Twenty Sided Dice

The gate of Fist Fort was open, and the six knights guarding their lord greeted them at the gate, and the messenger sent by Mana, Knight Leon, who was also a scout, followed and smiled at Mana.

Leon's lowered hand made a safe gesture beside his thigh. When he saw this, the female knight was relieved. After dismounting and tidying up his clothes, he led the crowd up.

It was inconvenient for Siegel to reveal his identity, nor to dress up as a knight's personal soldier, so he left in stealth. He personally went to scout the traces of the nearby elves and the ancient war tree, hoping to gain something.

The fist castle can only be regarded as a small castle in the entire castle defense chain. According to the information collected by Feizak, there are less than ten knights and the same number of knight servants, plus more than ten servants living here. Usually no one cares about this place, because there is no production and no entertainment. Their lives are sometimes even inferior to orcs, and even require knights to farm and hunt to make ends meet.

It seems that the actual situation is worse than the description in Feizak's intelligence, and Mana understands after careful observation. Although the lord of the other party rode a charcoal black horse, it should be a high-quality war horse, but the maintenance was really bad. The armor was made by a famous master, and it was considered top-quality in terms of texture, workmanship and defensive capabilities, but it didn't fit well.

Armor can be passed down from generation to generation, but each generation should find a suitable armorer to modify it according to the size. Doesn't this castle even have qualified craftsmen who can adjust armor belts?

Mana hoped that the trade route led by Heim would pass through the castle, and Fort Fist had long been looking forward to this day, and the two sides completed the negotiation before they even started to exchange greetings. The only trouble was the road that was difficult for the female knight to come by, but both parties agreed to send craftsmen to repair it, at least to build a ramp that would allow trucks to travel.

The caravan has always been on the ore road, following the trend of the foothills of the city wall mountains. But now there are elves patrolling the road. The Ore Avenue is unobstructed, and it is not safe enough. Elves are not murderous, so merchants are not afraid of losing their lives. But all the goods were confiscated, and then the elves put them in a cell. And no businessman likes the result.

The city wall mountains belong to the dwarves, and the roads of the castle defense chain are handed over to the humans for management by the dwarves. The elves have no intention of entering the city wall mountains for the time being, so the roads on the hillsides are still safe for the time being. It's not that there are no smart businessmen who want to go this route, but in their capacity, it is impossible to **** up all the profits through so many lords' castle gate taxes and tolls. Only Siegel, who is also a lord, is qualified to talk to the lords, coordinate and distribute the interests of all, and the victory of the two recent wars in Heimland has also increased his right to speak.

The "Mid-levels Trade Route" was thus opened up, starting from Heimland and ending at Riot Fort. Originally, Mana wanted to continue eastward to the Bird's Nest City of the Shiratori family. But after hearing that there is a section of the road leading there that needs to cross a rift and can only rely on a rope bridge, I temporarily gave up this idea. It is not easy to build a stone bridge that can pass a carriage, and looking at the meaning of the lord of Fist Fort, he would rather not build the bridge.

"The road down the mountain from me is not difficult," he said. "And the road is hidden in the crevices of the mountain, so the elves won't pay attention at all."

They looked at the map and saw that a long river flows from near Fort Fist, all the way to the east, and after merging into the main stream, they can reach Waterdeep City. River transport is also a good option, with speed and capacity. Although Siegel has no intention of providing support to Waterdeep, at least not before the collapse of the Knox Commonwealth, but it may be an option in the future.

They didn't stay in Riot for too long. Not even the lord's enthusiasm could hold back. Mana still remembered her mission, so she left in a hurry on the pretext of seeing the situation in the northern grasslands.

"The caravan will arrive in a few days. This trade route will soon begin to operate." Mana's parting words made the lord excited. "I'm afraid it won't be much at first, but it will gradually change after that."

"Absolutely no problem!"

The way down the mountain was as they said, hidden and easy to walk. The road is difficult to see from the plains, shielded by the peaks. When Mana met Siegel at the foot of the mountain, the lord of Heimland was sitting on a tree stump, quietly looking at the book in his hand.

"There was an elf squad patrolling from east to west yesterday afternoon, an ancient war tree, three elf rangers, and a druid." Siegel closed the magic book and said to his knights. "They will go back at dusk and pass here again. So I guess they will come again around noon today. If my estimate is correct, the date of the ambush is set for tomorrow."

"Everything is according to your orders."

"Okay. I think you have been curious for a long time, and you have always wanted to know what weapons will be tested this time."

Siegel took out some crossbows from the space bag first. to the knights. Different from the common crossbow, the wrench used to wind the new crossbow is placed under the crossbow body, causing the center of gravity to sag a little, and you need to adjust the feel to get used to aiming.

They gave it a try, and the new lever wrench didn't make much of a difference except a little lighter. This kind of down-type crossbow is not a new invention, what can be kept secret, as for the knights to take poison before they can try it?

Everyone is not a fool, knowing that the lord must have something to say.

Sure enough, Siegel took out the dark red ammo box and snapped it onto the crossbow with a single click. The magazine can be moved back and forth, so it can adapt to various types of crossbow body lengths, and the magic circle above can also judge when to push the bolt into the shooting slot. Siegel then held the crossbow in one hand and pulled the lever in the other. The string of the crossbow was tightened, the arrow of the crossbow fell, and a click was heard, and the shot was ready.

He raised his crossbow flat, took a few steps away, aimed at the stump he had just sat on, and pressed the trigger. Hearing a swoosh, the crossbow arrow sank into the tree stump at an extremely fast speed, leaving only a short section still exposed.

"The power is not bad, Lord." The knights said with a hint of compliment and flattery. Being able to penetrate tree stumps like this can already pierce some thinner plate armor, posing a threat to those inside. Weaker chain and inlaid leather armor will certainly penetrate. For a one-handed crossbow, this is already quite powerful. But according to the assumptions of the knights, the power of this crossbow is not worthy of mobilizing the army.

"Don't worry, take your time." Siegel pointed to the stump.

Less than a minute passed. The power of the plasma in the crossbow bolt began to manifest, and the flames sprayed with white sparks erupted from the hollow where the crossbow bolt was shot, and even the iron body began to melt. soon. The stakes ignited from the inside out, slowly turning into a burning bonfire.

"The effect on trees is basically the same. If you shoot at people, the power is not much different." Siegel said: "I originally wanted to increase the power, but considering that the elves are relatively thin, if they shoot through, they will be more powerful. It will not have the effect of internal combustion, and it will also increase the cost of the crossbow itself, so it is done as it is now."

The knights looked at each other with wide eyes, and then said in unison: "Lord, this is already very powerful!"

Siegel shook his head and said to himself: "At present, the arrows shot into the trees. The big fingers of the ancient trees of war cannot be grasped or pulled out, so the burning cannot be stopped. But the elves can help if they have time. The power of the drawn crossbow is reduced by at least 90%. I haven't solved the problem that the elves can be drawn by hand. Erdu suggested that I use a retractable barb, which will be hooked when I pull it out, at least it can To expand the killing, I have not agreed."

Mana quickly waved her hand and said with a pale face, "You don't have to agree, it's cruel enough now!"

"I thought so too." Siegel smiled. "I took this crossbow and showed it to Hunk. Don't look at him as a half-orc, but his brain is not stupid at all. He came up with a new method."

Siegel held the crossbow in his right hand and stretched his left arm forward in a motion of grabbing the reins. Then he swept the crossbow over his left arm. Use the left arm to block the wrench and push with the right hand to complete the winding. The crossbow made a light click, and Siegel raised his hand to shoot, then continued to wind it up and shoot again, repeating.

"Currently, four crossbow bolts can be placed in the magazine. After shooting, you must hold the crossbow with the right hand and change the magazine with the left hand. Hunk said he could try to change the magazine with one hand. But there is no way yet." Seeger Er demonstrated how to replace it, and then said: "This magazine is a magic item. Don't throw it away, take it back as soon as you can. You can also put ordinary bolts in it. But ordinary bolts don't have the burning damage of fighting the ancient tree of war. already."

Everyone's mouth was crooked, and they didn't know what language to use to comment.

"It is also possible to make a larger ammunition box with about ten bolts in it." Siegel scratched his head and said with some regret: "I just tried it, and it would be too heavy to use with one hand. Now, and the magic crossbow bolt is not cheap."

"Four rounds is good, very good..."

"The most important thing is, don't take the magic crossbow out of the magazine at ordinary times, otherwise they will fail quickly, and it may set the surrounding on fire." Siegel put the crossbow in Mana, and finally said: "Erdu is I'm not in a hurry to try to improve the crossbow used for defending the city. That's all I have to say, is there anything else you want to know?"

The knights shook their heads and looked at the crossbow with horror. The thing shoots into the armor, and if it doesn't get into the skin, it burns quickly. At that time, whether it is plate armor or breastplate, it is actually the outer wall of the stove, and the inside is the barbecue.

Rather than being targeted by this kind of thing, it's better to pray that it shoots through. A hole may still be alive, but it is really impossible to save it if it is ignited into a torch.

Only Mana, who also became a lord, thought of a question, and asked Siegel with a weapon: "Although the crossbow is better and the improvement is not big, the actual change is not big. I don't know how much the crossbow and ammo are worth~www. readwn.com~ These are magic weapons, can we afford them?"

"Fortunately, a set costs up to four hundred gold coins." Siegel said: "The ammunition box takes up the bulk, and it can be reused. The crossbow bolt is not expensive, but you should not mention this to anyone. If Heim It is used by myself, and the materials are available on the territory, and I can still afford it at present. But this thing is mainly sold to others.”

Mana nodded and said, "I understand, no wonder it is the idea to open up the trade route."

"This is just one of the many purposes of the trade route." Siegel said: "When the number has not been spread out, this kind of crossbow arrow is only to increase the confidence of the lords to resist, and at the same time Heim Land can also have a good income. .The actual amount provided will change according to the change of the war situation."

Mana finally understood what Siegel was thinking. It turned out that he had made such a plan a long time ago. Food, minerals, weapons, and perhaps the horses of the Jackdaw tribe on the northern grasslands, all of which combined can affect the entire war. Even though Heimland did not have a large army, with the resources it had already mastered, it was able to decide the outcome.

Now there is a special weapon for elves, and Lord Siegel's methods are indeed endless. I don't know what he has prepared for the other party, the Knox Common Meeting? (To be continued)