Chapter 579: The Arc de Triomphe at the Foot of Akina Mountain
A strong wind suddenly blew up, and the grass and trees were broken.
More than ten riders turned from the official road and drove onto the stone-paved road. The sound of horse hooves, which had been somewhat dull before, suddenly became noisy.
The knights were galloping silently when one of them suddenly called out, "Sir, please go ahead for a moment. Let me get some snacks!"
As he said this, he turned his horse's head and galloped towards the gentle slope on the left. After running about ten steps, he leaned over and reached for the horse's belly, and found an iron bow in his hand.
He let go of the reins, drew a feather from the quiver, and without even taking aim, he drew his bow and shot an arrow.
He then
At this time, the dozen or so riders could only barely hold the reins.
He returned to the team, raised the musk deer into the air, and said, "We'll roast it in the workshop at noon, so that the brothers can have a snack."
Seeing this, everyone couldn't help but focus their attention on the leader Sun Shaozong, wanting to see how he would deal with this person.
However, Sun Shaozong did not rush to express his opinion. He still sat upright on his horse, looking at the people and animals opposite him calmly.
On the contrary, Xu Shouye on the side could not hold back any longer. He kicked his horse's belly and rushed out from the crowd, scolding him harshly: "Han Bang! Do you have any rules in your eyes?"
"rule?"
The Han Bang put the deer on the horse's back, leaned back, and said with a playful smile: "Captain Xu, may I ask whose rule you are talking about? The court hasn't issued an order yet, so it seems that we are not under your command at the moment, right?"
"you……"
Xu Shouye became more and more angry and was about to continue scolding, but Sun Shaozong raised his hand to stop him.
After Xu Shouye stepped aside, Sun Shaozong looked at the Han Bang, feeling quite speechless.
He originally thought that with his recent fame and the connections he had built up in the military, he would be able to easily subdue this ragtag army.
Who would have thought that there were still some blind people who would jump out and force him to establish his authority.
Han Bang is a captain in the patrol battalion. He is well-known in the army for his riding and archery skills, but he is a scoundrel who always refuses to move forward and instead walks backwards all day long. As a result, after more than ten years in the army, he is still stuck at the sixth rank.
Originally, Sun Shaozong didn't take this brainless and reckless man seriously, but now that he was provoked in person, he had no choice but to cheer up and deal with it.
He urged his horse to walk slowly forward, staring at Han Bang for a few more times. He saw that although this guy still had his neck stiff and his face full of arrogance, the veins on his hands that were holding the reins and the iron bow were bulging.
This guy...
Could it be that he is planning to attack me?
Sun Shaozong couldn't help laughing, stretched out his hand in front of him and said, "Bring the bow here so I can see it."
Han Bang was stunned and subconsciously wanted to refuse, but he really couldn't find a suitable reason - even though Sun Shaozong had not officially become his superior, he was still three levels higher in rank [fourth-rank councilor].
That's all.
Anyway, I still have a sword!
Thinking of this, Han Bang put his hand on the hilt of the knife and handed the iron bow forward. However, he was unwilling to hand it directly to Sun Shaozong. He stopped when he was still an inch away from it.
This is so awkward!
No wonder the entire patrol battalion was determined to transfer him to themselves, as if he were the plague god.
Sun Shaozong was too lazy to waste words with him, so he took the iron bow and played with it back and forth in his hand.
Han Bang watched coldly and couldn't help but sneer secretly. If this guy surnamed Sun wanted to imitate the story of Li Guang in the opera and break his own bowstring to show his authority, he would be asking for humiliation.
The bowstring of his iron-framed bow was made of several strands of high-quality silk. Normally, it would not be fully pulled unless it had a force of 400 kilograms.
In order to tear it apart, a force of at least six or seven hundred kilograms would be required .
Just as Han Bang was expressing his disdain, he suddenly saw Sun Shaozong do a strange movement - he grabbed one end of the bow with each hand, and then began to slowly squeeze towards the middle.
Is this guy surnamed Sun crazy?
The body of his iron-frame bow is made of wrought iron wrapped with beef tendons, cowhide, silk, hemp and other materials, and its toughness is far superior to that of the bowstring.
If you want to destroy this bow, you'd need to use a force of not only six or seven hundred kilograms, but even a thousand kilograms would be enough!
Thinking of this, Han Bang couldn't help but sneer, just waiting to see Sun Shaozong make a fool of himself.
However……
The bow that seemed indestructible in his mind, slowly bent inwards, bent again and again, and finally closed together right under his eyes the next moment!
That’s not all. Sun Shaozong even put the hooks for hanging the strings at both ends together and twisted them into a twist shape.
Ding~!
The bow, like an iron ring, slammed heavily on the bluestone slab, causing sparks to fly everywhere.
this……
How is this possible? !
Han Bang almost popped his eyes out for a moment, because no one knew better than him what kind of extraordinary strength was needed to achieve this!
In the dead silence, Sun Shaozong patted Han Bang on the shoulder with a smile and said, "How can such a rotten thing be worthy of a divine archery? When you go to the Military Construction Bureau, I will personally pick a good bow for you!"
Although he had no strength in his hands, Han Bang was still so frightened that his body tilted to one side and he almost fell off his horse.
After finally stabilizing his position, he saw that Sun Shaozong had already arrived in front.
He looked at Sun Shaozong's back, then at the iron-framed bow that he treasured like a treasure but was discarded like a piece of trash by others, and he was distraught for a moment.
"Sharpshooter? What a joke!"
But someone said arrogantly: "Our Lord Sun can hold up a heavy shield weighing hundreds of pounds and walk briskly. Let alone the iron-framed bow you are using, what can a crossbow do?"
This is really an exaggeration.
Sun Shaozong was secretly rubbing his palms when he heard someone describe himself as a humanoid Gundam. He could not help but glance back, only to see that the one bragging was none other than Wang Zhen, the only seventh-rank inspector in the team - he had now been transferred to the Huben Camp.
Sure enough, even if he hadn’t become a eunuch, this guy was still a good flatterer.
They should have continued on their way, but Sun Shaozong had been pretending to be too cool just now. He looked as if nothing had happened, but in fact his hands were as soft as noodles, as if he was afraid that he would be exposed if he sped up.
So he pretended to ask Xu Shouye who was standing beside him: "Brother Xu, how far is it to the General's Office?"
Fortunately, he was too busy before and just asked someone to send the size over instead of coming to measure it in person, otherwise it would have been difficult to bring up the topic.
"Not far away."
Xu Shouye pointed to an inconspicuous hill in front and said, "This road was built for the General Construction Supervisor. When you go around the Akina Mountain, you can see the main gate of the General Construction Supervisor."
Needless to say.
This so-called Akina Mountain was naturally the work of Prince Yoshitada.
At the beginning, he was attracted by the terrain here, surrounded by mountains and rivers, and wanted to move the General's Office here. But he thought the original name was not nice, so he changed it to Akina Mountain.
"Akina Mountain, this name is really appropriate for the occasion."
Sun Shaozong talked nonsense in a serious manner, rubbing his hands desperately in his sleeves. After finally regaining some consciousness, he led the team to continue rushing towards the Military Construction Bureau.
Just as Xu Shouye said, after passing the Akina Mountain, a majestic iron gate appeared in front of everyone.
The heavy door panels that are two meters high and two and a half meters wide, the solemn heavy metal tones, and the reliefs of strange beasts that seem to be rushing towards you are enough to shock every stranger who arrives for the first time.
but……
What the hell are those three words "Arc de Triomphe" carved on the lintel? !
Seeing him looking at the door lintel, Xu Shouye explained, "I heard that when Prince Yi Zhong supervised the construction of this gate, he declared that the weapons that went out from here would bring one victory after another, so they simply named it the 'Arc de Triomphe'."
Tsk~
This Prince Yizhong really enjoys himself whenever he gets the chance!
Sun Shaozong wordlessly urged his horse forward, and the soldier guarding the gate immediately shouted, "Who is coming?!"
"Sun Shaozong, the commander of the Northern Pacification Division, has come here on behalf of the Ministry of War to inspect the weapons of his troops."
Sun Shaozong dismounted from his horse and took out the document and seal from his bosom and handed them to the inspector outside the door.
After the guard checked and confirmed everything was correct, he did not let Sun Shaozong in, but sent someone else in to report.
Not long after, a minor official in a green robe came out hurriedly, holding his robe.
"Your humble servant Zhang Yi, the left school commander, greets Lord Sun."
Although the Left School Commander was of the eighth rank, he was in charge of the army's weapons treasury, and was the best person to receive everyone.
Sun Shaozong exchanged a few polite words with him, but as he was thinking about another matter, he could not help but urge him to go and check the weapons.
Zhang Yi naturally did not dare to be negligent, and hurriedly led everyone into the workshop, where they checked the weapons and equipment that had been prepared long ago.
Because Prince Yoshitada introduced assembly line operations and hydraulic forging machines became increasingly sophisticated, these weapons, although not precisely crafted, were solid and durable.
After checking all the way, no one was found to have cut corners. Seeing that no one was dissatisfied, Sun Shaozong casually chose an iron-framed bow for the Han gang and prepared to make a move.
Finish the task early so that you can go to the Buddhist holy place to have a private meeting with the You sisters while it is still early.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Yi said that the weapons that Sun Shaozong had ordered earlier had already been produced, so it would be better to inspect them as well.
So I had no choice but to follow him to another separate warehouse.
This warehouse is filled with fine equipment that were custom-made by military generals. They are displayed on the shelves in a glittering manner. Some of the small ones are even placed in special boxes.
It is for this reason that the golden hammer and mace ordered by Sun Shaozong seem particularly rustic.
Not to mention others, even Sun Shaozong felt that his weapon was too hasty.
Of course, in terms of durability alone, I guess there are not many that can stand up to the test in the entire warehouse.
Sun Shaozong shook it in his hand, feeling a little dizzy and uncomfortable, but considering that he has not yet fully recovered from the exhaustion, this thing should be quite handy.
But this black sound, compared with the weapons next to it, is really...
Especially there is a Fang Tian Hua Ji next to it, shining silver and standing tall, with some red tassels in the middle, which makes it refreshing no matter how you look at it.
Seeing him sizing up the Fang Tian Hua Ji, Zhang Yi couldn't help but smile and said, "Sir, don't be fooled by how shiny that thing looks. It's just a showpiece, used by the guards in front of the palace."
As he spoke, he pointed at the hammer in Sun Shaozong's hand and praised: "You are different now. If you really go to the battlefield, you will die if you hit it or rub it!"
No matter how powerful it is, it still lacks some decency.
That's all.
Who told us to be in such a hurry to leave Beijing that we don't have the time to wait for them to finish their work?
Otherwise, if it could be delayed for another month or two, it shouldn't be a problem to make a Fang Tian Hua Ji or Qing Long Yan Yue Dao that can be used in actual combat.
Sun Shaozong reluctantly put the hammer back to its original position and was about to call everyone to leave when he suddenly heard Wang Zhen exclaim, " What kind of weapon is this?!"
Everyone couldn't help but look in the direction of the voice, only to see that Wang Zhen had slipped to the innermost part of the armory without them knowing when.
There were also many weapon racks there, but one of them was different - it was completely wrapped in red silk.
At this time, Wang Zhen was lifting the red silk and looking inside, praising it with a sound of admiration: "This sword is really unique. I wonder who ordered it..."
It turned out to be a sword.
Sun Shaozong lost interest immediately. Swords were mostly used in single combat, and required lightness and speed. They were totally incompatible with a man of his stature and great strength.
Just as he was about to call Wang Zhen back, Wang Zhen suddenly lifted up the red silk, pointed at the weapon inside and shouted, "Sir, I'm afraid this sword is only for you."
But all they saw was a giant sword five feet long lying on the ebony rack, facing everyone sideways.
The hilt of the sword was a dark blue that was almost black, which gradually faded from the guard to a dazzling silver-blue at the edge of the blade.
For some reason, the sword was embossed with a goat-headed demon, the demon's horns were wrapped around the guard, and two crescent-shaped inverted blades extended from the beard on its chin.
Under the crescent-shaped inverted blade, the blades on both sides present two completely different shapes: sawtooth and concave half-moon...
Why does this thing look familiar?
And this sheep-headed demon thing should be a feudal superstition of foreigners, right?
Could it be that...
"This is something that was made back then..."
Zhang Yi secretly groaned when he saw Wang Zhen digging this thing out, but seeing that everyone was curious, he could only stammer, "It's been made for more than ten years, and it's been sitting in the warehouse."
"What about those days..."
Some were so ignorant as to ask further questions, but were stopped by their companions.
The only thing that could make the General Administration of Works so taboo was something that was personally supervised by Prince Yoshitada.
Sun Shaozong secretly thought that it was true, but he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Does this sword have a name?"
"This sword is called Frostmourne..."
Damn~
This Prince Yizhong is really...
No wonder it felt familiar. Although Sun Shaozong had never played World of Warcraft, Warcraft 3 accompanied him for several years.
When he looked at the sword carefully again, he felt a little strange. After a while, he couldn't help but ask, "Can this sword be used in actual combat?"
