Chapter 94. Age of Heroes (3)
It is always easy to imagine.
Among the great architects who have made their name in the history of architecture, there are many reasons why there are Paper Architects.
If I just give the order to put out the armor, will the blacksmiths be able to make the armor of a concept that I have never seen before? that’s an illusion
I’m going to spend a lot of time on this too. This time, Ino was also brought to Antandros.
It’s always a noisy blacksmith’s shop, but there’s a sense of tension and silence among the blacksmiths gathered around. I break the silence and speak the first word.
“Pour it.”
“I understand, lord.”
Molten iron is poured into the formwork. It is similar to the one used to cast iron coins, but it is a different mold.
In a moment of tension, smoke and heat bathe the bodies of blacksmiths gathered nearby. They were all used to this, so they didn’t even cough.
The formwork into which the red molten iron was poured splits in half over time.
When the small scale-like pieces of iron in it fall out in numbers, other workers collect them, trim them one by one, and pass them on to others as well.
The blacksmith’s assistants drop the scales that have cooled down over time into the oil and take them out.
After going through several heat treatments, pieces of metal jingling like iron coins appear in front of us.
If you grind the rough part of the rim a little, it’s completely complete.
But more important work remains.
It is the most important task.
The women who are the most nimble in the neighborhood and the women who are the most skilled at sewing accept the iron scales and start assembling them one by one.
It takes shape by weaving dozens of iron scales one by one with a tough leather strap.
Time flies so much that it gets boring. The other blacksmiths and handymen who had been snooping around had a spectacle and scattered one by one, but Skleos and I did not take their eyes off them.
After several hours, something resembling the scales of a fish swimming through the air appears. As it was just made and not a single speck of dust accumulated, the sunlight split into hundreds of pieces and bounced off.
finally complete.
Yes.
It is a very cumbersome process to make chalcedony.
According to common sense, it would take a lot of labor to make dozens of scales, weave them together, and then shape them into a form that people could wear.
Numerous hands must be mobilized, and especially the skill of weaving the scales made of iron requires long training.
Even at this place, people with good hand skills were mobilized, but if you think about the unfamiliar work, it took quite a long time.
Skleos and the other senior blacksmiths who watched the whole process thought deeply while stroking their chins, raising their fingers between their foreheads, and covering their mouths with their palms.
“Then can we go into mass production now? What do you guys think?”
“First, let’s ask Anoitus-nim to get more women to weave those scales.”
“Handling molten iron seems to be the perfect job for those who are still apprentices, so let’s mobilize them.”
“Scleos, what about you?”
“I will prepare sacrifices for the temple of Ares and Hephaestus.”
Soon, the sound of beating stones and making molds echoed throughout Antandros’ forge.
In order to make something more than a ‘prototype’, numerous workers began to move busily.
***
After all, the armaments of the citizen soldiers are purchased and carried by individuals.
Therefore, it is best to provide more expensive and useful weapons to wealthy citizens who can take care of their bodies.
do i distribute? What does it matter if they buy it on their own?
For example, preparing a separate weapon to deal with the Achaean army and the Hittite army.
Following the advice Hector had given me the other day, I forged a separate stabbing knife to pierce the Achaean plate armor and a blunt-like knife to impact the Hittite scale armor.
Of course, diversifying the types of weapons like this would be close to a sin in terms of supply, but what I’m rolling is not the 20th century US Army, where the country provides guns for soldiers to use.
However, it is a different story in the case of those with lesser levels of wealth than that.
That is, not the aristocrats who hire a coachman and all to accompany them to battle and drive chariots, but the majority of citizens who barely have enough money to wear armor.
For such people, mass-producible armor is needed.
A question may arise here. Didn’t I say that the hand gloves went a lot earlier? How can mass production be possible?
Although it takes a lot of work, it requires less skilled technicians.
To make the plate armor, skilled blacksmiths are needed to cut, beat, and bend the huge sheet of iron.
Every time you make a suit, high-level technicians stick to it, and you have to stick to it only. That’s why there were so few people who could wear proper plate armor.
However, it is different in the case of chafing.
Even relatively unskilled blacksmiths can pull out pieces of scale that are sufficiently homogeneous in quality.
And the process can be scaled up as long as we find manpower to assemble the pieces that came out homogeneously.
It is better for mass production than plate armor, and it is good for absorbing the impact of bronze weapons of this period, which are close to blunt weapons in close combat.
Of course, the spears of crazy demigods will fly at an important person like me, so I won’t be able to wear armor myself that might be easily pierced by a javelin… but this is perfect for arming as many soldiers as possible.
“That is my point.”
[so.]
“Even soldiers who were originally wearing leather armor will now be able to fight in iron armor. How could this not be great?”
[It’s tempting… Keep talking.]
“But, in the end, this means that the armor is worth less. How could a lord of this city, who deserves to honor the gods, offer goods for a bastard to a noble being who is war itself?”
I lifted the armor that was placed on the altar and spoke to the male god with blazing eyes in front of me.
“Look! I dare to say, a more valuable piece of armor will never come out again. On each of the scales, the words of praise to the Great One are engraved in gold.”
[…]
“Oh Ares of the golden helmet! You who give victory and courage to those you care for, and submission and terror to those who fiercely oppose you! I dedicate this to you!
As your forearm cuts through enemies, waves of undulating steel scales will terrify your foes!”
[…]
Note that there is no Temple of Ares in Antandros. Without a temple to Demeter, who was so important to farming, who could afford to take care of a god of war?
Only heroic otaku like Anoitos personally set up a shrine.
Therefore, the masons were quickly called, and they prepared an altar overlaid with silver for the new image, and they hurriedly set up the sanctuary and offered the burnt offering.
Still, Ares came down directly.
while shining your eyes.
[The bloody shepherd who trembled in Olympus has become the lord of the city and is offering me a gift.
While wearing such noble clothes and pouring out beautiful words.]
Ares points a finger at me, and I bow my head.
“It is only an honor for the immortal God to remember only one human being.”
A smile spreads across Ares’ face at my words.
[Recently, Hephaestus’ nose has grown. I don’t know if it’s because a certain boy is raising his honor day by day…]
“How can a mortal diminish and exalt the honor of an already exalted god? I just pay respect to the shining name.”
[You speak very well. It is rare for Hephaestus to speak well for the ones he cares for.]
When the god of war presses his face against me, my whole body is frozen by the naturally spewing flesh.
He laughs, exposing sharp teeth like the fangs of a beast. Burning passion dwells in his handsome handsome face.
[I like it.]
I went up to Olympus when I was 9 years old.
Even if the first impression at that time was quite bad, Ares is Troia’s reliable ally in the end. Father of Penthesilea.
You have to embrace it.
Ares laughs out loud, and I try not to shudder.
Hair all over the body rises.
Underneath that laughter, you hear the screams of bloody warriors collapsing. Conversely, the maddened shouts of zeal at the risk of death.
I can feel the heat of the flames burning down the city from the wind that rises whenever that giant moves. At first glance, the smell of blood brushes the tip of the nose.
In all his movements, life naturally radiates out like body heat.
All of that triggers a visceral fear.
That would be the dignity and dignity of the god of war.
[The gift is well received.]
Ares smiles contentedly as he takes over the armor from me.
[I look forward to it in the future. Son of Priam.
Ah, there is no need for a temple here, so you just have to entertain me from now on.]
“If I can make you happy…?”
[Think about it yourself.]
After that one word, the image of God disappears in front of your eyes in an instant. The illusion of the battlefield that shimmered before my eyes also faded.
After calming my trembling legs, I got up from my seat, and the attendants who were waiting far away wrapped their mantles around me and supported me.
“Are you okay?”
“All right, all right. The intended purpose has been achieved…”
As I calmed down and returned to the palace, Ino, who had been lying in the rocking chair, jumped out.
“Paris! Drink herbal decoction!!”
With a lot of bitter water.
“I am fine? It’s been quite a while now, but wouldn’t it be better?”
“huh. Then when you get older, you’ll vomit blood and get dizzy, and you won’t be able to get up.”
“…”
“I don’t know why humans live like they live forever when they don’t live 100 years. ruler.”
It tastes like death. I think it would be better to chew on the bugs alive.
“Ah, that’s because it also grinds real worms.”
“Thank you anyway.”
“I’ll be meeting my older sisters from my hometown after a long time. I mean, it took a lot of hard work to get those ingredients.”
“Sorry.”
“I’m sorry, take care of yourself.”
Ino grumbled and muttered something like that before leaving the palace.
I sat down on the rocking chair that Ino had emptied and rested my tired body.
…Yes, anyway, I feel better, and the plan is progressing smoothly.
Whether or not the plan worked out, you’d have to see it once to find out. For now, let’s focus on taking steps.
Thinking of that, closing your eyes and half asleep…
– Knock. Knock.
“Paris?”
I hear you calling me again There is no time to rest.
The one who opened the door and entered the courtyard was a familiar merchant.
“Oh, yes. Anoitus? What happened?”
“Now… I’ve got the horse ready.”
“word?”
“Because the thing is said to be complete. As soon as it was completed, the lord told me to prepare the horse he rode on.”
“···that’s right. It did. Very well done. Where did you release it now?”
“The stable keepers prepared it in the western field, so you can probably ride it as soon as you go.”
Saying that, Anoitos’s face turned bright for some reason.
It’s a fan’s expression as if he met his favorite celebrity.
Even though he tilts his head in confusion, Anoitos does not open his mouth easily.
I paused there for a while, then got up and put on my outdoor cloak again. As we leave the palace with Anoitus following us, guards surround the two of us.
As I walked along the boulevard, citizens waved their hands lightly at me. While answering them, Anoitus whispers in his ear.
“Did you say the horse’s name was Bucephalos?”
“What, right? The mole on his forehead resembles the horns of a bull. So, it is Bucephalus (Βουκέφαλος, meaning bull’s head).”
“okay.”
The voice that is exceptionally excited compared to usual, and the heat that is getting more and more revealed in my eyes.
Finally, after passing through the western gate and arriving at the field, the stable keeper waves his hand to announce his location from afar.
As the people around them disappear, Anoitus finally speaks to me.
“Well, the horse I’m going to see is really a descendant of ‘that horse’…!”
ah. yes.
This friend was a heroic otaku.
“okay. The descendants of that word are correct. Don’t tell me where to go.”
“Paris rode directly on the back of that horse and rode through the battlefield! While slashing down the ferocious female warriors of the Amazon!!”
“It’s an exaggeration. It’s true that you cut it down…”
When I and Anoitus stop, the attendants who have been waiting for me begin to put on their armor. The straps of the shin guards wrap around the calves, and the ends of the shoulders and waist that secure the breastplate are tightened.
Finally, when the helmet was put on, it was the same as when he was walking among the Amazon warriors a while ago.
“I was dressed like this back then. Well, we have to reproduce the conditions on the battlefield, so this is how we do it.”
“Of course I know. Here, take a spear and a sword. The shield is hung on the horse’s side.”
“Thank you.”
I looked at Bucephalus, who was waiting for me.
An armored warhorse covered entirely in iron scales, unprecedented in this era.
Standing confidently with the waves bouncing off the armor is unrealistic, so I involuntarily stop breathing for a moment.
Of course, you can’t bard the standard pony-level horses of this era.
I’m still running out of strength, and I’m about to gather several horses to pull the chariot, but if I put on the barding, I wonder if it can run properly.
But what if they were the descendants of the gods Anchises carefully raised?
What if the horses that would pull Hector’s chariot and carry Aeneas into battle were fully armed with iron armor?
The armor could be used not just for supplies, but also for horses supporting heroes.
“Bucephalos, can you bear the weight?”
As if understanding my words, Bucephalus licks the nape of my neck and urges me on.
As if to get on your back right now.
As if he wanted to prove his abilities.
I like that fighting spirit.
I stepped on the stirrups and climbed onto the horse, and the stable keepers, Anoitus, and all the guards standing around retreated all at once. To give me space to run.
I hold the reins lightly and wait while facing the wind blowing from a place higher than my original height.
Tok tok, knocking on the side of Bucephalus to give a signal…
“Goes.”
command
Then Bucephalus galloped off.
While shouting that the weight of the steel surrounding him was nothing.
It crossed the field like a tank with a pulsating heart.
***
“Whoa, it was a lot of hard work. Let everyone rest.”
Anoitos looks around the field and stretches lightly.
There was a lot of work these days.
It was his job to find the workers the lord requested and to search the quarry to procure materials needed to build a new building.
Knowing this, the others saw the shadow of Anoitus’ eyes and beckoned.
“Anoitus-nim, please sit down and rest. If you brought something to eat, but if you go to the market…”
“no. I want to watch… a little more.”
And Anoitus stood blankly, rejecting all the invitations of his subordinates around him.
like possessed.
In honor of the lord of Antandros.
His lord who wears the strongest armor in the world and races with the wind as one with the horse.
“A hero…”
Anoitus pulls out the dagger of Hercules, which was in his side for a moment, then puts it back.
What’s the point of chasing the past?
There is a legend running across the field right in front of him.
Even when wrapped in steel, Bucephalos’ speed did not slow down in the slightest. Paris also had no discomfort in movement.
Shortly thereafter, several carefully woven bardings were delivered to Troia and Dardanos.
For the descendants of the great Shinma.
And for the two heroes who will lead them in the coming war.