Reiner had enjoyed a fairly peaceful few days. The soldiers in the castle had already been sent out to help guard the residents who were clearing the land. Although the Krad People had been defeated, some stragglers had yet to leave Morland Castle and were searching for food to make a living.
Perhaps they were waiting for spring to arrive, when game would return to the Frigid Forest, before going back to their tribes. Over the past few days, the soldiers had already captured thirty or forty Krad prisoners.
Reiner wasn't particularly humanitarian. He sent them straight into the iron mine to extract ore. In the past, mining had been done by Reiner's own subjects. Although he didn't need to pay them wages, he still had to feed them, and having dozens of people work in the iron mine would inevitably reduce the agricultural labor force. Since these people were invaders who had attacked his territory, he might as well throw them all into the mine and have them dig for ore, sparing the residents from suffering through the work.
More than ten days passed like this before the blacksmith workshop finally sent word that the iron lamellar armor Reiner had commissioned had been completed.
This time, Reiner brought Lumbard and Wendell with him. Lumbard was his knight retainer, and their close relationship had naturally led to Lumbard becoming his attendant.
Wendell, meanwhile, had started pestering Reiner to take him along as soon as he heard the news, eager to see the new armor.
When they reached the blacksmith workshop, several blacksmiths immediately bowed to Reiner. One of them brought out the newly forged iron lamellar armor and placed it before him. "Baron, the armor you requested is finished!"
Reiner looked at the armor and nodded. He was quite satisfied with the finished product. At least in appearance, it was not much different from the iron lamellar armor in his memories.
"How much does this armor weigh?"
"Eighteen kilograms! Baron, it weighs a full eighteen kilograms!" the blacksmith told Reiner.
Eighteen kilograms. That was somewhat heavier than chain mail, but the extra weight probably wouldn't affect the combat effectiveness of the physically robust Morland Soldiers.
Guesswork was no substitute for practice, so Reiner had Lumbard put on the lamellar armor and give it a try.
This lamellar armor did have some flaws. The entire torso section could be pulled over the head and allowed to hang down over the body, but the arm guards had to be put on separately and secured with leather straps. Another series of leather straps secured the back.
Chain mail also required a series of leather straps to hold it in place, but overall it was much simpler than lamellar armor. If soldiers were ambushed, they might not even have time to put on the lamellar armor before fighting the enemy.
However, in a head-on battle, soldiers wearing heavy armor would be extraordinarily powerful.
With the blacksmiths' help, Lumbard put on the complete suit of armor. Since this lamellar armor had originally been designed to be used together with chain mail, Lumbard looked considerably more valiant once he had put it on.
Lamellar armor was a relatively bulky type of armor. Unlike chain mail, which clung closely to the body, lamellar armor made its wearer look both bulky and imposing. Lumbard was already covered in muscle, and the lamellar armor made him look even more imposing.
"How does it feel?" Reiner asked.
Lumbard tried moving his arms and legs and rolled his neck. "Not bad. I just feel considerably heavier all over. It might get tiring if I wore it for too long!"
Reiner nodded. That was normal. Chain mail alone weighed more than ten kilograms, and adding the eighteen-kilogram lamellar armor brought the total burden to over thirty kilograms. It would indeed be exhausting.
"But do you think this armor affects your movements?" Reiner asked. He didn't want the armor he had designed to make the soldiers stiff and sluggish, costing them their lives on the battlefield.
Lumbard tried out several sword techniques and found that nothing hindered him. He said to Reiner, "It doesn't affect me much. It isn't as flexible as chain mail, but it gives me a tremendous sense of security. Before, I wouldn't have dared face a Morning Star head-on, but now, with this, I even dare to take one head-on!"
At this, Wendell, who had been watching eagerly from the side for some time, said impatiently, "Brother Lumbard, hurry up and take it off so I can try it!"
Lumbard smiled without saying anything. Instead, he turned toward William and said to Wendell, "That isn't up to me! You have to ask whether Brother Reiner agrees!"
"Brother! Please let me try it on just once!" Wendell pleaded with Reiner. He was wearing a finely made leather cuirass. Although he was only thirteen, he was already nearly as tall as Reiner. Who knew how tall he would grow in the future?
Reiner nodded. "Then give it a try!"
After getting Reiner's permission, Wendell happily draped the lamellar armor over himself. Several blacksmiths helped him put on the rest of the armor and adjust its size.
Once he was fully suited up, he waved his arms and stared at himself, covered from head to toe in armor, with wonder. After moving around a few times, he couldn't help shouting, "This is so cool! When will I be able to have armor like this?"
As he spoke, he turned his gaze toward Reiner.
"You've got a long way to go!" Reiner raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "How old are you, and you already want a suit of armor like this? Train for 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 looked thoroughly indignant, clearly unconvinced.
"Could you beat the me from back then?" Reiner teased, giving him a sidelong glance.
Wendell, feeling guilty, wanted to argue, but couldn't come up with anything to say. In the end, he could only lower his head helplessly.
Lumbard watched the two brothers' argument with a smile from the side. Although he and the two of them were not actual brothers, their relationship as cousins was quite close, and they got along very well. They often joked around with each other.
At last, Reiner had the blacksmiths strap the lamellar armor to a wooden post. Then he drew the Longsword in his hand and swung it viciously at the post.
The sound of steel colliding rang out through the workshop. Reiner lowered the Longsword and began examining the armor.
The three overlapping layers of protection had been hacked through. There was nothing to be done about that—the steel of this era had not yet reached the quality of steel from the industrial age. After removing the armor, Reiner found only a few faint slash marks on the wooden dummy. He nodded, highly satisfied.
After the lamellar armor had been destroyed, the remaining force would probably only be enough to scratch the skin if the blow landed on someone directly. Moreover, the soldiers would be wearing a layer of chain mail beneath it. As for leather armor, that went without saying.
Morland Castle bordered the Frigid Forest and was itself surrounded by woods, so it was certainly not lacking in hides. Cowhide was not the only material that could be used to make leather armor; otherwise, how many cows would they have to slaughter?
"Whoa! It's so strong!" Wendell exclaimed as he looked at the damage to the armor.
"The damaged gap is deeply dented. It seems to have absorbed a tremendous amount of force. As expected, it has great resistance against blunt weapons!" Although Lumbard was only sixteen, he had fought on the battlefield more than once or twice. Even though the Empire had enjoyed peace for many years, the remote region where they lived was still a poor and backward place, and battles still broke out from time to time. That was why he understood these matters so well.
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