Nightfall
The status quo has held for a handful of hours since the wall of fire has gone up, and about half the enemy has been killed.
Unfortunately, the Greek Fire is calculated to last at most an hour more, and the wall of fire is already threatening to go out.
Even though she came up with the genius idea of using water mages to spread the Greek Fire over the enemy, Rui has long determined that it's impossible to hold the city walls till the end, and has already made preparations for a battle within the city itself. In fact, if you think about it, it's amazing that a city with only at most 2 thousand people could last this long against a 50 thousand strong army.
While we're fighting, civilians have been setting up roadblocks all over the city in order to channel the enemy into choke points while craftsmen and rogues were working together to set up as many traps as they could before retreating back into the safety of the castle.
The latest orders are for all of us to fall back and rest, leaving behind only the fresh reserves who are about to arrive soon.
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After some consideration, it is predicted that the army will press their advantage and fight throughout the night, while at the same time taking advantage of the bonuses they will receive.
Because of this, we are ordered to get as much sleep as possible before they eventually break through.
But even if you tell us that, is there anyone who can sleep while knowing that they'll be attacked in the middle of the night?
As a result, players and NPCs are running about trying to get as much done as possible in order to get ready for battle.
Bards are tuning their instruments while priests and paladins are praying to Freya. Blacksmiths are kept busy repairing equipment and mass producing ammo while alchemists are preparing potions and poisons to hand out. There are even chefs running about distributing food and drinks to keep the soldiers satiated.
And then there's me...
*I am completely unprepared for this!*
Thinking that we were going to fight the entire battle keeping the enemy out, I spent all my free time last night making Sunblocks, leaving all my other gear underleveled.
*Looks like I'm going to have to pull another all nighter...*
First, make a list of the gear I will need for the upcoming battle.
The location will be in town. Most probably in a street or alleyway.
We'll be fighting in a group, against what would probably be waves of enemies.
We may have to move about a lot, therefore, anything to difficult to run with (like the Sunblock) should be avoided.
Therefore, I will need a quick firing weapon in order to fight with multiple enemies. Preferably something that I can fire in bursts so that I can take advantage of the barricades being set up in said alleyways and streets.
Now that the warriors are fully armed, I can expect some of the warriors (and even the Cyclopes and imps) to be carrying throwing weapons. I will need something that can be used to protect myself against projectiles.
A shield would definitely be useful, but as an Archer, I am prohibited from using one. Not to mention, I wouldn't be able to shoot while using it.
Perhaps there's a way to combine both offense and defense?
I've taken a look at the stats of the team that I've been assigned to. With such a well balanced team, we should be able to handle the enemy easily enough.
That is, if everything goes well.
What if they somehow flank us from behind? Or if our tank dies?
In which case I'll have to be prepared to take the front lines.
And that means a melee weapon.
And that means a Sword-Bow.
Well, It's not as though I hadn't been planning to upgrade it in the first place, so that's alright.
*Which reminds me, I need to add a winch to the Sunblock, to make it easier to draw. But that's for another time.*
Now that I had a general idea of what I needed to do, I set off to find a Blacksmith who could help me.
After all, regardless of my skills, there are certain things I can't do. For example, I lack a piece of spring steel thin enough to make actual springs, as well as the time and tools needed for the job.
Of course, I could simply buy the materials and the tools, but with time being such a finite resource, I decided it was best to outsource certain things.
Weaving my way through town, I opened my ears and listened out for the sound of hammers, as well as looking out for the characteristic red glow that signaled the presence of a smithy.
Eventually, I found a group of Blacksmiths who seemed to be mass producing ammunition for our archers and commissioned them to help me make a few items, as well as asking them for permission to use their furnace alongside them.
With that settled, I set up my worktable next to theirs and began carving out some wood.
*If I had more time, I would make the entire thing out of metal, like I did with the Dragon's Breath.*
Unfortunately, time was something that I'm short on supply with. Making the main body out of wood would save me the time needed to carve out a mold to hammer the sheet metal into.
Instead I'll carve out the main body by chopping a block of wood in half lengthwise, carve out the interior and exterior profile, and then glue the two halves back together and bind them in metal.
I guess in a way, it is the reverse of what I did previously with the Dragon's Breath. I will be hammering the sheet metal around the wood instead on into it, which is much easier and (more importantly) quicker.
When all the main body was done and glued together (but not yet bound), I set about making two thin wooden casings out of several flat pieces of wood, and finished it just in time for the springs I needed to be ready.
"Oh, this is quite well made. Good job," The springs were long, and yet, they were able to compact into a very thin stack. They were weak, but that was actually what I requested.
After paying the fella, I pegged the springs into place in the casings and completed them.
With that done, I heated and hammered into shape a bow made from a single piece of spring steel and then carved the final piece out of wood.
Now that all the parts are ready, I fitted them together and bound the main body in sheet metal, thereby completing the weapon.
Spoiler :
http%3a%2f%2fi1330.photobucket.com%2falbums%2fw580...a78fea.png [http://i1330.photobucket.com/albums/w580/Koh_Shun_Merton/repeatingbow_iso1_zps30a78fea.png]
You know the drill, click that image
Repeating Bow - "Storm":
Durability: 65/65
Damage: 23-27
Faced with the need to fire many arrows very quickly, an inventor came up with the amazing idea of placing the quiver onto the weapon itself! Although heavy for a bow, there is not much difference in weight between this weapon and a crossbow.
This weapon comes with a Universal Barrel Attachment Slot!
Equip:
No reloading is required until the quiver is empty
Attack speed significantly increased
Accuracy slightly lowered
This weapon fires Bolts instead of Arrows
Only compatible with certain quivers
Limits:
Level 65
DEX 80+
STR 40+
With that done, I turned to see that another one of my commissions is ready, with the third almost complete.
*Just as well, this won't take long*
Kite Shield Template
Misc Item
An incomplete kite shield with certain portions cut out. This item can be used as a crafting material.
The item in question is a metallic kite shield with a round hole in the center (as big as a fist), and a vertical slot leading all the way straight up from the right side of said hole. If held in front of me, it is big enough to cover my entire upper body and head.
The metal used for it seems to be a fairly high level material that is beyond my capabilities to use/produce due to my Blacksmithing level. It cost me a pretty penny, but it's worth it as the shield is both light enough to carry comfortable at an arms length, and strong enough to withstand projectiles. Though it likely won't survive a full melee onslaught.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Of course, as mentioned before, I am prohibited from equipping shields due to my class. Therefore, I will have to employ an indirect method of using it.
*It's a good thing I made this back then.*
Reaching into my inventory, I pulled out a lump of metal, with one side ending in a rectangular shaped tube, with a hole drilled into it, and a peg jutting out from the inside of the tube.
This was something I fabricated so that I could quickly make another "Dragon's Breath" barrel in case the first one was somehow lost (being a detachable part, that is completely possible). It is the part of the barrel that joins the flint tube to the crossbow itself.
And now, I intend to use it join the kite shield to the Storm.
After heating the metal, I began the painstaking task of hammering the lump into shape without damage the tube portion of it.
First, I hammered it into a cylindrical shape that could just barely fit into the hole in the kite shield, leaving part of the lump closer the the tube untouched, so that it was bigger than the cylinder and can't fit through the hole.
Then, after fitting the shield onto the cylinder, I clamped both the lump and the shield in place before hammering the open end of the cylinder flat so that the shield was held snugly in between the two larger portions of the lump.
Then, before the metal could coll completely, I hammered the other side of the cylinder into a flat shape as well, so that the entire thing was neater.
When cooled, the lump will contract, and hold the shield permanently in place.
Now I can attach this shield to the Storm (or even the Dragon's Breath crossbow) without fear of class restriction.
In fact, if I wanted to, I could place the flint barrel onto the Storm as well when I eventually make it all out of metal.
*I guess this means that the barrel should be called "Dragon's Breath", and not the crossbow itself?* I thought to myself.
If that's the case, things are going to get way too complicated. I'll keep things as they are for now.
With that done, I turned to the last commission.
Katana Blade
Misc Item
An incomplete sword. This item can be used as a crafting material.
Similar to the previous commission this item is meant to be completed into a proper weapon. It features a blade resembling a Katana, with the tang (the bottom part of the blade that is meant to be connected to the handle) being slightly wider than the rest of the blade, and having holes punched into it (to make it resemble a knuckle duster for a person with too many fingers) and a ring coming out horizontally towards the back of the blade at both the top and bottom (of the tang).
With the most time consuming part of the weapon already done for me, all I had to do now was fashion a bow out of spring steel and wood (in the same manner as the first Sword-Bow, with spring steel encased within wood, except that this time, the spring steel runs the entire length of the bow rather than just the middle) and a few other small pieces, and put them together.
The bow is lightly curved at the front so that the top half fit snugly into the curvature of the back of the blade, with the bottom half mirroring the top.
The bow goes through the two hoops on the tang of the blade (and heated/hammered/cooled [you know... my usual binding method]) so that the tang and the middle part of the bow looks like one single piece.
The top and bottom tip of the bow are capped with a metal cap, sharpened so that it can be used to stab the enemy. The sharpened point on the top also fits perfectly with the tip of the Katana.
The back of the bow is perfectly straight and the bottom half is curved to provide a more comfortable grip while using it as a sword. This results in a slightly uneven draw, but will make it much more manageable as a weapon. Not to mention that the first version of the Sword-Bow had an extremely uneven draw, and this was actually much better.
I wrapped the bottom half with colored leather strips, all the way to the top end of the tang, looping through the finger holes.
*It's expensive, and it's going to get stained with blood, sweat, and grime eventually, but it matches my armor.*
Finally, I put in place two brass hilts, one at the top of the tang, and another at the bottom, to finish the weapon.
Sword-Bow Mk. II
Durability: 72/72
Damage: 25-30
An updated version of the Sword-Bow that fixes many issues:
Easier aiming! Now that the two limbs are of the same length, the force from the top and the bottom are now balanced!
Stab friendly! The Sword-Bow Mk. II now adopts a Katana design over the old Scimitar.
Greater reach! Although some may consider this a weakness, the Sword-Bow Mk. II features both a longer handle and a longer blade.
Sharpened pommel! You can now stab the enemy with the pommel!
Equip:
+35 DEX
+35 STR
+23CHA
The following bonuses can only be seen by players who have the "Bow Bash ability":
+32% Increased damage with the "Bow Bash" skill.
+20% chance to knockback/stun with the "Bow Bash" skill.
Slower durability loss when using the "Bow Bash" skill.
Damage type for "Bow Bash" is changed from blunt to slicing.
Limits:
Level 63
DEX 70+
STR 60+
I heaved a great sigh, knowing that I (with a great deal of help [kudos to the Blacksmiths]) managed to get everything done before the demons broke through.
And as usual, I feel the urge to do some "product testing" before actually putting them to use.
Since the Sword-Bow was already in my hand, I gave it a few practice swings. First in one direction, then quickly jerking it in another, before trying a series of smooth flowing strokes while at the same time trying out different gripping styles.
The handle flexed slightly every time I attacked, especially if I held the weapon at the very tip of the handle (though still not to an extreme level). But I realized that if I quickly jerked the weapon backwards, the blade will jerk in the opposite direction (meaning forwards), which adds a certain sharpness to the blow.
However, this will make it hard to block blows (which I hardly do anyway), and make chopping slightly less effective. The best way to use this model seems to be with sharp precise strikes/stabs, or with fluid strokes.
As for the Storm, I realized immediately that its weight distribution was slightly off-balance due to the placement of the rail and the magazine. Luckily, the placement also allows the magazine to rest on my forearm, hence mostly negating the problem.
Surprisingly enough, adding the shield attachment actually balanced out the entire weight issue.
My field of vision is much narrower with the shield than without, but keeping alive is the most important part of a fight after all.
As for the autoloading mechanism, except for the few times that I, in my haste, didn't fully draw the bow and caused a jam, worked out fine.
After emptying a magazine of 15 bolts into a particular patch of moss that i disliked, I thought to myself:
*Be it Demons or Dragons, come at me. I'm ready for you...*
~Notrem
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Author's Notes:
Hello Again!
And welcome to (not really the right phrase since you already finished reading this) the 26th chapter of "Trust me, I'm an Engineer"!
In this chapter I covered three of the items mentioned in the "Discussions and Suggestions" thread.
The repeating weapon.
The defensive equipment.
And the Sword-Bow upgrade.
But wait a minute! Wasn't I supposed to make a repeating Crossbow??
That's what I thought!
And then I said to realized:
That's too damn mainstream!
Besides, this way, I didn't have to figure out any complicated trigger system :p
Also, I apologize for not having a model for the Sword-Bow Mk. II.
Maybe I'll eventually make one, maybe I won't. We'll see.
As usual, any and all comments or criticisms are appreciated.