I've been transported to the orc continent.

Bai Ling handed the torch to Yue and said with a smile, "Yue, you light the stove."

Yue declined for a moment, saying, "Ling, you should do it."

Bai Ling looked at Yue and said seriously, "Yue, you were the first orc to discover iron ore. Without you, I wouldn't have been able to find iron ore in such a short time. Without finding iron ore, I wouldn't be able to smelt iron. Now that we can smelt iron, Yue, you deserve the most credit. Of course, you should be the one to light this fire."

Yue also looked at Bai Ling, and the two locked eyes. Yue was suddenly taken aback; he had never seen Ling so solemn and serious before.

Yue didn't say anything more. She took the torch from Bai Ling, squatted down, and lit the dry grass in the iron smelting furnace.

The hay burned, wisps of smoke curled up, and crackling sounds came from the iron smelting furnace as the charcoal inside was ignited.

This fire ignited not only this simple iron smelting furnace, but also the civilization of the entire orc world.

From that day on, the entire orc world entered a new era.

*

Bai Ling personally cranked the bellows. Inside the basket sewn together from animal hide, the simple fan blades spun rapidly, drawing air through the duct into the iron-smelting furnace, making the flames inside burn even brighter.

The charcoal burned brightly, and the air inside the room quickly warmed up. Sweat beaded on the foreheads of the orcs still standing there. Bai Ling's younger brother, Chen, said, "Brother, this charcoal produces so little smoke."

Xiao Ye said, "Yes, the fire is still very big."

Shan was in charge of cranking the bellows on the other side. He seemed to really enjoy it; once he sat down, he didn't get up and insisted on sitting there cranking the bellows handle.

Zhan stood on the steps made of adobe bricks, adding charcoal and iron ore to the iron smelting furnace as Bai Ling had instructed. He was shirtless, sweat pouring down his forehead, but his eyes were filled with excitement and anticipation.

As Bai Ling cranked the bellows, he kept an eye on the taphole. When he saw molten iron flowing out, he beckoned to Chen, who immediately came over: "Brother, what's wrong?"

Bai Ling said, "You crank the bellows here, I'll go check over there. Remember not to use too much force, or it will break."

Bai Ling stood up, and Chen immediately sat down. He had wanted to come and shake this for a long time, and now that he could finally play, Chen was very happy. However, he also remembered what his brother had said and did not use too much force.

The molten iron flowed through a narrow tunnel and eventually into a ceramic pot, which was placed in an earthen pit. Charcoal was also lit in the pit to ensure that the molten iron would not solidify. The pit also had a ventilation shaft, and Yue squatted to one side, cranking the bellows.

Once the molten iron had filled two-thirds of the earthenware pot, Bai Ling opened the channel through which the molten iron was flowing. The red-hot molten iron split in two, with one part flowing into a larger earthen pit and the other flowing towards the earthenware pot. Then, Bai Ling placed a stone above the earthenware pot, blocking the flow of molten iron and preventing it from flowing in that direction.

The charcoal under the earthenware pot burned brightly with the help of the bellows, and the molten iron in the pot kept boiling. Bai Ling first added a handful of ground iron ore powder to the molten iron, and then began to stir the red-hot molten iron with a wooden stick.

To make a fine knife, iron alone is not enough; steel is the best choice.

The simplest way to turn iron into steel is to repeatedly hammer the smelted iron, but this is too strenuous. Even though orcs are much stronger than humans, it takes too long to obtain high-quality ironware using this forging method.

Besides the forging method, there is another steel-making method, which is simpler. Just keep the molten iron in a non-solidified state and keep stirring it with iron concentrate powder.

The molten iron was so hot that the wooden stick in Bai Ling's hand quickly caught fire. Bai Ling acted as if he didn't see it and continued to stir it. When the stick got too short, he would replace it with another one. After replacing the stick three times, Bai Ling called out, "Yue, you don't need to keep cranking the bellows."

Upon hearing this, Yue immediately stopped shaking. Bai Ling wiped the sweat from her forehead and let out a heavy breath.

Besides Shan and Chen, who were still cranking the bellows, and Chief Zhan, who was responsible for adding charcoal and iron ore to the iron smelting furnace, all the beastmen who were still in the room gathered around.

Yue also came over, and he was more excited than the others, with brighter eyes.

Everyone watched with curiosity as the red-hot molten iron slowly solidified, but no one spoke.

This is truly amazing! Can stones really be heated to turn red water? As the red water slowly cools down, how did it turn back into a dark blue-green stone?

Finally, one of the tribesmen couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Ling, is this ironware? It looks so strange."

Bai Ling shook his head and said, "Of course this is not ironware. This is just a prototype. It needs to be forged and then it can be made into ironware."

To obtain steel, the first step is to forge the wrought iron and pig iron separately to remove impurities; the second step is to place the wrought iron on the bottom and the pig iron on top, and continue forging to fuse the wrought iron and pig iron; the third step is to wrap the forged wrought iron with pig iron and put it back into the blast furnace for smelting.

Pig iron has a low melting point, while wrought iron has a high melting point. When wrought iron and pig iron are placed together in a furnace for smelting, the pig iron will melt first, and the wrought iron will melt last. In this way, the pig iron can be incorporated into the wrought iron to obtain steel.

*

The molten steel was poured into a mold, and a knife began to take shape.

This is the world's first piece of ironware, and also the world's first weapon.

As the molten steel slowly solidified, Bai Ling carefully took out the large knife and placed it on the flat stone that had been prepared beforehand.

"Yue, repeatedly strike the iron block with the stone hammer." There were four stone hammers placed at the base of the wall, all specially prepared by Bai Ling for blacksmithing.

Yue didn't say much. She picked up the stone hammer placed in the corner and smashed it down on the red-hot iron block on the stone.

Yue used all her strength, and when she struck the stone with this hammer, it seemed as if the stone itself trembled.

Every time Yue slammed her sword, Bai Ling would flip it over and repeat this dozens of times. Bai Ling shouted "Stop!" Yue didn't ask any questions and immediately stopped what she was doing.

Bai Ling wrapped his hands in animal hide, gripped the hilt of the sword, and placed the broadsword into the blazing charcoal stove beside him.

This step is to allow the steel and carbon to react, making the steel stronger and more durable.

Once the entire blade of the broadsword was red-hot, Bai Ling took it out again and had Yue continue to hammer it.

The knife was hammered and then fired in a charcoal furnace. This process lasted for two whole days, and by the time the knife was finished, it had completely changed its appearance.