Love and passion, cutting up the wasteland

A piece of iron was pressed on the anvil and burned red.

Lu Meng opened his right shoulder, and the exposed arm was full of solid muscles. He held pliers in one hand and a hammer in the other, and he was forging continuously.

Under his tinkling hammering, the red iron was like a piece of plasticine that could be shaped, stretched, extended, and folded repeatedly.

When it cooled down, layers of patterns began to appear on the surface.

But it's not over yet.

The forged iron material is put into the heating furnace again, where it is melted and softened by the roaring vortex.

The above process continues to be repeated.

【Weapon Forging 20→23】

This is a complicated process, not to mention the technical requirements. After each process, it is enough to tire an old craftsman half to death.

Even Lu Meng's skin had a thin layer of sweat, which was quickly dried by the high temperature of the stove.

For him, whose physique is approaching 60 points, the impact of the external environment is getting smaller and smaller. The only thing that can force him to use sweat to regulate his body temperature is the waste heat generated in his own body.

Lu Meng glanced into the furnace and felt that the fire was almost done.

"Take it out." He ordered Kavin.

"Yes..." Kavin on the other side cheered up, his hands holding the tongs trembling.

This little apprentice was actually exhausted. He had completed the preparation of the rough materials before.

It was a purely physical job.

And Lu Meng now wants to make Kavin familiar with the rest of the iron forging process.

He can see on the achievement progress of "Teaching and Learning" on the panel that Cavin has already started learning [Weapon Forging].

Perhaps because of the panel, under Lu Meng's guidance, once Kavin gets started, as long as he keeps practicing, the apprentice's forging skills will slowly increase, and he will not encounter any bottleneck caused by the upper limit of talent - just like Lu Meng Meng's liver skill proficiency is the same.

This also saved Lu Meng from the trouble of screening apprentices' qualifications.

As long as there is enough time and enough practice, Kavin can at least reach the level of "mastery" in forging, and the teaching of "life skills" will be completed naturally.

After confirming this, Kavin's apprenticeship never had a good time.

Every day he was caught working by Master Lu and exploited like crazy.

There are some tasks that the master can obviously do by himself with a little effort, but he will be specially called to come over - the most outstanding thing is that there is no need to use free labor.

But Kavin had no complaints in his heart.

At first he was satisfied with his current life.

The basic necessities of life are sufficient... Whether it's compared to himself who was hungry in the past, or compared to other masters' apprentices who were beaten and scolded, Kavin's quality of life in all aspects now far exceeds that of himself.

Secondly, he could sense that the master seemed to be really teaching him his skills without any secrets.

This feeling is very mysterious and precise. Kavin knows that his forging skills are steadily increasing-this is a craft that can truly make a living.

‘Could it be that...’ Sometimes he would think, ‘Am I really a blacksmith genius? ’

Your life is guaranteed, you can learn and make progress every day, and your future will be smooth.

What else is there to be dissatisfied with in a day like this?

"Don't be silly." Lu Meng scolded and picked up a steel rod to steady Kavin's hand.

In the moment of distraction just now, the red-hot forging material almost fell to the ground. The splashed steel slag would be enough to burn through the flesh and blood if it landed on a person's body.

The first one to bear the brunt is Cavan.

The hornless man apologized quickly, a cold sweat breaking out on his back.

Industrial matters are really careless, and he consciously learned another lesson.

Lu Meng did not reprimand him too much. Once the person involved experienced such a lesson in person, he would be impressed for the rest of his life.

He actually thought about simply teaching "Machete" to Kavin, and just waiting for the achievement to be completed, so there would be no need to choose other candidates.

It's a pity that this hornless man really doesn't have any talent for martial arts, and he can't even get started. If he learns too much, it will affect the improvement of his forging skills.

Lu Meng raised the hammer again and continued his work.

After thousands of hard work, time flies.

A whole piece of forged steel was gradually drawn into the shape of a knife blade.

There is also a process of forging a combination of leather core iron and blade iron. Different positions of the blade have different toughness and hardness requirements for the forged material.

But there’s not that much time left.

Lu Meng stood up.

He has already signed up for the Thunder Arena, and the first duel arranged by the competition system is coming soon.

It seems that there is no need for the new knife specially prepared before this competition.

…

The northwest corner of Scone town.

A huge tent stood on the desert sandstone. The roof was made of pieces of cooked cowhide, with mottled hair.

Under the tent, wooden stakes wrapped in iron sheets circled around to form a basic area for activities.

Thunder Arena.

Lu Meng had empty hands and was wearing an ordinary linen garment, loose and decent.

Occasionally, a gust of wind and sand blows, causing the clothes to flutter.

Just standing far away, he could hear the noise coming from the arena.

"Hurry up, it's about to start!" From time to time, eager Shaq young people ran past Lu Meng and rushed to the tent.

They came from thousands of miles away from the countryside of the kingdom and from their own tribes in order to get ahead in the arena.

Lu Meng stepped aside and the young Shaqs didn't pay attention to the pedestrian.

Some contestants didn't notice him until they saw him walking slowly towards the tent.

‘Are you here to participate in the arena too? ’

Seeing Lu Meng's image, they would be somewhat confused.

Although the Thunder Arena is not restricted to races, the aliens who are truly confident in playing are either experienced human mercenaries or wandering soldier bees.

The former's expression often reveals a cunning and vicious look, while the latter's division of labor in the hive is combat, and they are the only type of bee that the Sharks respect.

As for Lu Meng.

With a calm expression and simple attire, he looked like a traveler who was content with poverty and wandering around.

‘Probably just here to join in the fun. ’ Such thoughts flashed through their minds.

There are not many such people.

In fact, the Thunder Arena is nominally hosted by Scone Town, but it was actually funded and built by a certain merchant guild group.

In addition to the main part of the competition arena, the arena also provides various services such as food and accommodation, and the consumption of auditoriums at different levels is also different.

They even have a casino.

Surrounded by various shops, once the Thunder Arena starts, it will be a large playground.

If during this period, those wealthy people seeking excitement traveled to the Kingdom of Shake, the first place they went would probably not be Scone Town, but here.

They can watch the fight between the Shaqs while spending money like water and having fun.

As for those without money, the organizers will not evict them.

The Shaqs enjoy having more people cheering for them when they fight.

at the moment.

This traveler is probably one of them.

Lu Meng walked into the tent and took in the environment here.

In different venues, people are already fighting together.

He saw two young Shaks holding iron blades, beating their chests and rushing towards each other.

Everyone's eyes were excited.

The blood of the wounded mixed with the aroma of the store's wine, giving it a wild and psychedelic flavor.

He was reminded of the Colosseum inexplicably.

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd behind them.

A young man wearing a Scone police uniform with ten hands on his waist came towards this side.

"Xiao Huo is here?" Someone said hello, "If you come to compete, maybe you can actually become a warrior."

"Then he will be different from the rest of us, haha."

"Brother, I was joking." Huo Buyang replied, "I just came on stage to join in the fun."

These were all his human teammates when he was hired, and he had become very familiar with them.

They had no intention of competing. They came over to support them when they heard that Xiao Huo actually signed up.

When several Shaq guards who were maintaining order saw Huo Buyang, they actually nodded to him.

They were all transferred from Scone Town, and they could see that Huo Buyang did a good job. Even these proud Shaq people remembered him.

"Excuse me, give me a moment."

The teammates wanted to chat with Huo Buyang for a while, but he didn't expect him to just push them away.

The young man rushed towards Lu Meng.

"Brother Lu!" he greeted from afar.

Lu Meng nodded: "Are you late?"

"Hehe... Actually, I just placed a bet." Huo Buyang snickered.

"Okay, if you don't learn well," Lu Meng raised the corner of his mouth, "Who's betting?"

Of course, the casino where the merchant is the banker will not let go of such a natural gambling game. Almost every duel has a corresponding handicap.

"Brother Lu, you're paying seven to one," Xiao Huo added, "Of course I'm betting on you to win."

Lu Meng didn't care about the odds.

At the beginning, the arena was all about small handicaps, so people passing by could just throw in one or two coins to play, and there was not much money to win or lose.

As for this one-sided situation, it does not mean that everyone is not optimistic about Lu Meng - it is probably because his opponent is a Shaq, and there are many Shaqs here, and they emotionally hope that their own race will win.

"Human, travel to the north——"

A loud announcement came from the din.

The duel is about to begin.

"Be careful with your bets." Lu Meng warned, and then said with a smile: "But if you wait until my winning rate is higher, you can make another bet, and bet on me to lose."

Huo Buyang: "Huh?"

Match-fixing...

Lu Mengshi walked towards his stage.

The area he was assigned was just a small corner, with a circle drawn out with lime as a fence.

There are too many people signing up for the preliminary round, so multiple duels will be held at the same time to save time and make it impossible to make a big splash.

His opponent had been waiting there for a long time. He was a young Shaq with an outstanding head. He was shirtless and he was in the prime of his life.

If you look closely, you can see that this young man has even put oil on his chest, and the light highlights the lines and shadows of his muscles, making him look stronger.

Seeing him bending his arms to show off to his companions, Lu Meng couldn't help laughing.

"Lu Beiyou?" Just when he was about to step into the circle, the guard in charge stopped him.

"Where are your weapons?" The guard frowned and said:

"Go to the side and choose one."

In the Shark Kingdom, some people at the bottom cannot afford weapons. In the guard's opinion, Lu Beiyou fell into this category.

But the ritual of selecting warriors does not abandon these people. Their weapons used to be provided by the tribes, but now they are rented for free at the Thunder Arena.

Lu Meng scratched his face.

He wanted to say that he could win even with his bare hands.

Forget about using a knife.

Even if you use [Martial Arts] at a proficient level, if you can't kill someone, it's disrespectful to others.

He thought for a while but didn't insist.

Follow the rules and keep a low profile.

Lu Meng walked to the weapons rack on the side and picked up a long stick.

It was made entirely of steel, but it was old enough that it felt hollow inside and there was even rust on the surface.

At best, it’s a ‘scrap’ level.

Don't expect anything good from free stuff.

Lu Meng dragged his long stick and stepped into the lime circle.

The young man opposite Shaq had been waiting for a long time and was already gearing up.

Boom!

A segmented ax hit the ground. It didn't look very sophisticated, but it was heavy enough and used enough materials to forge the weapon.

"Plain man," he said in a clear voice, "if you think you can't beat me, I allow you to surrender. After all, your body and that broken stick can't stop my attack."

Hearing this, the friends behind Shaq started to boo.

Lu Meng smiled and said: "As far as the stick is concerned, you may be telling the truth."

Before Lu Meng could finish speaking, Shaq had already rushed forward with one step!

In his opinion.

This guy probably doesn't know the rules very well.

Thunder Arena does not require referees or hosts. As long as you step into the circle, the battle has already begun.

What he wants is to be surprised!

As expected, the plain-skinned man seemed to be stunned while holding the stick.

The young man Shaq vigorously danced the segmented axe, his muscles flowed, and the greased bone plates looked like real shiny armor.

The giant blade is coming in an instant.

The radius of the circle is small, there is no room to move, and it is also most suitable for the fighting style that Shaq is good at - head-on confrontation.

"boom!"

There was a loud bang.

Lu Meng was still standing where he was, but Shaq flew backwards.

His strong body was almost in the air as he rolled, directly crossing the circle. Without losing momentum, he pushed backwards so hard that he knocked over a bunch of onlookers.

Even squeezed into another arena.

Those relatives and friends who supported him were knocked to the ground before they had time to escape.

For a while there were constant groans and cries of pain.

The young Shaq struggled to get up, his face livid with pain.

Then he fell to the ground again.

On Shaq's chest, half of the iron rod smashed across his shiny bone plate and was completely embedded in the muscle.

Broken bone spurs showed through the blurred flesh.

what happened!

The crowd was in an uproar.

Lu Meng wiped off the debris on his hands.

He wasn't sluggish just now.

In the eyes of others, Shaq suddenly rose up and moved sharply - but this speed was too slow for Lu Meng.

He didn't even have time to think about which angle to swing from.

But in the end Lu Meng gave up.

He really doesn't know how to use sticks or long weapons.

Just throw it out and it will work wonders.

"Huh? Uh..." The guard who was presiding over the scene finally realized, "Lu Bei Yousheng!"

Lu Meng walked out of the circle calmly: "Do you need me to compensate?"

The quality of your sticks is really poor.

"No, no need." The guard stuttered.

He didn't even see clearly what was happening on the field.

I just yawned...