Lord blessed by the elves

Chapter 107 More Than One Dragon

The next morning, after finishing his necessary military business, Baron Reyes went straight to the clanging blacksmith shop on the edge of town.

He wanted to see for himself the extent to which the iron pots Kruse had tinkered with, and his so-called "improved forging techniques," had actually come to fruition.

The blacksmith's furnace was blazing, and the heat was intense.

Kruse was rolling up his sleeves and personally swinging a hammer, rhythmically striking a red-hot piece of iron, sweat trickling down his focused profile.

Old blacksmith Miller and several other apprentices watched with bated breath, their eyes filled with awe and a desire to learn.

Reyes didn't make a sound to disturb them, but simply stood quietly to the side and observed.

He was an experienced knight himself and was no stranger to weapon forging.

He soon discovered that Kruse's forging techniques differed from the traditional methods he was familiar with. Whether it was the timing of quenching, the number of times he folded and forged the metal, or the angle at which he finally sharpened the blade, his methods were more refined and meticulous.

When Kruse dipped the last meticulously crafted, gleaming knight's longsword into the coolant with a soft "sizzle," he let out a long sigh and handed the completed weapon to his father.

Reyes took the longsword and immediately felt that its weight and center of gravity were just right.

He examined the sword closely; its smooth lines and mysterious, beautiful patterns subtly revealed a restrained sharpness.

He casually swung his sword a few times, producing a crisp sound as it cut through the air. With a flick of his wrist, he lightly chopped a wooden stake used for testing with the blade.

With a soft "snap," a corner of the wooden stake was sheared off, leaving a smooth cut.

"Good!" Reyes couldn't help but praise. He infused a trace of golden battle qi into the sword, which hummed slightly but withstood the pressure without showing any signs of instability.

While the material and craftsmanship of this sword cannot compare to the several master-forged swords in his collection that incorporate rare metals, its quality is definitely a rare and superior grade for ordinary bronze knights, or even some silver knights who are not so well-off in terms of resources!
He stroked the spine of the sword with obvious delight, his eyes filled with joy and amazement.

He looked up, his gaze complex as he looked at Kruze, whose face was still covered in soot but whose eyes were unusually bright. His tone was a mix of joking and serious reflection:

“It seems that sending you to the Knight Academy of the Earl’s Mansion was probably the biggest mistake I made.” He shook his head, a wry smile on his face. “If I had let you focus on the affairs of the territory earlier, perhaps our Lion Fang Territory’s blacksmith shop would have been famous throughout the county by now.”

He handed the knight's sword to the excited old blacksmith Miller, so that he and his apprentices could also observe and learn.

Although this statement is somewhat exaggerated, it truly expresses the shock he felt.

He sent his son to the knightly academy hoping he would become a powerful knight and inherit the family's martial prowess. Little did he expect that his son, while possessing exceptional talent in the way of chivalry, would also display such astonishing, even surpassing, talent in governing the territory, developing agriculture, and even improving forging techniques!

Kruze wiped his sweat and smiled modestly: "Father, you flatter me. My experience at the Knight Academy broadened my horizons and I made some friends, so it wasn't entirely useless. As for forging, it's just something I dabbled in during my spare time."

Reyes looked at his son, said nothing more, and just patted him hard on the shoulder.

He already understood that the future of Lion's Tooth Territory could no longer be measured by traditional standards. The path his eldest son was taking was opening up unprecedented possibilities for the territory.

Whether it's agricultural innovation or the upgrading of weaponry, these are all real forces that enhance the foundation of a territory.

"Do a good job!" Reyes only said these three words at the end, but the trust and expectation contained in them weighed a ton.

He turned and left the blacksmith shop, already planning how to allocate more resources to support Kruse's seemingly "unorthodox" but actually infinitely potential "pondering" projects.

Reyes entrusted the daily management and defense of Lion Fang Territory to Kruze with confidence.

After observing his eldest son for the past few days, he had developed full confidence in his son's abilities.

Moreover, he himself was not particularly good at tedious government affairs in the past, and relied more on the assistance of Butler Buffett and Knight Wilstone.

He rode directly to the temporary encampment of the Longwind Knights outside the town.

The camp was well-organized, with numerous watchtowers and patrols coming and going, demonstrating the excellent military skills of this elite unit.

Carter and Cardo, who was in charge of the camp's defenses, immediately stepped forward and saluted respectfully upon seeing him: "Commander!"

Reyes nodded slightly, skipping the pleasantries and getting straight to the point: "How's it going? Any news from the team sent to scout the Hornas Mountains?"

This was a decision he made the day after returning to his territory.

Despite learning of the dragon's terror from Kruze and others, as an experienced military commander, he needed firsthand intelligence to assess the threat's level, scope, and current status.

Until he received a definitive investigation report, the weight on his mind remained unbearable.

Carter and Kado exchanged a glance. Kado stepped forward and reported gravely, "Commander, the reconnaissance team just returned. They confirmed that the outer area of ​​the Hornas Mountains on our side has indeed suffered extremely severe damage. The situation... is worse than we imagined."

Reyes frowned: "Be more specific."

Kado continued, “Large swathes of forest were completely burned, many mountains were exposed, and the ground was covered with huge claw marks and impact craters. In some places, there were even horrifying sights of rocks melting into a glassy state. The magical beasts around the mountains have almost disappeared. They were either killed in the blast or fled far away. It was eerily quiet.”

These descriptions matched what Kruze had previously seen and heard, but Reyes keenly caught the hesitation in Kado's tone and pressed, "Just what? What else did you discover?"

Kado took a deep breath and added with difficulty, "But... the reconnaissance team found some... traces deeper in. It doesn't look like it was made by a dragon."

"What?!" Reyes' pupils contracted sharply. "You mean..."

Carter continued, his voice low: "Captain, judging from the traces, more than one dragon may have been active there recently. Moreover, the team has also discovered some strange, enormous footprints that do not belong to any known magical beast, and... as well as some areas that have been corroded by some kind of strong acid or poison, covering a very large area."

(End of this chapter)