Magic, steel, heavy industry

Chapter 52 News of the Steel Cable

After the mad cat left, Carreras suddenly moved from behind to stand in front of Vilan.

"Lord Vilan, I also have something to report, it concerns the steel cable."

"Oh? That guy finally sent a message?"

Vilan's eyes lit up. This was the first time the other party had contacted him since he put the steel cable back. It seemed that the group of thieves were also getting impatient.

Carreras nodded. "Steel Cable sent a letter from his mercenary friend. His injuries are almost healed. The Strongwind Thieves are also eyeing us, especially their leader, Strongwind, who recently acquired a batch of weapons."

"Weapons? Where did they come from?" Vilan frowned. Although the group of thieves was a problem, Vilan didn't take it to heart. After all, thieves and the army were completely different concepts.

But if someone supplies them with weapons, the situation is different.

"Nobody knows where those things came from. It seems like they were left in the wild and were just picked up by Qiangfeng."

"A clumsy excuse, even a child wouldn't believe it."

Vilan pursed his lips, already having a guess in his mind.

There is only one person who is capable of providing weapons and has connections with the Strong Wind Thieves.

Gareth Hawkwood, the greedy baron who always hid behind the thieves.

He was extremely cautious, and even as the mastermind, he left no evidence. Therefore, after Vilan took back the mine, he had no way to confront Gareth.

But the other party clearly wasn't going to let this go, and it's highly likely that he was the one who provided those weapons.

"You don't need to worry. They call them weapons, but they're just a bunch of low-quality swords and axes, a few tattered bows and arrows, and not even a single piece of leather armor," Karelas said nonchalantly.

Vilan shook his head. "Underestimating the enemy is irresponsible to the soldiers, even if they're just a bunch of bandits. Let Mount be in charge of monitoring for signs of thieves. We can't completely trust Steel Chain alone. By the way, how's the deployment of the Magic Powder Crossbow?"

"Rest assured, sir. The carpentry workshop has recruited a new batch of apprentices who are working overtime every day. It is expected that in another two days, all the new recruits will be equipped with magic powder crossbows."

Carreras looked at Vilan with reverence.

He had witnessed the power of those magic powder crossbows, which far exceeded his understanding of crossbow bolts.

Simply by stepping on the cocked bow, it can instantly pierce leather armor at a distance of 300 meters with the simplest horizontal shot. If the user is not wearing leather armor, it can easily pierce the human body even at a distance of more than 400 meters, with a maximum range of more than 500 meters!

That's a distance only a projectile bow can reach, and projectile bows can only suppress, their lethality and accuracy are not as good as the magic powder crossbow.

More importantly, the magic powder crossbow flies extremely fast, making it virtually impossible for the enemy to dodge in densely packed battles.

If those ambitious men and warlords knew about the existence of the Magic Powder Crossbow, they would surely go mad.

Vilan naturally knew the power of the magic powder crossbow; he had tested it thoroughly. The core of the crossbow lay in the acceleration provided by the cyan magic powder and the arrowheads made of gray magic powder, which completely transformed the crossbow bolts into an unpredictable and deadly weapon on the battlefield.

But he didn't expect the carpentry workshop to be so efficient, producing so many finished products in such a short time.

"Have the recruits been trained?" Vilan continued to ask.

Carreras nodded and said, "We've already had them practice in shifts. As long as their movements are standard, they can definitely achieve wide-range strikes."

"That's good. In the next couple of days, continue training the new recruits and also observe the area where the bandits will attack, and choose the most suitable place for an ambush."

"clear."

Carreras immediately withdrew; he now spends most of his time in the military camp and has clearly adapted to the role of a general.

Vilan finally breathed a sigh of relief; all he wanted now was to take a hot shower and end the day's exhaustion.

……

Settlement area for displaced people.

Iglesias carried a dinner into the cabin.

The fireplace was only slightly warm, and the girl on the small bed was curled up in the blankets, staring blankly at the wall.

Upon hearing the door open, the girl immediately sat up straight and said in a youthful, innocent voice, "Sister Igris, you've come!"

"You seem to be in good spirits. In a few more days, you should be fully recovered." Igris smiled and sat down, handing the girl her dinner.

The girl was a refugee from the Bear Eye family. Since being placed in a separate household, only Igris and her younger brother would visit her often, so she was very grateful to Igris.

"Sister Igris, I'm so grateful for your care these past few days, and for all this food. I've never tasted anything so delicious before..." The girl's tone was somewhat dejected. "How can I ever repay your kindness?"

Igris pointed to herself in surprise, "Repay me? You're mistaken. Taking care of you was just a task assigned to me by Lord Vilan. You're not repaying me."

"I know! Lord Vilan must be the best lord in the world! I must repay his kindness, no matter what I have to do!"

"If that guy heard you say that, he'd be overjoyed. Don't worry, he's not helping you out of gratitude. As long as you get better, working hard for Anvil Territory is enough."

Iglesias offered a word of comfort, then turned to look at the fireplace beside her.

"All the firewood burned down, why didn't you say anything?"

She shook her head, turned around and went out, then came back with a bundle of firewood.

These were leftovers from the refugees building their huts, perfect for firewood. Igris piled up the firewood, then took out a goblin magic core, and with a whoosh, a flame fell from her fingertip into the firewood.

"My God! What is that?!"

Upon seeing this, the girl couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Igris gave a sly smile. "It's magic, you know. How about that? Amazing, right?"

"My sister is a magician!"

"I guess so, but without a magic core, all I can do is start a fire."

Igris sighed, then took a goblin core from the pouch at her waist and handed it to the girl. "Here, want to try it?"

"Me?" The girl's eyes flickered, and she hesitated to reach out.

Igris waved her hand. "Don't worry, this is just a common goblin magic core. They're everywhere. Nobody cares about it except Lord Vilan, who treasures it. If you have magical talent, you'll feel it when you hold it in your hand."

Igris forcefully shoved the magic core into the girl's palm.

Actually, she was just looking for topics to talk about, so the girl wouldn't be bored staying in there all day.

Magical talent isn't something that comes easily; only about one in ten people possess it, and most people aren't even aware of it.

Therefore, Igris didn't expect the girl to actually feel anything, but after a moment, a look of confusion and helplessness suddenly appeared in the girl's eyes.

"Sister Igris... I... I feel something strange moving in my palm..."