Chapter 49: The Uses of Black Iron Wood

Luoning brought a few pieces of Black Iron Wood back to the castle.

He had Maiken cut off a small piece for the guards to stab and hack at with their longswords, only to discover that even after several stabs, they could not pierce the wood, which was less than five millimeters thick; as for hacking, it only left marks on the surface, and they could not chop through it at all after a few attempts.

The hard properties of the Black Iron Wood truly brought Luoning an unexpected surprise.

Since the guards found it difficult to pierce Black Iron Wood less than five millimeters thick, this meant Luoning could craft it into simple chest guards, thereby partially replacing iron armor.

Of course, this did not mean Black Iron Wood was truly equivalent to iron; protective gear made from it was absolutely not as strong or durable as iron gear.

There were no iron mines in Shanlin Town, so if Luoning wanted to arm the guards, he had to go outside to purchase the corresponding equipment.

On the market, a standard set of chain mail, helmet, leg guards, shield, and so on, would cost no less than 20 gold coins in total.

With Luoning's current financial resources, arming all the guards was simply impossible.

Moreover, lords and nobles had little interest in arming commoners; if they had that kind of money, they would rather strengthen the defense of their Professional Knights.

Good equipment could only unleash its maximum value in the hands of a Transcendental.

Take Wushan Castle, for example: the guards of the Seventh Squad wore, at best, linen armor, and only the better-off ones had leather armor.

For Luoning, in the absence of iron protective gear and without enough money to purchase iron equipment for the common guards, using Black Iron Wood to make armor and weapons was an excellent choice.

Furthermore, he was certain that such items could also be sold if brought to market.

"This has real potential!"

In the study, Luoning felt more and more that this idea was highly reliable.

The only problem was that Black Iron Wood was not easy to fell.

It was impossible for commoners to succeed using stone axes; only by equipping them with iron axes could they possibly succeed after exerting a great deal of effort.

Moreover, processing Black Iron Wood also placed high demands on a carpenter's physical strength.

"Jialun!"

Luoning called out, and the personal servant standing outside the door immediately walked in.

"My Lord, please give your orders!"

"Do you know if there are any carpenters in town?" Luoning asked.

"Yes, My Lord."

Jialun, like Tangmu, was a native born and raised in Shanlin Town.

Having lived here for over a decade, he had a certain understanding of the craftsmen in town.

"My Lord, the best carpenter in town is Uncle William; when Pulinsite had this building constructed, it was Uncle William who led the men to complete it."

Uncle William—Luoning kept this name in his mind.

Luoning nodded, "Very good, take two guards and go invite him over now."

Jialun was slightly stunned, then bowed and accepted the order: "My Lord, I will go and drag him here for you right away."

Drag?

Luoning frowned, "I said 'invite'!"

He emphasized it specifically.

"Watch your attitude; don't go offending this carpenter."

Although the carpenter William had worked under Pulinsite, Luoning was not so petty as to hold him accountable for that.

Furthermore, craftsmen were a scarce resource in any era, let alone in the remote and barren Shanlin Town.

Luoning was still counting on these craftsmen to make money for him.

Jialun immediately broke into a cold sweat.

He had only heard the first half of the sentence; when Luoning told him to take the guards, he subconsciously assumed he was to drag William over, and thus missed the word "invite" that followed.

Realizing he had almost made a mistake, Jialun immediately knelt on one knee, "Forgive me, My Lord, it is my fault; I did not hear clearly!"

Luoning had not expected such a strong reaction, so he waved his hand, "Remember to listen to my words in their entirety in the future, think clearly before acting, and don't be so rash. Go now."

"Thank you for your leniency, My Lord!"

Jialun hurriedly saluted, then exited the study and headed toward the carpenter's home with the guards.

On the stairs, he happened to run into Beila, who was coming up, "Why are you in such a panic?"

Jialun sighed and said with great distress: "I just said the wrong thing."

Beila also became nervous; she was just about to go find the Baron, and if the Lord was in a bad mood right now, she would have to be careful.

"Did the Lord criticize you?" she asked nervously.

Jialun shook his head, "Not at all, the Lord is very lenient. It's just that I'm afraid of leaving an impression of being 'rash' in his mind."

He shook his head, looking worried, "Enough talk, I have work to do."

Watching the servant's retreating back, Beila could not help but feel a bit uneasy.

As new servants in the castle, they were all very cautious in their dealings with the Baron, fearing they might do something wrong.

The reason they were so timid was, first, they did not want to lose this wonderful job; at the very least, they wore new clothes in the castle and could eat their fill, and sometimes she could even taste a couple of bites of the white bread left over by the Baron.

Secondly, they were still very fearful of Luoning in their hearts; after all, the scene when the Baron led his team into town that day was truly terrifying—the cart had been piled high with over twenty corpses!

Beila cautiously approached the door and gently knocked, "My Lord, the kitchen is about to prepare the evening banquet. Mrs. Bandele asked me to inquire if you have any special instructions."

Luoning took his eyes off the book and looked at Beila.

Today, the maid had put on the women's clothing left behind in the castle, and it fit quite well. After changing into this attire, Beila's overall rating had increased significantly, adding a touch of youthful vitality.

He had originally thought that if Beila dressed a little better, she would look better than Pulinsite's two mistresses, and today that had been confirmed.

In this remote mountain town, having such a decent-looking maid by his side—if his predecessor were still here, he would probably be dragging her off for some "in-depth communication" and something wonderful would happen tonight.

But Luoning had no such plans.

It was true that he liked looking at beautiful women, but if he were actually expected to make a move, it just didn't quite feel right.

Marriage in this era still had a very strong class nature. Generally speaking, a noble's other half could only be chosen from among the nobility.

Nobles and commoners rarely end up together, and even when they do, it is mostly in the capacity of lovers.

Plots like the legendary maid falling in love with a Knight, or a noble abandoning their status for true love to run away with a Servant, only ever appear in knightly novels.

For instance, the knightly novel Luoning is currently reading is about a Princess who falls in love with an Advanced Knight, then casts aside her noble status to wander the world and make a home wherever they go with the Knight.

This is somewhat ridiculous.

"I am having dinner with Aierlong, Maiken, and a few other Transcendental tonight; remember to have Mrs. Bandele prepare sufficiently," Luoning instructed.

Under normal circumstances, Luoning eats dinner alone, mainly for the sake of peace and quiet.

Calling them all over for a meal today is mainly for the sake of future arrangements.

Now that the castle's Servants and the territory's Administrator have been properly arranged, and Luoning has conducted a preliminary inspection of the territory, he needs to prepare for a trip to Muma City.

During dinner tonight, he will have Maiken and the others prepare the territory's defense deployments.

"Very well, Master, I shall go notify Mrs. Bandele to prepare it right away."

Beila breathed a sigh of relief; the Master had been silent for Along time just now, and she had thought she had said something wrong.

After the maid left, Luoning continued reading the novel from this other world.

This novel, bound in over thirty pages of parchment, has a very monotonous plot, nothing more than killing Magic Beasts and saving people everywhere, then heavily focusing on descriptions of affection—it is very bloated.

However, it is still fine to take a look during rest time; being able to pass the boring time can be considered its value.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

The door was knocked on again, and it was Chahaer standing outside.

"Master, the Squat Toilet you ordered this morning has been arranged; would you like to take a look?"

Luoning immediately closed the book and stood up, "Let's go, take me to see it."

Thanks to Master Tongxinyu for the tip, and thanks to all the masters for your votes of support~

(End of this chapter)