CHAPTER 230: CHAPTER 167: YOU ARE SOULS

"Then, what about my servant?"

"You can whip him a few times to vent your anger. I can make that decision."

Gang Le said, "As for his life, it belongs to our Lord."

"No, what I mean is, don’t trouble him."

Frank sighed slightly, "Actually, he had no choice, often he could only follow orders. The one who really harmed me was Baron Zane."

"Our Lord said that the behavior of being a saint is unacceptable."

Gang Le looked at Frank sternly, "Wrong is wrong, there are no excuses."

"Being a saint means, even when someone stabs you, you still say stupid things for them."

Gang Le proactively explained,

"Our Lord said it."

Frank smiled and nodded,

"Baron Rod is young, but didn’t expect he taught you quite a lot."

"Our Lord understands far more than you imagine."

Gang Le leaned closer to Frank,

"If you’re curious, join Black Pine Ridge; it’s not too late."

Frank didn’t respond, just quietly looked at Gang Le.

"Really old-fashioned."

Gang Le waved his hand, ignoring Frank.

Instructing the surrounding guards to extinguish the fire, Gang Le took Frank back to the village.

The next day, Gang Le personally led the team, escorting everyone back to White Rock Canyon.

After all, these soldiers were not like the soft commoners before, nor as knightly as Frank.

If you’re not careful, those soldiers might try to escape, and a small squad couldn’t transport them.

More importantly, the nearby villages had been raided almost completely, and Zane sent more people to deal with Gang Le.

Gang Le naturally couldn’t confront them head-on, and being driven out from a warm village to spend the night in the wild in this deep winter was uncomfortable.

Better to withdraw early, go back to White Rock Canyon to rest, and wait for orders.

...

...

Frost Leaf Town, on a high slope not far from the manor.

Sharp cold winds blew tiny snow grains onto faces, but no one paid the slightest attention.

Dozens of blacksmiths and apprentices from Frost Leaf Town gathered together, staring intently at the giant in front of them.

Windmills, everyone was familiar with.

But they’ve never seen the machine with thick rollers in front of them.

"Lord, is this the windmill roller you said can improve the efficiency of armor production?"

Hammer rubbed his hands in anticipation.

So far, the Lord’s items have been very useful.

Hammer was very curious about how this would help them.

Other blacksmiths were equally curious, staring at Rod and the machine.

"Yes."

Rod responded softly, also scrutinizing the machine.

The body of the windmill roller was a sturdy platform built with stone and wooden frames, with two thick iron-clad axles embedded in the center, standing parallel.

The roller surface was polished smooth, edges reinforced with rivets.

The gap between the two rollers was adjustable, specifically for pressing iron materials of different thicknesses.

The rollers were connected to a drivetrain made of wooden gears and iron bearings, powered by the windmill at the rear.

The windmill blades rotated, converting torque through gears to drive the rollers continuously.

"But whether it can be used, we still need to try."

Rod waved his hand, and the old carpenter Waller unlocked the windmill.

With a crisp click, the windmill slowly rotated under the north wind’s push, gradually accelerating.

Rod manually picked up a prepared iron ingot, heated it in the furnace until red-white, then carefully placed it at the roller’s entrance.

The blacksmiths’ eyes fixed intently on the roller machine, even their breathing was a bit lighter in that instant.

Under everyone’s gaze, the two huge rollers slowly swallowed the ingot like an open giant mouth.

Cluck clack–

A piercing grinding sound echoed, resembling a giant beast chewing steel, causing the ground inside the room to tremble slightly.

Rod held his breath, feeling the force in his hand, slowly feeding the ingot in.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the iron piece was slowly being spit out, with Hammer assisting in catching it.

"The effect is somewhat less compared to my imagination."

Rod couldn’t help but exclaim, "It seems multiple pressings are needed."

However, Rod could accept it; this primitive roller couldn’t directly flatten ingots into sheets like modern machines.

The iron piece before them could at most be called an iron cake.

Yet even so, Hammer stood frozen.

"This, this..."

Hammer subconsciously clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white due to exertion.

This was the effect he’d achieve after hammering all day!

But he couldn’t sustain his physical strength for a whole day!

And now this roller got it done in an instant?

Other blacksmiths were even more dumbfounded, speechless for a long time.

The young blacksmiths were okay, some couldn’t even forge armor, not feeling the machine’s power, just thinking it’s impressive.

Those most impacted were the old blacksmiths, like Bard who came with Katie back then.

He’d worked as a blacksmith all his life, hammered countless times, ignited countless fires, but had never seen a scene like this.

Bard carefully examined the iron cake pressed by the roller, though having some fine patterns, it was much smoother than his hammering!

One could say, it had already surpassed his skill!

It’s over!

Does the Lord still need him?

Bard retreated in a daze, accidentally sitting down on the ground!

In an instant, everyone’s eyes fell on him.

Rod also looked at him.

And seeing Bard’s expression, Rod immediately understood his thoughts.

After all, Bard was frightened by the forge hammer back then too.

"Everyone, don’t overthink it, the roller is just a tool to help you improve efficiency, but the shaping all needs to be done by you."

"You are the soul of the roller."

"Without you, this pile of iron is waste. You need to learn to harness it and you’ll create stronger equipment than ever."

Rod smiled at Bard,

"Especially experienced blacksmiths like you. Not only should you shape, but you need to teach more blacksmiths like you.".

"Alright, alright, Lord."

Bard quickly got up, his face flushed, responding.

Rod picked up the iron cake pressed once, heated it in the furnace again,

"The first press might only achieve sixty percent, and remember to heat it again after pressing."

Rod said as he put the iron cake back in, whereas Hammer, without needing to be told, received it on the other side.

This time, the iron cake had a shape resembling an iron sheet, but it was still inadequate.

"Looks like it needs another pressing."

Rod repeated the pressing process again, and a completed iron sheet finally appeared.

Rod nodded in satisfaction,

"Seems at least three pressings are needed for an iron sheet."

No one responded in the room.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, mouths agape, unable to speak at all.

Gazing tightly at the iron sheet.

This actually got done?

The whole process took less time than a meal?

No way!

It’s terrifying!

The blacksmith shop fell into dead silence, only the roller creaked and groaned.

Hammer held the iron sheet, his arms trembling slightly.

Suddenly, he remembered Rod’s words about teaching him forging skills.

Hammer had thought it was some unknown blacksmith legacy.

Never expected it to be such a machine, going beyond blacksmithing!

"Alright, stop staring."

Rod called everyone’s attention back, wiping his hands while instructing:

"Bard, you continue to the next step, forge this sheet into armor and let me see the result."

"Hammer, take these apprentices and learn the roller today, including adjusting armor thickness."

"Okay, okay!"

Hammer responded repeatedly, while Bard hurriedly took the iron sheet and got busy.