Forging the Mountain-Splitting Axe

Time always flies when you're comprehending martial arts. Before he knew it, it was time to return to the barracks.

"Hoo!"

With his physique significantly stronger, Li Qing could now shuttle between the two worlds without much strain. He merely broke out in a light sweat and took a few deep breaths.

The sky outside had not yet brightened, but Li Qing had already stoked the furnace fire, his face reflecting a deep crimson.

"This two-hundred-plus jin Mountain-Splitting Axe is a huge undertaking!"

He recalled that the heaviest weapon Li Qing had forged was no more than a hundred jin, a refined iron long halberd he had made for Centurion Chen Meng not long ago.

The heavier the weapon, the more difficult it was to forge, and the workload increased exponentially.

A two-hundred-plus jin Mountain-Splitting Axe was definitely not something that could be completed in a day or two. Just melting the iron ingots and hammering them would take a considerable amount of time.

Li Qing placed the pile of iron ingots in the camp onto the glowing hot furnace and began melting them.

With each hammer blow, the iron ingots began to deform and melt faster.

His gaze was incredibly focused, his eyes barely blinking.

Even though it wasn't his own weapon, he forged it with utmost seriousness, treating it like a work of art.

He had initially learned blacksmithing out of necessity after joining the army. Later, he discovered that forging weapons could increase his lifespan, so he began to treat this craft with great care.

After that, Li Qing, without even realizing it, had genuinely fallen in love with forging weapons.

Even in the sweltering summer heat, with the furnace blazing hot, it couldn't dampen his passion.

Bang!

With a powerful hammer strike from Li Qing, the handle of the Mountain-Splitting Axe began to take shape.

The axe grip, resembling a long rod, still emitted a deep red glow and was imprinted with a series of mysterious patterns. Li Qing had meticulously carved these for aesthetics, and they also served to increase friction when gripping the axe.

A good blacksmith must always consider the user's needs when forging a weapon for someone else.

The axe grip was forged. The next part was the axe head.

This was the most difficult part, requiring a great deal of time. It could be said that the majority of the two-hundred-plus jin weight of the Mountain-Splitting Axe was concentrated here.

The Mountain-Splitting Axe was a single-bladed axe, so its blade had to be large to ensure the maximum cutting area.

The ratio between the blade and the back of the axe also needed to be precise, otherwise, it would be strenuous to chop with.

Although warriors possessed astonishing strength, it was always best to conserve energy during combat.

Having experience forging axes, Li Qing was familiar with this. He mentally determined the size and proportions of the axe head, then pondered.

"The hardest part is still this Ink Gold. Can this thing even be melted?" Li Qing frowned and said.

From the beginning, he had taken out this fist-sized piece of Ink Gold and placed it beside the furnace.

But to his surprise, the temperature of the Ink Gold barely changed, only becoming slightly warm. It seemed completely non-conductive of heat!

If it were ordinary metal, it would have been scorching hot by now, not something he could hold and rub in his hand!

Li Qing sighed softly and had no choice but to steel himself and toss the Ink Gold into the hottest part of the furnace.

Gurgle gurgle~!

Completely immersed in forging, Li Qing completely forgot about time. It wasn't until his stomach rumbled that he suddenly snapped back to reality.

"Damn, I forgot to eat!"

Li Qing wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly exited the tent, only to find that the sky was already approaching dusk.

Looking at the blood-red sunset on the horizon, Li Qing, holding his food basin, hurried to the kitchen, praying inwardly that Fatty Wu was on duty today.

Entering the kitchen, Li Qing, dizzy with hunger, was immensely touched to see the plump figure busy cooking.

"Quick, Fatty Wu, give me a couple of steamed buns to fill my stomach first. I haven't eaten all day!" Li Qing shouted like a starving ghost.

Wu Chong, who was busy, immediately turned around. Seeing Li Qing in such a state, he couldn't help but tease, "You're coming here begging for food and acting so arrogant. Change your address!"

Li Qing quickly smiled and said, "Brother Wu, I was rude. Please give me a couple of steamed buns quickly. I haven't eaten anything all day."

Wu Chong, with his round head and round face, immediately broke into a smile. With a chuckle, he took out the large white steamed buns from the topmost steamer.

"Heh heh, eat up. I was wondering why you weren't here today. You're usually the first one here for meals!"

As he spoke, Wu Chong took a steamed bun and started eating it, looking incredibly content.

"Never mind that, I've been busy with blacksmithing lately. I'm almost worked to death!" Li Qing waved his hand and then asked, "By the way, I heard that other camps of the Wu Li Army are coming to the border. Do you have any news on when exactly they'll arrive?"

Fatty Wu shook his head and replied, "I don't know the exact time, but it should be soon. It takes quite some time to organize an army."

Li Qing silently chewed his steamed bun, not saying anything more.

Meanwhile, the strong wind, which had been whipping up sand, gradually subsided, and the sky began to darken.

A goshawk soared through the sky at high speed, leaving a blur in its wake.

On the distant Gobi Desert, under the cover of the sandstorm, a cavalry force of over five thousand men appeared at the edge of the northeastern horizon.

The fully-feathered goshawk landed directly on the arm of a leader at the forefront of the cavalry. His arm remained perfectly still, as if the goshawk's weight didn't exist.

This was a man with a face full of coarse flesh and a ferocious expression. A hideous scar ran across the corner of his eye.

The man, clad in a beast-hide vest, pulled a piece of cloth wrapped around a goshawk's talons and began to read the information on it.

"Chieftain Tuwahaer, have there been any changes to the defenses at Wangyuan City's fortress?" another man, who appeared quite wise, stepped forward and asked softly.

Tuwahaer's mouth split into a wide grin. "Yes," he said excitedly, "the garrison has been reduced by nearly half, and the reinforcements haven't arrived yet!"

"This is truly a godsend! Perhaps we can take Wangyuan City directly!"

However, the wise-looking man shook his head, negating the idea. "We absolutely cannot attempt to take the city. That would provoke the fiercest retaliation from the Feng Kingdom, and the tribe cannot withstand such a blow. We must let the Liang Kingdom take the brunt of it."

Only then did Tuwahaer re-tie the cloth to the goshawk's leg and release it.

"Hmm, while the Feng Kingdom's army is a pushover, those Martial Masters are indeed a troublesome bunch."

"Let's proceed with the original plan: seize grain, cloth, and Iron Ingots. And also, those Ink Gold the immortal elder spoke of in the tribe – we should try to get our hands on that too!"

As he finished speaking, the burly and savage Tuwahaer suddenly spurred his horse. The mount's speed erupted instantly.

Following him, the more than five thousand cavalry behind him also began to accelerate.