Leather Armor

With money in hand, the mercenaries naturally indulged in some pleasures, and the tents outside the camp were once again in high demand for the night.

But the next day, some mercenaries with a keen sense of smell detected a slightly different atmosphere.

When Norn finished his work for the day, he saw that all the mercenaries had taken their weapons and gear to the open ground for maintenance.

Although these mercenaries were notoriously stingy and rarely added new equipment throughout the year, they took great care of the weapons and gear they had captured.

Norn saw big Bill, who was usually tight-lipped, but when he was sharpening his short sword, his expression was incredibly focused, and his movements were precise, ensuring the blade was maximally honed.

Norn bet that Bill hadn't been this attentive when he had been "spreading warmth" around the camp's perimeter a few days ago.

In addition to Bill, over 50 other mercenaries were organizing their gear, taking out their guns, spears, and hammers, oiling them where needed, sharpening them, and checking if the wooden handles needed replacement.

Looking at these mercenaries dressed in all sorts of mismatched gear, Norn realized that these guys had at least something, even if it was just a couple of weapons and a patched-up suit of armor.

As for himself and Jinn, each had only a helmet, a somewhat defenseless brigandine or leather cuirass, and a shield and spear.

"Armor! Armor! Where can I get some armor?" Norn muttered to himself. After all, on the battlefield, having a high-quality suit of armor would increase his chances of survival.

But looking at his somewhat empty wallet, he knew he couldn't afford a top-quality heavy chainmail.

Norn thought for a moment, then found Jinn and asked, "Jinn, do you want armor?"

"Of course I do! But I don't have any money!" Jinn looked at his equally empty wallet and could only shake his head helplessly.

"How much do you have?"

Jinn took out a small purse and said bitterly, "That's all I've got."

Norn counted out 200 silver dinars and said, "Give it to me! I'll get you a set." With that, he disappeared.

An hour later, when Norn came back, he was carrying a large bundle.

"Jinn! Come help me!"

Jinn quickly took the bundle from Norn and opened it to find a bundle of cowhide and a clay pot.

"Enno, are you planning to make armor out of this?"

"Yep!" Norn took out his dagger, roughly measured the cowhide, and then began to cut out the material for two vests. The dagger struggled a bit against the tanned cowhide, and it took Norn quite a bit of effort to cut it out.

Jinn took the cut cowhide and tentatively tore at it a couple of times, realizing that the strength wasn't enough, and asked disappointedly, "Is this going to work?"

"Trust me!"

Norn took the cowhide from Jinn and threw it into a large pot to boil.

"This is only going to make cowhide soup!" Jinn was a bit bewildered.

"Add this and it'll be fine." Norn slowly poured a pot of light yellow, viscous liquid into the pot.

Jinn, smelling the strange aroma from the pot, couldn't help but ask curiously, "What is this?"

"Beeswax!" Norn replied, then muttered, "Ah! If only we had more time, I could have haggled the price down even more."

"But this amount of beeswax probably won't be very effective."

Norn said, and then, smashing the empty pot on the ground, he picked up the largest shard and handed it to Jinn.

"Jinn, don't just stand there. Find a stone and grind these shards into fine powder and add it in."

Jinn, looking at the confident Norn, had no choice but to suppress his doubts and follow through.

As the cooking continued, the water in the pot gradually evaporated, and the beeswax and pottery powder that had been added began to be absorbed by the cowhide. The cowhide thus became increasingly swollen.

When the last bit of water had evaporated, Norn picked up the cowhide and examined it closely. The originally rough surface now had a luster, and it felt much smoother to the touch. Norn then flicked it forcefully with his finger.

"Ding!"

The originally soft cowhide made a crisp sound.

Norn bent the cowhide and felt like he was bending a piece of fairly hard plastic.

Seeing this leather armor, Norn nodded in satisfaction and then tossed it to Jinn.

"Put it on yourself."

Jinn, holding the leather armor, couldn't help but admire it. Having been a hunter, he quickly found some grass ropes to lace the front and back of the leather armor together and then put it on.

"Enno, what do you think?"

Jinn, wearing the leather armor, spun around confidently, wanting Norn's opinion.

But in Norn's eyes, due to his rough craftsmanship, the cowhide had many rough edges when cut, the steaming was uneven, resulting in a mottled color, and the lacing was crooked.

Overall, Jinn looked like he was wearing a poor-quality burlap sack.

But for just 200 silver dinars, you can't expect too much.

Norn pulled himself together and insincerely praised, "It's pretty good!"

Jinn immediately broke into a bright smile, looking like a golden retriever that had just received a reward from its owner, wagging its tail with joy.

"You little rascal, your craftsmanship is bad!" A slightly husky female voice sounded from behind Norn.

Norn turned around to see Gillna, with Anna, bringing over some washed clothes.

Gillna, looking at the poorly made leather armor, frowned in dissatisfaction and then held out her hand.

"Give it to me. I'll fix it up for you."

Norn was taken aback and couldn't help but look at Anna.

"What? Are you worried I'll steal your cheap goods?" Gillna couldn't help but get a bit impatient.

Seeing Anna give a gentle smile, Norn had no choice but to hand over the two sets of leather armor.

Gillna, familiar with the process, greeted a mercenary and borrowed some tools, then began to carefully smooth the edges of the leather armor.

At this moment, Gillna's gaze was soft, and her every move was full of maternal tenderness. Coupled with her naturally pretty face, there was no trace of her usual toughness.

Taking advantage of Gillna's busyness, Norn pulled Anna aside and whispered, "Anna, there's going to be a battle here. You should leave with Gillna and the other merchants."

But Anna's eyes were calm, clearly already aware of the news.

"Gillna has told me," Anna's lips parted slightly, speaking calmly but firmly, "But someone needs to take care of the wounded and do the cooking here."

"Nonsense! This battle is different from the others. I won't be able to protect you!" Norn put on a fierce face and said loudly.

"If you're not around, where else could I go?" A hint of sorrow flashed in Anna's eyes. "Follow Gillna?"

Norn was left speechless, not knowing how to respond.

"If that's the case, I'd rather stay with you!"

Anna stared straight at Norn, the gleam in her eyes making Norn a bit uncomfortable to look at directly.

"Don't worry," Anna's lips curled into a slight smile as she pulled out the dagger from Norn's waist, "I can protect myself!"

But in Anna's heart, she added, "At least I won't be a burden to you."