Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1589 - 1128: Smelting Blast Furnace from East Asia, the First Iron of the North American Continent!

"What! Divine witness! Western Bee, are you saying you've discovered a Great Iron Mountain?!"

"Ah? Well... High Priest Miki, indeed there is a mountain full of this kind of ore in the eastern hills! But as to whether it's iron ore... I'm somewhat... unable to discern..."

In front of the tribal hearth at the port camp, a basket of pale yellow copper-colored ores was reflecting a golden glow. The two priests of the Kingdom exchanged glances, Scholar Mikki's expression was exceedingly grave, while Priest Western Bee lowered his head somewhat guiltily.

Initially, he was excited and thrilled, like presenting a treasure, offering these ores eagerly, delighted at the thought of a significant contribution to the Kingdom! However, when High Priest Miki sternly asked him to guarantee these discovered ores, he hesitated, hesitant to take full responsibility.

"Hmm? You still need much training!... If you can't shoulder responsibility, how can you lead a settlement? In time, the true overseer of the Kingdom Port may be..."

Scholar Mikki moved his gaze, glanced at the proud female chieftain Wiyot Tulun, and at the lowered head of Priest Western Bee. After pondering for a moment, looking at the golden ores before the hearth, he suddenly instructed accompanying Warrior Captain Stonefirm.

"Stonefirm, go fetch that... um, 'Otani' from the Wa tribe blacksmith! Ask him to have a good look..."

"Yes! High Priest!..."

Stonefirm strode away, then returned hurriedly with the Wa tribe blacksmith. Blacksmith Otani Takegou had his head lowered, yellow corn meal debris still on his lips, resembling the ore's debris on the ground. Slightly bewildered, he glanced at the two priests before the hearth, then "swish," knelt down, as if worshiping the Grand Priests at a shrine.

"May the Chief Divine bless! This humble Otani Takegou greets the two priests! Praise the Chief Divine!"

"Praise the Chief Divine! Hmm, Otani, stand up and have a good look, what are the ores in the basket?"

Blacksmith Otani had just risen and knelt beside the hearth. At the sight of the basket, his eyes reflected the dazzling golden light making his heart thump.

"Ah? More gold! So much! ... Uh? Wait?!"

Otani looked for a while, suddenly furrowed his brow. He took a piece of copper-colored ore, feeling its weight, less than that of gold. Then, he picked up a piece of flint, scraped it lightly, viewing the shallow marks on the ore. Lastly, he closely examined the chaotic crystal patterns on the ore's surface.

"Uh? Lighter than gold ore, harder, more chaotic... could it be?"

Otani's eyes lit up. He raised his head, cautiously asked.

"Chief Divine bless! Priest Mikki, this should not be gold, it very well may be... um... may I put this ore in the fire to burn a while?"

"You may!"

Soon, the coppery gold ore was heated in the bonfire. A faint volcanic aura lingered before everyone's nose. As the burning time prolonged, the golden ore gradually discolored, showing streaks of reddish-brown traces...

"Oh! Its color resembles gold, burns like blood, has a pungent odor... Indeed! Indeed! This is pyrite!"

Otani sniffed deeply, then examined the color change of the ores. Subsequently, he respectfully stood up again, and knelt in front of Mikki, confidently reported.

"Priest! This is iron ore! This is pyrite!"

"Divine witness! Are you sure this is iron ore that can produce ironware?!"

Scholar Mikki suppressed his inner excitement, his gaze fervent, tightly fixing on Otani's face. Otani emphatically nodded, sketched a prayer gesture, and respectfully bowed his head.

"Divine witness! This must be pyrite! Look, it now burned rust-red, much like hematite. Build a simple blast furnace, smelt it briefly, it will certainly yield molten iron..." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"…!"

Scholar Mikki suddenly rose, striding to the bonfire. He intently stared at the flame, watching the now completely reddish-brown ore, still somewhat incredulous on his face.

"Chief Divine! Is it truly iron ore? Does that mean... east of Lake Bay Port, indeed, there is a Great Iron Mountain?!"

"Ah! I told you, it indeed is iron ore!... Haha! High Priest Miki, it's me, I, Western Bee, found a Great Iron Mountain for the Kingdom! This should be a great feat directly reported to Your Majesty, right?"

"Hmm! Western Bee, if this is truly more important than gold ore... I will certainly report your merit truthfully to Your Majesty! Not to mention a promotion to Second Level Priest, even a Third Level Main Priest's reward is possible!... Though, we must first smelt iron to truly confirm..."

Facing the jubilant Priest Western Bee, Scholar Mikki patiently consoled briefly, then solemnly asked.

"Chief Divine Guidance! Xifeng, how much of this ore have you brought back?"

"Chief Divine Guidance! High Priest Miki, there's still three full baskets, probably around three to four hundred pounds!"

"Good! Have them bring it all over..."

"Yes!"

Then, Scholar Mikki looked at the kneeling blacksmith Otani and solemnly asked.

"Otani! Do you know how to smelt iron ore?"

"Ah? Smelt iron ore?... Oh! You mean iron smelting? Of course, I know... But without a good brick kiln, we'll have to build an earth furnace to smelt... Building the furnace is quite troublesome and time-consuming. Also, I don't have suitable tools... The resulting iron might be rather brittle, and it will need gradual charcoal forging to be useful..."

"Chief Divine Witness! Otani, I will give you thirty able-bodied men to assist you! If you can smelt iron, the Kingdom will grant you a great reward! If you fail, there will also be consequences from the Kingdom!"

"Ah? Yes! Yes! Shrine Priest, leave it to me, I will surely smelt the iron for you! Thirty men are sufficient, more than enough!"

With skilled techniques and enough manpower, constructing the furnace and smelting iron was not a difficult task. Under the robust command of blacksmith Otani, within just a couple of days, an iron smelting kiln was erected on the eastern side of the Lake Bay Port camp.

This iron smelting kiln was just over a person's height, resembling a bamboo shoot that's wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, both inside and out plastered with solid mud. During the kiln's construction, blacksmith Otani directed the tribe's able-bodied men to add layers of soil, firmly hammer with stone hammers, plaster more mud, compress and tighten repeatedly, until the 2-meter high structure was gradually erected.

"Chief Divine Blessing! Hammer it firmly and tightly! The smelting furnace must be so solid that not even a needle can fit through! If there's even the slightest gap, the iron will be wasted..."

Blacksmith Otani droned on, carefully feeling the iron smelting kiln as if he were caressing a newly-wed wife. This was his first time directing so many able-bodied men to work; if it were in Ezo land, he would at least be a group leader or village head.

"Hmm, this is the Shrine Priest Great Master valuing me! I must do this job well! As long as good iron is smelted, the reward will be substantial!"

Diligently, blacksmith Otani inspected the bottom of the kiln through the furnace opening while muttering ancestral mnemonic verses and thoroughly checked the two air inlets.

"Fire God Kagutsuchi above! Chief Divine above!... Two air inlets, one at half an arm's height, another at a full arm's height... just above the air inlets, the square base turns into a round top... the bellows connecting the inlets must also be well-sealed... These are ancestral key points!... Alas! Father, it's a pity you died early, and didn't pass on the secrets of tamahagane to me... If I knew then what I do now, I'd have followed you in ironcrafting like my second brother, instead of becoming a samurai!"

The air inlets of the iron smelting kiln were connected to simple animal skin bellows. These bellows resembled a large leather bag, attached to the air inlets at one end and a long wooden rod at the other for more effective air pumping. At the top of the iron smelting kiln, there was another appropriately sized opening for adding charcoal and iron ore.

Blacksmith Otani lay underneath the kiln inspecting it, while Scholar Mikki stood nearby, clicking his tongue in admiration.

"Click click! This blacksmith Otani seems to truly possess skill! From what I see, just with this iron smelting method, he could be promoted to a Craftsman Master in the Kingdom!"

This painstakingly refined kiln design, although seemingly simple, is the heritage of centuries of East Asian blacksmiths' exploration in iron smelting. Without this inherited experience, it would be incredibly difficult for the Kingdom to figure it out on its own! In reality, the Kingdom's iron smelting at Black Rock Mountain has always struggled, relying solely on excessive force: using the best ore, the finest charcoal, for the longest kiln firing, yielding the poorest iron! Then applying maximum manpower to forge it...

"Fire God Kagutsuchi... oh no, Chief Divine Blessing!... Shrine Priest Master! The kiln is ready, I have meticulously checked it inch by inch to ensure there are no errors... We can start heating the furnace now!"

"Good! Very good!... Hmm... You said what? What's heating the furnace?"

"Ah? Uh, this?... Heating the furnace? Shrine Priest Master, you are a noble, unacquainted with iron smelting... Before smelting and burning ore, the furnace must first be heated thoroughly, and only then can the iron ore be added for smelting. This yellow iron ore is more troublesome than the red iron ore, requires more charcoal, longer burning time, and more forceful bellows... um, Shrine Priest Master? Shrine Priest Master?"

"Hmm... Chief Divine Witness! Then let the furnace be heated!"

Scholar Mikki touched his nose, quietly noting these key points in his mind. He had seen the Kingdom's Black Rock Mountain iron smelting, but clearly, there was no furnace heating stage among them. Frankly, the Kingdom's iron smelting works had no inheritance, relying entirely on the craftsmen's random explorations...

"Yes! Fire God をん (Won)! Light the furnace!"

With an almost ritual-like chant, Warrior Captain Stonefirm personally ignited the charcoal within the kiln. Soon, intense yellow flames rose from the top of the two-meter kiln. After two hours of blistering heat, blacksmith Otani closely approached the furnace to feel the temperature surging up and down the furnace walls, then, sweating profusely, he shouted out with all his might.

"Fire God をん! The furnace is heated, add the iron!"

"Wow! Wow!"

With the tribal able-bodied men's efforts, the brass-colored iron ore was tossed into the high top of the iron smelting furnace. In the reddish flames, they instantly changed color, emitting a pungent smoke. And so, the first furnace of iron on the North American continent truly began smelting in a blast furnace inherited from East Asia!