All My Summons Become Divine Girls

Chapter 229: The Eastern Forge Layout

Ferra stood in the center of the muddy eastern sector, arguing aggressively with Seliza’s lead engineer over a crude blueprint.

The engineer pointed a trembling finger at the chimney design on the parchment, "this layout is standard for a regional capital forge."

Ferra shook her head in sheer disgust, "a standard human chimney will crumble into ash when we feed anomaly-grade cores into the furnace."

She used her bare heel to drag deep lines through the mud, mapping out a circular high-density core pit.

She tapped her foot against the wet clay, "the furnace needs a triple-brick backing to survive the heat of my bloodline."

The engineer crossed his arms across his chest in defiance, "guild builders’ math proves this vertical structure is perfectly sound."

She stared him down with burning eyes, "your precious math will melt when I ignite the dark core."

The engineer nervously took a step backward, deciding it was safer to let the dragon-blooded woman have her way. Workers hauled thick timber beams across the ground, slipping occasionally in the slick mud left by the recent rains.

Hajin watched the construction progress from the edge of the site, calculating the material burn rate in his head. Juna stood quietly at his side, her ears twitching constantly as she monitored the sounds of the laboring crowds.

She narrowed her eyes at the precarious stacks of granite blocks, "the foundation trenches look too shallow for the stonework."

Hajin crossed his arms over his chest, "they are building it fast because we need the weapons immediately."

Ash ran along the stacked timber beams nearby, his rapid physical growth evident in his steady, confident balance. He climbed onto a large granite block, watching Ferra lift a thick iron masonry mallet with a single hand.

She growled at the toddler to leave the area, "go play elsewhere before you get crushed by falling debris."

Ash ignored her command entirely, blink-stepping off the block to grab a thick wooden mallet from the muddy dirt.

He swung the wooden mallet with surprising force, bringing it down directly on a stray brick. The powerful swing split the brick cleanly in half, throwing a dense cloud of sharp dust across the mud.

Juna walked up just in time to intercept the debris, the dust settling across her feet and lower legs. She quickly scooped Ash up into her arms before he could swing the tool a second time.

Ash growled happily in her firm grip, holding out his small hands toward the broken pieces on the ground.

Juna brushed the fine dust from his face, "you are becoming a little menace with that strength."

Ferra watched the toddler with a critical eye, "the child has strong crafter hands, unlike my soft master."

Marrick approached Hajin near the command tent, holding his complaint slate with a deeply tired expression.

He tapped his ink pen nervously against the slate, "the gold from the trade contract is paying the masons exactly on time."

He pushed his round spectacles up his nose, "however, we severely lack the heat-resistant clay needed for the furnace lining."

Marrick looked nervously toward the southern road, "the Flint family is blockading the kilns, making basic material import impossible."

Hajin narrowed his eyes at the scribe, "the outriders are choking the southern trade route to halt our defensive preparations."

Marrick nodded his head in grim agreement, "if we import the clay from the far west, it will bankrupt the regional treasury."

Ferra walked over to join the tense conversation, wiping wet mud from her hands with a rough linen cloth.

The damp cloth landed on a nearby wooden crate as she stepped forward with a confident stride, "I will refine the local mountain clay myself using the residual core energy."

Her molten eyes locked directly on the nervous scribe, "this method bypasses the imports while making the clay resilient enough for my fire."

Ferra glared coldly at the human engineer, "you build toys for children, while I shape metal with the blood of dragons."

Picking up a handful of raw mud from the ground, she let her hands heat up until the moisture hissed into steam. The mud hardened into a solid, dry brick in seconds, dropping onto the ground with a heavy thud.

Hajin crossed his arms as he looked at Marrick, "how much gold do we save by refining the raw materials ourselves?"

Marrick tapped his finger against his slate, "we save at least two thousand gold pieces with this direct method."

Hajin nodded his head in immediate approval, "then begin the refining process before the sun sets today." He stepped closer to the edge of the pit, feeling the cold wind whipping across the exposed eastern sector of the town.

He summoned the corrupted apex core into his palm, tossing it toward the forgemistress without hesitation. She caught the core with a sharp grin, her fingers heating up slightly as they absorbed the ambient energy.

Ferra pressed the core into the center of the wet clay, the surface immediately hissing as it touched the moisture.

Her eyes closed in intense concentration, her arms flaring with a bright inner heat that rapidly spread through her veins. The wet clay began to dry instantly under her touch, turning from dark brown mud into a pale, heat-baked ceramic material.

"The heat coming from the pit is hot enough to burn the timber supports," Juna tapped Hajin on the shoulder with her free hand.

Hajin watched the wooden scaffolding near the pit begin to char and blacken under the thermal radiation.

He summoned his rings around his right wrist, the three rings spinning rapidly as he channeled his own mana into the air. He projected a thin layer of his Aegis barrier over the supports, shielding the flammable materials from the rising heat of the forge pit.

"My fire does not need a babysitter, summoner," Ferra glared at the shimmering barrier.

"The timber needs it," he maintained his Aegis barrier with calm focus, "unless you plan to rebuild the scaffolding yourself."

Marrick wrote furiously on his slate from a safe distance, documenting the exact time the new regional forge officially laid its foundation.

"This is a historic moment for the regional census records," Marrick adjusted his round spectacles with a trembling finger.

"It will be a short history if the Flints break through the southern blockade," Juna glanced at the scribe with a dry expression.

Ferra stood up from the pit, wiping the sweat from her brow as her chest rose in deep, exhausted breaths.

"The human guild masters could not build a foundation like this in a hundred years," she looked down at the smooth ceramic basin with a proud smile.

[ Project: Regional Forge Construction ]

[ Current Progress: 12% ]

[ Structural Integrity: 88% (Sub-optimal materials detected) ]

"We will need refined coal by tomorrow morning if we want to melt any steel," Ferra tapped her foot against the hardened ceramic edge.

Hajin nodded in silent agreement, knowing that breaking the southern blockade was the only way to secure the fuel they needed for the war.

Juna stepped closer to his side, her tail giving a slow, steady flick as she followed his gaze toward the contested trade routes.

"If the outriders attack the supply wagons, I will handle the vanguard," she adjusted the leather grip on her weapon.

Hajin did not answer her directly, his eyes fixed on the horizon as the afternoon wind swept across the muddy construction site.

He knew the Flint Patriarch was not going to let them build their defenses in peace, anticipating an aggressive retaliation in the coming days.