Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 324 Armor Orders and Economic Pressure

"devil?"

Upon hearing the key words in Xia Nan's words, Barn paused involuntarily.

Their gazes unconsciously shifted from the bundle on the ground to the black-haired youth wearing only a shirt.

"No wonder..."

No wonder not only was his armor ruined upon his return, but even the weapons he used were damaged.

But I remember when we first met last year, he was just a struggling adventurer who couldn't even afford equipment. How long has it been, and now he can seriously consider the devil as an opponent?

Barn was surprised by the other party's speed of improvement, but his professional ethics made him suppress his curiosity and not ask any more questions.

With a glance and after receiving Xia Nan's permission, he bent down and pulled a steel fork from his bundle, examining it carefully.

As a blacksmith from a dwarven clan who has run a shop in a major town on the adventurer front for many years, his experience is extensive, and he has considerable experience in handling weapons and equipment from infernal demons.

Barn was well aware of the characteristics of these Infernal Equipment and knew how to handle them to maximize their value.

The rough skin on the fingertips, hardened by the molten metal, gently brushed against the steel fork that reflected the cold light of the metal, and a faint sound rippled through the air.

He explained to Xia Nan the relevant information about the equipment from the Nine Prisons of Bato:
"The second level of Purgatory, 'Dis,' has some of the richest mineral resources, even in the entire multiverse. Those endless, massive mountain ranges, even if you just take a random peak, the minerals contained within are enough to make the developers extremely wealthy."

"To put it dramatically, you don't need to specifically choose a location or conduct geological surveys. Just grab a shovel, dig a couple of times in the ground, and you might just discover the hidden minerals."

As he spoke, a hint of longing appeared on Barn's face.

Clearly, this unique geographical environment, which resembles a "spectacle," is as attractive to dwarven blacksmiths who regard forging and mining as their lifeblood as an oasis to a lost soul in the desert.

"Of course, the quality of these ores from the Purgatory Mountains varies, and not all of them are suitable for forging high-level enchanted equipment. Some of them are of such poor quality that mining them would be a waste of effort in the material world."

"But for 'Dis' on the second level of Purgatory, this won't be a problem..."

To be honest, I just feel a sense of disconnect.

When ordinary people in remote areas of the material world still had to rely on barren land to grow crops, and couldn't even get enough to eat, and could only hitch a ride on passing caravans and mule carts for daily travel.

The second level of Purgatory, "Dis," has formed a semi-complete industrial system, with massive factories and workshops scattered across almost every street.

From mining and transportation to smelting and shaping, and then to processing and selling, there are corresponding standardized processes for each piece of ore.

Perhaps in the realm of high-end equipment, it cannot compare to those master craftsmen who may spend years forging a single piece of equipment by hand, hammer blow by hammer blow.

However, in terms of production quantity and the quality of basic equipment, they far surpass most countries in the material world.

Taking the steel fork that Barn is currently holding as an example, it's impossible to say that it's of particularly good quality.

As a lowly minion in purgatory like the Little Devil, the weapons he uses are naturally the most worthless.

However, the steel fork itself is far more sturdy than the hoes and shovels in the hands of farmers in the fields, and even surpasses the weapons in the hands of some low-level adventurers.

"These four steel forks must be spoils of war collected from the little devil, right?"

Xia Nan nodded.

"You may not know this, but the weapons that are specifically distributed to the lowest-level demons in these purgatories are actually made from very low-quality ores."

"It only has this strength because it has undergone special processing in their factories."

"If an ordinary adventurer is in a difficult situation, cannot afford suitable equipment, but has experience in using the relevant type of weapon, then they can keep it for their own use."

"But it's definitely useless to you."

"Of course, we can melt them down and reforge them, but as I mentioned before, the material quality of these equipment is very average. If I forge them myself, I might be able to restore them to the strength of the steel fork they are now after recasting, but the time and effort involved... are actually not as good as using normal materials for conventional forging."

"It's a thankless task."

When the conversation turned to his professional field, Barn's expression became exceptionally serious and focused, his neatly braided beard swaying back and forth in front of his chest as his deep voice echoed in the room.

"Therefore, my personal suggestion is to sell these four little devil forks directly as spoils of war, without spending any extra time and energy to consider any unnecessary processing."

Xia Nan had no forging experience, but as an adventurer with outstanding perception, he could vaguely sense the strength of the Little Devil Steel Fork's material.

If it were to collide with the [Emberfall] longsword in his hand, it would probably be cut in half on the spot.

Now that I've heard Barn say this, I feel more at ease.

He nodded slightly and replied:

"Then let's do as you say and sell it directly."

"But what about this longsword from the Demon Lord? In my opinion, its strength is quite good. Is there any other suitable way to deal with it?"

Naturally, Xia Nan wouldn't overlook this weapon, which had been used so much that it had been chipped in two. He asked Barn about it.

In response, the veteran blacksmith, with whom he had collaborated many times, offered his own answer:
"Of course!"

"Although demons like the Sumeru are not considered high-level types in Purgatory, they are often equipped with decent weapons due to their fighting style and humanoid size."

"This long-handled knife is also forged from infernal metal. Unfortunately, although the handle is also made of metal, its quality is very poor, almost the same as the little devil's steel fork from earlier."

"The only usable part of the whole is the blade."

He had only spoken halfway when Barn's gaze involuntarily drifted to the [Emberfall] longsword on the table behind him.

"It's said to be usable, but if it's used to forge weapons, it's definitely not as good as the straight sword you have now."

"My personal suggestion is..."

Barn suddenly hesitated.

His impression of Xia Nan gradually became more complicated with each collaboration.

—A young adventurer with exceptional talent and outstanding combat abilities.

This is the base color.

In just over a year, he has grown from a low-level adventurer to someone who can spend three thousand gold coins to forge his main weapon, which is enough to prove how fast he has progressed.

As for his "outstanding combat ability," his reputation as "Gray Sword" in the town was one aspect, but another was naturally due to the armor that kept breaking down one after another, like consumables.

He forged them all by hand, so Barn was well aware of how strong these pieces of equipment were.

Even if there is some wear and tear during a high-intensity battle, he can repair it by sending it back to the blacksmith.

However, based on the situation described by the other party and the few scrapped items that were returned, these armors are so badly damaged that they can only be treated as pure iron blocks and are difficult to repair.

At first, Barn was only surprised by how quickly the opponent's armor was destroyed.

But then, when Xia Nan stood in front of the counter, completely intact, ordering new armor from her, she was surprised.

Barn finally realized—

One piece of armor after another was destroyed, but how come he... was alright?

He hadn't even seen any serious injuries; at most, they were minor wounds with two bandages wrapped around them, a stark contrast to the exaggerated rate of armor failure. To some extent, this was why he was paying increasing attention to the frequency of Xia Nan's armor failures.

Right now, as the other party handed him the longsword from the Hellfire Demon and asked for his opinion on how to handle it.

These views on Xia Nan also influenced his thinking.

The blade is not very long; it may be wide and thick, but it is far from the size required for half-body armor.

If Barn wants to save some energy, he can directly propose to Xia Nan that the blade be melted down and recast into a spare dagger, or an arm guard, wrist guard, or similar item.

He believed that given the young man's trust in him, he would not refuse.

Of course, out of professional ethics, I couldn't cut corners.

This is simply a relatively easy solution, and it is entirely reasonable and in the best interests of both parties.

But right now, the dwarf blacksmith has a different idea.

From the perspective of a blacksmith shop owner and a merchant, Barn naturally hoped for more customers like Xia Nan, or even the more the better.

Every few missions, they come to the shop to buy new high-level armor, bringing in three-figure gold coins every month. Who wouldn't welcome such a customer?

However, if we look at it from the perspective of a craftsman who focuses solely on forging and aims to become a master blacksmith.

At such a high frequency, each time Xia Nan's armor was destroyed, it was a powerful blow to his will.

It can't go on like this!

A resolute glint flashed in Barn's eyes.

He swallowed back the suggestion that Xia Nan should melt down the blade and forge it into a wrist guard, which was about to slip out of his mouth.

"Armor..." he suggested to Xia Nan, "Use this piece of the blade as the main material for some key parts to forge a suit of armor."

Without a doubt, this was a thankless and arduous choice for Barn.

Compared to the wrist guards or spare daggers in his mind before, forging armor with this blade means that he needs to spend more effort on designing the appearance of the armor, the way the blade materials are fused, and the selection of other auxiliary materials, among other factors.

From a profit perspective, it may be more than the previous options, but it is not enough to offset the time and effort costs involved.

It wasn't exactly a losing proposition, but it was pretty much a loss.

However, driven by his own conviction, Barn still resolutely gave Xia Nan this advice.

"Oh? Armor?"

Xia Nan had no idea of ​​the countless thoughts flashing through the blacksmith's mind with each breath. He only felt the burly man in front of him hesitate for a moment before giving his advice.

There is nothing wrong with that.

As the user, he naturally hopes that the armor can be more durable, saving him some money.

Compared to the bracers and daggers that Barn didn't mention, armor is a better fit for his current needs.

but……

"Wouldn't it be a bit difficult to forge armor from just this one piece of blade?"

Looking at the Demon Blade in Barn's hand, Xia Nan asked his question.

“It’s definitely not enough!” Barn gently stroked the surface of the blade with his fingertips, a thoughtful look on his face. “But there are solutions.”

"Just like the plate chainmail armor you bought before, the armor itself doesn't need to be one piece. Use high-quality metal for protection in key and vital areas, and connect the middle with sturdy materials that have slightly weaker defensive capabilities."

Of course, this also means that Barn needs to rethink the overall structure of the armor, rather than using a fixed template like standard equipment on the shelf.

Xia Nan's heart skipped a beat as he vaguely sensed the meaning behind the other person's words.

"How much does it cost?"

After all, he still wouldn't be able to pay off the remaining balance on the [Emberfall] straight sword until the reward from the association's commission came in a few days later.

If he were to incur another large expense now, he might not even be able to afford cream of mushroom soup.

Fortunately, Barn's subsequent reply relieved him.

The other person reached out and gently patted the blade, a smile appearing on their face, and explained:

"Don't worry, the material grade of this Demon Blade is definitely not as good as the silver ingots you provided before, nor does it need expensive auxiliary materials like 'Yangli Iron Plating Powder'."

"It's just that because the blade is small, it requires more metal auxiliary materials."

"A complete set of armor should not cost much more than the leg armor you are wearing now."

"Around... five or six hundred gold coins?"

Hearing this, Xia Nan breathed a sigh of relief.

Good news, the rewards from this mission are enough to pay off the remaining balance of [Emberfall] and slightly replenish my savings.

Bad news: new armor orders are about to drain my hard-earned savings.

There is a high probability that I will fall back into debt.

make money!make money!make money!

The only short-term goal is to make money.

If things go wrong and we can't even afford the cost of food and lodging at the tavern, that would be a real problem.

The forging of the armor will take a considerable amount of time. Xia Nan doesn't have enough savings and can't just stay in town waiting. He needs to use this time to take on some low-risk missions and earn some extra money.

Therefore, after confirming the order with Barn, measuring body data, and briefly discussing the armor manufacturing process,

He spent 50 gold to buy an extra set of fine chainmail for temporary use at the blacksmith's shop before taking his leave.

"crunch..."

The wooden door closed, and the screech of hinges scraping against each other echoed behind me.

The straight sword [Emberfall] replaced the original decapitation sword and was tied behind his back, allowing Xia Nan to return to his "dual sword form".

He had barely relaxed after returning home when the pressure of debt hit him again, making him feel somewhat irritable.

Besides, now that I have a new sword, I'll have to try it out.

"I've been under a lot of pressure lately..."

"Hmm, let's make things difficult for the goblins."

　Thank you to "Sreduce" for the generous donation. One more chapter owed...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)