Mercenaries and Adventurers

"It's the same as when I saw bread embryos being made in a bakery. Skilled chefs can always use the exact amount, and then successfully make soft and delicious bread. Apprentices, add water when there is too much wheat flour. There was too much wheat flour. In the end, there was such a big lump of bread dough that the furnace couldn’t fit in.” Ganner described it with gestures in his hands.

Kiel knew what the other party meant, so he couldn't just widen the belt width of the armor just because the joint of the armor was not strong enough. After all, after the belt is widened, the enlarged belt must be covered by the enlarged armor, which again increases the weight of the armor. And the weight of the armor increases again, and the size of the connecting belt must be increased again to fix the connection of each armor part.

A vicious circle belongs to yes.

Kiel scratched his head and asked Ganner if there was a solution to this problem. Unexpectedly, Ganner said that he was still waiting for Keir to come up with a solution.

Neither of them had a solution for the time being, so they had to agree to go back and think about the solution.

However, although the armor is not easy to manufacture for the time being, the helmet of the new armor can be tried first. Because the helmet is mainly responsible for the weight of the head, it does not add weight to other parts. It can be made first.

Having said that, Kiel specially took out the helmet style of the new armor and discussed it with Ganner.

"This, is it the collision horn?" Ganner pointed to the two metal horns on the helmet's forehead and the top of the head on the blueprint.

Kiel nodded: "Yes, this is the change I made based on the experience I gained from the battle. The original helmet, when I was fighting with the enemy, there was no final, final attack method."

Ganna made a gesture on his head, and said with a wry smile: "Are you always this close to the enemy when fighting? Are they entangled in you?"

"Hey, how do you know that we are really hugging each other, each other's weapons are pinned, unable to move, and unable to break free to attack. Do you know what happened after that?" Keel asked in surprise .

"What happened after that?"

"After that, although the two enemies couldn't hurt me through the full-face armor I was wearing, they hit my helmet hard with their foreheads, trying to knock me out." Keel swung his head and made a headbutt look.

"In the end, they managed to knock me out for a while." When Keir said this, Ganner was very nervous, although he knew that Keel could talk to him at this time, which meant that he won in the end. I won the battle, but I don't know how to win it.

"You're dizzy, so how did you win?"

Keir laughed, patted Ganner on the shoulder and said, "I was dizzy, but I headbutted the two bandits who hit me, but they died just like that."

But Ganner couldn't laugh. He grew up in the city of Kendall since he was a child, and he couldn't imagine the scene where anyone would hit the helmet with his head and then kill himself alive in order to win the battle.

Seeing Ganner's sluggish look, Keir patted the opponent's arm: "Thanks to the armor you made, otherwise I would have died at that time."

Taking a breath, Ganner shook his head and said, "Without you, I wouldn't be able to make that armor. Well, I know the necessity of ramming horns on the helmet. However, you have one on the forehead and one on the top of your head. Two metal colliding corners, how should I put it, it's too ugly."

Kiel turned his gaze back to the blueprint, rubbed the thin downy beard on his chin, and also felt that this kind of helmet looked a lot uglier because of the angle of collision.

"Or, change the bump angle of the forehead into two smaller ones on the left and right sides. This way it will not cover the front of the visor, and it will look more symmetrical." Keel stretched out his hands and gestured at the positions of the two temples , I didn't expect Ganner to think that this is very good, and it should be done like this.

Since it is so decided, Keel is on the table in the workshop,

He took out the dry bread and wiped off the top part of the helmet on the blueprint, and drew the revised pattern with the delicate charcoal pen that he got inexplicably in the elf ruins.

The revised helmet changed from the original two ramming angles to three ramming angles. Because the original bump on the forehead has become two shortened bumps, the weight has not increased much.

At the same time, the visor of the armor can also be changed from the lower hinged design he originally designed for this new helmet to the same slide rail fixed visor as the current armor. In this case, Ganner who has experience in making the original armor There is no need to create a new method of opening and closing the visor.

Just do it the old way.

The two continued to discuss various details of the new helmet.

For example, the inside of the metal helmet is lined with a layer of glued-on cushioning cork, and at the same time, a soft sheepskin hood that can be worn on the head as an initial defensive cushion must be prepared.

The idea came from Kiel, who designed it based on the style of the tank crew's anti-collision tank cap from the previous life. In this way, in the end, the helmet formed three layers of protection, the outer metal helmet part to resist the sword cut, and the inner cork cushioning layer and sheepskin bonnet to resist heavy impact.

In addition, in order to resist the frontal attack of the visor, Kiel also proposed to add a few horizontal metal strips on the inner side of the visor. First, it can be used as a measure to increase the strength of the helmet, and second, it can increase the visor after being attacked. The load-bearing part that bears the force of the attack.

When the opponent's attack hits the visor, the force will be transmitted to the helmet as a whole by the metal strip under the visor, so that it will not squeeze his own face.

Although he doesn't rely on his face for food, he doesn't want to spoil his young face either.

Doesn't the face without wounds look more decent?

As for the neck protection, which is as important as the helmet, Keel's design is to make a movable metal ring, add a small piece of metal armor, and try to achieve full neck protection. The final force receiving part will be added to the breastplate and connected with the breastplate.

This part is not easy, compared to the neck armor made of hard cowhide. The fineness of this metal is much, much higher. When Kilsiganna is making this part, you can try to use small metal lock rings to connect everywhere.

As for the most important breastplate, they had to think again about how to do it.

After talking about the armor, Keir handed over the metals to Ganner, and Ganner also took out a wooden sign as a proof of accepting this job.

Then, Keel took out a large shield from the bag on the ground.

At first, Ganner didn't see anything strange about this standard shield-shaped shield. After all, Kiel wrapped the surface of the shield with rags and ropes without leaking a single gap. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary wooden shield. Shield same.

But as Kiel untied the knotted ropes on the surface of the shield one by one, and pulled off the rags on the surface of the shield, Ganna finally couldn't move his eyes from the shield anymore.

"Good guy, full metal shield, Keel, did you spend all your money here?" Ganner asked jokingly.

Smiling mysteriously, Keel saw that Ganner hadn't discovered the magic of this shield yet.

He was holding the shield with one hand.

If it is an ordinary iron shield, such a large shield-shaped shield must weigh at least ten kilograms. It is not impossible to hold it with one hand, but if you hold one side of the shield horizontally, and the front shield is held very firmly, then it is ordinary. People basically can't do it.

"This is not an ordinary shield, you will know right away." Kiel smiled and handed the shield to Gannar.

When Ganna took the shield with both hands, he was stunned. Holding the shield with both hands, he undulated up and down a few times, his eyes full of disbelief.

"This thing, this thing!" Ganner repeated several times what this thing was, but he couldn't say it.

Keir finally laughed out loud this time, and he said the next words for Gannar: "Why is this thing so light?"

Ganna finally came back to his senses. He tapped the surface of the shield with his hands, worried, and then tapped the front of the shield a few times with professional tools such as an iron awl and a small hammer.

"Sure enough, sure enough. This thing is not only light in weight, but also very strong. Much stronger than iron, maybe stronger than steel. Impossible, it is so light." Ganna muttered to himself.

He looked at Keir and said: "There are also light metals. I heard from my master that they are called light iron. But the strength of that metal is not high. It can be used as a living tool for the nobles. Swords and shields are fine. No one has tried it."

He then knocked on the shield again. He exerted some strength, but still could not leave marks on the surface of the shield: "But your shield is so hard, and it is so light. Wait, this is a new shield." ?”

Kiel shrugged: "You can see it. It is indeed a new shield, about its origin. Didn't I tell you that I dealt with some bandits a few days ago?"

Ganna nodded: "Did you say that the loot was obtained from those bandits? But it shouldn't be a half-finished product. It's impossible for those bandits to not use good things, right?"

"Of course. I found it from the bandits, but it's not a shield, but a few finished metal ingots." Kiel said the source he had compiled. Although I feel sorry for my friend, I can't say anything about the elf ruins at all.

"Metal ingots? Those bandits don't have the ability to smelt metal. They must have snatched it!"

"That's right, I think so too. The box containing the metal ingots looks very expensive. I thought it contained some precious things like gold coins, but it turned out to be unremarkable metal ingots. But I still pay attention to the weight of these metal ingots."

Kiel clicked on this shield: "I then found a blacksmith and asked the other party to try to use this free metal ingot to make a shield, and it was also very useful in a battle in the Ice Flood Pass. But At that time and now, this shield is still an unfinished product, I will take it here and let you help me complete it completely."

Ganner, who understood the ins and outs, stroked the surface of the shield, and the cold metal conveyed the temperature of his fingers: "So? What are you going to do?"

"In such a cold day, you have to separate the part where the back of it touches my arm first, right? Or it's too cold." Keel turned the shield over, tapped the handle of the shield and the part that bound the forearm Metal railing.

Ganna nodded: "That's right, this is the most important. Next is here on the back?" Ganna pointed to the sunken place on the back of the shield.

"I've got to add some cork here for cushioning, and how about some softer leather fastened to the cork?"

"good."

Keir turned the shield over and pointed to the front of the shield: "Here, the entire front is made of harder wood as the front of the shield. Well, paint it with a single color of paint."

"Okay, then when will you come to pick it up. I'll try my best to fix it for you as soon as possible."

Kiel shook his head: "It's not that I don't believe you. You can fix this thing today. It's not a troublesome process. The main reason is that I'm worried that other craftsmen who heard about this shield don't know what metal it is. If they are curious, they must come and see it. Look, when the scene is out of control, it will be troublesome."

Ganna pursed his lips: "Yes, although I am also curious about the nature of this metal. In fact, if you use these metals to make weapons, you will be very famous. It is a pity to make a shield."

Kiel sneered and said, "Is it still your part to touch this thing when it's made into a weapon? If you make it into a shield, you can at least try it yourself. As for weapons, there are quite a few craftsmen in the craftsman area who are good at this."

Gannar scratched his head and smiled.

Then, throughout the day, Ganner was busy finishing the shield, and Keel also helped.

After dark, the final paint was finally heated up a little and applied to the front wooden panels of the shield, which was considered complete.

While the shield was sitting by the fire, waiting for the paint to dry, Ganner asked Keel if the shield had a name?

Keir thought about it and thought of a few names, but none of them were very suitable. In the end, he decided not to name the shield for the time being.

---

After the shield was completed, Kiel paid the fee, put the shield in a bag and went back.

There are still many things to do tomorrow.

the next morning.

Kiel was waiting in the backyard of the chamber of commerce with two long wooden poles. After a while, the city gate guard Varu came over wearing the wolf fur cloak he had presented earlier.

Kiel had told the old man at the door of the chamber of commerce before that the guards came to teach him, and everyone knew about the previous few teachings.

"Kill! I'm here. Ah, you've got everything ready, so when shall we start?" Varu is a young man not much older than Kiel. Compared to Kiel's dullness, he has the vivacity of a young man. and enthusiasm.

I heard from other guards that Varu was able to join the job of guarding the city gate at such a young age because Varu had superb skills in using a spear.

None of the guards could beat Varu, who was gifted in this field, when it came to fighting with long spears. Even Crow Knight often praised Varu for his talent and skill.

If Valu can get out of Kendall City, go to a bigger city or join the Royal Army, maybe there will be a broader and more powerful development.

However, the Varu family has a small population, and it is difficult for him to support himself. Naturally, he cannot leave home to seek development opportunities outside.

Kiel has never seen Varu's combat training, but since all the guards say that Varu is the strongest among ordinary people in Kendall City in terms of spear skills, let's take a look, his real level How about it.

"Here, let's start now! I've been waiting for a while." Kiel handed the long wooden pole without a head to Varu.

Varu, who took the wooden pole, took off the thick wolf fur cloak on his body, folded it and put it on the clean steps aside. Putting on the wooden helmet and wooden armor, he weighed the weapon in his hand.

"Kill, I haven't taught anyone else before, what should we do?" Varu scratched his face and asked Kiel with a smile.

After a few moves, Kiel straightened up the wooden pole and entered a fighting stance: "I have learned a few long spears from the old Duomu warrior in Dorallin Village before, let's practice while fighting! You should be better than me, I Just learn your moves when fighting."

"Good way! It's easy like this, okay, then let's start?" Varu suddenly realized, and then eagerly grabbed the wooden pole standing beside him with one hand.

"Let's go!" Keel replied.

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Varu on the opposite side holding the upper part of the wooden pole with one hand, and then kicked the root of the wooden pole with his boots. The whole wooden pole rushed forward, and Varu's figure followed. The pole attack rushed towards him.

Keir became nervous, gripping the wooden pole tightly with his palm, and deflected the wooden pole that was raised and stabbed aside.

Originally, Keir felt that Varu should return to the original place and find a way to prepare for the next battle. Unexpectedly, Varu spun his whole body, and the eccentric wooden pole made a big turn, drew a big circle, and swept over from the other side.

Kiel quickly erected the wooden pole, but he didn't expect the opponent's strength to be overwhelming. He directly blocked Kiel's whole body from the attack and pushed him for at least half a meter. Kiel's boots tore out half a meter of marks on the ground, and his hands were numb and hard to move.

Unexpectedly, among the several guards, this Varu who looked young was the most powerful one.

Or, when other people were teaching Keir, they deliberately released water? Thinking of this, Keir took a breath in his heart and launched a counterattack.

Taking advantage of Varu's opportunity to retract the wooden pole, he stabbed directly with the wooden pole.

Varu didn't completely retract the entire weapon, he also used the same movement as Kiel, and stabbed Kiel's chest.

The weapons of the two passed by each other, but it turned out that the front of Kiel's own chest wooden armor was hit first by Varu, and his whole body was pushed to the ground after being hit.

Keir was a little confused, but when he looked up and saw Varu's movement, he realized that at that moment, Varu moved his palm holding the wooden pole to the end of the wooden pole, basically using the entire length of the wooden pole Beyond Keel's side.

On the other hand, Kiel is holding the one-third of the tail of the wooden pole with his hands. Although he has stretched his arms as much as possible when he stabbed forward, he is still short of the attack length of the weapon. little bit.

It was this little distance that Varu caught accurately, while Kiel himself was first hit on the wooden armor on his chest, and then pushed to the ground by this force.

After thinking about this, Keir took Varu's hand and stood up.

"How? Are you okay?" Varu asked.

Kiel smiled. He felt that he had learned some fighting skills, so he was quite happy. Although just now he saw that the other guards gave way to him during training, which made him feel a little frustrated.

But after recognizing this point, it is actually good to learn new things and go further.

"It's okay, let's continue. Your move just now was really accurate! How did you judge that my stab attack is not as long as yours?" Keel asked his doubts just now.

Unexpectedly, Varu laughed: "There is no need to judge. I knew where you could stab the most when you just raised your hand. I was on the outermost side of your offensive at the time, and you couldn't stab me no matter what. Then I went one step further, holding the end of the wooden pole with my hand and thrusting out, knocking you down."

Kiel looked at where he was standing, and where Varu was standing, and tried to slowly stab out the wooden pole in his hand. The palm of the hand is where it was held just now.

Varu on the opposite side watched Kiel's movements while holding his nose, without expressing anything.

Sure enough, sure enough.

After Keir straightened his arm, the top of the wooden pole was less than five centimeters away from Varu.

In that round just now, he was not defeated, but there was no possibility of winning at all.