Chương 16: Crossbow Crafting

In Mount & Blade II, once a player's skill proficiency hits 25, they can choose between two perks; this choice recurs every additional 25 points. Having grinded his Smithing to 25, Li Qinwu now faced his first crossroad. The first option, Pottery Firing, was tempting. Ceramics are a landmark of advancing civilization, even for goblins. However, with an invasion looming, military hardware was the absolute priority.

Besides, basic pottery wasn't rocket science; Li Qinwu felt he could figure out simple clay pots on his own. He clicked the second option: Crossbow Crafting. As he confirmed, a flood of technical knowledge surged into his mind. He spent several moments absorbing the data. When he finally opened his eyes, he was effectively a Master Crossbowyer. He looked at the two crude wooden bows he had made previously and winced with disgust. How could I have ever called those "works"? He snapped the wooden bows over his knee.

Watching this, Gob-Bow looked at him with an expression of pure heartbreak, like a child whose favorite toy had been smashed.

"What are you blubbering for? You want to keep that trash forever? Come on, I'm going to build you something a thousand times better!" Li Qinwu led Gob-Bow into the forest to hunt for a specific tree: Pine-Nut Wood. His new knowledge told him that this wood was incredibly tough yet possessed the perfect elastic memory—the ideal material for a crossbow prod. Li Qinwu didn't want bows. Training a competent archer took months or years; he didn't have that kind of time.

Crossbowmen, however, were "point-and-click" soldiers. You span the string, lock it into the nut, and then you can take your time to aim without your muscles screaming. There's no "Parkinson's shake" from holding a heavy draw, making it much easier for a goblin to actually hit a target. They felled a Pine-Nut tree, stripped the bark, and hewed it into workable blocks. Li Qinwu spent the first day crafting a prototype Crossbow. The design was a classic stirrup-style crossbow with a simple wooden trigger mechanism.

He test-fired it. The range exceeded 120 meters, and the penetration was vicious; even with a simple wooden bolt, it buried itself a finger-deep into a solid tree trunk. In an era of cold steel, this was a low-spec pistol. He placed the finished weapon into his warehouse to check the stats: Name: Extremely Crude Light Crossbow Weight: 3 kg Type: Light Crossbow Damage: 35 Piercing Missile Speed: 70 m/s Effective Range: 120 meters Evaluation: An emergency product.

The wood isn't seasoned or lacquered; the trigger is wooden and has limited durability. It might break during intense combat. There is significant room for improvement. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings. Li Qinwu accepted the critique. It was an emergency build. With better tools and seasoned wood, he could make something terrifying, but for now, this was enough. He ramped up production.

Working alone with the tribe's only axe, he managed to churn out twenty crossbows at a rate of three per day. The low productivity had a silver lining: it boosted his Smithing proficiency significantly. For ammunition, he used Horned Crocodile Teeth as bolt-heads. He outsourced this task to the common goblins, ordering each to produce forty bolts. He also had them sew quivers from crocodile leather. After a month of preparation, it was finally time to march.

Li Qinwu's system warehouse was packed with jerky, dried fish, and grain. His 20 core Hobgoblins stood ready, clad in crocodile soft armor and armed with spears and crossbows. Behind them stood 200 "militia" goblins who had undergone basic drill. Armed with wooden spears and bags of throwing stones, they were the "line-fillers" and skirmishers. Before departing, Li Qinwu found One-Ear.

"From today, I appoint you as Executive Vice-Chief. While I am gone, you are in charge of the tribe." One-Ear was stunned. He had expected to go to war.

"B-Boss! Take me with you! I want to earn military merit too!" Li Qinwu patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry. Keeping the home front stable while I'm away counts as merit. I have three tasks for you." He pointed to the wooden cabin in the center of the village.

"First: that is my house. No one enters. If anyone steps foot inside, kill them without mercy!" One-Ear nodded frantically.

"Boss, I'll guard it with my life! No one gets in!" Li Qinwu gave a dark, knowing smile.

"I hope so." In truth, he didn't care about the house. It was a Compliance Test. He wanted to see if his lingering shadow was enough to keep the stay-at-home goblins in line. If the house remained empty, great—One-Ear was reliable. If someone moved in, he'd simply "decimate" them upon his return to re-establish his fear. Either way, he won. He held up a second finger.

"Second: Increase the population. I'm leaving you with 70 goblins and 30 Wood Rats. Those rats produce at least three pups per litter every half-month, and pups reach adulthood in another half-month. When I return, I expect the population to have doubled. Do this, and you will be richly rewarded!" One-Ear's eyes bulged. This is a task? This sounds like a vacation! For goblins, breeding was a primal instinct. A mission that involved satisfying that instinct was the best kind of mission.

One-Ear's gaze toward Li Qinwu became almost religious. The Boss's kindness... is infinite! Li Qinwu held up a third finger.

"Third: Cultivate the land around the tribe. Plant those potatoes you found."

"Huh? Plant... potatoes? But I don't know how!" To a goblin, farming was high-level alien technology.

"I'll show you." Li Qinwu took a spear, loosened some dirt, dug a hole, and buried a potato. He repeated the process for a few rows.

"Just do that. Whether they live or die is up to the heavens." He didn't expect a bumper crop from such crude methods; he just wanted to keep the stay-at-homes busy. He couldn't have his soldiers dying on the front lines while the guys at home did nothing but have a grand old time breeding.

"Work hard, my Vice-Chief." With the village settled, Li Qinwu gathered his army. He raised his iron hatchet and pointed it toward the setting sun.

"March! To the human village!"