Faerûn: Lord of the Eternal Sun

On a bright, sunny morning, the familiar sound of hammering echoed in the blacksmith's shop.

Isaac found himself so busy these past few days that he hadn't even had time to drink with his old friends.

It wasn't until the afternoon, when Butcher Scar arrived at the blacksmith's shop, that Isaac casually made a couple of remarks.

Immediately, his friend patted his chest and said, "You're working too hard at the blacksmith shop all by yourself. Business is so good now. I have a reliable person in mind. I'll bring him over tomorrow to help out."

Isaac quickly waved his hand to refuse, saying that it was not necessary, since he did not intend to keep the blacksmith shop open indefinitely.

"It's settled then!" Scarface said and left without giving him a chance to back out.

……

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Isaac was doing his morning exercise in the small courtyard behind the shop.

In addition to strength training while holding huge rocks, they also practiced swordsmanship and footwork while holding scimitars and shields.

Isaac, who was halfway through his training, heard a knocking sound coming from outside the blacksmith's shop. He stopped, went out, opened the wooden door, and saw two familiar figures.

"Ian, it's you?"

One of them was his friend Scar, and the other person he brought was actually his son Ian, who was Isaac's nephew without any blood relation.

"Big Uncle, it's me."

Ian is only sixteen years old and has been helping his father slaughter goats. Since learning that his big uncle won the martial arts championship, he has become an idol of him.

Isaac stepped aside and gestured for the father and son to enter the shop.

The young man, who had just come of age, was strong and muscular, about the same height as his father, around 1.8 meters, but a head shorter than Isaac.

Isaac poured them two cups of black tea, which was said to have been brought from Baldur's Gate by camel caravans and was not cheap.

"Scarface, is this the helper you were talking about?"

"That's right, Ian is quick and efficient. He'll be your apprentice and learn some self-defense techniques from you. Even the underground boxing boss..."

Scar stopped mid-sentence. Isaac hadn't expected that even he knew about his trouble with the Black Boxing Brotherhood.

"I didn't kill the underground boxing boss."

Isaac explained helplessly, but Scarface naturally didn't believe him. He left his son behind and went on his way, still not having finished his work at the slaughterhouse.

……

In my memory, Ian was always an honest and simple-minded boy, even though he didn't blink when slaughtering goats and his hands were covered in blood.

"Ian, have you ever killed anyone?"

Isaac teased him as he instructed him on how to start a fire and how to operate the bellows.

After all, he had already gotten his first blood long before he came of age.

"Big Uncle, do the War Lizardmen count?"

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Ian's words impressed Isaac.

"Of course it counts!"

The War Lizardmen are brutal, large humanoid creatures. Isaac has fought against War Lizardmen bandits before, and they are not easy to deal with.

No, that's not the case.

"..."

"Make a good fire."

Isaac choked for a moment, not expecting that his nephew would actually learn to joke after not seeing him for a while.

------

Having more people around in the blacksmith's shop gave Isaac someone to talk to, and some miscellaneous tasks could be delegated to his apprentices.

However, unexpectedly, in just two days, two new blacksmith shops opened in Iron Felt Alley, right next to the big blacksmith shop on both sides, sandwiching it in between.

Isaac remained calm, confident that with his forging skills, he would not fear any competitor.

It wasn't until business clearly deteriorated that an old neighbor came to tell them the news.

"Big guy, these two newly opened blacksmith shops only charge half the price of yours for making farm tools and weapons. They also have more manpower, so they can deliver in a couple of days, much faster than you!"

"What?!"

Business warfare is so simple and unpretentious; it's actually an invincible price war.

"That damned Lancaras, trying to hurt me this way? He thinks he can starve me to death so easily?"

Isaac cursed inwardly, convinced it was a despicable tactic by a rival family. However, with his savings accumulated over the years, plus the prize money from the martial arts tournament, totaling nearly 200 gold coins, he could live comfortably for a long time even if the blacksmith shop went out of business.

"Big guy, should we go and warn them?"

Ian, who was learning basic forging, was holding a hammer when he heard the news and became murderous.

My uncle had promised very good terms beforehand: a salary of 2 silver coins per week and a 10% share of the blacksmith's business.

It's important to know that blacksmith apprentices typically don't receive a salary, let alone any bonuses.

Isaac rejected the offer, explaining, "No, I'm famous now, and there are probably many people watching me. I can't afford to make a mistake and give them leverage."

Rushing into someone's shop, beating them up, and then making death threats does indeed have a high probability of resolving the problem.

But the blacksmith shop was completely different from those gangs; it paid taxes and rent to the city hall and was protected by the laws of the sun.

The rules on the surface cannot be broken, unless you run away immediately after taking action.

"Big Uncle, what should we do?"

Ian was somewhat at a loss; the only thing he could think of was to resort to force, and he had no other options.

"It's alright, this way I can set aside more time each day to guide you in forging and combat."

Isaac put on a confident demeanor, but in reality, he hadn't yet come up with a suitable solution.

……

The Upper Town, the Lancalas family manor, a sprawling private estate.

Sanders, the most capable member of the younger generation in the family, and the previous Son of the Sun.

However, he did not receive as much benefit from the baptism of the Sun Disc as Isaac; he only slightly improved his physique and still retained the bloodline and appearance of a War Soul Descendant.

Sanders, an officer, was not a petty person. He had fought with Isaac and greatly admired his strength. However, his beloved younger brother had died at Isaac's hands, a blood feud that could not be erased.

He was also the one who orchestrated the Black Boxing Brotherhood incident last time. After the Black Boxing boss and a group of core members died, the deputy leader took over the position and took the opportunity to sever ties with the Lancaras family, making them uncontrollable.

The gang he had been secretly supporting for several years was brought down by Isaac, adding insult to injury.

"Isaac, I will make sure you die."

Sanders secretly vowed to himself and was plotting a new plan in his study.

A steady footstep interrupted his thoughts. He looked up and saw his father, the current head of the family.

The middle-aged nobleman with graying temples entered the room and saw Sanders with a fierce expression.

No one knows a son better than his father; he immediately guessed his thoughts from his expression.

"I am also saddened by Davis's death, but he died in the Holy War, and we should not seek revenge against the victor."

"The Consul and the Senate have been at odds recently because of the salt merchant incident. It would be best to let things rest for a while."

After the middle-aged nobleman finished speaking, he turned and left, pausing for a moment as he reached the door of the study.

"If we really have to take action, we must not give our opponents any chance to turn the tables, and we must not leave any leverage for the Senate to exploit. They have long wanted to extend their reach into the military."

Sanders, now in his study, had calmed down somewhat and continued to think about how to deal with Isaac.