Chương 104: Chapter 102 Blacksmith Village

Fifteen days passed after the road reached the iron mine. During that time, the Greenskin Alliance constructed a small village in front of the cave. Warriors travelled continuously between Root, the waystation, and the new settlement, escorting groups of women to the construction site. With the combined labour of the warriors and women, the village steadily took shape. What they built in fifteen days was hardly magnificent.

The stone wall stood only around three metres high and enclosed enough land for approximately one hundred residents. However, this was never intended to become another capital where every member of the alliance would gather. It was a strategic settlement meant to absorb nearby orc tribes and goblin clans. It would also support the extraction and refining of iron ore. There was no need to prepare enough space for hundreds of people in advance. That might change once the Greenskin Alliance grew much larger.

"Krahahaha! Grand Chief, we finally possess another village!"

"The Greenskin Alliance continues growing, Grand Chief!" Once the wall was reasonably complete, the advisers gathered inside Karath's temporary residence with satisfied smiles.

"Grand Chief! Since we built another village after Root, should this place not receive a name?"

"That is correct!" The moment one adviser mentioned naming the settlement, everyone nodded in agreement and turned toward Karath. Again? Naming things remained unbearably difficult.

"Ahem. This time, everyone should offer ideas so we can choose a name together." Karath attempted to pass the painful responsibility to the others. The advisers fell into thought.

"A village where we split open the heads of bears! What about Bear Head Village?"

"This settlement was created through the blood of bears, so Bearblood Village would be excellent!" Kaden and Parker immediately offered bold and thoroughly insane suggestions.

"Why do the two of you not go outside and guard the village? Using your strength in a meeting like this appears to be causing the alliance a terrible loss."

"Krahahaha! You speak wisely, Grand Chief!" The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"We will protect the village, Grand Chief! As long as we stand guard, no monster will dare enter!" Karath had indirectly ordered them to leave. Somehow, both warriors interpreted it as praise.

"Ah! Krog has thought of a good name, Grand Chief."

"Oh! Speak, Krog." Krog was one of the few orcs whose suggestion Karath genuinely anticipated.

"The village where we began was named Root. This place could be called Leaf Village, symbolising how a leaf has finally grown from that root!"

"Oh!"

"As expected of Krog! Grand Chief, is that not an excellent name?" The other advisers looked impressed and immediately supported the proposal.

"You want to name this place Leaf Village?" Karath could never allow that. The moment they named it Leaf Village, every orc and goblin living here might become petty and treacherous. Betrayal would follow betrayal, and one day some deranged child might launch a coup while shouting about becoming Hokage.

"Ahem. Leaf does not sound particularly suitable. This village will mine and refine iron. It will become a village of smiths, so it shall be called Blacksmith Village." To prevent the horrifying alternative, Karath had no choice but to create the name himself. Thus was born Blacksmith Village, the logistics base that would supply weapons to the Greenskin Alliance. After the wall was completed and the village named, Orga continued reinforcing the fortifications with several warriors and women.

The remaining women began constructing the interior buildings. Karath personally supervised one especially large earthen structure. There was no need to explain its purpose. This building would become the place where iron was refined. Karath had used magic when demonstrating the refining process to the advisers, but proper metalworking required multiple stages and suitable facilities. He could not personally refine every piece of iron with magic.

He was the Grand Chief and possessed countless responsibilities beyond blacksmithing. The alliance needed an environment where other orcs could refine metal in his place. That was the purpose of this building. Iron ore found in nature was not composed of pure iron. Numerous impurities were mixed within it, greatly reducing its strength. Karath had also heard that completely pure iron was relatively weak. To produce a strong material, carbon needed to be added to create carbon steel.

Its properties and classification changed depending upon the proportion of carbon. Where had Karath learned such information? Some of it came from high school chemistry. He had also acquired limited knowledge while researching blacksmithing during the development of an RPG. Based upon that knowledge, modern iron refining sounded relatively simple. Iron ore filled with impurities was heated to an extreme temperature together with coke and limestone.

The resulting chemical reactions separated carbon steel from the impurities. Even though Karath understood the basic modern process, two important problems remained. Coke and limestone. Coke was produced by processing coal. Karath intended to substitute charcoal. Coke served several functions, but as far as he remembered, one of its most important roles was supplying carbon monoxide. The gas removed oxygen from iron oxide, turning it into iron while also introducing carbon into the metal.

Burning charcoal produced smoke containing carbon monoxide, so Karath hoped it could serve as an imperfect substitute. Limestone was a greater problem. Without it, removing the impurities properly would be difficult. Limestone was the material responsible for drawing unwanted substances away from the iron ore. Since Karath possessed none, he had no choice but to use a more primitive refining method. He would melt and separate the materials through fire.

Preferably, he would create flames hot enough to melt the impurities and, whenever necessary, the iron itself, allowing the metal to be shaped freely.

"Complete!" Karath released a roar as he finished the strange pattern covering the area around the furnace. His method for generating enough heat to melt iron was a magic circle. He drew the formation across the floor of the smithy and used the remaining drake-bone fragments to stabilise its mana supply and flow. Weapons for the original Bloodclaw warriors, Root's freezer, and now this forge had consumed every remaining piece of drake bone. None remained. That hardly mattered.

The foundation for producing iron weapons was finally complete. Should Karath need more materials of similar quality, the alliance could hunt another drake-like monster after equipping its warriors with iron. It would not be easy, of course. That was a problem for another day.

"Hahahaha! Iron! We finally have iron!" Karath decided to enjoy the present. The dignity of the Grand Chief could go to hell. Today was a day of celebration.