Chapter 75

In Edgar's blacksmith shop, the sound of hammering continued incessantly. The work from before had already stopped, and now Edgar and Dunn stood beside Brian, watching the hammer in his hand fly up and down, each with their own thoughts.

Edgar was very excited. He finally had the chance to see Brian forge weapons in person. Although he had long known that dwarven craftsmanship was top-notch, this was his first time observing a dwarf at work, so he paid close attention. Even the timing and height of Brian's hammer swings seemed full of meaning, which he carefully noted in his mind...

As for Dunn...

"Damn! A legendary two-handed warhammer used as a blacksmith's hammer! Dwarves are really rich!"

Watching Brian wield the two-handed warhammer with such vigor, Dunn could only feel disoriented.

"Whoosh..."

Brian placed the red-hot sword blank into the water, and after a cloud of steam, he continued to hammer. The sword blank quickly took shape.

Dunn, watching from the side, was getting a bit bored and almost fell asleep. In the game, although the forging process was simulated, it was very quick. Ordinary equipment could be made in a short time, and only legendary equipment took longer. But now, a simple steel sword was taking so long...

Just as Dunn was about to doze off, he suddenly heard a loud shout, which startled him awake. When he looked up, he found that Brian had already finished.

"Done?"

"Of course!"

Brian was very proud: "But this material is really amazing. It looks like pig iron, but it took twice as long to forge compared to my usual work."

The longsword in Brian's hand was now fully formed and sharpened. Since this was just an experiment to test the material's properties, the sword's appearance was very simple.

"Come and test its performance!"

Brian couldn't wait, so Dunn took out a fine steel longsword forged by Edgar and said, "Let's see how they compare."

"Are you ready? Here I come!"

Brian shouted and swung the fine steel longsword with great force!

Dunn casually swung his sword, and with a crisp "clang," Brian was sent flying.

"By the goddess! Brother, your strength is too great!"

Brian climbed out from a pile of scrap metal and instinctively looked at the fine steel longsword in his hand, surprised: "It's unharmed?"

The two swords had clashed, and the fine steel longsword showed no signs of damage, while the sword in Dunn's hand had a large crack. If the force had been a bit stronger, it would have been cut in half!

Brian carefully compared the two swords, becoming more and more excited and shocked: "By the beard of the forge hammer! This material will change everything in Plandar!"

Brian was indeed shocked. Compared to the expensive and rare magical metals, iron ore was abundant and used by almost everyone!

This material, derived from iron ore and called steel, far surpassed iron in performance. What did this mean?

In a battle, one side's soldiers would use iron equipment, while the other side would use steel equipment. The advantage would be enormous!

At this moment, Edgar was almost worshiping his lord. This was a material with the potential to change the world!

And it was born in his blacksmith shop, under his witness!

What would people say about the birth of steel in the future?

Born in Edgar's blacksmith shop in Ellington!

At this moment, Edgar felt a deep sense of honor.

"Brother! You've changed the world!"

Even Brian, who was usually proud, was starting to admire Dunn.

Dunn smiled faintly and said, "It's too early to talk about changing the world. At least wait until the production of steel increases."

"Production? Yes! Production!"

Brian's eyes sparkled, eager to urge Dunn to continue producing steel.

"Wait, what are you planning?"

Dunn looked at Brian with caution: "Don't expect me to keep making this stuff. To increase steel production, it needs to be industrialized, large-scale, and mass-produced. I can't keep doing this."

"What do you mean by this stuff!"

Brian was angry: "This is a treasure!"

Dunn couldn't help but laugh: "I know, I know... That's why I plan to build a blast furnace."

"A blast furnace?"

"Yes, for steel production... I'll draw up plans and find some workers to start the project when I get back."

Since the performance of the steel had been confirmed, Dunn no longer hesitated. The steel production plan had to be put on the agenda.

"Um, excuse me... Sir Dunn, can I buy this sword?"

At this moment, Locke's voice suddenly sounded from the side.

"Locke? How did you get in?"

Dunn was surprised, having been too focused to notice anyone approaching.

"I called out several times outside, but no one answered. I heard some noise in the back yard and came in..."

Locke smiled awkwardly: "I just saw you testing the sword..."

As he spoke, Locke's eyes kept drifting to the steel sword in Brian's hand. He had seen the test clearly. The dwarf's longsword had almost cut the other sword in half, while it remained unharmed!

For a warrior like him, such a weapon was a dream come true.

"Buy? Can you afford it?"

Although Brian had a good impression of Locke, he didn't want to sell the sword. The sword's sentimental value was greater than anything, and he planned to keep it forever, to show his descendants!

"Um... fifty... no! One hundred gold coins!"

Locke gritted his teeth and doubled the price: "One hundred gold coins, I think that's enough to buy the sword blank, right?"

"One hundred gold coins, hmm..."

Brian was about to mock Locke, but Dunn stopped him. Dunn smiled: "I remember in Caspami Castle, you struggled to gather money to buy those healing potions. Can you come up with one hundred gold coins now?"

Locke's face turned red: "I, I can't..."

"But," Locke quickly added, "But after completing this mission, I will definitely make up for it! I swear by the name of the Cross Rose leader! I—"

Locke wanted to make more promises, but Dunn waved his hand, took the longsword from Brian, and handed it to Locke, smiling: "This sword blank is a gift for you. It's just a blank, after all."

"Gift for me?"

Dunn nodded: "Yes, a gift. No gold coins needed."

Brian and Edgar were alarmed: "My lord! How can you do this!? That's—"

Dunn said calmly: "This is my decision."

So the two had to keep quiet.

Locke was excited. He now realized that Dunn really intended to give him this precious sword!

"Thank you! Really, thank you! You are a generous and kind lord! With this sword, the skeletons of the necromancer will be no threat to me, and my chances of completing the mission will increase— I will never forget your kindness!"

Locke was so moved he didn't know what to say. He didn't expect Dunn to be so generous— just a moment ago, the group was arguing about Dunn's shameless sales tactics, and now he was giving him a precious sword!

"Red powder for the beauty, a precious sword for the hero."

Dunn smiled: "I wish you success in your mission."

"Definitely!"

Locke clenched his fist and secretly vowed that after the mission, he would spread the word about Ellington, especially about the kind and hospitable lord here.

This was the only thing he could do for Dunn.

After sending Locke off, Brian started to complain: "Brother, you just gave away the steel sword we worked so hard on. Aren't you being too generous?"

"This isn't generosity, it's a long-term investment."

Dunn shook his head: "You don't understand."

Ellington needed to build its reputation, and Locke was the first friendly outsider Dunn had encountered. He had to make a strong impression on Locke.

As the Cross Rose operated, Ellington's reputation would gradually spread, and more people would come.

Ultimately, Dunn's enthusiasm for the Cross Rose was to attract enough people to Ellington.

Edgar and Brian, in their positions, couldn't understand his actions.

Ignoring Brian's grumbling, Dunn smiled: "Don't worry about it. It's just a steel sword. Once production increases, you'll have so many you won't even bother picking them up. Besides, I have an interesting suggestion. Do you want to hear it?"

Brian and Edgar perked up: "What interesting suggestion?"

"Today, Brian spent half a day forging just a rough weapon. Have you ever thought about how much time could be saved with a press and a cutting machine?"

"This..."

Brian frowned: "That's different. Farm tools don't require high quality, but weapons are different. Can such mass-produced items be used?"

"That's your rigid thinking... Have you heard of the folding forging method?"

"Folding forging method?"

Dunn looked at Brian like a lab rat and chuckled: "I'll teach you a new forging method. You can try it with the remaining steel ingot."

"Is it the folding forging method you mentioned?"

"Exactly. This forging method produces weapons that are not only powerful but also flexible and more durable... There's also the method of cladding steel, which makes the weapon even stronger and more flexible... Mud quenching... Carburizing..."

Brian's eyes widened at these new forging methods, and he was speechless.

"Do you want to learn? If you want to learn, just say so. If you don't say you want to learn, how will I know? Even if you keep staring at me, you still need to say you want to learn. Do you really want to learn? You're not just pretending, right? If you really want to learn, I'll definitely teach you. It wouldn't make sense for you to say you want to learn and I don't teach you, or for you to say you don't want to learn and I force you. If I force you to learn when you don't want to, wouldn't that be embarrassing? I'm reasonable, you know—"

Brian broke out in a cold sweat: "I want to learn! I really want to learn!"

"That's the spirit..."

"My lord..."

Edgar looked at Dunn with a pleading expression.

Dunn, of course, wouldn't ignore his own people, and waved his hand: "You can learn too."