Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

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Forging Village had seven forges, a fact that had remained unchanged for over twenty years.

The "Seven Forges" not only referred to the literal, physically existing seven forges but also represented seven workshops.

Ever since [Mejery Poltan] moved his forge to Revodan twenty years ago, [Peter Ganchalov] had leapt to the position of the wealthiest man in Forging Village.

The elder Ganchalov had three sons who had grown to adulthood, all of them skilled workers, and the elder Ganchalov was also very good at accumulating family wealth.

The four of them working together had made their workshop prosper.

Ten years ago, the elder Ganchalov spared no expense to invite craftsmen from the Steel Fortress to create Forging Village's first water-powered hammer.

From then on, the "thud, thud, clang, clang" from his workshop never stopped, and the other workshops couldn't compare.

The elder Ganchalov passed away in his sleep the year before last, and now the forge was managed by his eldest son.

In addition to the three brothers, the Ganchalov family also had nine assistants and apprentices, recognized as the foremost workshop in Forging Village.

The smallest workshop in Forging Village was the [Vinius] family's.

In his youth, Paulo Vinius was also a top-notch blacksmith, with craftsmanship even better than Poltan's.

In those years of iron smelting, it was Poltan, Vinius, and Ganchalov who had partnered up to build the first smelting furnace.

Latter, Poltan moved his furnace to Revodan, while Paulo Vinius began to drink heavily.

The elder Vinius's body was ruined by alcohol, and his spirit shattered along with it. Five years ago, he died, and everyone said it was the drink that killed him.

Now, only the young Vinius and two underage apprentices remained, barely keeping the workshop afloat.

...

Upon learning that three justices had come to visit Forging Village, all the owners of the seven workshops hurried to the town hall to greet them. This included the Ganchalov brothers and the young Vinius.

The workshop owners were shocked to discover: Mister Poltan himself had also come.

It had been nearly ten years since anyone had seen the elder Poltan, many had assumed him dead, but no one had ever attended his funeral.

The Ganchalov brothers, the young Vinius, and other younger [Forge Masters] all came forward to greet the elder Poltan.

Poltan had grown old, and so had his peers, all too old to continue the hard work.

Some had passed their forges onto their sons or sons-in-law, while others had sold theirs away.

A new generation of Forge Masters had taken over, now all managed by the second or even third generation.

[Winters] stood by the old blacksmith Poltan, carefully observing each of the workshop owners, especially the Ganchalov family.

The seven workshop owners of Forging Village all belonged to the same [Guild Alliance], the Iron Peak County Blacksmiths' Guild.

Not just them, but other village and town blacksmiths—like old Misha from Wolf Town—were also members of this guild.

The first leader of the blacksmiths' guild was naturally the elder Poltan, while the current nominal leader was Shosha.

But Shosha did not have the same level of prestige as his father-in-law, and his forge was not in Forging Village, so the blacksmiths of Forging Village all looked to the Ganchalov family for leadership.

Winters casually sized up the Ganchalov brothers: the second and third brothers appeared to be hot-headed, but the eldest was quite steady.

As for the young Vinius... he seemed very tired, his shoulders and back slumped. And he just passed by, leaving no lasting impression on Winters.

Winters had actually come to Forging Village without any particular business in mind, merely stopping by to have a look.

After all, Forging Village was the only place in the county capable of manufacturing large ironware, and Winters was quite curious about it.

He also planned to visit the nearby military settlement to check on the autumn farming.

"Your Excellency, how is the progress of your smelting furnace?" The elder Gancha smiled ingratiatingly as he took the initiative to greet the justice.

The eldest son of Ganchalov was tall and muscular, with only his small eyes looking out of place, disappearing when he smiled.

Upon hearing the elder Gancha's question, the other workshop owners all pricked up their ears for the answer.

"I'm expecting it to fail," Winters said with a light chuckle.

At this reply, the atmosphere suddenly chilled.

Winters's tone was relaxed, "No big deal, just do it again."

The elder Gancha flattered, "My father always said, the greater the failure, we are all waiting for your success. Cheaper iron would be a huge boon for us blacksmiths. We are all waiting for your success."

"I appreciate your kind words," Winters replied with a modest smile.

The workshop owners all joined in the laughter, and the small town hall filled with their mirth.

Andre stood beside Winters, letting out a cold snort.

The relationship between Forging Village's [workshop community] and the new government could be summarized in two words: warm outwardly, cold inwardly, strictly business.

For Forging Village, which only presided over two villages, having seven forges was clearly excessive.

As a result, Forging Village's ironworks relied on consumption from other villages and towns, and Forging Village mainly produced those large pieces that small smithies found inconvenient to make.

Forging Village needed to sell ironware, Winters needed to buy ironware;

Forging Village feared the "Rebels" would strike hard, Winters didn't want to see the forges of Forging Village extinguished.

Thus, a silent agreement of "well water not offending river water" was formed between the two parties.

After a brief conversation, Winters proposed visiting each of the workshops.

The elder Gancha was reluctant, but still agreed readily. Since he agreed, none of the other workshop owners objected.

Blacksmith workshops were much of a muchness, even the largest Ganchalov workshop and the small shop of old Misha from Wolf Town had no essential difference—both were filled with men with taut cheeks, working around red-hot metal.

The workshops contained just a few essentials: the forge, anvil, molds, and various specialized small tools.

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