From Abyssal Invasion to Bursting Stars with a Single Sword

Quenching Castle, the forging room.

Master Gulu had finished today's forging work and was sitting on the large iron anvil in the forging room, resting.

He liked this spot; he had been sitting here since he was very young.

Back then, a Black Iron Dwarf with strong arms would forge weapons in front of him, the pounding sounds had become the safest sound in his memories.

He was an orphan; there were many orphans like him during the constant migrations of the Black Iron Dwarves.

Typically, orphans like him who had lost their parents were doomed to die on the migration routes, possibly killed by Demons or devoured by Molten Lizards.

He was lucky because he met a Black Iron Dwarf with strong arms who took him back to Quenching Castle.

From then on, he sat every day on this large anvil, watching the dwarf uncle forge.

From the time he had no memories, until he started learning forging, and the roles reversed with the Black Iron Dwarf uncle sitting on the large iron anvil watching him forge.

He couldn't remember his old, nomadic childhood; his memories started from the large iron anvil, everything prior was told to him by the robust Black Iron Dwarf uncle.

That was his master and the previous owner of Quenching Castle.

Because when he was picked up, he could only say "Gulu Gulu," that became his name, Gulu, up to this point.

After growing up, he had no desire to take on a formal Black Iron Dwarf name.

Because he felt the name "Gulu" was truly him, starting from the large iron anvil, continuing his life there.

But now, the strong dwarf uncle was no longer there.

In fact, Gulu didn't feel much of a sense of belonging to the Black Iron Dwarves.

Because he hadn't seen many Black Iron Dwarves, most of his memories were tied to this large iron anvil.

He knew a lot about the Black Iron Dwarves because his master would talk about their glorious, sorrowful past and uncertain future while forging.

He wanted to seek out the Black Iron Tribe, for it was his master's hope.

He wished to see the revival of Black Iron Dwarves because that was also his master's hope.

All his identification and attachment to the Black Iron Tribe came from his master, the Black Iron Dwarf uncle who had found him during a migration.

He watched him age slowly from a towering giant to a stooped old man, eventually sitting on the large iron anvil, teaching him to forge.

He loved this large iron anvil, the forging room, and even Quenching Castle.

He even felt he could stay here all his life, as long as his master could sit with him at the large iron anvil, watching the bright red flames, talking about the past of Black Iron Dwarves.

After his master had left, he wandered aimlessly with Quenching Castle in the Abyss.

Until someone awakened his longing for his tribe.

He found he was becoming less connected to the old man, his memories growing fuzzier.

He feared he might truly forget him one day, so he wanted to fulfill his dying wish, to find the Black Iron Tribe, and seek the hope for revival.

It wasn't his wish, but it was his master's; thus, he wanted to fulfill it.

"Meow..."

A Flame-tailed Spirit Cat leaped into the forging room, circling its master for food.

Gulu picked it up and held it in his large palm, continuing to sit and daydream.

His master too had once kept a Flame-tailed Spirit Cat, and this one was its offspring.

He felt this Flame-tailed Spirit Cat must, like him, be nearly forgetting the Black Iron Dwarf uncle's silhouette.

...

When Lu Heng walked into the forging room, what he saw was Master Gulu holding the Flame-tailed Spirit Cat, sitting on the large iron anvil, lost in thought.

Gulu in such a state was rare for Lu Heng to see.

If Lu Heng knew his past, perhaps he would understand why Gulu liked to stay inside Quenching Castle, why his interactions with outsiders always seemed strange.

Lu Heng took out the horn of a Purgatory Sub-Dragon and other forging materials, placing them on the workbench, and said,

"Master, I've brought back the horn of a Purgatory Sub-Dragon alongside some other forging materials. Do you think it's enough for a three-forging of the Aurora Blade?"

No response.

"Master?" Lu Heng turned and called out louder.

"Huh? Oh..." Gulu then stood up and walked to the workbench to inspect the materials.

He marveled as he looked, "You really found a dragon horn, this is a rare piece of divine material, and you've brought so much forging material, that's fantastic. Where did you get these from?"

"Molten Lava Plain's Black Stone City," Lu Heng answered his question, then waited to see his reaction.

However, Gulu's expression was unchanged, because he had never heard of Black Stone City.

Lu Heng added, "That's the main city of the Darkville Black Iron Tribe."

Upon hearing the words "Black Iron Tribe," Gulu stopped his actions for a good while before continuing to examine the materials:

"You really found the Black Iron Tribe?"

"Yes. In the Molten Lava Plain, led by Dakville III."

"That's good," Gulu responded rather indifferently, not particularly excited.

"Dakville Leader asked me to convey his message to you; he said he is looking forward to meeting you and mentioned that the Black Iron Tribe will definitely be revived," Lu Heng relayed the conversation he had before returning.

"Very good."

Gulu nodded, his attention on the dragon horn, and said, "This material is key, the forging materials are ample, but I'm not absolutely confident I can succeed in forging."

He had been continuously borrowing trade orders, training his forging skill, but after all, he was about to forge an S-level Divine Weapon, which was immensely challenging.