Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 687

The Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City took the lead.

The place they arrived at was a spacious armory.

Inside hung all kinds of weapons, as well as shields and various pieces of armor.

Standing before them, the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City asked.

"What do you think is the core of the Blacksmith Style?"

Su-ho thought for a moment before answering.

"I think it's harvesting."

"Why?"

"You said it yourself, Elder. The Blacksmith Style finds answers in enemies and the environment to solve problems. Then wouldn't the beginning of that process be harvesting the materials needed to solve those problems from the enemy and the environment?"

A smile appeared on the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City's lips.

"Correct. In that sense, you have no need to go to the forge. The materials are here, and you already have everything required for the work. So from now on, I'll show you the ultimate techniques of the Blacksmith Style that you should be aiming for."

The Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City walked into the armory.

He stopped in front of a fairly large shield, picked it up, and tossed it to Su-ho.

"Check it."

Su-ho checked its information.

The shield was called the Black Iron Shield, an extremely heavy and durable kite shield made with a mixture of high-purity black iron.

"Looks sturdy, doesn't it?"

"Yes. It looks like it wouldn't budge even if a golem came and struck it."

"Hold it just like that."

Su-ho did as instructed.

An ordinary person would have struggled to lift it even with both hands, but Su-ho was no ordinary person, so he held it easily.

Still, because of its weight and size, it looked slightly difficult to handle one-handed as casually as a dagger.

Then the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City reached into the air.

A long two-handed hammer was summoned into his grasp.

It was what people commonly called a sledgehammer at construction sites.

"First, I'll show you the power your hammer will possess once it is fully released."

He gripped the two-handed hammer with both hands and swung it lightly, putting his waist into the motion.

Then, the instant the hammer touched the shield.

KABOOM!

A tremendous roar.

At the same time, the shield shattered into pieces, fragments scattering in every direction.

One strike.

And with nothing more than that single strike, the enormous Black Iron Shield had been shattered without a trace.

That wasn't the only astonishing part.

There had been no impact.

More precisely, not a single bit of impact had been transmitted to Su-ho, who had been holding the shield.

'Is that physically possible?'

It was.

He had just experienced it himself.

Seeing Su-ho's stunned expression, the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City laughed.

"Interesting, isn't it?"

"Yes. Very."

"This is one of the ultimate techniques of the Blacksmith Style—the Art of Dismantling. Once you comprehend the ultimate level of the Art of Dismantling, you can completely dismantle only the target you intend to strike."

"With a single blow?"

"Naturally, it becomes possible with a single blow. No, unless you can achieve it in one strike, it can't really be called an ultimate technique. But to achieve complete dismantling with one strike, Smith's Eye must also reach its ultimate level. Only then can you find the perfect dismantling point. I call it the dismantling point, or the central point. Everything in the world has a center, and if you touch that center, everything being held together by it will collapse all at once."

"The central point......."

Complete dismantling.

It was an incredibly appealing power.

What if he could use it on an enemy?

Just as that thought crossed his mind—

"Haha, I know what you're thinking, but unfortunately, it's a technique that doesn't work on living beings. Things that live and breathe aren't held together entirely through a single central point."

"Ah...... That's a little disappointing."

"Heh. But once a living creature is no longer a living creature, complete dismantling becomes possible. On that note, shall we take a look at the Black Iron Shield I just dismantled?"

The scattered fragments.

When the Lord of Ten Thousand Gold City extended his hand, one of the scattered pieces floated up on its own and snapped into his palm.

Interesting.

Was he using telekinesis?

Holding out the piece that had come into his hand, he said,

"It's not telekinesis. Once you reach this level of mastery, the materials come to us on their own."

"I see."

"Check its information."

Is my expression really that obvious?

Hyman was the same. Everyone seems to read me so easily.

At his suggestion, Su-ho checked the information.

[ Central Point of the Black Iron Shield Made in Ten Thousand Gold City ]

Grade : S# The central point of a Black Iron Shield crafted in Ten Thousand Gold City.

# Without the central point, no matter how many material fragments there are, it cannot be restored to its original form.

# However, when the central point exists, its appearance and configuration options will vary depending on the material fragments used in its composition.

# The Central Point of the Black Iron Shield Made in Ten Thousand Gold City can only be filled with material fragments harvested through the Blacksmith Style's Art of Dismantling and requires the Blacksmith Style's Art of Assembly.

# The minimum assembly requirement is 50 material fragments excluding the central point, while the maximum composition requirement is 250.

# Current number of assembled material fragments: 0/250.

Su-ho slowly read through the item's information.

But something about it felt strangely familiar.

He searched his memory.

Then an item with a similar description suddenly came to mind, and he rummaged through his inventory.

Found it.

He immediately checked its information.

[ Mega Crusher's Shield Frame ]

Grade : S-# A crystallized item extracted by the Mega Crusher.

# The crystal's attribute is an item frame.

# The Shield Frame creates a new shield through the combination of material fragments.