Chapter 45
After that, it requires a long and meticulous grinding process to shape every part of the sword.
This includes the blade’s surface and the ridge line.
The complete crafting process for a sword consists of four major steps:
Forging and grinding the sword body, and then creating the lacquered scabbard and wooden fittings.
However, Richard managed to complete both the forging and grinding processes just by using his hammer.
If they hadn’t witnessed it themselves, even these blacksmiths—let alone those from the big cities—would have been shocked beyond belief!
In standard blacksmithing, what’s this about stage-play antics?
Yet, all of this happened right before the eyes of these low-level blacksmiths from a remote town, undeniably real and impossible for them to doubt!
They rationally understood that it was real, but their minds struggled to keep up, and their expressions were filled with disbelief.
Furthermore, the design of this sword was something they had never seen before. It looked very imposing, with four blade surfaces on each side, making a total of eight!
Each blade surface was hammered to such smoothness that there was no distortion in the reflections on it, achieving an absolute level of smoothness.
And each ridge line was as straight as light piercing through the forest—was this really shaped with a hammer?
Even with proper grinding, the old blacksmith might need a month to reach about 80% of this precision.
Richard wasn’t aware of what those around him were thinking. His thoughts were straightforward: just to complete the work as quickly as possible.
He knew about the grinding step, but as he completed the forging process, he realized that with every subsequent strike, he could still control and adjust the shape.
Before he knew it, he had unknowingly reached this stage.
Then Richard realized that grinding wasn’t even necessary anymore.
Since that was the case, he decided to proceed with quenching the blade!
Immediately, Richard placed the sword into the fire and increased the flame’s intensity to its maximum.
Before long, the flames turned a bluish-purple color, which Richard knew indicated a temperature exceeding one thousand degrees Celsius.
The entire blade glowed like the transparency of a sunset, signaling to Richard that the moment had arrived!
The old blacksmith at the side suddenly gasped!
Oh no!
The lord seemed to have forgotten to prepare water for the quenching process!
Was he planning to use this ordinary water nearby?
The old blacksmith felt uneasy.
Even though he mainly forged farming tools, he still knew the importance of quenching.
This step was the soul of the entire forging process, akin to the finishing touch in a masterpiece; using ordinary water would be out of the question.
Not to mention it was murky water that had been used many times before.
Even for crafting high-quality swords, one wouldn’t use such water.
This particular bucket was originally used to quench shovels!
While the old blacksmith was worried, Richard remained calm and confident, not even sparing the water bucket a glance.
Without hesitation, he grabbed a dagger and sliced his palm deeply.
At the same time, he activated his life force, causing a massive spray of blood!
With a hissing sound, every drop of blood splashed onto the eight-sided sword!
The blacksmiths stared in shock with their mouths wide open!
They never expected the lord to use his own blood to quench the weapon!
The old blacksmith, on the other hand, seemed to understand suddenly.
He knew that the lord was capable of slaying numerous extraordinary creatures by himself, so his blood must be even more valuable than that of many magical beings.
He had also heard in his youth from his master that some people used their own blood to quench their weapons, making those weapons more in sync with them.
Could it be that the lord was using this legendary technique?
As everyone stood in stunned silence, a thick aura of bloodlust suddenly filled the air!
The blacksmiths felt as if they were on a battlefield drenched in blood, surrounded by slaughter, despair, and cold indifference, assaulted by overwhelming negative emotions.
Many of them took several steps back, and two of the more timid ones even fell to the ground in fear.
Seeing this, Richard snorted coldly, activating a breathing technique that instantly cleared everyone’s minds. They regained their senses, filled with lingering fear.
If it weren’t for the lord’s help, they might have been left in a daze, mentally shattered.
Immediately, they knelt down and said, “Thank you, lord, for saving our lives!”
“All right, get up.” Richard said casually, then turned his attention to the sword in his hand.
He placed the sword on the forging platform, took out a branch from a tree spirit from his storage, and quickly carved it into the shape of a handle, making it fit perfectly with the eight-sided sword.
While waiting for the sword to cool down, Richard also used the leftover materials to craft a dagger and over twenty arrowheads.
Since the materials had already been prepared, it didn’t take much time.
During the process of forging the dagger and arrowheads, the blacksmiths learned even more techniques.
Richard also gained a substantial amount of experience from this!
Then, he grabbed a whetstone, fixed it in place, and began sharpening the blade.
He instructed the old blacksmith nearby to pour water over the blade to prevent the temperature from rising too high during the sharpening process, which could affect its edge.
Sharpening the blade wasn’t particularly technical; it mainly required a steady hand and a precise angle.
When the sword was finally sharpened, a cold gleam flashed between Richard’s hands, as if the temperature in the forging area had dropped by several degrees.
“System, identify it!” Richard silently commanded in his mind.
[Congratulations, host, identification successful!] [Nameless eight-sided Han sword, mid-tier extraordinary equipment, possessing three attributes: Sharpness, Durability, and Basic Anti-Magic!]Richard nodded in satisfaction.
It worked!
The sharpness came from the magic steel, the durability from the mountain copper, and the anti-magic effect was due to the influence of the extraordinary materials!
As he held the sword, Richard sensed that his life force could easily flow through the blade.
After quenching the sword with his own blood, he felt that it was now like an extension of his own body. The blood within it could be manipulated and controlled at his will.
He could feel that he could activate the bloodthirsty aura within the sword at any time to disturb the enemy’s mind.
Not bad!
“Bring over some iron ore!” Richard shouted.
Soon, someone brought over the ore.
With a swift slash of the sword, the iron ore was sliced cleanly in half, the cut surface perfectly smooth!
It cut through iron as if it were mud!
The blacksmiths stared in disbelief. Earlier, they had recognized Richard’s skill during the forging process, but now, seeing the final result, they were still utterly astonished.
The iron ore had been sliced as easily as tofu—this extraordinary weapon had indeed been born in the hands of their lord!
Incredible!
“Today, I bought two cartloads of iron ore. Before the end of next month, I want you to forge five hundred chest plates and helmets for me!”
“Do you all understand?”
The blacksmiths, still in shock from what they had witnessed, were suddenly dumbfounded by Richard’s order.