Beneath the pouring Black Rain, with a slight turn of the wrist, fine droplets pattered against the blade, raising strand after strand of delicate, airy hums.
When the dreamlike crimson blade cut through the air, it left behind a winding scarlet trail.
Like a bleeding wound, lingering without dispersing.
Though not the slightest trace of savagery or frenzy could be felt, merely staring at that pure patch of red was enough to make people shudder, as if they had fallen into an ice pit!
In the deepest part of the fortress, Frederick's eye twitched involuntarily.
He held his breath.
As the North's largest arms dealer, North Wind Workshop's products covered everything from top-tier Superior Virtue Fixed-Track Baseplates to Alchemy Bullets and armor. Unlike other Artisans, they had never abandoned the development of firearms.
And the foundation of their survival was weapon forging.
That was precisely why he could sense a terror and tremor that surpassed everyone else's.
What the fuck was this thing?!
One had to know that, throughout history, the fastest, best, and most immediately effective way to increase a weapon's power had often been the simplest...
A blood sacrifice would do.
Take lives, slaughter living beings—the more one killed, the stronger the effect naturally became.
Just kill. That was all there was to it.
In order to make the most of a Blessing like Battle Hardened Tempering, countless techniques and methods of application had naturally emerged: blood bathing, soul forging, ash smelting, bone grafting. After so many years of collective ingenuity, nothing went to waste from head to toe, inside and out. Even leftover hair could be braided into sword cords to accumulate murderous aura and transform souls...
The average caliber of Artisans was plain to see.
But no matter how poor an Artisan's character was, no matter