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On one side of the lord's mansion, the bald-headed Valery, a strong man, was leading several people to build a furnace against the outer wall of the mansion.
This furnace stood tall, fully three meters high, looking like an oversized water bottle.
Ulyan, Rusev and several other leaders were also standing beside, pointing and gesturing, looking excited.
Leo walked over, looked at this funny-looking thing in front of him, and asked, "What the hell is this?"
"This is an iron smelting furnace. Never seen one before?" Ulyan introduced with a proud look, taking the opportunity to give the younger generation a lesson.
"This is a great thing. Valery was an apprentice blacksmith for five years when he was young. He's sort of half a blacksmith. If this furnace can be repaired and used, we can smelt the iron ores brought by the kobolds into iron ingots ourselves!"
Leo also got excited.
In Isonpol, the price of qualified pig iron ingots is more than three times that of iron ores of the same weight.
This means that if this furnace is repaired, the iron ores of the kobolds can be sold at three times the original price after a simple transfer.
But the premise is that it can be used. Leo really doesn't have high hopes for an iron smelting furnace repaired by an apprentice blacksmith.
His contempt was immediately shown: "After learning for five years, still an apprentice blacksmith?"
Ulyan and several leaders let out a scornful laugh and ignored the naive Leo.
Being a blacksmith is not that easy. In the Northern Region, blacksmiths are a high-end profession. The iron-smelting technology and formulas are all closely guarded secrets. For a rural boy like him, if the master is not willing to teach, he may be pounding iron for a lifetime and still be just an apprentice blacksmith.
When Valery was young, he worked the bellows in a blacksmith shop for three years. Every day, he chopped wood, made charcoal, did laundry and cooked. It took him three years before he had the chance to swing a big hammer.
After five years, he was only able to cast iron ingots independently, and the master didn't teach him a single word about forging skills. He had to learn everything by observing and groping on his own.
In a blacksmith shop, there are five or six apprentices like him. Those who have stayed longer have learned some skills and can make simple farm tools and do some riveting work by themselves. But if they want to get the inheritance of the blacksmith, unless the master has no sons.
Then in the sixth year, his master, the old blacksmith, was conscripted by the lord to make weapons and armor for the lord's army.
He made it big, but he didn't take Valery with him.
Valery is also a capable person. Since he couldn't become a blacksmith, he went to learn carpentry and stonemasonry. Now, he knows a little bit of everything and can be considered the most skilled craftsman in the village.
A bunch of old villagers who eke out a living from the fields dared to build a several-hundred-square-meter lord's mansion because of him.
Leo, who was greatly interested, watched this old-fashioned vertical iron-smelting furnace with everyone. In the end, he couldn't come up with any constructive suggestions.
When it comes to the types and history of iron-smelting technology, Leo could brag and leave the villagers dumbfounded. But when it came to the details, he really couldn't explain clearly for a moment.
After watching for a while, Leo suddenly said, "Don't the kobolds have blacksmiths? How about getting one over here to exchange experiences and learn from each other's strengths. Maybe in the future, we won't have to buy farm tools and can just make them ourselves."
Ulyan clapped his hands. "You're right! Then why don't you go quickly!"
"Why should I go?" Leo was not happy.
"If you don't go, who will? You're the most familiar with the kobolds, and they respect you the most. Even my words don't carry much weight."
"Didn't you say last time that if you wait outside the latrine three times in a row, you can invite the kobold military advisor? Why doesn't it work for the kobold blacksmith?"
Leo had a confused look on his face. When did I say that?
Under the urging of Ulyan and several other heads, Leo still set off reluctantly.
When he reached around the oak forest, Freya, who was still digging a canal, also left her work and clamored to go and have some fun.
Due to the continuous trampling of the kobold ore-transporting teams, a clear mountain path had emerged on the slope, leading directly to the River Bend Settlement Camp.
The kobolds spotted the figures of Leo and Freya from afar. One by one, they barked at each other in panic. Some turned back to report the news to the valley, while others brandished their weapons, trying to drive away the outsiders.
But when Leo and Freya got closer, these kobolds guarding the lair all hid their weapons behind their backs and cowered, looking like a group of elementary school kids who had made mistakes.
In the valley, the old and weak kobolds looked at the large marmot in horror. Some even fled in every direction, covering their heads.
This giant beast was finally going to eat the kobolds!
Freya also found it very interesting. All the way, she deliberately stood up, baring her teeth and claws, intimidating the surrounding kobolds.
Leo was very satisfied with this situation. Appropriately showing force could better ensure peace and dispel the other side's wayward thoughts.
However, he also very keenly noticed that many kobolds' equipment had been updated.
After several battles with the River Bend Settlement Camp, the number of warriors in the kobold tribe had been greatly reduced. Currently, the main force was made up of thinner adult kobolds.
Those adult kobolds held small shields made of either spliced tree bark or wooden boards in one hand, and short spears or iron picks in the other. There was also a bag tied around their waists, filled with egg-sized stones.
A small number of kobold warriors even even carried three or four short spears on their backs.
Almost all the kobolds now had a sling in their hands!
They were simply a beggarly version of the River Bend Territory militia.
Although they were frightened by Freya and didn't dare to surround them, when they stood far away, they subconsciously huddled together and formed a shield formation for defense.
Previously, although the kobolds had a large number, they were in a complete mess and had no discipline at all. Even an outsider like Leo could tell that they would collapse at the first blow.
Well, Fisa, this husky, might look stupid, but but she had only been in power for a short time and had already managed the kobold tribe in an orderly manner.
She had completely maxed out her internal affairs skills.
When Leo and Freya entered the valley, Fisa had already rushed quickly over after hearing the news.
Fisa, who often visited the River Bend Settlement Camp, was very familiar with Leo and Freya. She walked up to them quite calmly, without a trace of nervousness.
But in the eyes of her tribesmen, this was no ordinary feat. They only thought that their new leader was brave and fearless, truly powerful.
After Leo explained his purpose, Fisa nodded readily and said with a nod, "You two, come."
After saying that, then she led Leo and Freya deeper into the valley, and went straight to the smelting furnace in the lair.
The kobolds' smelting furnaces were very different from those of humans. Their appearance resembled small earthen mounds in fact less than one meter in height.
About a dozen small earthen mounds, half of them were still smoking. A group of kobolds were guarding the furnaces, using bellows to blow air into them.
One of the already cooled small earthen mounds was dug open. Two small kobolds, blackened by charcoal ash, were lying inside, searching for the smelted iron.
They were tiny iron beads the size of sand grains. These iron beads were put into clay pots. When there were enough of them, they would be heated a second time to form lumpy spongy iron (a solid, porous form of iron produced by smelting).
Beside the iron-smelting furnace, four strong kobolds surrounded two anvils and hammered noisily, hammering the glowing spongy iron into the desired shapes.
There was even an old kobold, wearing a headband woven from grass and a cape woven from feathers and leaves, dancing and singing beside them, praying over the blacksmith shop.
Leo felt as if he had traveled back to the primitive society.
Fisa said, "You can take one of our blacksmiths. Go ahead."
Unlike other kobolds who regarded this primitive iron-smelting technique as a mysterious magic spell, in Fisa's view, these were all simple things with no real technical know-how, so there was no need to keep them secret.