Chapter 8 Allen's Longbow

"Clang...clang...clang," the forging hammer rose and fell continuously, and in less than a quarter of an hour, a giant horse-slaying sword was forged. Liu Da, the old foreman of the blacksmith's workshop, picked up the sword and carefully examined its color under the sunlight. His hands gradually began to tremble, and his face grew increasingly red. Only a quarter of an hour! In the past, forging a horse-slaying sword would take at least three... dozens of hammer blows after heating it red-hot, then it would have to be reheated in the furnace. Now, it was forged in just one heating cycle.

"Young Master, this horse-slaying sword is made of superior material. After further quenching, it will become a top-notch military sword." After examining it carefully, Liu Da handed the sword to Qin Mo with both hands, his face full of excitement. With such a divine weapon, becoming a heavily armored soldier was no longer a dream.

Qin Mo picked up the broadsword and twirled it a few times, drawing cheers from the crowd. After nearly a month of combat training, he felt completely transformed, now brimming with power and confidence.

"Syman, make a few more forging hammers, and then forge me a suit of armor, just the same as everyone else's." Qin Mo assigned Syman the task, intending to be a wicked capitalist and squeeze every last drop of value out of him.

While silently muttering to himself, Ximan carefully pondered the mysteries of the forging hammer. He seemed to be moved by Qin Mo's discourse on "various kinds of beauty" and developed a strong interest in this simple yet powerful new machine.

A few days later, Qin Mo looked at a set of armor on the table and sighed. "Elves are elves. No matter how tempting they are, they still have their own principles, principles that are ingrained in their bones."

The helmet on the table was predominantly black, but intricate patterns were engraved on it with many silver pieces, maintaining a unified style from every angle. It exuded a natural elegance, unpretentious and unforced, as if it were a living thing that had naturally grown into this form.

"Syman, what grudge do I have against you? When did I ever steal your lollipop? Or when did I ever bully Xirui? Why do you hate me so much?" Qin Mo muttered helplessly to Syman, making Syman's eyes start to blaze with anger, the prelude to her outburst.

"We're going to deal with orcs this time, right? Orcs have archers, right? You don't want me to get riddled with arrows, do you?"

"The orcs don't have many archers, and even if they do, they're trash archers," Allen explained to Qin Mo in a serious tone. Qin Mo had never been on the battlefield, nor had he ever fought with outsiders; in Allen's eyes, he was a complete novice.

"Oh! Alright then, I'll reluctantly wear this!" Qin Mo quickly put it on. Actually, Qin Mo was almost dazzled when she saw this armor. It wasn't armor at all; it was a work of art.

"Although the orcs have no archers, their javelin throwers are very skilled, hitting their targets every time within fifty feet."

"Holy crap!" Qin Mo almost choked to death. Looking at the serious-looking Allen, Qin Mo really wanted to strangle him half to death, provided that she could beat this great elf who was born for battle.

"This armor doesn't suit me. Look at it, it has no imposing presence at all." Qin Mo looked in the mirror and found a compelling reason. He couldn't possibly be afraid of death, and this gleaming armor was just an arrow absorber, could he?

Qin Mo in the mirror was indeed... very beautiful. Qin Mo's figure was already slender, and his face was so captivating that even wearing armor only slightly transformed him from beautiful to handsome. Coupled with those shimmering patterns... he was still... beautiful overall.

Suppressing the urge to smash the mirror, Qin Mo removed her armor and said to Ximan, "I need a suit of armor that makes me look imposing and powerful, the kind that gives me a commanding presence."

“But you are already…” Simon stopped talking. He originally thought that Qin Mo had a perfect elven appearance, so how could she be so rude? But after looking at Qin Mo’s round ears, he had no choice but to stop talking. The only thing about Qin Mo that didn’t look like a purebred elf was that she didn’t have a pair of pointed ears like Allen’s.

"Perhaps the young master prefers dwarven-style armor! We can find a dwarven suit of armor for Siman to look at when we go to Fusang another day, make some improvements, and then make a suit for the young master." Allen had now seen Qin Mo's concerns. In fact, he felt that Qin Mo didn't need to worry at all. With him, the elven archer, by Qin Mo's side, how could she be shot first?

"Alright, Allen, let's start tomorrow. Teach me Elven archery!" Qin Mo decided to stop discussing the armor issue and focus on gaining the upper hand on the battlefield. He had considered building muskets, but time was too tight. There wasn't enough time to build a steel furnace, and without high-quality steel, the muskets he made would be lacking in power and weight. Without a suitable simple lathe, the manufacturing speed would be hopeless.

Moreover, musketeers also need training. Although it takes less time than training heavy infantry and longbowmen, the combat concept of musketeers is completely different from that of cold weapon combat. Just adapting to the new environment is a headache for Qin Mo, not to mention the preparation time needed to refine and manufacture gunpowder. What he lacks now is time.

More importantly, what would be the consequences if gunpowder were revealed to the Great Xia army this time? I'm too weak; I might not be able to protect the secret of gunpowder. If I lead Great Xia into the age of firearms, I wonder if I'll be discarded after being used? Forget it, I'll wait a few years until I'm stronger and see.

Looking at the longbow in his hand, which also had smooth patterns, Qin Mo forced himself to calm down and train meticulously. Although he was thin, his Yuan energy was pure, and he could draw a five-dan bow. He could pierce heavy armor from fifty zhang away and penetrate light leather armor from a hundred zhang away. In the army, he would already be a standard archer prospect.

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