The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Merchants and fishermen in Marzamemi were very interested in how many fish Leo could take to the fish market each morning.

But Leo didn't show up for two consecutive days...

Everyone was curious: what happened to the expert fisherman?

I found out that Leo was preparing the "artifact" for Messina.

There is no need to prove how skilled Leo is at fishing.

With the added power of a custom-made harpoon, they will surely be even more invincible.

In the past two days, Aurelio's forging workshop has been receiving an average of more than a dozen "visitors" each day.

Previously, no one paid any attention to Aurelio's clanging and banging around the house, but these past few days, his workshop has almost become a tourist attraction.

Who doesn't want to be in the spotlight?

He always works extra hard whenever someone comes to visit.

Moreover, they explained the process while they were working on it.

It was so detailed that even Savile, whose eyesight was poor, could automatically visualize the scene in his mind after hearing it.

"The anchor is made of low-carbon manganese steel, which is tough, tensile-resistant, bend-resistant, seawater-resistant, and not easy to break. It is perfect for making the main rod and the harpoon handle."

"Disassemble the old anchor with a chisel, knock off the rust and salt stains, heat and anneal it, shape it into a flat long steel billet, trim off the burrs, and make two layers of leather."

"Then collect solid ship nails of uniform thickness, tie them tightly, put the whole bundle into the furnace and heat them thoroughly, forging them into a single dense steel billet without gaps, flatten the end face, straighten and align them, and make the inner steel core."

"Boat nails are made of high-carbon steel, which has extremely high hardness, sharpness after quenching, and maximum piercing power. It is the best material for fork teeth."

"Two outer steel billets are laid flat on top of each other, with a steel core forged from ship nails sandwiched tightly in the middle. They are hot-forged together, one flexible and one rigid, achieving a perfect balance of strength and flexibility, which is much better than using a single type of steel!"

"Bianchi, tell me, what forging technique is this?"

"The three-piece forging method!"

"That's right! It's ready, hurry up and beat it!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

.......

The entrance to the coffee shop.

Marco asked Nicholas:

Did you go to Aurelio's house to watch them use harpoons?

Marco wasn't that gossipy and didn't go to see, but since everyone in the village was talking about harpoons today, he became a little curious.

Nicholas sat up abruptly, as if he had been stimulated by something:

"I didn't want to go. What's so interesting about spear fighting? But last night around 8 pm, I passed by and there was a clanging and banging noise coming from inside. Isn't that disturbing the peace?"

"So you went in and made them stop?" Marco asked.

Nicholas shifted his position a few times, then leaned back in.

"They went in...but didn't say anything."

"Why?" The tobacco shop owner, Savile, sat down next to the two men and seamlessly entered the conversation.

Nicholas muttered:

"When I went in, I saw Bianchi and Aurelio shirtless, their muscles incredibly muscular, and the heat from the fire made their sweat glisten like Spartan warriors... I said 'thank you for your hard work' and left."

"Indeed, it's quite frightening," Saville agreed.

Marco asked him:

"You can see 'Spartan Warriors' with that kind of eye?"

Saville pointed to his ear, his face filled with horror:

"I can't believe my ears. One hit from Bianchi and I could smash three of my heads in half. He's got incredible strength!"

Nicholas shook his head and said:

"In such a noisy and stuffy environment, Aurelio's mouth never stopped. That's amazing."

Marco asked them:

"From what you're saying, only Aurelio and Bianchi are doing the work? Where's Nao? What's Leo doing?"

Nicholas pointed to himself from head to toe:

"Just like me, sitting here and watching."

"He didn't help?" Marco asked in surprise.

Salvi adjusted his glasses:

"When I arrived, I heard Leo say that he was there to work for a while, and Aurelio said, 'No, no, no, keep thinking, think about what other techniques can be used.'"

Salvi's imitation was incredibly lifelike.

Marco could already picture the tone and manner of Aurelio saying those words:

"You mean... Leo is directing Aurelio and Bianchi to do the work?"

Nicholas nodded:

"Leo was saying things I couldn't understand, but Aurelio agreed to everything he said and even helped Leo fill in the gaps and make up for his mistakes. He was even more accurate than Anchi in his instructions."

Saville nodded in affirmation of Nicholas's words:

"To sum it up, one dares to think, one dares to speak, and one dares to act. You know what, they work together quite well."

......

In a large seaside mansion.

"What has Bianchi been up to these past few days?" Sandro asked his eldest son, Antonino, when he noticed that Bianchi was not present at dinner today.

Antonino explained to his father:

"At Aurelio's house, he's been helping Leo make a new harpoon for his trip to Messina these past two days."

Sandro continued eating:

"When I saw him tonight, I told him not to go tomorrow. The ocean voyage season is coming soon, and he will be going out on the ship. He should prepare in advance and improve himself."

Antonino replied:

"There's nothing to prepare, Father. Bianchi has gone out with me so many times, he understands everything and does it very well."

Sandro replied as usual:

"He can do even better."

"I sent Bianchi," Mrs. Rosa said from the side.

Sandro's expression immediately changed, and he asked his wife with a smile:

"You're sending Bianchi to Aurelio's house to help with blacksmithing? But why, darling? He won't learn anything there, and he's not going to be a blacksmith in the future."

Mrs. Rosa replied calmly and gently:

"Forging iron is good; it can temper one's character."

Sandro squeezed his wife's hand, then turned to his son Antonino and said:

"Okay, then let's listen to your mother and let Bianchi go."

......

"This time the time was too rushed. If there had been more time, the soft and hard steel should have been cut, aligned, and welded into a single piece, folded in half, heated again, and forged together. This folding and refolding process should have been repeated dozens of times. The resulting harpoon would be impact-resistant, tensile-resistant, less prone to chipping, and less likely to break. It would also have formed a beautiful flowing, subtle pattern... Bianchi, let me test you. What is this technique called?"

"Damask steel!"

"That's right, keep going, keep going, don't stop, don't stop!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Marco was startled by the sparks flying everywhere, and mainly because he couldn't understand what Aurelio was saying:

"be safe."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Seeing Marco leave, Aurelio secretly nudged Leo with his foot and whispered:

"Riorio, am I right? Is this what you mean?"

Leo replied, trembling with fear:

"I said... these are all things I've seen."

Over the past two days, Leo has figured out Aurelio's skill level; he's really just an amateur.

He hadn't heard of the craftsmanship Leo was talking about, but he could help Leo bring the images in his mind to life...

It's unclear how it will 'fall' into.

But there's no turning back now. Since things have come to this, we can only grit our teeth and keep going. What we end up with depends entirely on God's will.

Aurelio chuckled twice:

"These past two days have been really enjoyable."

After hearing Leo recount the "secret techniques" he learned from the master blacksmith, Aurelio felt he had found a new purpose in life—

Putting these forging techniques into practice one by one was the meaning of his life in the second half of his life!

"Can we start reshaping it?" Leo asked Aurelio.

"Is it finished forging?" Aurelio asked Leo in return.

These past two days he's gotten used to working without using his brain, just talking is enough.

"I don't know..." Leo put on his goggles and carefully examined the steel billet.

After heated discussions, amateur forging enthusiasts and loyal viewers of the "Forging Competition" could not offer much valuable information and were unable to make a decision for a long time.

Whenever this happens, a 'divine soldier' ​​will descend from the sky—

Sweating profusely, Bianchi, with a shark tooth clenched in his mouth, encouraged them:

"What are you afraid of! Let's go all the way! We'll definitely make the best weapon! Repair!"