vrcanaries Chapter 35 The Door-to-Door Weapon Order
Chapter 35 The Door-to-Door Weapon Order
The morning light bathed the earth, enveloping every corner of Duanpo Village.
Roger and God walked along the muddy, potholed dirt road back to the blacksmith's shop.
Along the way, I encountered villagers, but I didn't see a single person laughing or talking; they all hurriedly passed by.
But as soon as they turned the corner at the end of the village, the two of them stopped in their tracks.
A large crowd had gathered in front of the dilapidated thatched-roof blacksmith shop, more than thirty able-bodied men, blocking the entire road.
Gold's serious expression instantly turned into surprise, and he patted Roger's arm hard:
"Rogge, business's come knocking! And a big one at that!"
As he spoke, he unconsciously quickened his pace, and Roger followed.
When the two men reached the blacksmith's shop, Virgil, who was greeting the villagers at the door, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing them return, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
Virgil waved to the villagers at the door and pointed at Rogge:
"Please stop crowding around me!"
The person in charge of our shop is back!
"Whatever you need made, whatever your requirements, just talk to Roger! He's in charge of everything at our blacksmith shop!"
As soon as he said that, all the villagers' eyes turned to Rogge.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Rogge approached Virgil.
Virgil nodded, gave Rogge a "I'm leaving this to you" look, and silently turned and stood aside.
Gold also came to stand beside Rogge, silently watching the villagers ahead, the two of them acting like Rogge's bodyguards.
The three of them had already discussed it last night: Roger would be in charge of all the reception arrangements, while the other two would be in charge of forging and "making a name for themselves".
……
Roger took half a step forward, standing directly in front of the crowd, his gaze calmly sweeping over the group of Duanpo Village residents before him.
Someone in the front row had a coarse cloth bag hanging on their shoulder, and Roger thought that it probably contained a lot of cash that they had saved up for a long time.
There were several large baskets piled up at someone's feet, mostly containing dried salted fish and smoked meat.
Some people carried baskets on their backs filled with wrought iron billets, scrap ironware, and other items.
Duanpo Village is not large, and you can easily find out how each household is doing by just walking around their doorstep.
The villagers had naturally seen a bit about Rogge and his group's situation.
The quick-thinking person realized that the blacksmith shop was short of raw materials for forging, so he simply carried the materials with him and went to the shop.
No one had expected that this unassuming, even impoverished shop would actually produce Gis's weapon, which could cut through iron like mud!
The scene of breaking Aino's iron sword in half with a single strike at the arena that day had already spread throughout the village!
Many militiamen tried out Giss's armed sword yesterday.
Regardless of Gis's wishes or his pained expression, he swung the heavy weapon and began chopping at the thick piece of solid wood, which he easily cleaved in two...
My gaze continued to sweep across the back of the crowd, where a woman carrying a basket stood.
The woman was leading a half-grown black sheep, which timidly hid behind her, only its fluffy head showing.
At the village entrance not far away, a group of teenagers were pushing and shoving each other to watch the commotion.
The younger the child, the more worn and patched their ill-fitting linen clothes appear, with some trousers even being too short, exposing their ankles.
Several of the bolder boys had already squeezed through the crowd. Seeing that Roger ignored them, they all continued to peek into the blacksmith's shop from the door frame, showing no sign of restraint.
……
Having observed the situation, Roger already had a clear understanding of what was going on.
"Quiet down, everyone, listen to me." Roger's voice carried a calm and steady tone.
The hushed chatter in the crowd gradually subsided, and everyone fell silent.
Rogge slowly opened his mouth:
"Fellow villagers, I'll get straight to the point."
"Everyone gathered here, are you all here to have ironware made at our blacksmith shop?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd came alive again and responded.
A burly man with a thick beard in the front row spoke in a loud voice: "Master Rogge, I just have one question, is that longsword that Giese is holding really made in your shop?"
"Yes."
Roger nodded, giving an affirmative answer.
As soon as these words were spoken, an elderly man with graying hair stepped forward, his eyes glancing into the room every now and then:
"Impossible! You... your conditions are so rudimentary! You don't even have a decent forge, yet you managed to forge such a good item?"
Hearing the old man's doubts, Roger calmly replied, "We have no reason to lie to you. Whether we did it or not, it will be clear in a day or two!"
Upon hearing this, the villagers, who had initially been somewhat skeptical, instantly became excited. The person in charge of the blacksmith shop certainly had no reason to lie.
"Master Rogge, are your blacksmith shops expensive...?"
"Master Rogge, forge me a sword like Giese's! I have the money, but I don't want one as heavy as his!"
"Brother Rogue, could you forge me a battle axe? The price is negotiable!"
"..."
The noise almost drowned out the blacksmith's shop.
Roger waved his hand to signal for quiet. Once everyone was quiet, Roger pointed to God and Virgil beside him.
"Please be quiet and listen to me."
"Gis's longsword wasn't forged by me alone; the real work was done by these two blacksmiths from Mertenheim in the shop!"
"You've all heard about how amazing Mertenheim's forging skills are, so I won't go into details."
"The two of them forged the longsword entirely on their own; I just assisted them a bit."
Many villagers understood what they were hearing, and their gazes toward the two people in the shop were filled with respect.
God and the other man glanced at Rogge, their faces showing shyness.
Rogge clearly underestimated the villagers' desire for a good weapon.
The villagers of Broken Amber Village have an even stronger need for superior weapons as they prepare to be conscripted by the lord.
Without a good weapon, once you go to the battlefield, you'll only be assigned to a grunt squad and sent to draw enemy fire—completely bombarded!
Within this radius of several dozen miles, apart from Rogge's blacksmith shop, there is currently no other shop that can forge good weapons.
The current situation is that demand far exceeds supply.
It's a seller's market, and Rogge has all the power to call the shots.
The villagers knew exactly what was going on.
The blacksmith's workshop has limited capacity, and they only have seven days to prepare before many of them are conscripted to the lord's stronghold.
As more and more people gathered around them, the villagers were afraid that they wouldn't get a turn, so many people started to push forward, and the crowd became noisy again.
"Quiet down, everyone!"
Roger's voice rose a few decibels.
"There's no use in everyone being anxious! Let me explain myself!"
Seeing the villagers gradually quiet down and look at him expectantly, Roger softened his tone.
"I know everyone is anxious, and what they care about most is the quality and price of the weapons."
"I think some of you already know what kind of sword Geese is holding."
"I assure you all that every weapon that leaves our shop will only get better and better!"
Many of the able-bodied villagers nodded in satisfaction upon hearing Rogge's assurance.
The villagers were clearly more concerned about whether they could get a high-quality weapon as soon as possible!
Will I be able to get a spot in the queue within seven days?
A man pushed his way forward in the crowd and spoke urgently:
"Master Rogge! We trust the quality of your weapons!"
Could you please tell me how much it costs?
...