The Return of the Legendary Golden-Handed Blacksmith - Chapter 265

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 265
265.
While Nordin and his subordinates went to fetch the Spirit Stones.
Jin-woo opened the Summoning Workshop.
‘There’s work to be done.’
Since there was still considerable time before Nordin returned, Jin-woo planned to craft equipment from the byproducts of the Tower of Wind demons.
‘It’s best to act on ideas the moment they come to you.’
Otherwise you forget them.
Whoooosh—.
Jin-woo fed the materials into the forge.
Fierce flames devoured the materials.
Whoooooosh—!
The materials carried the power of wind, which made the flames burn fiercer than usual.
‘Wind makes the flames burn stronger.’
Jin-woo pulled the materials from the forge faster than he normally would.
Shiiiiish—.
“Intense.”
The fire’s power, which ought to have been contained in stability, was boiling up madly because of the wind.
Crackle—. Crackle—.
“I’ve never seen it burn like this before.”
Jin-woo paused to think.
Then he drew forth his Wave.
“Harmonia Smelting.”
He deployed Harmonia Smelting from the very start.
At this intensity, balance had to be established first.
‘The materials won’t endure this.’
If these were M-grade materials, they might have held, but the current materials ranged from USSR to USSR+ Grade.
Jin-woo used Harmonia Smelting while simultaneously controlling the fire with the Wave he had drawn forth.
‘The essence is wind.’
He had to regulate the wind, not extinguish the flames.
Rumble—. Rumble rumble—.
For that, the power of his Wave needed to match the wind itself.
-Wind inhabits the Wave’s power!
-The Wind’s Wave is added to Wave Resonance!
The wind’s power took root in his Wave.
Shiiish—.
The Wind Demon Material and Shining Wind Stone, which had been burning fiercely, began to settle.
Jin-woo brought his hammer down at precisely the right moment.
Clang—! Clang—!
The Shining Wind Stone had a peculiar feel to it.
‘It feels buoyant.’
Yet it was a mineral that gently cradled the wrist.
‘This material is craftsman-friendly?’
There was barely any strain on the wrist.
‘Each strike sends wind power radiating outward.’
The wind demons had fashioned it into a blade.
‘But it was far too dull.’
The wind blades they wielded were hopelessly blunt.
‘A skeleton’s bone structure could easily deflect them.’
So he would hone it far sharper.
Clang—! Clang—!
“Maximization Smelting.”
Jin-woo employed Soul Forging alongside Maximization Smelting.
Shiiish—.
Then he repeated the heat treatment process of cooling and reheating the mineral.
Shiiish—. Shiiish—!
With each round of heat treatment, the wind within the mineral grew fiercer.
Screeeech—!
Now with each hammer strike, a violent gust erupted.
‘One more time.’
Screeeech—!
In that instant, the hammer, Agnes, was driven backward with such a sharp gust that it rang out with a clear note.
“Dust. Coco.”
Jin-woo channeled the power of both spirits to finish.
-You have crafted equipment!
-You have crafted M-grade Equipment!
-You have crafted the Pungjo-seon!
The Pungjo-seon—a weapon brimming with wind’s power.
What Jin-woo had made was a fan fashioned from Wind Demon Material and Shining Wind Stone.
‘If you’re harnessing wind’s power, nothing beats a fan.’
Jin-woo gripped the Pungjo-seon.
Whoosh—.
The Pungjo-seon unfurled in one smooth motion, generating wind.
Screeeech—.
‘If I keep amplifying the gusts, this could become a hurricane.’
It seemed he could conjure a powerful tempest with this single fan.
Jin-woo smiled and handed the Pungjo-seon to Moltus.
This equipment was made entirely for Moltus.
“Moltus. You’ve waited long enough?”
“Not at all, sir!”
Even as he spoke, Moltus had felt a twinge of envy watching First and Pur’s equipment change multiple times since receiving his Staff.
The Staff was indeed excellent equipment, yet he too desired M-grade Equipment.
‘Now that I’ve become a Heroic-grade Undead, I should have equipment befitting that rank.’
When Moltus took up the M-grade Pungjo-seon, wind coiled once around his form.
With a light swing, a gust erupted.
‘There’s no need to even replace the Staff.’
“You could hold the Staff in one hand and the Pungjo-seon in the other.”
At Jin-woo’s words, Moltus wielded both pieces of equipment simultaneously.
Shiiiiish—!
The black Aura and the gust synergized remarkably well.
‘This has considerable impact.’
Among Jin-woo’s familiars, Bone had the most impact.
Being so enormous, his presence alone commanded attention.
But in this moment, Moltus had become the one with the greatest impact.
‘First ranks second.’
Jin-woo watched Moltus with satisfaction.
“Thank you so very much, Master! With this Pungjo-seon, I believe I can gather materials from great distances.”
With wind’s power and Telekinesis, it would certainly be possible.
At Moltus’s words, Jin-woo smiled warmly.
“I’m counting on you.”
“Yes, sir!”
Throughout all of this, Mint’s eyes grew ever brighter. The little spirit mimicked Jin-woo’s Hammering, moving her hand down from above.
‘I see promise here.’
“Little one. Your name was Mint, was it?”
“Yes! I’m Mint! What’s your name, teacher?”
Mint boldly asked Jin-woo’s name.
“Jin-woo.”
Then Jin-woo asked a very direct question.
“Want to learn?”
“……Can I really learn this amazing skill of yours!?”
A direct answer came in return.
‘An amusing little thing.’
Right there, Jin-woo crafted a small hammer for the spirit.
“Come visit sometime later.”
If she showed genuine interest, he was prepared to take her as a student.
‘Skill is one thing.’
But the most important quality in crafting was curiosity like hers.
A powerful drive to create something.
‘That’s enough.’
Then Jin-woo gestured for Mint to come. During the cleanup of the southern sector, he had already located Mint’s mother.
“Stay together. Don’t worry her too much.”
“Okay!”
Jin-woo glanced at the ground.
‘I keep feeling a vibration.’
Something felt wrong.
‘Are more demons coming?’
Or was the Quest unfolding in some other direction?
Regardless, the vibration did not feel good.
* * *
Elementia, the Spirit City.
From three towering spires, demons poured forth in endless numbers.
The demons, retaining the full power of each spire, began occupying each district and destroying everything within.
Boom—! Boom—!
The spirits’ city burning in flames.
And the broken objects scattered throughout each district.
Elementia was descending into ruin.
Yet there were still those who resisted.
Spirit Knights and mages.
Just as spirit warriors survived in the south, living spirits in other regions continued their resistance.
“Ungh—.”
“This won’t work. We cannot restore the Spirit King to his former self. We must abandon hope and retreat to the south. Lord Nordin has returned—we must join him there!”
The surviving spirit knights and mages were on the verge of annihilation.
They had desperately tried to restore the transformed Spirit King to his original state.
If the Spirit King alone returned to normal, they could have turned this situation around somehow.
But he attacked his own kind with the fury of one possessed.
No effort could restore him to his former state.
The spirits had no choice but to make a decision.
“Retreat! Retreat!”
“Fall back to the south! Move south!”
East, west, north. All the spirits began retreating at once.
But it came too late.
“Foolish wretches. It has already begun.”
“The beginning of energy absorption for the great and wise one!”
Shiiiiish—!
The ground of Elementia began to crack apart.
Space warped and fissures spread throughout the surroundings.
-Collapse of Elementia has begun!
-Complete collapse in 48:00:00
Exactly forty-eight hours remained.
Tick—.
-47:59:59
The collapse had started.
* * *
“Bring them all in!”
Nordin gathered every Spirit Stone from the south’s final stronghold.
But the stones at that stronghold were all they had obtained this time.
Jin-woo’s eyes lit up at the dozen or so Spirit Stones.
While not quite at the level of a Brilliant Moonstone, these were quite respectable.
-Shining Wind Stone [USSR+]
-Red Stone [USSR]
-Earth Stone [USSR]
The highest-grade stone was the Shining Wind Stone, a beautiful mineral that gleamed with silver light.
‘But I wish there were more.’
“I apologize, Jin-woo. Normally we could gather far more Spirit Stones… but as you know, the original southern stronghold is still occupied by demons.”
“So there are more Spirit Stones at that stronghold?”
“Yes, exactly! I’m certain of it! Once we reclaim that stronghold, we can use the south as a base to reclaim the other regions!”
A terrible shadow crossed Nordin’s mind in that instant.
“But there is a formidable entity guarding that stronghold.”
The reason Grendan had descended from the central southern stronghold was because of that powerful presence.
“Guide me there.”
Jin-woo gestured to Nordin.
A powerful entity or whatever else—it made no difference.
In fact, it was preferable.
“Let’s reclaim the south first.”
But at that very moment.
Booooom—!
The collapse struck nearby.
-Collapse of Elementia has begun!
-Time remaining 48 : 00 : 00
The Collapse of Elementia.
Nordin and the spirit knights went slack-jawed.
What they had feared had finally come to pass.
“Forty-eight hours.”
“Jin-woo…”
They had thought hope had finally arrived.
What in the world was this?
Even with ample time to push back the demons and reclaim the land, it would have been tight—and now a forty-eight-hour limit had materialized.
“Within forty-eight hours, we must drive out the demons and… recreate the legendary artifacts…!”
It was physically impossible.
Recreating them might be within Jin-woo’s power, but who could have foreseen such a tight window?
Nordin and the spirit knights were at a loss.
Tick—.
But Jin-woo remained composed.
“Damn it… Why now of all times……”
“Why are you despairing?”
Jin-woo spoke.
“That’s more than enough time.”
Forty-eight hours was ample time for Jin-woo.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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