My wife is the stand-in.

As the first group of heroes left, the second and third groups arrived one after another to change their equipment.

Some traded swords for swords, some traded brass knuckle dusters for harpoons, and some traded iron-clad clubs for broadswords...

Amanosaki looked at Wang Ze with some surprise at the casual way he was picking vegetables at a market:

"Those weapons are all better than those sold online, right?"

"Of course, we once spent a lot of money to rent a steel plant that was about to be shut down due to policy changes, and produced thirty furnaces of special steel."

Amanosaki couldn't imagine how many thirty ladles there were in the steel mill.

"Each furnace produces 45 tons, for a total of 1350 tons of special steel."

Amanosaki was dumbfounded.

"Over a thousand tons of special steel, and you're still lacking divine weapons... Holy crap! Did that guy just stick his crappy sword into the concrete? This quality and you still say it's not a divine weapon?!"

Amanosaki pointed excitedly at the swordsman whose entire body was stained red in front of the breakwater.

Then he saw the young swordsman, who had been striking poses with such confidence, being berated by the driver, "What are you pretending for? How are you going to reforge the sword if it's stuck in the ground? Pull it out for me! You're missing a piece of iron, so you're going into the water empty-handed today!"

So the swordsman had no choice but to pull it out with great effort, respectfully hand it to the driver, write down his name, and then sheepishly pick up his new weapon and go into the water.

"This is a last resort."

Wang Ze looked at the Spear of Longchinus with envy:

"As you may know, modern steelmaking technology far surpasses that of ancient times. When blacksmithing enthusiasts work in the field, they often directly purchase spring steel, which can be used as the chassis of automobiles, as raw materials. The finished products they forge are also quite durable."

"But that only applies to mortals. Heretics and evil spirits don't follow science."

Wang Ze sighed deeply as he recounted this.

"Take the four-clawed scaled fish in this river for example. Its head and scales are much harder than pig iron. To break through its armor, you need to use special steel. Chromium, titanium and many other rare metals are added to the steelmaking furnace to increase its hardness. Only then can the Wudang swordsmen pierce through the scales and skull and send the sword energy into the internal organs to strangle it."

"So after killing a few dozen, these weapons become much less effective and need to be reworked."

"More than ten years ago, thirty batches were forged. The town at the foot of Wudang Mountain built two small blast furnaces for recasting the scrap. Now, of the original thousand tons, only nine hundred tons remain. The remaining weight is either due to wear and tear or the loss of weapons."

"The glory of Wudang Mountain today is inseparable from these special steels. Countless newcomers have saved their lives with the weapons in their hands."

"What does this have to do with divine weapons? If a problem can be solved with quantity, why bother with those painstakingly crafted divine weapons?"

Amanosaki looked at a swordsman carrying seven or eight Wudang swords, who looked like a human sword stand, and deeply agreed with Wudang's approach.

"It's still different. Demons and heretics at the branch level can have their armor pierced with ordinary iron and be killed with sword energy. But what about those at the sub-branch level?"

Wang Ze said with a melancholy expression, "Take the evil spirit that destroyed the Sanjiang branch, for example. No matter how many blast furnaces there are, they can't kill it. But with your gun, it's different."

"You can refine it yourselves! Wudang should have forging skills, right?"

"Yes, but not entirely," Wang Ze nodded.

Good grief, you're right here with me!

Amanosaki realized that the old man was only interested in his weapon. He didn't want to waste any more words with him and was about to refuse when he suddenly noticed that Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was typing nearby, had stopped at some point and was tilting her head, clearly eavesdropping.

Seeing that Shiyu looked like she wanted to listen but didn't dare to disturb her, Amanosaki immediately softened.

'Fine, let's try to get a few more words out of him.' With that thought, Amanosaki suppressed his thoughts and lowered the gun slightly, positioning it just out of Wang Ze's reach.

Hang him up like you're fishing.

Seeing this, Wang Ze smiled inwardly.

Hooked.

Don't rush to set conditions. Keep this kid hanging until he's exhausted.

So the two became both fishermen and fishermen, pulling and tugging at each other.

"The forging process exists, but no one has mastered it now. A divine weapon requires many rare ores and the blood and bones of demons and heretics. Our branch has been training talents, but we haven't achieved any results yet."

So you're planning to... huh?

Just as Amanosaki was about to unleash another wave of attacks, a swordsman rushed up the breakwater on a bamboo pole, pulled open his wide robe to reveal clothes full of bullet belts, and hurriedly urged his men to replenish their weapons.

"Where's the explosive flying sword? Where's the explosive flying sword? I need it urgently!"

"Stop yelling!" the driver shouted impatiently, his voice even more powerful than that of a martial arts master.

He opened the passenger seat, took out a box as tall as a person, unlocked it with his fingerprint and iris pattern, revealing a box full of explosive flying swords.

Amanosaki's face twitched at the sight.

He took a deep breath, pointed to those so-called flying swords shaped like "swords," with red paint on their heads, rocket-like stabilizing fins on their tails, and about the length of an adult's middle finger—clearly resembling bombs—and said in as calm a tone as possible:

"Could you please explain what this explosive flying sword is? It can't be made in a steel mill, can it? Is this something that martial arts masters use?"

"These are all measures taken out of necessity and are not worth mentioning."

Wang Ze helplessly spread his hands, "These are all substitutes for divine weapons. The younger generation of Wudang who practice flying swords have no flying swords, so they have to use small rockets instead."

His tone was full of bitterness and self-pity.

"Go to hell with you!" Amanosaki said with disdain.

Chapter 118: Firepower is Justice

Amanosaki couldn't help but despise him.

He has been in this world for several years now. The idea that knights-errant use their martial arts to break the law has many supporters both domestically and internationally. Many ordinary people are also worried about the situation where knights-errant and knightly orders are too powerful to be defeated.

Despite having cooperated with governments of various countries, both domestically and internationally, it is rare to see superpowered organizations wielding firearms, especially heavy weapons.

The reason for this is that superpowered individuals are already far ahead of ordinary people, and national-level superpowers can be said to be formed by a single person.

Foreign records state that a Templar Knight belonging to the Papacy, whose special ability was the "Sword of Damocles," once poured heavenly fire to boil the entire sea in order to destroy a giant sea monster disguised as an island.

This power is comparable to that of a nuclear weapon.

Ordinary superpowered individuals are already difficult to control, and if they were to get their hands on firearms, the number of superpowered crimes could increase dozens of times.

Moreover, with such a large organization as [Heroes Mountain], if it controls a massive amount of military equipment, it could practically become a small government office.

This is something the country absolutely does not want to see.

This is also why Amanosaki didn't see any firearms in the Yushan branch. How could a province's martial arts community not produce one or two people suitable for operating firearms?

But these people either used slingshots and crossbows, or they joined the government and became regular soldiers who were registered and armed.

Therefore, when Wang Ze, the guard on duty at Wudang, put on that "we really need the divine weapon in your hand" face, not only Amanosaki, but even Lin Shuyu, who was eating and giving a report, had a contorted face.

"Since you can get weapons from the government, there's no need to go through the trouble of finding some divine weapon."

Amanosaki said irritably, standing up to pack her things, "I'm a little hungry and want to go get some proper food. Is that alright?"

"Don't worry, don't worry!"

Wang Ze grabbed Amanosaki's hand, his white beard trembling, "Young friend, young friend!"

"Everything is negotiable! You can name your terms."

"First of all, this weapon was given to me by my girlfriend; it's a token of our love. Secondly, regarding the 'Gui Shui Yin' you mentioned, there are solutions. A single-soldier rocket launcher can fire thermobaric bombs; firing a few hundred rounds should be enough to kill them. Besides, the Wudang branch has many people, great power, and deep pockets; they don't need my weapon."

Amanosaki pointed to the breakwater for the third time. The first batch of trucks had already left loaded with discarded weapons, and a new truck convoy had arrived. This batch of trucks was different from the previous ones; they were all painted in camouflage, and the drivers and those accompanying them were all soldiers.

They unloaded the wooden crates, verified the identities of the swordsmen one by one, registered them, and then began distributing special weapons.

It was a specially made weapon shaped like a rifle, with bullets made of steel nails that were at least twelve centimeters long. The primer at the breech was painted a dangerous dark red. All the bullets were loaded into a magazine the size of a flatbread before being loaded onto the vehicle, and now they were neatly stacked in the sawdust.

"Report! Firing of the sniper cannons against the demons has been completed! All other conventional weapons and ammunition have been unloaded!"

A soldier saluted and reported to the officer who appeared to be the captain. After the officer gave the order, several instruments and operators were left behind, and the convoy left.

"Look at these people, with this equipment, do you think the Wudang branch is weak?"

Amanosaki traced his finger to the riddled Queen Fish in the center of Taiji Lake: "I wondered back then how many years of training it took to be able to poke so many holes in a fish skeleton that's harder than armor. Now it seems like it's this 'Demon-Slaying Rapid Fire Sniper Cannon'?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ze became coy and effeminate. The sight of an old man acting like a young girl sent a chill down Amanosaki's spine.

At the same time, I became even more wary of the person on duty.

He has encountered three branch guards so far: Amber is extremely cunning, Liu Nu is bold and ruthless, and Wang Ze, despite his age, is shameless. It can be said that each guard he has encountered so far has a distinct personality.

Moreover, they have great ambitions for advancement.

Amber's plan is to revitalize the Yushan branch, hoping to restore its prestige from its golden age.

After Liu Nu fell into depravity, he became insane and wanted to take things to the next level, making Fengdu Province a complete appendage of the branch.

Although we don't know what Wang Ze is thinking, judging from his ability to maintain good relationships with the military, government, and local economy, and to provide resources and policies as requested, this old man's ambitions are probably the greatest of the three.

Amanosaki doesn't care about a weapon that can be created using a universal card.

But he still said the same thing.

I don't get involved in politics; I just do what a grassroots knight-errant and anime/game culture enthusiast should do.

Besides fighting demons and protecting the righteous path, I also make anime, draw, and enjoy life with my girlfriend.

His life is already very fulfilling; he shouldn't and doesn't need to disrupt his current stability to pursue material possessions.

After all, Granny Yubaba had already given him enough money to last a lifetime.

Sending this gun out could draw us into the vortex of the Wudang branch.

With this in mind, Amanosaki once again clearly rejected Wang Ze:

"I'm sorry, Wang, I can't give this gun away."

"……All right."

Seeing that things were beyond saving, Wang Ze sighed in disappointment.

However, he still asked Amanosaki to sit down, saying, "If you don't want to, we won't force you."

"Then, young friend, would you mind giving some guidance to the younger generation of Wudang Mountain?"

Amanosaki shook his head repeatedly after hearing this: "I'm a newbie myself, how can I be qualified to instruct others? You should find someone more capable!"

"Eh!"

Wang Ze tugged at his beard, pulling at it like he was shearing wool, and said in a loud voice, "Your skills are evident to all of us. In the world of chivalry, age doesn't matter, only achievements. We didn't allow the fleet to go into the water to prevent those of you who can't 'cross the river on a reed' from getting hurt. But the younger generation has misunderstood. As an elder, you can't hold a grudge against the younger generation, can you?"

"Yeah yeah."