Chapter 655: The First Ignition

Sparks cascaded across the black anvil like falling stars as Ferra brought her forging hammer down with relentless thunder.

The field forge burned with intense crimson flame, radiating heat that caused the mountain air outside the cavern to shimmer.

Across the central cavern, three apprentice smiths pumped the twin leather bellows, feeding the white-hot charcoal pit with furious energy.

"These ingot slabs were recovered from the furnace construct at the primary forge station," the lead apprentice noted, stacking the refined bars near the hearth.

"Every scrap of that alloy was bought with our sweat and blood," she replied, inspecting the crystalline grain of the metal.

"We do not waste an ounce of material when our summoner is holding the line."

On the granite workbench rested Hajin’s twin blades, their polished edges reflecting the swirling embers that drifted above the hearth.

Through the receiver crystal resting on her anvil, the harmonic hum from the viaduct tracing network vibrated with razor clarity.

"Frequency confirmed at seventy-four hundred kilohertz!" she shouted over the roar of the roaring combustion chamber.

"The command seam profile is completely locked into our receiver!"

"Master Ferra, can the alloy withstand that vibration without cracking?" an apprentice asked, adjusting his leather apron with trembling hands.

"It will withstand the pressure, or I will beat it into obedience myself!" she barked, lifting the right-hand blade with insulated tongs.

"Keep pumping those bellows until the coals turn pure white!" she commanded, her fiery gaze sweeping across the team.

"Right away, master!" the apprentices shouted in unison, leaning their full weight into the wooden lever handles.

She plunged the blade directly into the heart of the sacred forge fire, chanting the ancient runes of Answering Metal.

The metal hissed furiously as crimson light seeped into its microscopic pores, aligning with the recorded divine frequency.

Suddenly, a violent tremor shook the cavern roof, raining gravel and dust across the quenching basins near the wall.

Above the forge, the pinned Incarnation recognized the lethal danger rising from beneath the western causeway.

Gathering its remaining embodied reach, the construct hurled a jagged crystalline projectile through the canyon, aiming straight for the forge opening.

"Look out... incoming artillery!" the lead apprentice screamed, diving behind the water trough with hands clutching his head.

The crystalline missile tore through the cavern entrance, shrieking through the smoke like a guided mortar round.

Ferra did not flinch, drop her tongs, or retreat a single step from her workstation.

She pivoted smoothly on the balls of her feet, swinging her massive forging hammer in a vicious rising arc.

The hammer met the crystalline missile with concussive force, smashing the projectile into harmless powder.

"Do not interrupt a master smith at her work!" she roared, the concussive blow echoing along the stone walls. ℴ

"Now get back on those bellows before the heat drops!" she barked, wiping sweat from her brow with her forearm.

The terrified apprentices scrambled back to their posts, pumping the levers with renewed, desperate vigor.

With a fierce grin, she returned her hammer to the anvil, pulling the incandescent blade from the glowing coals.

She laid the weapon across the anvil face, bringing her hammer down in three rapid, flawless strikes.

[ Resonance forge: First ignition achieved ]

[ Answering Metal: Synchronized with divine frequency ]

[ Equipment evolution: Matched twin blades enter nascent divine growth ]

[ Personal contribution calculated: +1,000,000 EXP ]

[ Ferra progress: 1,000,000 / 7,500,000 EXP toward Wing four ]

[ Note: Unchanged vitality / no resource refill ]

A burst of azure flame roared from the blade, wrapping both weapons in a sheath of pure harmonic energy.

The twin blades hummed with newly awakened life, their edges perfectly tuned to sever the braced seam in the construct’s chest.

"Ignition complete!" she laughed, dipping the weapons into the sacred oil vat beside the workbench.

The oil hissed with a sharp, vibrant crackle as blue flames danced across the liquid surface.

"Look at that temper line," the lead apprentice whispered in awe, peering over the edge of the vat.

"That is the breath of living alloy," she said, lifting the dripping steel into the morning air.

Ferra wiped the cooled blades dry, then sprinted up the field forge’s short ramp to the causeway.

Out on the causeway, Hajin stood waiting beside the pinned Incarnation, his split-colored eyes tracking her approach.

"Here are your blades, summoner!" she shouted, tossing the matched hilts toward him through the morning air.

Hajin caught both grips cleanly in mid-flight, feeling the wild harmonic pulse thrumming through his palms.

He swung the right blade in a short experimental arc, parting the drifting smoke with a crisp hum.

"The balance feels better than those spare blades," he remarked, his fingers molding naturally to the wrapped hilts.

"I reinforced the tangs with heat-treated alloy," she replied, crossing her arms with quiet satisfaction.

"They answer only one seam," she warned, pointing her hammer toward the pinned monster.

"Strike through the center where the braces are locked... and you will cut that god’s puppet in half!"

"That is all the opening I need," he replied, spinning both blades into reverse grip as his six Rings flared.

"Make it count, kid!" she shouted back, leaning against her hammer as she caught her breath.

"Carve that arrogant construct into scrap!"

"I will not leave a single shard intact," he said, taking a long stride toward the causeway.

The Incarnation shrieked in terror as it saw the blue fire licking along the steel edges, realizing its doom was sealed.

The countdown on No Foreign Heaven ticked into its final thirty seconds, leaving just enough time to strike the fatal blow.

The scorched flags of the causeway trembled beneath the gathering pressure of their final duel, while the allied army watched in breathless silence.

From the ridges above to the trenches below, every warrior held their breath as the summoner advanced toward the exposed core.

High above the battlefield, the celestial stream room erupted in a blinding storm of golden superchats and cheers.

[ Seoul_Tactician: "First Ignition took! Ferra’s twin blades survived the forge and reached Hajin in time!" ]

[ StarlightScholar: "’Do not interrupt a master smith at her work!’ Ferra swatting a divine artillery shell out of the air is legendary!" ]

[ IronVanguard: "+1,000,000 EXP earned through pure grit and mastercrafting! 1M / 7.5M toward Wing Four!" ]

[ HearthKeeper: "Seeing Ferra toss those blazing blades through the air gave me absolute goosebumps! What an incredible summon!" ]

[ ShadowMage44: "Zone seconds 80 to 125 concluded! Nascent Divine Growth means the Incarnation’s armor is basically cardboard now!" ]

[ NewViewer_02: "The sound design of that hammer strike must have been insane! Ferra is officially my favorite smith!" ]

[ TacticalNerd: "Thirty seconds left on No Foreign Heaven! Hajin, finish the strike before it closes!" ]

[ CringeSlayer91: "That construct thought throwing a rock at the forge would work, but Ferra plays baseball with divine relics!" ]

Ferra rested her forging hammer on her shoulder, watching Hajin take his final stance before the pinned monster.

"The new edge is holding," Ferra said, studying the first cut for a fracture before she backed from the firing line.

Hajin adjusted his grip on the returned original blades, aware that thirty seconds of silence from the foreign god did not make the core harmless.

"Call the retreat if the field drops," he told the signal officer.

"The civilians are clear, and the rear horn is ready," the officer answered.

Juna moved to his left while Loccy held the right support, leaving him a clean approach to the exposed heart without forcing either companion into his strike.

Her craft held true, the weapon answered the call, and the divine tyrant had nowhere left to run.