Free Web NovelChapter 150: The Drakes Never Stood a Chance
Damian looked at the three [Metal Essence Devouring Drakes] and suddenly rubbed his chin. "Wait a minute..."
His eyes slowly narrowed as a strange thought entered his mind.
"They’re called drakes. Drakes are basically a kind of dragon, right?"
A shameless grin appeared on his face.
"And I just happened to have a Chaos Dragon Bloodline."
Damian immediately looked toward Corven. "City Lord, stand back for a moment."
Corven frowned. "Why?"
Damian cracked his neck. "I have an idea."
Before Corven could ask anything else, Damian stepped forward and took a deep breath.
[Lion Roar]!
"ROOOAAAR!"
A terrifying roar exploded through the storage hall, shaking the entire building.
Corven’s eyes widened as the sound crashed past him, carrying a faint pressure that felt strangely ancient and oppressive.
The three drakes reacted even more violently.
Their metallic scales trembled, and in the next instant, all three small creatures collapsed onto the floor, completely stunned.
Damian blinked.
A second later, he burst out laughing. "Hahaha! It actually fucking worked!"
He quickly turned toward Corven. "What are you standing there for? I stunned them. Lock them up!"
Corven finally recovered from his surprise and immediately shouted toward the entrance. "Guards!"
Several guards rushed inside.
Corven pointed toward the stunned drakes. "Go to the storage and bring three Mid-Rank Noble Grade [Spiritual Beast Cages]. Quickly!"
The guards immediately nodded. "Yes, City Lord!"
They turned and hurried away.
Not long after, they returned carrying three heavy metallic cages covered in glowing formation patterns.
The guards quickly placed the stunned drakes inside the cages, and only when all three were securely locked away did Corven finally relax.
He looked at the captured creatures with obvious excitement before turning toward Damian. "Thank you, Sir Damian."
Damian waved casually. "No problem. Just remember your promise."
Corven laughed. "Of course."
He nodded toward the exit. "It is already late. Come back tomorrow morning, and I will personally begin teaching you blacksmithing."
Damian’s grin immediately returned. "Good."
---
The next morning, Damian returned to the City Lord’s Mansion early.
Corven was already waiting inside a large private forge.
The moment Damian entered, Corven pointed toward the furnace. "We begin with the basics."
Damian nodded seriously. "I’m ready."
For the first few hours, Corven taught him the most fundamental parts of blacksmithing: flame handling and hammer control.
Damian needed to learn how to read the color of the flames, judge the temperature of heated metal, and remove impurities without damaging the material.
At the same time, he had to properly control his strength so that each hammer strike compressed the metal without cracking or weakening it.
To teach him all of that, Corven first demonstrated how to refine raw iron ore into a proper steel ingot.
"Watch carefully," Corven said.
He placed the ore inside the furnace, controlled the flames, gradually removed the impurities, and repeatedly hammered the heated metal.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Not long after, a clean steel ingot rested on the anvil.
Corven allowed Damian to inspect it for a moment before setting it aside. "Your turn, Damian."
Damian nodded and repeated everything Corven had just done.
At first, Corven watched calmly.
A few breaths later, however, his expression began to change.
Damian’s flame control was slightly rough at first, but he adjusted almost immediately after only a few attempts.
His first few hammer strikes were imperfect as well.
By the tenth strike, however, his rhythm had already stabilized.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Not long after, Damian placed his own steel ingot beside Corven’s.
Corven picked it up and examined it carefully.
His eyes narrowed slightly. "You learned all of that from watching me once?"
Damian grinned proudly. "Hehehe... what can I say? I’m a talented blacksmith, right? See? I wasn’t boasting at all."
Corven’s mouth twitched.
For once, however, he could not even argue. "You really are talented."
Damian placed a hand over his chest. "Naturally."
Corven stared at him for a moment.
"Does this boy have to be this shameless even when he actually deserves the praise?"
A moment later, Corven remembered something. "Now that your basic process is already quite good, do you have any blacksmithing art?"
Damian nodded casually. "Yeah, I have one."
Corven waited.
Damian continued, "The Top-Rank Profound Grade [Heavenly Forge Tempering Art]."
Corven’s expression immediately changed. "You have the [Heavenly Forge Tempering Art]?"
Damian nodded. "Yeah."
Corven stared at him before suddenly laughing. "Your luck really is ridiculous. That is quite a famous blacksmithing lifestyle art."
He walked toward the furnace. "Fortunately for you, I know it as well."
Damian’s eyes immediately brightened. "Really?"
Corven smiled. "Come. I’ll teach you how to use it properly."
For the next several days, Damian continued learning under Corven.
He studied flame control, hammer techniques, ore refinement, material mixing, furnace management, and the foundations of forging simple weapons.
Whenever Corven demonstrated something once, Damian quickly understood most of it.
If he made a mistake, he usually corrected it within only a few more attempts.
By Saturday, Corven could only shake his head. "You have learned far more in a few days than most beginners learn in several months."
Damian grinned. "Thank you, City Lord. Naturally, having a great teacher helped too."
Corven laughed. "You really know how to flatter people, Sir Damian."
Damian immediately looked offended. "Flatter? City Lord, I only speak the truth."
Corven’s mouth twitched again.
Damian placed a hand over his chest with a righteous expression. "I’m an honest man."
Corven stared at him in silence.
He had only known Damian for a few days, yet Corven was already beginning to understand why the young man’s reputation was so strange.
Last night, he had asked his subordinates to look into Damian and learned that, back at the Heavenly Sword Sect, the young man was apparently famous for being a completely shameless pervert.
At the same time, Damian was the personal disciple of the famous Elder Selvara.
That alone meant he could not possibly be ordinary.
Now, after seeing Damian’s talent and how sharp he became whenever things turned serious, Corven finally understood how both sides of that ridiculous reputation could be true at the same time.
Corven sighed and waved his hand.
A jade slip immediately appeared in his palm.
"You helped me save Thousand Forges City from a serious problem. I already promised you one [Metal Essence Devouring Drake], but I have decided to give you more."
Damian’s eyes immediately brightened.
Corven handed him the jade slip. "This is the Top-Rank Profound Grade [Crimson Cloud Severing Sword Formula]."
Damian quickly accepted it.
Corven continued, "I am also giving you a private house in Thousand Forges City. It has its own blacksmithing workshop and private forge."
Damian stared at him. "Seriously?"
Corven nodded. "That way, you can return whenever you want and practice without being disturbed at your sect."
Damian’s grin widened, and he quickly cupped his hands. "Thank you, City Lord Corven."
Corven laughed loudly. "Hahaha! Don’t worry about it. You have already helped me far more than you realize."
Damian looked at the jade slip in his hand.
His eyes moved toward the direction of the private house Corven had given him, then toward the caged [Metal Essence Devouring Drake] that would soon belong to him.
His grin slowly became wider. "Damn... coming here for a mission really was ridiculously lucky."
Damian started counting on his fingers. "I got a rare spiritual beast, a private house, a personal blacksmithing teacher, and a sword formula."
He looked toward Corven with a serious expression. "City Lord, are you sure you don’t have a beautiful daughter too?"
Corven froze.
Damian grinned shamelessly. "I’m just asking."
For the first time since meeting him, Corven suddenly wondered whether giving Damian a house inside Thousand Forges City had been a terrible mistake.
