The Birth of Standard Lamellar Armor

Reiner had a relatively peaceful few days. The soldiers in the castle had been dispatched to help guard the settlers who were clearing land. Although the Krad People had been defeated, some scattered remnants hadn't left Morland Castle and were still scrounging for food to survive.

Perhaps they would wait until spring arrived and prey reappeared in the Frigid Forest before returning to their tribes. Over these past few days, the soldiers had captured thirty to forty Krad prisoners.

Reiner wasn't one for humanitarianism. He immediately sent them to the iron mine to extract ore. Previously, mining was done by Reiner's own people. While he didn't have to pay them wages, providing food was necessary. Furthermore, dozens of people laboring in the iron mine would inevitably reduce the agricultural workforce. Since these people were invaders of his territory anyway, he simply threw them all into the mine to dig. This also saved his own people from enduring that hardship.

More than ten days passed like this, and finally, news came from the blacksmith's workshop: the Iron Lamellar Armor Reiner had ordered was complete.

This time, Reiner brought Lumbard and Wendell with him. Lumbard was his squire. Their close relationship naturally led Lumbard to become his attendant.

As for Wendell, upon hearing the news, he clamored for Reiner to take him to see the new armor.

Upon arriving at the blacksmith's workshop, several blacksmiths immediately bowed to Reiner. One of them took out the forged Iron Lamellar Armor and placed it before Reiner, saying, "Baron, the armor you requested is complete!"

Reiner looked at the suit of armor and nodded. He was quite satisfied with the finished product. At least in terms of appearance, it didn't deviate much from the Iron Lamellar Armor in Reiner's memory.

"How heavy is this armor?"

"Eighteen kilograms! Baron, it weighs a full eighteen kilograms!" the blacksmith told Reiner.

Eighteen kilograms—that was even heavier than Chainmail. However, this weight likely wouldn't affect the combat effectiveness of the strong Morland Soldiers.

Speculation was no match for practice, so Reiner had Lumbard try on the Lamellar Armor.

This suit of Lamellar Armor did have some flaws. While the entire torso could be slipped on directly over the neck and hang down to cover the whole body, the vambraces had to be worn separately and secured with leather straps. The back also had a series of leather straps for fastening.

Although Chainmail also required a series of leather straps to secure it, it was generally much simpler than Lamellar Armor. If ambushed, soldiers might not even have time to put on the Lamellar Armor before having to fight the enemy.

However, if it was a frontal engagement, then soldiers wearing heavy armor would be incredibly powerful.

With the help of the blacksmiths, Lumbard put on the entire suit of armor. Since this type of Lamellar Armor was designed to be worn in conjunction with Chainmail, Lumbard looked much more heroic once he put it on.

Lamellar Armor was a somewhat bulky armor. Unlike Chainmail, which fit snugly, wearing Lamellar Armor gave one a sense of bulk and might. Lumbard was already well-muscled, and wearing this suit of Lamellar Armor made him appear even more imposing.

"How does it feel?" Reiner asked.

Lumbard tried moving his limbs and shook his head, saying, "It's alright, but I feel much heavier all over. It might get very tiring if I wear it for too long!"

Reiner nodded. This was normal. A single suit of Chainmail weighed over ten kilograms, and with the addition of the eighteen-kilogram Lamellar Armor, the total burden on the body would be over thirty kilograms. It would indeed be very tiring.

"But do you think this armor will impede your movements?" Reiner didn't want the armor he designed to cause soldiers to become stiff and pay with their lives on the battlefield.

Lumbard tried a few sword-fighting moves and found no obstruction. He then told Reiner, "It doesn't affect me much. Although it's not as flexible as Chainmail, it certainly gives me a great sense of security. Before, I wouldn't dare face a mace attack directly, but now with this, I'd even dare to!"

Hearing this, Wendell, who had been watching eagerly from the side, impatiently said, "Brother Lumbard, quick, take it off and let me try it!"

Lumbard smiled without saying much, instead turning his gaze to William on the side and telling Wendell, "I can't make that decision! You'll have to ask if Brother Reiner agrees!"

"Brother! Just let me try it on once!" Wendell pleaded with Reiner. At this moment, he was wearing exquisite leather armor. Although he was only thirteen years old, his height was already approaching Reiner's. Who knew what he would grow into?

Reiner nodded and said, "Then go ahead and try it!"

After getting Reiner's permission, Wendell excitedly donned the Lamellar Armor. Several blacksmiths helped him put on the other parts of the armor and adjust its size.

Once fully armored, he swung his arms, marveling at himself fully clad. He moved around a bit, then couldn't help but exclaim, "It's so cool! When can I get a suit of armor like this?!"

As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Reiner.

"Not for a while!" Reiner raised an eyebrow, shook his head, and said, "You're so young and already want a suit of armor like this. Practice a few more years!"

"But you left home at thirteen too! Don't tell me you weren't wearing armor back then! I remember!" Wendell's face was full of indignation. He clearly wasn't convinced.

"Can you beat the me from back then now?" Reiner teased, giving him a glance.

A guilty Wendell wanted to retort but couldn't find the words, so he could only lower his head in resignation.

Lumbard watched the two brothers argue, smiling. Although he wasn't their biological brother, the cousins' relationship was very close, and they got along quite well, often teasing each other.

Finally, Reiner had the blacksmiths tie the Lamellar Armor to a wooden stake, then drew the longsword from his hand and struck the stake fiercely.

With a clang of steel, a sound echoed through the workshop. Reiner lowered his longsword and began to inspect the armor.

The three overlapping protective layers had been cut through. This couldn't be helped; the steel of this era hadn't reached the level of industrial-era steel. Taking off the armor, he found only faint cutting marks on the wooden dummy. Reiner nodded, quite satisfied with this.

The remaining kinetic energy after damaging the Lamellar Armor would probably only result in a superficial cut if it hit skin, not to mention the Chainmail liner worn by the soldiers inside. As for leather armor, there was no need to even mention it.

Morland Castle, bordering the Frigid Forest and itself heavily forested, had no shortage of animal hides. It wasn't just cowhide that could make leather armor; otherwise, how many cows would need to be slaughtered?

"Oh! So strong!" Wendell exclaimed, looking at the damage to the armor.

"The broken section has a large indentation. It seems it absorbed a lot of force. It really does have strong resistance to blunt weapons!" Although Lumbard was only sixteen, he had fought on the battlefield more than once or twice. Even though The Empire had been at peace for many years, the most remote regions were still impoverished backwaters, and battles still occurred frequently. This was why he had such knowledge of these matters.