With the Blade-Chapter 42 - 39: The Armory’s Mutation

The armory of Jizhou is located beneath the Governor’s Mansion.

For safety reasons, usually only the accompanying Master Craftsman, who is the supervisor of military equipment, has the qualifications to access the armory. As for others, even Governor Liu himself must obtain permission from the supervisor to enter.

The reason for this is because, within this armory cellar, something unspeakable occurred in the past.

"It happened a long time ago over at the Youzhou Governor’s Mansion. Back then, there wasn’t this prohibition, and the armory was also built aboveground. Although these places with heavy Evil Qi easily attract disasters, as long as the supervisor routinely maintained the weapons, it didn’t interfere with the soldiers coming to retrieve arms and practicing formations."

When Du Chengfeng asked about it, Governor Liu roughly explained the whole story.

After all, it also relates to the issues facing Jizhou’s armory.

Unlike Wang Gaoceng, who was stabbed to death with a sword in Jizhou, Youzhou’s military equipment supervisor was willing to work, so everything remained safe. All weapons were sharpened to a shine, and none of the soldiers ever had the problem of Evil Qi entering their bodies when retrieving arms.

Precisely because of this, even if the supervisor didn’t report for duty for a day or two, it didn’t have much impact on the normal usage of the armory.

One or two days with no issue, three or four days still fine, but after seven or eight days with the supervisor absent, Youzhou’s Governor’s Mansion realized something was amiss. But right when the Youzhou governor opened the armory to investigate, a weapon caught his eye.

"Then, half of the Youzhou Governor’s Mansion died."

Walking through the dark corridor, Governor Liu frowned deeply.

"According to the survivors, the Youzhou governor had Evil Qi penetrate into his body and had become a monster, and not only within the Governor’s Mansion. Already a monster, the Youzhou governor even fought his way out... That disaster directly destroyed Youzhou’s defenses, and because of the chaos, those people from the grasslands seized the opportunity to invade, taking Youzhou as their territory."

"This..."

Du Chengfeng was momentarily speechless.

He was worried about the Evil Qi penetrating his body in the armory and wreaking havoc in Jizhen. It turns out someone had indeed done such a thing before. No wonder entering and exiting the armory requires verification by a Master Craftsman. Compared to ordinary people, those craftsmen who deal with Evil Qi daily have a bit more resistance when faced with it.

This added resistance gives Master Craftsmen a chance to escape; if they can’t sharpen the weapons, they simply won’t, and they can run out to report, then seal the underground armory entirely.

After all, this underground armory is not the only one.

Learning from Youzhou’s lessons, all local armories were renovated. Not only were the main buildings buried underground, but they were also divided into dozens of compartments—just like Du Chengfeng wouldn’t put all eggs in one basket, the local Governor’s Mansions distributed weapons across various storage units. If one armory had an issue, it could be sealed immediately, and there would still be several other armories to use.

But nobody knows why the armories have problems at all now.

"Something’s not right, is it?"

Du Chengfeng keenly noticed a glaring problem in this explanation.

"The weapons in the armory are all polished, usually sealed inside, and nobody uses them outside for killing, so where does the Evil Qi of these weapons come from?"

"So, the issue lies right here."

Governor Liu sighed.

"Youzhou fell, and the supervisor vanished; the information we have is only from the testimonies of the survivors fleeing Youzhou. Nobody knows exactly how this catastrophe started. Some even say it was the supervisor’s intention... That’s why since then, the court banned local recruitment of military supervisors and switched to unified appointments by the court."

"Hmm..."

Du Chengfeng nodded.

It’s understandable; it’s just another means for the court to strengthen control over border armies, as seen in Wang Gaoceng’s memories. But thinking of Wang Gaoceng’s experience, Du Chengfeng felt something was still off.

Since Wang Gaoceng arrived in Jizhou, he had barely visited the armory, so why does Jizhou’s armory have issues?

"Perhaps it’s similar to the Youzhou incident."

Governor Liu’s voice deepened.

"Originally, I thought Youzhou fell due to the supervisor’s betrayal, but now... perhaps he was falsely accused. This matter might not be related to the supervisor but more likely some other anomaly."

At this point, Governor Liu’s steps halted.

"Alright, I can’t go any further; I’m not a Master Craftsman. Going further could cause trouble... It’s up to you now; it should be the No. 7 storeroom at the front. If you can’t sharpen it, come out quickly so I can have the armory sealed."

"Rest assured, I think I can handle it."

Although he said so, Du Chengfeng’s expression had already turned serious.

Because even at such a distance, he already felt that intense Evil Qi.

Malignant aura filled the corridor, even subtly in the breath a hint of iron rust.

But Du Chengfeng knew this wasn’t the smell of rust from weapons.

It was, long-missed, the scent of blood.

"Seems like a grand task..."

Carrying a package laden with a Grinding Stone, Du Chengfeng ignited a torch and stepped forward.

The closer he got, the more he felt that heavy Evil Qi, far heavier than his own Heavy Great Saber.

To note, his great saber, inherited from the Yang family and then passed to him, in its course had claimed the lives of four to five hundred people.

Yet the weapon within, far more malicious than the great saber, how many did it slay?

A thousand? Or ten thousand?

"Impressive, this kind of thing."

Du Chengfeng couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

Clearly, the front is extremely dangerous, yet he felt even more thrilled instead.

The more perilous the weapon, the greater the gains it could bring him.

It was then when Du Chengfeng located the No. 7 storeroom with the letter "A" and quickly pulled open the warehouse door.

Contrary to Du Chengfeng’s expectations, the weapon appearing before him bore no scent of blood, almost devoid of any Evil Qi.

It likely hadn’t killed anyone at all.

"This..."

Though puzzled, Du Chengfeng followed his instincts and picked a weapon from the racks of knives, spears, and lances.

It was an old and worn general’s flag.