Chapter 251

Chapter 251: A Place That’s Incredibly Impressive (1)

The soldiers wore skeptical expressions as they assessed the unbelievable lightness of the armor. Come to think of it, the armor’s color wasn’t the glossy silver typically seen on the knights’ equipment.

Instead, it was closer to a matte silver, giving it a more refined and subdued appearance. Yet, this only deepened their suspicions.

It had to be made from shoddy materials. Thinking someone was playing a prank, the soldiers began to toy with the armor.

“Hey, hey! Give this thing a whack!”

At one soldier’s suggestion, another drew his sword and struck the armor. If a superior caught them, they could just claim they were testing the issued gear.

If the armor had been sent as part of some prank, it wouldn’t matter whether they fooled around with it or not.

Clang!

“......?”

The soldier holding the armor, the one who struck it, and those watching all blinked in astonishment.

If the armor were truly of poor quality, the spot struck by the blade should have been dented or pierced. Yet, the armor didn’t even have a scratch.

The soldier who swung his sword looked at his hand with disbelief.

“This... It felt almost identical to hitting real, high-quality armor.”

Since he had attacked playfully, he hadn’t put much thought into the strength of his swing. The shock from the impact, however, was transmitted directly to his hand.

The stinging pain in his hand was unmistakable—just like the sensation of striking hardened plate armor.

While everyone stood speechless, the Centurion of the light infantry came running over, sweating profusely.

“Phew, sorry for being late. Had to, uh, take care of something urgent. Everyone got their armor, right?”

“This... Is this really for us?”

“Yeah, Lord Fenris himself ordered it. From now on, no more low-grade armor for the troops.”

“......Wow.”

It was widely known that when Lord Fenris decided to spend money, he spent extravagantly.

But replacing the equipment for all 3,000 soldiers in the garrison? Such extravagance was unheard of, even among royalty.

A soldier raised his hand and asked,

“But why is this armor so light? Is it enchanted or something?”

“No, no. This is a newly developed material by the dwarves. It offers the same defensive strength as the standard armor but weighs less than half.”

“Wow...”

The soldiers finally broke into wide smiles.

Plate armor was considered the pinnacle of metallurgy. Without a blunt weapon to crush the armor outright or the skill to exploit its joints, killing someone wearing plate armor was almost impossible.

Against knights, the armor’s effectiveness depended on the opponent’s skill, but for regular soldiers, plate armor offered overwhelming protection.

Now, they had reduced the weight of such heavy armor to that of leather armor. This wasn’t just impressive—it was nothing short of a miracle.

“Woohoo!”

Cheers erupted from the troops.

The greatest fear for soldiers on the battlefield was death. But with full plate armor, they could fight with the confidence of taking down several enemies on their own.

The cavalry and archers, who were undergoing training, were just as thrilled. The lighter armor meant their horses would tire less quickly.

As production ramped up, more and more soldiers donned the new armor. Visually, it became hard to distinguish who was a knight and who wasn’t.

The polished silver armor with the emblem of a red wolf engraved on the left breastplate became the symbol of Fenris’ soldiers.

Weapons crafted from Galvaniium—spears, shields, and swords—were also distributed according to the needs of each unit.

The soldiers marveled at the new gear.

“Wow, these weapons are so light!”

“It won’t tire you out even if you carry them all day!”

“With this, I could swing it all day long!”

For blunt weapons, where weight was as critical as durability, the reduction was minor. But for bladed weapons, the lighter design made them significantly easier to handle.

The ones most delighted were the heavy infantry. Their role often required them to hold large, thick, and heavy shields throughout prolonged engagements, making them one of the most physically demanding units.

However, everything changed once they received their new shields.

“Charge with your shields!”

“Do I have two bodies? My original plan was to secure leather supplies alongside horses, but Galvaniium was completed first, so that took priority. Either way, I have no intention of cutting back on production, so we need to resolve this quickly before it becomes a bigger problem.”

Leather is one of the most widely used resources. It’s essential for making clothing, shoes, gloves, and protective covers for various items.

Weapons and armor also use leather components, and leather straps are often employed for binding.

With the mass production of equipment and tools spurred by Galvaniium, the demand for leather naturally skyrocketed.

As if he already had a solution in mind, Ghislain spoke confidently, sparking Claude’s curiosity.

“So, how are you going to secure it this time? Can you create leather out of thin air, like you did with cosmetics or Galvaniium?”

“No, am I a god? How could I make leather?”

“...Then are you planning to steal it, like how you acquired horses and iron ore?”

“Steal? What am I, a bandit? Why do you always think I’m going to rob someone? I’m not that kind of person, you know?”

‘Why does talking to this guy make me so mad?’

Whenever a problem arose, the lord would either pull out some absurd new piece of knowledge or beat someone into submission to take what was needed.

Naturally, Claude expected Ghislain to either provide another brilliant solution or seize resources from somewhere else this time as well.

Instead, Ghislain had the audacity to scold him, which only served to irritate Claude further.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself, Claude asked again.

“So, what will you do? Leather isn’t easy to come by these days. It’s getting harder and harder to source.”

The recent drought had led to a significant loss of livestock, which in turn decreased the availability of leather derived from those animals.

Still, the situation wasn’t as dire as with food or meat, as monsters could still be found scattered across the continent.

Ghislain pointed out this very fact.

“We’ll have to hunt monsters and use their hides. It’s hard to source leather right now, and stealing it from others isn’t an option.”

“...That won’t be easy.”

The Ritania Kingdom didn’t have many monster habitats left. Over the years, humans had expanded their territories by relentlessly hunting monsters.

Thanks to the kingdom’s longstanding policies, the number of monsters had dwindled significantly. The kingdom of Ritania wasn’t considered a major power for nothing.

With the recent drought further reducing monster populations, even the remaining ones were hunted down by desperate people, making sightings increasingly rare.

In the north, monsters had already been nearly wiped out long before the drought due to extreme poverty in the region.

Claude, with a puzzled expression, voiced his concerns.

“It’s nearly impossible to find monsters in our domain. We’ve hunted down every single one and squeezed them dry. The situation is likely the same for the neighboring territories. How can we hunt monsters when there are none left?”

“That’s why we’ll go to a place where there are plenty of monsters.”

At Ghislain’s reply, Claude suddenly realized something and nodded.

“Ah, you mean the ‘Forest of Beasts’, right?”

“No.”

“No? But it does seem like a reasonable choice. Didn’t you say the outer areas of the forest had been successfully cleared before?”

“The Forest of Beasts isn’t cost-effective. There are more monsters there that don’t yield usable leather than those that do. Hunting carnivorous plants or pudding trees is pointless. It’s a waste of time and resources to clear them for leather.”

“But didn’t you say before that you planned to retake the Forest of Beasts?”

“I do, but not right now. We need the strength to clear it with minimal losses before attempting that.”

Previously, the Forest of Beasts had been targeted because of the nearby runestones which provided a significant financial opportunity. At the time, there was no other way to secure such funds.

However, in the current situation, attempting to reclaim the forest would be a net loss. Ghislain’s plan was to wait until they could overwhelm the forest with ease and extract its resources efficiently.

Hearing that the Forest of Beasts wasn’t a viable solution, Claude rubbed his temples. He could already guess what Ghislain was planning.

“You’re planning to leave the domain again, like when you fought the savages, aren’t you?”

“That’s right. You’re catching on quickly.”

“Ah... This time, it’s going to be even farther, isn’t it?”

“Oh? You already figured out where I’m heading?”

“Of course. If monsters are scarce, you go where there are plenty. That’s your style, isn’t it? I’ve got you all figured out.”

Ghislain laughed heartily at Claude’s response. Indeed, spending time together fostered understanding.

With a satisfied smile, Ghislain revealed his plan.

“Yes. I’m heading to the ‘Shadow Mountains of the Turian Kingdom’. It’s a place overflowing with monsters—a truly, unbelievably impressive place.”