At the end of July, Laurist received a letter from Fatty Shi at Maple Manor. The letter said that Baron Phillip Charward of the Pegasus family had sent a messenger, hoping to purchase five thousand sets of armor from the Norton family. Baron Shahin, who was also known as Knight Henned, also wrote a letter to Laurist, hoping that he could sponsor three thousand sets of armor and weapons …
Laurist could not return to Monolith Castle, because the old butler Kleis was already in his final stages. After six months, the old butler's condition worsened, and he could not get out of bed. Pat had already been by his side for two months.
Looking at the map, Laurist pondered for a while, then wrote a reply to Fatty Shi. If the Pegasus family wanted to buy the armor, then he would sell it to him. Real money was fair to both the young and the old. If he did not have enough money, he could barter with other supplies. As for Knight Henned, Laurist specially wrote a reply, inviting him to come over for a chat.
When Knight Henned arrived at Maple Forest Manor, he was just in time to see the death of the old butler, Clancy. The old butler was conscious before he passed away. He held onto Lollister's hand and expressed his wish, hoping that he would be lucky enough to enter the forbidden area of the family. Even after his death, he would be able to accompany the ancestors of the Norton family.
Laurist nodded, then shook his head. The old butler did not understand what this meant, and died with his eyes wide open …
Pat was very sad. His parents had died young, and it was his grandfather who had raised him. Now that his only family member had passed away, he was heartbroken. He did not understand why Laurist refused his grandfather's dying request. After all, the old butler Kleis had dedicated his entire life to the Norton family, and he had even stabilized the family's situation at the most critical moment, delaying Laurist's return to inherit the territory and title. He had done a great service to the family, so entering the forbidden grounds was not a problem.
Laurist said that he was preparing to build a family cemetery in White Deer Hill. It was a sacred resting place that the Silver Moon Goddess had bestowed to the ancestors of the family, but the ancestors had not understood it. This time, he wanted to carry out a large construction project to move the remains of the ancestors from the forbidden grounds and bury them in White Deer Hill, so that they could rest in eternal peace. And the old butler Kleis would also be buried in the family cemetery as a member of the Norton family.
Pat's sorrow turned to joy and he volunteered to be the graveyard supervisor. Laurist, on the other hand, was busy dispatching manpower to come up with a plan. He was prepared to cremate the over three hundred corpses in the family's forbidden area, the Corpse Cave, and then move them to Whitestag Hill. He was also going to hire stone sculptors to carve statues of the family's famous ancestors.
The Knight of Henned stayed in Maplewood Manor for twelve days. He attended the cremation and burial ceremony of the old majordomo Clancy, and all that was left was to build a statue for the old majordomo. Padt was in charge of this, but it would take some time. However, Laurist managed to find the time to have a frank conversation with Knight Henned.
Knight Henned was under a lot of pressure. He was facing the second prince's newly established Iberian Kingdom's first legion of more than 56,000 people. Their territories were adjacent to each other, so he had to shrink his forces to protect himself. Under his command were more than 12,000 soldiers from the former Northern Legion, but in the face of the second prince's aggressive actions, he could only try his best not to clash with the second prince's men.
In May of this year, the second prince gave a passionate speech. He said that in order to revive the former Crimson Empire, the Iberian Kingdom had to be united, and all the nobles in the territories had to work together. Only by concentrating their strength could they unify the empire and embark on the road to revival. However, there were still many nobles in the kingdom who refused to follow the second prince's orders.
The second prince was willing to give these nobles a chance to turn over a new leaf. As long as they were loyal to the second prince and contributed to the revival of the empire, the second prince would not pursue their past mistakes. Otherwise, the second prince would lead the kingdom's first legion next year to let these nobles know that the dignity of the kingdom could not be violated, and the king's orders could not be disobeyed …
So, Knight Henned decided to strengthen the military to protect himself. However, it was easy to recruit people, but difficult to gather weapons and equipment. The barony his father had left him was very barren, and he could only rely on the Cherry Blossom Ridge Manor and Evensen City to feed and clothe the 12,000 men under him. If he had not pretended to be Laurist's subordinate and made a fortune in the Grand Duchy two years ago, he would have gone bankrupt a long time ago. This time, he decided to expand to 15,000 men, and he set his sights on Laurist. He hoped that through their old friendship, Laurist could sponsor a batch of weapons and equipment for him.
Laurist was a sentimental person. Seeing how pitiful Knight Henned was, he agreed to his request and sponsored him with three thousand sets of armor and matching weapons. He even thought of a way for him to earn money. He asked him to find Fatty Shi and get him to sell a million kilograms of snow salt in bulk. If the sale went smoothly, Knight Henned would be able to earn around 10,000 gold fords from this million kilograms of snow salt, which would be enough for half a year's military expenses.
After sending away the grateful Knight Henned, Laurist began to organize people to survey the Crouching Bull hill and design the fortress. The Crouching Bull hill was a granite hill. It was only around 15 kilometers away from the military fortress at the junction of the two mountains. It was named for its resemblance to a demonic bull lying on the plains. Currently, Josk's archer and cavalry battalion was stationed there.
By the time the design of the Crouching Bull hill fortress was finalized, it was already September. The Whitestag family cemetery was close to completion, and Laurist presided over the cremation of the family's ancestors before moving them to Whitestag hill.
Laurist's design of the family cemetery was more like a place for leisure. After digging out the shrubs and trees on Whitestag hill, the first ancestor of the Norton family was at the very top. The limestone statue was a knight with a bow drawn. The base was engraved with his deeds and the inscription that established the Norton family.
Apart from the stone statues, there were also limestone tombstones on the entire Whitestag hill. However, there were still several dozen statues that had not been completed, and they would be erected in predetermined locations in the future. Other than that, there was only lush green grass. The family cemetery was surrounded by a short, pointed maple fence. Whitestag hill was surrounded by a sparse forest of maple trees.
When night fell, the figures of the white deer that had disappeared for many days appeared on Whitestag hill once more. They frolicked in the grass between the statues and tombstones, and under the silver-white moonlight, the family cemetery seemed even more mysterious and holy.
Everyone who saw this firmly believed what Laurist had said before. Whitestag hill was a sacred resting ground that the Silvermoon Goddess had bestowed upon the ancestors of the Norton family. From then on, they called the Whitestag family cemetery the Whitestag Sacred Garden.
After finishing his work on the family cemetery, Loriste received a piece of good news. Master Sid had finally produced a set of armor with better defensive power than the White Lion Legion's standard equipment. The messenger hurried to Maple Forest Manor to report the good news.
Laurist then brought some people to the black-iron forge in Blade Peak Mountain Range.
Sid smiled like an old chrysanthemum. He had surpassed the famous armour of the White Lion Legion that had been meticulously forged by several dozen armorsmiths of the former Christen Empire. He had no regrets in this life.
Only when Laurist saw Sid take out the forged armour did he understand. F * ck, he's using steel armour to bully iron armour!
The standard equipment of the White Lion Legion was actually purple-brown fine iron armour. The armorsmiths of the former Christen Empire had added several materials that could guide impetus into the fine iron. After countless experiments, they had obtained the best combination of materials. Then, they had molded the armour and polished it before it was completed. Its defensive capabilities were much better than ordinary iron armour. For example, during the battle of Monolith Castle, the longbowmen under Duke Lujins had fired arrows, but the Norton soldiers wearing the standard equipment of the White Lion Legion were completely unharmed. As a result, the allied forces of the northern nobles had collapsed on the spot.
Sid had taken out a silver-white steel armour. Using a hydraulic forging machine, Sid had forged the black-iron ingot into steel, and then used a self-made hydraulic forging press to press the steel into the armour.
Laurist picked up the steel armour and found that it had three layers. The outermost layer was steel, and the inner layer was lined with black magic cowhide. Beneath the magic cowhide was a fine layer of soft steel wire.
"My Lord, I experimented for a long time before deciding on the formula for this steel armour. It's twice as strong as the White Lion Legion's standard armour, and it can guide impetus faster and more comprehensively. We've done some experiments and found that the White Lion Steel Armour can be pierced by a longbow at a distance of eighty meters. However, our steel armour can only be pierced at a distance of sixty meters. If the wearer uses his Dou Qi to defend himself, then the longbow will only be able to pose a threat at a distance of thirty to forty meters.
The entire set of White Lion Iron Armor weighed thirty-eight kilograms, while our set of steel armor weighed twenty-seven kilograms. With eleven kilograms less, it was a lot less burden for the soldiers. Moreover, our set of steel armor had a more comprehensive defense and was more considerate in protecting the body. After wearing it, it's more flexible and portable than the White Lion Iron Armor … "Master Sid kept talking about the advantages of the steel armor he made. Judging from his description, the steel armor he made had overwhelmed the White Lion Iron Armor in all aspects, and he was immensely proud of it.
"Find someone to wear it …" Laurist said.
Ayer was overjoyed and volunteered to wear the steel armor.
Then, Laurist fainted. It looked too familiar. Wasn't this the armour of the imperial soldiers in Star Wars? Apart from the helmet and the skirt hanging from the waist, it looked very similar. At this moment, Laurist really wanted to ask Sid if he was also a transmigrator.
Sid's helmet had a pointed top and a neck guard. There was also a bear mask that could be lowered to protect the face. It looked exceptionally ferocious. Ell wore the full set of armour, pulled out his sword, and performed all sorts of combat moves. He even called two guards to spar with him for a long time before he came over, panting.
"Locke, this steel armour is indeed much lighter and more flexible than the White Lion Legion's standard armour. It also fits very well. It doesn't feel as heavy as the White Lion Armour. I want to change the armour for the guards first … "Ell requested excitedly.
Laurist looked at Sid. "Master Sid, how many sets of this armour can be produced in a month?"
"Master, this set of steel armour has a total of twenty-one parts. Although it has seven more parts than the White Lion Armour, it's not difficult to produce because of the hydraulic machinery. We only forge the various armour parts here, and then transport them to the industrial castle for decoration and assembly. We are currently understaffed, so I estimate that we can only produce a few dozen sets a day. If Master can give me a thousand more men, and build a few smelting furnaces to increase the production of steel, I think we can produce about two hundred sets a day, "Sid replied after some calculation.
"Alright, Master, I will allocate a thousand men for you. In addition, this steel armour will be named after Master Sid. It will be the standard equipment of the Norton Family. However, I want to change the pointed top of the helmet to a round shape, and add our family's Angry Bear emblem to the breastplate. Can you do that? "Laurist asked.
Hearing that Laurist had named the steel armour Sid, Sid was so happy that he could not stop smiling. This was a good thing that would leave his name in the annals of history. "Master, please rest assured. I will follow your wishes and improve the Sid steel armour so that the family's armed forces can wear our standard equipment as soon as possible. They will no longer have to wear the cumbersome and outdated White Lion Armour."
Ell muttered at the side, "Why do I feel that Master Sid has a deep grudge against the White Lion Armour?"
Laurist laughed. He had heard the former bandit Ovis mention that Sid had been an apprentice in the Empire's armoury when he was young. Once, he had repaired a batch of damaged White Lion Armour. Sid believed that if the White Lion Armour was forged again, it would definitely increase its defensive power. Thus, he secretly experimented with it. In the end, three sets of White Lion Armour were destroyed, and he was chased out of the armoury.
After being chased out of the armoury, Sid had a hard time. He went around to learn from other masters. It was only after twenty years that he became a master armorsmith. After that, the Empire's civil war broke out, and he brought his family to the mountain path. He was forced by the bandits to make armor for them.
Ell was right. Sid really did have a deep grudge against the White Lion Armour. Thus, after discovering the Mystic Iron Mine in the Blade Peak Mountains, he had been researching it without eating or sleeping. Now, he had finally fulfilled his long-cherished wish and created the Sid Steel Armour, which was even better than the White Lion Armour.
"Reidi, record my orders." Laurist ordered, "In order to reward Sid for creating the Sid Steel Armour, the family will reward Sid with a thousand gold coins, and his assistants with a hundred gold coins. The list of names will be decided by Sid himself. The remaining people will each be given ten gold coins."
"Yes, my lord."
"Sid, don't forget that the White Lion Legion's standard equipment is not only the armour, but also the shields and weapons. You must continue to work hard."
"My lord, I will not forget. I will quickly equip the Sid Steel Armour with the same quality shields and weapons. Please rest assured, my lord."
Laurist sent an order to Sadkemp, telling him to pick a thousand of the twenty thousand captives who were building roads in the Fengle Plains and send them to Sid's forge. Only then did he return to Monolith Castle with his guards.
… …
Before he could even take a breather after returning, Miss Bertha had brought Knight Rummond with her to complain.
The matter was simple. Knight Rummond, as an apothecary, had gone to the female battalion to teach the female soldiers the basics of battlefield rescue and alchemy. From May to the end of October, Knight Rummond had impregnated seven of the female soldiers.
Clack. Laurist closed his jaw, which had been knocked off by the shock.
What an amazing man. Laurist looked at Rummond in admiration. How could he not have seen this guy's lecherous nature back in the academy?
Miss Bertha was very angry. Out of the seven women with big bellies, three were squad leaders, two were her assistants, and the other two were very talented. She had high hopes for them, but now they were all taken down by Knight Rummond.
However, it was said that the 7 female soldiers were all willing, and Knight Lemud did not force anyone. So even though Miss Bertha was so angry that she wanted to castrate Knight Lemud, she had no choice but to drag Knight Lemud to Laurist to reason with him.
Even after looking through the rules and regulations of the family's armed forces, there was no way to deal with this situation.
Laurist asked, "What about the seven pregnant women?"
Miss Bertha replied snappily, "They were arguing in the lounge on the first floor. Everyone was saying that someone was shameless enough to seduce their lover. This Knight Rummond …"
"Bring them up and ask them what they want to do."
Alright, Laurist was asking for trouble. The seven pregnant women had turned the lord's office into a wet market. All of them wanted to give birth to Knight Rummond's children and become his wives. Poor Knight Rummond was like a quail, holding his head and not saying a word.
"Enough!" Laurist slammed the table and stopped the argument, "How about this, stop arguing. I'll allow you to marry Knight Rummond. Let him marry all seven of you. Whoever makes another noise will automatically leave. "
Knight Rummond looked at the seven pregnant women who had their mouths tightly shut and cried.
Laurist showed his sympathy and said sincerely, "Knight Rummond, as a man, you have to take responsibility for your actions. Since you have done it, you have to take responsibility. How about this, I'll allow you to take a long vacation and stay at home to serve your seven wives and give birth to their children … "
This was the only solution. Knight Rummond brought the seven pregnant women to the back. Laurist leaned back in his chair and thought to himself.
Miss Bertha was very dissatisfied with Laurist's way of dealing with the situation. Not only did her women's camp lose seven core forces, it was also too easy for Knight Rummond. Not only was there no punishment, but he also got himself seven wives.
"Easy?" Laurist sneered, "Giving him seven wives is the biggest punishment. His days of happiness are waiting for him. Serves him right. This is what happens when you can't control your lower half …"
…
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