Mercenaries and Adventurers

Zhao Ji woke up from the guest room of the Iron Palm Hotel. This room is not the one he lived in before.

It was funny to say that the merchants were very keen to live in the house he used to live in after listening to the people in the village talking about what happened a few days ago, so as to pray for a little comfort from not knowing anything.

As a result, he had to move to another house.

When I came here last night, I saw the village that closed the gate at night, and thought it would not be let in. Unexpectedly, after he revealed his identity, the sentry at the gate of the village wall welcomed him very much and immediately welcomed him in.

After getting up and washing up, I asked for a piece of hard bread from the hotel kitchen, leaned on a fireplace at the main entrance of the hotel, heated it and baked it, and ate it.

Pushing up the stored trolley, Zhao Ji checked that no one had moved the trolley, and then came to the blacksmith shop in the village.

Probably because of the cold weather, the Bodell blacksmith was resting in his house and did not come out to strike iron early. Keir had to slam the door of the blacksmith's house to call him out.

"Warrior Kiel? You have come to the village again, welcome." Blacksmith Bodell excitedly invited Kiel in after seeing Kiel.

The trolley outside the door is still loaded with valuables, but it cannot be separated from people. The street is not like being in a hotel.

"I won't go in and sit around. This time I came here mainly because of this." Keel led Bodell to the side of the trolley, opened the protective felt cloth wrapped on the car, and Keel put a distorted elf The wreckage of the metal shelf was brought out.

Blacksmith Bodell didn't care about it at first, but when he took over the metal wreckage, he was suddenly surprised by the extremely light weight of the metal.

"What is this thing! God of craftsmen, warrior Kiel, where did you get this strange thing?" Bodell blacksmith turned the metal wreckage in his hand, surprised that it looked like a big piece , The weight is so light, which greatly exceeds his imagination.

With a smile, Keel opened the felt cloth a little wider, revealing more metal wreckage: "I went to the south of the county to kill the bandits, and I found these from their lair, and they are all my trophies .”

Blacksmith Bodell took out another piece of metal wreckage in his hand, and after colliding the two pieces of metal, he listened to the sound of the metal: "The sound is clear and crisp, and the vibration in the hand is also strong. This metal is not hollow inside, which is really rare." .You got a good baby."

Seeing that Bodell blacksmith praised this metal so much, Zhao Ji also breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that these metals obtained from the relics of the elves were just for looking good, so they could only fool him, an ignorant person. Now that even a professional like the Bodell blacksmith agrees on the excellence of this metal, there is no problem.

"It's a good thing, and it's a profit. But I can't do anything about this kind of metal that I haven't seen before. You know, how fast the news can circulate in Kendall City. If you hand it over to them, it is estimated that some big shots will give it to them. I want to buy it, but I can’t keep it myself. After thinking about it, Blacksmith Bodell is still reliable, I’m here to see if you can help me process and make these metals.” Keel pushed the trolley up and stopped beside the blacksmith’s shop superior.

When he came to the blacksmith shop, Blacksmith Bodell put a piece of metal remains on the big stone table, tapped the metal lightly with a small hammer, and observed the properties of the metal. "It's really excellent. With so many materials, what are you going to do? By the way, is the ax I gave you any good?"

Keir took off the metal wreckage on the trolley one by one, and pointed to the ax on the car: "It's very useful, but it's too heavy, I have to put it on the car normally, otherwise You'll be exhausted walking around. Haha."

"It is very heavy, maybe because it is too heavy, so when I first opened up the county, my ancestors still used it, but after everyone settled down,

It is no longer good to use. Lighter and faster weapons were built one after another, and it remained a memento. Of course, Kiel warriors have to deal with all kinds of monsters, so I believe using it is perfect. "

Bodell blacksmith piled all the metal remains on the stone table, judging the volume and weight of these metals. The size is easy to judge. Blacksmiths who have been dealing with various metal objects all the year round quickly judged how much of this metal there is in total.

But in terms of weight, it was still difficult for him to judge, the astonishing lightness of this metal could really deceive people's eyes.

"We have to melt them first to see what happens to them at high temperatures. We can only judge how to deal with them after seeing them at high temperatures." Blacksmith Bodell explained to the Kiel warrior what method he would use. to deal with this unseen metal.

"By the way, have you thought about what to do? This is very important. After all, different weapons and equipment can be used in many ways. When there are simple methods, we'd better not use complicated methods."

Kiel has long needed it: "Speaking of which, you have helped me dispose of weapons and equipment several times, don't you think I need something in particular?"

Blacksmith Bodell thought for a while, then slapped his head and said, "It's a shield! You lack a good shield, right?"

Nodding his head, Kilby scratched at the metal wrecks piled on the stone table: "Do you think these, can you create a metal, lightweight shield?"

Hearing the needs and questions of the Kiel warriors, Bodell blacksmith rubbed the surface of these metal wreckages with his hands, looked at these twisted and deformed metal wreckages, thought for a while and said: "It should be possible. Make a large metal shield. But I have never made a shield before, I can only say that it is a test. Whether it can be done or not depends on whether this metal material that I have seen for the first time can be used by my tools. It's dealt with."

When Keir heard this, he was also a little worried. The equipment in the blacksmith shop at Bodell Blacksmith was naturally not as good as those in the blacksmith workshop in Kendall City, and he was the only one manning it. personal.

However, this kind of metal has superior performance, and I don't know what the situation will be like when I get it to Kendall City. He himself doesn't want to be manipulated and deceived in the city, so Bodell blacksmith is more reliable.

After agreeing to Bodell blacksmith to give it a go, Keir temporarily put the trolley in the blacksmith's house first, and it would not be safe to keep it outside.

---

Compared with dealing with metal shelves in the ruins before, it is much more convenient and proficient for Bodell blacksmith to deal with these metal wreckage here. He had Keel clamp one side of the wreckage with iron tongs, and then he himself used an awl and hammer to break the twisted metal wreckage into little pieces of metal.

By noon, the two of them had processed all the metal wreckage into a large pile of scattered metal fragments.

After that, Bodell blacksmith called a child who was playing outside and asked him to go to the village tavern to buy some food. Seeing this, Keir naturally couldn't ask Bodell blacksmith to pay. He paid for the child to buy more delicious food and drink, and kept the rest of the money for himself.

While waiting for food, Bodell blacksmith raised the big stove, and Keel stepped on the mechanism of the bellows to fill the stove with fresh air, so that the ignited sawdust ignited more large pieces of wood.

Pointing to the flame in the stove, Bodell blacksmith said: "Let's first try to see if the temperature generated by the burning wood can heat this metal."

He poured the shattered metal fragments into a recess in the furnace, which faced the gushing flames blown straight by the wind. Flames gushed across the metal sides, but it didn't look like much had changed.

Keir looked impatient, but the blacksmith Bodell was very experienced. He took out a piece of scorched metal with iron tongs, and hit it again with a hammer to test the condition of the metal after it was heated.

"It's softened, and it's not as tough as before, but it still can't be said to be processed. This level is not enough." Blacksmith Bodell said.

Kiel also felt that it was not possible. After all, during the forging process, the iron material was in a glowing semi-molten state. At this time, the metal still maintained its original state, without any sign of melting.

Seeing that the burning temperature of the wood was not good, the Bodell blacksmith asked Keir to stop first, then shoveled the wood out of the stove with a shovel, and put it aside to cool naturally. Then he replaced the stove with dark charcoal.

"This temperature is higher, try again."

After the charcoal was put into the high-temperature stove, it began to burn from the edge, and Keel switched legs and began to lift the bellows. The charcoal was heated and smoked first, and then it was stimulated by the air pouring into the stove, the smoke was cut off, but the colorless high-temperature light gushed out from the charcoal, approaching the groove of the stove.

This time, the heat at an unknown high temperature gradually softened the metal in the grooves of the stone, and the pieces of metal that were originally hard and malleable became soft.

The Bodell blacksmith took out a piece and found that the metal could be processed, but it didn't shine like other metals. It was still the same, but it was already soft and could be processed.

The soft metal was stirred with a thick short iron rod, and they changed shape with the stirring of the iron rod.

Bodell blacksmith thought for a while, and then poured some coals into the stove.

After these coals were poured in, a lot of thick smoke came out. Fortunately, there was a flue made of bricks above the stove, so the room was not choking.

These briquettes emit a higher temperature after being heated. As the temperature rose, these metals finally couldn't maintain their original shape, and they half-melted together.

The amazing thing is that even if this is the case, these metals still fail to emit light in a semi-molten state and become a high-heat state. It still maintains its silver-white metal color.

"Warrior Kiel, do you think this is okay? This is already the highest temperature that my furnace can produce. Although it is not completely melted, the semi-melted metal can already be processed."

Keir didn't stop his legs, but just changed his leg to step on the bellows: "You are an expert, listen to you."

"I'm not an expert. The real masters are all in the city. Well, is the shield the kind of round shield that the guards often see?"

He didn't want a round shield. The performance of the round shield was relatively average in all aspects, but his shield was mainly used to resist fierce attacks in battle, and it had to provide a defense far beyond that of armor.

"I want the traditional shield shape, the one with a flat top and an inverted triangle at the bottom. Do you know what the handle of a shield looks like?"

Blacksmith Bodell smiled and said: "Although I have never made shields, I have seen some related knowledge from the woodblock paintings handed down from home. Don't worry, you are a warrior, and the shield must be It looks like you know it in your heart, when I built it, if there is something wrong, you can just point it out."

Keel nodded, that's all he could do.

Bodell blacksmith clamped out the groove of the stone, and slowly poured the semi-molten metal onto his small iron felt.

The metal ball was so hot that Kiel could feel a sense of suffocation. Blacksmith Bodell asked Kiel to stop first, then fetched a bucket, dipped a damp cloth in water and wiped Blacksmith Bodell's head.

The blacksmith wears a heat-resistant flake bib, so only the head and hands need protection from the heat.

Keir kept wiping the opponent's face and hands with a damp cloth. At this time, the previous child came back with food and drink, and Keel asked him to put all the things at the door of the house.

The semi-molten metal group is like a group of high-heat plasticine, requiring Bodell blacksmith to constantly change the shape of this group of metal with metal rods.

The metal rod was in contact with the hot metal mass so much that it became red and hot, and Bodell blacksmith hurriedly put it into another bucket.

Nourish!

The cold water immediately boiled where it came into contact with the iron rod, and then Bodell blacksmith used the iron rod to suppress the metal mass that had begun to cool.

The first time it was heated, the metal cluster was barely made into a shield shape.

After the two hurriedly finished their meal, they heated up the stove again, and put the half-baked prototype of the shield into the stove to roast. Wherever it is heated, just fiddle with it.

The Bodell blacksmith didn't use the iron rod anymore. He picked up the hammer and began to knock on the flat and bloated shield prototype bang bang bang.

The thick and small shield stretched out little by little, and Bodell blacksmith also removed two small pieces of metal, saying that they would be used as handles later.

The heating and banging continued well into the evening.

Naturally, they couldn't work after dark, so they turned off the stove, and the two came to the tavern, and Kiel treated them to guests. He and Bodell blacksmith ate and drank to reply to the sweat from the high fever and appease the hungry stomach.

The villagers in the tavern saw the Kiel warrior who had been active before, and came over to say hello. Someone asked curiously if he had any interesting stories some time ago. Their village is really boring. Every year, there is only the Harvest Festival, and bards come to celebrate. Those who can come to the tavern for entertainment are restless and lonely people who long for various stories happening in the distance.

It just so happened that Keel had a story to tell. He was always in a hurry in the village before, but now he was not in a hurry. He told the villagers in the tavern about finding the missing girl in the city.

After speaking one, everyone in the tavern begged him to tell another one, and the tavern owner also provided the best drink in their tavern.

Keir took a sip of the so-called best drink, and felt that it was barely enough, so he told about a murder case he had participated in before in Kendall City.

Of course, he concealed the last thing that poor woman told him about the Elven ruins. Some villagers knew the woman who married to Kendall City in the story, and everyone expressed sympathy for the experience of the widow. Some villagers seemed to know each other when they were young and had a good relationship. .

Keir snorted disdainfully. Do they have the guts to go out of this remote village, go to a city that no one knows, and find a widow to take over? People who often go out to travel and do business may have the courage and action, but these farmers who may only go out a few times, they must not even find the door of their house, so they come back in despair.

Moreover, Keir was deeply impressed by that woman, and the degree of strength and capability of the other party was beyond the reach of ordinary people. Even if this group of villagers really married the widow back home, whoever cares is still in the dark.