Magic, steel, heavy industry

Chapter 14 Serfs and Free People

The guards tensed up again.

If the lord misses the target again, shouldn't they offer some words of comfort?

Before they could finish thinking, the crossbow bolt had already steadily missed the bullseye and hit air again.

"Lord Vilan, I think there must be something wrong with the wind today!" Bering used all his knowledge to finally find a reason.

But Vilan didn't listen to anything he said; instead, he kept staring at the crossbow bolt that was flying further and further away.

His eyes widened, and his breathing became a little rapid.

He was certain that the cyan magic powder in the groove had reacted with the crossbow bolt!

The moment the crossbow bolt was fired, some magic powder was carried away, and the blue magic power within it adhered to the bolt.

And what was the result?

Viran immediately looked at Bering, "Measure the distance!"

"OK!"

Belin was startled and jogged to the spot where the first crossbow bolt had landed, which was 40 paces away. Belin figured his crossbow wouldn't deviate too much, and both arrows should land in the same spot.

But when he got there, his expression immediately became incredibly interesting.

"It's gone!"

Belin was a little flustered. This was completely different from his understanding of crossbows. Could it be that there was a problem with the accuracy?

But Lord Vilan is right behind me. Will he be unhappy with me because of this?

Bering clenched his fists and gritted his teeth to continue his search.

"41 steps...65 steps...74 steps..."

Bering kept counting in his mind, but his expression became increasingly uncertain.

We're doomed. We'll just have to wait for Lord Vilan's punishment...

He was filled with anxiety, and just as he was about to give up, a black dot appeared in his vision.

Those were his arrows!

How is that possible!

Bering's lips were dry, but his body never stopped moving forward, measuring continuously, and soon he found the arrow.

The direction was correct, and the arrow was undamaged, but Behring's expression was more interesting than ever before.

"90 steps!"

"Lord Vilan! That arrow flew a distance of 90 paces!"

Bering shouted excitedly, his face visibly flushing.

Was that fired from my own crossbow?

No, it's not a problem with the crossbow, it must be a problem with the user!

As expected of Lord Vilan, only he could do such an incredible thing!

……

"After comparing several experimental results, there is still a large error in the data. Is it a problem with the method of use?"

In the study, Vilan was recording the results of this experiment on paper.

It turns out that the effect of the cyan magic powder is related to speed, which Vilan has tentatively named "speed boost," but it may also be related to reducing air resistance or increasing inertia, which Vilan cannot determine at the moment.

Of course, there's no point in delving into the origins of things; Vilan only cares about practicality.

"Weapon improvement is definitely the top priority. If I can increase the range and power of the crossbow, I will be able to arm a squad of archers."

Vilan wrote down his vision on a piece of paper.

Iron Anvil Territory is facing a bandit crisis, and now there may be another one, Baron Gareth. If Vilan wants to protect his people, he must have an armed force.

However, training from scratch is too slow and impractical, and he can't possibly develop gunpowder and guns in a short time, so becoming a crossbowman is the most suitable development path.

Training a crossbowman is much simpler than training an archer. Imagine a group of crossbowmen firing crossbow bolts that fly incredibly fast and far at the same time—who wouldn't be afraid?

Although somewhat powerless against armored cavalry, Vilan did not believe that those bandits could afford to use cavalry.

"However, the way the blue magic powder is used must be changed. Sprinkling it directly into the groove is not only wasteful but also uneven, which will cause unstable range and affect accuracy."

"Unfortunately, I'm not a weapons design master. Let the professionals handle these kinds of technical issues."

Vilan carefully wrote down the task of "improving the crossbow" on a piece of paper, preparing to find a suitable candidate.

Just then, a familiar voice rang out from outside the door.

"Lord Vilan, may I come in?"

It was Llorente, the advisor who had been extremely busy since accepting Vilan's assignment.

Vilan opened the door with a smile. "Mr. Consultant, I thought you must have brought me good news."

Last time, Vilan gave him three tasks, but strictly speaking, only the third task, which was to find cement raw materials, was the most important.

"Lord Vilan, I have heard about what happened in the square. Without a doubt, your kindness will spread throughout the North." Llorent smiled with admiration.

"In the North, kindness isn't exactly a compliment." Vilan waved his hand, then seemed to remember something. "It's lunchtime, isn't it? Quite a few people should be back with magic cores. Let's go check them out first, and then we'll hear your report later."

"As you wish."

Llorente nodded and followed Vilan out of the castle.

……

At this moment, a dozen women were busy in the town square.

At Vilan's behest, Iglesias selected some diligent women from the serfs and directed them to start a fire on the spot.

Lunch was not lavish, consisting only of bread and broth, but even so, the serfs watching couldn't stop drooling.

Because the bread is freshly baked, the aroma of rye and butter permeates the entire square, not to mention the broth, which, although served with only simple carrot leaves as a side dish, actually contains meat!

That was the smoked mutton that Vilan brought with him when he left his family. Although he didn't use much for soup, he cut it into small pieces.

Imagine how wonderful it would be to find a piece of mutton in your soup bowl!

Even a bystander, a free citizen, couldn't help but ask, "Miss Igris, can I eat these things?"

Igris glared at the man. "Lord Vilan said that only those who work can eat lunch."

The man's face darkened, and he couldn't help but curse Igris in his mind.

But then I thought, I'm a free man, isn't it easy for me to have some meat soup?

His eyes lit up, and he immediately ran out to wait outside the town.

Sure enough, several serfs ran back excitedly. He waited for a while and finally saw a thin, lone boy.

"Hehe, the broth is here right now!"

The man rubbed his hands together and swaggered over.

……

Carl was excited.

I met the lord in the morning. My mother and sister were also chosen by Miss Igris to cook. I was incredibly lucky and found a bunch of frozen goblin corpses in a ditch, which helped him collect 20 magic cores.

There's still time this afternoon. If we try hard, we can get another dinner, plus one for Mom and my sister...

Good heavens! Enough to feed my family for several days!

Just as Carl was lost in thought, a malevolent figure blocked his way.

"You stinky little thing, did you crawl inside a goblin's belly to dig for rocks?"