The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

Viner kept taking out various forging materials from the ring, but what he finally held in his hand was an exquisite pocket watch.

"They've really gone all out this time, so don't let me down."

A glint of anticipation flashed in Viner's eyes. He casually loosened his grip, letting the pocket watch slip into the furnace.

Chapter 414 Venere's True Colors Revealed

Even with the combined efforts of all the craftsmen, the forging process continued until the afternoon.

However, Wiener remained in the forge and did not come out, and even the lunch delivered at noon was left untouched at the door, which made the craftsmen feel uneasy.

However, they were worried that Wiener was at a critical stage of the forging process, so they dared not go forward.

Once the novelty wore off and Felix grew somewhat sleepy from being idle, he got up from his recliner as soon as he heard the knocking around him stop.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes, looked around, and saw that a giant disc with a diameter of five or six meters and a smooth, glass-like top had appeared in the center of the refinery.

Felix stretched lazily and asked casually, "So you're saying we're done for the day?"

The artisans of Snowdrift Valley were not like the young students of the Alchemy Institute; almost all of them already had families. When they saw Felix's behavior, they only found it silly and cute.

Amidst the chuckles of the crowd, Kaufman stepped forward and said, "We have already crafted this object according to Master Wiener's blueprints. However, we are unsure of its usage, and we are afraid that Master Wiener will need to review it before we can determine its purpose."

“Then why don’t we just let Wiener come and see?” Felix asked, puzzled.

"We are not sure if Master Vener is finished with his work, so we dare not disturb him."

Kaufman voiced everyone's concerns.

"Sigh, Vena doesn't care about all that."

Felix walked nonchalantly toward the forge door.

As Wiener's roommate who lived with him day and night, Felix had long known that Wiener's claim that he didn't like being disturbed while forging was just a lie to fool outsiders.

Did he not do things like chatting with Lisette using his student ID while the model was being cast?

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

Felix slammed his hand on the heavy stone door of the forge. "Vina! Time to go home!"

"That little noise won't get through," Vilik kindly reminded him.

If someone else damages the equipment he has painstakingly forged, Vilik will most likely hold a grudge and one day forge even better equipment to get revenge.

But as soon as he saw Felix's face, Verick could no longer muster even a trace of hatred.

He even felt that his clumsy work had been destroyed by Felix and then reborn by the master Wiener, making his life worthwhile.

Felix listened to the advice and said "Oh," then drew his Night Sky Blade.

With just a few light strokes on the stone wall, the heavy stone door was sliced ​​open like jelly.

The craftsmen witnessed once again the power of the sword forged by Venus.

Felix dodged the scattered stones and leaped into the forge, whereupon he heard a reprimand coming from within.

"I knew you'd be slacking off here!"

The craftsmen hurriedly looked around to avoid eye contact, pretending not to have heard the remark that tarnished the illustrious image of Master Wiener.

"Ahem, sorry everyone, I suddenly felt a little sleepy, so I took a nap after finishing the forging."

Vena broke free from Felix and looked at the crowd with a slightly apologetic expression.

"Not at all, it must be that old bastard Jegan who didn't entertain Master Vena well, causing the master to not get a good rest last night."

Koffman immediately began to find a solution for Wiener.

“Yes, yes, that must be it.” The other craftsmen echoed.

Jay looked at his old friend, whose attitude had completely reversed last night when he learned that he would be cooperating with a young man who was not even twenty years old, and he was so angry that his beard stood on end.

"No, that's not true. I just stayed up a little late last night drawing blueprints."

Actually, the blueprints were drawn a long time ago, but he can't exactly say that he stayed up all night because he went to steal the Lafner family's heirloom.

Viner walked to the disc, carefully examined it, and only after confirming that everything was correct did he look at Jegan: "I would like to trouble Mr. Jegan to arrange for someone to transport this item back to the manor."

“I’ll make the arrangements right away,” Jegan nodded in agreement.

"Master Navina..."

Seeing that Wiener had not found any fault with them, the craftsmen breathed a sigh of relief, and then immediately looked at Wiener with eager eyes.

"It will take some time for this item to be returned to the mansion, so I'll take this opportunity to share some of my thoughts with you."

With a smile playing on his lips, Wiener began his speech:

"Since time is limited, I won't go into too much detail about armor. Instead, I'd like to discuss the art of weaponry with you all."

"From the perspective of a warrior or soldier, the spear is naturally an excellent weapon. It is easy to learn but difficult to master, and its power is immense when used in battle formation."

"But as artisans, this is not what we should be seeing."

"What is a gun? A gun is the earliest weapon that mankind made. Even if you just tie a stone to a stick, you can call it a gun."

"The quality of a spear depends to a large extent on the quality of the materials. With the same materials and processes, even if you compare the spears made by the highest and lowest forging levels, the quality difference will not exceed 30%."

“I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with it, but if you want to go further on the path of blacksmithing, you must overcome this path dependency.”

"You can use cold iron to forge spearheads and, by exploiting the materials, mass-produce C-rank and even B-rank spears. If I asked you to forge a B-rank longsword using cold iron, how many of you could do it?"

Wiener's words caused most of the craftsmen to lower their heads.

Let alone B-rank longswords, even B-rank spears, only a very few of them can do it.

The difficulty of processing cold iron into the shape of a spearhead is on a completely different level than the difficulty of perfectly combining cold iron with other materials to forge a sword blade that combines flexibility and strength.

"A warrior can only use one weapon, but a blacksmith cannot. You should try even making pots and pans."

"Are you going to wait until a hero comes to you, tells you that if you give him a longsword, he'll go and slay the demon god, and then you'll blurt out that you can't do it?"

"I require each of you to forge a weapon other than a gun."

“Once you step out of your comfort zone and come back to forge guns, everything will be different.”

After much buildup, Wiener finally revealed his true intentions.

Although no specific weapon was named, based on Venere's various hints and the impression Felix left on everyone, it was certain that the most people would choose to forge a sword.

......

-----------------

On the carriage back to the mansion, Jegan finally couldn't help but speak up: "This is the first time I've ever seen Kaufman with this expression."

In fact, it wasn't just Koffman, but all the blacksmiths, including him.

They were all scolded by Wiener and dared not talk back, just like untrained apprentices.

“Your family has many promising craftsmen, but it’s a pity that they use such high-grade materials as cold iron as soon as they get involved in forging.”

Wiener said this with a look of envy on her face.

His experience as a blacksmith in Lumiel Village was so challenging that it forced him to create 108 dishes from a basket of radishes.

The artisan apprentices in Snow Valley, on the other hand, begin to squander top-quality ingredients as soon as they start learning.

"The slight differences brought about by individuality and innovation are all wiped out by the performance of the Cold Iron, to the point that they are just constantly repeating the path of their predecessors," Wiener commented.

"Who told Xuelu Valley to be a prison?"

Jegan also shared his thoughts.

Chapter 415 Flag Sacrifice

“Oh? Could you elaborate, Mr. Jegan?”

Wiener's curiosity was piqued by the word "prison".

“It’s all old news, but Viner, you can listen if you want,” Jegan remarked.

The discovery of the rare mineral deposits beneath Snowdrift Valley came many years after the Lafner family had established themselves there.

Before this, it was just the most desolate and remote border region of the empire, a place no one wanted to go.

Otherwise, such a large territory would never have been granted to a newly promoted nobleman.

Koman Rafner could have chosen a territory closer to the empire's center based on his military achievements, but he resolutely rejected the offers from several noble families and asked the emperor for this fiefdom, simply because it was his hometown.

The emperor was worried that no one could shoulder the heavy responsibility of the border, and the nobles who were resentful of not being able to recruit them also felt that country bumpkins should go where country bumpkins should stay, and they inexplicably reached a consensus.

"I'm not afraid to tell you this, but in this Snowdrift Valley, let alone ordinary people, even members of the Rafna family have very few opportunities to go out and see the world," Jegan said with a wry smile.

"Why is that?" Wiener asked, puzzled.

“Because of this mine beneath our feet.” Jegan pointed to the ground.

-----------------

During the snowmelt season, Snow Valley can also sustain itself by growing some short-season vegetables and hunting.

However, as autumn deepens, most animals in the mountains begin to hibernate. The food they had previously accumulated was far from enough to sustain the entire Snow Valley, and they could only rely on external caravans to transport supplies to maintain their livelihood.

This trade exchange led to the rapid spread of news about the discovery of a giant mineral vein in Xuelu Valley.

The kingdom, which was already in constant conflict with the empire, raised the strategic level of Snowdrift Valley overnight and sent out small forces several times, but they were all driven back by the Rafna family.

A grand duke who had previously agreed to the Laffner family's occupation of Snowhill Valley now felt he had been tricked. He insisted that Koman Laffner demanded the territory because he knew about the vast mineral resources beneath Snowhill Valley.

He paid an unknown price to obtain the emperor's approval for the troop rotation.

The Duke's second son was ordered to lead his troops to take over the defenses of Snowdrift Valley.

The Rafna family, on the other hand, could lead their people from Snowdrift Valley who were willing to follow them to a more habitable territory.

That sounds wonderful.

Even though it was clear to everyone that this was a powerful noble family seizing the mine under the guise of providing support, Koman, then a Viscount of the Empire, could not disobey His Majesty's decree.

He could only return to Snowdrift Valley to mobilize his people to prepare for the upcoming migration.

However, such a large commotion could not escape the kingdom's eyes and ears.

On the second day after the troop rotation, they gathered a large force to attack Xuelugu.

When had this aristocratic young master, who had always grown up in a greenhouse, ever seen such a scene?

He was unable to organize any effective defense, so he abandoned his troops and fled for his life.

Whether by the cruel twist of fate or by sheer luck, he happened to encounter Viscount Corman, who was leading his people on a migration, during his escape.

"Viscount Coman!" the Duke's second son gasped, his face filled with terror. "Quick... quick, get me out of here! Those barbarians from the kingdom are attacking!"

"When did they break in? How many men did they have? And who was leading them?" Koeman asked three questions in a row.

"I...I don't know, my adjutant and his men are stalling them...we can't hold out much longer!" The Duke's second son was somewhat incoherent.

Coman's face darkened.

He knew that this spoiled brat was all show and no substance.

But in order to protect the mine and, incidentally, ensure the safety of his second son, the guards dispatched by the duke were utterly rudimentary.

Even if he stayed still and did nothing, the guard would not be defeated without even being able to pass on a message.

A surge of anger rose within Koman, and his hands unconsciously clenched into fists.

Seeing that Coman remained unmoved, and even his soldiers didn't take him seriously, continuing to maintain order, the Duke's second son, Boran, flew into a rage and even drew his sword to threaten him:

"What are you standing there for! I order you to lead me to a safe location! If anything happens to me, you lowly people can live as savages in this godforsaken place for the rest of your lives!"

In the eyes of this second son, it was his father who kindly bestowed upon these country folk a place to live, and these lowly people should be grateful beyond measure.

But others might not think that way.

Koman jumped off his horse and snatched the sword.

"What...what do you want to do?"