Reincarnated as an SSS-Ranked Blacksmith Who Refuses to Forge Weapons-Chapter 149. It Arrives Stronger

Chapter 149: 149. It Arrives Stronger
They moved to the sides of the training hall to give the two men some space. Hammy chirped nervously because he could feel the tension.
Tunner got ready, holding his warhammer casually on his shoulder. He was so sure of himself that he didn’t even need a guard. "Blacksmith, whenever you’re ready."
"Show me what the great Warhammer Saint can do."
Greg took a deep breath to calm down. This wasn’t about winning a fight.
It was all about making a point and getting one hit. He didn’t have to beat Tunner because all he had to do was touch him once with enough force to count.
Every time something hit the shield, it absorbed kinetic energy. Greg had been blocking attacks and taking in force for days. How much had built up? Is it enough to make a difference?
There’s only one way to find out.
Greg ran ahead, closing the gap faster than Tunner seemed to think he could. The Elite Knight’s eyebrows went up a little, but he still didn’t move to defend himself because he was sure he could dodge anything that came.
Greg swung the shield sideways, aiming for Tunner’s stomach. As expected, the Elite Knight easily sidestepped, and the movement was smooth even though he was big.
Greg had been expecting that, though. He put his foot down and turned, using the force of his movement to lift his shield up in a rising strike.
The shield went by Tunner’s chin by a few inches. Then he swung his warhammer backhandedly, which would have broken Greg’s ribs if it had hit him.
Greg’s shield went up to protect him from the blow. The force was so strong that it pushed him back several feet, but the Guardian’s Oath held. More energy is stored, and more power is ready to be used.
Tunner said, "Not bad. You have good reflexes, but that’s not enough!"
He kept attacking, swinging his warhammer down from above, but Greg blocked and redirected the blows. Each hit added to the stored energy, and the shield started to glow faintly with all the power it had built up. Greg gave up ground deliberately to make Tunner think he was winning.
"Is this really all the famous Warhammer Saint can do?" Tunner made fun of his opponent between punches. "I’ve fought apprentice knights who were better fighters!"
Greg didn’t answer, saving his strength and waiting for an opening. Tunner was quick, but his attacks were always the same.
Overhead hit, side sweep, thrust, and then do it again. It was professional, efficient, and predictable after you’d seen it a few times.
And then, the side sweep left his left side open for a split second as the warhammer’s momentum carried it through the arc. That was the chance Greg had been waiting for.
He waited for the next time the pattern repeated. He blocked the overhead strike. He ducked under the side sweep. As the warhammer passed over Greg’s head, he let out all the energy stored in his shield in a focused shockwave that hit Tunner’s exposed ribs.
The hit wasn’t meant to hurt, just to make contact. The shockwave hit Tunner’s side hard enough to make him stagger and make contact. Not a giant blow, but definitely a solid hit.
Greg quickly stepped back, holding up his shield to protect himself. "That counts."
Tunner stood still for a moment, one hand pressed to his ribs where the shockwave had hit him. He looked surprised, then frustrated, and finally, maybe, respectful.
"You sneaky bastard," he said, and then he laughed. Not in a mocking way this time, but in a real way. "You weren’t trying to win the fight."
"You were only trying to hit once. And you tricked me into giving you enough energy to do it."
Greg said, "I told you what I needed," and he was out of breath from the work. "One good hit. Nothing else."
Tunner put down his warhammer and rolled his shoulder to see how it felt where Greg had hit him. "That hurt a little. I can’t remember the last time someone hit me cleanly during a spar."
He saw Greg in a new way. "Maybe you’re not completely useless after all."
"Does this mean you’ll help us?" Lylia asked with hope.
Tunner let out a deep sigh that came from deep inside him. "I made a deal, and I will keep my word, but I want you to know that I still think you’re all overreacting."
"Lady Rosalina has been in worse situations before. She probably already cleaned up this so-called ’Calamity’ and is now wondering where everyone went."
"She isn’t," Lylia said quietly. "She’s gone, Tunner! And if we don’t hurry, more people will die!"
"Okay, okay," Tunner said as he walked over to a storage chest and took out some travel gear.
"Let me get ready in ten minutes."
"I need to tell the city guard that I’m leaving for a while, get some supplies, and..." He stopped and looked at Greg again. "And maybe bring some extra gear. If this Calamity can really absorb weapons, we’ll need other options."
Tunner was busy getting things ready when the building suddenly shook. Not a lot, but enough to make dust fall from the ceiling and equipment shake on their racks. Everyone stopped moving all of a sudden.
"Is it an earthquake?!" Elwen asked with a lot of worry.
"Ironhaven doesn’t get earthquakes," Tunner said, and his face got darker. "We’re built into a strong mountain. The only thing that makes everything shake here is..."
Another shake, but this time it was stronger. They could hear people yelling in alarm on the streets outside. The sound of mining carts going off the tracks and tools falling off shelves.
Tunner ran to the window and looked out at the mountain range that surrounded Ironhaven. Greg couldn’t believe that the confident Elite Knight could look so pale.
"What is it?" Greg asked, and he went to the window with him.
Something big was moving on the horizon, where it was difficult to see but definitely there. Even from this distance, it was clear that it was enormous. And it was going toward Ironhaven with each step that shook the ground.
"There it is... our story isn’t exaggerating after all. That’s the Calamity."
Tunner whispered, "That’s not possible."
"That big thing shouldn’t be able to move that quickly...! It would take days to cover that distance, but it is still moving quickly!"
"Growing," Greg said. "The Calamity gets stronger by taking in weapons."
"There are dozens of settlements between Meridian and here. There are hundreds, possibly even thousands, of weapons for the Calamity to consume!"
Another tremor, this one even stronger. The thing on the horizon was becoming clearer now. It was a huge, terrifying structure made of blades and armor that shouldn’t exist.
Tunner turned away from the window with a look of grim determination on his face. "Plans have changed. We’re going now. Not in ten minutes, though!"
He grabbed his warhammer and a bag of supplies and quickly shoved things inside. "Lylia, go to the city gate and tell the guard to start getting people out."
"You, Elf, get the fastest messenger and tell every settlement between here and Meridian to be careful. And you," he said to Greg, "you better hope that shield of yours has more tricks, because I have a feeling we’re all going to need them!"
The building shook again, and this time, some of the ceiling broke. People outside were screaming now because they knew something terrible was coming to their supposedly safe city.
The Calamity had found them, and it wanted more weapons to eat.