Lord of Rot

Leech wanted to witness the Master of Golden Armor’s skills, so he volunteered to stay and help.

Bode, on the other hand, couldn’t stand the high temperatures and left first. He wasn’t a Transcendent who specialized in physical enhancement, so his body wasn’t as tough as Leech’s...

BANG!

Forging, hammering, shaping.

The sword blank took shape quickly.

Leech helped by stoking the fire, continuously pumping the bellows.

It was clear that the Master of Golden Armor’s forging technique had reached the pinnacle of perfection. It was not only fast but also incredibly steady.

With the aid of Extraordinary Power, the force of his single-handed swing was definitely no weaker than a trip hammer, and it was extremely fast!

Next came the crucial moment: fusing the extraordinary material to forge a wondrous sword.

”The temperature isn’t high enough!”

The Master of Golden Armor took out a small bottle, uncorked it, and dripped two drops of a peculiar liquid onto the flame. The fire in the furnace suddenly transformed into a fire snake that shot out and darted around the room.

The Master of Golden Armor scrambled to flee, shouting, ”Oh no, I added too much!”

The fire snake that emerged from the furnace seemed to have a mind of its own, chasing the Master of Golden Armor and trying to bite his rear.

”Get down!” Leech casually grabbed an iron gauntlet from the table and put it on his right hand.

He chanted a Spell.

Frost Enchantment!

The iron gauntlet was covered in white frost, resembling silver armor. He leaped forward, landing in front of the fire snake, and his right hand accurately clamped down on its neck. Puffs of steam rose as the fire snake twisted.

The arm-thick fire snake was caught and began to struggle.

Its fiery body whipped against Leech, burning through his clothes and scalding his skin red.

Leech finally understood why the Master of Golden Armor wore only shorts. It wasn’t because of the heat, but because all his clothes had been burned away!

The flame’s power was considerable. Leech could only continuously channel his Spiritual Power to increase the frost’s potency, just barely managing to keep the iron gauntlet from being melted into slag.

”Quick, stuff it into the furnace!” the Master of Golden Armor yelled as he scrambled to his feet.

”Right!”

Leech shoved the fire snake into the furnace with one hand and slammed the door shut.

The room became like an Immortal Realm, so filled with steam you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

Trapped in the furnace, the fire snake struggled madly. The palm-thick furnace walls were burned red-hot, glowing brightly.

The temperature was rising rapidly. Leech could even smell the scorching scent of the surrounding trees on the verge of burning.

He took off the gauntlet. His entire right hand was scalded red.

Fortunately, his constitution was special, and his skin color returned to normal in just a few moments.

But when Leech turned to look at the Master of Golden Armor, he froze on the spot.

”Master of Golden Armor, you’re only looking at the book now? Is there enough time?”

”Quiet! I remember this is how it’s forged...”

Leech desperately wanted to kick him but forced himself to hold back. ’He’s a technical expert. I can tolerate this!’

The Master of Golden Armor shouted, ”Quick, bring the materials!”

’We’ve already come this far, we have to give it a try. Even if he fails, I can use this to earn a favor and then send Chuina over to be his apprentice and learn some skills. That would be good too.’

’If it’s a waste, then it’s a waste!’

’In my opinion, that feather-duster Knight’s strength was truly nothing special. Turning him into a Corpse Ghost would just be a waste of good corpse material anyway.’

From this point on, Leech’s help was no longer needed. He watched as the Master of Golden Armor forged the sword with miraculous skill.

When the flames in the furnace died down, the Master of Golden Armor grabbed the sword with both hands and yanked it out.

WHOOSH!!

A gust of wind blew out.

”It’s a success!”

The scorching blade was wreathed in streams of wind.

The wind spread out, turning into a heatwave.

The sword was plunged into a bucket, sending up a cloud of white steam. The contents of the bucket were neither oil nor water, but likely something specially used by Transcendent blacksmiths for quenching, carrying a very faint, fishy smell.

Hammered by the Transcendent blacksmith’s consummate skill, the blade had an extremely beautiful pattern-welded design. It was long and straight—a two-handed Knight Sword.

Leech’s help wasn’t needed for the subsequent assembly of the hilt, the polishing and modification of the counterweight, or the fitting of the scabbard. The Master of Golden Armor even found him to be in the way and told him to stand clear.

Seeing the Knight Sword gradually take its final form further solidified Leech’s determination to send Chuina here for training.

’This craft must be learned!’

For Leech and other Transcendents who specialized in physical enhancement, regular plate armor was of little practical protection. But if they could wear Extraordinary plate armor, the effect would surely be different.

In the afternoon, the sun began to set in the west.

When Bode arrived on horseback, he saw Leech in his tattered clothes and exclaimed in shock, ”The engagement banquet is about to start! Leech, what happened to you?!”

”I’m fine,” Leech said happily. ”Bode, pay for me first. I don’t have any money on me.”

Golden Armor placed the sword in an exquisite box and handed it to Leech. ”This is the most satisfying sword I have ever forged.”

”Master of Golden Armor, have you ever felt that smithing alone isn’t quite enough?” Leech said as he took the box. ”I happen to know a young blacksmith who is also a Transcendent.”

The Master of Golden Armor said, ”Teaching an apprentice is 500 Jinri. I’ll teach, but I don’t guarantee they’ll learn.”

”I’ll write a letter and have her come at once!”

’500 it is!’

’As long as we master this craft, it’s all an upfront investment. Worth it!’

Besides, Leech was confident that his Chuina was far more intelligent than the Master of Golden Armor. It wouldn’t even take a year for her to learn all his skills!

Bode looked at the still-gleeful Leech and urged, ”Let’s go, the banquet is starting... Wait, I’ll have someone go back and prepare clothes for you.”

The once awe-inspiring Baron Porcupine of East Gorge hadn’t had a single good day since coming to Linta Bay. His clothes were never intact. This was his engagement banquet; he absolutely could not look unsightly again...

Linta Bay’s engagement banquet traditions were closer to those of the Royal Capital, differing somewhat from the customs of East Gorge.

But on the whole, they were much the same.

Everyone gathered to eat and chat, without much ceremony.

Despite Leech’s resistance, at the strong insistence of Bode and Lewis, he had to change into a flamboyant, peacock-like robe, which made him feel very uncomfortable.

Arriving at the banquet, Leech saw Stacy, who had also been required to dress up. She was also awkwardly adjusting her clothes.

Noticing Leech staring at her, she felt a little self-conscious. ”Does it look really strange?”

”No!” Leech shook his head repeatedly. ”I’d like to take back what I said before. You look wonderful in a dress.”

Stacy’s cheeks flushed slightly. ”Don’t get too smug!”

The two appeared as the main stars of the banquet. Compared to yesterday’s ball, some of the younger lords and ladies were absent, replaced by many elderly faces at the feast—they were likely friends of Old Crocodile.

Fortunately, there was no drinking culture here, nor the custom of forcing drinks on people. Leech wasn’t afraid of drinking, but he didn’t want to drink a bunch of old fossils under the table.

The Priest from Linta Bay came to preside over the engagement.

In reality, this just meant announcing the time and reading out some articles that everyone already knew.

The Four Gods Sect had very strict requirements regarding marriage.

For example, in the month before the wedding, neither the man nor the woman was allowed to weep or cry.

They could not have relations before marriage, and so on.

Marriage was directly related to inheritance. Only a child born to one’s wife could inherit a title and lands. All other offspring were illegitimate children, who could never gain the right of inheritance unless it was amended by an absolute power.

That power had to be one that even the Four Gods Sect would willingly bow to. Currently, the only person who could make the church bow was Bor II, who was in the prime of his life.

In other words, only with the King’s approval could an illegitimate child’s status be legitimized.

Just like Sidor Sea Water, the son of the Duke of Shining Sun. His abilities were many times superior to the Golden Stallion, but he could only live in the castle as a servant, with no possibility of ever becoming a noble.

The kingdom’s laws also had to uphold monogamy to ensure the sanctity of marriage.

”You may now exchange rings,” the Priest said, smiling at the two of them.

Bode brought the rings for Leech.

People believed the ring finger was the finger closest to the heart, so wearing a ring on it signified keeping the other person in your heart.

But many people also used this method to deceive naive young women. Some had even seriously criticized the act of using rings to represent marriage, because many had used similar tactics to trick girls.

So now, exchanging rings was merely a formality.

If agreed upon, other items could be exchanged instead. After all, it was just for the ceremony.

Leech took Stacy’s hand and slipped the ring onto her fair finger, his heart surprisingly calm.

When she looked up, they met each other’s gaze and smiled.

”I have another gift for you.”

Leech looked toward Bode.

Bode reluctantly played the part of a pageboy and handed over the wooden box.

Everyone present couldn’t help but look at the wooden box, all of them speculating what might be inside.

Stacy opened the box.

As the box opened, a gentle breeze swept out.

WHOOSH~

An exquisite two-handed Knight Sword lay inside the box.

”A work of the Master of Golden Armor?” Stacy had also heard last night that Leech was going to find the Master of Golden Armor, but she hadn’t expected it to truly take only a day.

”He and I completed it together,” Leech emphasized.

She grasped the Longsword. The blade was suddenly wreathed in strands of azure wind. With a light swing, she sent out whistling gusts.

The curtains in the castle danced in the wind. She stared at them, stunned.

Then she leaned in and gave Leech a light kiss on the lips.

Leech was also stunned. In his impression, Stacy was not the kind of person to do something like this.

Stacy held up the sword and said, ”The wind told me... Thank you. I love it.”

’Before, I had to wait for the wind to blow through the window and stir the curtains. Now, I hold the wind in my own hands.’

’When the wind rises, kiss him.’

Leech really wanted to ask what else the wind had said, and why Stacy had suddenly become like Miss Water Hyacinth.

At that moment, Stacy was desperately suppressing the urge to swing the Longsword. She knew that if she dared to do so, she would definitely be reprimanded.

But she also knew very well that only by using Extraordinary Power could she wield the sword to its true potential.

Merely stirring up the wind was enough to make the nobles watching exclaim in amazement.

The story of the Divine Sword would surely spread after today.

”What’s it called?” Stacy asked, her bright, emerald eyes gazing at Leech.

”The Sword of Oaths!”