Chapter 157: Deep a.n.a.lysis And Blacksmithing
The “earth” in the earth elementals’ name was not just for show. Their ability was extraordinary as expected. Very quickly, he found a relatively big mineral reserve nearby.
“Dark star iron ore?” After Athena heard Chen Rui’s translation of what the earth elemental said, her beautiful eyes widened again. Dark Star iron ore was the best material for forging; the weapons made using it were more than twice as sharp as ordinary weapons. Moreover, they were twice as likely to be enchanted. One kilogram of dark star iron was almost equivalent to one kilogram of gold crystal. It was an essential basic material for the best magic weapons. It was unexpected that the underworld below Mountain Xilang was rich in dark star iron ore!
The underworld was extremely rich in mineral reserves. The largest was the main iron ore mine explored by Dark Moon. In addition to dark star iron, the Earth Realm even had various rare mines everywhere such as the even more precious moonlight stone, blood silver and mystic sand. It was as good as a huge treasure vault.
However, many mineral reserves were in dangerous areas currently swarmed by the demonic flies, and some were buried quite deeply. Of course, all this couldn’t be hidden from the elementals who had strong senses of the earth.
Athena felt a little numb after hearing that. The iron ore produced by Mountain Xilang alone was already the highest quality in the Fallen Angel Empire. It was even one of the best in the entire Demon Realm. She never expected that there were so many precious treasures hidden in the underground!
Because of the material, the taurens had not been forging weapons for a long time. Now that the problem of impurities on the minerals had been solved, the taurens, who were innately pa.s.sionate about forging, but they were unable to forge for a long time, became enthusiastic. The entire Tauren’s Den seemed to be in full swing.
Chen Rui was completely unfamiliar with casting and smithing. He saw the taurens smashed the minerals expertly. They then filtered it using a special appliance, extracting it in a high-temperature flame produced by special fuel. There was also a magical device for amplification at the side. It needed to be pressed up and down to increase the temperature of the flame, functioning like a bellow.
After a series of melting, the minerals turned into liquid. They were separated, then some strange substances were added to it. They were constantly being heated and stirred. It seemed to be some sort of purification process. Finally, they obtained the iron ore.
After so many complicated processes, it was just the beginning.
At first, the appliances were the most important to a.s.sist with some additional work. The rest was mainly reliant on manpower, or more precisely, bullpower.
Watching the taurens repeatedly pounded the iron with a stone hammer, Chen Rui suddenly had an idea. He told Delong he wanted to try to learn forging. Delong beat his chest once to show that it was no problem, but he had to wait for a while.
It turned out that the taurens had basically used up all their metal objects, including the hammer used to make iron. Now, the first thing the taurens had to cast was the equipment used to make iron. Just like the old saying on Earth: To do a good job, one must first sharpen one’s tools.
Pounding was a refining process to remove impurities. And then to forge it into a shape, it needed to be cast, quenched, and molded to get the required shape, which was the base weapon. Not to mention, this was a magical world. Enchanting was essential to get a powerful magical weapon.
The taurens were famous in the Demon Realm for their forging skills. They were by no means comparable to ordinary centaur blacksmiths. Just pounding to remove impurities was not easy; just having brute force was absolutely not enough. The eager Chen Rui took the iron hammer cast by the tauren, channeled his Star Power and hammered a few times. Sparks flew high, but the iron that was smashed flying almost accidentally injured Athena next to him.
After that, he was too embarra.s.sed to try again. He just watched the taurens’ movements carefully. This skill was the taurens’ bloodline skill that had been pa.s.sed down for thousands of years. It looked simple, but it was actually not easy. Chen Rui got more confused as he observed. Suddenly, inspiration flashed through his mind. How can I forget that skill!
Delong saw Chen Rui’s serious look. He seemed to be genuinely interested in forging. Delong demonstrated it himself on the spot and told him all the important parts one by one without hiding anything. As the chief, Delong was not only the most powerful in the Tauren Tribe, but also the best at forging. In his hands, a simple pounding gave off a feeling that it was an act of nature. The whole process was like an art. Chen Rui entered a state of intense concentration, absorbing Delong’s explanations and demonstration into his brain. When Delong smoothly finished forging a simple metal hammer, the radiance in Chen Rui’s eyes faded gradually.
Chen Rui did not continue to watch. He just closed his eyes, as if he was realizing something. After an hour had pa.s.sed, he opened his eyes. He asked for the hammer again and began to pound the iron.
Due to his previous history, the surrounding taurens and Athena all appeared wary in case an accidental injury happened again.
However, Chen Rui’s performance this time was unexpectedly good. Not only that, the taurens’ gazes gradually became surprised. This guy who was just a complete novice could start refining the iron like them. He continued to hammer. It was a bit jerky at first, but later on, he became so skilled as if he had many years of experience.
The most surprised was Delong. On the surface, the easy-looking pounding seemed almost the same. In fact, each taurens’ method was slightly different. Chen Rui’s method was actually his method; it was exactly the same. Could there be a genius like this who could learn something completely after one glance?
Chen Rui knew nothing about taurens’ shock. He was now completely immersed in the understanding of the information being relayed in his brain. Each time he hammered, he understood it a little bit more. This refinement process was based on repeated pounding to eliminate impurities. It required a high level of strength control.
Looking at this focused man, Athena only felt that her eyes were firmly drawn to him. No wonder the book that Alice gave once said that a man was the most attractive when focused on something.
Chen Rui used the information imprinted in his head and combined with the rules of the Mizar’s . The hammer in his hand became more proficient. Every wave of the hammer vaguely carried a kind of “strength” flare. The premonition of a breakthrough that he had when he fought Arux in the arena appeared again. The glow of the stardust inside his body cheered like some kind of flame, as if it was about to break out of his body. Unfortunately, something was still lacking in the end. It did not succeed. Was what Paglio said true, that being a low-level Higher Demon and wanting to break through to intermediate Demon King was more difficult than an ordinary advancement?
Although he felt a bit regretful about failing to breakthrough, Chen Rui still focused on pounding the metal hammer in his hand. After a few hours, the refinement process was finally completed. He was already very sweaty. This continuous pounding was taxing on his state of mind; it was no easier than battling. Chen Rui put down the metal hammer and rubbed his somewhat sore arms, only to realize the surrounding taurens looking at him with wide eyes.
Strictly speaking, the finished product was not considered particularly good among the taurens. The problem was that Chen Rui was a complete novice who knew nothing just a few hours ago. In just a few hours, he completely mastered the essentials of the taurens’ refinement skill. Even a tauren of the best bloodline could not do this!
Chen Rui smiled slightly. This was all thanks to a skill that he rarely used, .
The first time he used this skill was when he was learning the Dragon Inscription. It shocked Paglio greatly. Now he almost blinded many pairs of bulls eyes.
As Delong was about to speak, he saw the tauren who sent the letter to Medusa’s Lair just now hurriedly rush over with Tim’s reply.
Chen Rui took the letter and frowned tightly.
Queen Medusa must have ordered Tim to write this letter. In the letter, the queen objected to the earth elemental rebel forces joining the alliance, suspecting that it was probably the earth elementals’ trick. Not only that, Queen Medusa unabashedly stated that the taurens did not understand the earth elemental people’s language, and that communication was manipulated by Chen Rui. The credibility of the so-called “truth” was very low, and she would not bet the fate of her tribe on this questionable outsider.
Chen Rui could only smile bitterly in response to Queen Medusa’s harsh opinion. Without hiding anything, he translated everything for the taurens.
Athena took a few glances after receiving the letter and looked very angry. “We helped Queen Medusa heal so many of the wounded. She actually repaid our kindness with ingrat.i.tude. If we hadn’t escaped fast, we would have been killed or imprisoned. Now, we help unite the taurens and the earth elementals for the sake of the survival of all underground creatures, and she still suspects Chen Rui!”
Although they couldn’t understand what Athena said, Delong, Torre and the others had heard of Chen Rui’s encounter in Medusa’s lair. When they saw her frustrated expression, they faintly guessed what she meant.
If this was one day ago, even if Chen Rui and Athena performed well in the battle, the taurens might still have some doubts. Now, with the fountain of life under Chen Rui’s control, and he also contributed the precious devil fruit, and then resolved the problem with the minerals. He had already thoroughly obtained the taurens’ trust.
Delong thought for a while and asked, “Chen Rui, what do you think?”
“The situation is grim. We must be united. If there is civil unrest, then the demonic flies will eliminate us one by one. I should try to meet Queen Medusa again, even if it is dangerous, I must still gain her approval and trust.” “I support you!” An admiring look showed in Delong’s eyes. “Frank, generous, and forgiving. This is only a true man. If you have a handsome bull head on your head, you will surely become the most popular tauren among the women in our tribe.”
The taurens at the side nodded one after another. Chen Rui heard the compliment, and he somehow felt that it was a bit ridiculous. What is a “handsome bull head”? And, because of the problem with beauty standards, the “beauties” of the tauren tribe is too…
Athena asked him what Delong said. Chen Rui was not shameless enough to translate the tauren’s exclusive compliment for her. He just said that he planned to go to Medusa’s lair to persuade the stubborn and suspicious queen.
“No!” Athena’s objection was quite firm. “You were almost petrified last time. It will definitely be dangerous this time!”
“Queen Medusa is harsh for the sole purpose of the survival of her tribe, otherwise she would not have allied with the taurens who were originally enemies. As long as I clarify the stakes, I believe she will change her att.i.tude.” Seeing Athena insistent expression, Chen Rui added with a smile, “Don’t you believe in your man?”
Athena’s face flushed. Although she knew these tauren couldn’t understand, she still pinched him in embarra.s.sed, in her heart, she was faintly pleased.
Delong laughed, “Relax, my friend, I will accompany you. However, we might have to wait two days, because we have to prepare some gifts that those suspicious female snakes cannot refuse.”
Chen Rui’s eyes brightened. His gaze fell on the taurens who were working hard with the metal hammer.
Even if Quess Medusa can communicate with other tribes, I don’t think she would ever trust them. Were the gifts enough to convince her to form an alliance? Find out what happens next by getting early access to chapters with