Chapter 19: Chapter 18 The Evil in the Alley

Early the next morning, declining his best friend George's suggestion to go to the forest to pick nuts again, Rein arrived at the blacksmith shop.

Upon entering the blacksmith shop, he was immediately greeted by a wave of intense heat. The apprentices were all busy with their own tasks, while the blacksmith Boris Patton was forging an iron sword, which instantly caught Rein's eye.

Just as he was about to move closer to get a better look, Drews, who was working the bellows, eagerly waved at Rein, "Rein! You're here!"

Hearing this memorable name, the blacksmith apprentices, who had been concentrating on their work, were all startled!

Suddenly, a few of the burly apprentices exchanged glances, seeing a sense of urgency in each other's eyes.

The expression on their faces seemed to convey, "Why is this kid here again! And this time, he's not even coming in the afternoon but bright and early in the morning, bad luck!!"

The blacksmith Boris, who rarely took the initiative to greet anyone, called out, "Rein, you're here!"

"Yes, Uncle Boris! Oh, you're making a Longsword today!" Rein pretended to have just noticed and took two steps forward, planning to observe Boris's forging technique.

The glowing hot sword embryo was clearly longer than the average one-handed sword.

"That's right, today I'm making a Bastard Sword for a friend!" Boris said succinctly.

Rein suddenly understood; he knew what a Bastard Sword was, a type of sword that fell between one-handed swords and two-handed swords.

It had advantages in length and offensive power over a one-handed sword, and was more convenient to carry than a two-handed sword. Nobility, Bounty Hunters, or mercenaries often used it and it required some time to train in order to use it with agility.

"By the way, Rein, last time you got familiar with working the bellows, so continue to help Drews with the bellows today," Boris didn't let Rein sit idle and quickly gave him a task.

"Okay, Uncle Boris!" Although it was just working the bellows again, Rein agreed promptly.

Rein also wanted to learn other things like casting, forging nails, pots, and such, but trust between people takes time to build.

If Rein had money now, he certainly could speed up this relationship, and maybe even get Boris the miser to start teaching him to forge some kind of ironware today.

But alas, he was poor!

Thinking of this, Rein felt a strong sense of annoyance toward Hamilton, the newly appointed Sheriff.

Rein walked over to the bellows, and Drews, with a joyous expression, quickly stepped aside, "Rein, you were already skillful at working the bellows last time, so I'll leave this to you."

After speaking, Drews moved as agilely as a monkey, quickly joining Boris at his side, with an eager-to-learn expression, watching the creation of the Bastard Sword.

Rein smiled to himself, betting that it wouldn't be long before Drews would be assigned to other tasks by Boris.

Sure enough, within five minutes, Boris sent Drews off to smelt iron ingots....

Rein couldn't help but chuckle to himself; Boris Patton was notoriously stingy with his craft in Flashgold Town, without cold, hard cash, he definitely wouldn't teach you anything substantial in a short time.

Unless you spent enough time in the blacksmith shop!

No longer distracted by watching others, Rein began to focus on the task of working the bellows!

[You have performed the bellows work, and your comprehension has increased!]

[Your Skill in working the bellows has improved, Experience +3]

[You focused on the blower, Blacksmith Apprentice Professional Experience Points +1]

Aside from going home at noon to have lunch with his family, Rein spent the entire Sunday at the blacksmith shop.

Of course, the results were gratifying!

Rein flipped to the second page of the framework, the Blacksmith Apprentice professional panel. Blacksmith Apprentice lv3 was more than halfway completed, meaning that if everything went well, he would be able to advance to lv4 by next Sunday.

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[Blacksmith Apprentice lv3 (265/500)]

[Stoking Blower lv3 (395/500)]

[Hoof Trimming lv2 (295/300)]

[Nailing Horseshoes lv1 (56/100)]

As dusk approached, an exhausted Rein stepped out of the blacksmith's shop, ready to return to the Habsburg Manor.

At the same time, not far from Rein, something sinister was happening in a secluded alley!

In a low house, a skinny boy was about to go out to buy some stuff when suddenly, his mouth was covered with a piece of rag!

Immediately, the skinny boy began to struggle.

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"Damn it! Kid, behave!" a deep male voice exclaimed!

The next second, a sharp dagger, gleaming with a cold light, appeared in front of the boy.

Instantly, the little boy dared not struggle any longer.

A piece of hemp rope quickly bounded the little boy tightly, and a piece of coarse cloth was stuffed into his mouth before a pair of strong hands put him into a large black bag.

Soon after, two burly figures carrying black bags disappeared quickly into the alley.

"Boss, what does the higher-up want with so many kids?"

"Including this one, we've already nabbed the eleventh child! I heard the other brothers are snatching kids too?"

"Could it be that the nobles' demand for boys and girls has spiked recently?"

"But... Could the nobles really fancy these skinny, odd-smelling street urchins or poor kids?" Scarface seemed puzzled, turning his head in doubt to ask his companion with the scruffy beard.

"Scarface! Is this something you need to worry about? The higher-ups have made their request; as long as the money is right, we just do our job. Why bother asking so many questions!" the scruffy-bearded man retorted irritably.

However, after some thought, he seemed to agree there was some sense in Scarface's words and added, "It's probably not the demand of the nobles in the County Town. I heard this might be the request of the Wilderness Brotherhood."

"But, you'd better not inquire too much about these matters in front of others, or I'm afraid you won't know how you died!"

"Yes, yes! You're right, boss!"

"By the way, boss, we've nearly combed through the northern part of Flashgold Town. In a few days, I'll check out the south side."

"Be careful. The new sheriff, Hamilton, seems to be paying close attention to this matter; it's going to be troublesome if he gets wind of it!" warned the man with the scruffy beard.

"Don't worry, boss! I push a snack cart along the streets; I can spot suitable targets with one glance!" Scarface assured while tapping his chest.

"Hey boss, when we get this batch of money, where shall we go to have some fun first? The quality at Flashgold Town's brothels is too low. Shouldn't we go back to the County Town to play for a few days and lay low at the same time?!" Scarface seemed to think of something delightful, his face showing a sleazy look.

"Damn it! Scarface, you'll end up dead on a woman's belly someday! But you also make a point; after we get the money, we'll make a trip back to the County Town," the scruffy-bearded man consented after some thought.

"Wearing this skin mask is so uncomfortable; it's too tight! Boss, can you make me a new one?" the burly man known as Scarface complained.

"....."

Rein thought he heard some noise from the nearby alley, but after stopping to listen for a while, he shook his head and continued on his way to Habsburg Manor.

What he didn't know was that he had just passed by an evil deed!

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