In the early morning, the Workshop District on the western side of Red Tide Main City was still shrouded in mist.
Morning light slowly spilled into the factory grounds from the east, illuminating the white steam and furnace smoke churning in the air and casting the entire smithing workshop as a steel beast that seemed to breathe.
The great doors creaked open, and Louis and his party slowly entered the trial area.
He led the way, followed by Mike, Silco, Bradley, and Hamilton, the bright-eyed young prodigy carrying a tube of blueprints on his back.
A scorching wave of heat struck them as they entered, mingled with the smells of coke, machine oil, and red-hot iron ingots, hot enough to singe their brows.
"What a warm welcome," Silco muttered, shielding himself from the steam with his sleeve.
But no one answered him. Everyone's attention had already been drawn to the enormous, roaring steam-powered forging machine.
"Clack, clack, clack..."
It was the beating of the Iron Heart.
The improved steam engine ran at an extremely high frequency. Beside it, a flywheel spun rapidly, driving a massive forging hammer down through its connecting rod.
Amid showers of sparks, the red-gold metal on the anvil was repeatedly flattened, folded, and hammered solid.
Piece after piece of iron took shape before their eyes.
The team of craftsmen was already at their stations, but they worked even harder when they saw Louis approach.
A powerfully built worker held the control lever steady, never taking his eyes off the main shaft.
A tall, thin man knelt beside the machine, swiftly recording pressure and rotational speed on pages already damp with steam.
Two apprentices took turns running forward to apply alchemical lubricant to the piston. Their movements were quick but unhurried, and their faces were flushed with