"Whoosh!"
As the bellows were pulled, flames churned inside the enormous forge, and waves of heat bore down on them.
Several burly men worked bare-chested, each swinging a great hammer and pounding the metal on the anvil until sparks flew in all directions.
This was a blacksmith shop in Storm City. It was not especially large, but it had quite a reputation. Its owner, Hammer Daim, was one of the foremost blacksmiths in Storm City. Even some of the weapons and equipment needed by Storm City's army were supplied by this place.
Thus, the things this place never lacked were, first, iron ingots, and second, blacksmith apprentices.
After all, in this harsh and dangerous world, becoming a blacksmith was itself something that made everyone at the bottom envy you.
For example, today, a poor boy of eighteen or nineteen, nervous yet curious, had been sent here by his hopeful family. After paying a certain number of copper coins, he officially became an apprentice here. For the next ten years, everything he had, including his life, would belong to this place.
"A sturdy young fellow. You'll be responsible for feeding coal into the furnace in the morning and working the bellows in the afternoon. In a few days, I'll teach you to swing a hammer."
Hammer Daim was quite satisfied. Look at the muscles on this young fellow—not like those bean sprouts the others had sent over, who still needed to be slowly built up.
"Yes, boss."
The boy was very polite. He gave a simple, honest smile, revealing a row of slightly yellow, blackened teeth. After all, he was from the bottom. A row of snow-white little teeth would have made people suspicious.
This new blacksmith apprentice was naturally Zhang Yang.
Over the past five days, he had first stockpiled