332: Chapter 163: Silver Mountain Crossbow and Magic Materials_2 332: Chapter 163: Silver Mountain Crossbow and Magic Materials_2 Put yourself in their shoes: even if they’re your best buddy, it’d be strange if one day they suddenly had to ride you…
Thinking about it only made it weirder.
Be careful to test the waters…
The guards standing outside the courtyard immediately walked into the back after receiving a message from a soldier.
“My Lord, Lord Azeryan has returned from Silver Mountain City, and the convoy transporting the armaments has arrived at the camp,” the soldier said.
Leon’s eyes lit up with joy upon hearing this.
Finally, he could begin the selection process for the Heavy Shield Crossbowmen in the army.
He instructed Kovis to stay behind and take care of the Griffin, then immediately set off for the camp.
The second military recruitment went smoothly.
In Selva, apart from the disabled veterans of the Longka Battle and a few wealthy families who’d chosen to try their hand at small-scale commerce rather than returning to the battlefield, the vast majority of armed civilians once again chose to return to the camp.
But this time, they were not conscripted militia, but fully armored professional warriors, personal soldiers under the banner of the Sword Wings of Sir Pendragon.
When word spread that Selva was formally recruiting a standing army, many young and sturdy men from Longka and Platon who had participated in the previous bloody battle also came to sign up.
Even youths from villages outside the Three Kingdoms sneaked to Selva in secret, hoping to join Pendragon’s military ranks.
Despite having a selection process based on merit, the mere eighty or ninety available slots quickly filled up.
The eagerness of so many to enlist wasn’t solely due to Leon’s considerable prestige in Kosos County following the victory at Longka.
More importantly, through word of mouth among the neighboring countryside, especially among the subjects of the three lands, the legend of Sir Pendragon’s bravery, generosity, and kindness grew ever more exaggerated.
Such rumors weren’t unfounded either.
Even aside from the villagers of Longka and Platon who’d benefited directly from rewards, as Selva opened up trade routes, the frequency of traffic from neighboring lands increased.
Villagers from other areas discovered that Selva, once a community of poor farmers, now flourished with wealth, and the size of the village had more than doubled.
This wealth was attested to by those who’d received hefty dowries and eagerly married off their daughters to men from Selva.
The prosperity of Selva was the talk of every father-in-law who’d attended the wedding and returned home.
All the various facilities under construction, the residents moving into new houses, and the bustling markets rivaling those in towns, as well as the tall barracks and fortresses…
All of this began only after the knight named Leon had been ennobled to Selva.
Thus, naturally, many outsiders desperate to improve their circumstances flocked to be named under the banner of the generous knight.
Of course, Leon didn’t accept just anyone.
After all, the Thorny Flower Family had previously sifted through the high-quality soldiers from outside the Three Kingdoms, leaving hardly any talented individuals behind.
Aside from the few hunters with exceptional bowmanship who were exceptionally admitted into the camp, Leon still gave priority to soldiers from the local lands of the Three Kingdoms.
Upon arriving at the near-complete Selva Camp and entering, Leon saw soldiers with harmonious calls filling the vast training grounds, practicing their formations and movements.
Brian Sr., limping slightly, walked past the infantry lines, but no one dared to disrespect his authority because of his limp.
Not just because of the old knight’s strong physique, but also because the soldiers had witnessed his valiant acts during the Battle of Longka, where the Centurion, vigorous despite his age, charged forward and slew the enemy.
Without disturbing the soldiers’ basic training, Leon headed to the armory and saw Azeryan supervising the laborers as they transported the goods.
“You’ve had a long journey, it must have been tiring.
I’ll take over here; you go wash up and rest.
I’ve asked Lena to heat some water for you in advance,” Leon greeted him warmly beside the wagon.
Sending Azeryan on every major purchasing trip made him somewhat ashamed, but the son of a noble was just too good to “use” for his reliability, especially for dealings with Guild merchants.
If the straightforward Lokhak were in charge, he couldn’t rest easy without fearing being cheated.
Recently, with General Trosa’s forces passing through his land frequently on their way to the forest, he needed to liaise with the foreign troops to maintain regional stability and couldn’t afford to travel far, so he had to continue exploiting his brother’s labor.
“I’m not too tired; let me show you what I’ve brought first.
This trip to Silver Mountain City really opened my eyes.
What their craftsmen make is truly astonishing, perhaps even surpassing Rolannar’s craftsmen.
Even these Light Crossbows we purchased surprised me with their quality,” Azeryan reminisced, clearly impressed by the precision craftsmanship of the Mechanical Crossbows he’d seen at the Silver Mountain Craftsmen Guild.
Those Repeating Crossbows, which could shoot arrow after arrow in a frenzy with a single pull of the trigger, were terrifying to Azeryan even just from looking at the models and listening to the merchant’s boasts.
However, such finely crafted weapons also had a terrifying price tag.
Azeryan compared in his mind, estimating that only the nobility could afford such playthings.
From what he’d learned while in the city, this was indeed the case.
It was considered the ultimate masterpiece representative of Silver Mountain City and the epitome of Dwarf craftsmanship…
but also the product with the lowest sales for the Silver Mountain Craftsmen Guild.
If it weren’t for every present-day craftsman of Silver Mountain City aspiring to forge a Dwarven Mechanical Crossbow as proof of earning the title of Master, that creation might have stopped production long ago.
Recalling the stunning techniques seen, which were said to be inherited from ancient Dwarf craftsmen, Azeryan led Leon into the armory, where he opened a box covered with a moisture-proof leather skin.
Inside were several sets of disassembled crossbow arms and stocks, along with the corresponding assembly tools, winding mechanisms, and pulleys.