The craftsmanship of the handcart was quite simple.
The most technically demanding part was the wooden wheels.
Marcus’s first plan was the proper way: use steaming and baking to shape wood.
Sections of wood folded into circles and joined using mortise and tenon joints.
Holes drilled into inner walls of circles, then spokes inserted using ancient mortise and tenon techniques, connecting them to central wooden axle hub.
Then iron tire shrunk on.
The rest was cart body, even simpler.
As long as wheels didn’t stop turning, it was fine; just copy the handcarts used on construction sites in his previous life – two wheels, two legs, one man pushes.
Recalling craftsmanship, Marcus couldn’t help but feel miserable.
Since transmigrating to this world, he hadn’t had a moment’s rest, working 007 every day, even more tiring than his previous life in a lab mixing questionable chemicals.
It was time to find a few capable gits to take charge.
Arriving at the lumberyard, intending to get to work, he saw a sneaky figure.
While other Goblins busy working – sawing, carrying planks – this guy was just squatting there, holding a few oddly shaped wooden sticks, muttering.
Marcus kicked him lightly.
Who else but Goblin Iron Egg?
This guy hadn’t been doing anything these past days, nor had he come to boast.
It seemed he hadn’t mastered WAAAGH!
magic yet.
Marcus couldn’t help but wonder if he’d picked wrong person; this guy might not be suited to be a Shaman at all.
Seeing boss arrive, Iron Egg quickly got up, clutching oddly shaped sticks to chest:
“Boss, I heard from that savage Goblin that shamans in their tribe all have staffs.
I was wondering if my inability to cast is related to not having staff.”
Looking at bent sticks in guy’s hands, Marcus suddenly felt wicked amusement.
Thinking about it, those battle priests in Empire, wearing robes and wielding hammers to smash heretics, must also be considered clergy, right?
Marcus couldn’t make a Runestaff right now, but making this guy a long-handled mace was no problem.
Just imagine, on battlefield, other Shamans after casting WAAAGH!
can only barely whack people with wooden clubs, while his Shaman after casting could smash heads in one blow with a long-handled iron mace – image vivid.
He told Iron Egg about his idea, and Iron Egg was quite interested; after all, what Goblin wouldn’t want a long and imposing iron weapon that makes him look bigger?
The two Greenskins didn’t even consider whether a mace could be considered a staff.
“I think it should be,” they said.
For Orcs, if it looks like a staff and you can hit someone with it, it’s a staff.
After sending Iron Egg away to have his staff custom-made by Dwarfs – a 1.2-meter iron-shafted mace with a mushroom head – Marcus wandered around lumberyard.
He was astonished by what he found; lumberyard was overflowing with timber, including over a dozen trees several meters thick that Gaptooth’s crew dragged from deeper forest.
System’s resource interface showed 2,000 units of wood, but he hadn’t expected so much physically.
Looking at trees, Marcus decided there was no need to make fancy spoked wheels like in previous life.
After all, wooden spoked wheels aren’t durable in Badlands rocks.
He could just carve a few large discs from these thick trunks to use as solid wheels, or add a layer of iron rim to discs if necessary.
Solid wheels – simple, heavy, Orky.
Without further ado, Marcus gathered a few Goblins and got to work.
Dwarfs showed them how to saw discs, drill axle holes with hot iron, grease with animal fat.
Time progressed steadily, and half a month passed in blink of an eye.
Marcus was as busy as usual today.
With tribe’s numbers increasing – now over 600 Goblins and 2000 Snotlings if you count all mushroom fields – manpower plentiful, many positions requiring Goblins filled, propelling entire tribe into phase of rapid development.
The invention of the wheelbarrow was great success, allowing single Goblin to push two hundred pounds of coal or stone, increasing efficiency four to five times compared to carrying baskets on head.
This freed many Goblins from arduous transport work, enabling them to join logging, blacksmithing, quarrying.
This finally allowed Marcus to assemble a Goblin army of 400 real fighters, not counting Snotlings.
After completing system task: **[Stone Age] – Arm 300 Stone Spear Goblins,** these guys received major upgrade.
Now that quest completed, system allowed iron weapons.
Now, among these 400 Goblins:
**100 Goblin Archers**, equipped with Goblin longbow made of Bloodthorn wood, a quiver woven from fungus fiber mycelium, each quiver holds 20 arrows with bone or iron points, and a 30cm iron dagger for melee.
This dagger alone costs 1 jin of iron – extravagant before, but now affordable.
**200 Goblin Spearmen**, equipped with two-meter-long iron spear with 30cm leaf-shaped spearhead and red tassels.
30cm spearhead enough to pierce through ordinary human and even wound a Boar.
At junction of shaft and spearhead, there are red tassels made from fungus fiber dyed with red mushroom pigment.
Don’t underestimate tassels; in combat, they prevent enemy blood from flowing down shaft onto hands, preventing slippage.
Constantly waving tassels also obscure enemy’s vision when you thrust.
It’s blessing from ancient Chinese warfare, allowing Marcus to directly copy.
Marcus, like Chinese, suffered from fear of insufficient firepower.
He equipped each spearman with two javelins – short throwing spears, strategy he learned during duel with giant bear.
Goblins could unleash couple volleys of javelins before charging.
If Goblins threw accurately, those two volleys would inflict heavy casualties and demoralize enemy, especially Skaven slaves.
As for remaining **50 Goblin Swordsmen and 50 Goblin Axe-Shield Bearers**, these hundred were tribe’s elite.
Marcus used all animal hides accumulated from hunting to equip them with full leather armor – chest, shoulders, thighs.
Keep in mind many archers and spearmen still fighting in loincloths.
However, no other way.
Marcus hadn’t had time to build spinning and weaving frames.
Although tribe had plenty of fungus fiber, without machines, efficiency of making linen too slow.
So for now, Goblins had to make do.
These hundred elite Goblins were all largest and fiercest among Goblins, forming front line of entire Goblin army.
Goblin Swordsmen and shield-bearers primarily defensive.
When enemy charges, they stand alongside Axe-shield soldiers at front to withstand onslaught, keeping enemy outside shield wall and exposing them to spear Goblins’ thrusts.
When spearmen charge, swordsmen and shield-bearers join archers to guard against surprise attacks and cavalry – like Beastmen warhounds.
Axe-Shield soldiers primarily offensive.
Their axes crafted by Marcus in imitation of Viking battle axes, but smaller – 60cm handle, heavy head.
These axes highly effective at breaking through armor and shields, allowing them to work with spear Goblins to breach enemy’s defenses.
Their shields were wood reinforced with iron rim and iron boss, not full iron – that would be too heavy.
These two troop types also consume most iron.
Their armor alone uses 2 jin iron in plates added to shoulders, chest, thighs.
Swordsmen’s swords are longswords handcrafted by Dwarfs, each blade 70 centimeters long, almost half height of a Goblin.
Axe-shield soldiers even bigger iron consumers.
To protect these young men who have to fight head-on, Marcus even had Dwarfs forge iron shield bosses that can punch.
Half a month ago, Ironhead was a tribe with stone-tipped sticks.
Now, 400 Goblins in leather, iron spearheads, bows with 20 arrows each, wheelbarrows bringing coal daily, a small forge smoking.
From stone age to iron age in 15 days.
Not because Marcus was genius, but because WAAAGH!
energy makes Greenskins learn fast when boss demands.
Tomorrow, Marcus planned to test this army.
Not against Redclaw yet – against a small Beastman herd that Gaptooth spotted near coal road.
First real battle of Ironhead.