Chapter 66: Forging One's Own Weapon
The Day of Rotation was approaching, and a series of major events were bound to occur in the next six months.
The appearance of adventurer teams and the Black Scales Tribe's army invasion were among them.
To change the worst possible outco, preparations needed to start early.
Afterward, Li ng led Bai Ling into the Iron Cavern.
As soon as they entered, a wave of scorching heat rolled over them.
It felt as though they had stepped into an oven, making it unbearably hot.
The cavern was bustling with activity.
The continuous clanging of tal echoed throughout the space.
Accompanying it were the loud shouts of goblins.
Looking toward the underground riverbank, the cavern was as bright as day.
Dozens of five-ter-tall blast furnaces stood on the riverbank.
Behind the furnaces were countless bonfires burning brightly.
Closest to the river were groups of goblins forging iron.
They swung their hamrs with all their might on the anvils.
Each hamr strike sent a shower of sparks flying.
Deeper in the cavern, faint "thud-thud" sounds could be heard.
Male lizardn, carrying iron ore in bamboo baskets, could be seen there.
On the river's shallow shores, so male lizardn soaked in the water.
The cavern's high temperatures made their skin prone to cracking.
They needed frequent baths to rehydrate and alleviate the effects.
"Boss, Boss, why are you here again?"
As soon as Li ng entered the cavern, Gobuge hurried over upon hearing the news.
"What? Can't I co?"
Li ng glared at Gobuge.
Gobuge's neck shrank, and he smiled obsequiously.
"The Boss can co whenever he likes."
"Cut the nonsense. Get a blast furnace. I need to slt iron!"
Gobuge nodded vigorously.
He turned around and led the way.
"Boss, Boss, this way, this way!"
Following Gobuge, Li ng and Bai Ling delved deeper into the cavern.
Finally, they stopped in front of a blast furnace.
"Boss, this is it!"
Li ng took the leather apron handed to him by Gobuge and put it on.
The apron not only effectively blocked splattering molten iron but also protected against flying sparks during forging.
"Bai Ling, go to the river!"
Bai Ling couldn’t withstand the high temperatures near the furnace.
At most, she would faint within two hours.
Bai Ling silently stepped forward and waded into the icy river.
She sat in the shallow one-ter-deep water, only her head above the surface, watching the goblins on the riverbank.
At this mont, over a dozen goblins rushed over to assist Li ng.
In the following hours, Li ng busied himself around the blast furnace.
By the afternoon of the next day, as molten iron flowed from the furnace, Li ng entered blacksmith mode.
Near the water, Li ng held a massive iron hamr in one hand.
He fiercely pounded a long weapon on the anvil.
At tis, he quenched it. At tis, he tempered it. At tis, he hamred it.
Each hamr strike produced a crisp tallic sound that resonated throughout the cavern.
The sound was the loudest, overpowering all other noises.
The saying "a hundred refinents make steel" held true.
To create excellent steel, it had to be hamred countless tis.
"Is he forging iron?"
Bai Ling, still in the river, watched the goblin on the shore.
Since arriving at the Iron Cavern yesterday, he hadn’t paid her any attention.
Bai Ling wasn’t unfamiliar with the Iron Cavern.
She had been here hundreds of tis.
Though she couldn’t get close to the furnaces, she knew what the goblins were doing from a distance.
While swamp lizardn were a savage race, they didn’t harbor animosity toward humans.
Bai Ling had even communicated with human adventurers before.
She wasn’t unfamiliar with iron tools.
On the third day, the loudest tallic clanging in the cavern finally ceased.
"Bai Ling, what do you think of this weapon?"
The master's call from the riverbank made Bai Ling step out of the water.
She ca ashore and stood before her master.
Seeing the long-handled weapon in her master's hand, Bai Ling's pupils contracted.
"Master, this weapon… looks mighty!"
The weapon in her master's hand had a long handle and a long blade, nearly matching his height.
The entire weapon was iron-gray and had a smooth surface.
The sharpened blade glead nacingly under the firelight.
Holding this weapon, her master's aura seed even more imposing.
"This is a Zhanmadao!"
Li ng wielded the Zhanmadao with both hands, swinging it a few tis.
In a flash, he dashed toward a massive boulder by the riverbank.
"Slash!"
The twenty-ter distance vanished in an instant.
Li ng wielded the Zhanmadao and shouted explosively.
With a standard waist-body integration slash, he cut downward.
"Boom!"
A thunderous boom echoed.
The Zhanmadao sliced through the two-ter-tall boulder like tofu.
The massive impact shattered the boulder into pieces.
The commotion startled the surrounding goblins.
The scene left Bai Ling deeply astonished.
What a sharp weapon!
It had split such a massive rock.
Li ng nodded in satisfaction at his strike.
He inspected the blade of the Zhanmadao.
A trace of disappointnt flashed in his eyes.
The blade hadn’t chipped but had slightly warped.
His strength was too great, exceeding the Zhanmadao’s capacity.
Deformation in cold weapons was unavoidable.
Shaking his head, Li ng discarded the Zhanmadao.
"Bai Ling, back to the water."
Bai Ling glanced at her master and then at the discarded Zhanmadao.
She silently turned and returned to the river.
On the riverbank, Li ng resud tinkering with the blast furnace.
The following morning, another batch of molten iron erged.
Li ng on the riverbank began hamring again.
Each swing sent sweat flying from his body.
The scorching heat left Li ng drenched in sweat.
In the icy underground river, a white figure flashed briefly.
Monts later, water splashed on the river’s surface.
Bai Ling erged from the water.
She held a frozen Black Rock Fish in her hands.
Dragging the fish, Bai Ling returned to the shallows.
Sitting in the water, she quietly watched the goblin forging on the shore.
These past few days, Bai Ling had co to understand.
Her master had brought her along to intimidate and warn her.
It was to show her that goblins with iron-forging technology were not a force the swamp lizardn could challenge.
Ti passed slowly.
The daily life of the Iron Cavern didn’t change with Li ng’s arrival.
The next afternoon...
"It’s done!"
By the underground riverbank, Li ng planted a massive iron rod into the ground.
The iron rod was about 2.5 ters long and 5 centiters in diater.
For now, it seed too long and thick for Li ng.
But once he evolved into a Goblin Warrior, it would suit him perfectly.
Looking at the iron rod in his hands, Li ng nodded in satisfaction.
This was the weapon he had forged for himself.
Compared to bladed weapons, Li ng felt blunt weapons were more suitable.
Initially, he had wanted to forge a long-handled mace.
But after careful consideration, he abandoned the idea.
A mace’s weight distribution was uneven, unsuitable for close combat.
When fighting strong opponents, every move had to be swift and precise.
Any mistake could be fatal.
Against weaker foes, any weapon would do.
Even fists were enough to defeat them.
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