Thunder Is Coming

"Boom--!"

A silver hammer struck an iron fist that emitted a faint white light, and the collision of magic erupted with a deafening roar.

Although the old goat looked clumsy, it rushed to Yuri's side in the blink of an eye.

The terrifying impact transformed into an invisible barrier, spreading outwards from the exchange of fists and hammers between the two men.

The ground beneath their feet sank into large craters, and the lava beneath them suddenly leaped up nearly three meters high.

The entire mountain was trembling violently, crying out, and wailing.

The two remained locked in a stalemate. Ornn narrowed his eyes and spoke for the first time, "Neither gods nor Devil should get too close to mortals."

Yuri knew the other party was implying something, and chuckled, "I'm different from you. It's precisely because I don't want to lock myself in a lonely prison that I've come here seeking the power to protect everything."

Ornn's eyes sharpened. "You'll regret this one day."

Yuri remained unyielding. "Then we'll talk about it on that day."

"Bang!"

The two slid apart simultaneously from the center of the collision.

Yuri shook his slightly numb arm, thinking to himself that this old goat had considerable strength.

Ornn silently walked back to the stone platform where he had forged his weapon, and muttered, "Come here."

Yuri followed the old goat across the pier to his workplace.

Neither of them used their full strength in the collision just now, otherwise this place would have collapsed long ago.

"What kind of weapon do you want?" Ornn asked.

"Whatever, you are the God of the Forge." Yuri shrugged and placed the Impact Steel on the workbench.

Ornn picked it up, looked at it, and nodded. "You can leave now. Come back in ten days."

"You're just letting us go like that? That kid's still waiting outside." Yuri stood to the side, arms crossed, not in a hurry to leave. "They always think it's because they held us back 200 years ago that you don't want to see them."

Ornn glanced at him, still holding firm to his belief. "Gods don't need believers; believers need gods."

"What a stubborn old goat."

Yuri shook his head, then suddenly said, "How about we make a bet? I heard you once killed a Flame Devil."

Devil that's qualified to be killed by this old goat is obviously no ordinary being.

Ornn did not deny that he had created the Hearthhome using part of the fire Devil's corpse combined with forging power, and that he had used the Demon Heart to forge the furnace.

However, there were still other materials left on the Devil's body.

"If this will make you leave..."

"Of course, if you win, I will not only leave myself, but I will also take that kid with me. From then on, there will be no more Hearth Family, nor any followers of Ornn."

"All right."

Upon hearing Yuri's assurance, Ornn agreed without even asking what the bet was.

"So quick to agree? You're not going to back out after you lose, are you?" Yuri teased.

"My word is as hard as this hammer," Ornn said, brandishing the forging hammer in his hand.

The meaning is quite clear: You just took a hit, kid; you know how tough you are.

Yuri didn't mind, and simply said, "Then I bet you still have a burning passion for the Hearth Family."

After saying that, he turned and left, giving Ornn no chance to refute.

Ornn simply shook his head in silence and quietly began his work.

With each crisp clang of the hammer, Ornn's thoughts seemed to be drawn back to the past...

He never blamed his followers, because he knew they had done their best.

The reason he had refused to see them for two hundred years was that he felt it would be better to be captured by the Bearfolk and forged than to follow them.

At the very least, they can save their lives.

However, it seems that the outcome is not as he wished.

Was I wrong...?

Time flies, and five days have passed in the blink of an eye.

For the past five days, a series of clear echoes could be heard every day atop the mountain in Hearthhome, the sound of Ornn forging iron.

The sound came from underground because someone dismantled the main gate and trampled the entrance to the cave.

For the past few days, Brax has come to the mountaintop every day, sits on the edge of the circular pit, listens to the sound of blacksmithing, and gazes at the distant snowfield until late at night.

The same applies today.

"Yuri..."

For the first time in five days, Brax spoke up on his own initiative.

"Uh-huh?"

Yuri lay on the ground with his hands behind his head, gazing at the bright moon and the night sky with only one star remaining.

However, the night seemed rather gloomy, with clusters of dark clouds piling up in the sky, which was quite unsettling.

"Do you think I should continue learning forging?" Brax asked, his eyes lowered.

"How would I know about your affairs?" Yuri replied indifferently, "Of course, you should be the one to choose your own life."

"But... I don't think I'm suitable," Brax said insecurely.

"Whether someone is suitable or not isn't just determined by talent; your mindset is equally important," Yuri said.

"Heart?" Brax, puzzled.

"Do you like forging? Do you love forging? Or have you been working hard all this time simply because you're driven by the responsibility on your shoulders?" Yuri asked.

"Of course I love forging!" Brax exclaimed hastily.

For hundreds of years, not a single Hearth Family has disliked forging. As outsiders say, they are simply born blacksmiths.

"That settles it then?" Yuri said matter-of-factly. "Your heart has already given you the answer; there's no need to ask for anyone else's opinion."

"Can I really... do it?"

Brax still felt self-doubt; Ornn's rejection had hit him too hard.

"Give me."

Suddenly, Yuri stood up and extended a hand to Brax.

"What?" Brax asked, puzzled.

"Horn, give me your horn."

"What are you going to do with that? You can't make a sound with it anyway."

That's what he said, but he still handed the horn to Yuri.

Yuri smiled slightly, "You know what? In this world, there is a power that can overcome all obstacles, even across vast distances."

Brax stared blankly at the dashing young man under the night sky and asked, "What power?"

"Miss."

Yuri uttered two words calmly, then took a deep breath and blew the horn in his hand!

"Waaah--"

The clear, melodious, and rhythmic sound of the horn echoed across the snow-capped mountain peaks, spreading far and wide.

Just as Brax was about to rejoice, he saw that Yuri's cheeks were still flushed red, and his voice was not coming from the horn in his hand at all.

"Puwa!"

Yuri let out a sigh of relief and turned to look at the source of the sound... It was the sound of war horns.

The night sky was finally obscured by endless dark clouds, not even the bright moon and the lone star were spared. Judging from this, it must be...

Yuri coldly watched as the tall figures gradually appeared atop Hearthhome Luxiang, and slowly said:

"It's going to thunder."