Chapter 99: Blacksmith

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sound of metal striking metal grew louder with every step.

Roderic glanced at the blacksmith ahead with a smile on his face.

’Truly an amazing place,’ he thought. ’You don’t see shit like this back on Earth.’

Several workers moved around the workshop, carrying metal, feeding the furnaces and hammering away at glowing pieces of steel.

He’d barely reached the entrance when a familiar old man noticed him.

The master blacksmith’s face immediately brightened.

’’Back again, young master?’’ he asked, tossing a cloth aside.

Roderic nodded with a smile.

’’Of course,’’ he replied casually. ’’Where else would I find someone with your expertise?’’

The old man let out a hearty chuckle.

’’You’ve come to bring me something exciting then, haven’t you?’’

Roderic’s smile widened.

’’You know me too well.’’

He reached into his clothes and pulled out several folded blueprint papers.

Thankfully, the system had allowed him to create the copies just as easily as last time.

The old blacksmith’s eyes locked onto them instantly.

Roderic placed the first few on a nearby table before slowly unfolding them one by one.

’’That’s fine, young master,’’ the old man said, stepping forward. ’’If you’ll allow it, I’d like to briefly look through them.’’

One of Roderic’s arms gestured to the papers.

’’The room is yours,’’ he replied casually.

The old man moved forward right away.

As his gaze fell on the first paper, his cheerful expression was quickly replaced by a serious one.

’’Mhm...’’ he murmured as his fingers traced along each of the drawings.

Roderic watched on with a small smile.

He’d come here for the very first time back when his reputation was still kind of in the dumps.

At the time, the old man didn’t even want to spare him a glance.

But that prejudice vanished nearly instantly after the old man saw the large metal bear trap blueprint.

’Now he’s actually quite likeable,’ he thought, smiling warmly. ’Kind of like a nice neighborhood grandfather, but then on steroids.’

Just then, the old man slowly began nodding.

’’These are all very interesting and innovative designs,’’ he said. ’’They seem to be around the same level as those bear traps you had me produce.’’

Roderic’s smile only widened further.

He rummaged around inside his clothes for a moment.

Finally, another rolled-up blueprint came to light in his hand.

’’Would you like to see this one?’’ he asked tauntingly. ’’I’ll have to warn you, it’s far, far more difficult. Even you might be unable to make it.’’

The old man’s brows furrowed.

Aura flickered to life around his feet in an instant.

WHOOSH!

The paper vanished from Roderic’s hands before he could even react.

’Damn,’ Roderic thought, scratching his head. ’The old man’s definitely still got skills.’

At the same time, the old man spread the much larger paper on his table.

For several seconds, there was no reaction.

Then the old man’s eyes widened.

His gaze began moving rapidly across the blueprint, following every line and measurement.

’’What in God’s name...’’ he muttered.

Roderic folded his arms proudly.

The blueprint he’d given the old blacksmith was naturally his extremely complicated and massive metal-piercing ballista design.

’’Well?’’ he asked with a smirk. ’’Still confident?’’

The old man completely ignored him.

His finger moved across several parts of the design before stopping at the firing mechanism.

’’This part...’’ he muttered to himself. ’’And this...’’

His frown deepened the further he got.

Minute after minute ticked by in complete silence.

Finally, the old man looked back up.

’’I can make it,’’ he said slowly. ’’But not alone.’’

Roderic’s eyes lit up.

That wasn’t a problem for him at all!

’’What and who do you need?’’ he asked excitedly.

The blacksmith tapped several sections of the blueprint.

’’I’ll need carpenters for the frame and craftsmen capable of producing some of these smaller components with enough precision.’’

His finger moved down to another section.

’’And assembling the entire thing will be another problem. Some of these pieces are far too heavy for ordinary workers.’’

Roderic waved him off.

’’Don’t worry about that,’’ he replied casually. ’’I’ll just have some knights help you.’’

The old man blinked.

’’Knights?’’ he repeated, confused.

’’As many as you need,’’ Roderic nodded. ’’Money to hire other professionals isn’t an issue... just make sure they are tight-lipped.’’

The old man’s mouth fell open slightly.

This level of support wasn’t what he’d imagined at all!

’’That makes things considerably easier,’’ the old man said, letting out a deep breath.

Roderic smiled faintly.

He stepped closer and tapped on the other blueprints.

’’Make sure you get these done too, though. As many as you can reasonably let your workers make.’’

The old man nodded right away.

However, instead of returning to the blueprints, he remained silent.

His eyes slowly moved between the different designs.

’’Young master... may I ask you something?’’

Roderic raised an eyebrow.

’’Go on,’’ he said.

The old man hesitated for a moment.

’’Previously, you told me those bear traps were meant for hunting,’’ he finally said. ’’But these...’’

He slowly tapped on the ballista blueprint.

’’These clearly aren’t meant for hunting.’’

His expression turned dead serious.

’’Is there a war coming?’’ he asked in a low tone.

Roderic stared at him for a moment.

There really wasn’t much reason to keep this a secret from the man.

’’Yes,’’ he nodded. ’’And it’ll be a big one.’’

The old man’s expression stiffened.

For several seconds, neither of them spoke.

Then he slowly nodded.

’’Understood,’’ he said. ’’I’ll have everything finished as quickly as possible.’’

A large smile appeared on Roderic’s face right away.

’’Good, good,’’ he replied. ’’After this is over, I’ll reward you extremely generously.’’

With that, he turned around and headed towards the exit.

Just before stepping outside, he stopped.

’’Oh, and keep the war to yourself for now,’’ he added. ’’There’s no need to cause panic before preparations are finished.’’

The old man bowed gracefully.

’’Of course, young master.’’

Roderic gave him one final nod before leaving.

The moment he stepped outside, his thoughts moved on to his next task.

’Alright...’ he thought. ’Time to see how much those four morons have grown.’