Tap... Tap... Tap...
While the old man was coaxing his grandson, Luo Chen and Catherine slowly approached the place along the path at the foot of the mountain.
"Huh?!" Just as they reached the halfway point of the mountain, they unexpectedly encountered another group of people. These were the men in black who had suffered a loss at the hands of the old man and were slinking down the mountain covered in injuries.
As they passed each other and walked away with their backs to each other, Luo Chen suddenly frowned, sensing that something was amiss.
"What's wrong?!" Catherine couldn't help but ask when she saw his expression.
"It's nothing, I just feel a little strange!" Luo Chen shook his head and replied.
"Strange?!" This reply puzzled Catherine greatly.
"Well, I was just curious how they managed to come down the mountain with injuries!" After saying that, Luo Chen didn't continue the topic and walked towards the top of the mountain.
Although Catherine didn't quite understand what he meant, she didn't press him further and followed him up the mountain.
At the foot of the mountain, among the group of men in black who had separated from them, one of the more astute individuals recognized Luo Chen and his companion instantly upon seeing their faces. However, he did not expose them. Instead, after descending the mountain, he told his companion and immediately ran back to headquarters to report the matter to his superior.
Bang!!
Bang!!
Bang!!
At the mountaintop, after coaxing his grandson, the old man resumed his work, raising a large iron sledgehammer and smashing it against another red-hot iron bar.
The clanging sound of hammering echoed once again around the mountaintop, drowning out many other sounds, including the footsteps of Luo Chen and his companion as they arrived.
Bang... Bang... Bang...
The old man was so engrossed in hammering that he didn't notice two more people climbing up the hill behind him.
"Old man!!"
Bang!! Bang!!
The old man didn't hear Luo Chen's shouts, and the sound of hammering iron continued.
"Hey, old man!!"
"Um?!"
Seeing that the other party seemed unaware of his arrival, Luo Chen called out again, his voice directly drowning out the sound of his hammering and reaching the old man's ears, causing him to stop and look behind him.
"Who are you?! What are you doing here?!" Having experienced the threats from the men in black before, and with his cold personality, the old man's words were also icy, and he asked in a tone that kept everyone at arm's length.
"Old man, we are tourists from the outer sea... uh... We heard that there is a highly skilled swordsmith here, so we have come to visit you and hope that you can reforge this broken sword!" Luo Chen was very respectful and polite. After speaking, he handed the Rain Burial sword to him and stared at him with hopeful eyes, trying to persuade this man to help.
"Hmm... let me take a look!" Seeing that the other party was very polite and respectful, the old man stopped being stern and reached out to take the Rain Burial from Luo Chen's palm.
"Huh?! This is... Rain Burial!!" The old man immediately recognized Rain Burial's true identity upon seeing the scabbard, then solemnly put it away before slowly drawing the blade.
"This... how could this be?! The Rain Burial broke?!" As the sword was pulled out further, the old man briefly showed a look of nostalgia, but it didn't last long. When it was pulled out to about a third of its length, it disappeared completely!
This made the old man jump up immediately, angrily questioning Luo Chen.
"Uh..." Seeing his expression, Luo Chen, though somewhat prepared, still couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed, after all, he was the one who broke this rare treasured sword.
From the words of the swordsmith at the foot of the mountain, it can be roughly guessed that the person in front of him seems to be the successor of the master who forged the Rain Burial. In other words, the Rain Burial was forged by his ancestor. Now, he is taking the broken Rain Burial, which has been out of the Sword-Forging Island for hundreds of years, back to show his successor. How can anything good happen?!
"Hmph, young man, let me tell you the truth. This sword was forged by my ancestor, the First-Generation Wieland. When it was forged, it was entrusted to one of the few great swordsmen of the time. The one who wielded it once aspired to the throne of the world's number one swordsman. After several hundred years, it was finally forged into an unparalleled Black Blade. And now you are bringing back a broken Rain Burial sword to me!! Don't you intend to explain this to me properly?" The old man, the Thirteenth-Generation Wieland, narrowed his eyes, his sharp gaze fixed on Luo Chen, as if he would be punished if he did not explain himself clearly.
"Uh... old man, calm down and sit down. I'll explain this to you properly..." Seeing that the other party had even raised the hammer and was about to fight, Luo Chen wasn't afraid of him, but since he still needed his help, he was embarrassed to make a big fuss. He waved his hand and said with an awkward smile.
"Hmph!!" Wieland still didn't like them, but he sat down, put down his hammer, and prepared to listen to their explanation.
"Here's what happened..." After sitting down and calming down for a while, Luo Chen then explained the whole story and its basic details.
"So, Rain Burial was destroyed by another Great Grade Sword called Shatter Destruction, right?!" After hearing this, Wieland's expression relaxed slightly, but his tone remained indifferent as he spoke.
"Yes, although the opponent is indeed very powerful, the fragments of Rain Burial are inextricably linked to me, so it's all my fault!" Luo Chen nodded and continued.
Although the name of the Great Grade Sword " Shatter Destruction " momentarily stunned Wieland, he quickly regained his composure and roared at him loudly and excitedly, "Of course it's your fault! Did you think a single Great Grade Sword could destroy it? If you hadn't been such an incompetent master, how could Rain Burial have been broken?! And now you still have the nerve to come to me for repairs?!"
Wieland's attitude shows that even if he had the ability to repair Rain Burial, he wouldn't repair it for Luo Chen. Someone who doesn't cherish the swords in his hands and simply treats them as tools is not worthy of his help in repairing them.
"Old man, you are right. I do feel very guilty about the broken pieces of Rain Burial, but as its master, I cannot watch it be destroyed because of me. Please give me a chance to rebuild Rain Burial. I swear from now on I will treat it as my own brother and make it famous far and wide!" Luo Chen stood up, bowed to Wieland, and asked him with great respect and sincerity.
"Tch... Come on, this old man of humble origins can't stand the formalities of someone as important as you."
"Take it away. No matter how respectful and sincere you are, I will not reforge it for an incompetent swordsman like you. It would be better to destroy it completely than to continue to be disgraced in your hands!" Wieland completely rejected Luo Chen's gift, and his words became even more offensive. His dismissive attitude forced Luo Chen to leave empty-handed.
"Sigh, since it's inconvenient for you to help, sir, let's come back tomorrow!" Luo Chen sighed, picked up the Rain Burial, and prepared to leave.
"Tomorrow?! No matter how much you beg me, it's impossible in two or three years. You still want me to fix it for you?! Forget about it!!" Wieland shouted at Luo Chen and the other person who hadn't gone far.
As their conversation became heated, a delicate and adorable little boy, as beautiful as a porcelain doll, leaned against the door, eavesdropping on their conversation. He was terrified by the angry expression on his grandfather's face, Wieland's, face and immediately ran back inside, shrinking into the covers and trembling.
At the foot of the mountain, Luo Chen and Catherine walked side by side.
" Luo Chen, it seems there's no hope this time. That old man's attitude is very firm. I don't think he'll repair Rain Burial for you. Should we leave and find a swordsmith elsewhere to forge it?!" Halfway there, Catherine suddenly stopped and asked him.
"Go somewhere else?!" Hearing Catherine's suggestion, Luo Chen stopped, paused, then shook his head and said, "No need, he'll forge the Rain Burial for me!!"
Luo Chen's tone was very firm, as if he was very certain that Wieland would make a move, which puzzled Catherine greatly.
"Why are you so sure?! I think that old man is very stubborn; there's no way he'd help!"
"Hehehe, then let's wait and see!" Luo Chen chuckled, not replying, and led Catherine back into town.
In Casting's office, shrouded in mist, at a government-designated intelligence facility.
"You mean you personally saw the pirate Luo Chen and Catherine Palace heading towards the Wieland Sword Forge on the mountain? Are you sure about that?!" The man sitting at the desk asked the man in black standing respectfully below.
"Yes, I am absolutely certain. Just now, as we were returning from your mission to fetch old man Wieland, having failed and come back down the mountain, we encountered them head-on!"
"My subordinates have memorized their appearances from the newspapers and wanted posters; there's no way they could mistake them!" The man was the one in black who had seen Luo Chen and the other two immediately separate from their companions and rush back from the foot of the mountain. He confidently assured his superior.
"Alright, now that everyone's here, we can begin our plan. The first step is to force that old man Wieland to submit. You can do that, right?!" The man nodded, then raised his head, seemingly speaking to his subordinate.
"Ah... this, this subordinate might be able to do..." The soldier in black, genuinely believing his superior was speaking to him, immediately waved his hand tremblingly in reply.
"Hmm... I'm not talking to you. You've finished what you had to say, so get lost!" The man frowned and spoke coldly, seeing his subordinate's pathetic state.
"Yes, sir!!" Upon receiving their superior's order, the soldiers in black rushed out as if their legs were about to give way.
Emerging from the shadows, a figure draped in a black robe appeared, nodded to the other person, and then vanished again, seemingly following instructions to head towards Wieland.
Upon returning to town, Catherine couldn't help but ask Luo Chen beside her, " Luo Chen, what exactly did you mean just now? How could you be so sure that old man would help us repair Rain Burial?!"
"Hehe, no need to rush, you'll know tomorrow!" Luo Chen didn't answer her, instead giving her a mysterious smile to cover it up.
Seeing that he had no intention of saying anything, Catherine couldn't help but roll her eyes at him, then asked, "Hmph, why are you always keeping me in suspense?! Alright, what should we do now? Should we go back to the ship to rest, or find a hotel in town?!"
"Let's find a hotel in town first, and go there tomorrow. Maybe that guy Wieland's attitude will change!" So the two of them found a hotel in town to rest and decided to visit him the next morning.
At the mountaintop, inside the Wieland Sword Forge, in a quaint and somewhat dilapidated little house, Wieland lived with his young grandson, Kamera.
In Kamera's room, as the recovered Kamera lifted the covers to go out and play, the whole house suddenly darkened, startling her so much that she screamed.
"Ah!!!"
But seemingly shrouded in darkness, Kamera's screams didn't carry out to her grandfather, who was forging iron outside the door.
Wow...
Just then, not long after he screamed, the room changed again. A shadow twisted behind Kamera, and then a man in a black robe walked out.
"Who are you?! Why are you here? This is my room, Kamera's room. I'm very powerful. If you don't want to die, get out of here right now!!" Upon seeing the person, Kamera was startled and took a big step back. After calming down, she drew her self-defense knife and pointed it at the other person, forcing herself to speak.
"Hehehe... Your room?! Do you dare to fight me then, you little brat?!" Hearing Kamera's words, the man in the black robe chuckled and then spoke.
"Hmph, I'm the grandson of the great swordsmith Wieland, I'm not afraid of you. If you don't leave, don't blame me for being impolite!" Kamera raised her head and puffed out her chest as she spoke to him.
" Wieland's grandson?! Heh heh heh, what a terrifying title. But whether you're his grandson or not, it doesn't matter to me now. I'm here to take you to a nice place to rest. If you know what's good for you, come with me obediently, or don't blame me for hitting the child!!" The man in black robes didn't rush to attack, but looked at him with interest and said.
"I... I won't go with you. Grandpa said I can't leave with strangers. You're just like those other people who wanted to come find my grandpa. You couldn't get him to go with you, so you're trying to kidnap me to threaten him, right?!" Kamera stopped her trembling legs and voiced her suspicions.
"Hmm?! Hehehe, I never expected a child like you to think of this. You're quite something. But no matter how much you struggle and disagree, you still have to come with me... Come here, kid!!" The man in the black robe was taken aback when he heard this. He didn't expect Kamera to be able to think so much at such a young age. She didn't refute his words and directly reached out to grab him.
"No, I don't want to leave with you..." Kamera shouted as she ran backward when she saw the black-robed man's hand reach out.
"Hehehe, you have no choice but to come with me!" The man in black robes then grabbed Kamera's body with his large hand. No matter how much Carmela struggled, his figure slowly sank into the shadows. Soon after, he disappeared from the room with Carmela. After he disappeared, the shadows in the room vanished, and the room returned to light. However, at this moment, Wieland, who was forging iron outside, did not realize that his grandson had just been kidnapped.