Chapter 16: Lighting the Furnace
Linley was eager to obtain a fine weapon. Monroe Dawson immediately decided to go meet Master Vicent. Monroe Dawson, Linley, Yale, Reynolds, and George all went together to the entrance of a nearby estate.
"President!" The guard at the gate, seeing Monroe Dawson, immediately bowed in salute.
Some of the Hedd family's servants and guards had been personally arranged by Monroe Dawson. They were essentially under the Dawson Conglomerate's command.
"Lord Dawson has arrived?" A middle-aged man who had been quietly resting in the front courtyard immediately stood up and walked over, his face full of gratitude as he said, "Lord Dawson, if you wanted to see me, you could have just sent word. I would have come directly to you."
Vicent was truly grateful to Monroe Dawson.
Over the past half year or so, Monroe Dawson had been very friendly and courteous to the Hedd family, without making any demands. Especially during this recent escape, if not for the help of the Dawson Conglomerate's people in the Hanmu Kingdom, the Hedd family would likely have suffered even more casualties.
"Haha, let's talk inside first." Monroe Dawson warmly patted Vicent on the shoulder.
"Alright."
Vicent of the Hedd family, Vicent's father, and Vicent's two sons all came out.
"Master Vicent, come, let me introduce you." Monroe Dawson smiled and pointed to Linley. "You already know my three sons. And this is the genius mage I mentioned to you before. He is..."
"Linley of the Baruch clan, stone carving master, magic prodigy." Vicent continued the sentence.
At the same time, Vicent's eyes lit up as he looked at Linley. Even Vicent's two sons and his father behind him looked at Linley in surprise.
"Linley, you should know about my Hedd family, right?" Vicent's eyes held a special emotion. Whether it was the Hedd family or the Baruch clan, though both had declined, they were proud to the bone.
The Four Supreme Warrior clans, families with over five thousand years of history.
This bone-deep pride remained, even in decline, deep in their hearts they were haughty.
When descendants of two Supreme Warrior clans met, there was indeed a special resonance.
"The Violet Flame Warrior clan." Linley said humbly. "The inherited texts of my Baruch clan contain detailed records of the Hedd family, also a Supreme Warrior clan."
Hearing this, Vicent felt a sense of honor and found Linley increasingly agreeable. "Linley, let me introduce you. This is my eldest son, Meteor Hedd, and this is my younger son, Trace Hedd." Vicent was clearly proud of his sons. "Linley, my two sons have considerable talent. But compared to you, there's still a gap."
Meteor and Trace merely nodded, but a hint of defiance in their eyes showed they weren't convinced by their father's claim that they were inferior to Linley.
"Haha, enough. Master Vicent, the reason I've come today is to ask for your help." Monroe Dawson said directly.
Vicent immediately said boldly, "Lord Dawson, just say whatever it is. If I can do it, I will spare no effort." Over the past half year, the Dawson Conglomerate had done many things for the Hedd family, but the Hedd family couldn't repay even a fraction of the favor. After all, the Dawson Conglomerate had never asked them for anything.
Owing someone a debt of gratitude wasn't a pleasant feeling.
Monroe Dawson smiled and pointed at Linley. "Linley wants a weapon and would like you to forge it for him."
"Forge a weapon?" Vicent looked at Linley and asked, "Linley, is it for yourself?"
"Yes." Linley nodded.
A look of approval appeared in Vicent's eyes. He nodded and said, "Right. How can the descendant of a Supreme Warrior clan be frail and weak? If you're going to train as a warrior, you should have a good weapon. Tell me, what are your requirements for the weapon?"
Both Vicent and his two sons had harbored some reservations when they learned Linley was a magic prodigy. In their view, the Four Supreme Warrior clans should produce invincible warriors. Now that Linley wanted them to forge a weapon, they were actually somewhat pleased.
"A greatsword." Linley said slowly. "Master Vicent, I'm currently one meter nine in height. You decide the length of the greatsword. You should know what length suits my height."
Vicent looked puzzled. "A greatsword, not a giant battle blade?"
A battle blade and a greatsword were two different categories. "A greatsword," Linley confirmed.
"Alright, any other requirements?" As the patriarch of the Violet Flame Warrior clan, Vicent's clan members were not only powerful warriors but also skilled in forging weapons.
Linley took out the bundle from his back. "I think this must be one of the materials for the greatsword."
Linley removed from the bundle the palm-sized pitch-black stone.
Just by looking at the surface, Vicent couldn't tell that this pitch-black stone was Blackstone. After all, even Vicent had never seen Blackstone in his life. He asked doubtfully, "What is this stone called?"
"Blackstone."
Linley answered directly.
"Blackstone?" Vicent, including Vicent's father and two sons, stared in shock at the palm-sized pitch-black stone in Linley's hand.
Suppressing his shock, Vicent looked at Linley and said, "May I take a look?"
"Of course."
Vicent carefully took the Blackstone. Though he had never seen it before, he knew Blackstone was extremely heavy. He was prepared. Sure enough...
"It weighs over a thousand jin." Vicent's eyes lit up. "Indeed, Blackstone is nearly a hundred times heavier than gold. It's true."
Vicent suddenly realized something and looked at Linley in astonishment. "Linley, are you going to incorporate this entire Blackstone into the greatsword?"
"Yes, all of it." Linley replied.
Vicent shook his head repeatedly. "Linley, this Blackstone alone weighs over a thousand jin. If Blackstone is the base, the other ores can't be inferior. Given the size of your greatsword, after forging, it will probably weigh nearly three thousand jin. A three-thousand-jin greatsword—I've never forged one this heavy. Do you intend to use it yourself? Even an ordinary rank 7 warrior would find it unwieldy. A rank 8 warrior could swing it easily, but it would affect their speed."
"Master Vicent, just go ahead and forge it." Linley said with a smile.
Dragonblood Warriors were strong in their physical bodies. Their Dragonblood battle-qi was actually weaker in comparison.
Among the Four Supreme Warriors, Dragonblood Warriors and Undying Warriors were both known for their immense strength. The first patriarch of the Baruch clan, Baruch, had dared to fight the Saint-level Nine-Headed Serpent King head-on and ultimately killed it.
The Nine-Headed Serpent King was enormous, with incredible strength, and was among the top Saint-level magical beasts. Yet Baruch had slain it in direct combat, showing the Dragonblood Warrior's power and ferocity.
Vicent gave Linley another look and finally nodded. "My clan has a secret formula for working with Blackstone, but the other rare ores... I can't gather them on short notice."
"Leave that to me." Monroe Dawson said casually.
Vicent nodded. With the Dawson Conglomerate's resources, gathering some ores would be easy. Vicent looked at Linley seriously. "Linley, weapons forged with Blackstone are excellent. If you only added a little Blackstone powder, I could sharpen the greatsword. But with this much Blackstone, I can at most thin the edges a little. I won't be able to sharpen it."
Forging with over a thousand jin of Blackstone—Vicent had never heard of such a grand scale. The resulting weapon would be terrifyingly tough and durable. Sharpening it was beyond Vicent's ability.
"Can't sharpen it?" Linley frowned slightly.
Linley suddenly recalled the records in his clan's texts. The first Dragonblood Warrior had used a battle blade for slaughter, but later Dragonblood Warriors didn't. One had even used a giant hammer. That hammer relied on weight.
A three-thousand-jin greatsword was comparable to that ancestor's hammer.
"Then leave it unsharpened." Linley was confident. With such weight, if a Dragonblood Warrior's terrifying strength smashed it into a magical beast, the beast would be crushed to death anyway.
"Alright. Once the ores are gathered, I can forge it immediately. A single weapon—half a day is enough." Vicent said confidently. He had forged many weapons and trusted his clan's secret forging methods.
Monroe Dawson smiled. "Vicent, why don't you give me your secret formula list now?"
"Fine, I'll get it." Vicent was decisive.
The Dawson Conglomerate's efficiency was terrifying. Before dark, a large pile of various ores had been gathered. In truth, the Hedd family's secret formula didn't require specific materials; each material had substitutes.
But the materials the Dawson Conglomerate provided were the best, and the quantity was more than sufficient.
That night.
"The material quality is excellent, all top-grade ores." Vicent looked at the ores, his face glowing red with excitement. He laughed heartily. "Linley, with such good materials, the greatsword might end up slightly heavier than I estimated."
"No problem." Linley smiled.
Slightly heavier than three thousand jin was nothing. Even a rank 9 warrior could swing it easily, let alone a Dragonblood Warrior with astonishing strength.
"Alright, I'll light the furnace early tomorrow morning." Vicent said generously.
Linley didn't return to his quarters that night. He only sent a mental message to Bebe. Bebe obediently stayed in the courtyard. For Bebe, eating and sleeping was a good life.
At dawn, the sky was just barely light.
The three Hedd family men—father and sons—were already bare-chested, starting their forging. Vicent took the lead, while Meteor and Trace assisted. The bellows were pulled with a whoosh, and the flame temperature reached an astonishing level.
"Sizzle..."
Vicent's body surface emitted cyan flames. The cyan flames merged with the furnace fire, changing its color. The other ores began to melt gradually, but the Blackstone remained unchanged.
Vicent picked up a cup of green liquid from the side and poured it directly onto the Blackstone. "Sizzle..." The green liquid caused a special reaction on the Blackstone's surface. Under the scorching furnace fire, the Blackstone began to slowly melt.
Finally, the rough sword blank was formed.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"...
The heavy hammer came down again and again, the speed and rhythm reaching an astonishing level. Vicent swung the hammer, giving the onlookers an artistic pleasure. Clearly, Vicent's hammer strikes followed a special pattern. Under the hammering, the greatsword's shape became clearer and clearer.
"Sizzle..." Vicent's body continuously emitted cyan flames, keeping the greatsword in a state of intense heat. This continuous hammering lasted three full hours. The greatsword's surface color changed from a chaotic mix to pitch black. Vicent was drenched in sweat, his face somewhat pale. This forging was probably the most exhausting of his life.
"Bring the mountain spring water!" Vicent shouted.
His eldest son, Meteor, immediately brought over a bucket of water and poured a small cup of pre-mixed liquid into it. Using the family's secret formula liquid mixed with the purest mountain spring water, this quenching agent was the best.
"Sizzle..." The greatsword was plunged into the quenching agent.
Linley, Monroe Dawson, and the others' eyes lit up. After the quenching stage, the greatsword would be nearly complete. But at that moment, the already overcast sky rumbled with low thunder. No one on the scene paid it any mind.
"It's done!" Vicent pulled out the greatsword, his face full of excitement. He raised it high and laughed. "Haha, Linley, it's done! This is the finest work of my life!"
"CRACK!"
A terrifying sound rang out. A cyan lightning bolt suddenly struck down from the sky, slamming directly into the greatsword.