Zongman: The wrong person on the ground, double Shenwei at the beginning

The blacksmith, his black hair swaying, crossed his arms and looked at Rhodes with a smirk.

"That's right~"

Rhodes had just arrived at the Hephaestus Familia's encampment when he heard this unexpected news, which made him somewhat worried.

"Going out in such a dangerous time?!"

Chun shrugged and stated her reason as a matter of course.

"After all, a weapon that meets your unheard-of and outrageous requirements cannot be forged in Orario."

"..."

"Don't look so complicated. The value of a blacksmith is to give the best weapons to the most suitable people. Lady Hephaestus has been smiling a lot more since she met you!"

Tsubaki, who should be most worried about her goddess, instead laughed heartily and comforted Lotte instead.

"After all, the goddess hadn't felt the urge to forge anything herself for a long time."

Rhodes took a deep breath and silently remembered Hephaestus's sacrifice.

"Where did she go?"

Chun gazed at the distant East with her squinting right eye.

"Zoringen, the city of swordsmanship".

"!!!"

From the perspective of the labyrinthine city located at the westernmost end of the continent, it is an industrial city further east, beyond the treacherous Alf Mountains.

As its name suggests, it is a city of blacksmiths who produce weapons with swords as its core.

"Lady Hephaestus has visited there several times in the past, and this time she is protected by my companions as well, so you don't need to worry too much about her safety."

Rhodes took a deep breath, pinched the bridge of his nose, and guessed Hephaestus's intention.

"Do you want to borrow the Immortal Essence Furnace?"

Chun turned her head and looked at Luo De in surprise, then asked him questions with great interest.

"You're not even a blacksmith, how do you know this? Have you been to the Sword City?!"

Sword City has a long history of connection with immortals, and many buildings constructed by immortals still remain there today.

The Immortal Essence Furnace is a special device that blacksmiths can use to enhance weapons more effectively than with ordinary forging methods.

Its true value is especially evident when crafting the "Magic Sword" or special weapons.

Essentially, it is a means of improving forging quality by using external forces.

Given Hephaestus's forging skills, she wouldn't need to rely on such an external tool.

But the goddess was probably truly inspired by Rhodes's competitive spirit and decided to use all available resources to forge the strongest weapon to surprise him.

Rhodes shook his head.

"I've only heard of it. Since Hephaestus isn't here, I'll visit again another time."

"Wait a minute, don't rush off!"

Chun quickly stepped forward and hugged Luo De's arm, chuckling.

"What brings you here today? Are you here to repair armor? Or to forge a secondary weapon?"

"Even though I'm not involved in the main weapons, I should still feel a sense of participation in other aspects."

Chun's face radiated confidence.

"While Lady Hephaestus is away, I am the strongest blacksmith in all of Orario! If you need anything, feel free to ask me!"

After saying that, Tsubaki stared at Rod with bright, expectant eyes.

Rod asked curiously.

"You said you're the strongest now?"

"of course!"

"Stronger than Guberniu?"

"..."

Chun was momentarily stunned, her face flushed as she coughed lightly and emphasized loudly.

"Of course I'm not talking about gods!"

After a brief flirtation with the handsome half-dwarf, Rod decided that Chun was trustworthy and simply took out a pistol from his pocket and handed it to her.

"I originally wanted to discuss this with Hephaestus, but since you put it that way, I'll leave it to you."

Chun curiously took the pistol, examined it carefully for a moment, her eyes brightened, and her face showed the excitement of a child who had received a favorite toy.

"Such fine machining marks, such ingenious mechanical structure!"

"What is this? Where did it come from? How do you use it?!"

Rod took out the second pistol and demonstrated it casually.

"Take out the magazine like this, check the number of bullets. Turn off the safety, pull the slide to confirm that a bullet is chambered, and then... pull the trigger."

boom--

The high-speed bullet pierced a hole in the wall.

Chun immediately pounced on it excitedly to examine the signs of damage.

"Wow, even a level 5 wouldn't be able to withstand this power with their bare hands!"

"However, if facing a wealthier level 2 adventurer, it would probably be difficult to penetrate their carefully purchased armor."

She began to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the weapon to herself.

"The speed of that bullet was indeed fast, but a level 3 adventurer could easily react to it."

"It's truly astonishing that such a small weapon can generate so much energy... Is it the latest creation of some master craftsman?"

"Strangely, the components of this weapon, which is called a pistol, are all very regular, and it doesn't look like it was hand-forged at all... Wait...!!!"

As they were talking, Chun, who was fiddling with her pistol, suddenly widened her eyes, turned sharply to look at Rod who was smiling faintly, her pupils filled with disbelief.

She swallowed hard, her heart pounding wildly at the audacious conjecture in her mind, even feeling a sense of fear.

"Is this Rhodes thing... perhaps mass-produced?"

"Yes."

Rod's nonchalant affirmation completely shattered Chun's wishful thinking.

She staggered a few steps and leaned against the wall, looking down at the pistol in her hand with a deep frown, as if she were looking at something extremely terrifying.

"No favors are needed, no magic is required, just a little strength is needed to gain the power to kill adventurers... It's amazing that you, Rhodes, could produce such a terrifying weapon."

For a moment, Chun didn't know how to deal with this hot potato in her hands, and scratched her head with a wry smile.

"I should have known better than to make such a boast... It might be better to let Lady Hephaestus handle it when she returns."

Contrary to her outgoing appearance, Chun is also sensitive and quick-witted.

At first, she was only attracted by the craftsmanship of the firearms, but after calming down, she immediately realized what Rhodes was thinking.

While pistols are powerful, they can only pose a threat to high-level adventurers when their numbers are extremely large.

With Rhodes' current strength, he has no need to rely on weapons with such visibly limited capabilities to fight his enemies.

Under what circumstances would someone specifically collect mass-produced weapons that ordinary people can use?

The answer is obvious.

Only when there is an intention to establish an empire (or a Zhao state)!

Adventurers are individually powerful, but their numbers are far too few relative to the potential land area. It is necessary to enable ordinary people without potential to also have the strength to maintain peace.

Pistols are the kind of weapons that can ruthlessly close the gap.

But if that were all there was to it, Rhodes wouldn't have needed to specifically come to Hephaestus to discuss it.

"So, you want to reforge a pistol using special materials to test the true limits of this standard weapon?"

Faced with Chun's complicated gaze, Luo De frankly admitted it.

"I'm just a little curious about it... but some of my companions are limited by their naturally weak bodies and need this kind of weapon to help them. Pistols are still too weak for them."

Rhodes had long noticed Lyra's burning passion after learning of the gun's existence, and her disappointment after witnessing its power firsthand.

This cunning rat didn't want to always play the role of an advisor; he also wanted to fight alongside everyone.

But as everyone grows up, Lyra will only fall further and further behind, and in the future she may not even be qualified to fight alongside them.

Not all dwarfs are heroes.

Lily is even weaker than Lyra and needs this weapon more than she does!

Originally nervous and uneasy, Tsubaki stopped worrying and smiled with relief after hearing Rod's words.

Yes, since he's someone who values ​​his comrades, he can't possibly end up in the worst possible situation.

She perked up again, a smile of eager anticipation playing on her lips.

"Alright, you want to upgrade this pistol, right? I'll take the job! What are your requirements?"

In fact, as soon as Chun said those words, her heart skipped a beat.

Oops!

You spoke too fast!

She hadn't forgotten Hephaestus's expression after he finished speaking, and was even now trekking through mountains and rivers because of her impulsive promise!

"wait...."

However, before she could make amends, Rod happily took Chun's hand.

"Don't worry, I know even the most skilled mortal blacksmith has his limits. So I won't make a bunch of outrageous demands, just a very basic request."

Chapter 71 The Assault Begins, Three Battlefields! (Please subscribe and vote!)

Chun breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Luo De's assurance.

At least this guy has some sense...

The next second, she heard something that almost made her heart stop.

"My request is simple and easy: modify the bullets used in the pistol into ~magic guns~ with different attributes~"

"How about it? Not at all as demanding as the requirements placed on Hephaestus, right?"

Heh, hehe...

To compress an already extremely difficult-to-manufacture magic sword into the size of a bullet, and to give it different attributes?

Chun stared blankly at Rhodes, who had an encouraging smile on his face, then broke down, hooking her arms around Rhodes' neck and shaking him violently, shouting through gritted teeth.

"...You call this unheard-of, outrageous request simple and easy? Huh?!"

Chun wished she could go back to a few minutes ago and kick that carelessly joking self into the forge to be remade!

You insisted on keeping this guy here!

So you're just complaining that you're living too leisurely and are creating trouble for yourself, right?

After forcibly pushing the grinning Rod out the door and sending him away, Chun lay on the craftsman's table, cursing inwardly, but deftly disassembling the pistol into parts of varying sizes.

What a despicable client!

I'm going to permanently blacklist you!

"Master Tsubaki... um...."

Lily returned from exploring the dungeon with the main group and wanted to report the progress to Tsubaki. However, when she opened the door, she saw the dashing leader seemingly possessed, constantly writing and drawing on the table.

"If we could truly compress the demonic sword to that extent, we must first ensure that its power isn't excessively reduced, and guarantee its stability..."