Chapter 41

The blacksmith shop had prepared in advance and had already stockpiled a large number of Armor-Piercing Arrows.

However, when it came to withstanding Blackwind Stronghold’s revenge, Su Wangchuan had little confidence.

He deliberately logged out and made a trip to find Instructor Yu, reporting the situation in Blackstone Village in detail.

Instructor Yu immediately realized the seriousness of the matter.

“I understand.”

“Blackstone Village absolutely cannot be breached.”

“We have already lost thirteen employees. If we lose Blackstone Village as well, the company’s monthly gold-mining progress will suffer a severe setback.”

In fact, Su Wangchuan alone sometimes turned in more silver each week than an entire village.

If Blackstone Village were lost, not only would a portion of income be cut off, but the Warring States Game Studio would also lose one Blacksmith life profession and two apprentices.

That was something the Warring States Game Studio absolutely did not want to see happen.

Instructor Yu immediately contacted Su Wan.

Before sunset, the two of them arrived at Blackstone Village on horseback, riding through the snow.

One of them was bald, with several burn marks on his scalp, wearing a gray cassock and holding a pitch-black iron staff. One look was enough to tell that he came from a Buddhist sect.

The other was around thirty years old, a saber hanging at his waist, eyes arrogant, his body reeking of alcohol. At a glance, he was clearly dressed like a disciple from a Jianghu faction.

The moment these two appeared at the village entrance, they drew everyone’s attention.

The village’s militiamen and hunters all climbed onto the earthen wall, shutting the village gates at the same time. With tense expressions, they drew their bows and prepared to defend against an attack.

“Wangchuan!”

“Lin Dahai!”

From more than thirty meters away, the newcomers shouted toward the village.

The village militiamen all turned to look at Su Wangchuan. “You know them?”

Su Wangchuan smiled and nodded.

“They’re reinforcements I invited. They can help us fend off the bandits from Blackwind Stronghold.”

The group relaxed their guard and opened the village gates.

Su Wangchuan and Lin Dahai personally went out to welcome them.

Lin Dahai’s eyes burned with excitement as he lowered his voice and said to Su Wangchuan, “I never expected Instructor Yu to be able to invite these two… With them here, the village is safe.”

“You know them?”

It was Su Wangchuan’s first time meeting the two of them.

Lin Dahai said, “I saw them once in the cafeteria. They were in a meeting with a group of people, and I only glanced at them from afar. I heard Boss Yu say that they seem to be among the earliest batch of employees in the studio. They’ve already made a name for themselves in 《spirit realm》, and they also seem to be martial artists.”

As he spoke, the monk and the Jianghu-styled colleague had already walked over.

The man dressed like a Jianghu disciple looked at Lin Dahai with a teasing expression and said, “So you’re Lin Dahai. We martial artists have very sharp hearing.”

Lin Dahai was startled and hurriedly said, “I haven’t had the chance to ask for your honored name.”

“We share the same surname. My name is Lin Xun… and this is Monk Dalong.”

The Jianghu-styled man smiled slightly as he finished the introduction. His gaze then fell on Su Wangchuan, carefully sizing up the young man with a well-built physique and bright, spirited eyes.

“You’re Wangchuan? The blacksmith of Blackstone Village. I’ve heard that you can already forge Hundredfold Steel Arrowheads on your own.”

“That’s right. Greetings, Brother Lin. Greetings, Master Dalong.”

Su Wangchuan cupped his hands toward the two of them.

Monk Dalong smiled faintly and nodded in response.

Lin Xun revealed a satisfied expression and said, “Originally, our time is precious and shouldn’t be wasted in a village. However, the higher-ups place great importance on Blackstone Village and specifically told us to make this trip. We’ll take care of things here. You all should go about your usual business.”

“Yes. With two great experts stationed here, Blackstone Village will surely be foolproof. We can finally sleep soundly tonight,” Lin Dahai said with great relief.

They escorted the two into the village and settled them near a bonfire.

Su Wangchuan bought some wolf meat jerky and wild boar jerky from Wang Dalang and brought it over for the two to enjoy.

Monk Dalong showed no restraint at all. He grabbed it and ate, finishing an entire plate in one go.

Lin Xun’s appetite was also excellent. He produced a gourd of wine from somewhere, eating meat and drinking wine with great gusto.

“I didn’t expect craftsmanship like this outside the city.”

“Your barbecue master could easily establish himself even if he went to Huishui County.”

Lin Xun lavished praise on Wang Dalang’s roasted meat.

“Wangchuan.”

“While those bandits haven’t arrived yet, why don’t you demonstrate your blacksmithing skills for us and let us broaden our horizons?” Lin Xun suddenly made the request.

Although Su Wangchuan felt that forging iron at such a moment was somewhat abrupt, considering the other party’s identity as a martial artist and a senior veteran employee of the company, he did not want to offend them and agreed.

“All right.”

With a glance, Hong Kaibao and Bai Yuhui went ahead to the blacksmith shop to make preparations.

Monk Dalong said, “You go ahead. I’ll keep watch here.”

Lin Dahai smiled. “Then I’ll stay here and keep Master Dalong company.”

“Good.”

Su Wangchuan stood up and led Lin Xun toward the blacksmith shop.

Master Blacksmith Sun did not stop them. It was unclear whether he had seen through their identities as martial artists, but he looked both relieved and nervous as he quietly stepped out of the shop to assist with patrol and vigilance.

Su Wangchuan walked up to the forging table and quickly got to work.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

Under Su Wangchuan’s hammer, the red-hot iron blocks rapidly deformed, then folded, continuously expelling impurities.

Lin Xun stood to the side, watching closely.

After a while, surprise gradually appeared on his face.

Because Su Wangchuan was simultaneously working on eight red-hot iron blocks, and his striking speed was extremely fast.

With the assistance of Bai Yuhui and Hong Kaibao, the rhythm was astonishingly quick. Each swing of the hammer carried even force, three strikes merging into one, full of cadence and rhythm.

Maintaining such a rhythm for a short time was nothing special.

But to sustain it continuously for more than ten minutes, with the rhythm unchanged and not a single bit of strength diminished, was clearly something no ordinary person could endure.

After silently observing for some time and seeing that Su Wangchuan’s rhythm remained steady, Lin Xun noticed that Su Wangchuan seemed completely immersed in it. His right arm switched to his left arm in constant rotation, as if he had inexhaustible strength. Lin Xun finally could not help but ask,

“How many realms has your forging technique advanced?”

“Two realms.”

Su Wangchuan did not stop. Even while speaking, his movements were not affected in the slightest.

In fact, he could now truly forge Hundredfold Steel Arrowheads even with his eyes closed.

Lin Xun nodded with a look of surprise and asked calmly, “You know that advancing a skill realm means breaking through the limits of the body, right?”

“Of course. When my skill advanced from Entry-Level to Minor Mastery, I gained 1 point of Strength. When it advanced from Minor Mastery to Practice Makes Perfect, I gained 1 point of Agility and 1 point of Strength.”

Su Wangchuan spoke honestly about his situation.

Lin Xun smiled and said, “That’s right.”

“The higher the skill realm, the more attribute points you’re rewarded. As far as I know, when a blacksmith’s forging technique reaches Entry-Level Mastery, you can gain 3 attribute points. In addition to Strength and Agility, you’ll also gain 1 point of Vitality.”

“…”

Su Wangchuan’s heart stirred.

He glanced at his Status Panel.

The experience of 《Hundredfold Steel Forging Technique》 had already progressed to 479/500. Only the final 21 points of experience remained before reaching Entry-Level Mastery.

Advancing a realm would grant 3 attribute points.

That would be a significant improvement.

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