Chapter 272: Chapter 272: The Old Blacksmith
The blacksmith’s room involved Winry’s personal privacy.
It was sealed with multiple hydraulic doors.
At present, however, a stream of hot gas forcefully seeped through the gap in the door… The edges of the door were even completely incinerated in a short time. If the door was not opened soon, the entire door might be melted away.
Winry hastily turned the hydraulic valve to open the door.
A wave of heat, mixed with anger, continuously invaded the room like a tidal wave, startling Han Dong into taking a step back.
Standing at the door was an old blacksmith, with a full, brown beard. Since his facial beard was so thick, it had to be braided. Combined with a large, hawk-like nose, and his just over one metre tall stature, he resembled very much the ‘Dwarf Race’ Han Dong had seen in fantasy movies during his lifetime.
Currently, the old blacksmith’s large nose was red with anger!
High-temperature steam even continued to intermittently spray out from his nostrils.
No other reason, except this old blacksmith was informed by agents he had arranged in the Underground Furnace that his beloved female apprentice just brought an unknown man from the external courtyard into her private blacksmith’s room.
You must know, Winry had never brought any man into her private room all these years.
Even when it came to necessary matters, like encountering problems in forging, Winry would only discuss it with others in class or in the public blacksmith area.
She would never take any man to her own blacksmith’s room.
Upon hearing that Winry had brought a man back, the old blacksmith directly abandoned the important public affairs he was dealing with at hand and immediately rushed back to the [Underground Furnace Bastion].
He wanted to see which little brat had such audacity and dared to encroach on his domain, brazenly seducing his most cherished female apprentice.
‘Blacksmith’s Grip’
The moment the hydraulic door opened.
The old blacksmith glared menacingly at this audacious outsider and raised his hand to grip.
A deep red imprint of five fingers directly appeared on Han Dong’s neck.
The ‘Bird Beak Doctor Outfit,’ unable to withstand such gripping strength and heat, retracted the covering of the head on its own accord…exposing Han Dong’s rather ordinary, even slightly sallow and thin face.
This grip, capable of squeezing space and gravity, effortlessly lifted Han Dong into mid-air.
The neck area twisted and distorted, completely suffocated, and there was even a smell of cooking meat. The skin on the neck area had been completely scorched.
“Master! Don’t!”
Winry panicked.
Without any thought, Winry stepped forward and, using the same ‘Blacksmith’s Grip,’ tightly grabbed her master’s arm, stopping this action.
“Winry Austin! You’re actually going against me for a man!”
“Master… You misunderstood! This is ‘Nicholas,’ the student who I mentioned to you before, the only student of the Crow Prophet.”
Upon hearing the word ‘Crow,’ the old blacksmith’s eyes flashed a color of fear, completely relaxing his right hand.
Thud!
Han Dong fell heavily to the ground.
The severe burns in the neck area, luckily didn’t cause damage to the cervical spine and trachea, allowing Han Dong to gradually recover from the extreme suffocation state as fresh air entered his lungs…
Under the stimulation of the G-virus on the cells, slowly healing the burnt area.
Just now, Han Dong had a real sense of death.
If Winry hadn’t intervened in time, Han Dong would have to release Togu to buy time…
“Quite a unique way of greeting for a first meeting…” Han Dong, who lay on the ground, currently could only weakly raise his head, staring at the old blacksmith at the door of the blacksmith’s room. He could confirm his identity with a single glance.
Winry’s master.
The main person in charge of the [Underground Furnace Bastion], his position and status were even higher than the head of the Mechanical Series.
The old blacksmith glared at Han Dong, slumped on the ground, his anger unabated. “You’re a student of the Crow? The one you said led your entire team to a high score during the elite training?”
“Of course! Moreover, Nicholas has saved me once before.
We had agreed to meet today during the training, and I planned to forge him a piece of body armor. The materials are right here… Master, you’ve gone too far!!”
Winry pointed to the ‘Giant Ghoul’s Claw’ and ‘Black Feather’ on the side.
Immediately, Winry disregarded her master’s opinion entirely and was very angry with his behavior.
She jogged over to Han Dong, picked him up sideways and laid him down on the iron bed where she usually slept.
“Master… this time you really went too far! The vice-captain has been very good to me… If it weren’t for him, I would have died in the castle long ago.”
Winry, due to her temperament, never resists her master on normal days and completes even the most challenging blacksmithing tasks on time.
But this time was different. Winry was really angry.
“Winry?” The old blacksmith was somewhat surprised… even at a loss.
Winry had been brought up by him since she was young. At first, it was due to a friend’s entrustment and Winry’s unique physique… Gradually, as Winry grew older, the old blacksmith developed feelings of seeing her as a ‘granddaughter’.
The old blacksmith had never married or had children, and his temper was volatile. Every time he thought of Winry getting married after she grew up, he couldn’t help but get angry.
He was especially sensitive to Winry’s interactions with the opposite sex.
At this moment.
Looking at Winry, who had never resisted him for more than a decade, suddenly showing an annoyed and furious look towards him, the old blacksmith caves in.
But as the master of the Underground Furnace, he had to save face somehow.
“I was only testing him. Since he’s a student of the Crow, such a small injury won’t kill him.
Here’s a bottle of high-efficiency healing medicine… Winry, step aside, and let me feed him.”
The old blacksmith naturally didn’t want his ‘granddaughter’ to engage in intimate interactions with Han Dong.
To avoid making Winry angry, he personally fed Han Dong the potion.
The action seemed kind-hearted.
In reality, he almost shoved the medicine tube down Han Dong’s throat… And the old blacksmith’s face was a kind of terrifying, smirking expression.
But the high-value potion was very effective. Han Dong’s injury healed instantly.
“Nice to meet you, Master Blacksmith—[Heidrig Eamon].”
“Hmm, I’ve heard about you from Winry earlier. Thanks for taking care of Winry during the training… You don’t mind what just happened, do you?”
“It’s my bad for not informing you in advance about this.”
“Quite polite, I see…”
During the conversation, the old blacksmith would occasionally glance at his well-behaved apprentice.
Winry still had an angry expression and would not even look at him.
“Cough, cough, cough.. Okay! Considering that you took care of my apprentice during the training… I’ll personally complete your blacksmithing request.”
“Thank you, master.”
Han Dong was naturally unhappy, but he merely pretended to be polite on the surface… Since the old blacksmith was willing to help, Han Dong wouldn’t refuse or decline.
“Your physical condition is too poor, and you’re entirely dependent on the ‘internal things’… I guess, you urgently need a piece of light armor that won’t hinder your movement, am I right?”
“Yes.”
“The materials are not bad, but to perfectly forge soft armor, some important elements are missing… I guess I’ll just add them for you.”
A small piece of steel, gleaming with white light and like liquid, was thrown directly into the furnace by the blacksmith.
There was no need for preliminary blueprint designing; the blacksmithing began immediately.
