Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1714 - 1223: Rolling Molten Iron and the Waiting Japanese Bow

The spring river water had warmed, and a batch of transporting catamarans departed from the port of Zicao City, fully loaded with pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and corn. They rapidly drifted down the stream toward the estuary of the Tarsus River, 400 li away. Once they reached the small town at the estuary, the fleet would unload the food they carried and load up crude iron farm tools and implements, then row or even tow back to Zicao City against the current.

In previous numerous round trips, they could only bring back half a boatload of ironware, but this time, an unusually large amount of ironware had been transported from the Black Rock Mountain iron mine, just fifty li west! They also encountered another naval fleet returning thousands of mining slaves from the Zicao Legion's expedition to the Mistec Coast!

The sea was rolling, and Black Rock Mountain's iron field was billowing thick black smoke. In the eyes of the local Southern Ticos tribe, this renowned Thunder Divine Mountain increasingly resembled a nest of spirits. This nest swallowed countless mining slaves and charcoal, then spewed countless black, hard iron materials, gushing out power to change tribes and villages.

A thousand of the Kingdom's Warriors guarded the area, and the mining slaves descending into the pits and the civilians chopping wood and burning charcoal numbered six to seven thousand. These people performed heavy physical labor, and the local tribes' food supply was limited, requiring a batch to be transported from Zicao City every month.

When the black smoke dissipated, a loud, ceremonial shout echoed from the iron field at the foot of the Divine Mountain, near a large blast furnace five meters high!

"Chief Divine, grant us protection! Fire God! Iron is pouring out!!"

The furnace's fire was blazing, and even from six to seven meters away, one could feel the sweat pouring down one's body. Blacksmith Otani Takegou, shirtless and holding a long iron fork, was the first to scrape slag from the furnace's base. Four iron smith apprentices joined in scraping. Without the obstructing slag, the melted iron flowed dazzlingly yet slowly down to the iron reservoir below, radiating a scorching red glow, appearing just like magma!

"Chief Divine, grant us protection! More iron is coming out!" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Blacksmith Otani shouted again, and more iron smith apprentices rushed over. The furnace's temperature was still limited, just slightly above the melting point of iron. Once the flowing iron solidified into chunks, the apprentices needed to remove the glowing iron blocks to allow more molten iron to descend!

"Chief Divine, grant us protection! The iron is exhausted! Praise the fire furnace!..."

Seeing the molten iron fully exhausted from the large furnace, leaving only a heap of slag falling from the top, Blacksmith Otani took a deep breath and uttered one last shout. He and his apprentices all bowed to the large blast furnace he had single-handedly built, which now held "iron-grade divinity" and communicated with the "Chief Divine's flame," offering respectful salutes!

"..."

Witnessing the ceremony, Monk Soldier Watanabe Masumi twitched the corner of his mouth, staying silent. He pursed his lips, observing the large blast furnace producing iron, seeing the production in the tens of thousands of jin per cycle, and felt subtle changes in his expression. The massive furnace, laboriously constructed with significant manpower and sealed with volcanic ash, had a volume estimated at over a dozen cubic meters, producing iron equivalent to ten of the Gel Nation's small furnaces!

With the successful iron production from the furnace, Blacksmith Otani's status instantly skyrocketed, becoming the most important Master of Iron Smelting in the iron field! It's said that this position equates to a Martial Family leader in the Gel Nation, wielding influence over dozens to almost a hundred apprentices in the vast iron field! The materials and civilian labor at his disposal surpassed what a local aristocratic family could command...

"Chief Divine, grant us protection! With the ceremony over, and the iron cooling down... Take the iron to the small furnace for forging! Old apprentices, break the iron for the road-construction National Guards, who have urged twice for it, and absolutely need them... The newly recruited apprentices, start with simple farming tools! Don't stop moving!..."

After praising the iron furnace, Blacksmith Otani commanded a large crowd of apprentices towards a row of small forging furnaces. Soon, the sound of iron clanging echoed across the vast iron field.

The quality of the iron ore from Black Rock Mountain wasn't high, and the pig iron produced by the large furnace was quite ordinary. To forge usable fine iron capable of crafting weapons required tremendous effort, and the newly recruited apprentices lacked the skill to achieve this. As such, the apprentices' current task was to produce various commonplace farming implements and tools that didn't demand high standards, requiring perhaps a year or more of hammering before venturing into crafting weapons. In Wa Country's smithies, apprentices needed to toil for at least five years to learn the art of fine iron weaponry!

"Chief Divine, grant us protection! Watanabe, there's too much iron from the large furnace, and I'm quite busy here! Will you lend a hand forging with the apprentices, or head back to work on your bow-making?"

"Chief Divine, grant us protection! ... I think I'll go bake some bamboo; at least I need to bake out pre-charred bamboo suitable for bow-making..."

Monk Soldier Watanabe chuckled a few words, to which Blacksmith Otani nodded slightly before busying himself with his tasks again. He was retracing his father's craftsmanship, attempting to forge a sharp Tachi by carburizing it. Naturally, this Tachi would be offered to the nobly divine daimyo of the Lake, rumored to have divine blood, to gain the Venerable's favor!

"Damn! That Otani fellow, just a small-town blacksmith inexperienced with a long knife, a lower Samurai, yet he's gained influence with the Gel Nation's tribe through his blacksmithing skills and now doesn't acknowledge me! ... From the beginning, he couldn't even speak a word of Gel; it was through my translation he managed!... Endure, endure!..."

Monk Soldier Watanabe gritted his teeth silently, maintaining his smile. It was on Scholar Mikki's orders that he stayed at the iron field to act as Otani's Translator, aiming to construct a true large blast furnace for iron smelting! Now that the furnace producing nearly ten thousand jin of iron was complete and operating, and Otani had learned the Gel Tribe's language... my role as a translator had thus become quite redundant...

"Ah... Chief Divine! Hachiman Mahasattva!..."

Monk Soldier Watanabe sighed deeply, took a final glance at Blacksmith Otani, who was intently crafting a Tachi, and then turned away. He knew Otani's intentions well. For he, too, aspired to present an extraordinary Japanese Bow to the illustrious daimyo of the Lake, known for numerous legends and as the sender of expeditions two thousand li west!...

"Baking bamboo materials for bow-making takes too long! Even working day and night, it would take at least half a year to bake pre-charred bamboo suitable for a bow... plus the time for bow preparation and stringing... May the Chief Divine grant protection! Endure, endure!..."

Returning to his small courtyard, Monk Soldier Watanabe gripped the Sun Amulet on his neck, offering a devout prayer. Then he furrowed his brows, gazing at dozens of bamboo materials arranged over a small fire pit. Two apprentices from the Southern Ticos tribe were at the fire pit managing the bamboo. As they saw him, they bowed respectfully.

"Keep at it!..."

Monk Soldier Watanabe waved his hand, pushed open the wooden cabin door, and walked inside. The leaders and priests of the Gel Tribe didn't value their martial arts nor concern themselves with their origins. After arriving at the Kingdom of the Lake, anyone possessing craftsmanship or technical skill could receive the Kingdom's privileges, gain key technical positions, and instruct their apprentices. But Monk Soldier Watanabe couldn't farm, forge, or build and sail ships. Apart from martial arts, he virtually lacked any craftsmanship!

After much deliberation in desperation, he claimed to possess "bow-making" skills. Under the skeptical gaze of the Gel priests, he secured a small courtyard and two bow-making apprentices. As a member of a Martial Family's main line, he practiced archery, maintained Japanese Bow, and witnessed bowmasters making bows, knowing the theories behind quality bow construction.

But in reality, he had never personally worked on crafting these bamboo Japanese Bows and was quite uncertain about the crucial details. However, protracting the bamboo materials began with baking, usually lasting a minimum of half a year, to a year. During this period, he could gradually recall and attempt the process. Moreover, he had a bold idea, which was originally a hearsay from the Capital City's Temples and Shrines but now had materials, collected with attention at Gummy People's Whale Harbor...

Thinking of this, Monk Soldier Watanabe slowly raised his head, looking at a section of gray-black whale baleen hanging on the wall. He meticulously processed it, carefully oiling and baking it, slowly shaping it daily into a bow shape.

"Chief Divine grant me protection! The long baleen of a Giant Whale... in the hands of Ezo people, too, can make a bow!..."