Decisive Battle at Star Luo City (2)

Chapter 446 The Final Battle of Star Luo City (Part Two)

"Duke Zhi Xin, look, most of these buildings along the street are blacksmith shops."

Tai Tan pointed to the buildings on both sides of the road and explained, "Gengxin City has the most blacksmith shops in the city, because only in this city are blacksmiths valued."

"Every year, blacksmiths from other cities come to Gengxin City specifically to take the blacksmith examination. If they can be rated as senior blacksmiths, they can stay in this city. Over the years, the number of blacksmiths here is simply countless!"

"Oh, I see."

Zhi Xin nodded, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and asked in a puzzled tone, "With so many skilled blacksmiths gathered here, doesn't the Star Luo Empire know how to utilize resources and have them forge weapons and equipment?"

"Haha, Your Highness the Duke is indeed astute."

Tai Tan stroked his beard and laughed heartily, saying, "This Gengxin City is the source of the Star Luo Empire's most important weapons and armor. Now that this city has fallen into the hands of our Heaven Dou Empire, I wonder how terrified the Star Luo Royal Family will be!"

"I see."

Zhi Xin nodded, suddenly realizing why Her Your Majesty the Queen had emphasized the need to quickly capture Gengxin City, known as the Metal Capital, when she issued the Imperial Decree. So that was the reason.

"Halt! Who are you?"

Suddenly, a cold shout came from ahead. The shout came from a female Soul Master guard beside Zhi Xin.

Zhi Xin, Tai Tan, and the others looked in the direction of the shout and saw an elderly man, over sixty years old, walking briskly toward them.

The old man was robust and strong, with steady and powerful steps, and his Soul Power seemed to have reached the Soul Saint level.

"Huh? Si Di, is that you?"

Tai Tan recognized the old man immediately upon seeing him.

Seeing that Tai Tan Zhi Xin this person, Zhixin waved his hand, signaling the guards around him to step back and not to stop him.

"Lord Tai Tan! I never expected you to know me!"

The old man, known as Si Di, knelt down in front of Tai Tan with an excited expression, saying, "President Lou Gao is currently researching the forging of a weapon and is too busy to come... Therefore, President Lou Gao sent me to welcome you. I hope you will not take offense."

"Haha, how could that be? That old guy Lou Gao is still so obsessed with casting."

Tai Tan smiled kindly, casually pulled Ren Yuan up, and introduced him to Zhi Xin: "This is Si Di, Lou Gao's disciple, and also a master blacksmith."

Then, Titan introduced Ren Yuan: "This is Her Highness Princess Zhixin, the Rose Duke, personally conferred by Her Majesty Empress Xueke. She is also the commander of this Heavenly Dou Army, the granddaughter of Azure Douluo Zhilin, and a young Soul Saint!"

Upon hearing Tai Tan's string of titles, even the blacksmith master Si Di, who was not good at interpersonal communication, couldn't help but feel his knees buckle and kneel down, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness the Duke."

"Please rise."

Zhi Xin smiled, said politely, and then turned to Tai Tan, saying, "Senior Tai Tan, I wonder if the Lou Gao you just mentioned is the president of the Blacksmith Association who opened the gates of Gengxin City for our Tiandou Empire Army?"

"Exactly."

Tai Tan nodded and said in a deep voice, "Lou Gao is just like me, a top-level master blacksmith. Only Lou Gao is qualified to be the president of the Blacksmith Association."

"Oh? A master craftsman?"

Zhi Xin raised an eyebrow and said, "Between you and Lou Gao, whose casting skills are superior?"

Upon hearing this, Tai Tan said in a very solemn tone, "In terms of forging, Lou Gao and I each have our own strengths. Because of my powerful Martial Soul and Soul Power, I am more skilled at refining and forging various metals. Lou Gao, on the other hand, is more skilled in some delicate techniques."

"Then this Chairman Lou Gao would be very suitable to join the Royal Academy of Sciences to develop Soul Guidance Device."

Zhi Xin, half jokingly and half seriously.

Loyal to Xue Ke, she naturally wanted to do everything she could to recruit talent for the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.

Lou Gao is clearly a talented person.

Immediately afterwards, Zhi Xin smiled slightly at Tai Tan and said, "Senior Tai Tan, since President Lou Gao has invited us, let's meet this master craftsman."

Tai Tan nodded and beckoned a carriage, but just then, a somewhat urgent voice suddenly rang out. "Senior Tai Tan, sister-in-law, wait."

A blue-haired youth strode over; it was Tang San.

Tang San is currently enjoying great success in the Heaven Dou Empire. Not only has he established the Tang Sect with the support of the royal family and Zhou Chen, but his Soul Power has also reached the Soul Saint level. He can be considered one of the most prominent young figures in the Heaven Dou Empire's Soul Master World.

Tang San calls Zhi Xin" sister-in-law" because Zhi Xin is Zhou Chen's woman.

In this all-out war against the Star Luo Empire, Tang San, along with Tai Tan, Niu Gao, and other members of the second batch of reinforcements, came to Gengxin City.

Upon seeing Tang San, Zhi Xin smiled gently and said, "Little San, do you also want to meet Lou Gao?"

Tang San smiled and said, "That's right. Our Tang Sect needs a lot of metal to make Hidden Weapon. We don't lack ordinary metals, but we have to purchase and collect rare metals extensively."

"I heard from Senior Tai Tan that Gengxin City sells various rare and precious metals, and the Tang Sect plans to purchase them in large quantities. However, most of the metal resources in Gengxin City are controlled by the Blacksmith Association, so we need to discuss this with Guild Master Lou Gao. Moreover..."

After a pause, Tang San continued, "The Tang Sect has a batch of top-notch Hidden Weapon, Wrath of the Buddha Tang Lotus, the Storm Pear Blossom Needle, and the Peacock Plume, which also require the help of master craftsmen like Guild Master Lou Gao to forge."

"I see, then let's do it together."

Zhi Xin's eyes flickered, then he nodded and boarded the carriage with Tai Tan, Niu Gao, Tang San, and the others. The blacksmith master Si Di was also fortunate enough to accompany them. The carriage headed directly towards the headquarters of the Blacksmith Association.

Gengxin City itself is not very large, so it didn't take them long to arrive at the headquarters of the Blacksmith Association.

Si Di glanced out of the carriage window, then jumped down and lifted the curtain, saying solicitously, "We've arrived, everyone please get off."

Normally, Si Di is very proud and would never do such sycophantic things.

However, the people in the carriage were either titled Douluo, nobles at the duke level, or sect leaders. In terms of both status and strength, Si Di was the lowest.

Zhi Xin, Tai Tan, Tang San, and the others got off the carriage one after another. Looking up, they saw that the carriage had stopped in front of a huge building that covered a vast area.

Above the main entrance of the building hangs a dark iron plaque. The plaque is blank, but has chisel and hammer patterns on its surface.

This is clearly the headquarters of the Blacksmith Association.

The headquarters of the Blacksmith Association looked rather rough, with no fancy decorations on the surface, and there wasn't even a guard by the gate, yet people came and went in an endless stream.

As the group entered the hall, the overwhelming noise caused Zhi Xin, who preferred quiet to activity, to furrow her brows slightly.

The hall was very spacious and had rows of transparent cabinets made of clear crystal. Inside the crystal cabinets were various finished products cast by blacksmiths.

Meanwhile, people who looked like merchants were walking back and forth between these counters, some asking about prices and others negotiating, creating quite a lively scene.

Si Di explained enthusiastically, "This hall is the trading area. Some of the shops are where blacksmiths consign various finished castings, while others are for selling metal ores."

"Tang San, if you want to buy a large quantity of metal ores, this is the most suitable place to do so."

Upon hearing this, Tang San smiled and said, "Thank you for the suggestion, Master Si Di, but there's no rush. Let's meet Craftsman Lou Gao first."

"Ha ha."

Si Di smiled and led the group to the staircase on the side of the hall.

There were Soul King- level Soul Master guarding the stairwell. Upon seeing that it was Si Di leading a group of people, they immediately bowed respectfully.

Tang San followed Si Di all the way to the top floor, where he saw three Soul Master standing at the top of the stairs. With a quick scan using his Purple Demon Eyes, Tang San immediately discovered that all three Soul Masters were Soul Saint level experts.

As expected of the headquarters of the Blacksmith Association, they actually managed to deploy Soul Saint experts as guards.

Seeing Tang San's solemn expression, Tai Tan was stunned for a moment, then understood what was going on, and laughed loudly, "Young Master, these Soul Saints are all just for show. They are almost all support-type weapon Soul Master and have no offensive power at all."

Si Di, standing to the side, nonchalantly added, "Yes, most of our Martial Soul are geared towards forging, so they don't really have much offensive power. That's precisely why our Blacksmith Association has such a low status. After all, this world respects the strong!"

At this moment, the three Soul Saint guarding the stairwell were stunned upon seeing Tai Tan and the others. One of Soul Saint respectfully said, "Senior Tai Tan, it's been a long time!"

Tai Tan laughed, "It really has been a long time! The three of you were just Soul King back then, and now you've all reached the Soul Saint level!"

"Your Highness, Young Master, Old Niu, let me introduce you. These three are all master-level blacksmiths and disciples of Lou Gao. Their names are Si Long, Si Yu, and Si Yun."

Zhi Xin, Niu Gao, and Tang San nodded to the three master blacksmiths in front of them, while Si Long, Si Yu, and Si Yun quickly returned the greeting.

Then, Si Long, the senior disciple, said with a smile, "Senior Tai Tan, our teacher is currently researching an item in the foundry. I reckon if it weren't for you, he would have definitely disappeared."

Tai Tan chuckled and said, "Alright, I'd like to see what this old fellow is researching."

Led by Si Long and Si Di, the group arrived at an alloy door made of multiple metals.

Si Long walked to the alloy door and kept knocking on the mechanism on it.

Soon, accompanied by a slight clicking sound, the metal door slowly opened, and Zhi Xin and the others immediately heard some clanging and knocking sounds.

Tai Tan raised his hand and knocked on the already open metal door, reminding Lou Gao, who was forging iron in the foundry.

The knock on the door was immediately met with an annoyed shout from inside, "Who is it? Is it Tai Tan?"

"It's your Grandpa Tai Tan!"

Tai Tan chuckled and cursed, then walked into the foundry, followed by the others.

The forging room was very bright, with a magical lamp hanging from the ceiling. In this era when Soul Guidance Device were scarce, it was quite luxurious.

Inside the foundry, a short, stout old man wearing a loose robe was hammering iron.

The old man had protruding ears, small eyes, messy short hair that looked very greasy, and some dust on his chubby face.

Clearly, this short, stout old man was none other than the master craftsman Lou Gao.

"Ha ha, Tai Tan, you old geezer, you're still alive?"

Upon seeing Tai Tan, Lou Gao burst into laughter and greeted him.

Upon hearing this, Tai Tan laughed and said, "You fat Soul Saint level bastard are still alive and well, how could I, an old man who has already broken through to the Title Douluo, possibly die?"

"What? You've broken through to the Title Douluo level?"

Lou Gao's expression instantly turned to shock. Title Douluo —that's the dream of most Soul Master. He never expected that his old friend would actually break through to this level.

However, given Tai Tan's age and potential, it is truly unbelievable that he could break through to the Title Douluo.

Then, considering that Tai Tan, who had always claimed he would never submit to anyone, was now willing to serve the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, Lou Gao immediately understood that it was definitely the Heaven Dou Imperial Family that helped Tai Tan break through to the Title Douluo.

Thinking this, Lou Gao's gaze fell on Zhi Xin, who was quietly smiling to the side.

Of those present, only Zhi Xin was wearing the Heaven Dou Empire's standard Heaven Dou Bright Silver Armor.

Sensing his old friend's questioning gaze, Tai Tan quickly stepped forward and introduced, "This is Rose Duke of the Heaven Dou Empire, the Zhi Xin."

"So you are His Zhi Xin. It's an honor to meet you."

Lou Gao cupped his hands in greeting to Zhi Xin, who smiled and returned the gesture, saying softly, "I have heard so much about Senior Lou Gao's reputation."

Zhi Xin has always respected those who might be loyal to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and has tried its best to recruit them.

Just then, Tang San, who had been unable to get a word in edgewise, looked around and suddenly noticed a rectangular black box on the forging furnace next to Lou Gao.

Tang San was very familiar with this black box.

Because this is precisely the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons, the Zhuge Divine Crossbow!

It should be noted that the Zhuge Divine Crossbow is one of the Hidden Weapon that the Tang Sect strictly forbids from being leaked, and the complete forging method is known only to Tang San.

Moreover, because the Zhuge Divine Crossbow was widely deployed in the Heaven Dou Empire's Divine Machine Camp, in order to maintain its weapon advantage, the Heaven Dou Empire strictly prohibited the sale of this Hidden Weapon and assigned a serial number to each Zhuge Divine Crossbow.

Upon seeing the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons, the Zhuge Divine Crossbow, here, Tang San's pupils contracted, and he couldn't help but interject, "Senior Lou Gao, where did you obtain this Zhuge Divine Crossbow?"

Upon hearing this, Lou Gao, who was chatting with Zhi Xin, immediately frowned, glanced at Tang San, and said, "Who are you, kid? Don't you know that children shouldn't interrupt when adults are talking?"

After a pause, Lou Gao suddenly realized something, picked up the Zhuge Divine Crossbow from the forging furnace, and said with a mixture of surprise and delight, "You just called it the Zhuge Divine Crossbow? You know it?"

"Certainly."

Hearing Lou Gao's question, Tang San smiled wryly and said, "This Zhuge Divine Crossbow is Tang Sect Hidden Weapons. How could I not recognize it?"

Thank you all for your subscriptions, donations, recommendations, and monthly tickets.

?

????

(End of this chapter)

<!--over-->