Chapter 72: Chapter 72 The Iron Age "Leader, what is this?" The sudden appearance of three objects by the furnace immediately drew the attention of everyone in the camp. It’s no secret in the Great Xia Camp that Xia Hong can create things out of nothing, especially with the miraculous Iron Refining Furnace. Naturally, everyone was curious about these three objects, looking at Xia Hong with great anticipation. Some people from Da Shi Camp were also curious and came over, mainly the younger ones with strong curiosity, including Shi Ping and Shi Lu, the children of Shi Qing. Xia Hong didn’t hide anything and gave a general introduction to the three objects. The people of Great Xia trusted Xia Hong without doubt and were thrilled upon hearing about the powerful functions of the three objects. However, Shi Ping, Shi Lu, and some others from Da Shi Camp were puzzled by these unheard-of items. "Leader, why not give it a try, activate this wooden mannequin, and I’ll spar with it." Xia Hong was not about to waste time explaining, and when Yuan Cheng suggested a demonstration, he waved them off quickly. [Resources: Wood 1140 Coal 144 Iron 312 Silver 0 Gold 0] Currently, there’s no source of coal or iron, and the recent construction had already consumed a lot, leaving few resources. Without new production, not even a bit could be wasted. Xia Hong frowned slightly as he looked at the few remaining coal stones on the ground, picked up a small one, and tossed it into the Iron Refining Furnace. Bang... The moment the coal stone went in, the flames surged upward instantly, spreading a wave of heat from the furnace, raising the temperature inside the cave significantly. "It’s so warm; I can’t believe the heat the coal stone gives off is this high!" "I’m not cold at all now, even though the cave entrance is open." "Did Rogel Camp send a lot of coal? Will we be able to use it in the future?" "Not yet, we can’t. Once we break through to the Earth-digging Realm and can mine coal ourselves, then we’ll be able to use coal for heating." ...... The campers felt the warmth rise and began discussing fervently. Xia Hong understood immediately why Rogel Camp didn’t use much wood for heating. The heat emitted from burning coal and wood is not comparable at all, and the smoke from burning coal is virtually nonexistent compared to wood. Not to mention, coal was also essential for forging and weapon crafting. The system showed a daily consumption rate as soon as the coal stone was thrown into the Iron Refining Furnace: twenty units of coal per day. Twenty units equates to 400 pounds. Xia Hong couldn’t help but click his tongue; the consumption rate was absurdly high. However, considering a standard 50-square-meter wooden house in Rogel Camp consumed 150 daily, and this Iron Refining Furnace covered a hundred-meter radius, burning 400 pounds a day didn’t seem excessive. In short, they were poor. Currently, with only 144 units of coal available, it would only suffice for seven days if used for heating— they simply couldn’t afford it. Xia Hong took a deep breath, picked up two more coal stones, and threw them into the Iron Refining Furnace. Then he selected a fist-sized piece of iron ore from the ground. With the same weight, iron ore is half the size of coal stone; a fifty-pound coal stone is as big as a fist, yet the iron ore Xia Hong held, also fist-sized, weighed over a hundred pounds. "According to Luo Ming, the world’s iron ore here doesn’t need refining; just melt it with coal fire, pour it into a mold to form an iron ingot, and continuously hammer it until forging patterns appear, and it becomes a weapon. The more forging patterns, the more powerful the crafted weapon. Generally, reaching the Ten Forging Level can break through the lower-level Cold Beast defenses without issues!" Recalling what he learned about weapon crafting from Luo Ming before leaving Rogel Camp, Xia Hong showed a hint of contemplation in his eyes. Compared to the process from his previous life, this crafting method seemed unreasonable, but the iron ore of this world obviously was not the same as Earth’s. Judging from the weight alone, it was evident. Remembering Wang Ming’s roughly 600-pound broadsword, Xia Hong stopped overthinking, selected fifteen pieces of iron ore—about 600 pounds in total—and placed them over the Iron Refining Furnace, adding a few more coal stones underneath. "Leader, are you planning to forge weapons?" "Definitely, didn’t the leader just say that the black stone could form any mold? After melting the iron ore and pouring it into the mold, a weapon should come out, right?" "Our Great Xia can also craft weapons ourselves now." "Iron probably isn’t enough at the moment, not many weapons can be made now, but once we have more iron mines, we’ll all have weapons." ...... The surrounding crowd, including Xia Chuan, immediately guessed Xia Hong’s intention, feeling excited and buzzing with chatter. If only it were as easy as they said. Xia Hong shook his head internally, did not speak, and walked to the black polishing stone, placing his hand on it. After probing a bit over it, Xia Hong immediately understood. This polishing stone could transform with a light touch, but if force was applied, it became ridiculously hard, somewhat similar to a non-Newtonian fluid but evidently more advanced. Xia Hong flattened the polishing stone, then lightly impressed the shape of a blade mold on it. Next, he just had to wait for the iron ore to melt. The heat from the Iron Refining Furnace made the whole cave as warm as spring. The night provided no drowsiness, and everyone gathered, chatting and waiting with Xia Hong for the iron ore to melt. Over three hours later, nearing midnight, the iron ore on the furnace finally melted completely into a mass of milky white hot liquid. Xia Hong placed the polishing stone on one side of the furnace, then moved carefully to pour the liquid over the blade mold impression. Sizzle... As the liquid entered the mold, it solidified upon contact with the polishing stone, emitting a dense white smoke. A while later, after all the molten iron had been poured out, Xia Hong relaxed his grip and looked down at the polishing stone, a smile spreading across his face. "Fetch some water." Xia Chuan quickly jogged to the side of the wall and brought a ladle of water. Xia Hong took the ladle and poured it over the polishing stone. As hot and cold met, a more intense white smoke erupted. No one displayed signs of impatience; they all craned their necks, waiting for the smoke to disperse, eager to see if the blade mold was complete. A dozen or so breaths later, the smoke cleared, and a long, black iron ingot stealthily appeared on the polishing stone. The iron ingot was about a meter and a half long, narrow at the top, wide at the bottom, with a distinct curve at the tail, clearly taking the shape of a blade. "This is an iron ingot, not quite a blade yet, right?" "It’s already very close, probably just needs shaping. Didn’t the leader previously bring back a blade? We’ve all seen it." "It probably requires forging; the leader definitely knows, see." ...... Xia Hong picked up the iron ingot from the polishing stone, placed it on the Iron Refining Furnace, and lightly kneaded the polishing stone again. Under Xia Hong’s gentle kneading, the polishing stone quickly transformed into the shape of an iron hammer, and after leaving a half-meter-long grip, he stopped. Using wood to fix the iron ingot on either side of the Iron Refining Furnace, Xia Hong raised the polishing hammer, took a deep breath, and struck the iron ingot forcefully. Clang... A crisp strike rang in everyone’s ears. Clang... clang... clang... clang... clang... Then came a series of rhythmic hammering sounds, echoing like celestial melodies to their ears. Their faces were full of anticipation, their eyes reflecting the sparks from Xia Hong’s striking, and something indescribable within them seemed to stir softly. Xia Hong resembled an indefatigable machine, hammering with increasing enthusiasm. He wasn’t quite sure what the others in the camp were thinking, but his spirit was surging with excitement. After all, the blade mold he was forging could, in a sense, signify that from today onwards, the Great Xia Camp had officially entered: The Iron Age.