Chapter 135: Forging the Weapon (2)

Su Lun prepared the materials, and Bruce started his work. He needed to temper the materials first. Most supernatural weapons were made using the Hundred-fold Forging Steel technique. Some highly skilled blacksmiths could create cloud-like patterns while hammering the weapon.

The steel forged with this technique was also called Cloud-pattern Steel. The Meteor Iron, Tungsten Steel, and Amethyst that Su Lun prepared were all supernatural materials. Perfectly merging these materials was not simple.

Bruce called all his apprentices over. Opportunities to watch the forging of a high-grade supernatural weapon up close were rare and very helpful for them to master advanced skills. The furnace blazed fiercely, and with the help of the hydraulic bellows, the temperature inside the furnace grew increasingly scorching. Waves of heat washed over them as they stood in the blacksmith shop.

They placed the materials into the furnace for smelting, adding various combustibles. Soon, the furnace temperature rose again, and the materials inside quickly turned red and softened. Then, Bruce clamped them out and began hammering with a rhythmic, pounding noise. Sparks flew everywhere.

Su Lun did not wait there for Bruce to finish forging the weapon. He went to inspect other parts of his territory. After more than a month, the first batch of bricks from the brick kiln was finally ready. The foundation for the outer city wall of Northguard Keep was already laid. Now, with bricks and stones available, progress could speed up.

Actually, for the outer city wall of Northguard Keep, besides bricks, some slag was also used. Every month, the iron-smelting blast furnace in the blacksmith shop produced a large amount of slag when smelting iron ore. This slag was very hard and, when mixed with binders, was quite suitable for building walls.

The outer city wall project was massive. If it were all built with rammed earth and then he used the Turn Mud to Stone spell to transform it, his current mana would not be enough to convert much. The Turn Mud to Stone spell could turn mud into rock, but the more it transformed, the more mana it consumed.

The outer city wall was at least four kilometers long, with each section ten meters high and six meters wide. The area Su Lun could change at one time was limited. However, by using brick and stone structures, he only needed to use Turn Mud to Stone on the binders between the bricks and stones to turn them into rock. His mana consumption dropped significantly.

Of course, this method took more time, but the benefit was that Su Lun did not have to stay at the construction site every day. The Orc laborers traded from the Centaur Tribes were also assigned here. With these strong Orc laborers, the wall construction speed increased even more.

Since there was nothing urgent, Su Lun had a relaxing couple of days. Chris handled most matters, and he only needed to approve the rest.

“Master, these are the coins just produced by the mint.” Just as Su Ling was reading “The Attendant Official Qin” in his study, Chris walked in carrying a delicate small box.

Su Lun casually tossed the book aside, stretched, then pulled Chris into his arms. He sat back down in his chair, buried his face in her ample bosom, took a deep breath, and then picked up the box to examine it.

Chris was already very familiar with Su Lun’s preferences and was not surprised by his sudden move.

“Are these the coins they minted?” Su Lun said, playing with a few coins.

The box contained six coins: two gold, two silver, and two copper. Su Lun picked up a Copper Nale. This copper coin was the smallest denomination. It had a slight bluish tint and felt substantial to the touch. Compared to a currently circulating copper coin next to it, it was better in both appearance and quality.

Next, Su Lun checked the other coins. The silver coin’s silver content was the same as the kingdom’s circulating silver coins: eighty percent silver and twenty percent other metals. The gold coins were the same. Su Lun did not plan to mint large quantities of inferior coins in his territory. The result would be that the people would not trust the currency, resist using it, and continue bartering, which was completely opposite to his original intention.

In the Florence Kingdom, many powerful nobles minted their own coins. Those who minted inferior coins might gain a lot of money initially, but soon, trade in their territories would decline rapidly, as few merchants would go there to do business.

A Gold Nar contained eighty percent gold but had the face value of pure gold. Just from minting coins, Su Lun earned twenty percent. With hot products like white sugar and alcohol, he did not plan to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs by minting inferior currency.

“Let them mint according to these,” Su Lun said after checking them, confirming the coin designs.

“Alright, I’ll have them start mass production right away,” Chris said nimbly slipping out of Su Lun’s embrace. She gave him a flirtatious glance, giggled, and ran off.

Su Lun adjusted his tight clothes and left the study.

The blacksmith shop was a scene of bustling activity. The rhythmic clanging of hammers filled the air. Bruce’s eyes were bloodshot, sweat dripped continuously down his bare chest, and his skin was flushed red from the furnace heat. But he looked very excited, directing his many apprentices as they busily worked.

Beside him were various rare materials. Forging a supernatural weapon didn’t mean all materials had to be supernatural; many auxiliary materials were just relatively rare minerals.

Forging wasn’t simply mixing all materials together. Doing so would only waste materials. The forging techniques in this world were quite amazing. During forging, various catalysts or peculiar things were added.

The Purple Dragon Halberd was quenched using some Frost Wyvern blood during its forging. The originally red-hot weapon cooled rapidly upon entering the Frost Wyvern blood. A burst of elemental energy instantly erupted, even lowering the temperature in the stuffy blacksmith shop by several dozen degrees.

After the second quenching, the metal block was heated again. Bruce took up his hammer and began hammering it rhythmically. The hammer strikes had a certain indescribable charm. After hammering for a while, it was heated again, and some new materials were added.

Through this repeated hammering, the metals became more integrated. Strange patterns faintly appeared during the forging process. Various precious materials were added one after another. The Meteor Iron and Tungsten Steel had already merged, forming a new alloy.

Bruce was completely immersed in forging the weapon. For a highly skilled blacksmith, this was a very rare opportunity. In this state, a blacksmith’s skills could greatly improve. If the forging succeeded, Bruce’s craftsmanship would advance significantly.

With luck, it wasn’t impossible for him to even advance to become a master blacksmith. Su Lun did not disturb Bruce, who was in this special state. He shooed away the apprentices who were about to wake him, letting them watch instead, leaving only two to assist.

The clanging sounds seemed to merge into a piece of music at this moment. The Purple Dragon Halberd gradually took shape in this state.