Magic, steel, heavy industry

Chapter 20 Elite

"You don't seem worried at all about the guards' safety? There are only 10 of them; do you really think they can win?"

Behind Vilan, Igris, the maid who was in charge of preparing breakfast, couldn't help but ask.

She hadn't expected that such an important matter would be decided over a breakfast. Wasn't that a bit too frivolous?

Upon hearing this, Vilan simply smiled calmly. "Of course, Igris, who do you think they are? They are elite guards trained by the Stone Family from childhood, and each of them has experienced more than three real battles. Every one of them has the ability to become a knight, and they are even more well-rounded than knights."

Vilan praised his guards without reservation, his words brimming with confidence.

Through the original owner's memories, Vilan clearly knew the experiences of these guards; they were by no means ordinary civilians carrying knives, but warriors who had emerged from a brutal selection process.

After all, as the rulers of the North, the Rock Family has never been stingy with gold coins when it comes to the safety of its members. Only those strong enough can become the thorns protecting the Rock Family.

This is why, on his first day in Anvil Territory, Llorente said that it was already quite good that his aunt had allowed Vilan to take away 10 guards.

This is not sarcasm; training a Rock Guardian costs no less than 20 gold coins.

In the entire Northern Territory, only the Stone Family has the ability to train such elite troops.

Therefore, Vilan was not worried at all. Dealing with a few miners and scoundrels was nothing. If he failed, it would bring shame to the entire Stone Family.

"Furthermore, I also prepared some new weapons for them, so we could test their effectiveness in actual combat."

……

"Is everyone here?"

At the foot of the Stag Mountains, Carreras looked back at his guards, who were fully prepared for battle.

To avoid attracting attention, they split up first and then met up here at the end.

Everyone was dressed in full leather armor, holding swords and knives, with crossbows hanging at their waists, and wearing silver helmets engraved with the emblem of the Stubborn Stone family.

"Gei went to deal with the mayor, Mount is still keeping watch outside the mine, I brought his equipment over, and the rest of the people are here."

Vice-captain Rossi nodded. He was a composed man of medium build with eyes as sharp as an eagle's.

Carreras then turned his head fully, his expression serious. "Lord Vilan specifically instructed me to be careful about your own safety. He said our lives are far more important than those thieves. What do you think?"

"It seems Lord Vilan still doesn't trust us," Saka joked.

Then the others laughed too, their faces showing no fear, only eagerness.

Carreras smiled and said, "You're right. We are the guards of the Stone Family. Our duty is to obey our lord and protect his safety. We want Lord Vilan to know that it's not us who should be worried, but those rats and termites!"

"Victory is certain!"

Everyone simultaneously raised their weapons and shouted at the tribal emblem on Karrelas' helmet.

This is the pride of the Stone Guardians; they are never afraid of any battle.

Carreras was pleased with everyone's spirits and then looked at Belin at the back of the group.

"Little Freckles, I heard Lord Vilan sent you with improved crossbow bolts?"

Bering immediately took the cloth bag off his back, took out 10 crossbow bolts, and said excitedly, "Yes! It's just that time was too tight, and those carpenters could only make these."

"Can this thing really shoot farther?"

Carreras looked on with suspicion, and the others stared at Belin with curiosity.

"I swear in the name of the God of Iron Laws! This is an artifact that Lord Vilan and I witnessed together. It contains magical powder, which not only allows it to shoot farther but also faster!"

Bering emphasized excitedly that this was the first task Lord Vilan had given him, and he couldn't let others look down on him.

Actually, these improved crossbow bolts were all made yesterday. After a few carpenters joined the workshop, they immediately came up with a solution.

They pulled out the arrowheads, poured a small amount of blue magic powder onto the joint, and then fixed the arrowheads back in place.

In this way, the cyan magic powder is directly embedded inside the crossbow bolt, eliminating the need for the hassle of manually pouring it out.

They had already tested this method, and the results were excellent. The range and speed of the crossbow bolts were far greater than before, and their power had also increased.

Most importantly, these crossbow bolts can be reused after being recycled, greatly saving on magic powder consumption.

They also concluded that the cyan magic powder would automatically enchant itself and increase the speed of the moving object after sensing that the object was accelerating.

This conclusion was drawn by Vilan, which Bering found very convoluted.

Seeing the certainty in Belin's eyes, Karelas nodded. "Give all the enchanted crossbow bolts to Rossi, our sharpshooter."

Rossi took the enchanted crossbow bolt without hesitation. "I'll turn them into hedgehogs."

"Set off!"

Carreras turned resolutely and led everyone toward the mine.

They jogged along and arrived at the jungle where Mount was hiding in a few minutes. He suddenly jumped down from the tree like a ghost.

"No one has left," Mount stated bluntly.

Carreras nodded, while Rossi tossed his leather armor and a short sword into the bushes.

"Hurry up and get dressed, we still need you to knock on that damn door."

……

Inside the mine, Steel Cable held himself tightly, his mind on edge.

For some reason, he felt uneasy. Could it be because of Wirtz's warning last night?

He looked at the busy miners ahead, and a few overseers with whips, and said, "Hurry up, we'll leave tonight."

Steel Cable smoothed his long hair, but decided to speed up again. Every day he stayed here, he was in more danger.

"Damn it, it's incomprehensible that nobles would come to such a poor territory."

Steel Cable shook his head, muttering to himself somewhat annoyed.

His job was originally just to stay here and send out a batch of raw ore every half month, but everything was disrupted because of the lord who suddenly appeared.

Just as Gangsong was pacing back and forth, a series of loud knocks suddenly sounded on the door.

The overseers all showed signs of impatience.

"Damn Wirtz, wasn't he just here tonight?"

"I guess they're here to urge us to leave again. Looks like we need to teach them a lesson so they'll show us some respect."

Several fierce-looking overseers pulled out whips and looked at the steel cable.

However, unlike their nonchalant attitude, Steel Cable's expression suddenly turned serious, and he gripped his longsword in his right hand, sensing that something was amiss.

"Someone, go open the door."

With one end of the steel cable open and the other end gripping a sword, he quietly moved to the right side of the small door.

The bearded man from last night dismissed it, thinking the steel cable was just scaring himself.

"Boss, aren't you being a little too cautious? Only Wirtz knows the code."

He chuckled twice, then skillfully opened the small door.

"call out"

Accompanied by a sharp gust of wind.

The bearded man's eyes widened, a final shock appearing in his pupils. There was no one in front of him, yet a crossbow bolt had already pierced his throat.