The two Whitestar defense corp members stepped in closer to look at the weapons Lin Feng had, and their appreciation was obvious.
"All the weapons you made are impressive, old sir!"
"This sword has a real presence to it. I can feel the hint of an edge even when I hold it in my hand. The lines on the blade are natural, and the blade itself almost shines…"
As he said that, he pulled his own sword from the sheath.
Lin Feng gave it a sideways glance. He seemed to see the emblem of an iron hammer on the sword's broad blade.
The appraiser from the trade center held up his hand to stop the defense corp member, saying exasperatedly,
"Tomas, these weapons belong to us now. Could you please refrain from doing that?"
The defense corp member came back to his senses and flashed a sheepish smile, moving to resheathe his sword.
Just then, however, Lin Feng waved him off and smiled.
"It's alright, let the young man give it a try. I'm also curious to see just how well the weapons I forge match up against the equipment the Whitestar defense corp currently has."
He talked about matching up, but everyone here already knew that Tomas' broadsword was decent at best. It was miles away from the weapons Lin Feng had lined out.
"Thank you, sir!"
Tomas was ecstatic to hear that. He suddenly tossed his broadsword to his friend and then grabbed one of Lin Feng's longswords from the counter, swinging it around a few times.
By now, several spectators had gathered around the counter. Most of them were travelers or soldiers recently returned from the frontline.
When Tomas saw some of his old comrades amongst the crowd, he grew even more excited.
He slashed with his sword and then gave his defense corp colleague a look.
The latter understood what he meant, and both of them gave a short battle cry.
The two swords finally clashed with one another, the clang of metal reverberating through the trade center.
The next second, the audience saw a burst of spark before their eyes. There was a loud clink or two, and both Tomas and his friend felt their jaws fall open.
The broadsword was more than 1.5 times wider than Lin Feng's sword, but its blade began to crack from the spot where the two swords clashed. On the other hand, Lin Feng's sword was completely undamaged.
"Old sir! Could we book your weapons in advance?"
After a pause, Tomas put the longsword back onto the counter and turned to Lin Feng with shining eyes. He gripped Lin Feng's hands tightly, practically pleading.
Lin Feng could not help a laugh.
"Don't worry, Whitewing defense corp's vice captain… No, I think he's now Whitestar's battle vanguard, right? Either way, Captain Acht has already booked a shipment from me on behalf of the defense corp.
"The equipment should have already reached your camp. If you get back in time, you might be able to grab a sword or two."
The moment Lin Feng said that, most of the defense corp members present took off in a mad dash, terrified that they would be too late to get a suitable weapon from the hoard.
Lin Feng tsk-tsked at the spectacle.
After that, he traded the dozen or so weapons for forging materials.
Seven days later, Captain Acht, Lin Feng's regular client, returned to him with a bright grin.
"Master Lin Feng! Even the lord of Whitestar was in awe of the shipment you sent over that day! The defense corp rookies are fighting to the death over them!"Lin Feng did not have too big of a reaction to that. By now, he had a good idea of the impact his weapons would have on these troubled times.
Acht rambled for a long while before he suddenly clapped his own head and said,
"Oh, right, Master Lin! Whitestar's scouts are going to send the first batch of soldiers out to begin the battle to reclaim Whitewing. Our captain wanted to ask if you could forge some Grade-2 weapons strong enough to turn the tides any time soon.
"Back during our defense of Whitewing, the Grade-2 longswords you made that could spew fire were really effective against low-grade beasts. Do you think you could make another batch of those?"
As soon as Acht said that, Brent chimed in proudly, looking away from the pitch-black ores he was supposed to be appraising.
"My master knew this would happen, Captain Acht! The Grade-2 weapons the defense corp needs are in the smithy's warehouse right now. There are ten of them in total! I was the one who personally helped my master put them in there!"
The joy was clear to see on Acht's face. He gripped Lin Feng's hand, gratitude written all over his expression.
Indeed, Lin Feng had spent several days forging those Grade-2 weapons in case of emergency.
On the other hand, the flame energy in his body was only a few hundred points away from the thousand needed to upgrade his Holy Flame. In fact, he had worked tirelessly for days to try and reach that milestone and raise his Holy Flame by one level.
"I'll be taking these then, Master Lin! I'll send you your payment together with more materials some other day!
"Our captain's decided, all the materials you'll ever need from now on will be provided by our defense corp!"
By the time they saw Acht off, the sun had already set.
With the ten Grade-2 weapons he had forged before, Lin Feng had tried all sorts of methods that could potentially lead to a breakthrough.
Now, not only could he make Fire-forged Longswords which spewed flames, he could also make Woodgrain Swords that gradually healed the user's health and Snowgleam Swords that were even sharper than usual blades.
Now, Lin Feng was aiming higher than just Grade-2 weapons.
He stared at the forging hammer he was holding for a long time. Suddenly, he spun his hammer and smashed it onto a piece of iron that was burning red from the coal.
Next to him, Brent knew that Lin Feng was about to start forging again.
The boy looked at Lin Feng's swinging arm with some envy, and then he retreated out of the room alone, quietly.
The loud clanking of metal rang out in the air above the smithy.
This time, Lin Feng spent four hours forging, not stopping for a second.
Even with the Holy Flame, it still took him a ton of time and effort for him to melt down such a priceless piece of meteorite obsidian ore.
However, that was just the beginning.
The moon rose and the sun set, the cloud swirling in the sky.
When the sun next rose, Lin Feng was still going at it.
Brent stood at the smithy door, looking worried.
He had not expected Lin Feng to forge through the entire night.
Later in the day, when the defense corp was beginning their afternoon training, the clanging in the smithy finally slowed to a stop.
Soon, Brent heard a joyful chuckle from inside.
At the same time, Lin Feng abruptly heard a system notification from inside his head.
[Ding! Forging successful.]
[Congratulations, the host has forged a Grade-3 weapon, the Obsidian Sword. Obtained 100 Flame Energy points.]