CHAPTER 277: 277: THE ANT BLACKSMITH ARRIVES

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Night had settled thick over the scorched valley, its breath cool and damp against the smoke warmed stones. The stars shimmered faintly behind drifting clouds of ash. Moonlight poured through gaps in the forest edge, painting the battlefield / campsite silver and charcoal. Where the Cindervore Basilisk had fallen.

Kai sat on a jagged outcrop, the glowing star core of the beast resting in his clawed palm. Its light pulsed dimly, as though responding to his breath, syncing with the rhythm of his body. He felt the power thrumming within it — heat, rage, fire forged pride.

His girls gathered around him. Alka perched nearby, lazily gnawing on a leftover chunk of roasted beast tail. Sha sat with arms crossed and antennae twitching, still too alert to rest. Naaro was stretched out like a content lioness, using Vel’s lap as a pillow. Akayoroi leaned against a stone, her eyes thoughtful as they studied Kai. Azhara played with her hair, flicking pebbles at Alka’s tail feathers when she thought no one was looking.

They were all waiting for the forge girl to came down. Time will tell if she is a friend or foe.

The air buzzed with quiet tension. Not fear — not anymore — but something electric. Restless.

Then it came. A footstep sounds.

Kai rose slowly, core still clutched in his hand. "She is coming."

They turned toward the sound.

A silhouette stood in the woods. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Steam rose from her shoulders like breath from a forge. Her skin reflected the moonlight with a dull reddish hue, like heated iron just shy of glowing. She stepped forward, and the light revealed her in full.

She was beautiful in the way mountain stone is beautiful — raw, weathered, powerful.

Her skin was obsidian red with glowing orange cracks that ran like molten rivers down her limbs. Segmented armor, naturally formed from her carapace, encased her shoulders and thighs. Her long hair looked like spun copper, braided back into a thick cord. Twin black red antennae curved elegantly from her forehead, tipped with smoldering sparks.

Across her back rested a massive hammer. Not only a weapon, but a tool of creation. Its handle was charred wood bound in obsidian rings, and the head was layered with sigils that hummed softly.

At her side scuttled two small mechanical beetles. Tiny for their kind — perhaps waist-high — each with a furnace glowing in its belly and tools strapped to its back.

The woman spoke. "I smelled iron, blood, and broken flame." Her voice was deep and smooth. Confident. And then she saw a monarch who can devour fire itself.

System chimed in Kai’s mind.

[Ding! System notification: New Character Detected.

Name: Lirien Flamepaw.

Species: Solenopsis invicta — Fire Ant Beastkin (Rare Forged Caste)

Role: Wild Realms Blacksmith.

Rank: Five Star. (★★★★★)

Traits: Magma Soul Smithing, Coreforge Bondcraft, Thermal Chitin Mastery, Essence Brand Engraving.... More. ]

Kai’s eyes narrowed as her details unfolded.

Fire Ants... and one of the rare caste based beastkin races that lived near active volcanic zones. In particular, the Forged Caste were born during volcanic events, bred not to fight — but to forge. Legends said that a true blacksmith from the Forged Caste could shape even a dying sun’s ember into a weapon.

Kai stepped forward. "You’re far from the burning pits."

She nodded. "The mountains sleep. I do not."

The girls flanked Kai defensively, though their expressions varied wildly.

Azhara was already smirking. "Blacksmith, huh? I like her arms."

Sha elbowed her.

Vel squinted. "Did she just walk through lava to find us?"

Lirien tilted her head. "Not lava. Magma. Lava is when it escapes the ground. Precision matters."

Kai blinked. "That... actually makes sense."

She approached, stopping a few paces from him. Her furnace beetles clicked in place behind her.

"I saw your strike," she said. "When the Basilisk fell, and your aura rippled through the valley. I saw and felt the special class aura. Something I never felt in anyone or anything."

Kai nodded. "It was a good fight."

Lirien looked down where the steaming corpse was. "You burned it from the inside out. There is nothing left." She was unaware that Alka ate the beast’s body.

"I do that."

She chuckled quietly. "I am Lirien. Flamepaw of the Ember Depth. I forge weapons, armor, and constructs using the star core of fallen beasts and predators. I sensed your kill. I wanted to buy your kill to forge something."

Kai raised a brow, his spear still resting over one shoulder. "Sorry. I am not selling. But... Do you want to work for me?"

Lirien did not answer immediately. Her ember-gold eyes studied him, unblinking. She did not glance at the girls. She had already measured it. Instead, she tilted her head and considered Kai as if he were a raw material himself... an unfinished blade.

"You managed to kill that monster," she said at last, voice low. "Which means you are not just a common warrior. You are something deeper. Maybe like a Predator or stronger. Anchor of power. But also unstable."

Kai smirked faintly. "And you like your employers stable?"

"I like them logical," she said bluntly. "And driven by purpose. Most who kill something like that are desperate. Or stupid. You’re neither. But if I serve a master, I need to know he will still be supporting my work forever. Still breathing. Still thinking. Still building."

Kai nodded once. "Fair."

She stepped closer, folding her molten metal arms. "I have lived underground my whole life. I breathe the forge smoke. I drink molten dew. I hammer until my shell cracks, and I rebuild it with flame. You want me to join you? I need more than an invitation."

"Name it," Kai said without hesitation.

"A reason," she said. "No orders that harm innocent species. Not blind loyalty. Not flattery. A reason. What do you build that is worth more than living alone and free?"

Kai looked at the crater. At the eleven girls who now stood beside and lay near him, each battered and bruised, but unyielding.