Chapter 358 - 302: Level the Barrel

Chapter 358: Chapter 302: Level the Barrel

BOOM! Another explosion echoed in the distance. The goblins all started cheering. "WAAAGH! WAAAGH!" Red Eyes shouted as he grabbed another Cannonball from the pile. "Now, it’s my turn."

They all wanted to experience firing the cannon and had already formed a line. Of the Cannonballs they had made earlier, only two were left.

"This is the last one," Shire said, walking over to give the order. "We need the last two to make molds for mass production. Nine-finger, how many Bang-Bang Fruits do we have left?"

Hearing his chief’s question, Nine-finger immediately came over. He thought hard for a moment, then counted on his fingers. "Chief, we have about two and a half stone rooms’ worth."

"Two and a half rooms?" Shire knew that within the goblin Race, only he and Buck Teeth possessed the Ability to count. The fact that Nine-finger could give him that answer meant he was one of the smarter ones. ’That’s a bit low. We’ll need to use them sparingly from now on.’

’I don’t know when the Bang-Bang Trees will start bearing fruit next year. Our current stock has to last until we can harvest more. This isn’t good news for my goblin Race. It looks like we’ll have to stop producing Hand Grenade Fruits and switch entirely to making Cannonball Fruits for now. After all, for the race, close range is covered by Goblin Crossbows, medium range by the Centaurs’ archery, and long range depends on the Rune Mortar.’

After the Teleportation Gate to Torch City was completed, Uncle Musa had immediately sent over the weapons he’d acquired from Plantagenet City. There were swords, as well as a large number of Short Crossbows and Crossbow Arrows. Thanks to a bribe of two Basic Beast Cores, they were all brand-new. Many of the Longswords were still coated in a film of protective oil when unsheathed and were exceptionally sharp.

When he received the weapons, Shire had warned Uncle Musa, "That old bastard Valentine will definitely come to hate you for this. Be very careful."

But Uncle Musa just laughed heartily, looking as if he had everything under control.

Snatching the weapons Valentine wanted was a source of great satisfaction for them both. It wasn’t so much a feeling of revenge as it was the simple pleasure of watching him get furious but be completely powerless to stop them.

’I’ll need to contact Mary later to find those artisans. They can produce the shell casings according to the blueprints, with the nose cone, iron body, and tail fins all made separately. Then I can just have Nine-finger and his team handle the assembly.’ Shire watched as Red Eyes loaded the Cannonball Fruit into the mortar. Then, without bothering to adjust the sights, Red Eyes simply picked up the entire mortar.

"Huh?" Shire froze. He watched as Red Eyes leveled the mortar barrel, and another goblin immediately inserted the Rune component at the back. With a WHOOSH, the Cannonball Fruit shot out horizontally.

’That reckless fool, he’s firing it like that?’ Before Shire could finish his thought, BOOM! A massive explosion ripped through the air. A large tree nearby was hit directly by the Cannonball Fruit. Wood splinters rained down as broken branches and leaves scattered everywhere. Seeing what Red Eyes had done, the other goblins cheered even louder.

They yelled, "WAAAGH! WAAAGH!" as if they, too, wanted to experience firing the Rune Mortar horizontally.

"Stop! Stop!" Shire quickly halted his underlings before walking over and kicking Red Eyes squarely. "It’s a good thing this Rune Cannon doesn’t work on the same principles as the mortars from my past life, or you would’ve gotten us all killed! You, on the other hand, have nothing to worry about with your Regeneration, you brat."

Remembering that Red Eyes had also been the one operating the mortar the last time he’d been caught in its blast, Shire got angry and kicked him again. "Stop messing around. Take them to train. We can’t let this get damaged; we still need to use it as a template."

After sending his goblins away, Shire and Little John carried the mortar back to the Fortress. Shire needed to contact Mary, and Little John had to return to Torch City through the Teleportation Gate.

"I want you to spend more time with that Magic Artisan," Shire instructed Little John. "I’ve heard the name Marshall before. Back when I was in Plantagenet City, his craftsmanship was quite famous. I just don’t know how he fell to his current state, though I suspect he was framed by some nobles."

He’d heard of such things back in Plantagenet City. Nobles would purchase High Level Magic Beast Materials to have them crafted into Magic Items, partly as life-saving measures and partly to show off their wealth. However, the Adventurers selling the materials would sometimes shop around to several noble houses, instigating a bidding war to maximize their profits. As a result, some nobles resorted to underhanded methods to "deal with" these Adventurers, and the artisans who crafted the Magic Tools sometimes got caught in the crossfire.

"Are you planning to recruit him, Boss?" Little John asked with a smile.

"I’ve heard his skills are top-notch, but he’s a bit paranoid," Shire said, circling a finger at his temple. "We have easy access to Magic Beast Materials now, so we really do need an artisan to craft things for us. If we can get him, Marshall would be an excellent choice."

"Understood. I’ll keep a closer eye on him for you," Little John agreed with a nod.

"But quality is the top priority. Once those items are finished, I need you to inspect them for me. Remember to take Sofia with you; she’s probably seen her fair share of Magic Items," Shire added after a moment of thought.

"Right." Little John showed that he understood. "By the way, Boss, Marshall suggested adding some Magic Crystal Stones to the Armor and Cloak, and also engraving some Arcane Runes. I thought about it and gave him the go-ahead."

"Magic Crystal Stones?" Shire raised an eyebrow. "I know a bit about their prices. If they’re just common ones, or Crystal Stone Fragments, they’re cheap, but the effects are mediocre at best. To get a good effect, you need high-quality Magic Crystal Stones. For that old man to suggest it, he must intend to inlay some very good Crystal Stones."

Little John shrugged. "He initially said he didn’t have many good Crystal Stones in stock and was just making a suggestion. You know his situation; I doubt he has any good ones. But I thought about it, and since this suit of Armor is for Caocao, we should use high-quality Crystal Stones. So, I’ve already ordered some from the two Magic Artifact shops in Torch City. I’m just reporting it to you now." ℴℴ𝘮

"You did the right thing," Shire said, patting Little John’s arm. Caocao often practiced Swordsmanship with Little John. Each time, Little John would be sent flying by Caocao’s Strange Power, but this had also sharpened his Swordsmanship and trained his ability to react on the fly. Though the man and the Giant didn’t speak the same language, they had become good friends with Fulu’s help. "If you don’t have enough Gold Coins, I’ll get some for you. I only have one requirement: guarantee the quality."

"I understand, Boss." Little John nodded firmly. He didn’t want anything to happen to Caocao because of issues with the Armor’s craftsmanship. This was him looking out for his friend.

’As for Magic Crystal Stones...’ Shire mused, rubbing his chin. He had noticed a mine icon on his Domain map before. Unlike the various herb markers scattered across the map, this was the only mine icon that had appeared. But he still had his reservations about the place. ’I have no idea what it’s like in there. Is it a haunted gold mine? A lair for a group of strange creatures? Or just a ruin that’s been abandoned for a millennium? I don’t even know what kind of mineral it is. Coal? Iron?’

He knew that Count Valentine’s domain contained several iron mines. He had previously brought Auberto here to purchase iron ore, planning to smelt it into iron to forge weapons and Armor to bolster his family’s strength. The results of that venture, however, had been quite unexpected.

Now that Shire had discovered a mine in the forest, his first thought was that it might be an abandoned iron-mining site. If it was an iron mine, that would pose a problem for the goblin Race. After all, no one in the entire race knew how to smelt iron. They would have no choice but to transport the ore to Yangjiao Town.

But if Mary suddenly started selling iron ore, it would seem strange and might attract unwanted attention.

’I’ll have to check it out first when the time comes.’