Chapter 757: The Wearing and Testing of Horse Armor

Being held horizontally off the ground like this by Jier, Tianxuecao felt it had no face left, but with all four hooves dangling in the air, what else could it do?

It could only let out ingratiating cries toward its master in a panic.

Jier, who was carrying the entire warhorse on his shoulder, heard it concede and then carefully lowered Tianxuecao to stand beside him.

As soon as its four hooves touched the ground, Tianxuecao opened its mouth and used its tongue to ingratiatingly lick its master, fearing that its master would again leave it helplessly suspended in the air in front of so many Humans and horses.

"Alright, alright, stop licking. Behave yourself and let everyone put your new clothes on."

After soothing it, Jier waved to the Craftsmen and apprentices nearby, letting them continue to equip the warhorse with the Horse Armor.

This time, Tianxuecao was much better behaved, standing obediently in place and letting the little people around it add the somewhat heavy "new fur" to its body.

The process of the first installation was also a time to constantly polish and adjust the minor flaws of the Armor; if there were any slight issues with the locks and connecting straps, they could be solved right on the spot.

For this reason, the stove next to the stable kept a fire burning, allowing them to put metal locks of unsuitable shapes directly onto the furnace to be adjusted.

There were also apprentices holding sturdy Scissors to trim off excess straps. Or, if they encountered a strap that wasn't long enough, they would replace it with a new one on the spot. The tools and materials were all ready at hand, so problems were discovered and solved right there.

Jier was very satisfied and stood side-by-side with Mr. Scott, chatting.

"Ha, is this how you usually discipline disobedient horses?"

Mr. Scott was still shocked by what had just happened.

Jier smiled: "Not always like this. Although it is easy to tame a horse this way, doing only this will just make it fear me. That won't do. A warhorse is a rider's partner, a friend, and a reliable companion for fighting side-by-side. I need to make it like me, not just fear me."

Mr. Scott nodded: "That is correct. Business is the same. When dealing with other Merchant Guilds, you must not only make others fear you, but also find the points where you can do business together for profit. Otherwise, if you just rely on the strength of the Merchant Guild to make things difficult for small Merchant Guilds everywhere, that will only lose the Human Mind everywhere."

"Knight Jier, it is quite good that you can understand this principle at such a young age. I didn't figure this out until I was thirty."

After saying this, Mr. Scott shook his head, seemingly recalling his past life experiences.

While the two were talking, the final equipping of Tianxuecao had been completed. At this moment, a tall warhorse, with the vast majority of its body protected by different Armor, was standing in the open space in the middle of the stable. Compared to a warhorse fully clad in real Armor, the wooden fake horse on the side seemed far inferior in presence.

On the Faceplate, only a horizontal observation slit was left for the eye area of Tianxuecao, while all other parts were covered by a metal Helmet and Faceplate forged into a single piece.

Pfft—

It puffed a burst of hot air from its nose, clearly feeling that it had become more powerful.

This made Tianxuecao shake its neck from side to side, and the protective long plate armor connected to its neck emitted the noise of metal rubbing together.

"Come, add some oil here, and polish the connecting parts a little more." Old Craftsman Kent directed his and others' apprentices, while the other three Craftsmen, who shared the same status, were finally able to sit on a Wooden Box nearby to rest for a while.

In order to build the items as early as possible, they hadn't slept at all last night; the two middle-aged Craftsmen had done most of the forging work themselves. And the other old Craftsman even directed the other forging Craftsmen in the smithy to help him build the things together.

Mr. Scott tacitly approved of this. After all, although this was an action to curry favor with an outsider Knight, in the end, as one of the actual managers of Duoen Town, he didn't like Knight Jier and his hundreds of Refugees staying in Duoen Town for even one more day.

Over the past two days, not only had the actual Senior Steward in the Merchant Union been repeatedly questioned by people in the town, but he, Scott, had also dealt with more than twenty friends and partners who came to inquire and investigate the matter.

The questions from everyone who came were much the same: asking when that group outside the town would leave.

Although Jier and his people had not shown much aggression or hostility, they still brought worry and trouble to many people in the town.

Many Merchants had seen or heard how quickly and ruthlessly the personality and expression of a Human could change after seeing wealth and profit.

Because many of them were such people themselves, they judged others by themselves; how could this group of hundreds, still an outsider group, not keep many people in the town from sleeping?

Duoen Town itself welcomed outsiders and labor, but not if they joined and integrated as a whole group.

Even an exceptionally cruel Bandit Group would have to disband before they could gradually integrate into the production and life of Duoen Town. A group of Bandits wanting to act together in the town? How could that ever be allowed?

The town had its own rules and requirements, both open and secret, waiting, and there was also the town's armed force secretly suppressing such powers in the background.

Duoen Town didn't even have any black-market gangs on the surface, which showed how much the Merchants could not tolerate the development of outsider violent forces in the territory they controlled and dominated.

Therefore, during this period, not only the army from the north passing through, but also this group of hundreds of fleeing Refugees passing through, made the Merchants in the town quite nervous.

Fortunately, several people, including Mr. Scott, finally understood and answered the questions of others by asking Jier.

【Including Knight Jier and the hundreds of people, they will only rest in the town for a few days, and then they will continue along the main road to find a safe settlement. We welcome everyone to go and trade to help these poor fleeing farmers.】

Sss—

As the last strap binding and fixing the Muan was tightened, this warhorse finally completed all the Armor wearing and temporary modifications.

"Knight, as you can see, the warhorse's protective gear is finished. Please inspect it yourself. Steward, you take a look too. This is an excellent set of Armor. I believe that similar business in the future will definitely bring more profit to the Merchant Guild."

Old Craftsman Kent straightened his back confidently, and even though his face was quite exhausted, he still spoke loudly and clearly.

The apprentices who participated in all the work were also tired and sat on the ground nearby, excitedly pointing at the imposing warhorse and exchanging with their partners what they had gained from this work.

Jier and Mr. Scott both nodded in response and walked over together.

Jier patted the warhorse up and down with satisfaction, tapping with his fingers, smashing with his fist, and even drew his Long Sword, using the blade to hit various parts of the Armor hard.

The results all made him very satisfied; although the defense was not extremely outstanding, it was already enough to deal with most situations.

If his warhorse had had this set of Armor when he encountered the Bandits a few days ago, the situation would probably have been different. Although the result would still have been him defeating the Bandit Group, the casualties on his side and the process of the battle would have been very different.

He probably wouldn't have been in such a sorry state, nearly capsizing in the gutter several times.

Mr. Scott also circled around Knight Jier's warhorse, but his focus of observation was quite different.

He was followed by the four Craftsmen who led the work, so when he kept asking questions about the places he was interested in, the Craftsmen immediately gave the answers the Steward needed.

"For this part, what is the cost? Is it troublesome to obtain raw materials and manufacture it? How many people took how long to get it done?"

Facing the Steward's inquiry, the Craftsmen leaned close to the Steward's ear and answered in a low voice.

Some of these satisfied Mr. Scott, and some did not satisfy him as much.

But what they didn't know was that although they tried to lower their voices to whisper their answers, Jier still heard most of their conversation.

He calculated silently in his heart and realized that for this set of warhorse Armor, the cost of raw materials alone was several Gold Coins, not to mention the related labor and technical costs. Moreover, in order to get this set of warhorse Armor for Jier early, not only did the personnel not get normal rest, but some other resources and commercial goods were used in it regardless of cost and process.

However, fortunately, the Multi-layer Protective Cloth, which was used the most, had not been sold before since Old Craftsman Kent developed and invented it, so excluding the raw material cost and production cost, the price of this part was not easy to calculate.

This Multi-layer Protective Cloth was, of course, much cheaper than metal Armor in terms of price, and even had advantages in price and weight compared to hard cowhide materials.

"I think, perhaps in the future we can launch a set of warhorse Armor that makes extensive use of this Multi-layer Protective Cloth. Not only can we manufacture Armor here, but we can also produce this Multi-layer Protective Cloth ourselves and sell it to other places, so that Craftsmen in various places can make their own Armor according to their own requirements."

Mr. Scott stroked his chin and finally figured out such a plan.

The several Craftsmen reacted differently upon hearing this.

Old Craftsman Kent, who personally invented this Multi-layer Protective Cloth, was of course the happiest. As the inventor of the technology and the only person who currently mastered the production technique, it went without saying that he was about to make a fortune.

Moreover, if this new type of material could be popularized, his personal reputation would naturally be greatly enhanced. For an aging Craftsman, this was what he valued most at this moment.

The expressions of the other few Craftsmen were not as well-managed; envy showing on their faces was the mildest description, and another equally aged Craftsman could no longer hold back his facial muscles, revealing his envy, jealousy, and hatred on his face.

However, this had nothing to do with Jier.

At this moment, he could not wait to jump onto the horse's back, preparing to ride Tianxuecao to trot and walk around here a little.

Later, he would also go to the deserted Shanglu outside the town to try and let Tianxuecao gallop at full speed, to see what problems and deficiencies remained; if they could be modified, he would modify them on the spot. If not, he could only say he would pay more attention in the future.

As soon as he got on the horse, Jier clearly felt where it was different from riding Tianxuecao before.

Because thick Armor had been added to the horse's body, the width of the horse's back had increased slightly. This required Jier's legs to be spread wider than before. As a result, Jier's feet could not even reach the Stirrups that were originally hanging down on both sides!

This made Jier somewhat surprised.

"Let's stop discussing for now, Craftsman Kent. Please adjust this first."

Jier looked helpless; it wasn't that he couldn't gallop the horse without his feet reaching the Stirrups, but with Stirrups, a rider could be more stable on the horse's back, and related riding and combat would be much easier, making it easier to exert force in battle.

If one didn't step on the Stirrups, one could still ride. But those with average riding skills would likely be thrown off the horse's back directly when the horse turned.

"This is easy, Knight, just need to adjust the length of the leather straps connecting the Stirrups a little bit."

Saying this, the Craftsman called over a few reluctant and exhausted apprentices to come forward, nimbly helping Jier adjust the height of the Stirrups.

Thus, Jier put his feet into the Stirrups and nudged slightly, attempting to urge Tianxuecao to walk forward slowly.

But Tianxuecao stood obediently in place, still moving its head and neck up and down from time to time, trying to adapt to the Armor on its body.

"Why aren't you moving?"

Jier muttered, then swung his legs and nudged the horse's belly.

But Tianxuecao still stood in place without reaction, as if it felt nothing.

It was a middle-aged Craftsman nearby who saw the reason and reminded him: "Knight, your warhorse is wearing Armor; if you still use the original force to urge it, it won't feel it. Please use a bit more strength!"

Once reminded, Jier understood, and he nudged with force from both legs; this time, as usual, Tianxuecao responded with a sound, then moved its four legs, which were covered by the hanging Multi-layer Protective Cloth, and walked forward slowly.

Jier pulled the Jiansheng, letting Tianxuecao walk in circles in the small open space.

Once the horse started walking, the various parts on its body began to make sounds, clatter-clatter, clatter-clatter.

Seeing this, the Craftsmen immediately pointed out some places that needed slight modifications to facilitate reducing the collision and friction between the various parts, so that the sound emitted during final movement would also be smaller.

Jier, however, had no opinion on this noise, because the warhorses of Knight Kela and the others, with their full sets of Steel Armor, would make loud metallic sounds whenever the warhorses moved.

He was already used to it.

After riding the horse around the open space for dozens of laps, Jier then dismounted to let the Craftsmen adjust the Armor again.

This time, Craftsman Kent did not participate, but instead discussed the matters of the Multi-layer Protective Cloth with Mr. Scott, who had become interested.

After a while, the sun in the sky had descended a bit more, and Jier jumped onto the horse again, continuing to let Tianxuecao walk in circles in the open space.

Sure enough, after special adjustments, the noise from collisions and friction this time was significantly lower than before.

Jier expressed his satisfaction.

Afterwards, he nudged the horse again, letting Tianxuecao accelerate slightly, and began to run in circles in the stable's open space at a slow trot.

At this time, the noise grew louder again; the Craftsmen could not keep up with the Knight, so they had to stand in place, waiting for the Knight to pass by each lap to specifically observe and listen to where the horse had deficiencies that needed improvement.

After running dozens of laps, Jier pulled the Jiansheng to let Tianxuecao slow down and stop.

Tianxuecao, which had just gotten into the mood for running, was somewhat reluctant, but upon remembering the punishment its master had given it before, it obediently slowed down and stood still, as honest as a good child.

"Very good, very obedient!"

Jier patted the horse's head heavily, and the Steel Face Mask on the horse's forehead made a bang-bang sound.

Then came another round of adjustments.

For subsequent tests, the small open space of the stable was no longer suitable. Of course, the streets in the town were even less suitable; if a tall and heavy warhorse charged and ran, not to mention whether it would frighten other horses and pedestrians on the road, the sheer momentum alone would easily cause panic among the town's residents.

For this reason, Jier led people out of the Burning Furnace Chamber of Commerce and went together to the deserted Shanglu on the west side of the town.

This was the road Jier had taken when he arrived; because the only teams that dared to pass through the western Shanglu during this period were the armed Caravans of large Merchant Guilds, there were almost no pedestrians or passing Caravans on the road now.

Mr. Scott, who had come along, looked at the empty Shanglu and sighed with great regret: "Sigh, this road used to require mobilizing manpower and funds to repair every half year, and everyone felt it was troublesome at the time. Looking at it now, that annoyance was truly a happy thing."

He lowered his head and even pulled a tuft of wild grass from the Shanglu, twisted it with his hand, and then threw it on the ground with regret.

Seeing this, Jier comforted him: "Rest assured, as long as the war on the border is won, the Noble Lords and Knights from all over will bring their troops back to their hometowns, and the Shanglu will flourish again. Even because of those discovered large ore veins, business will be more frequent."

"I hope so. Hmph, everyone thought the same last year, ah, something like 'The Saint Hors Kingdom is protected and will surely be victorious.' Heh, these words only fool the people below; I didn't expect even all of us to be fooled. I heard from battlefield deserters who fled to the town earlier that the neighboring country has sent out its entire army, and their most Refining Qi Knights and troops have taken the field; even if it is a weak neighboring country, it is not an opponent that those careless Noble lords can defeat."

"Fire sweeps across the battlefield, thick smoke obscures the sun and sky.

Fear strikes from the flames, the defeated trample and collapse upon each other.

The Knight of Fire crosses the mountains, igniting one deep mountain after another that no one can tread upon.

And crushes the bodies and souls of the deserters."

Mr. Scott looked at Jier: "Do you know, this is a short poem that spread from the Province Capital in the winter; it was originally sung in taverns and at banquets, but now people are no longer allowed to recite or spread it. I originally thought that the chaos caused by the defeat in the war would last for several years, but Jier, seeing you Northerners of the Kingdom who came to support, I feel that things can still be saved."

Mr. Scott patted Jier's shoulder heavily: "Don't die on the battlefield later. Don't forget, you still owe me a favor."

Jier chuckled: "Of course, I will be careful. I am so young, I haven't lived enough yet."

After the small talk, Jier got on the horse again and charged toward the straight, deserted Shanglu in front of him.