Chapter 621 Factory
?Planet Jura-- Ancestral Continent-- The main Divine weapons Factory in Ancestral Continent
"Boss Gerard Burton, why don't you just listen to me? Don't you see that logic is on my and the rest of the men's side?!" A man who appeared to be in his forties shouted. It was clear that this conversation had been going on for a while
*baam* *baam*
An old man who looked to be in his sixties stopped striking the flaming broad sword in front of him and wiped his sweat, "What kind of logic is this that says we should ignore His Excellency's orders and reduce the production of divine weapons? Have you all gone crazy?"
The forty-year-old man took two steps, "Please think about it! Recently, the divine weapons factories and divine blacksmiths have increased dramatically in order to cover the invasion of Planet Greenland, but this has caused the market to be flooded with golden armor and weapons. How many complete sets of armor have we made so far? Nearly 4 million! The army in Greenland has already had enough and they no longer need anything except perhaps some arrows or replacing damaged parts from time to time! What will happen after a year or two in your opinion if we continue production at this intensity?"
Boss Gerard Burton looked behind him indignantly, "Hmph, so what if we are asked to stop? That means we have done our duty. Weasley, your demand that we reduce our production to 10% of our total capacity and demand that the salaries of blacksmiths be raised five-fold is a betrayal of His Excellency's trust!"
"This is not my request alone, but rather the request of the workers' union in the factory. Golden armor and weapons are the basis of the *heroics* of that army in Greenland, but we are forgotten in the background and treated as ordinary craftsmen! Tell me, what will we do after we are asked to stop? Will we return to farming and selling cheese and dairy in stores?!" The man called Weasley became even more agitated
"Firstly, the divine weapons and armor are the innovation and design of His Excellency, and you should thank him for giving us an opportunity to learn about this innovation and work on it. Secondly, if this happens and we are asked to stop production, then simply go and register in the army! I heard that His Excellency is planning to expand into new worlds. Alas, you were foolish and refused to go with him to Greenland and obtain the lands and riches there, then at least prepare for the incoming wars, you as might as well get a share." *Baam* *Baam* Gerard laughed and went back to releasing the sword before it got cold
"Those riches should have been distributed to us whether we went or not!" Weasley shouted, sparks shooting from his eyes. "I, a saint from the noble family of Brighton, must either enlist in the army of His Excellency or work here as a blacksmith or a Rune Master to gain a status worthy of myself, while these rabble from the four continents have while new cities and own vast lands over there? And now even the divine blacksmithing profession is being threatened? No no, we will not allow this!"
"Weasley, you'd better watch your words carefully! There are no more nobles and servants on the Ancestral Continent nor anywhere else on the surface of Planet Jura so don't forget this. You don't *deserve* anything either, If someone wants something, they have to work hard to get it. If you wanted to go with the army and get those spoils, you would have gone, but your hatred has blinded you and these friends of yours. But why would I care? Whether you go or not, this has nothing to do with me, and it will not make any difference to His Excellency who owns the Demon army! Do as you wish~ It is good I have your help here at least, hehe." Then Gerard Burton paused for a moment and looked behind him, "I will say it one last time, son of a noble family, go back to your work, you and that workers' union of yours, and do what you are told, otherwise leave my factory and go do whatever you want outside. There is nothing easier than asking a few young men from other continents to come and work, perhaps employing people from the ancestral continent in the central factory was a mistake from the start." Then he went back to knocking on the sword again *BAAM* *BAAM* *BAAM*
"..Is this your last word?" Came Weasley's trembling voice from behind him
Gerard laughed out loud, "Yes, that's all that I have to say, we will do just what His Excellency says with no word less or added, and whoever doesn't like it should crash his head against the wall!"
*Sha*
"Arghgh-- gggghh- ggggh- ggggh!"
"What was that?!" At that moment, Gerard heard a gurgling sound coming from behind him, and when he quickly looked back, he saw a strange sight
He saw a person wearing a black mask and all-black clothes standing behind Weasley, that person was gagging Weasley's mouth with his left hand while stabbing his neck with a short black dagger in his right hand!
*hustle* *hustle*
Even Gerard Burton, a Level 27 Saint, couldn't help himself and took a few steps back, running into the table and falling on top of the flaming sword he was working on, "Argh!!"
*Bam*
"Hush." The masked man threw Wesley's body aside and gestured with his hand for Gerard to lower his voice.
"You... Are you from a Shadow Sword?" Even after Gerard took in the scene in front of him, he continued to stutter, "What do you want from us? Why did you kill my assistant?!"
The Shadow Sword didn't say a word, just looked at the corpse next to him and then kicked something that was in Weasley's hand
*Shhhh*
It was a short, white, curved dagger, and there were drops of blue liquid still dripping from it, "...Is this the deadly ivory dagger? This blade is very precious and just a scratch from it causes rapid rotting at the spot of the wound and there is no cure for that rotting, And on top of this dagger is also poisoned with blue lake snake poison? Why is it in his hand?!"
Finally a voice that did not sound normal came out from the masked man, "Wesley Brighton bought this dagger and poison two days ago at an illegal auction and we were watching him to find out what he intended to use it for. We know now."
"Are you saying that he intended to use it to kill me? No, no, no... Why? There is nothing between me and him other than work, I don't even know him personally... All this because I refused to reduce production?!" Old Gerard slowly stood up, leaning on the overturned table. The look of panic on his face made it seem that he had aged another hundred years. Until this moment, he did not realize how close he was to death.
"Do not worry about the reasons, we know them well and are following them closely." The upnormal voice of the Shadow Sword sounded again
"Really? What are the reasons that might push him to kill me when I am a member of the Burton family? Doesn't he know that an intense investigation might get him and his entire family killed?!" Old Gerard took a step forward, the absolute status of the Burton family members was beyond discussion now, the fact that most of them lived in the imperial capital now and only a small number of them were allowed outside of it in order to run the world was enough to show their status!
But Old Gerard's question was met with silence, and a cold look that sent a shiver down his spine, the Shadow sword cleary wasn't ready to say a word about this
"...Thank you for saving my life." When Gerard knew that he would not take any information from him, so he just took a deep breath and bowed slightly in thanks
"No need. I swore an oath to do these sort of things." the Shadow Sword responded with a frown, then bent down to pick up the corpse and place it on his shoulder. He then took out a few scrolls of the Space Ring in his left hand and handed them to the old man, "His Excellency sent instructions today and you will obey: All Divine Blacksmiths must provide half of their workers to produce these designs, as for the other half, let them continue working on the golden armor set and increase production further if you can."
"I hear and obey!" Old Gerard received the scrolls with both hands with a full bow
*Shh~*
When the old man raised his head again, the shadow sword had disappeared along with the corpse. He let out a long sigh of relief, then opened the scrolls and began to examine them slowly, "This is...?!"