Chapter 280: Silver Ingot, Longsword, and Wooden Staff

"Ding!"

The metal axe blade whistled through the air, tracing a sharp arc, the sharp silver light fleeting, and landed fiercely on the pitch-black spot in front.

Facing the axe's hack, the umbral snake scales, which looked thin and fragile but were as clear and smooth as glass, had no reaction at all except for the sparks that flashed by and the crisp sound that followed.

Under the blessing of the powerful force forged by the hand holding the forging hammer after countless swings and knocks, the two-handed great axe that could directly split a tree stump.

It didn't even leave a trace on the surface of the arm shield.

Even its own impact force was consumed by more than half after the triple cushioning of snake scales, bone-eroded patterned steel, and high-grade leather.

Holding the shield horizontally in front of his left hand, Xia Nan only felt his forearm vibrate slightly, and he easily blocked the attack from the front.

"Hahaha, how is it? It's okay, right!"

The hearty laughter reached his ears.

With his braids swaying, Ba'en laughed and withdrew the two-handed axe that had landed on the arm shield, his face carrying a hint of obvious sense of achievement.

"The quality of the scale you provided itself is very good; it doesn't need too many modifications. After simple polishing, the defensive performance is quite excellent."

"This arm shield, even in the professional circle of the entire Pan Yun Province, can be considered a very good grade."

Knowing that the other party was just being humble, Xia Nan smiled and didn't reply.

The quality of the scales was naturally high.

Through the fragmented description of the arm shield on the attribute panel, he knew the origin of this scale; the giant snake, which he couldn't pry off any material from even after it died and he spent a lot of effort, was a legendary creature during its lifetime.

That was an existence more powerful than an ordinary adult giant dragon.

He didn't know how the original owner of the wooden sword 【Evergreen】 killed the other party back then.

After all, considering the "blue rare" quality of the wooden sword itself, the strength level of its holder shouldn't be too high.

Perhaps it was relying on the powerful secret technique of the "Bamboo-Cuan Temple" mentioned in the remarks, or some kind of trump card given by elders before going down the mountain, or was there a third-party force?

There was not enough evidence to verify the conjecture in his heart, and all information came from the few words on the attribute panel. Xia Nan just guessed randomly.

But no matter what, without sufficient processing, the material was just a material after all, and could never be called equipment.

He wouldn't really think that the forger was unimportant just because of "Rock Hammer" Ba'en's self-deprecation.

Xia Nan had already received the bill for 1000 gold coins, and thus knew the whereabouts of every copper coin in this huge sum.

Various auxiliary materials he hadn't even heard the names of, but if he asked a professional, they would definitely give an affirmative answer, necessary processing fees, and other miscellaneous expenses required during forging...

High-quality materials can only exert their maximum efficacy when paired with a sufficiently excellent craftsman, becoming "equipment" for people to use.

Whether it was for the forger "Ba'en" or the finished equipment 【Umbral Scale Plate Guard】, Xia Nan was very satisfied.

"In addition to its own physical defensive performance, this arm shield also has a certain bonus in corrosion resistance."

Ba'en looked at the diamond-shaped black shield on Xia Nan's left forearm, supplementing the additional effects of the equipment.

"If you want, I can go to Ms. Edwinna to get some corrosive potions for a comprehensive verification test."

"No need." Xia Nan waved his hand. "I trust you."

Of course, that was what he said. If he didn't trust the other party, how could he have handed the precious snake scales brought out from the secret realm to Ba'en for forging.

But on the other hand, most importantly, Xia Nan trusted his attribute panel more.

Since it had already listed the effect of the arm shield "Immune to corrosion/acid damage below legendary," he didn't need to consume the trust between him and Ba'en for this.

Speaking of which, remembering the attributes of the 【Snake Scale Arm Shield (Temporary)】 before, it was only "Strong Toughness" and "+300% Corrosion Resistance." Now the defensive strength had been directly upgraded from "Strong" to "High," and it was even immune to corrosion-type damage below legendary; the improvement couldn't be said to be small.

It even had two extra effects that even the forger Ba'en hadn't mentioned.

"Toxin Resistance" was easy to understand, needless to say.

This bonus to snake-type creatures' charm (intimidation/persuasion) was quite interesting; it might come in handy in the future.

Although with Xia Nan's personality, he preferred to solve conflicts with sword blades rather than using his tongue.

"Well, I'm very satisfied with the quality of the arm shield; I'll take it."

"But besides that, I also need a set of fine-quality armor. I can sacrifice a little weight advantage in exchange for defensive performance."

"Do you have any stock in your shop?"

Facing Xia Nan's inquiry, the expression on Ba'en's face was rarely hesitant.

"Uh... there are many light types like leather armor in the warehouse, and there are two sets of full-body plate armor in the shop."

"The former's defensive performance doesn't meet my expectations, and the latter is too heavy and affects combat." Xia Nan frowned slightly and replied, "Is there any plate-chain composite armor like the last time? I think that type is just right for me now."

Hearing this, Ba'en's expression suddenly became somewhat embarrassed.

"Plate-chain composite armor, there is, but the batch made of Malan-pattern steel has all been sold out. Now there are only a few made of ordinary steel..."

"But don't worry, there will definitely be no problem with the quality. They were all knocked out by me hammer by hammer, and the defensive performance is definitely much better than ordinary armor!"

This is the embodiment of the gap between the medieval fantasy world and modern technological society.

Without factories, machine tools, and assembly lines, no matter how excellent the craftsmanship is, or what level of forging master it is, one has to hammer it on the anvil hammer by hammer to create the object, and the production capacity is extremely limited.

Even if there is a fixed process for some mass-produced standard equipment, the forging speed cannot be called fast, and shortages are common.

And once an order that deviates from the template and requires custom-made or even pioneering design is received, the blacksmith himself must invest a lot of time.

In legends and myths, those master-level dwarf forgers might need to stay by the furnace for years for a single artifact.

Ba'en's craftsmanship naturally couldn't reach that level, and the nature of River Valley Town also made him accustomed to the allocation of time. The morning was dedicated to the forging of custom-made objects, while the afternoon and evening were used to forge ordinary equipment.

Even so, limited manpower and energy and relatively hot business kept him busy all year round, unable to even save time for rest and getting along with his family.

"Take me to see it."

Nodding to show understanding, Xia Nan followed the other party back to the blacksmith shop in the front house.

Sure enough.

As Ba'en said, the quality of the plate-chain composite armor on the shelf was half a step worse than the batch forged with Malan-pattern steel before.

While both were "white (ordinary)" grade, there were no additional entries like "+5% Fire Resistance" or "+3% Slashing Damage Resistance" on the attribute panel.

It was just ordinary equipment.

Of course, compared to the chain armor and scale armor common among adventurers, its defensive performance was much stronger. ===== CHAPTER 281 =====