The rebel army's foremost master craftsman forged a million iron pylons!

Tie Niu pointed to the big banyan tree at the entrance of the village, and General Chen looked up.

There was a huge iron furnace over there, next to which was a bellows, an anvil, hammers, and other blacksmithing materials.

However, the blacksmith was nowhere to be found; only four gleaming long knives were placed on a bluestone slab.

Beside the large iron furnace, four men lay on the ground, snoring loudly. One of them had a straw hat covering his face, so his features were not visible.

"Who is this person? How dare they sleep during the busy farming season! Tie Niu, go and fetch them!"

General Chen's face instantly darkened. Today was a day of harvest, and even the troops had been sent out to collect grain for the people. How dare someone slack off?

"Sir!" Tie Niu gave a simple, honest smile.

"It was Li Tian and his apprentice. They were tired from blacksmithing and said they wanted to rest for a while. They probably fell asleep in the shade because it was too cool."

"Oh, and he also said he wants to forge some good weapons to repay our rebel army for their contribution to the wheat harvest!"

"Ah? It's Li Tian!" General Chen's expression changed instantly. "Since it's him, let him sleep. Blacksmithing is hard work, and he's been working all morning. He deserves a good rest."

Ah! Why does Your Excellency show favoritism?

This favoritism towards Li Tian is too obvious.

Tie Niu was a little jealous. In his mind, General Chen had always been a ruthless figure who was impartial and unforgiving in the face of military law.

Anyone who dared to disobey military orders would be punished with dozens of lashes at best, and beheaded at worst. The brothers in the army called him the living Yama.

Who would have thought that this living devil would change his ways today?

"You just said he wanted to forge weapons for our rebel army?" General Chen asked with a smile, pointing to several long swords placed under the banyan tree.

"The knife looks good, Tie Niu. Let's go take a look at the weapon Li Tian forged."

General Chen lifted his leg and walked towards the banyan tree, with Tie Niu naturally following behind. Under the banyan tree, four special long swords were placed on the bluestone slab.

brush!

General Chen casually picked up a long sword and examined it. The sword was about 1.5 meters long, about one-third longer than the ring-pommel sword commonly used in the army.

The blade was over a foot wide, somewhat like a chaff cutter used in rural areas. Even with General Chen's arm strength, it was quite difficult for him to lift it.

The strangest thing is that there is no handle, and it is unknown how to use this knife.

"Iron Ox, do you recognize what kind of weapon this is?"

General Chen pondered for a long time, considering himself well-informed, but he had never seen such a strange weapon before, so he turned to Tie Niu beside him and asked.

"If even the general doesn't recognize him, then of course I, Tie Niu, will recognize him even less!" Tie Niu shook his head naturally.

"Let's ask Li Tian!"

Left with no other choice, General Chen had to drag his broadsword toward Li Tian. He even had a mischievous idea: to hold the broadsword to Li Tian's neck and give him a fright.

"Li Tian must be scared half to death!"

General Chen couldn't help but smile as he thought about his triumph.

Whoosh!

But before he could take three steps forward, a short black arrow struck his foot without warning, less than an inch from his official boot.

Immediately afterwards, Li Tian, ​​who was under the shade of the tree, suddenly opened his eyes and sprang to his feet.

He held a dark crossbow in his hand, already aimed at General Chen's throat.

Hand crossbow!

General Chen knew how powerful that thing was, so he quickly stopped in his tracks.

"Brother Li, don't be so presumptuous! General Chen has come to see you!" Tie Niu shouted anxiously from the side, fearing that Li Tian would cause a great disaster.

General Chen has more than 30,000 men under his command, so it would be easy for him to raze Stone Village to the ground.

"So it's General Chen. Li Tian has been rude!"

Li Tian realized he had been somewhat rash and immediately put away his bow and bowed to General Chen.

"It's alright!" General Chen was lenient and forgiving. Some soldiers, blinded by rage, would turn on their comrades and kill them when disturbed.

The most terrifying thing is the swarm of horns!

Li Tian's reaction only proves that he is indeed suited for the battlefield!

General Chen raised the broadsword in his hand and asked.

"Li Tian, ​​what is this? What is its purpose?"

"Why have I never seen this in the military camp before!"

"This is a horse-slaying sword."

Li Tian pointed to the horse-slaying sword in General Chen's hand and explained.

"This sword weighs seven pounds and is specifically designed to cut off a horse's legs; one strike can shatter a horse's head!"

"The imperial army has fast horses and well-trained, heavily armored soldiers. If we train our cavalry and equip them with horse-slaying swords, we will surely defeat them!"

"Of course, this is just the blade; only when combined with a one-meter-long handle does it become a true horse-slaying sword!"

As he spoke, Li Tian picked up a horse-slaying knife from the ground and took two steps forward. There was a jujube tree there, as thick as an adult's arm.

call!

Li Tian swung his saber and slashed forward with a mighty swing.

Card wipe!

The jujube tree, as thick as an arm, snapped in two.

hiss!

General Chen and Tie Niu gasped in shock.

What a sharp horse-slaying sword!

"General, General, something terrible has happened!"

Just as General Chen was about to inquire further about how to use the horse-slaying sword, a scout from the rebel army galloped up on a fast horse.

General Chen's expression changed slightly. He planted his saber in the ground and waited for the scouts to arrive.

"What happened?" General Chen asked coldly after the scouts were dismounted.

"Eleven imperial cavalrymen are heading towards Stone Village!"

"Iron armor! It's the imperial army's iron armor!"

"They're pulling an oxcart in the middle; they must have come to plunder grain!"

After hearing the scout's brief explanation, General Chen finally understood what had happened and let out a cold laugh.

"Knowing that my rebel army is stationed in Nankai City, they still dare to come to Shitou Village to plunder grain. They clearly don't take my rebel army seriously."

"Tie Niu, go and call eleven brothers over. Let's go and test the imperial armor!"

"Ah! Eleven?" Tie Niu's eyes widened. "General, we have over a thousand men here. Why don't we just send them out and round up those eleven like dumplings?"

"Are there no heroes in my righteous army who can take on ten men single-handedly?"

General Chen asked in return, then glanced back at the soldiers and civilians working in the fields, and said leisurely.

"What a beautiful scene! There's no need to disturb the people for the sake of eleven imperial cavalrymen."

"Tie Niu, go and give the order: find eleven brothers, veterans who have been through countless battles."

"good!"

A hint of excitement flashed across Tie Niu's face as he quickly ran towards the field. Soon after, he returned with eleven men covered in scars and exuding a fierce aura.

"We pay our respects to General Chen!" The eleven men bowed deeply as soon as they saw General Chen.

General Chen stroked his chin and sneered, "The imperial army's traitorous convicts are here. Do you have the guts to come with me to fight them?"

"We are willing to fight to the death with General Chen!" The eleven men didn't even flinch; they were clearly tough guys who had survived piles of corpses.

"Good, as expected of my Fierce Tiger Battalion. I'll give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Put on your armor, prepare your weapons, and follow me."

It turned out that these men were soldiers from General Chen's personal guard, known as the Fierce Tiger Battalion, General Chen commanded calmly.

The eleven soldiers threw down their sickles, mounted their warhorses, and galloped madly toward the camp.

The military camp is fifteen li from here, which takes only a quarter of an hour.

In less than a quarter of an hour, a dozen cavalrymen returned, all clad in bright helmets and armor, looking no different from the imperial armor. It seems that General Chen's personal guards are indeed well-treated.

Tie Niu, who wore no armor, brandished his ring-pommel sword and shouted, "General, I want to go with you to kill the traitorous convicts of the imperial court!"

"Alright, you're a man of honor. Come with me."

General Chen laughed as he mounted his horse, and the others followed suit. They then saw Li Tian leading a warhorse over. Without a word, he slung his newly forged broadsword over his shoulder and mounted the horse.

General Chen, unable to contain his curiosity, asked, "Li Tian, ​​we are going to the battlefield to fight the enemy, where are you going on horseback?"

Li Tian smiled slightly, "I want to test the sharpness of my newly forged weapon!"