Chapter 111: Chapter 110: The Lord’s Special Weapon

A war with the Giant Dragon Corps was imminent. Only Bed Crossbows could pose a threat to creatures like Giant Dragons, so abandoning them was out of the question.

"The tension from the All-Steel Crossbow Arm, infused with Magic Metal, is too great. I’m afraid only silk spun by the Kas Nesting Golden Silkworm could possibly withstand it. I had intended to ask you, Lord, to purchase this material to make the Bowstrings." An Zhi shook his head with a bitter smile. "But I never expected war to come so quickly and suddenly."

The Kas Nesting Golden Silkworm he spoke of was a low-Tier Magical Creature, but the silk it spun was exceptionally tough and durable. Once processed, it made for the finest quality Bowstring—the primary backup for Dragon-Hunting Crossbows, second only to Dragon Sinew itself.

Frankly, the main reason he had managed to remain optimistic about High Cliff Castle’s impending war with the Giant Dragon Corps was that he was pinning all his hopes on these soon-to-be-completed Bed Crossbows.

But now, just after they had painstakingly solved the issue of drawing the bow, they were confronted by a new dilemma: ordinary Bowstrings weren’t nearly tough enough.

"That’s a strictly controlled military resource. Even if we found a supplier, it wouldn’t be something we could purchase so easily." Levi shook his head, thinking An Zhi’s idea was a bit naive.

Forget asking Miriel and the other merchant guilds; even he, a legitimate Pioneer Lord, couldn’t possibly compete with Debei’s official army for such an in-demand military resource.

And what good is a stringless Bed Crossbow? At best, you could wheel it out to scare people—and you’d have to hope they were blind.

Though he appeared relaxed about the Giant Dragons’ impending attack, Levi’s heart was actually heavy.

Truth be told, half of his confidence came from these Bed Crossbows, and the other half from his own strength.

With his power, he was confident he could make any Giant Dragon pay dearly if it dared to fly low. But the most annoying thing about these creatures was their ability to fly, and their intelligence was on par with humans.

If they sensed danger and soared high into the sky, the Lord would be left to do nothing but stare helplessly.

That was why the Bed Crossbows, with their typical range of over a thousand paces, were so crucial. They would be an excellent deterrent, preventing the Giant Dragons from daring to make low-altitude breath attacks.

"You just focus on forging the Bed Crossbows. Leave the rest to me."

Levi patted the little old man, An Zhi, on the shoulder to manage his expectations.

"Lord, do you have a similar Magic Material?" An Zhi asked, his face lighting up with excitement.

The Bowstring for the Bed Crossbow didn’t necessarily have to be made from the silk of the Kas Nesting Golden Silkworm; other similar materials would also work.

If they had enough material for just two Bed Crossbow Bowstrings, it would surely increase High Cliff Castle’s chances of victory. And if they got incredibly lucky, they might even get to experience the thrill of slaying a dragon.

The Lord met his gaze, also breaking into a smile. A silent, perfect understanding flowed between them.

"I don’t!"

An Zhi had been hot-tempered in his youth—or rather, what blacksmith wasn’t? But his temper seemed to have mellowed with age, and he had gradually become more mild-mannered.

But at this very moment, the little old man, well past fifty, was frantically scanning the ground, looking for an Iron Hammer.

"However, I have a batch of spare Bowstrings for high-quality Longbows. If we braid them together into a single cord, I figure it should be just about usable." A single sentence from Levi was enough to halt An Zhi’s impulsive behavior.

As the very man who had personally bent the Bow Arm, the Lord certainly knew its tension. He wouldn’t have said such a thing if he wasn’t confident it would work.

"It’ll be hard work for a while, but try to forge as many Bed Crossbows as you can. I’ll take care of the Bowstring problem." The Lord then seemed to remember something and pulled two crumpled pieces of parchment from his pocket. "Oh, right, and prioritize these two items for me. Make sure to add some mountain copper to both."

The big boss had spoken, so the Blacksmiths naturally had no objections and were ready to start working overtime that very day.

Thanks to Levi having been a civil engineering grunt in his past life, his skill at drafting blueprints was beyond question. An Zhi understood the designs at a single glance.

But understanding them left him utterly shocked.

The items on the two blueprints were simple enough, but the specified dimensions were staggering.

One was a Shield fully two fists thick, weighing several thousand pounds. Even the gates of Debei’s mightiest cities were probably not much more than that.

The other was for a giant harpoon, shaped like a ship’s anchor with an iron chain attached to the tail.

An Zhi looked at his Lord, hesitating to speak. It seemed only Giants of immense strength could wield such weapons. But then, having witnessed the Lord’s own incredible power, An Zhi suddenly thought that maybe, just maybe, he could use them.

"It is my duty, my Lord."

He suppressed the excitement bubbling inside him. As a blacksmith who had worked with iron his whole life, he had a faint inkling of what these two weapons were for.

"I’ve already sent for Mier," Levi added. "He’ll be working with you."

He had kept Mier stationed at the Feder Tribe for training all this time. Bringing in the man who had originally designed the Bed Crossbow would clearly accelerate their production.

So, he hadn’t hesitated to have Baisitina write a letter and recall him.

The Feder Tribe couldn’t be left without a trustworthy person in charge. After some consideration, Levi decided to send the middle-aged Warrior, Jos, to take his place.

The former drill instructor for the Feder Tribe’s soldiers had no outstanding talents, but he possessed one trait that Levi valued highly.

He was steady.

He would rather earn no merits in battle than make a single mistake.

A personality like that might not be suited for offensive combat, but it was more than adequate for an administrative role governing a territory.

Besides, the iron mine was a strange asset—important in one sense, but not in another.

Its intrinsic value was important, but the mine itself couldn’t exactly be carried away.

Even if it were conquered, Levi wasn’t worried. He could always just take it back.

Therefore, the post of iron mine manager was basically a retirement job. Sending Jos, a middle-aged man with little ambition, was the perfect choice.

As for the bowstrings, there were no spare Longbow bowstrings. The so-called "spares" were simply what Levi planned to purchase from the System.

Generally, items in the System were about thirty to forty percent more expensive than their real-world counterparts, so unless he was desperate, Levi would never buy supplies from it in bulk.

Take, for instance, the most cost-effective bowstring he planned to buy: the System sold it for five Gold Coins apiece, while in the real world, it only cost about three.

The difference might seem small for a single purchase, but for a hundred of them, the gap was nearly two hundred Gold Coins.

Levi made his move, and the One Thousand Gold Coins he had earned recently from selling off scrap weapons instantly hit rock bottom. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The System sold fully-built Bed Crossbows, but their prices were easily in the thousands—far more than Levi could afford. His only option was to build them himself.

Zat led his men to deliver the bowstrings to An Zhi. The issue with the Bed Crossbows was, for the time being, essentially resolved.