Apocalypse Descent: Farming with My Harem

Harold shook his head and said, "It's okay, Lord. Putana also asked me not to tell you about this, but I thought it would eventually get exposed, so it's better to report it to you first."

At this point, Harold added, "But rest assured, Lord, Putana can still fight for the next few months. She has the blood of a Half-Giant and a strong constitution."

"And we will do our utmost to contribute to the territory. Even if Putana can't fight later, I will work even harder to cover her share."

Hearing this, Cao Xing smiled and said, "Harold, it's okay even if Putana doesn't fight; your contribution is already enough."

For Cao Xing, a Second Order Elite Level war power didn't mean much, far less than a blacksmith.

However, the dwarf stubbornly said, "No, Lord, this is our duty!"

"You have provided us with a warm shelter and a stable place, so we must contribute to the territory. If we let Putana idle around, she would feel guilty and blame herself..."

After listening, Cao Xing pondered for a moment, "Let's do it this way, Harold. I'll have Putana lead those soldiers to take charge of the territory's defense."

"Don't feel like this is special treatment for you, because I will be taking some of the warriors out. The pressure of defense is still quite high."

Hearing this, a thoughtful look appeared in Harold's eyes.

Then he solemnly nodded and said,

"Thank you, Lord! We will defend your territory with our lives and our hammers!"

[Your empathy for your subordinates has greatly increased Harold Iceberg's loyalty. Current loyalty: 85]

...

Seeing this notification, Cao Xing was momentarily taken aback.

Because before this, Harold's loyalty had just reached 72.

And this arrangement directly boosted his loyalty by 13 points, the most significant increase ever.

Cao Xing shook his head and didn't say much.

At this time, Harold solemnly picked up two pieces of equipment from the side and respectfully said, "Lord, these are the final products I forged today. Please review them!"

Hearing this, Cao Xing became interested, then cast his gaze and glanced at the attributes.

[Beast Bone Light Armor (Green)]

[Quality: Fine]

[Wearing Requirement: Level 10]

[Armor: 13~16]

[Attached Effect ①: Agility +5, Life Value +60]

[Attached Effect ②: Lightly Equipped (Attack Speed and Move Speed increased by 15%)]

(Made from wolf bone, this light armor is very lightweight.)

...

[Beast Bone Light Armor (Blue)]

[Quality: Superior]

[Wearing Requirement: Level 10]

[Armor: 21~25]

[Attached Effect ①: Agility +5, Power +5, Life Value +100]

[Attached Effect ②: Bear Rage (When attacked, there is a 30% chance to increase power by 20 points for 10 seconds)]

(Made from bear bone, this light armor balances agility with good defensive power.)

...

[Teeth Armor (Blue)]

[Quality: Superior]

[Wearing Requirement: 15 and above]

[Armor: 37~41]

[Attached Effect ①: Agility +10, Power +5, Life Value +200]

[Attached Effect ②: Teeth Unloading (Reduces 15% of received damage when attacked)]

(Made from the frost bomb rabbit's teeth, this armor is both lightweight and has good defense.)

...

Looking at these three kinds of equipment, Cao Xing glanced at Harold.

Clearly, the attributes of these pieces of equipment were very good.

At least among equipment of the same level and quality, the attributes were a notch higher.

Harold's creations were crafted with care.

After equipping them on the Ascalon soldiers, they could significantly enhance their war power.

However, due to Cao Xing's rapid development pace, those soldiers' levels would also increase swiftly.

Therefore, these pieces of equipment would soon become obsolete.

But it didn't matter.

At this stage, most survivors' levels were still around 5~9, with only a small number reaching level 10.

So by then, Cao Xing could fully put these pieces of equipment on the market to exchange for supplies.

Thinking of this, a smile reappeared on Cao Xing's face.

"Harold, the attributes of this batch of equipment are excellent. You have amazing forging skills."

Harold, embarrassed by the praise, shook his head and said, "The Lord praises me too much. My forging skills are not the best among the dwarves."

"Our dwarf clan has advanced blacksmiths, expert-level blacksmiths, and even master-level blacksmiths."

Hearing this, Cao Xing asked, "Harold, how do you upgrade the forging skills in your dwarf clan?"

As Harold said, he was not considered a top-notch blacksmith.

And the higher the level of the blacksmith, the faster they forge equipment, and the better the quality.

Moreover, more crucially, intermediate blacksmiths could only ensure a high success rate when forging blue and below-quality equipment.

If forging purple quality equipment, there was a high probability of failure.

Although Cao Xing did not have enough materials to mass-produce purple equipment, it did not hinder him from preparing in advance.

After thinking for a moment, Harold replied, "Generally, everyone improves their forging skill level through extensive practice."

"Of course, it also depends on talent. Some dwarves might forge iron their whole life and only be intermediate blacksmiths."

"While some dwarves can become expert-level blacksmiths in just over a decade."

Realizing this, Cao Xing nodded in understanding and continued to ask, "Is there a way to quickly increase the skill level?"

Upon this question, Harold thought for a moment and replied, "There is. One way is through reading a vast amount of literature on forging knowledge, some of the masters' memoirs, and the like."

"Then, there is forging advanced equipment, the higher the piece of equipment, the more it increases your skill level, but the higher the failure rate."

After hearing this, Cao Xing more or less understood the method of upgrading these life skills among the world's natives.

It didn't sound difficult.

The simplest method was to have him forge many advanced pieces of equipment.

This was essentially throwing money at it.

But for Cao Xing, this was also the simplest method.

Harold continued, "Among the Lord's extensive collection of books, I found a book called 'The Life of a Kingdom Blacksmith.'"

"In this book, I've seen many forging techniques and methods that have been lost, which benefited me greatly."

"Along with today's forging, I feel that it won't be long before I can become an advanced blacksmith!"

Harold was very excited at this point.

After all, an advanced blacksmith was considered a talent anywhere!

Hearing this, Cao Xing also had a look of joy on his face.

He didn't expect there would be such a gem in that stack of books.

He encouraged, "Keep it up, Harold. You must believe that in my territory, an advanced blacksmith is not your endpoint."

"In the future, you are to become an expert-level blacksmith and even a master-level blacksmith!"

After hearing Cao Xing's encouragement, a look of longing appeared in Harold's eyes.

"I believe in the Lord's ability!"

"If one day, I can become a master-level blacksmith, it would be a status of prestige even among the dwarves."

"Moreover, each newly promoted master forger can go to the Dwarf Hall to receive an exclusive epic equipment blueprint."

"By then, I will return to my clan with honor, take the epic blueprint, and create your epic equipment, my Lord!"

Upon hearing this last sentence, Cao Xing's eyes lit up.

He hadn't realized that nurturing a master-level blacksmith came with such benefits!

However, the goal seemed somewhat distant.

Cao Xing could only temporarily suppress his excitement.

Then, he took out a large batch of forest wild boar bones, tusks, and human-faced tree bark from his backpack...

...