Chapter Forty-Two: This Kid Came Here to Cause Trouble, Didn’t He?

"Hongluan, take a team and thoroughly survey all the terrain within a ten-mile radius of Qinghe Town. I need to know every single ditch and hillside like the back of my hand!"

Sumu said to Jiang Hongluan beside him with a very solemn expression.

Jiang Hongluan nodded and gave a formal, respectful salute.

"Task guaranteed!"

Seeing this, Sumu turned to look at Xu Qing and continued, "Xu Qing, take a team and gather all the medicinal herbs listed in this catalogue. Once the battle begins, every single herb on this list will save people's lives!"

Xu Qing looked into Sumu's eyes, her heart skipping a beat. She froze for a second before nodding.

"Captain, rest assured, I will not let you down!"

Seeing Xu Qing's reaction, Sumu rubbed his forehead and gave a light cough.

"Xu Qing, this matter is of the utmost importance, so you must pay extra attention!"

"If you complete this mission, there will naturally be a reward for you."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing's eyes instantly lit up.

"A reward? Really?!"

Sumu nodded, looking at the five of them.

"Not just Xu Qing. As long as any of you complete your missions, you can make a single wish, and I will do everything in my power to help you fulfill it!"

Guan Qing and the others exchanged glances and smiled.

"Understood!"

Seeing Guan Qing's smile, the corners of Sumu's lips curved upward.

"Don't celebrate too early. Your tasks won't be easy by any means!"

...

The Blacksmith Shop.

Guan Qing watched Old Zhang hammering away at iron ore, his mouth hanging open slightly. In disbelief, he turned to look at Sumu beside him.

"Captain... do you mean that we are all going to help with the forging during this time?"

"Um, none of us know how to do this! What if our mistakes end up wasting this huge pile of materials? This..."

Guan Qing was practically stammering.

Sumu patted Guan Qing on the shoulder and walked up to Old Zhang.

"Old Zhang, I'll leave this kid and his team in your hands."

"Over the next month, Old Zhang, you might need to put in some extra effort to drive them hard in learning the art of forging, so we can finish crafting thousands of sabers and their matching bows and arrows."

Old Zhang rolled his eyes at Sumu and retorted grumpily, "You're a crafty one. Don't think I don't know what you're really up to."

"You clearly want to use my guidance to give them some harsh training!"

"Well, seeing as you saved the Battalion Commander, I'll take the job!"

Suddenly remembering something, Old Zhang walked up to Sumu, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"However, the crossbows you want built seem rather different from the standard bows and arrows of Daliang, don't they?"

Sumu nodded and said earnestly, "I've studied this carefully. The crossbows currently used by the Xilin Army have a major flaw: it takes far too long to reload."

"You have to redraw the bowstring, take aim, and release again, which causes you to miss countless opportunities on the battlefield."

"Therefore, the crossbow I've redesigned is capable of firing four consecutive shots. The archer only needs to pull the trigger to release four arrows all at once."

"Moreover, this kind of crossbow possesses immense lethality and can easily pierce the barbarians' armor."

Old Zhang couldn't help but swallow hard.

Four consecutive shots?

Doesn't that mean a thousand archers could unleash four thousand arrows in a single instant?

And the most crucial point is this:

Conventional bows and arrows required both hands to complete the process of drawing and releasing.

Consequently, unless one was a seasoned master, it was virtually impossible to shoot a bow from horseback.

But now!

This crossbow could be operated entirely with one hand!

This crossbow could rightfully be called the ultimate trump card for cavalry!

Old Zhang took a deep breath and looked directly into Sumu's eyes.

"Rest assured! During this time, I will do my utmost, squeezing every ounce of strength out of everyone here, to forge these weapons to perfection!"

Sumu nodded.

"I'm sorry to trouble you."

"By the way, I've noticed something. The bellows you're using could use some appropriate modifications."

Sumu pointed at the bellows nearby and said thoughtfully.

Old Zhang paused, looking at Sumu with confusion.

"Modify the bellows?"

Sumu walked over to the bellows and gently tapped them with his finger.

"The way these bellows generate wind is far too crude; they fail to concentrate the airflow properly."

"If we modify their air intake vents, we can significantly increase efficiency and raise the flame's temperature much higher."

"During the forging process, this will also allow us to purge more impurities, resulting in far superior weaponry."

Old Zhang couldn't help but chuckle.

"What? Does a young fellow like you actually know anything about forging?"

Sumu smiled faintly.

"I've dabbled in it a little bit before."

Hearing this, Old Zhang immediately grew interested.

"Why don't you try this so-called modified bellows of yours, and then forge a saber for me to see?"

Over the years, when it came to blacksmithing, Old Zhang had never encountered a single rival in Qinghe Town.

He was also curious to see if the young man before him could pull off a pleasant surprise.

Seeing this, Sumu loosened his wrists and set to work modifying the structure of the bellows.

During his wilderness survival training in his past life, Sumu had tinkered with such devices before.

He still retained quite a clear memory of it.

He hadn't expected it to come in handy right here, right now.

Furthermore, as the successor of an ancient martial arts lineage, his research into cold weapons surpassed anyone else's imagination.

Sumu adjusted the bellows, and the flames instantly blazed fiercely.

The heat radiated outward became noticeably higher.

Old Zhang raised an eyebrow in utter astonishment.

Does this kid actually know what he's doing?

Before Old Zhang's shock could even subside, Sumu picked up the forging hammer and clamped down on a piece of iron ore glowing fiery red.

Seeing Sumu's gaze and the fluid movements of his hands, Old Zhang drew in a sharp breath.

As the saying goes, laymen watch the spectacle, while insiders watch the technique!

He knew very well!

The little trick Sumu had just pulled off was something that absolute could not be achieved without a dozen years of hard practice!

Forging!

The most critical step was the hammering of the raw workpiece.

They always said that steel is refined through a hundred hammerings!

Yet the core of it all lay in whether one could precisely control the force of every single strike to thoroughly drive out the impurities hidden within the iron ore.

As Sumu gripped the forging hammer and brought it down on the iron ore with fierce, controlled power, a sharp, ringing impact echoed instantly.

Sumu closed his eyes, listening intently to the subtle changes in the sound.

He began adjusting the force and angle of every subsequent strike.

Witnessing this, Old Zhang's expression changed completely.

Listening to the hammer?

That was a technique only possessed by a grandmaster of forging!

Over the years, it was only after thousands and thousands of trials and practices that he had finally managed to brush against the threshold of this skill!

And yet... Sumu, right before his eyes, had already mastered it?

Moreover, if he himself could only be considered as having barely stepped past the threshold of listening to the hammer, then Sumu standing before him had achieved at least the proficiency level of an adept!

Old Zhang scratched his head, pulling at his hair, feeling completely bewildered.

Was this kid here specifically to steal his thunder and smash his reputation?

Even if he simply made a living purely by blacksmithing, this level of skill would be enough to earn him invitations from countless powerful patrons.

What a little monster!

Following a swift and flawless quenching process, Sumu put down the forging hammer, walked up to Old Zhang, and smiled lightly.

"Have a look at this saber of mine. How does it feel to you?"