Blacksmith: You Are Making Mjolnir For The Forging Exam?
Chapter 128 - New Materials

He never paid too much attention to the issue of breathability. He only wanted to increase his armor's defense as much as possible and increase its speed, so he ignored the issue.

"Twenty years ago, we fought for a long time on the battlefield of ten thousand races. Since our combat suits were not breathable, sweat stuck to our clothes and pores, causing various body problems such as red rashes. That indirectly led us to lose three six-star cultivators and more than twenty five-star cultivators in that battle. We suffered a great loss before those thousands of monsters!"

The muffled sound of thunder rang out in the testing field.

Feng Qi's face immediately turned red with shame as he stood in front of everyone.

He was only a blacksmith doing research in a safe city. He had no idea what the situation on the front line was, or what the cultivators needed in such armor.

He just followed his own train of thought.

At that moment, the team members standing at the side began to feel nervous too. Their hearts beat faster, and they were shocked by the severity of Minister Wei's attitude.

They were all worried that they would be treated the same after they entered the field.

Seeing Feng Qi's ashamed expression, Wei Lan's gaze gradually became gentler.

"The reason why this standard armor has to be updated frequently is to give the cultivators on the front line more comfort so that they can unleash their strongest combat strength. At the same time, it will reduce the number of casualties. When cultivators fight the fierce beasts, they fight with their lives on the line every second. If the armor isn't breathable, it will definitely affect their performance."

His voice was gentle like that of a teacher, and he earnestly said, "We, the blacksmiths in a safe city, have the core philosophy of designing battle armors. It is to put people first and try our best to design the best armors that are most suitable for the crowd."

Wei Lan's words made the team fall into deep thought. Even Academician Xu and Professor Liu lowered their heads slightly as if they were contemplating.

"Alright... This is only your first time forging standard equipment. You will inevitably make mistakes, but I believe that you will definitely forge better equipment next time." He chuckled.

Feng Qi bowed deeply and quickly turned around to return to the team.

"Hmm... next, Lai Hua!"

Professor Liu picked up the name list and read out the next name.

Right then, Lai Hua, whose name had been read, stopped smiling and immediately walked out of the group with a serious expression.

He was carrying a military-green box in his hand and immediately walked up to the leader. He placed the box on the table and opened it.

Academician Xu and Professor Liu poked their heads out a little and looked over expectantly.

There was a loose black armor in the open box. Lai Hua took out the armor and showed it to everyone.

"Leaders, this is the improved armor that I, Lai Hua, have made," he said excitedly.

The black armor was relatively loose. Each arm had a pocket and a slot for a tactical pen.

There were also multi-purpose pockets on the front and back of the chest, which could store all kinds of equipment and materials needed.

The outer thigh area was where individual rations could be stored, and the lower thigh area would be used for medical alcohol, bandages, and other medical supplies.

One could say that it had a very practical design.

Wu Mo could tell with just a glance.

It must have gone through a meticulous design process to reach this stage.

"The design looks pretty good..." Professor Liu smiled and commented.

Wei Lan nodded slightly and waited for Lai Hua's description.

"Dear leaders, my armor is made of fiber with four grooves. Not only will it maintain a cold feeling for a long time, but it will dry sweat four times faster than ordinary cloth. The armor's inner frame was made using decarbonization. That has made it very tough and able to absorb kinetic energy, reducing damage to the wearer!" Lai Hua calmly introduced his improvement ideas and forging techniques.

"Hmm... he actually incorporated such bold ideas like decarbonization. Not bad."

Academician Xu's eyes revealed a trace of surprise. He did not expect Lai Hua to know about this relatively ancient forging technique.

"CLM materials are rarely used on official combat suits. This is a considerably bold attempt. This student is daring enough to do it, so his spirit is commendable."

Both of them praised Lai Hua from different aspects.

Everyone's gaze was on Minister Wei because they wanted to see what kind of comments this leader would give.

"Not bad. Let's proceed with the test first. Look at the data."

Wei Lan waved his hand and did not say anything else.

"Yes, Sir."

Zhou Ning immediately took the black armor from Lai Hua's hand and walked toward the first defense tester.

She placed the armor in the tester and waited for a few seconds.

Beep beep.

Soon, the machine completed the test and the score popped up on the screen.

[Defense test completed. Improved Model: 64 points, Ninth Generation: 58 points.]

The test machine's result was not out of everyone's expectations.

While the fabric with four grooves was soft and rare, it did not have any defensive ability. It passed the test entirely because its frame played a defensive role. An additional defensive formation might have also been placed.

Zhou Ning did not stop what she was doing. First, she recorded the results in her office book, and then she continued the simulation test.

One would truly understand the armor's various properties and performances through the simulation test. The defense test was only to determine the armor's energy supply and its grade.

The process would only be done after it passed Minister Wei's examination.

Three minutes passed quickly. Everyone looked expectantly at the instrument that neared the end of its examination.

Chi...

As the airlock opened up, the armor that was full of stains was immediately sent out.

Seeing his own work in such a miserable state, Lai Hua felt a faint pang in his heart.

Fortunately, this test would not affect its performance. He quickly collected himself and stared at the screen that had yet to light up.

Beep beep...

[The date has been calculated and listed.

[Simulation results:

[Comfort - Improved Model: 69 points, Ninth Generation: 61 points.

[Perspiration Absorption - Improved Model: 80 points, Ninth Generation: 57 points.

[Breathability - Improved Model: 77 points, Ninth Generation: 70 points.

[Stain Resistance - Improved Model: 60 points, Ninth Generation: 62 points.

[Stealth - Improved Model: 73 points, Ninth Generation: 72 points.

[Battle Evaluation - Improved Model: 70 points, Ninth Generation: 70 points.]

This series of data displayed the six dimensions of the armor's performance vividly.

The excellent data in the first three attributes, especially, reflected the four-groove material's excellent performance.

Ordinary threads had rounded heads. They accumulated moisture and would not dry for a long time after absorbing sweat.

As for the four-groove thread, it was in the shape of a cross. The four grooves could drain water extremely fast like high-speed trains.

Although it was not exceptional in terms of combat and stain resistance, it was already considered a very good improvement plan.

Several of the team members were a little apprehensive. They were worried that Lai Hua would be chosen and they would directly lose the opportunity to show off.