What sort of spear would this young hero like to purchase? And what sort of price are you aiming for?”
“Do you have any rare treasures here?” Lin Ming opened his mouth to ask.
“Treasure spears?” The sales clerk didn’t expect that this young man would surprise him again with such an astonishing question. A treasure spear was expensive, it often cost 10 to 20 thousand gold taels, and high quality spears sometimes even 30 to 40 thousand. Was this young man that wealthy?
The reality was Lin Ming did not currently have that much gold on hand, but if he was given time he could plan for it.
“Young hero, our shop currently does not have any treasure rank spears on hand. If you would like to take a look at treasure-rank swords or sabers, we have a wide variety that you could choose from.
“…” Lin Ming felt a little disappointed at this turn of events. He hadn’t thought that even the Divine Weapon Hall wouldn’t have any treasure spears. There just were just too few treasure spears.
The sales clerk continued, “For a treasure-rank spear, there are just too few of those and the demand for them isn’t low. Two months ago we had a spear, but it was already reserved in advance and sold.
“Oh? From what I know, there aren’t many martial artists in the Sky Fortune Kingdom who use spears. Are these treasure-rank spears really that marketable?”
“Mm. Yes, they are a very hot commodity. There aren’t many martial artists that use them, but… the army will. Some generals will purchase a treasure-rank spear, but because there aren’t enough treasure rank spears, even generals with illustrious careers and many meritorious military services do not have a treasure-rank spear. If this young hero wishes to purchase a treasure-rank spear in the Sky Fortune Kingdom, it will be very difficult.”
So that’s how it was. Lin Ming immediately understood that the spear was the best weapon to use in the army. Since ancient times, as long as they were a famous military leader, 80% of them would use a spear in battle. The other 20% would use weapons like the large guandao, trident, halberd, and other weapons that were similar to a spear. There weren’t many famous generals who relied on a sword or saber to lead an army.
When marching an army to war, frequently one would be riding a war horse. During these times a sword or saber was just too short and limited in its range atop a horse. Therefore one had to use a halberd, pike, spear, or weapons like a spear that had good reach. With a spear in hand, even if they fell into a swarming mob of enemies, they would be able to kill their way through. A ten foot long spear could aggressively kill all enemies in a large circle. This was something that the sword, saber, axe, or other weapons could not hope to hold a candle to.
Therefore the style that could sweep away an army of a thousand was in the sole possession of the spear!
That’s why the generals of Sky Fortune Kingdom, even if they had cultivated as a martial artist with a sword, and fought with a sword, had no choice but to learn the spear.
“Well, for the treasure-rank spear, I’ll come back later when they have a good one on sale. A high quality spear will probably cost several tens of thousands of gold taels, and I don’t have that much money at the moment. The gold I spent before came from Mister Muyi, and though the inscription symbols are very expensive, I don’t think he needs any more. I’ve been troubling Muyi so often, several ten thousand gold taels is not a small number; I shouldn’t approach him about this. Also a treasure-rank spear is difficult to use, and my martial arts cultivation isn’t that high at the moment. Even if I had a treasure-rank spear, I wouldn’t be able to display its full strength.”
Thinking this, Lin Ming said, “Then consider that matter settled. Could you bring me to look at some spears, a good spear.
“Very well. Young Hero, please wait a moment.” The sales clerk turned around and took out a thick spear shaft from a wooden chest. The spear shaft was an inky pitch black and seven feet long.
When a store sold a spear, often the spear shaft and spearhead were sold separately. The spear shaft was placed in a wooden chest to protect it against erosion. The spearhead was soaked in a vat of tung oil to preserve it and guarantee that it would always be luminous and reflect the light. The customer would come choose the appropriate spear shaft and spearhead that they liked, and the two objects would be composed together to form the final product.
“Young Hero, please have a look.” The sales clerk said as he handed over the spear shaft to Lin Ming.
Lin Ming hefted the spear shaft in his hand. Its weight was probably somewhere around 30 jins, and was not made from metal. With a flex of his hand, Lin Ming could tell that the spear shaft was quite flexible. Lin Ming had no doubt that if he dropped this spear shaft in a full moon arc, it could crack open an animal’s skull.
Although this spear shaft wasn’t made of metal,