Chapter 68

Now, the temporary market at the foot of the forest has expanded at least three times larger than it was a month ago. The battle of Moya Ridge has not only attracted a large number of merchant caravans but also brought many craftsmen to this camp on the edge of Handanar County.

This temporary market extends outward for a considerable distance. Gradually, the new merchants who arrived here were no longer satisfied with just one street, so they opened another street next to the market. The new blacksmith's shop is on this street, which, although farther from the military camp, is right next to the river.

This makeshift blacksmith's shop is particularly simple. Besides two tents, a large anvil is placed on the open ground, and next to it are two blast furnaces made of fire-resistant stone slabs. The furnaces are interconnected, and on one side of the furnace is a large bellows. This kind of furnace cannot smelt iron ore, but it is sufficient for forging.

Lakin led He Boqiang and Suldak to the front of the blacksmith's shop, where they saw a burly man, bare-chested and wearing a leather apron, holding a hammer and forging a red-hot iron bar. A young apprentice was squatting next to the bellows, vigorously pulling the handle, causing blue flames to rise about a foot high from the furnace each time.

When the iron bar was heated to a bright red, the burly man took it out of the furnace and began to hammer it forcefully on the anvil.

He Boqiang watched for a while, and the blade of a knight's longsword gradually took shape under the blacksmith's hammer.

Outside the tent, a row of wooden racks was casually set up, displaying many iron tools and some half-finished swords and knives. There were also picks, hoes, horseshoes, and iron pots.

At this moment, the burly man noticed someone at the door and inserted the cooled iron bar back into the furnace. He put down his hammer, wiped the sweat from his face with a towel around his neck, and walked straight to Suldak with a simple smile, saying, "Sir, what can I do for you?"

Suldak took the slightly bent Roman sword from He Boqiang. The blade was stained with purple blood, and the entire sword was heavy with the smell of blood.

Suldak placed the Roman sword in front of the blacksmith and said, "I want to repair this Roman sword. Can you re-clad the blade with a steel edge?"

The burly man picked up the Roman sword, scraped the blade with his thumb, and then rubbed it with an oilstone. Seeing that the blade was not severely worn, he handed the Roman sword back to Suldak and said, "Re-cladding the blade is certainly possible, but although the edge of your sword is bent, it is not seriously damaged. A good polish will make it usable for a long time."

As he spoke, he rubbed the oilstone on the Roman sword a few times, and the bent part indeed looked less unsightly.

Suldak glanced at He Boqiang and then said, "I plan to lengthen this Roman sword. It is not only a bit short but also too light for me."

He was speaking on behalf of He Boqiang. The blacksmith nodded in agreement and said, "Alright, I understand. I can increase the length and weight of the Roman sword, but the patterns on the blade cannot be retained. I am not skilled at engraving patterns on swords, but I can use the layering method to forge a steel edge. Can you accept this?"

Suldak replied very straightforwardly, "Yes!"

Soon, the blacksmith and Suldak agreed on the specific details.

If it were just a simple repair, such a Roman sword would cost no more than three to five silver coins. However, Suldak required the blacksmith to not only re-clad the blade with steel but also lengthen and increase the weight of the Roman sword, which would require additional iron. As a result, the repair cost of the Roman sword soared to fifteen silver coins.

Such a high repair cost is almost equivalent to half a month's salary for an apprentice.

However, Suldak thought the blacksmith's fee was quite reasonable, so he handed the Roman sword to the blacksmith and agreed to pick it up the next evening, paying half the deposit in advance.

Then, Suldak asked the burly blacksmith, "Do you sell steel shields?"

The blacksmith smiled and pointed to a neighboring shop, saying, "Sirs, if you want to buy finished shields, you might want to visit that shop. They have various styles of finished shields, and the prices are not higher than if I were to forge them here..."

...

In the hearty laughter of the burly blacksmith, He Boqiang followed Suldak into the third shop next to the blacksmith's shop.

This shop, in fact, was just two rows of weapon racks in front of a tent.

The weapon racks displayed only one type of armor: various shapes of shields, from small round shields made of yellow pine with a thin layer of iron, to square shields made of hard oak with an iron layer, to dwarf chain shields forged from pure steel, light and sturdy knight shields, kite-shaped shields, and even bone shields made from the rib bones of demons, and bronze shields made of bronze, all available.

This was a specialized shield merchant. Among these shields, the bronze shield was the most expensive, but what caught He Boqiang and Suldak's attention was the bone shield. The bone shield was made from the rib bones of a demon, with a sturdy metal frame on the back, making it a very ingenious design.

The two approached the bone shield, and Suldak exclaimed in amazement, "I never thought the rib bones of demons could be used like this..."

It seemed he deeply regretted not fully utilizing the demon corpses before, as he could have sawed off the rib bones to make such unique bone shields.

The shield merchant, an ordinary-looking old man, heard Suldak's exclamation and quickly came out to say, "There's more to it. Some people even make bone clubs from the leg bones of demons. The bones of demons are as hard as steel, and these shields have additional uses on the battlefield."

Suldak asked curiously, "What additional uses?"

He Boqiang thought to himself, "Taking your enemy's rib bones to the battlefield, what else? It's like a built-in taunt..."

Sure enough, the shield merchant said, "Warriors holding bone shields will become the focus of demons' attacks, which is even more effective than taunting them. Buying such shields is mainly to attract the demons' attention and create opportunities for allies to kill them. However, only elite warriors in the team should use these bone shields, or they might be killed on the battlefield. Our shop has only sold about ten of these bone shields."

"Ah, I see... That makes sense," Suldak said, showing surprise, but he quickly pulled He Boqiang away from the weapon rack with the bone shields and asked, "Which one do you like?"

He Boqiang's gaze swept past the small round shields and square shields and stopped at the dwarf chain shield.

Before he could say anything, the shield merchant lifted a dwarf chain shield from the rack, clearly struggling with the weight.

The shield merchant said to Suldak and He Boqiang, "If you are infantry, there's no need to carry the heavy dwarf chain shield. The dwarf chain shield is made of steel from the dwarf kingdom, and its durability is beyond question, but its only drawback is its weight."

He then held his breath, his face turning red as he placed the dwarf chain shield back on the wooden rack and said, "The standard heavy armor of the infantry is already quite heavy, and they also carry a Roman heavy sword. Without the burden of a horse, choosing the dwarf chain shield would be too heavy. A better choice would be the oak square shield, which has only a layer of iron on the outside, making it sturdy and durable. There is plenty of wood here, making it easier to repair..."

It was clear that the shield merchant had extensive experience in recommending shields suitable for different types of warriors, and he did not recommend the dwarf chain shield to Suldak.

However, before they came, He Boqiang had already told Suldak that he did not want a wooden shield.

Because such shields could not withstand the spikes of demons.

Suldak understood He Boqiang's thoughts and said to the shield merchant, "Forget the oak shield."

He then turned to He Boqiang and asked, "Which do you prefer, the dwarf chain shield or the knight light shield?"

He Boqiang was somewhat inclined towards the elegant knight light shield, but it was clearly designed for cavalry, so he was hesitant. He also thought the dwarf chain shield might be more practical.

Just as He Boqiang was conflicted, the shield merchant timely suggested, "If you are considering between these two shields, you can buy one of each. Sirs, you can try them out for a few days. Since the price difference is not significant, if you find one unsuitable, you can return it to me for an exchange as long as it is not too worn."

Suldak's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Is that possible?"

"Yes..."

The shield merchant smiled confidently and said to Suldak.

Soon, He Boqiang and Suldak left the shield shop, with He Boqiang now carrying a heavy dwarf chain shield on his back...

Suldak wanted to continue browsing the market to find a suitable full-body armor for He Boqiang, but he saw the curly-haired boy Gabi running up, panting and whispering that Lakin had found a buyer for four demon heads...