Chapter 24: Blood Rite, the Swordsmiths in Peril

"A fall?!" Tetsukawa nearly choked on the answer. You call demolishing a house 'taking a fall'? How can you stand there looking like you've been beaten to a pulp and tell us you just fell?

Though he was speechless, Tetsukawa knew he wouldn't get the real story out of them. Helpless, he arranged for Sisho and Michikatsu to be moved to another room. With the arrival of Tetsukawa and his men, Michikatsu had retracted his killing intent and returned to his usual demeanor. He still needed the smiths to forge his sword; he couldn't let them find out he had tried to kill a comrade.

And so, after changing rooms, Sisho and Michikatsu spent three peaceful days in the village. During that time, Sisho's fractured arm fully healed.

On the fourth day at noon, a messenger from Tetsukawa arrived to inform Sisho: all the materials had been prepared. The forging was about to begin!

Led by the smith, Sisho arrived at a forge in a corner of the village.

"Thank you for your hard work," Sisho said, dismissing the guide as Tetsukawa led him inside the workshop.

Upon entering, Sisho was stunned by the sight. Forging hammers of all sizes, molds of various shapes, and buckets filled with quenching water were everywhere. In a corner sat a pile of materials for the blade. The four smiths who had been chosen to assist—Kinsaki and the others—were already standing at their respective anvils. It was clear that Tetsukawa and his team had poured immense resources into this forging.

"For this blade, I've emptied the entire village's reserves just to gather the materials," Tetsukawa said, his eyes filled with excitement as he led Sisho to his station. "I can guarantee that neither in the past nor in the future will there ever be a Nichirin Blade that surpasses this one."

With that, Tetsukawa ascended to the main forge, raising a large hammer high. "There is no time to waste. I declare the forging has begun!"

As he finished speaking, Tetsukawa swung the hammer, striking a piece of raw iron before him.

CLANG!

The crisp sound of metal on metal echoed, heralding the start of the forging of the strongest Nichirin Blade in history.

Before Sisho lay chunks of deep red stone. This was the Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand. Smelted from Crimson Jade Ore, it was one of the most vital components of a Nichirin Blade. Sisho's task was to forge these small pieces into a single, unified whole. Though it sounded simple, the difficulty was immense. Each piece of Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand was an independent entity. To fuse them, the smith had to raise the temperature to its absolute limit, turning all the solid chunks into liquid.

After a moment of thought, Sisho began. He packed the furnace with firewood and accelerants, first raising the furnace's internal temperature. A roaring fire blazed within, making the very air shimmer with heat. Soon, the entire furnace glowed red-hot, even beginning to turn a faint blue. A drop of sweat trickled down his forehead, evaporating into steam before it could fall.

Almost there. Now!

Using a pair of tongs, Sisho carefully placed a piece of Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand at the very top of the fire. The heat transferred, and soon, a change occurred. Bit by bit, the part of the sand touching the fire softened, resembling a small piece of deep red jelly.

Good, just like this. Keep heating it until the semi-solid melts into a liquid.

A glint of joy appeared in Sisho's eyes as he continued to feed the furnace. However, the properties of the sand smelted from Crimson Jade Ore exceeded his expectations. As more of it turned into the red jelly, the softening process slowed. Eventually, it showed no signs of liquefying further. No matter how much wood Sisho added or how fiercely the flames burned, the Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand refused to change.

Staring at the chunks of red jelly, Sisho frowned. Fusing the iron sand was one of the most difficult steps in the entire process. Tetsukawa had entrusted this part to him out of great faith.

This is tough.

His brow was so tightly furrowed that he didn't even notice he had bitten his lip, drawing blood. A single drop trickled down and fell onto the Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand below. Upon contact, the blood was instantly absorbed, vanishing into the stone.

Huh?

Though it was brief, Sisho noticed a change. Did it... melt a little?

Seeing the bottommost part show slight signs of liquefaction, an idea formed in his mind. Could it be that my blood, infused with the energy of the Breath of the Sun, can accelerate the melting process?

Without hesitation, Sisho placed a flat iron sheet on the fire. In moments, the roaring flames turned it red-hot. Under the astonished gazes of Tetsukawa and the others, Sisho picked up the iron sheet and slashed it across his wrist.

Tsssss!

A large amount of blood gushed from the wound, pouring like a river onto the Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand below.

Watching his own blood fall, Sisho felt a strange sensation, as if he had become the leader of some dark cult, performing a blood sacrifice.

"Sisho, you—" Nearby, Tetsukawa saw this and rushed to stop him. But when he saw the determined expression on Sisho's face, he slowly retracted his step.

Swinging his great hammer once more, Tetsukawa hammered away and shouted, "Hey, Sisho-lad, you alright?"

Though his face was a little pale, Sisho's mind was incredibly clear. "Don't worry, I won't die."

When enough blood had flowed, Sisho pressed the hot iron sheet against the wound. The searing pain of burning flesh shot through his body, but he clenched his jaw and didn't make a sound.

What a powerful kid. Tetsukawa thought, catching the scene out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, you lot, get back to work!" he roared, his booming voice snapping Kinsaki and the others out of their stupor. "Instead of worrying about him, you should be finishing your own jobs!"

"Yes, sir!" Startled back to their senses, Kinsaki and the others threw themselves back into their work, and the forging continued.

On Sisho's side, with the help of his blood, the Scarlet Crimson Iron Sand successfully melted into a liquid. Soon, all the chunks had fused together. He poured the liquid into a mold and set it aside to cool temporarily.

Just as Sisho thought his part was over, a cry of alarm came from nearby. "Tetsuko, what's wrong?!"

Turning his head, he saw that the man named Tetsuko had collapsed at some point. At the same time, a half-forged ingot fell from his anvil, plummeting directly toward his head. In the next moment, Tetsuko's skull would be crushed into paste!

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