Novels online

Chapter 21: Forging Armor

The sky was just brightening as Gao Yiye rose from her bed.

Before, every day she woke up without a second thought, grabbing her bamboo basket and heading out to forage for wild vegetables, tree bark, and roots, busy from dawn till dusk. But now, with the food blessed by the Heavenly Lord, her first thought upon waking was what she should do today.

Water was no longer scarce in the village; she decided to wash her face first.

She was a born beauty, though her former dirt-stained, malnourished, sallow appearance had long obscured her natural charm. But days of plentiful food, including meat, had replenished her vitality. After washing her face clean, her cheeks had rounded out, regaining a healthy flush, and her overall demeanor had transformed entirely from before.

The only imperfection now was her somewhat tattered clothes; no matter how cleanly she washed them, they still undermined her appearance.

After washing her face, she found herself at a loss for what to do.

She slowly pushed open her door and stepped out...

She had barely taken two steps when a colossal hand, descending through the clouds, slowly lowered itself before her.

Gao Yiye knew: the Heavenly Lord was about to dispense the day's provisions.

None of these. What the Heavenly Lord placed before her was an enormous block of iron.

Li Daoxuan peeled off the scrap of iron sheet that had encased a wooden clothes hanger. It was a small rectangular piece, 10 centimeters long, 5 centimeters wide, and 1 millimeter thick. Yet, placed before Gao Yiye, this tiny "iron sheet" transformed into a colossal iron plate: over twenty meters long, ten meters wide, and twenty centimeters thick.

Gao Yiye was a little bewildered. "Heavenly Lord, are we meant to eat this iron plate today? I'm afraid I can't bite through it..."

Li Daoxuan was torn between laughter and exasperation. *Your first thought is to eat it?* he chided playfully. "Always thinking about food! This iron is for forging armor for you."

Gao Yiye's eyes widened. "Oh? Forging armor?"

Li Daoxuan instructed, "Gather the villagers to examine this iron. I recall there's a blacksmith in the village, his name is..."

Gao Yiye quickly chimed in, "Gao Yiyi!"

Li Daoxuan confirmed, "Ah, yes, Gao Yiyi. Under his guidance, have the villagers craft a simple set of armor for every able-bodied young man in the village."

Gao Yiye acknowledged with a nod, then swiftly conveyed the message to everyone.

It wasn't long before all the villagers gathered around, Gazing at the gigantic iron plate on the ground, Gao Chuwu was the first to speak. "Such a thick iron plate! Is the Heavenly Lord giving this to us to eat?"

He grinned, revealing a row of slightly yellowed teeth. "I don't think I can bite through it."

Gao Yiye, playfully chiding in Li Daoxuan's tone, said, "Always thinking about food! This iron plate is for us to forge armor, by the Heavenly Lord's command."

Gao Chuwu gasped, "Armor?"

A middle-aged man squeezed out from the crowd; it was Gao Yiyi, the blacksmith. While he was perfectly capable of forging hoes and kitchen knives for the villagers, something as intricate as armor was entirely beyond his experience. He circled the enormous iron plate twice, gesturing with his hands. "This much iron is worth a fortune! We'd have to melt it down to fashion anything else, but it's far too massive. I don't have a furnace big enough to melt it."

Li Daoxuan's hands instantly plunged into the Diorama Box. The 1-millimeter-thin iron sheet was as pliable as paper in his grasp. He twisted it left, twisted it right, then, with a sharp snap, he broke it. He broke it again, and again, *snap, snap, snap, snap*, until the iron sheet splintered into dozens of smaller fragments.

The villagers watched, awestruck, as the colossal iron plate was seized by an unseen giant hand, twisting and deforming in mid-air. Then came a resounding "snap" as it broke, only to twist, deform, and break again, repeatedly. In mere moments, the giant iron plate had been reduced to dozens of shattered pieces.

In their eyes, that had been an iron plate twenty centimeters thick, and to see it twisting and tearing apart before them was utterly staggering, imbued with overwhelming divine power.

Once again, the villagers began to fall to their knees.

Gao Yiye quickly shouted, "The Heavenly Lord commands you not to waste time kneeling! Get up and work!"

The villagers let out a collective gasp and scrambled to their feet.

"To work, to work!"

"Carry these iron pieces to Gao Yiyi's home and pile them by the furnace."

"We need to get him more firewood and charcoal!"

"Speaking of which," someone pondered, "why does the Heavenly Lord suddenly want us to make armor?"

The villagers discussed quietly as they transported the iron.

Li Daoxuan listened to their chatter: some discussed carrying the iron, others the forging process, and some wondered about its purpose. Yet, not a single person mentioned "secretly possessing armor is a grave crime of rebellion." Clearly, these villagers were utterly ignorant of the outside world, completely oblivious to the law.

He said in a deep voice, "Gao Yiye, tell everyone: forging armor is for your protection. Do you remember when the bandits last stormed the village?"

That event, of course, Gao Yiye would never forget.

Recalling her mother, who had tragically died beneath a bandit's blade, her expression darkened.

Li Daoxuan continued, "The days ahead will grow more perilous. Food alone won't guarantee your survival; you must arm yourselves."

Gao Yiye recounted his words, precisely and thoroughly, for all the villagers to hear.

The Village Chief was the first to grasp the implication. "The Heavenly Lord means more bandits will attack our village!"

The women in the village grew flustered. "What are we to do then?"

But the men immediately understood what needed to be done. "Didn't the Heavenly Lord tell us what to do? Forge armor! Every able-bodied young man in our village will get a set. We also have the blades we confiscated from the bandits. With swords in hand, clad in armor, and with our bellies full of food and our strength restored, what is there to fear from those bandits?"

"Ah, so that's what it meant!" The women finally understood.

So, everyone had a new task for the day. Those able-bodied went out to gather firewood, hauling it back to pile up at Gao Yiyi's home. Others brought their homemade charcoal, dumping it all enthusiastically into Gao Yiyi's yard.

Gao Yiyi's humble little furnace blazed fiercely. Several young men helped lug the large iron pieces into the hearth to melt them. Then they watched as Gao Yiyi, with his clumsy technique, wielded his hammer, *ping-pang-ponging* away at the metal.

"Uncle Yiyi, how do we forge armor?"

"I don't know how to make anything complicated," Gao Yiyi replied, "but I can make Two-Plate Armor."

"Two-Plate Armor?"

"One iron plate for the chest, one for the back. You string the two plates together with rope, hang them on your body, and they can block attacks from both front and back. That's Two-Plate Armor."

"Wouldn't it be better to forge an iron barrel to wear?"

"Wear an iron barrel on your body, and how would you swing a blade?"

A group of people buzzed with discussion around the furnace.

Li Daoxuan listened to their chatter and couldn't help but frown. *Gao Family Village's technical capabilities are still far too rudimentary. Even with the materials, they can't forge proper armor. I need to find a way to improve their skills.*

No, that's not right. Improving their skills would take time, and distant water won't quench a present thirst. It would be better to find a way to bring in skilled people from outside the village.

At this thought, Li Daoxuan remembered the magistrate's strategist, the one who spoke with such affected airs: San Shier. Perhaps he could prove useful.