Starting with a Wei Wu soldier

Chapter 108 Weapon Upgrade

Deep within the Crafts Headquarters, in that top-secret, secluded courtyard where the furnaces burn day and night, a different kind of resounding clang echoes, entirely distinct from the sounds of preparations for war outside the city. It is the dense, crisp sound of hammers repeatedly forging steel, the sizzling sound of cold water contacting hot metal during quenching, and the incessant whistling of a grinding wheel sharpening a blade, as if trying to grind away all impurities.

Zhou Dashan practically lived here. His eyes were bloodshot, his face streaked with black and white ash and sweat, and his thick leather apron was charred and torn in several places, yet his spirit was as high as the flames leaping in a furnace. Beside him, a dozen carefully selected old blacksmiths, who had signed life-and-death contracts, and their prized apprentices were working together like the most precise parts around several improved forges and a series of newly added tools.

In the center of the courtyard, dozens of newly made ring-pommel swords, just completed with their final processing, were neatly stacked. These swords resembled the standard ring-pommel swords previously used by Starfire Fortress, but upon closer inspection, several differences became apparent: the blades were two inches longer, the spines were thicker, the curves were smoother, and the lines of the entire sword exuded a sense of concentrated power. Most striking was the blade itself; under certain lighting, a very faint layer of texture, slightly different from the main body of the blade, was faintly visible—this was a composite structure formed by using the "laminated steel" or "wrapped steel" process proposed by Chen Xing. The hard, sharp edge was wrapped and supported by a more resilient blade, making it less prone to chipping or rolling.

"Quick! Try 'Armor Split' again!" Zhou Dashan shouted in a hoarse voice.

A young blacksmith apprentice carefully picked up a new knife and walked to the testing area next to him. There were several wooden racks there, on which hung some of the most representative armor selected from the captured Black Mountain Army equipment: tattered leather armor, lamellar armor inlaid with iron plates, and even a relatively complete chainmail made of linked iron rings.

The apprentice took a deep breath, gripped the knife with both hands, aimed at the chainmail, and with all his might, slashed diagonally down from the upper left to the lower right!

"Clang—sizzle!"

A piercing, tearing sound rang out. The blade was deeply embedded in the iron rings of the chainmail; although it hadn't completely severed all the rings, it had breached most of the defense, with the tip even protruding slightly from the back of the armor! The apprentice struggled to pull the blade out, finding only extremely fine nicks on the blade, which were easily smoothed out with a gentle whetstone. The chainmail, however, was beyond repair, its iron rings twisted and broken.

"Good!" A suppressed cheer erupted from the surroundings. Testing leather armor and lamellar armor was a piece of cake; often, a single strike could slice through most of them.

"The blade hardness and overall toughness both meet the standards!" An experienced craftsman in charge of quality control stroked the grain on the blade, his hands trembling with excitement. "A blade like this, in the past, would have been a treasured weapon forged through countless hammer blows! Now... now we can forge more than a dozen a day!"

Zhou Dashan exhaled a heavy breath, thick with the smell of rust, his eyes gleaming: "Not enough! The fortress demands five hundred! The first batch must be delivered to the personal guard and elite troops as soon as possible! Everyone, divided into two shifts, the furnace fires must not go out, the hammering must not stop! Sufficient materials, excellent rations, double the merit points! But one thing—the quality of the knives, not a single one can be substandard! Anyone who ruins the reputation, I'll take away their livelihood first!"

"Yes!" the craftsmen responded in unison, their fatigue dispelled by a great sense of accomplishment and abundant encouragement, and they threw themselves back into the fiery forging process. The clanging sounds grew more frequent and rapid.

Meanwhile, in an open area near the north wall of the fortress, designated as a "temporary weapons distribution area," the atmosphere was equally enthusiastic. Chen Wei, accompanied by his personal guard and two hundred of the most elite veterans drawn from various battalions, stood solemnly. Before them lay the first batch of one hundred new-style ring-pommel swords, fresh from the Craftsmen's Headquarters.

The knives were still sheathed in simple leather sheaths, but the heavy, subtly sharp aura they exuded already made these seasoned veterans feel something different. They stared intently at the knives, then at Chen Wei standing at the front of the formation.

Chen Wei's face was ashen as he glanced at his men, who had fought alongside him through thick and thin, and slowly spoke: "In yesterday's bloody battle, you all used your old swords and armor to defend the city walls and displayed the might of Starfire Fortress! The Fortress Lord remembers your merits!"

He paused, then his voice suddenly rose: "But the lord cares more about your lives! On the battlefield, a sharper blade or thicker armor increases your chances of survival! Now, the brothers of the craftsmen's camp have poured their hearts and souls into forging high-quality steel and producing new blades using new methods!"

He walked to the sword rack, casually drew a sword, and with a "whoosh," it was unsheathed. Sunlight shone on the grayish-white blade, which lacked the dullness or gleam of ordinary iron swords; instead, it possessed a restrained luster, like rock polished by flowing water. The lines at the blade's edge were clean and crisp, subtly exuding a chilling aura.

"These swords were forged using a secret method. Their edge is sharp enough to pierce chainmail; their blade is tough enough to parry heavy weapons!" Chen Wei's voice carried the resonance of metal and stone. "Now, they belong to you!"

Without further ado, Chen Wei began personally calling out names and handing out the new knives to the corresponding soldiers. With each knife handed out, he patted the soldier's shoulder firmly. The soldiers who received the knives straightened their backs, carefully gripping the hilts, feeling their solid weight, and gently stroking the cool, sturdy blade, their eyes revealing barely suppressed excitement and appreciation. For these warriors who considered their knives their second life, a good knife was their most reliable partner and their greatest source of confidence.

"After changing clothes, spend half an hour getting used to them and familiarizing yourself with the blade's characteristics. Then, return to your respective defensive sections immediately, according to the original formation!" Chen Wei ordered. "Remember, no matter how good the blade is, it needs someone to use it! I want you to use these new blades to cut off more Black Mountain bandits' heads and defend our city walls!"

"We swear to fight to the death!" Over a hundred elite soldiers roared in unison, their voices thundering. They eagerly untied their old swords, solemnly handed them to the logistics personnel, and then carefully hung their new swords in the most comfortable positions, gently adjusting the tightness of the straps, feeling the presence of their new comrades.

Soon, a unique scene appeared on the city wall. Among the soldiers still busy repairing fortifications, their faces covered in soot, some figures began to stand out—their postures exceptionally upright, their eyes sharp, and their swords distinctly different. They silently patrolled their sections of defense, occasionally reaching out to press their sword hilts, their fingertips tracing the rough guards, as if communicating in silence. The other soldiers looked at them with envy and anticipation, knowing that their turn would soon come. This visible, tangible improvement in equipment was more effective at boosting morale than any empty encouragement.

While inspecting the city walls, Chen Xing and Murong Mingyue paid special attention to the condition of the first batch of troops to be re-equipped.

"The morale is definitely different now." Murong Mingyue looked at a young soldier who was carefully wiping his new sword, his eyes focused as if he were looking at a lover, and said in a low voice, "A good sword is of great significance to a soldier."

Chen Xing nodded: "This is just the beginning. Once the steel-forging method is stable, we will gradually re-equip all front-line soldiers. Not only swords, but also spearheads, arrowheads, armor plates... all will be reforged with new steel. At that time, our army will have a generational advantage over the Black Mountain Army in terms of weapons and equipment."

He looked at the Black Mountain Army's sprawling camps in the distance outside the city, his tone turning cold: "Zhang Kuang wants to overwhelm us with numbers and attrition, but I will use technology and quality to offset his numerical advantage, and even surpass him. Every one of his deaths is a real loss; while we are constantly upgrading and strengthening ourselves in battle."

As if to test the power of the new sword and to further dampen the increasingly low morale of the Black Mountain Army, Chen Xing issued a bold order before dawn the next day.

The objective was a small forward outpost jutting out from the left flank of the Black Mountain Army camp, guarded by a small camp of about three hundred men under the command of "Over-the-Mountain Wind" Wang Mazi. This outpost was strategically located, posing a threat to a supply route west of Xinghuo Fortress and serving as a departure point for Black Mountain Army harassing forces. The outpost's defenders, burdened by the oppressive atmosphere in the army and their confidence in their proximity to the main camp, were quite lax in their defenses.

Murong Mingyue personally selected fifty elite cavalrymen from the Fengshi Battalion who had just been equipped with new swords, and one hundred veteran infantrymen, also equipped with new swords and assigned by Chen Wei, to form a mixed assault team. Led by a bold and meticulous centurion of the Fengshi Battalion, they took advantage of the darkest hour before dawn and a guide familiar with the terrain to silently slip out of the fortress, bypass the main Black Mountain Army's security line, and head straight for the stronghold.

The battle began and ended in a near-overwhelming fashion. The assault team, like cheetahs pouncing in the night, first silently eliminated the sentries with crossbows, then rammed open the makeshift camp gates. The infantry, armed with new swords, were like tigers among sheep; where their blades flashed, the Black Mountain soldiers' inferior weapons were often cleaved in two, their leather armor and even their rudimentary iron armor torn apart like paper. Terrified screams and the grating sound of metal snapping echoed throughout the small camp.

The cavalry of the Vanguard Battalion patrolled outside the camp, intercepting fleeing enemy soldiers and keeping watch for reinforcements from the direction of the main camp. The entire attack lasted less than 15 minutes. By the time the alarm drums finally sounded from the direction of the Black Mountain Army's main camp and reinforcements were dispatched, the assault team had already quickly withdrawn with dozens of heads and some captured flags and weapons, disappearing into the hilly area to the west.

When the Black Mountain Army reinforcements arrived, panting, they found only a chaotic camp and their own corpses strewn across the ground. Many of the dead bore smooth, deep wounds, clearly inflicted by extremely sharp weapons. When the news reached the Black Mountain Army camp, Zhang Kuang flew into another rage, whipping several officers on guard duty, further demoralizing the already low morale of the camp.

Meanwhile, at Xinghuo Fortress, the attacking force returned almost unscathed, bringing back not only spoils of war, but also the strongest proof of the power of the new swords and high morale. The soldiers who participated in the operation, especially those who personally slew the enemy with the new swords, returned beaming, vividly describing to their comrades how the new swords "cut iron like mud" and "broken bones like firewood."

The effects of "weapon upgrades" were tested in blood and fire for the first time in actual combat. It not only enhanced individual soldier combat capabilities but also acted like a shot in the arm, injecting strength into the veins of the Starfire Fortress defenders. Upon hearing of the victory, the craftsmen's enthusiasm for forging soared even higher; the soldiers, yet to be equipped, eagerly awaited their turn, their fighting spirit soaring; while on the Black Mountain Army's side, terrifying rumors began to circulate that Starfire Fortress possessed "divine weapons," adding another layer of psychological shadow to the attackers.

The city walls remained scarred, and the enemy army still besieged the city. But within Starfire Fortress, a confidence, rooted in technological superiority and emanating from within, was quietly growing and maturing. As the torrent of steel began to be forged according to new laws, the scales of war would inevitably tip in a subtle yet decisive manner.