The Paladin in the Abyss

Bruto's expectations were dashed; the temperature in the forge sky-rocketed, and not even the innate chill of the cold iron could suppress the heat. In the end, the molten iron poured into the mold had lost all the unique qualities of cold iron and was indistinguishable from ordinary iron.

Lancelot wondered if it was the True Qi he had secretly mixed in that had caused the anomaly, but even when he stoked the bellows in the normal way the next day, the result was the same. Then the third day, the fourth day...

Luckily, their furnace was small, and these trials hardly wasted any materials; otherwise, Barrend might have been tempted to beat his son to death. The entire blacksmithing district resembled an ant nest doused with boiling water, with dwarves scurrying about and steam rising from every corner.

The forging process of cold iron released a vast amount of chill, which only the Dwarves of the Frostforge Clan and the strongest blacksmiths could endure. Such Dwarven artisans were mostly highly skilled and incredibly proud, with bad tempers, and hardly any were willing to take orders from Barrend.

The old Dwarf had no choice but to station the few members of the Frostforge Clan at the iron anvil, while he himself acted like a supervisor, directing the hands sent by the Craftsmen Committee in other tasks.

Unsurprisingly, every time he strolled into Bruto and Lancelot's small workshop, he would point out at least three things Bruto was doing wrong before berating him severely.

Perhaps Bruto was inherently allergic to smithing knowledge, because as time went on, Lancelot remembered the mistakes, but Bruto kept repeating them.

By the tenth day, they finally succeeded. Seeing the iron flow into the mold a bright blue-white instead of the usual red hue of iron, Bruto excitedly embraced Lancelot, laughing loudly.

It was finally time for Lancelot to truly shine. Bruto, with tongs in one hand holding the sword blank and a small hammer in the other, indicated where to strike for Lancelot; while Lancelot was responsible for swinging the great hammer, ensuring each blow landed exactly where Bruto required.

Bruto tapped the middle of the sword blank lightly twice with the small hammer, signaling Lancelot to begin.

Taking a deep breath, Lancelot estimated and exerted about fifty percent of his strength for the first blow.

A 'clang' echoed, and a burst of chill emerged from the hammered spot, slightly reducing the stifling heat in the workshop.

But Bruto was not satisfied. He tapped the same spot twice more and bellowed,

"Human, what are you doing? Haven't you eaten?"

Lancelot added another twenty percent to his strength and delivered another hammer blow, this time unleashing more chill, but still not satisfying Bruto.

"Is that all you've got? Should I have little Isha share her breakfast with you?"

Lancelot was at a loss for words over Bruto's habit of using such unnecessary provocations to spur him on. Wasn't he afraid of smashing this hard-won semi-finished product with too much force?

However, it seemed his concern was unnecessary. Metals with high malleability under high temperatures allowed blacksmiths to shape the billets into the proper form.

Bruto's small hammer pointed out the target once again, and this time Lancelot summoned all the physical strength he could muster, slamming down the hammer heavily. A thunderous boom echoed as the targeted part flattened significantly, and a stronger gust of chill burst forth, reducing the room's temperature to normal levels.

"That's more like it, but it's still not enough!" Bruto moved the sword blank slightly and swung the small hammer again, ringing out two dings, "Imagine this is a detestable tentacle monster that has wrapped around the beautiful Tijana from behind, and with its long, drooling tongue, it's trying to lick her lovely sharp horns! Come on! Do something!"

Raging True Qi, like a levee-broken flood, surged out of Lancelot's Qi Sea, roaring through each of his meridians. His muscles bulged as if he were an irate pufferfish, and an intimidating aura emerged around him.

He struck with his true full strength, wielding the massive hammer.

Despite the sword blank being the target of the hammer's fall, Bruto couldn't suppress a feeling of terror. Had he not been sure that Lancelot wouldn't go mad from those few words, he would have already thrown down his tongs and fled.

The hammer struck its target with a resounding boom that echoed throughout the entire Blacksmith district. The impacted area was almost flattened into a pancake, followed by an intense blast of cold air, chilling like the breath of a White Dragon, instantly turning the beads of sweat on Bruto's eyebrows and beard into snowflakes.

The entire Blacksmith district seemed to be interrupted by this explosion-like noise; everyone stopped their work, looking around bewildered.

"What happened?"

"Did something explode?"

"I didn't see any fire?"

"What's with this cold blast? Is winter coming?"

"Shut up, you fool fresh off the boat, there are no seasons in the Abyss!"

Barrend was the first to rush in and found that Bruto and Lancelot were both fine, just staring at each other with wide and small eyes.

"What are you two up to?"

More dwarves gathered around, and some noticed the huge dent in the Sword Blank; they were all savvy folks, and a murmur rippled through the crowd.

"Uh, nothing, Lancelot just now—I don't know what he was thinking—put too much strength into it." Bruto cast a guilty glance at Lancelot and again tapped the Sword Blank a couple of times with a smaller hammer, "Let's just, uh, continue."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Lancelot, too, wasn't sure why he had gotten so carried away, but fortunately, the chilling air that hit him helped him regain his composure. He lifted the hammer once more, pushing most of the True Qi back into his Dantian, and then swung the hammer again.

The head of the hammer viciously struck the Sword Blank, and a visible ring of cold air burst out from the Sword Blank, spreading all around.

"Oh!!"

Amazement echoed around them. Lancelot and Bruto didn't stop; the large and small hammers fell like a waterwheel, one after another, relentlessly.

"My god, what kind of strength is this!"

"Such precise movement! Such perfect muscles! I could stand here all day just to watch him swing that hammer!"

"Incredible, how does this human have such fine craftsmanship?"

"What nonsense are you talking about, he's just swinging a large hammer. The real determinant of the work's quality is that dwarf with the tongs!"

"That guy's beard is still red; I bet he's not even a hundred years old! I'm really curious about what kind of work they'll produce!"

The continuously spilling cold made people unconsciously draw closer together, while Lancelot's immense strength turned the cast blank into a long strip of flattened metal, completely unrecognizable as a Sword Blank. Bruto put it back into the furnace to reheat and directed Lancelot to work the bellows.

Baron Barrend finally came to his senses and began loudly shooing people away:

"What's so interesting to look at here! It's nothing but my newly come-of-age son doing some Apprentice work! Get back to your own stations, don't you have your own jobs to do?"