Magic, steel, heavy industry

Chapter 53 Bonds

"Captain, have we really come to the right place? This doesn't seem like the legendary Anvil Ridge at all!"

Early in the morning in Anvil Territory, Alan and four companions entered the town.

The one who just spoke was the warrior Raz, who was responsible for violent suppression in the squad. His two-handed greatsword was enough to make even huge monsters retreat.

Next to Rez is Shieldbearer Kahn, the most reassuring guardian in the group, whose iron shield keeps the claws of monsters at bay.

Kahn chimed in, "Yeah, wasn't this supposed to be the most impoverished frontier town in the North? It doesn't feel quite like what I imagined."

The group looked at the energetic townspeople on the street and all wore strange expressions.

In their minds, this barren land, especially in winter, should be full of desolation and sorrow. After all, winter is the most severe challenge for impoverished serfs.

But in this small town, the situation is completely the opposite.

It was still early morning, but everyone was up early, and it seemed like everyone had something to do. They were walking quickly, and there was no sign of despair or sorrow on their faces.

Next to the town, there is an area of ​​newly built wooden houses, with rows of wooden houses connected together, from which many sounds can be heard.

"Are those... refugees?" Archer Snow Owl was taken aback. Coming from a hunter's family, he had seen many refugees since childhood, so he could tell at a glance.

But these refugees seemed to be in a different state than the ones he had seen before.

Alan was also surprised, but she quickly shook her head and said, "This has nothing to do with us. We're here to find the magic powder weapon."

"Captain, we've given you all the magical beasts we've hunted these past few days. How do you plan to repay us?" Rez asked, arms crossed, looking smug.

Alan was out of gold coins, so her teammates decided to help her hunt monsters.

Along the way, they hunted down at least four low-level magical beasts, and the magic cores from them were worth the price of a magic powder weapon.

Alan blushed slightly and waved her hand, saying, "Don't worry, I won't take any of the magic cores we get later; I'll give them all to you."

"Hahaha, Captain, you're still so competitive. Don't worry about it. Not only you, but a few of us also want to try out that special weapon," Kahn laughed.

The others laughed along. Their team had been through countless adventures together, and their bond was something that couldn't be measured in gold coins.

Alan was very touched, but he wasn't good at expressing himself, so he could only say, "When I earn some gold coins, I'll treat you to drinks."

"Come on, you've been mooching off us for the past few days."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The group of five laughed in the street, oblivious to everyone else, drawing stares from the townspeople who seemed to think they were fools.

"Who are you? What are you doing in Anvil Territory?"

At that moment, a stern voice rang out behind them.

Alan turned around and saw that the speaker was a beautiful young girl dressed as a gardener.

……

"Adventurers? Where did they come from?"

Inside the workshop, Vilan looked at Igris in surprise. Just now, the other woman had reported to him about the adventurers she had encountered that morning.

Vilan found it strange that the magic powder weapon hadn't even been officially sold to the public yet, so how could it have attracted adventurers so quickly?

Igris replied, "They came from Silver City. The leader is called Alan. She said she bought a magic powder dagger from Master Longjin's workshop, but it was stolen by the Herrscher of No Signature a few days later. She couldn't buy it in Silver City, so she came directly to Anvil Territory."

"Really?" Vilan looked at his bodyguard McGinn beside him, who was on duty to protect Vilan's safety today.

McKinney nodded. "That's right. Miles sold one of the daggers to a female adventurer."

Vilan seemed thoughtful, then shook his head helplessly. "She's really unlucky. If she wants to buy it, just sell it to her. Since we're in business, the customer is king."

Upon hearing this, Igris's expression immediately became somewhat conflicted. "But she doesn't have any gold coins. She said that in order to buy weapons, they hunted four low-level magical beasts on the road and wanted to exchange them for these magic cores."

"Low-level magic cores cost around 1 to 3 gold coins, but 4 cores shouldn't be a problem with the price," McKinn nodded and said.

Vilan hesitated. He still preferred gold coins. Should he open the door to buying weapons with magic cores?

Seeing that Vilan remained silent, Igris suddenly raised her head, revealing an unusual pleading expression, "Lord Vilan, I would like to exchange a portion of my salary for these magic cores."

"Huh?" Viran thought he'd misheard. "Are you sure? You want the magic core?"

Igri nodded without hesitation, "I need to! I want to hone my magic. Without a magic core, I will never be able to progress into a true mage."

She clenched her fists, her eyes filled with longing.

Actually, that wasn't the only reason. Last night, she discovered that the sick girl also had magical talent, but the goblin magic core was too fragile to determine what that talent actually was.

If she could use these magic cores to help that girl become a magician, Igris would be very willing.

But she didn't say it directly. Vilan already had too many things to think about every day, and she didn't want to distract him in uncertain circumstances.

Seeing her determined gaze, Vilan unconsciously met her eyes.

At that moment, Vilan seemed to get to know this maid all over again.

Although she is somewhat arrogant, she is always very determined and adheres to her own principles.

This is a rare and valuable quality.

Vilan couldn't help but laugh, then suddenly reached out and patted Igris on the head. "Are you stupid? What can you do with your meager salary? You can handle the adventurer's affairs. Consider this a bonus. You've worked hard these past few days, Miss Gardener."

"..."

Vilan turned and walked into the workshop. He didn't notice that Igris's face had turned visibly red, and her mind was completely blank.

He actually dared to touch my head!

How dare he!

Igris clenched her fist, instinctively wanting to throw a punch. As a fallen noblewoman living alone, she was inevitably wary of others.

But for some reason, she quickly lowered her fist this time. Unconsciously, her little bit of defense seemed to have long been ineffective against Vilan.

"Fine, but if you dare do that again, you'll regret it..."

With that thought in mind, she followed Vilan into the workshop.

Today is an important day. The thing that Lord Vilan has been longing for is finally going to come to fruition, and Igris also wants to witness this moment.

That wondrous creation called "gunpowder" is about to undergo its first test explosion.