Looking up at the blue-gray tower, the figure visible in the window above was none other than Dean Levins.
Yesterday, Lorist had received a letter from Dean Levins inviting him to meet at the dean's office this morning.
At the meeting today, Dean Levins was quite courteous. He said he already knew Lorist would soon be departing to return to the Northland to inherit the family territory—a good thing—and he offered his advance wishes that Lorist would become a great lord. Dean Levins then informed Lorist of a piece of news: the academy armory had a batch of old armor and lances slated for scrapping or auction; Lorist might as well go take a look, and if anything caught his eye, he could purchase it, which might prove useful for his northward journey.
Lorist expressed his gratitude to Dean Levins, removed the double golden instructor badge from his chest, and set it on the desk. Not knowing when he might return to
Dean Levins stroked the golden badge for a long moment, then handed it back to Lorist. "Take it back as a keepsake. And don't speak of resigning or anything—you're a legend of Dawn Academy. Serve as an honorary instructor for now; Dawn Academy welcomes you back anytime."
After bidding farewell to Dean Levins, Lorist went to the academy armory. Essentially all the weapons, equipment, and training apparatus for the knight and swordsman majors were stored here. Even the training swords Lorist issued to students for his swordsmanship instruction classes came from here.
The armory steward, Uncle Kuzm, was clearly prepared in advance. After exchanging greetings, he led Lorist to a warehouse that was already packed to the brim.
"Here there are a total of three hundred twenty training lances—fit them with spearheads and they become keen blades for charging formations. Also seven hundred training swords—sharpen the edges and they become true killing weapons. Additionally, three hundred training obelisk shields, one hundred fifty crossbows, twenty-four sets of full-body knight armor, two hundred twenty sets of plate armor for heavy-armored swordsmen. Hmm, also eighty-two sets of cavalry armor, considered scout-specific armor," Uncle Kuzm said.
Lorist was delighted, because everything here was eighty percent new—not worn-out scrap at all. A few days earlier, before
"Uncle Kuzm, how does our academy have so much plate armor? I remember our academy doesn't have a heavy-armored swordsman major, right? And what's with that cavalry armor? I've never seen it before." Lorist asked with puzzlement.
"Heh heh, Locke, did you forget our academy merged with the Yellow Ribbon Academy? This plate armor is all equipment from the former Yellow Ribbon Academy's warehouse that we took over. It's just that last semester, very few students signed up for the heavy-armored swordsman major at our academy, so the academy was preparing to cancel this major. In that case, this plate armor would have no use. They originally wanted to auction it off, but the dean said you might need it, so they had you take a look first." Uncle Kuzm explained with a smile.
Lorist smiled embarrassedly; he had forgotten that the Yellow Ribbon Academy originally focused on butler training and swordsman bodyguard training, so having this specialized plate armor for heavy-armored swordsmen wasn't surprising at all.
"As for this cavalry armor..." Uncle Kuzm stroked his chin, sinking into memory: "I don't know how to put it either. In fact, these eighty-two sets of cavalry armor could be called a failed experiment; they've been stored in the academy warehouse for nearly ten years. But they were well preserved, just like new."
"A failed experiment?"
"Yes, this was about fifteen years ago. At the time, a book about the knight major sparked widespread debate. The book boldly prophesied the decline of heavy cavalry, believing that future cavalry would surely be based on speed, agility, lightness, and long-range raids, rather than the current popular clash of heavy cavalry when two armies meet. The book also used scouts as an example: in a battle, with scouts serving as light cavalry to screen the battlefield, their kills and damage both far exceeded those of the charging heavy cavalry, demonstrating the importance of scouts. The book further envisioned: if a light cavalry force were built primarily around scouts to harass a heavy cavalry force, which side would win?"
"At the time, the academy's knight major instructors debated fiercely, and the academy leadership was also very interested. They believed that if the book's prophecy came true, the knight major would undergo earth-shattering changes. If that were the case, the earlier they researched light cavalry tactics, the better they could seize the initiative, even taking the lead once light cavalry tactics became popular. So they allocated a sum of money and asked the academy's armor protection major instructors to design and manufacture this light cavalry armor based on scouts' characteristics. The original plan was to manufacture 150 sets and form a light cavalry squadron for tactical drills. But then the Battle of Blanchico Mountains occurred: the Havistan Khanate's 30,000 light cavalry were crushed by the Roman Empire's 5,000 heavy cavalry with no ability to fight back, suffering heavy casualties; fewer than 4,000 escaped back. Thus the book became a joke, the academy terminated the light cavalry plan, and these 82 manufactured sets of light cavalry armor were kept in the warehouse until now." Uncle Kuzm said.
"Oh, so that's how it is." Lorist said while opening a chest and taking out a set of the so-called light cavalry armor. At a glance, Lorist understood.
Currently popular heavy cavalry, before going into battle, first put on close-fitting chainmail, then put on full-body armor, with extremely strong defense. Lorist had heard Instructor Marlin say that the city defense force's scouts basically wore leather armor over close-fitting chainmail, similar to scouts' equipment in other Galentean countries.
But the light cavalry armor in Lorist's hands was a combination of chainmail and plate armor: the chest and shoulders were whole pieces of plate armor, while the arms and waist/abdomen were chainmail structure. The advantage was stronger defense than current scout equipment, yet lighter than a knight's full-body armor. The disadvantage was it looked a bit weird—both plate and chainmail; as plate armor it felt like defense wasn't enough, as chainmail you couldn't wear another layer of armor over it, that would be too cumbersome. No wonder it sat in the warehouse for over a decade. But Lorist didn't mind; this armor was quite good as specialized scout armor.
"Mm, Uncle Kuzm, then I'll take all of these. How much is the academy prepared to sell them to me for?" Lorist asked.
Uncle Kuzm stared blankly for a moment, then brightened. "You want all of it? The dean said whatever you didn't want would go to auction. If you take everything, that saves me the trouble of hauling it to the auction house and haggling with them. Just a moment, let me calculate."
"Three hundred twenty training lances, one large silver coin each, total sixteen gold coins. Seven hundred training swords, four large silver coins each, total one hundred forty gold coins. Three hundred obelisk-shaped training shields, ten large silver coins each, total one hundred fifty gold Forde. One hundred fifty training crossbows, one gold coin each, total one hundred fifty gold coins. Twenty-four sets of training full knight armor, fifteen gold coins per set, total three hundred sixty gold Forde. Two hundred twenty sets of training plate armor, ten gold coins per set, total two thousand two hundred gold coins. Eighty-two sets of light cavalry armor—I'll charge you ten gold coins per set as well; back then, crafting a single set cost over thirty gold coins—total eight hundred twenty gold Forde. All together, that comes to three thousand eight hundred thirty-six gold coins." Uncle Kuzm had a good head for numbers and arrived at the final sum quickly.
"By the way, Uncle Kuzm, could I borrow the academy armory workshop to refurbish these weapons? I want to fit spearheads on all the lances, put an edge on the training swords, cover the shields with a layer of thin fine-steel plating, and refit the armor with my family crest forged onto them. I'll pay extra, of course." Lorist was deeply grateful—Uncle Kuzm's quoted prices were a third or even a quarter of what comparable gear fetched on the open market.
"Certainly. With the academy on break, the fellows in the workshop have nothing to do but sit around gambling and drinking all day. They'll be more than happy for a chance to earn some extra coin." Kuzm agreed with a smile.
"Good. I'll bring someone by this afternoon—he knows how to make the crest. If the work's well done, I'll hand out a bonus to the workshop. Oh, and Uncle Kuzm, would it be all right if I paid in three days?" Lorist said.
Uncle Kuzm nodded. "No problem, Locke."
...
Damn it. That dead Fatty only left me three thousand gold Forde to scour the market for arms and armor. In the past two days, buying three hundred-odd weapons and a few dozen suits of armor has already cost over a thousand. Now I've only got one option left—resell the building I just took over, so I'll have the money to settle the bill for this batch. Lorist muttered to himself, grinding his teeth at the thought of that damn Fatty. The bastard had outright forced him into becoming a lord—utterly outrageous.
That afternoon, Lorist brought
Lorist explained his current lack of funds to buy equipment, and El said, "Then wait a moment," and went out.
After a while, El returned, handing Lorist a small box. Opening it, he found fifty gold notes inside.
El said to Lorist: "Brother, this is all my savings, and more than half of it was earned with your help. I know you won't take my money for nothing, so let's do this: consider it a loan from me, with that building as collateral. Write up an agreement—if you don't repay this money in ten years, the building becomes mine. Also, the building's rental income is about seventy gold coins a year; let that count as interest for me. What do you think?"
"Fine, let's do it. El. Thank you, you've helped this brother out immensely." Lorist was deeply grateful.
El sighed: "It's nothing. The money was just sitting there anyway. If I didn't have so many ties holding me back, I'd really like to go to the Northlands with you. That damn Fatty, actually showing off in front of me—he's truly detestable."
A few days ago, Fatty Shrade and Bodefen led over a dozen senior Swordsmanship Society members willing to follow everyone to the Northlands, preparing to head to Nubite Port. Before departure, Lorist hosted a farewell banquet for them at the Red Crow Tavern. Later El arrived, and Fatty Shrade told El that from now on he had to address him as "Knight Lord," because he was a noble and El was a commoner, and El had to show him respect. This infuriated El on the spot.
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After bidding farewell to El, Lorist hurried back to Dawn Academy, found Uncle Kuzm at the armory, and settled the account. He feared complications from delay—worried that if he really waited three days to pay, something might go wrong with this batch of arms and armor.
Uncle Kuzm smiled and said: "I thought you were short on cash; didn't expect you'd have it so quickly. Looks like you really need this batch of equipment."
Lorist gave a wry smile: "Uncle Kuzm, you know the journey to the Northlands isn't peaceful right now. Fatty Shrade is preparing an army to escort me back. This batch of equipment from the academy can be said to have helped me enormously."
"Let me show you—there are two more storehouses here; go take a look, they might still come in handy."
Leading Lorist through a series of turns to the back of the armory, they arrived at two large stone buildings. Uncle Kuzm opened the doors, and Lorist peered inside—chaos reigned within, with piles of junk reaching half a person's height.
Uncle Kuzm said, "This is where they store all those discarded weapons and equipment. Things the repair shop deems unfixable or too troublesome to repair, slated for scrapping, all get thrown here. They only clean it out once every several years—what can be reforged gets reforged, what needs burning gets burned. Actually, some things can still be useful. Look, for instance, this spearhead—with some modification, it can be made into a javelin head. Locke, if you're willing, you can pick whatever you want from here, all free of charge. Just give the guys at the repair shop a little extra for drinks, and they'll be more than happy to help you fix them up."
Lorist was overjoyed, grabbing Uncle Kuzm's hand and shaking it vigorously: "Thank you, thank you, Uncle Kuzm, you've helped me enormously."
Uncle Kuzm laughed: "Easy, easy, this old body of mine can't take such shaking. Here, this is the key to the main door—you can bring people here to clean up anytime."
...
After dinner, Lorist had Telman and
Telman said this was excellent. This time, there were thirty-eight senior students in the academy willing to follow the Lord to the Northlands. A few days ago, Knight Shrade and Knight Bodofing took twelve people to Nubite Port. Originally, in a couple of days, Yuri was also planning to take a group back to his hometown, the Havistan Steppe, to purchase a batch of warhorses. So have Yuri take fewer people, and let Telman take the rest to clean out the academy armory.
Before departure, Fatty Shrade also gave Yuri three thousand gold fords, instructing him to purchase at least two hundred warhorses. But in Morant City, a single warhorse cost at least thirty to forty gold coins. So Yuri planned to take people back to his hometown and directly purchase a batch of warhorses on the steppe, to avoid letting those black-hearted horse merchants make a huge profit.
Lorist shook his head. Yuri's round trip would take about a month; it was still better to bring more people, in case of any mishaps. As for cleaning the academy armory, they could hire ten or so from those students who were out working, have them do the cleaning—Telman's people would just need to distinguish what could be used from what was scrap. As for himself, he'd also go check often; after all, he couldn't leave the academy now, and many things required his personal decision.
...
Telman led a crew cleaning the armory for three days, then sent someone to fetch Lorist.
When Lorist went over to look, the two large rooms had already been more than half cleared out; in another three days they would be finished. The weapons and equipment Telman had pulled out as potentially usable were piled like mountains.
Seeing Lorist examining the weapons and equipment, Telman said somewhat embarrassedly, "My Lord, these are just the items we initially screened as still usable; they still need further selection. What can actually be repaired might be less than a third. I called you here because we found these carriage crossbows inside—they're still perfectly intact, yet for some reason were thrown here. I wonder if we can take them; they'd be very useful for our journey north."
Only then did Lorist discover twelve carriage crossbows arranged in a line beside the junk heap. Aside from missing their bowstrings, the other components were preserved very well and didn't look worn at all—especially the prods, made of some unknown material, dark and gleaming with oil. This was a type of small carriage crossbow mounted on war chariots, typically installed on logistics supply wagons for long-range defense; it was just unclear how so many carriage crossbows ended up thrown in these two abandoned warehouses.
Lorist had Uncle Kuzm brought over. Uncle Kuzm stared at the twelve carriage crossbows for a long while before recognition dawned, then went back and brought out a yellowed beast-skin ledger, flipping through half of it before saying, "Found it, right here."
These twelve carriage crossbows had been specially designed and manufactured eight years ago by the academy's bow-and-crossbow manufacturing instructors and students to participate in the city defense force's arms procurement. Although the design and manufacture were excellent, they were rejected because they required too many operators—three people to operate one: one to drive, one to aim and shoot, one to span and load. So they were abandoned here.
Uncle Kuzm said, "If you need them, take them. Look, in the register these carriage crossbows are already marked 'abandoned.' However, you'll have to procure the bowstrings yourselves—the armory doesn't have any suitable ones."
Lorist and Telman were overjoyed. With these twelve carriage crossbows, their northward journey gained an extra measure of military security.