owlsbooks Chapter 11 The Shortage of High-End Weapons
Chapter 11 The Shortage of High-End Weapons
Gold lay down and fell asleep, and before long, a deafening snoring began to fill the air.
Virgil, on the other hand, was breathing relatively steadily.
Only Roger, with cold, rough earthen walls beside him and the roar of bellows in his ears, found it difficult to fall asleep every night.
He still finds it difficult to adapt to his current life.
They were constantly struggling to make ends meet, and the shadow of death loomed over them.
Lying on the straw mat, my thoughts raced, my mind filled with the comforts of modern society...
People with insomnia often feel more and more excited as the night goes on. Roger's mind wandered, and his thoughts fell on the village where he was.
During his time in Duanpo Village, he had already thoroughly learned about the village's history and details.
This village enjoys a unique geographical location, adjacent to Donghu Lake, a vast body of water that occupies one-sixth of Guangxiao Bay's territory.
Living off the water, they are far wealthier than ordinary villages in the surrounding area.
Near the shore, there is an inexhaustible supply of lake shrimp, freshwater mussels, and river crabs; offshore, in the deep waters, there is an even greater abundance of fish resources, such as perch, pike, and freshwater cod.
The villagers are not only self-sufficient and pay taxes, but they can also export their catch to the outside world every year, living a life several times better than those in inland villages.
Over the years, Rogge believed that each of their households had accumulated a considerable amount of grain and spare money, and many families were even able to form groups to go to big cities to buy scarce items.
What they need most urgently, and what is most difficult to meet, is high-quality weaponry and equipment (not simple farm tools made by civilians)!
On this continent of Pande, the core technologies of every industry are closely guarded secrets, strictly forbidden from being passed on to outsiders.
Top blacksmiths who can forge excellent weapons are often monopolized by great nobles, becoming their exclusive property.
Especially in the directly administered territories of great nobles and in large urban areas, the production and sale of weapons were highly monopolized, and high-end military-grade weapons became the exclusive privilege and symbol of status of the noble class.
Countries around the world have also issued similar military decrees, strictly restricting non-citizens from possessing high-end equipment.
Transportation in this world is far less extensive than in modern society, making commercial transportation extremely expensive.
The production and distribution of high-quality weapons is essentially a closed system of targeted supply, with only a very small amount of production capacity open to the civilian population.
It is extremely difficult for ordinary people to obtain high-quality weapons.
As far as I can remember, plate armor was perhaps too common in Pandemonium.
But that was always limited to professional and aristocratic units!
For the vast majority of ordinary people, the only weapons and equipment with practical value were spears, axes, and hunting bows, which could also be used as production tools.
The situation in Duanpo Village is even more unique.
To the north lies the fortress of Ganders, to the west the vast East Lake, and to the east and southeast a long stretch of towering mountains.
The threat of war has been greatly reduced.
Weapons and equipment will be prioritized for supply to the Gandes Fortress.
The nearby blacksmith shops are all located in the major lord's directly controlled territories, such as the City of Lightwhistle Bay and the Fortress of Ganders.
The weapons and equipment forged by blacksmiths were prioritized for the lord's guard and knights. Only the defective products that were left could be distributed to the common people in various villages. Not only were they ridiculously expensive, but one often needed connections to snatch them.
In addition, the fortress lords intentionally or unintentionally controlled the outflow of weapons...
Roger had specifically inquired about it and learned that the village's only blacksmith had died during the war a few years ago.
Today, the village of Duanpo has forty or fifty militiamen, whose equipment is outdated and nearly three-quarters of them still carry farm tools such as pitchforks, spears, and broken sickles.
According to Aunt Slin, the fortress of Ganders has extremely strict control over weapons, and going to other major cities is too far and fraught with danger along the way...
The villagers in this village are in a situation where they have a little money, but they can't buy or have the means to buy good weapons.
And this, coincidentally, is the opportunity for Roger and his two companions to become incredibly wealthy!
For an ordinary blacksmith, a decent knight's longsword requires weeks of careful forging and calibration.
A single set of plate armor requires hundreds of hours of meticulous craftsmanship, leaving those without the skills helpless.
Unlike the three blacksmiths, as long as the supply of materials is sufficient, with the help of Rogge's ability, their production rate is ten or twenty times that of ordinary blacksmiths!
Roger knew very well that the three of them couldn't be blacksmiths in this small village for the rest of their lives.
The continent of Pendor has never been a peaceful place. Nations are constantly at war, bandits roam freely, and heretics and evil are everywhere. Those who choose to remain in one corner will eventually disappear silently from the corner of the world.
But the most important thing right now is to seize this opportunity and quickly earn your first pot of gold!
Then recruit some trustworthy people.
Then, craft a full set of equipment for each of your own people and improve their strength as soon as possible!
As for how to quickly improve his strength, Rogge has his own trump card—"The Eye of Insight!"
Besides being able to observe weapon and equipment attributes, it also allows for a direct view of each person's approximate strength level.
This allows Rogge to accurately analyze a person's weaknesses and strengths, thereby developing a targeted training plan.
To outsiders, Rogge is a top-notch personal coach! He can even tailor-make exclusive equipment for each person based on their individual strengths!
Only what is suitable is the best.
With Roger's insightful eye, he could clearly define the direction for improvement and the training plan, which was far better than the two of them blindly groping around.
……
As his thoughts raced, Roger took out the griffin pendant he had carefully hidden inside his clothes. He kept the pendant close to his body and wore it around his neck for a long time.
Wearing this pendant close to his body for some time now, he can clearly feel that his overall physical fitness is steadily improving and his physical recovery speed is gradually increasing.
Dragon Tear Gem truly lives up to its name as "the crystallization containing the primordial power of the dragon race".
By the faint moonlight streaming through the window, Rogmoso's pendant was visible.
The pendant still gleamed with a warm glow in the darkness, and a thought suddenly popped into Roger's mind:
"How anxious must the knight be right now, having lost this pendant?"
……
Within the Kingdom of Lion, south of Long River City, northwest of Kwin Town, at the foot of the mountain where the Long River originates.
Deep in a dense forest and canyon, rarely visited by humans, a stone fortress stands.
At this moment, the lights were on in a luxurious bedroom in the stone fortress.
A beautifully dressed young woman with exquisite features was anxiously rummaging through a storage box in her bedroom.
After searching, it was confirmed that the item was also not in the bedroom.
The girl slumped back into her chair, her face filled with anxiety and despair, her dark pupils brimming with resentment and frustration.
Even though she could vaguely recall how she lost it... she still couldn't believe that her most precious treasure had been lost just like that!
A slender woman walked up behind the girl.
The woman had a delicate and pretty appearance, possessing a refined beauty with a touch of heroic spirit compared to a young girl.
Her temperament became more gentle and serene, her figure more rounded and full, with curves in all the right places, and her overall attire exuded an air of nobility...
At this moment, the gentle woman was carefully removing the girl's elaborate headdress and combing her smooth black hair.
"It's such a hassle! Why do you make me wear such complicated headdresses every day?"
"They're all back, but they're not training anymore..."
"I'm your maid, so of course I have to dress you up beautifully every day!"
"My lord, you must live each day beautifully!"
The woman spoke naturally and calmly in response to the girl's complaints. She clearly had a clear understanding of her "identity," even if her "appearance" didn't quite match her "status"...
"Okay, I give up, whatever makes you happy!" the girl said, but she was actually happy inside, and the disappointment of not finding the pendant gradually disappeared.
"Your Highness, what were you looking for just now? Why were you in such a hurry?"
The gentle woman slowly asked, her hands still calmly and meticulously arranging the girl's smooth hair, her expression focused and earnest.
When asked this question by her own maid, the young girl finally resigned herself to her fate, letting out a deep sigh of frustration. She turned around and scrutinized the woman's expression:
"Anna, my heirloom pendant is lost."
Upon hearing this, Anna, the maid who had remained calm throughout, paused in her hand. Looking into the girl's serious eyes, a look of fear gradually appeared on her face.
"Your Highness...is...really?!"
Anna was so shocked by the news that she was speechless, her eyes filled with undisguised anxiety.
In the eyes of the black-haired girl, this maid, who had always been calm and gentle for many years, had finally lost her composure. It was the first time she had ever seen Anna so panicked, and she couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing.
"Your Highness, do you know where it fell?"
The black-haired girl's lips curled up slightly:
"I don't know, but I know who has it..."
I hope he's safe and sound. I'm kind of looking forward to seeing him again...
……