Lord: Starting with Biological Modification

"What about him?" Bolin pressed. "When he fights, does he hide in the back or charge to the front?"

"He scouts on the front lines and tests the weapons’ effectiveness himself. I’ve fought alongside him. He’s incredibly brave." As Ola spoke, his admiration was plain to see. "He says that being a lord isn’t a title, it’s a post."

After a long silence, Bolin stood up.

"A Dwarf who isn’t a proper Dwarf, fighting for a noble who isn’t like a noble, to protect a territory that isn’t his own... Interesting."

Just then, Ola hammered in the last rivet.

He turned the shield over, feeling its surface with his palm. This was the first piece he and his uncle had completed together in fourteen years.

Bolin walked over to the shield, hefted it to test its weight, and knocked on its face with his knuckles.

"A good shield."

This was the highest praise Ola had ever heard from him.

Bolin hung the shield in the most conspicuous spot on the wall, then turned and walked into the storeroom.

A moment later, he came out holding an oilskin-wrapped package.

"Three ’Storm’s Eye’ Model III wind crossbows, military-grade. Comes with one hundred twenty armor-piercing, barbed Crossbow Arrows and three sets of spare steel strings. The goods are in the third warehouse at the south gate. Here’s the key." He tossed a brass key to Ola.

Ola’s heart leaped. He snatched the key, and its cold touch almost brought tears to his eyes.

"But," Bolin said, taking out a ledger, "we have accounts to settle."

He opened the ledger and read out the entries one by one. "Fourteen years ago, one ’Skull-smasher’ battle-axe. At market price back then, three hundred and eighty Gold Coins. Fourteen years... according to the loan shark rules of Six Peaks Mountain, with compound interest... I’ll give you a discount. One thousand Golden Sun."

Ola’s face turned green.

"This time, for the wind crossbows, they’re military-grade. I’m not making a profit off you. Selling them at cost, it comes to one thousand two hundred Golden Sun."

"Three days of room and board, we’ll call it ten Silver Moon. To round things off, I’ll waive it. But you overused my bellows, causing wear and tear on the leather and connecting rods. Replacement and repairs will cost fifty Golden Sun. And then there’s the apprentice tutelage fee..."

Bolin looked up at Ola. "That’s priceless, so we’ll forget about it."

He scribbled in the ledger with his pen, finally arriving at a total.

"In total, two thousand two hundred and fifty Golden Sun." Bolin pushed the ledger in front of Ola. "Next time you come, pay it all at once."

Ola stared at the astronomical figure, his mouth hanging open, unable to utter a single word.

"And one more thing." Bolin pointed to the new shield on the wall. "Consider that your down payment. Take the crossbows and go help that ’friend’ of yours. Then come back alive, settle your debt, and while you’re at it, tell me how many sets of leather armor you can make from that snake’s hide."

Ola’s eyes grew red.

This wasn’t just a debt; it was a promise, a reason he had to come back alive.

He nodded emphatically. "I will definitely be back!"

"Get lost," Bolin said, waving his hand impatiently. He turned back to his workbench and began tidying it. "Don’t keep me from my work."

Ola bowed deeply to his uncle’s back.

Then he turned and rushed out of the smithy.

He immediately dashed to the largest carriage house in Qishi City and, for double the price, hired three of the sturdiest heavy-duty transport carriages and the best drivers.

After a flurry of preparations, by the time the last crate was secured to the carriage bed, the fading light of dusk had stained the whole of Qishi City gold.

"Let’s go!" Ola yelled at the drivers, leaping onto the seat next to one of them.

"Giddy-up!"

The driver raised his long whip, cracking it in the air. Six strong draft horses neighed, broke into a gallop, and rumbled toward the city gate.

They had to travel through the night to the nearest port, where a fast ship from the Golden Sail Commerce Association was waiting.

A few days later, Ola finally returned to Shiyan Town. He unloaded his cargo from the port, switched to new carriages, and without even a glance at his own territory, headed southeast back to Grey Marsh Territory.

The closer he got to the Gray Sea Marsh, the heavier the air became.

Though the trees on either side of the road were lush, the forest was unnaturally quiet, with no birdsong to be heard.

Ola even saw herds of wild boars and deer migrating away, appearing agitated and restless.

By the roadside, several animal carcasses had begun to rot, their bellies swollen, emitting a foul stench.

’Something isn’t right.’

Just as he was about to reach Newly Town, the sight outside the town astonished Ola even more.

On the newly cultivated farmland not far away, a massive fissure had opened in the earth. The chasm was over ten meters wide and bottomless, its edges continuously crumbling and sliding into the darkness.

A group of guards had cordoned off the area around the fissure with ropes and were maintaining order. Among them, a tall figure directing the men was none other than Barrett.

"Barrett!" Ola leaped down from the carriage.

Barrett turned to see him, and his single eye immediately lit up with joy. "Ola! You’re finally back!"

He strode over, clapped Ola heavily on the shoulder, and then his gaze fell on the three heavy carriages behind him.

As the two walked toward town, Barrett asked, "You actually managed to bring back three of them? I thought you’d be lucky to get your hands on two at most. Dwarven wind crossbows are renowned siege weapons, and they rarely find their way into the human world."

"Got them from a kinsman." Ola grinned, patting a crate proudly. "Three of them. ’Storm’s Eye’ Model III, military-grade."

Barrett sucked in a sharp breath. As a veteran soldier, he certainly understood the weight of those words. "Military-grade... With these, our chances of dealing with that serpent will increase by at least thirty percent."

"Where’s the Lord? What’s with the fissure? Did the Magical Beast come again?"

"It hasn’t attacked directly, but it hasn’t been quiet underground." Barrett’s face darkened. "Kael has been monitoring it from below. He says the creature is getting more and more restless."

He paused, then lowered his voice. "Also, we have a guest in town. You need to be careful."

"A guest?"

"A Level 5 Knight named Roland." Barrett’s expression was complicated. "A true ’great noble.’ He’s been observing Newly Town these past few days and even helped me train the militia. He’s a man with a strong sense of chivalry; I don’t have a bad impression of him."

Ola was a bit surprised. "Then what’s there to be careful about? With a high-level fighter joining the hunt, won’t our odds be even better?"

"Of course, we welcome the strong." Barrett glanced around and warned, "But later, at the war council, don’t mention a single word about what’s going on underground. The Lord has his own plans. Don’t speak out of turn in front of him, understand?"

"What’s going on underground..." Ola’s expression turned serious. "I understand."

Just as he said that, a young militiaman came running over.

"Baron Stonebeard! The Lord has heard of your return and is immediately convening a war council! He asks that you both wait at the main gate of Newly Town!"

Barrett nodded and said to Ola, "Let’s go. It’s just as well. With him here, our chances will be even better."