Sudrian Blades. (Humanized TTTE Fantasy.)

Chapter 2: Tears and Blades.

After the very strike on that night, Thomas had been practicing his swordsmanship as well as further examining the armor from the Kobolds so he could find out a far better way to combat them. So far he managed to successfully perform most of the Billinton Style Sword spells at their top tier and with excellent speed. 

"So far so good." He thought as he then wiped his brow. "At this rate, I should be more than ready to face those Kobolds in combat again. That said, I should probably start experimenting with these kobold chest plates to see how well my attacks would slash them." He raised his iron sword high and activated a sword spell which made it light up its blade. "Here it goes!" He said to himself before swinging it hard.

"CRASH!!!!" The blade of the iron sword broke in half. 

"Well, that explains a lot!" The 15-year-old then cried out in his mind. "The Kobold's armor is tougher than iron, which is why the villagers couldn't do much against them, or at least the ones inside. The ones in the outer skirts of the village had weaker armor and weapons. Probably means there is a standard if you're going to invade or lead. From what I know about Kobolds, this does sort of fit in well with their tendency to try to increase their territory. So, if a normal Iron sword is not effective, how will a steel sword hold out?"

Taking his training steel sword, Thomas slashed the armor again, but this time instead of the blade completely breaking, a small crack began to appear, as one also formed on the armor.

"Looks like the steel sword is a bit more effective. But that said this one is beginning to shatter alongside the armor. Wait! That's with normal steel! The steel that mages use is ten times stronger than the run-of-the-mill for it usually comes out of caves that are leading to a land's mana circuit! Making more of magical steel than anything!"

Testing his theory, he slashed it with the very sword that he had with him that night, and this time the armor broke and the blade sustained little damage.

"Mana-enhanced steel seems to do the trick. I guess this means the weapons we gave everyone was far too weak for the job." Upon getting the necessary findings, he sheathed his sword and dashed back inside where his parents were waiting. 

"How did the training and experimenting go?" Tanya asked with pure curiosity.

"Surprisingly well," Thomas replied with a smile. "Testing with three different swords, it seems the mana-enhanced steel that mages use is the best choice when fighting against the kobolds. From what I'm seeing, the stronger the material, the better."

Just then a bird flew in through the window and perched on one of the dining room chairs. Howard walked over and pulled out a piece of paper that was in a pouch upon it. 

"Hmm... Looks like you may be right yet again." Howard then spoke upon reading the note on the paper. "I got this from a friend of mine from another town, and it seems that he found possible traces of a lair that the Kobolds were coming to and fro from."

Thomas gave a serious expression as he recalled the moment when he found the piece of info from his books. According to it, many of the violent Kobold clans were sealed away in caves while the peaceful ones stay right and well in their territories. Only striking out of self-defense. With how many he saw that night, Thomas was quick to suspect and tell his father, who of which has many friends and contacts across Sodor. Hearing that there are possible traces of one nearby made them quick to discuss their next plan. 

"With this recent discovery by Merlin, I think I'm going to join him in searching for this lair belonging to the Kobolds. From there, when we find it, we'll map the location, return, and form a raid squad to take them all down."