Reincarnated Into The Middle Ages

Despite Norn's less-than-successful demonstration, the blacksmiths agreed to give cold forging and tempering a try. After all, for them, using someone else's coal and iron to improve their skills was a pretty good deal.

Not only that, but considering that his wool business would likely take a hit this year after Saladin's ravaging of the kingdom, Norn decided to repurpose a few windmills to assist the blacksmiths. The massive windmills converted wind power into a steady stream of mechanical energy, which either helped the bellows pump air into the furnace or lifted the giant hammers to forge the metal.

The forge's fire burned day and night, and the clanging sounds of hammering reached their peak.

After three months of trial and error, and using up tons of coal and iron, the blacksmiths finally crafted the first prototype—a piece of plate armor—according to Norn's vision.

The plate armor looked like a leather vest studded with steel nails. But between the leather layers, the blacksmiths had inserted curved iron strips, riveted securely with steel nails. Since it was a prototype, it looked pretty ugly, like an irregular pumpkin. But Norn was quite impressed.

A scarecrow dressed in a gambeson, chainmail, and the prototype plate armor was set up in an open area, surrounded by a crowd of onlooking blacksmiths and knights.

"Norn, is this thing really going to work?" William looked at the strange "pumpkin" vest, still doubtful despite knowing it was made of iron strips. "The iron plates inside are so thin; I don't think they'll hold up."

Ignoring William's skepticism, Norn was determined to prove himself with facts.

"Patrick! Let's get started!"

Patrick, standing at a distance, nodded and slowly drew his fine yew longbow into a full moon shape. With barely any aiming, he released the string with a twang.

An armor-piercing arrow flew the 30-meter distance and slammed into the plate armor. "Ding!" The armor rang out crisply, and the deflected arrow spun through the air before embedding itself weakly into the ground.

Arrows shot from 20 meters and 15 meters were also deflected, only managing to pierce the armor at 10 meters, but still unable to penetrate deeply, falling to the ground uselessly.

"Hmm," Norn nodded in satisfaction. He then gestured for DeMol to bring over a big toy—a heavy crossbow.

This crossbow was much larger than the one Norn had bought before, standing almost 1.2 meters tall with a bow arm nearly a meter wide. The bowstring was made of two thick strands of animal sinew twisted together.

Even a knight like DeMol had trouble stringing it with just his hands. He had to step on the front end and use a special lever mechanism to draw the string back.

After a minute of effort, DeMol finally got the heavy crossbow strung and aimed the thick bolt at the scarecrow. With a firm pull, the released bowstring whistled like a gale, propelling the bolt along the rail and sending it speeding forward.

"Clang!" The bolt buried itself into the scarecrow, its fletching still trembling with defiance.

Though prepared, Norn was still a bit disappointed. But when he pulled out the bolt, he found it acceptable: the bolt from 20 meters had penetrated through the plate armor and chainmail, but with the padding of the gambeson, it had only gone in about a centimeter.

As long as it wasn't a vital spot, a centimeter was nothing to worry about.

"Norn! This is great stuff!" William, who had forgotten his doubts from just five minutes ago, looked at the armor with eager eyes, as if it were his long-lost wife rather than a cold piece of metal.

No wonder William liked the plate armor. The heavy chainmail that knights currently wore had gaps between the rings, which inevitably reduced its effectiveness against piercing weapons like arrows.

Seeing William's eager look, Norn flashed his signature smile again: "Uncle William, want this great piece of armor?"

William, his eyes glazed over, nodded, then suddenly realized, "But I don't have any money!"

"Come on, you spent all your money on drinking and fines. Where would you get money now?" Although he was thinking this, Norn still smiled and said, "What are we talking about money for? Try it on first and see if it fits."

William, suspicious of Norn's sweet smile, couldn't resist the allure of the armor and put it on.

"It fits pretty well," William nodded in satisfaction, only to find Norn standing there with a two-handed axe taller than himself.

"If you want the armor, take a swing and it's yours," Norn finally revealed his true intentions.

Seeing Norn's real plan, William's courage grew. Maybe the test had given him confidence. After sizing up Norn's scrawny limbs, William laughed heartily, "You said it, one swing and the armor is mine!"

"I did say that, one swing and it's yours," Norn confirmed.

"What if it breaks?" William asked.

"I'll give you a new one," Norn replied.

William finally nodded in satisfaction, walked up to Norn, puffed out his chest, and confidently shouted, "Come on!"

Norn smiled, handed the two-handed axe to the Norse mercenary leader who had been watching the whole time.

"Wait, aren't you the one swinging?" William asked, bewildered.

"I only said 'swing,'" Norn smiled sweetly again, "I didn't say it had to be me."

While the two were talking, the mercenary had already picked up the massive axe, which was usually hard for an ordinary person to wield, but in the hands of the 2-meter-tall Norse giant, it was as docile as a lamb. After swinging it in an astonishing arc, the axe whistled through the air and struck William's chest with a thunderous crash.

The plate armor let out a grinding wail, accompanied by a flash of sparks, and the originally curved armor instantly dented in an alarming way. William flew backward like a home-run baseball.

A mountain of flesh hit the ground, sending dust flying. After a while, William still lay motionless on the ground.

Seeing William not getting up, Norn's worry grew: "Did I go too far?"

Unable to contain his anxiety, Norn hurried over.

Approaching the motionless William, Norn cautiously asked, "Uncle William? Are you okay?"

With a loud scream, William suddenly jumped up, nearly scaring Norn out of his skin.

"Hahaha! Got you there, you little rascal!" Seeing Norn's comical reaction, William laughed so hard he could hardly stand straight. "Now you've seen the power of Uncle William!"

"You scared me again!" Norn, still recovering from the fright, scolded, "Do you still want the armor?"

"You promised! One swing and it's mine!" William looked at Norn scornfully, "Are you planning on going back on your word?"

Norn was left speechless.

It was rare to see Norn at a loss, and William, having won this round, laughed again, "Come on, come on, let's go to the tavern. It's on me."

But then, remembering his empty wallet, William added, "Norn's paying, of course!"