Chapter 120: Eighteen Weapons Manifest
When Zhuang Yu received the news about the iron ore being sent back, he immediately went to check it out.
The iron ore was transported beneath the meat, and on the surface, it appeared as if Crimson City had brought back prey hunted from a new hunting ground.
The news of Crimson City utilizing iron ore for smelting was significant, and for now, it couldn't be made known to other forces, especially those from Red City.
Now that Crimson City had the method to produce iron weapons and the incubation chamber for giant creature eggs, with enough time given to Crimson City, it wouldn't be impossible for them to grow into a force as powerful as Red City.
However, Red City wouldn't just stand idly by and watch Crimson City's smooth development. Not to mention Red City, even other forces might not remain indifferent to Crimson City's growth.
Therefore, the iron smelting and the incubation chamber still had to remain confidential for now. Otherwise, the kind of sensation it would cause could be imagined. Just like salt and porcelain, which were everyday items, had already caused a great commotion in the world.
Zhuang Yu secretly had the iron ore sent to the place where ceramics, glass, and bricks were made, where security was always tight.
Zhuang Yu inspected the iron ore and found that they were of very good quality.
Others were a bit puzzled. Why did Prince Yu bring back a pile of stones so cautiously? And why the strict instructions not to let others find out?
Although they didn't know the reason, they guessed that there might be some deeper meaning, considering their ceramics and glass were made from clay and sand. They were still astonished by how many resources their ceramics and glass had exchanged for. Fundamentally, they were made from clay and sand, with minimal costs. And their salt was made from evaporated water...
What people from Crimson City feared most now was others learning their methods because the benefits were enormous.
In fact, seemingly simple crafts weren't that easy to learn. There were some worrywarts, but having such awareness of the danger was good. Currently, the places where they practiced these crafting techniques were heavily guarded. It was difficult even for a fly to fly in.
A group of people had already gathered around Zhuang Yu.
Zhuang Yu said, "Burn, burn these stones at high temperature."
Their kiln could produce ceramics and glass, and the temperature was sufficient.
Burn the stones? The group of people was momentarily stunned, but if Prince Yu said to burn them, they would.
The flames rose in the kiln, with the stones placed on top.
Everyone stared at the kiln without blinking.
As the temperature rose, the stones gradually began to turn red, then melted into red liquid flowing outward...
The group of people was stunned. This red liquid... seemed somewhat familiar.
They had melted ironware from Red City in the kiln before, and it seemed... it was also this kind of red liquid.
Could this red liquid be molten iron? How could that be? Clearly, they were burning stones.
Their eyes all turned to Zhuang Yu in unison, filled with fiery anticipation. If it really was molten iron, wouldn't that mean... they could produce iron weapons like those of Red City? Red City's strength lay in their advanced weapons, which allowed them to gradually develop into what they were now.
Their hearts were burning with excitement, making their expressions unnaturally fervent. But they also feared they might be wrong, so they stared at Zhuang Yu without blinking.
Zhuang Yu also observed the melting iron ore. Smelting iron wasn't so easy. The current red iron liquid still contained a lot of impurities. To make weapons out of it, those impurities had to be removed, or else the weapons produced would be very brittle.
And the oldest method of removing impurities, probably, was using a hammer to strike the iron chunks before they solidified. This method, known as forging, was the most commonly used method in ancient times on Earth and gave rise to the profession of blacksmiths.
With limited technological means and considering the physical fitness of the Tribespeople, although this method seemed a bit primitive, it was currently the most suitable method.
Seeing the group of people looking at him, Zhuang Yu probably knew what they wanted to ask. He said, "Perhaps, we will soon have our own iron weapons, better than those of Red City."
Boom! It was like a bomb had been dropped among the crowd, buzzing in their minds, leaving them stunned by this statement.
Crimson City would also possess iron weapons, and they would be better than those of Red City?
It was inconceivable, unimaginable, but if Prince Yu said so, they believed it.
Their Prince Yu always manages to do things that others dare not even think of. He is the hope of Crimson City, an unparalleled existence in the world.
Crimson City is so fortunate to have a Lord like him. Those Lords from other forces who are rumored to be extraordinary are nothing in their eyes, nothing in front of their Lord.
Zhuang Yu looked at the excited and incoherent Tribespeople and said, "It's certain that we'll produce ironware, but it will take some time to improve the quality of the ironware. For now, I need you to try making high-quality weapons using my method."
"Whatever the Lord says, we'll do."
"Yes, we all listen to the Lord."
Words spoken by their Lord have never gone unfulfilled.
Zhuang Yu smiled and then began instructing people to extract the red iron liquid from the kiln and pour it into a mold for a large hammer, directly cooling it with water.
It was a very crude hammer, but they had no choice. They needed a hammer to forge the iron, so they would make do with this rough one for now.
Water poured onto the scorching hot iron, billowing white smoke, and then the entire iron lump was immersed in water.
Once the white smoke disappeared, and they could see the iron hammer in the water, it could be said that it was pockmarked and of very poor quality due to the high impurities content from not being properly forged.
But the Tribespeople were already dancing with joy. "Yes, it's iron, it's really iron!"
They never imagined that iron could be made from burning stones.
Zhuang Yu looked at the somewhat pitiful large iron lump. At least the hammer for smashing things could still be used.
He took out the cooled large iron hammer and then attached a wooden handle to it. The handle was made from the trunk of a ghost willow tree and was very hard.
A rough large hammer was made.
Zhuang Yu tested it. It was quite heavy and could be wielded with great force.
The Tribespeople asked, "Is this our iron weapon? Why doesn't it look like a stone spear? It would be more convenient for battle that way."
Stringing a large iron lump onto a piece of wood did feel a bit strange.
Zhuang Yu smiled. "This isn't a weapon; it's for forging iron."
The people were puzzled. Forging iron? What's that?
While demonstrating, Zhuang Yu explained.
They cooled the iron liquid into red iron blocks again, then Zhuang Yu picked up the large iron hammer and started forging.
A small body wielded a large iron hammer, looking quite amusing.
"That's right, repeatedly forge the iron blocks that haven't completely cooled down. The strength needs to be moderate. Deform it, but don't use too much force to shatter it directly. While forging, you can pour some water to extract..."
After Zhuang Yu forged for a while, someone nearby said, "Lord, let me do this kind of rough work..."
Taking the hammer, he began forging like Zhuang Yu.
Zhuang Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was really exhausting to wield a hammer in such hot weather. Zhuang Yu thought to himself that it might be good to let the students of Crimson City come here to train, but they would have to keep it a secret.
In Crimson City, even children knew what to say and what not to say. They were very sensible. Just remind them once, and that would be enough. The internal unity of Crimson City was what Zhuang Yu liked the most. Everyone saw the future of Crimson City and was full of hope for it.
Zhuang Yu wiped the sweat and continued to instruct how to forge iron.
There were also many Tribespeople surrounding them, earnestly learning because they would definitely have to do it themselves in the future. They were forging a large iron block into a long knife under Zhuang Yu's guidance.
The main weapon of Crimson City was still stone spears. The form of weapons was very single, but stone spears were not suitable for everyone. They were more suitable for people like knights to charge. For example, the White Deer War Tribe was particularly suitable for weapons like long spears.
But for others, long spears were not suitable for close combat. They had the greatest killing power only at the tip of the spear. But knives were different; they were more suitable for close combat.
Zhuang Yu had many weapon styles in his mind, such as knives, spears, clubs, axes, hammers, forks, etc. They would forge some of them later, and everyone could choose the one that suited them best.
Moreover, besides these, Zhuang Yu had countless weapon styles from games in his mind. It wasn't impossible to create some cool weapons.
The sound of iron forging and the sound of quenching with cold water never stopped.
That piece of iron slowly, under Zhuang Yu's guidance, was forged into the shape of a knife, with a thick back and a slightly thin blade.
The strength of the Tribespeople was unmatched by people on Earth. It could be said that they were born good candidates to become blacksmiths.
On Earth, forging such a large knife would take several days, and it would require a blacksmith with exceptionally great strength. But now, the Tribespeople have almost finished forging it in just a few hours.
They threw the knife into the water for cooling.
Then Zhuang Yu took it out of the water and started grinding it. When just forged with an iron hammer, the knife was very dull and needed to be sharpened.
A group of Tribespeople surrounded and looked at it with curiosity. "This weapon looks a bit strange."
"One side thick, one side thin. Will the thin side break when clashing with others' weapons?"
Having grown up fighting since childhood, they naturally had their own opinions on weapons.
Zhuang Yu smiled and handed the sharpened big knife to a nearby elder of the Tribe. "Try it."
The elder held the knife, feeling a bit awkward. "How do I use this? It seems like it could be used for stabbing like a stone spear, but it doesn't seem to be meant for that."
Others nodded. To stab like a stone spear, the tip must be very sharp to maximize the piercing power. That way, even thick-skinned beasts could be pierced, causing great damage.
Zhuang Yu made a chopping motion. "This weapon is for chopping. Think about it, when we fight normally, the stone spear is not very effective in close combat. But this knife is different. Even when we're very close, we can still use it to chop."
Close combat brawling was the shortcoming of the stone spear, and everyone had experienced it.
Upon hearing this, the group of people couldn't help but brighten up at the idea. This kind of weapon seemed particularly suitable for close combat.
The elder held the knife, glanced at a nearby stone, then hugged the handle of the knife and viciously chopped down. It was ferocious to the extreme, and Zhuang Yu felt a bit of pain watching.
With a "bang," the entire knife was embedded directly into the stone. With enough speed and force, even a bird could penetrate an airplane.
There was a moment of silence. Everyone knew how hard the stone was, yet the knife had been chopped into it directly. If it had hit a person, wouldn't they have been split in two? This was something a stone spear couldn't achieve in close-range combat.
Faces heated up, hearts astonished, some incredulously said, "Could it be that this stone is relatively soft?"
"Let me try with a stone spear." Another elder nearby said.
Then he picked up the stone spear and fiercely swung it at the stone.
"Boom!"
The stone cracked, but so did the stone spear. No matter how hard the stone spear was, it was still a stone spear and couldn't withstand such a strong impact. In fact, this was within their expectations. They wouldn't be foolish enough to use a stone spear to hit a stone normally.
Stone spears were slender and thus very prone to breakage under such force.
Everyone glanced at the broken stone spear and the crack in the stone. Then they looked at the knife that almost split the stone in two. It was clear who caused more damage and who was more sturdy.
The fervor in their hearts became extremely intense. This tool was really good for killing enemies, especially when used in close combat. If hit by it, one would either die or be seriously injured.
Zhuang Yu felt sorry for his knife. "Quick, check if the knife is damaged."
Normally, no one would use a knife to chop stones. It would be a waste of a weapon.
The knife was forcefully pulled out of the stone, and the cut on the stone was quite flat, indicating how great the force exerted by the elder just now was.
"Hiss!"
Everyone took a breath when they saw the intact knife. There were only some white marks on it, and overall, there was no damage. "Is this the power of iron weapons?"
Zhuang Yu was also surprised. He thought it would surely be damaged, but unexpectedly, it remained intact.
The elder touched the knife, his eyes hot. "Good knife."
No wonder Crimson City could develop into the first power with iron weapons. Iron weapons were worlds apart from their stone spears.
Zhuang Yu also nodded. "Let's study it further. Maybe we can improve the quality of our iron weapons."
The group of people: "..."
Actually, they were so satisfied that they couldn't express it in words. The fact that they could still improve was beyond their expectations.
The expressions on the faces of the Tribespeople were more excited than ever before. They were very clear about what having such iron weapons meant for Crimson City.
Crimson City was slowly becoming prosperous. In fact, they had some worries in their hearts. They were worried that they didn't have enough military strength to defend their hard-won prosperity.
But now, not only could they possibly have many more giant beast warriors, but they also had such good iron weapons now.
The joy on their faces was evident. Only when strength and wealth are matched can one go further, and that's exactly how Crimson City is developing now.
Zhuang Yu began instructing the elders to smelt iron again, this time making more iron hammers. Then he had them use the hammers to forge various weapons under his guidance: iron spears, broadswords, longswords, double axes...
For more than ten consecutive days, Zhuang Yu stayed here without leaving.
After more than ten days, Zhuang Yu stopped when he saw many different styles of weapons that had been forged.
During these more than ten days, while forging weapons, they also continuously explored ways to improve the quality of iron weapons. Now, after more than ten days, the quality of the iron weapons had become more stable.
These elders had also roughly mastered the basic forging techniques. Although the weapons they forged couldn't be called masterpieces, they would definitely be fine on the battlefield.
As for these more than ten days, Zhuang Yu didn't let the students idle either. He directly had them come here to forge iron and train their bodies. Of course, only students from Crimson City were allowed to come here; foreign students couldn't be allowed access to such confidential things.
Ant wiped away his sweat, with two small iron axes hanging from his waist. This was the result of his efforts over the past ten days, of course, with Zhuang Yu's help.
Zhuang Yu looked at him with a twitching mouth. What a good kid, he actually chose two iron axes.
Ant's eyes narrowed with a smile as he held the iron axes in his hands, feeling quite imposing with one in each hand.
Then, with cries, he chopped the iron axes towards a piece of ghost willow on the ground, managing to make two notches on the notoriously hard ghost willow. Then, he proudly hung the two small iron axes back on his waist.
As for Zhi, he carried a large ring knife made of gold wire on his back. The iron rings on it clinked, making it quite odd to see a little boy carrying such an exaggerated knife, but Zhi didn't feel anything wrong. He liked it very much and deliberately made the row of iron rings on the knife Tribeg, thinking that his large knife looked much better than Ant's iron axes. No, not a large knife, but a golden ring knife. This was the name Zhuang Yu specifically gave to his knife. Tsk tsk, even his knife had a name.
Feng held a triangular iron fork in his hand, smiling with his eyebrows bent.
Do you know why he chose a triangular iron fork? Because in their textbooks, Mr. Lu Xun described hunting with a triangular fork, and now he felt like he was a character from the book.
With the triangular fork in hand, he began to practice with cries, looking quite professional.
Kongchu chose a wolf's tooth club, but this weapon was a bit large, and when he raised it above his head, it looked out of place.
Yushi chose a pair of square melon hammers, which he hung from his waist. It was quite imposing. Fenghou chose a banana fan even larger than his, which suited him since he was already good at wind techniques.
The other students also chose weapons they felt suited them, which they had continuously forged under Zhuang Yu's guidance over the past ten days.
Let's not talk about the quality of the weapons for now; anyway, they definitely liked the appearance of them.
Zhuang Yu said, "From now on, come here every day for an hour to forge iron and train your bodies. Remember to keep it a secret from everyone."
The group of students nodded vigorously. This was the secret of their Crimson City, and they wouldn't reveal it even if they were beaten to death.
Zhuang Yu continued, "As for your weapons, just say they were confiscated from Red City during previous conflicts."
The iron weapons of Red City were always kept secret, and it was impossible for everyone to know all the styles. Saying they were confiscated from Red City was also reasonable, and besides, Crimson City and Red City used to have quite severe conflicts, so other forces had few opportunities to confiscate weapons from Red City.
Crimson City was so vast that having a few more weapons for these students was just a drop in the ocean. Compared to the entire population of Crimson City, the number of students was just a drop in the bucket. They weren't afraid of causing too much of a stir. Even if there were suspicions, when everything was settled, Crimson City would probably be ready to reveal these weapons to the world.
The group of students nodded vigorously.
Zhuang Yu looked at the students, who were almost fully armed with various weapons, and couldn't help but sigh. The hobbies of the students really...
Iron spears would have been so much better, yet not a single person chose them. Perhaps because they had always used stone spears before, they weren't very enthusiastic about weapons in the shape of spears.
Zhuang Yu looked at the group of students, each carrying a large gourd on their back and a large messenger bag around their waist, and now even more carrying strange close combat weapons. It seemed like all of his students were heading down the path of edgy, martial arts enthusiasts.
Zhuang Yu sent the students away; their training for today had ended.
Then Zhuang Yu began to forge a new weapon... the bow.
For other weapons, the bow is particularly important because four-fifths of the people in Crimson City are not beast warriors. With the bow, these non-beast warriors can also participate in battles.
Shooting from a distance with a bow also ensures their safety.
It can be said that the bow is designed for these four-fifths of the people in Crimson City.
Why not the crossbow? The crossbow has similar functions, and Zhuang Yu had previously made crossbows with more mature craftsmanship.
This is because, for children who lack strength, the crossbow is indeed a good weapon because they cannot pull a powerful bow. By using the crossbow to launch arrows, the power becomes especially great.
But for adults, strength is not an issue at all. Adults can fully pull the bowstring with their enormous strength, making the bow more powerful than the crossbow, and they can continuously shoot arrows, which is much more convenient. On the contrary, the crossbow limits their abilities, as reloading arrows onto a crossbow is more troublesome and takes a while to shoot each arrow.
The bowstring is made from the toughest tendons of dinosaurs so that it can withstand the enormous strength of adults and allow them to maximize the advantage of their strength.
Zhuang Yu handed the finished bow to the nearby Tribesmen to try out its power.
When the sound of arrows piercing through the air resounded, many people were amazed.
"This thing is so powerful, ordinary prey and beast warriors probably can't resist it."
Formidable beast warriors might be able to catch these arrows shot out, but that's only for formidable beast warriors. This bow is enough to deal with ordinary beast warriors.
Overjoyed, with this bow, the combat effectiveness of Crimson City can be said to have increased significantly, especially considering that beast warriors only occupy a small part of the entire Crimson City.
Crimson City is becoming more and more powerful, and it is becoming powerful at a visible speed.
Zhuang Yu nodded. In fact, they didn't have a lot of iron ore transported back yet, so they could only produce these weapons for now.
In addition to weapons, some essential farming tools were also made, such as hoes and sickles, which were very useful for farming, harvesting, and grazing in Crimson City.
After busy days, Zhuang Yu finally concluded things here. Now he just needed to hand over the matters here to the Tribesmen. When the iron ore was transported back, they could continue to forge weapons and so on.
Apart from new weapons, Crimson City had also gained so many small dinosaurs that it was impossible not to attract attention. They needed to find a way to dispel others' guesses and doubts.
So, every day, the students would leave the city and practice calligraphy on the sandy ground, with these small dinosaurs trotting behind them.
People outside the city were simply amazed.
They were astonished, incredulous, and their attention was all focused on these small dinosaurs. How were these small dinosaurs tamed? Various speculations arose in their hearts.
It must be said that these small dinosaurs were really mischievous and conspicuous. They were currently chasing after little birds on the grassland, causing the little birds to flee for their lives.
And the group of children chased after the small dinosaurs, "Oh, this is our own pet bird. Don't bite them."
"So mischievous, so mischievous, I'll deal with you when we get home."
On the grassland, it was simply chaos, lively and bustling, attracting countless foreigners to watch such a strange scene.
Then the people outside the city witnessed an incredible scene.
Those children couldn't catch up with the small dinosaurs that were biting the little birds everywhere. Some of them, frustrated, took out a book and began reading aloud, "At the beginning of mankind, goodness was inherent..."
A unique voice, strange content.
But to their surprise, the previously mischievous small dinosaurs... actually came back when they heard the reading, lining up in front of these children, behaving very obediently.
The outsiders outside the city were all dumbfounded, what... what's going on?
Can reading tame small dinosaurs?
Are these small dinosaurs that appeared in Crimson City tamed like this?
Various speculations in their minds continuously leaned towards this direction. It was too incredible. Although they couldn't believe it, the fact was right in front of them, forcing them to believe.
Originally still guessing how Crimson City could suddenly tame so many small dinosaurs, now they had an answer.
This school is too magical, a mysterious and sacred aura seems to be descending upon the school at this moment.
And the group of children reading the book looked at the row of small dinosaurs in front of them, wagging their tails, with crooked smiles on their faces.
Big Brother Yu taught them to read the book every day when feeding the small dinosaurs. So whenever they read a book, these small dinosaurs thought they were going to be fed, so naturally they ran over.
Big Brother Yu said that for the time being, outsiders couldn't know that they were compatible with the beasts, which was why they used the hatchery to hatch the cubs, so they had to divert their attention.
Now, these stunned people must think that it was their reading that tamed these small dinosaurs. Look how happy these small dinosaurs are listening to the book, wagging their tails, but upon closer inspection, you'll see they're all drooling, their eyes fixed on the meat♪ meat, meat♪ meat, give us meat♪ meat.
To play along with these children's act, Zhuang Yu even made Crimson City's merchants start to buy small dinosaurs on a large scale, turning the purchase of giant beast eggs into a side business, without attracting attention.
Perhaps these outsiders also think that these small dinosaurs were tamed after being captured by Crimson City, rather than directly hatched. After all, artificial hatching, unheard of, unthinkable. If they could think of this point, that would be truly astonishing.
Blinded by prejudice, it's just like this. Sometimes, the truth is just behind a thin sheet of paper, but until someone breaks through it, no one can imagine it.