Gobber's words were full of mockery, because in the Vikings' dictionary, a thin and small person was called Hiccup.
Simply put, he was useless and yet still dreamed of participating in battle, practically courting death.
However, facing Gobber's mockery, Hiccup did not say much; with just one look, Gobber immediately stopped speaking.
Then he quickly explained, "No! Hiccup, I didn't mean that! I'm just curious why you need so many Bows and crossbows!"
"You should know, this iron is an important resource on Berk Island. Besides forging weapons for the Viking Warriors, all the iron has been turned into Bows and crossbows!"
"If a warrior's weapon breaks, there's no way to repair it for them!"
Listening to his clumsy explanation, Hiccup smiled indifferently and said, "It's just iron! Wait!"
Immediately, Hiccup flipped onto Night Fury's back and then headed towards the Dragon Jail.
Gobber looked in the direction Hiccup left, his face full of remorse, wringing his hands in distress and saying, "I must have said the wrong thing! Hiccup, that child, has gone through such a big change; he must have suffered a lot! And now I'm still treating him like this..."
"Odin above! I deeply repent to you; I shouldn't have treated Hiccup like that..."
However, Hiccup didn't take it to heart at all. After arriving at the Dragon Jail, Astrid had already brought the Dragon Knight First Squad to gather. The Second Squad was still building warships with the Viking Warriors.
Some of the Third Squad were guarding the Golden-haired Siren inside the Dragon Jail, and the rest would come over after cleaning up the mess at the Blacksmith Shop.
Immediately, Hiccup patted Night Fury's neck, telling him to summon all the Dragon Knights.
"Roar~~~!"
Night Fury let out a long dragon roar, and after hearing it, all Dragon Knight members headed towards the sound.
After the Second Squad arrived, the Twins jumped off their dragon's back and shouted loudly, "Attention!"
"Oh! My foolish brother, that line should be said by me!"
"I'm the elder brother, so of course I should say it, you foolish sister!"
"I only let you be the elder brother because you're a boy; maybe I'm the older sister!"
"Oh? Is that so!? Well, that's just too bad! You're still that foolish sister!"
The Twins started arguing as soon as they landed, and Hiccup immediately felt a headache. Everyone else was disciplined, but these two were difficult to manage.
"Ruffnut, Tuffnut, step forward!"
Upon hearing Hiccup's words, the brother and sister slammed their helmets against each other, then turned to him, glaring, and said, "Did you hear that! The great Captain called us!"
"Am I deaf like you? Foolish sister!"
The two glared at each other and walked sideways. When they reached Hiccup, they were still glaring at each other face to face.
Hiccup crossed his arms, and Night Fury also imitated him in a similar fashion.
At this moment, he had no mind to deal with Night Fury. He casually separated the Twins and then said, "You two listen up! The military rules I set! Everyone must obey them!"
"Now, you two have violated the military rules! Tell me what the consequences will be!?"
"Humph! It's all because of that foolish brother! If it weren't for him, how would I have violated the military rules!"
"Shouldn't you, this foolish sister..."
"Enough! It seems you two have no intention of repenting!" Hiccup said somewhat angrily.
Then, Hiccup looked at Snotlout and said, "Now, Snotlout will serve as the captain of the Dragon Knight Second Squad!"
"You two! Reflect well! Only when you can obey military rules can you return to the Dragon Knight team!" Hiccup said unequivocally.
This was like a bolt from the blue for the Twins.
"Oh no! Hiccup cannot punish the beautiful Ruffnut! It's all my foolish brother's fault!"
"No! Hiccup, listen to me! It's all because of my foolish sister! If you want to punish someone, just punish her alone! I alone can still ride the Two-Headed Dragon! I definitely won't be a burden!"
Hiccup's expression hardened, and then he said in a cold tone, "Are you two still not obeying orders!? Are you still going to defy my orders!?"
After hearing this, the Twins quickly saluted Hiccup and said, "Sorry, Captain! We know we were wrong!"
"Sorry, Captain! Beautiful Ruffnut knows she was wrong!"
Hiccup glanced at the two of them, then said, "I hope you two will think carefully about how to obey orders during this period of reflection!"
"If there's a next time! Your dragons will be confiscated directly, and you will never be a member of the Dragon Knight! Return to your posts!"
Just because of one argument, the two of them went directly from captains to team members. Snotlout naturally wouldn't waste this good opportunity to mock them.
However, just as he was about to mock the Twins, Hiccup gave him a look, and Snotlout immediately covered his mouth, not daring to say a word.
Hiccup's gaze swept over the Dragon Knight members in front of him, and he emphasized again, "Training is battle! Being strict with you now means you'll have one more chance to save your lives on the battlefield!"
"There will be zero tolerance for those who violate orders! Next time anyone dares to defy an order! Captains become team members, and team members are directly kicked out of the team!"
"Do you all understand!?"
Everyone answered in unison, "Understood!"
There was no other way; for these stubborn Vikings, one could only be strict with them. If it were gentle persuasion, or trying to make them understand the reason before disciplining them, the effect would be minimal.
This was particularly evident in the original work: whenever these stubborn Vikings made mistakes, they would either come up with a bunch of clumsy excuses or make things worse by constantly trying to prove themselves.
To prevent any complications, it was best to nip such thoughts in the bud. After all, there's an old dragon saying: "A kind heart does not command troops!"
After dealing with the internal issues, Hiccup continued, "All Gronckle-type dragons and riders, step forward!"
Upon hearing the command, the Gronckle and their riders took a synchronized step forward.
Then, Hiccup continued, "Gronckle and riders, gather at the Blacksmith Shop! Everyone else, go to Crow Ridge and the surrounding islands to move rocks!"
"Remember! You must move rocks containing metal! If you really can't identify them, just move any rock back! Execute the order!"
All Dragon Knights shouted in unison, "Yes!"