Book I: Third Century A.D

Chapter 2: The Uncrowned King

Section 1: The King of Masks

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April 7 of the year of Great Britain. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

On the thirtieth day of Char's deportation.

A mysterious figure suddenly appeared in the streets of the royal capital, wearing an all-black cloak and carrying something like a helmet on his head. The place that protects the cheek is something like glass, but it can only be seen from the inside out, and people from the outside cannot see the appearance of the person inside through the glass.

He looks about 1.9 meters tall and has waist-length hair that is all black. The slender figure seems to be made according to the golden ratio, and a decorative sword hangs from his waist.

The sudden appearance of this figure did not attract the attention of the residents.

In this hellish royal capital, they have done their best to survive just to survive, so no one cares who is here in this royal capital, or what they are here for.

And this person is Char as an adult, who has gone from a boy of fifteen or sixteen to a young man of twenty-three in thirty days.

Click-click-click.

Exit the castle over a stone bridge and turn right away from the guarded post. Continue further to the end of the hill and turn to the left, and when you walk through a forest, you will see rows of low mud houses in front of you. It is a place where only the poor can live, and it is referred to as the slum.

Of course, now it has a higher name, such as what kind of civilian settlement, city center and so on.

Leading the carriage on the wet dirt floor, the streets lined as he expected. As far as the eye can see, the people on the streets are filled with poverty, sickness, and uncertainty about the future. There was no sparkle in their eyes, only a gray mist as silent as death.

The men, who come and go with a little firewood, support themselves and their families with their thin monkey-like bodies. But stiff and numb, repeating the same thing every day. Sitting in the corner waiting to die, or looking up at the sky, their faces full of confusion.

"Oh yes, that's more troublesome than expected. ”

If you think about it carefully, in addition to the lack of material, the people here only have the so-called king's brilliance to support them in spirit. But as soon as the king disappears from their sight, they immediately return to their original form. Just like now, the whole person became numb.

The infrastructure here is very poor, and the houses are haphazardly built with mud.

The houses that looked beautiful in bricks were only accessible to the aristocracy.

Ordinary civilians could only huddle in their dilapidated houses that seemed to be easily blown away by a level 4 wind that permeated the streets.

After walking on the road for a long time, I accidentally found a person who was familiar with all the places and nearby environments of the royal city.

After talking for a long time, it was finally decided to buy this guide named Marseille for the price of ten copper coins.

Of course, I know that I was slaughtered, but it doesn't matter, sooner or later, this guy will spit it out to himself with interest.

Although Marseille is not good-looking, he is very trustworthy.

"I'm going to the blacksmith's shop. ”

"Understood, sir, please come with me!"

On the way to the blacksmith's shop, Marseille's mouth was like a machine gun. But thanks to this, I learned a lot of useful information from his mouth.

The total population of the royal capital had exceeded 60,000 a month earlier, and the surrounding wars had destroyed many villages, and bandits and robbers roamed the entire territory of Great Britain. Many people were forced to move to the royal capital, but as more and more people were affected, the load on the royal capital was also approaching its limit.

The nobles turned a blind eye to the lives and deaths of the victims, and put all the blame on King Arthur, and they were left to rest.

King Arthur opened four warehouses to release grain, and personally went outside the city to pacify the displaced people, and at the same time ordered troops to be stationed to prevent accidents. This is gradually and reluctantly maintaining the order of the royal capital.

However, as more than four-fifths of them are super-poor, it is undoubtedly a huge problem to create a stable environment for them.

Because King Arthur's treasury was about to dry up, she was anxious to raise money everywhere, hoping to at least maintain the stability of the main royal capital in a short time.

However, with the intervention of Archduke Backer, things did not go well.

A great deal of wealth was concentrated in the hands of the various nobles of the royal capital. In the royal city, the aristocracy controlled all the industries and mines, and if the people wanted to have a job to make a living, they had to endure the oppression and even exploitation of the nobles.

But the aristocracy is not a complete idiot, they understand what it means to oppress to the limit and lead to disaster. So even the worst nobles would not have completely taken the fruits of the labor of these commoners. A large number of laborers and coolies were recruited at the low price of two meals of brown bread a day and twenty copper coins of Marjue for three months.

In this way, the aristocracy not only occupied the labor force of the entire city, but even monopolized the entire economic production chain. The people who don't want to die, the poor who want to live, no matter how hard and tired they are, can't escape the control of the nobles.

In fact, these people are accustomed to being plundered and exploited. Even though they know that there is no future for such a day, they are already very touched to be able to have a bite to eat in this troubled world.

In addition, I heard that there is a wasteland in the south of the city, surrounded by deep mountains and old forests, dense forests, and many birds and beasts live in it. Therefore, in the vicinity of the wasteland, wild beasts will happen from time to time to come down the mountain and hurt people.

In addition, there have been many wars in Britain recently, and the nobles have no interest in the wasteland, so over time no one has visited it again.

In addition to the Fries, Highlanders, Ireland and the Confederate Kingdom of Wales on this island, there are three other principalities that are eyeing Great Britain. Not to mention the Vikings who are still harassing the eastern coast of the British Isles from time to time at this very moment.

In short, it is an eventful time for Great Britain now, and internal and external troubles are coming together.

It is also a headache to face this difficulty that is in front of you or about to appear in front of you. But after all, it is the right thing to do one by one, or to deal with the urgent task at hand first.

"My lord, this is it. ”

Marseille, with a humble face, said respectfully.

I watched him point to a somewhat dilapidated building behind him, but it was still neat and clean. Beside the blazing fire, four apprentice blacksmiths were blowing fans, sweating profusely but with satisfied expressions.

Walk up to an old master who is standing by the boiler, wielding a hammer in his hand and striking the iron embryo in his hand.

Ding-dong, ding-dong.

There was a loud and crisp blow, and sparks sparkled between his fingers. This scene is very pleasing even to outsiders. This man has blended his craft and art into one, and can be called a master.

When the apprentice saw that a guest was coming, he hurriedly stopped what he was doing, and ran in front of the guest in a few steps, showing a mouth of black teeth with a smile on his face. He had just opened his mouth before he could speak, when a puffy stench arrived first. The victim almost threw his fist out.

"Well, anyway, you brush your mouth first. ”

Before the master could speak, Marseille had already come up and dragged the apprentice aside.

Phew, to be honest, if you are surrounded by stench when you talk to the other person, it will be difficult to continue the conversation. And for people with a slight habit of cleanliness, this kind of guy who doesn't pay much attention to hygiene has always had no good feelings. Of course, in this day and age, you can't be too particular.

"I need a batch of tools. ”

"Of course, honorable nobleman. If you don't need it, you won't be here. The blacksmith said with a loud urn as he continued to swing his hammer against the iron embryo.

Because the blacksmith shop is not doing well, and the nobles can deduct taxes, the blacksmith has been in a very unhappy mood recently.

Coupled with the costumes worn by the mysterious guests, the old blacksmith who mistakenly thought that the nobles who had picked the door had come to exploit him again, and naturally lost some of his interest in dealing with each other.

"You don't seem to be happy about my coming. ”

"No, no, no, I'm just worried about my wallet than I'm not happy about the arrival of adults. ”

The old blacksmith seemed to be sarcastic, and it was clear from his undisguised rejection that he had suffered a lot from the nobility. Maybe just two days ago, he was cheated by a nobleman for a sum of money......

But after all, the visitor is a guest, and it would be too rude not to keep shaking the other party.

After handing over the work to the apprentice, the old blacksmith asked Char to sit down beside him.

"The old man's name is Hockenpace Kroba. You can call me Old Blacksmith or Hockenpace, but don't call me Kroba, I hate that name. ”

"Well, I see. ”

"Alright, young nobleman, let's talk about business now. You just said you have a batch of tools to be made, but before you do, can you tell me what kind of tools you're going to make?"

Hockenpace was a master blacksmith who had been a blacksmith for forty years, and he didn't know how many customers he had received in forty years, so the need for certain people was almost immediately apparent. It's just that this is the first time he has met a nobleman to place an order in person.

"Quite simply, I need a batch of axes for chopping trees, a batch of hammers for making tools, a bunch of inner wooden knives to push skin, and a batch of double saws. Of course, I know the last one isn't there yet, so I've even brought you the blueprints. ”

"Hmm...... It's the first time I've heard of a tandem saw. Wait a minute, you show me your design drawings, the old man is not bragging, basically there are no tools in this era, I can't make them! But first ask me how many other three batches of tools you need?"

He smiled and stretched out five fingers unhurriedly.

"Five? No problem. ”

The old blacksmith patted his chest on the spot and said.

But the guest's next words frightened him so much that he even fell to the ground with a hammer.

"No, fifty of each type, and I'll order three hundred for two saws, and I'll want five hundred in a month. So it's a total of 850 tools, but you only need to take out more than 300 tools in the early stage, and you can find someone to take your time later. ”

"What? Oh my God, what do you need so many tools for? Are you planning to rebuild the walls?!"

The old blacksmith's surprised voice changed tone, and the apprentice and Marseille on the side were even more wide-eyed.

"In addition, I need twenty sets of ropes with a length of about twenty meters, and I also need you to build fifteen iron pots, which can be used without being too good. It doesn't matter, you just need to use the sword fighting technique to help me make a round iron tool with a diameter of 120 centimeters, remember that I need fifteen in the early stage, and I will expand to forty in the later stage, understand?"

The guest said with a pure expression. But at this time he did not notice that the old blacksmith was completely shocked, and his mouth was wide open. It was probably the biggest order he'd ever heard!

"Hey, hey, old blacksmith, are you alright? What's wrong? You're so pale? Are you not up to my request? It's okay the first time I can cut some of the quantities, but then we'll have to talk about the price. Or should I go find another blacksmith shop in the city?"

The old blacksmith swore that this was definitely the fastest reaction in his life!

"No!!"

With a scream, the old blacksmith rushed in front of Char as quickly as the wind. Regardless of whether Char was willing or not, he suddenly grabbed Char's hand tightly. As if Char's hand was his deposit, Char's grip felt as if his bones were creaking.

"We take it! You don't have to worry about manpower and time, it can definitely be completed in the shortest possible time, I and my three sons and two nephews are all blacksmiths, and the six of us are the main force and fourteen apprentices can help, and we can definitely complete what you ask for within a week!"

"Oh, that's good, a week is much faster than I expected. ”

Speaking of which, the guest took out a piece of parchment from his bosom, of course, it was "borrowed" directly from King Arthur, as for King Arthur, who woke up from a deep sleep, would he be angry when he suddenly found that he had signed and approved a copy of the manuscript paper that he signed and approved...... Sa, then only God knows.

"This is a two-man saw that I asked for to be designed, and the building mode is very simple, which is to assemble several wooden sticks together to help the two people rub back and forth. The key point is on the knife, not a flat blade but a serration. But I don't think that's a problem with your forty years of experience as a blacksmith. ”

The old blacksmith took the parchment with both hands, and when he looked closely, he saw that it was indeed simple, but it took a little effort to forge the blade.

"Well, that's fine. It takes much faster to make than a sword to form, and it doesn't take much iron. But even so, it's a bit of a rush to build 300 in one go, if you give me half a month, I can guarantee to complete this amount. ”

"That's too slow, at least two hundred in a week. Otherwise, I'll question your level and whether this blacksmith shop is qualified to take my money. In addition to this, the width and thickness must also be up to the data indicated on my paper, and I believe that I have given you grace. Can you do it?"

Char asked aggressively. The old blacksmith frowned and pondered for a while, then finally gritted his teeth and nodded.

"That's great, so tell me how much do these tools cost?"

"Ten silver coins and sixty copper coins. For the sake of the amount you ordered at once, I would like to remove the change for you, a total of eleven silver Marjue coins. The old blacksmith almost blurted out.

At first, he nodded with satisfaction, this old man also knows that it is good to attract repeat customers at a preferential price.

But when he thought about it...... Huh?

Ten silver coins and sixty copper coins, how can ten silver coins become eleven silver coins after removing the fraction?!

Suddenly I felt that the old man's malice was full of overflow......

"Ahem!ahem!ahem!!"

In the noise of the blacksmith's shop, the old blacksmith looked particularly embarrassed after being recognized as a trick of his own. But this kind of unhesitation punctured the old man's joke, and the shrill laughter made people feel even more embarrassed...... And bad?

"Then the money is here, and I'll bring someone to take the tools with me in a week. ”

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