The hall was once again in chaos; everyone knew that Segestica had suffered significant losses after last year’s war with foreign mercenaries. If any more difficulties arose, seeking help from the tribal alliance would be inevitable.
Thus, someone couldn’t help but shout, "The position of Great Chief should not be passed down from father to son. This is the damned flaw left by the Skodisqi people. We should restore our ancient tradition and elect the most capable person from the tribe to be the Great Chief together!"
As one person took the lead, everyone responded enthusiastically.
Pulikas slumped into his seat, arguing no more.
Soon, Cabdes was elected as the new Great Chief of Segestica. After all, he had been acting as the Great Chief for the better part of the year, temporarily eliminating the tribe’s hidden dangers, stabilizing order, and allowing the tribesfolk to live in peace... his abilities were recognized by everyone, something the naive Ankasus could not match.
Though he would still need to go to the Holy Forest for a ritual with Hemijias to receive the Divine’s blessing before officially becoming the Great Chief, Cabdes was about to deliver his inaugural speech, to which no one objected.
"Thank you all for your trust!" Cabdes smiled, sweeping his gaze across everyone in the hall, skipping naturally over Pulikas: "I won’t say much, over the past half year, I have spoken enough, and everyone has continuously supported me wholeheartedly.
Now, I want to tell you two pieces of good news. The first one—the emissary from the Boyi people to our north in the Pannoni Territory hopes to reconcile with us and form an alliance. After discussion in the tribal alliance, we have decided to agree to their request."
This piece of good news immediately sparked lively discussion, as the feud between the Boyi people and Pannonians had lasted for almost ten years, during which violent clashes occurred frequently, with warriors from both sides dying in battle by the thousands, leading to deep-seated hatred. Although Segestica’s territory did not border the Boyi people, it had frequently provided various supplies to the northern tribes in the past, affecting their way of life, so how could they not be shocked upon hearing this news?
Someone immediately asked in surprise, "Why do the Boyi suddenly want to ally with us?!"
"Because of the Dacians!" the Alliance Envoy interjected: "This powerful enemy from the east is extremely greedy and wants to occupy the entire Great River Plain, forcing all the tribes on the Great River Plain to unite and shatter the Dacians’ ambitions!"
The enthusiasm among the crowd immediately cooled: so the peace with the Boyi in the north was just for a new war, an even bigger war!
Before anyone could voice their thoughts, Cabdes continued loudly, "This first piece of good news brings a second piece of good news. For better combat against the Dacians in the future, we must first resolve our internal issues.
After discussion, the tribal alliance decided that, except for the Andizeti Tribe, which must fully defend against the remaining Skodisqi in the east, the other six tribes would endeavor to dispatch warriors and form an alliance army to completely eliminate the mercenaries occupying our land and threatening our safety, rescuing our captured compatriots!"
The hall suddenly erupted with excitement, though they had grown wary of the outsiders to the south, an allied force of at least fifty to sixty thousand warriors would be irresistible to the small number of mercenaries. Their captured tribesfolk finally beckoned hope!
Someone immediately asked, "When does the alliance plan to attack those foreign mercenaries?!"
Cabdes answered loudly, "After October, when our truce agreement with the mercenaries expires, as we Pannonians are committed to our promises!"
In the newly established weapons research room of the Iron Workshop, the gathered blacksmiths focused their attention on the newly arrived Deputy Officer of the Public Works Department, Kadesos.
When Kadesos was initially appointed as Deputy Officer of the Public Works Department, there was plenty of jealousy and dissent in the Iron Workshop. Some even muttered in private, "A slave who knows nothing about making weapons has climbed above us."
But with the support of Leader Maximus, the recognition of the Public Works Officer Capito, and his studious humility, diligence, and serious approach in managing the workshop affairs, he put everything in good order, actively seeking benefits for the people of the Iron Workshop.
When the first batch of pig iron was produced, he reported achievements to the tribe; when the first batch of ironware was produced, he reported achievements; when the first batch of weapons was produced, he reported achievements... thanks to him, several craftsmen in the Iron Workshop have already been promoted, and now everyone looks at him with enthusiasm.
"The leader has tasked our Iron Workshop to research and develop the weapon—Crossbow—promptly; you all have heard about this, right?" Having trained for over half the year, Kadesos no longer felt as tense and constrained as he initially did. He stood in front of the wooden table, his voice clear and loud.
"We’ve heard!" they all replied in unison.
"The leader personally drew the blueprint for the crossbow and tasked me with bringing it," Kadesos said as he unfolded the scroll in his hands.
This scroll was produced when the Paper Making Workshop, while researching new paper, unintentionally combined several types of bark. They refined the process repeatedly, creating this new paper that was thick, not easily torn, with clear and smear-free ink, which was then selected by the Public Works Department specifically for engineering and mechanical blueprints.
When Kadesos spread his arms in mid-air, unfurling the blueprint, and displayed it to everyone, all their heads stretched high, eyes wide open, instinctively leaning forward.
"This blueprint is really beautifully drawn!" Someone was the first to voice everyone’s thoughts.
Indeed, Maximus had drawn the crossbow on the blueprint, adopting some industrial drawing methods to outline it with simple and clear lines, showing the size with appropriate proportions. He also separately outlined the most complex part of the crossbow mechanism, using a sectional view to display the intricate structure inside, marking some key sections with text and numbers on the blueprint... Though none of the craftsmen had seen a crossbow before, upon seeing the blueprint, they all understood it at a glance, and it was no wonder they were impressed.
"Alright, stop crowding! Sit down; it’s not like you can’t see it!" Sistos shouted loudly from the front, and most of the craftsmen obediently sat back down.
Sistos had long since let go of his resentment against the rebel army and the despair when he was escorted into the mountain. In the Nix Tribe, he was given land, took a wife, and became the manager of weapon casting in the Iron Workshop, and was promoted for the output of the first batch of weapons.
He had not only committed himself to the Nix Tribe but also became a supporter of Leader Maximus (as Maximus personally appointed him as the manager and later praised and promoted him personally).
So he continued loudly, "Previously, we heard that Leader Maximus would personally draw the blueprint and have us make a new weapon. Many people were dismissive. Now, are you convinced?"
"This blueprint is exceptionally well-drawn! Better than the flag of our tribe!"
"Of course! Our leader has always been under the favor of the Divine!"
The craftsmen started discussing heatedly.
"Please be quiet!" Kadesos raised his voice, "Does everyone have confidence in making this crossbow?"
"Yes! Yes!..." The craftsmen clamored.
"Keep calm! Stop causing a ruckus!" Sistos stood up again, his shout reducing the din somewhat.
Then he turned to Kadesos and said, "The leader’s blueprint is very clear. We have no doubts about making this crossbow. From its structure, it looks much simpler than the Crossbow Cannon; its most complex part is right here—"
Sistos pointed with his finger at the sectional diagram of the crossbow mechanism on the blueprint, and then confidently stated, "However, we have the experience of maintaining Crossbow Cannons and modifying Crossbows. There’s no problem at all in making it."
"This crossbow, apart from the crossbow mechanism and bowstring, is all made of wood." Midosacus joined in. He was the best woodworker in the Iron Workshop, unlike Tetilipus from the construction team, who excelled in wooden buildings. Midosacus had worked for many years at the Sarabia Iron Lacquer Workshop, making the wooden surfaces of shields and the shafts of long spears and javelins... Now, in the Nix Tribe’s Iron Workshop, he was the deputy manager of weapon casting, overseeing a group of carpenters in the workshop.
He continued, "Sistos is right. The most complex part of this crossbow is the mechanism, but the most troublesome part is this crossbow arm.
Since this crossbow lacks a torsion device, to shoot arrows far with enough penetrating power, the crossbow arm must be made from wood with strong elasticity. I reckon yew and ash wood might be suitable, but whether they’re suitable requires testing various woods as crossbow arms."
"This Crossbow Arrowhead might also be tricky." Pessianaxis interjected.
He had a situation somewhat similar to Sistos; he and his father first married within the Nix Tribe and received land. Moreover, as the blacksmith most adept at crafting everyday iron tools (since he used to run a forge independently in Pompey, dealing with daily work like creating household items), he was appointed as the manager of the household ironwork in the Iron Workshop.
Recently, he collaborated with the Agricultural Department to develop the Curved Plow, earning commendation and promotion from the tribe, which made him fully loyal to the tribe.
At this moment, he pointed at the blueprint and said, "This is a triangular arrowhead. To forge such an arrowhead, we first need to create a special mold, use a crucible to melt iron, and after solidifying the pig iron, we must incorporate carbon and hammer it. This is a time-consuming and labor-intensive task. If the arrowhead is changed to a blade-shaped edge, it would be much easier."
"That’s not possible!" Kadesos was resolute, "The leader specifically emphasized that the Crossbow Arrowhead must be made in this triangular shape because it can pierce armor!"