Chapter 704 Probable?
While the most important goal of Ryu's trip was to fix the lingering issues in his Great Swordstaff Inheritance and refine it to perfection, coming here also made it convenient to accomplish some other things.
Firstly, considering the current strife, it was another opportunity for Ryu to temper himself. And, secondly, it was about time he forged an appropriate weapon for himself.
It had been a very long time since Ryu wielded a weapon appropriate for his cultivation level and strength. In fact, this could be considered to be one of the things holding back his combat prowess, not that he needed much more of it.
With how fast Ryu was progressing, it made it hard for his weapons to keep up, especially back when he was poor. But, now that he was rich, he had another problem, and that was the fact the Great Swordstaff was simply too rare of a weapon.
Even if by some miracle he did run across one, it would likely be a novelty item created by a Blacksmith on a whim. At best it would be Earth or Heaven Grade.
Worse than this, even if by some unlikely miracle Ryu ran into a Blacksmith who had been enamored with the ancient and rare weapon, what was the likelihood they would have created two of them that Ryu could properly dual wield?
When all of these factors came together, it only became more difficult to conjure up a scenario where Ryu would be able to stumble upon exactly what he needed. That was where the convenience of the Armament Guild came into play.
As the martial world renowned number one location for weapon masters, it was only logical that the Armament Guild would also heavily invest in Blacksmiths. Even compared to the Merchant Guild, their selection was far greater and their specialists were famous throughout the martial world.
In fact, the Armament Guild had several Blacksmiths who had formed their Godhood around certain weapon specialties.
Of course, these sorts of Sky Gods didn't have the combat prowess of true Sky Gods, but they were still enough to casually crush World Sea Realm experts if they were ever to step onto a battlefield.
Regardless, the Blacksmiths and the Armament Guild were more like a symbiotic relationship rather than truly being one entity. In fact, in a lot of ways, the Blacksmiths could even be considered to be their own Guild, it was just more convenient for them to be under the umbrella of the Armament Guild.
"Ah… Yes, we do. But, depending on what you need… Things might get a bit complicated." Sabelle and the other two smiled bitterly.
Though the Blacksmiths could be considered their own separate entities, after so many years of their symbiotic relationship, how could things really be that simple?
It was fine if Ryu needed the help of a Blacksmith close with their families. But, if he needed one of the others… That could get very dicey.
Things might have still been fine if Ryu hadn't made it clear whose side he stood on and instead used his apparent 'connections' with the Necromancy Guild instead. But, if things were like this, it might be more trouble than it was worth.
"Mm." Ryu nodded. "I have some Breaking Ore that I want to fashion into a polearm and a bow body. As for the blade of the polearm, I need it to be a great sword. So depending on the specialties of your Blacksmiths, I would need someone adept act forging bows, another adept with polearm weapons, and the final has to be skilled in making swords."
The pupils of the three youths constricted.
How could they not know what Breaking Ore was? In its unrefined form, it was overly fragile and could shatter at the slightest touch, thus its name. But, after being refined properly, it not only gained an enormous tensile strength, but its flexibility was otherworldly.
When Breaking Ore was refined into Breaking Crystal, it ranked 22nd on the martial world's hardest materials, top 10 in its qi flow allowance, and top 3 in its flexibility and form retention! It was simply a material of dreams.
However, with this sort of output, it obviously took an equivalent amount of skill. Even the worst Blacksmith's capable of refining Breaking Ore into Breaking Crystal were Ancestral Grade Blacksmiths. And yet, even if their products were inferior, the result would still be worthy of an Ancestral Grade treasure.
The best were most definitely Origin Grade, and the result weapon would likewise be of this level. In fact, even an Ancestral Grade Blacksmith who happened to be skilled in refining Break Ore could form an Origin Grade weapon with a bit of luck. This was how amazing this material was. So, how could they not be shocked?
Of course… They had no idea that Ryu had actually picked up such a valuable material from the Mortal Plane. In fact, those fools of the Tor Kingdom had actually been using their fragile nature of Breaking Ore as part of their games. Simply a waste of nature's treasures. How could Ryu not take advantage of them?
When the three finally recollected themselves, they realized just how complex Ryu's ask was.
Godefride cleared his throat. "You're right, Ryu. If you were willing to take a small hit in quality, you wouldn't have as many hoops to jump through. After all, the Blacksmiths our families are friendly with are extraordinarily high level. Even though they have their specializations, they'd be too incompetent if they couldn't step out of it.
"But, considering how you framed your question, it seems that you're unwilling to settle for anything less than the best…"
Godefride understood Ryu's thoughts. Who would want to waste a material as precious as Breaking Ore on anything less than that? But…
"Our family is close with numerous Blacksmiths who would be able to fashion a top quality polearm for you. And, though it's a bit tricky, the Blacksmiths of the sword faction have many upright men who don't bend to outside pressure. They pursue their craft and won't skip out on a chance to work with Breaking Ore, so you should be able to have your Great Sword dealt with well too…
"The issue comes in with the bow. That faction of Blacksmiths is almost completely closed off to us and are firmly bound with the Arcus Clan and their people. Though I won't say it's impossible, I'm really not certain if it's probable…"
Ryu raised an eyebrow.