Endless Winter: My Camp Upgrades Infinitely

"Leader, what is this?"

The three items that suddenly appeared by the furnace immediately attracted everyone in the camp.

Xia Hong's ability to create things out of thin air was no secret in the Great Xia camp. Combined with the miraculous nature of the iron-smelting furnace, everyone was naturally curious about these three items, all looking at Xia Hong with anticipation.

Some people from the Great Stone camp had also gathered around at this moment, but they were mostly young and curious. Shi Qing's children, Shi Ping and Shi Lu, were among them.

Xia Hong didn't hide anything and gave a general introduction to the three items.

The people of Great Xia were fine, trusting Xia Hong implicitly. Hearing about the powerful functions of the three items, they were immediately excited. However, Shi Ping, Shi Lu, and the people from Great Stone camp, faced with these unheard-of objects, immediately showed some doubt on their faces.

"Leader, why don't you try it? Activate this wooden dummy, and I'll practice with it."

Xia Hong naturally wouldn't waste time explaining. Hearing Yuan Cheng even suggesting he demonstrate, he repeatedly waved his hand.

[Resources: Wood 1140 Coal 144 Iron 312 Silver 0 Gold 0]

Currently, the coal and iron mines weren't settled yet. The three buildings had already cost so much. There weren't many resources left, and not a single bit could be wasted before new production started.

Xia Hong's brow twitched slightly as he looked at the few remaining coal stones on the ground. He picked up a small one and threw it into the iron-smelting furnace.

Boom…

The moment the coal stone went in, the flames surged upwards instantly, and a heatwave spread out from the furnace, instantly raising the temperature inside the cave.

"It's so warm! The heat emitted by the coal stone is actually so high!"

"I'm not cold at all, and the cave entrance is wide open right now."

"Did the Rogue camp send a lot of coal? Can we all use it in the future?"

"It probably won't work now. When we all break through to the Earth Digging Realm and can mine coal ourselves, we can use coal for heating."

…

The people in the camp felt the temperature rise and immediately started discussing.

Xia Hong felt the heat emitted by the coal stone and immediately understood why the Rogue camp didn't use much wood for heating.

The heat emitted by burning the two was completely on different levels, and the smoke produced by burning coal was almost non-existent compared to wood.

Not to mention, it could be used for forging iron and casting weapons.

The moment the coal stone was thrown into the iron-smelting furnace, the system displayed the average daily consumption: 20 units of coal per day.

20 units, converted, is 400 pounds.

Xia Hong couldn't help but click his tongue in his heart. This consumption rate was a bit too terrifying.

However, thinking of the Rogue camp's average fifty-meter square wooden houses, each requiring 150 pounds a day, and the iron-smelting furnace being able to cover a hundred-meter radius, 400 pounds a day didn't seem too excessive.

In the end, it was still poverty.

He only had a total of 144 units of coal on him now. If he used it all for heating, it would only last for seven days. He couldn't afford it, absolutely couldn't afford it.

Xia Hong took a deep breath, picked up two more coal stones and threw them into the iron-smelting furnace, then picked up a fist-sized iron ore from the ground.

For the same weight, the volume of iron ore was half the size of coal stone. A forty- or fifty-pound coal stone was only the size of a fist. The iron ore in Xia Hong's hand was also the size of a fist, but it weighed hundreds of pounds.

"According to Luo Ming, the iron ore in this world doesn't need to be refined. It only needs to be melted with coal fire, then placed in a mold to shape it into an iron blank, and then constantly hammered until forging patterns appear, then it can be considered a weapon.

The more forging patterns, the more powerful the weapon forged. Generally speaking, as long as it reaches the level of ten forges, breaking through the defense of low-level cold beasts is no problem!"

Remembering what he had learned from Luo Ming about forging weapons before leaving the Rogue camp, a thoughtful look appeared in Xia Hong's eyes.

Compared to his previous life, such a forging process was certainly unreasonable, but the iron ore in this world was clearly not the same thing as on Blue Star.

Just from the weight, you could tell.

Thinking of Wang Ming's greatsword that weighed about six hundred pounds, Xia Hong stopped thinking and picked out fifteen pieces of iron ore, about six hundred pounds, and placed them directly above the iron-smelting furnace, then added a few more coal stones underneath.

"Leader, are you planning to forge weapons?"

"Definitely. Didn't the leader just say that the black stone can be shaped into any mold? After melting the iron ore, pour it into the mold, and the weapon should come out, right?"

"Our Great Xia can also forge its own weapons."

"There probably isn't enough iron. I estimate we can't forge many pieces now. When we have an iron mine in the future, we'll all have weapons."

…

Xia Chuan and the others, who had been watching all along, immediately guessed what he was going to do when they saw Xia Hong's actions. They were all excited and discussed animatedly.

It would be great if it were as simple as they said.

Xia Hong shook his head in his heart and didn't speak. He walked to the side of the black polishing stone and placed his hand on it.

After groping around on it for a while, Xia Hong immediately understood.

This polishing stone would deform with a light press, but if you used force, it would become incredibly hard, somewhat similar to the non-Newtonian fluid of his previous life, but obviously more advanced.

Xia Hong flattened the polishing stone and gently pressed out the shape of a blade blank.

Next, he just had to wait for the iron ore to melt.

The heat released by the iron-smelting furnace made the entire cave as warm as spring. Since no one felt sleepy at night, everyone gathered around, chatting while waiting with Xia Hong for the iron ore to melt.

More than three hours passed, and it was almost the second half of the night when the iron ore on the furnace finally melted completely, turning into a milky white, scorching liquid.

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Xia Hong placed the polishing stone on the side of the furnace, then stepped forward and carefully poured the liquid above slowly into the blade blank groove he had just pressed out.

Chi…

The liquid entered the groove and turned into a solid state upon contact with the polishing stone, instantly emitting a thick cloud of white smoke.

After a long time, all the molten iron in the furnace was gone. Xia Hong let go and looked down at the polishing stone, a hint of joy on his face.

"Go fetch some water."

Xia Chuan immediately trotted to the side of the wall and scooped up a spoonful of water.

Xia Hong took the spoon and poured it onto the polishing stone.

Cold and heat alternated, and an even more intense burst of white smoke spewed out.

There was not a trace of impatience on everyone's faces. They all craned their necks, waiting for the thick smoke to dissipate to see if the blade blank had been completed.

More than ten breaths later, the thick smoke dissipated, and a long, black iron blank quietly appeared on the polishing stone. The iron blank was one and a half meters long, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, with a very obvious arc at the tail, making it obviously the shape of a blade.

"This is an iron blank, not a blade yet, right?"

"It's already very close. It should still need shaping. Didn't the leader bring back a blade before? We've all seen it."

"It should still need forging. The leader definitely knows. Look."

…

Xia Hong took the blade blank out of the polishing stone, then placed the blade blank on top of the iron-smelting furnace, and then gently kneaded the polishing stone again.

Under his gentle kneading, the polishing stone quickly turned into the shape of an iron hammer. He only stopped after leaving a half-meter handle at the end.

Using wood to fix the blade blank on both sides of the iron-smelting furnace, Xia Hong raised the polishing hammer, took a deep breath, and slammed down the first blow on the blade blank.

Clang…

A crisp striking sound echoed in everyone's ears.

Clang… Clang… Clang… Clang… Clang…

Then came a series of rhythmic hammering sounds. Hearing it in their ears, everyone felt like they were listening to celestial music. Their faces were full of anticipation, and their pupils reflected the sparks emitted when Xia Hong struck. Something inexplicable seemed to be gently stirred in everyone's hearts.

Xia Hong was like a tireless machine, hitting harder and harder.

He didn't know what the others in the camp were thinking.

But his mood at this moment could be said to have reached its peak of excitement.

Because, the blade blank he was forging now, to some extent, could be said to announce that the Great Xia camp, from this day on, officially entered:

The Iron Age.