Think!" Xiaobai nodded desperately, his head shaking like a reed.

"[Herd] Then come here." Bell reached out and pinched Xiaobai's thin shoulders and arms, and then suddenly punched Xiaobai in the chest.

Caught off guard, Xiaobai almost fell off his horse.

His body fell toward the other side of the saddle, and one foot fell out of the iron stirrup. Dabai hurriedly patted his horse and came forward to help. Fortunately, Xiaobai waved his arms and spent a lot of effort to regain his balance.

The other troopers on the patrol burst into laughter.

Xiaobai clenched his fists and glared at the beast spirit speaker in shock, anger, and grievance.

Bell ignored him, but rode up to the other cavalrymen and punched each of them firmly in the chest.

The rest of the patrol sat motionless in their saddles.

"[Hudese] When can you do this?" Bell used his knees to control the horse lightly and returned to Xiaobai: "[Hudese] Let's talk about going into battle later."

"[Hede] They are on guard!" Xiaobai was unconvinced.

Bell took a deep breath, turned around and punched Xiaobai in the chest again. This time, Xiaobai was directly knocked off the horse.

After Dabai pulled the embarrassed Xiaobai back to the saddle, Bell said coldly: "[Hurd language] But I only used six points of my strength against you."

Xiaobai was discouraged and lowered his head, no longer as energetic as before.

Seeing the child becoming listless, Bell felt inexplicably guilty - even though he was not very young.

Bell hesitated again and again, but still said a few words of comfort: "[Herd] Blood Wolf ordered you and me to patrol the border, not because he despised you and me, but because only you and I can do this well - like catching foxes Use falcons, and hunt deer with fast dogs.”

"[Herd] As for you, the first thing you have to learn is not to doubt the blood wolf's arrow order." Bell patted Xiaobai's shoulder and said: "[Herd] Then eat more meat, and you will be able to eat as much as you want. Be as strong as a true warrior and ask if you can go into battle.”

Xiaobai sniffed hard, wiped away his tears, and nodded.

Bell was relieved, he scratched the back of his head, and showed a mischievous smile belonging to a young man: "[Herd] It's better than this. Don't you want the iron armor? Then when you get the iron armor, you can wear it for me." Iron armor patrols the border, every day.”

The other troopers on the patrol burst into laughter.

Across the Seasonal River, a scout rider came running from a distance: "[Hud language] Beast Spirit Speaker! Beast Spirit Whisperer! Another flock of sheep, horses and Lele chariots are coming!"

Bell took off his bone whistle and blew it gently, and a strange sound spread in all directions.

From the covered car at the end of the cavalry, a giant lion larger than a buffalo calf reluctantly climbed out.

The lion was as smart as a person who was woken up from a late sleep. It first put its front paws on the ground, raised its butt and stretched hard, then opened its mouth wide and yawned, looking around sleepily.

Bell turned over and dismounted, walked straight forward, and rubbed the little guy's face: "Okay, okay, be more energetic, it's time to work! Do you still want to eat meat?"

The little guy snorted a few times, took a deep breath, and raised his head to the sky with a deafening and terrifying roar.

The other patrolling cavalry struggled to steady their horses and stared at Bell in awe. No matter how many times they saw the beast spirit speaker talking to the giant lion, they were amazed.

"[Herd] Let all their men and women come and present their arrows and swear an oath." Bell took out a pocket atlas and a graphite strip from his arms, and solemnly declared: "[Herd] From now on, they are the Wendol tribe. To the tribesmen, the Blood Wolf will give them pasture, protection... and iron pots."

…

[Tiefeng County]

[Forge Township]

Bright yellow molten iron gushes out from the bottom of the blast furnace, and every drop carries heat that can pierce flesh. The molten iron flows along the preset grooves, and the surface layer gradually fades into an ember-like red.

The iron smelting workers guarding both sides of the trench braved the scorching heat and sweated while using long-handled rakes to scrape off the waste residue floating on the surface of the molten iron and guide the molten iron into the ceramic mold grooves.

After a while, the iron smelting workers dug out the clay pot-like mold cavity and broke the tank body. A round, dark black iron ball was exposed to the air.

With just a little polishing, this iron ball will become a qualified six-pound cannonball and take away one or several lives at some point in the future.

The old blacksmith Boltan, sitting in a wheelchair, watched all this with satisfaction.

The swordsmith and municipal councilor Chauchat pushed the wheelchair, his round face full of smiles, and he kept saying compliments: "Master Balian is indeed the master that Lord Montagne personally invited back from Steel Castle!" Once you take action, the disease will be cured. Since you helped us improve the blast furnace, our biggest worry has become insufficient iron ore."

Balian used a small hammer to tap the projectiles one by one and said calmly: "I am not a 'master'."

"Master is just a title, the key is to look at your ability!" Shao Sha immediately came back: "In my opinion, your ability can't be matched even if you tie up all the 'Blacksmith Masters' in the new land. Oops. ! When I was your age, I was still working for the master! Young people are really scary! How scary!"

Carlos stood beside him with his chest raised and his head raised, his face full of pride. It makes him happier to hear others praise his brother than to hear others praise himself.

Balian wanted to say something more, but his lips moved and he remained silent in the end.

As soon as Balian took over the smelting site, he solved the problem of "no molten iron coming out of the blast furnace" that had troubled Carlos and Chauchat for several months.

He improved the blast device, revised the raw material ratio based on actual measurement results, adjusted the shape of the furnace body, and improved the thermal insulation performance.

The workers brought back by Winters from the Steel Castle also joined the smelting field under the coordination of Balian, and started to operate familiar tools again.

The forge owners in Tiefeng County couldn't figure out where the blood wolf hired such a precious person?

While secretly marveling, the forge masters began to rack their brains to find out the marriage status of Balian and Carlos - if they couldn't match the elder brother, the younger brother would be just fine.

"By the way, you may not know yet." Shao Sha naturally did the same. He said insinuatingly: "I actually have an unmarried daughter, but she is a little younger..."

Carlos next to him was shocked. He knew Shaosha's family situation very well: "Could your unmarried daughter be Teresa? She...she is only eight years old!"

Shaosha replied shamelessly: "Aren't big trees grown from small trees? Teresa will grow up sooner or later."

Balian continued his inspection of the shells without saying a word.

Shaosha wanted to say something else, but the old blacksmith Boltan knocked on the armrest of his wheelchair displeasedly: "That's enough, don't embarrass yourself again!"

Shaosha immediately shut his mouth.

"Mr. Balian." The old blacksmith Boltan looked up at Balian, gave a thumbs up, and said seriously: "In terms of your ability in the hammer swing industry, you are the one! Old man, I am ashamed of myself."

"Please don't say that." Facing the old blacksmith, Balian also showed great respect. He explained sincerely: "This is my first time trying many things. I followed the instructions of my predecessors step by step. "

"No matter what, you've done it, you are the one." The old blacksmith Boltan raised his thumb, but he changed the subject, replaced the thumb with his little finger, and said sadly and helplessly: "But on insight You are the master of the human heart.”

Before Balian could speak, Carlos became anxious and asked angrily: "Mr. Boltan, what do you mean?"

The wind carried scorching heat and approached several people. In the distance, a huge hydraulic forging hammer made a rhythmic sound.

"You also helped Goncharov and the others improve the blast furnaces, right?" Boltan asked in a deep voice, "There are six in total."

"Yes." Balian admitted bluntly: "If time permits, I can transform more."

The old blacksmith Boltan's expression became distorted, and he patted his thigh with grief and gritted teeth:

"I'm confused! I'm confused! It's important to prepare for war, I know. But even so, we can't cooperate with Goncharov and the others! They are different from me. They only think about maintaining the guild's monopoly! You help them improve The blast furnace has strengthened their power! Originally, as long as we kept lowering the price, they would succumb sooner or later. Now? They also have a blast furnace that can continuously flow out molten iron. Our weapons are no longer useful! How could Lord Montagne be like this? Confused!"

Balian listened quietly to the old blacksmith venting. When the latter gasped and began to cough involuntarily, he said calmly: "Don't worry, Mr. Boltan. As long as Lord Montagne wants it, Goncharo My husband and others will be crushed like ants. Compared with the blacksmith guild of Steel Castle, the blacksmith guild of Tiefeng County is simply vulnerable."

Puzzle, fear, surprise...complex emotions appeared on the faces of Boltan, Shaosha and Carlos in turn.

"Right now, the most important thing is-" Balian didn't explain much, he just looked at the three of them: "Win the war."

…

War, war, war.

The war has not yet come, but in the smelting fields of Forge Township, the refugee farms in Lower Tiefeng County, in the desolate wilderness, and in the barracks of Jevaudan, everyone is reciting its name silently.

In Tiefeng County, in the newly cultivated land, in Plato and even every land between the two mountains, everyone is preparing for it.

Whether it's active or passive. Whether you are driven by desire to step into the whirlpool, or you are carried forward aimlessly by the river.

Because when war comes, no one can stay out of it.

…

"Alexander, you are lucky." Tulin smiled and patted the shoulder of the young man who was shoveling horse manure: "The Blood Wolf does not plan to disband the light cavalry regiment for the time being. Cellini is very popular and said he would raise another one. Heavy cavalry. We are short of manpower right now. I told him your name and he agreed without thinking."

Alexander Nikolayevich, who still had a white cloth wrapped around his head, continued shoveling horse manure silently and just nodded.

…

"You want to go on an expedition with Mr. Montagne?" Charles couldn't believe his ears. He asked the tall and thin middle-aged man in front of him suspiciously: "Jacob...Mr. Green, you are forty years old, right?" ?”

Jacob Green—the representative of the townspeople of Oxhoof Valley, a member of the free people class, and the temporary clerk of the Blood Wolf during the Blood Mud War—stands in front of Ciel and replies respectfully: "I can I can endure hardships when riding a horse, and I will not be a burden to Monsignor Montagne."

"I'm not..." Charles didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I'm worried about you."

"My property has been properly distributed to my wife and children, please don't worry." Jacob paused for a moment and whispered: "As long as I can witness the blood wolf, whether he rises or falls, please .”

Charles was confused at first, then his brows slowly relaxed, and he smiled: "Then come on, we will always need knowledgeable people like you."

…

"Say it again." Little Priskin looked at the white-haired young man in front of him and asked with a headache: "What is your name?"

The white-haired young man spoke with a strong Monta accent and was also secretly observing Mr. Plato in front of him: "Luo, everyone calls me White-headed Roger."

Little Priskin's head hurt even more. He didn't know what exactly this Monta man was here to do - to be an informant? As a bodyguard? Or was it sent to him casually?

But being optimistic by nature, he quickly decided not to think about it. He put his arm around Roger's shoulders and said carelessly: "I am now Mr. Leo's apprentice. Since you were sent by Monsignor Montagne, I guess He will also accept you as his apprentice. Then we will be buddies from now on!"

"That's right." Little Priskin clapped his hands and asked Roger with a smile: "Can you ride a horse? We need to leave immediately and rush back to Maplestone City!"

…

"Gentlemen."

Mason stood at the main podium of the chamber, with about fifty people in the audience.

Eighteen of them were the clerks, bookkeepers, and scribes of the town hall—that is, the entire government staff of Gévaudan.

The rest are accounting school students who have not yet been sent out.

"This is Lieutenant Bader." Mason said happily: "From today on, he will take over all my responsibilities."

Bud meticulously saluted everyone in the audience.

"My dear daughters," Mason thought to himself, "Here I come."

Outside the window, a rider holding a green flag was galloping toward the Assembly Hall.

…

…

The war still came.

It was a day in mid-May of the imperial calendar year 560.

The messenger brought the news to the people of Tiefeng County that the "New Reclamation Corps" had sent troops to Jinghu County.

[87,029/100,000]

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