Chương 73: The Sword in the Sh*t

After taking over the banner from their predecessors, the new 10th Company of the Disciplinary Army immediately commenced training. These recruits, promoted from the hunting teams, performed reasonably well due to their existing foundation. Li Qinwu handed the troops over to Gobu-Spear and Gobu-Bow. Both had now reached Level 5; one was a Goblin Warrior, and the other a Goblin Sharpshooter. Their Intelligence had reached 15 points, allowing them to fully grasp Li Qinwu's military regulations and policies.

More importantly, they had witnessed the fall of the old 10th Company, and their eyes burned with lingering grief and resentment. Having developed a sense of honor and shame, Li Qinwu trusted that placing the army in their hands would lead to no issues. Li Qinwu, meanwhile, focused his energy on developing a new weapon: the Breech-Loading Flintlock. The Elf's rain spell had rendered all matchlock firearms useless, which had infuriated him.

Had they been functional, he was certain the battle against the Hero would have cost less than half the casualties. Before the invention of percussion caps and fixed cartridges, firearms struggled in wet weather. Li Qinwu decided to replicate the Model 1819 Hall Rifle. This was the world's first widely-issued breech-loading flintlock, with a loading mechanism similar to a Breech-loading Swivel Gun (Fran-ji).

It boasted a peak rate of fire of 9 rounds per minute and, with oil-cloth-wrapped mechanisms, offered a slight edge in damp conditions. Drawing sketches in his private room at the steel plant, Li Qinwu solved the gas-leakage issues while ordering the mining of high-quality flint. Once the blueprints were handed to Iron-Orc, he began cataloging the spoils of war: Magic Cores: Energy storage devices recovered from the human mage's remains.

Miss Hana revealed these were strategic commodities synthesized by the Mages' Guild. Li Qinwu realized that the devastating, nuke-like spells of this world relied on external energy storage; he needed to master this technology as soon as possible. Great Shield: A thick, battered steel plate. While not of special metal, its historical value warranted a place in a future museum. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

Magic Wooden Bow: Adorned with magic scripts that enhanced accuracy and power, Li Qinwu gave this to Gobu-Bow, whose DPS was being wasted on simple firearms. Emblem of the Hero: A palm-sized knight-advancement item. Li Qinwu tried dripping blood on it, but it remained unresponsive. He suspected either he wasn't recognized by it, or his regime had yet to meet the criteria of an established "nation" or "people." He put it back into storage.

Mithril Breastplate: A masterpiece of material science, weighing less than 2kg yet harder than strong-interaction materials. Li Qinwu tried melting a gauntlet but found his current technology couldn't even make it glow red. He realized this high-temp, high-pressure resistant material was far too valuable to waste on a whim and stowed it away. Finally, Li Qinwu opened a box containing the Hero's Sword. The blade was pure white, covered in magic script, with a hilt shaped like the Goddess.

However, when Li Qinwu reached for it, the sword felt impossibly heavy, vibrating in resistance. A consciousness within the blade mocked him:"I am the Pure Sword bestowed upon the world by the Goddess of Life. My masters are holy Heroes. You! You are but a filthy, lowly Goblin!" Li Qinwu was silent for a moment, then burst into mad laughter. He looked at the weapon with pure mockery.

"You're just an object, a tool for use. Who gave you the right to be so arrogant? Your 'Hero' is rotting under the Underworld Tree, soon to become a skeleton. As for you...

'Filthy,' is it?

'Lowly,' is it? Come, let me show you the meaning of filthy and lowly!" Li Qinwu dragged the sword—which struggled and increased its own weight—out of the steel plant toward the latrines. He called over Dang-Dang the Ogre, who was busy smithing. Dang-Dang simply picked up the screeching sword with two fingers. They arrived at the steel plant's outdoor dry latrine—a place of 120% saturation and "rich golden minerals." The sword finally sensed its fate and erupted in terror.

"Ya... Yamero!! Filthy Ogre! Put me down! In the name of the Goddess, I command you! Yameroooo!!" Li Qinwu grinned, a sinister smile that split his face from ear to ear.

"Whatever your name was before, from now on, the world will only remember the name I give you: The Sword in the Sh*t!"

"Dang-Dang! Toss it in!" With a casual flick, the "Pure Sword" bestowed by the Goddess and wielded by the 375th Hero fell into the filth with a wet splash. Liquid splattered, and the "fragrance" filled the air. The world had lost a holy blade, but it had gained the Sword in the Sh*t.