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The Armory.
Li Xiang had originally thought it would be a small room storing weapons.
Unexpectedly, located behind the courtyard, it was like a small museum, stretching so far you couldn't see the end at a glance. Even at the entrance, weapons of all kinds were everywhere.
Neatly arranged on racks, spotlessly clean—it was obvious they were maintained daily. In terms of variety, it had everything: knives, spears, swords, halberds, axes, dagger-axes, hooks, and forks.
But the most numerous weapons here... Were swords.
Long swords with thin blades, slightly curved.
Most resembled Japanese katana in appearance, primarily distinguished by their handguards.
But Western-style swords, Two handed sabers, ring-pommel swords, Single-edge swords, Podao swords (single edge infantry weapon), and even Zhanma swords (Chinese Anti-Cavalry sword) were also present.
Overall, it was dazzling and overwhelming.
And what they saw was only a part of the entrance; inside, there were even more weapons.
"Aside from the weapons in the glass cases, all others are available for selection. After choosing a weapon, there's a testing area nearby. However, I hope everyone will handle them with care."
Nagayama Taro said this, then actually let everyone move freely, going off to chat with Yan Hu.
'So bold?'
While Li Xiang was surprised, his three senior brothers, brimming with excitement, had already gone to pick out weapons.
Actually, Duan Yu should be the easiest, yet also the hardest, to satisfy.
He practiced with staffs, and staffs were rarely made entirely of iron. Even full-iron ones were too heavy for most to wield fluidly; at best, they were iron-tipped or iron-reinforced, like spears.
Therefore, the material of the staff itself was highly important.
Glancing at his three senior sisters, compared to the excited Duan Yu and the others, only Jiang Shangrong showed any real interest in the weapons.
The other two weren't very concerned about weapons.
These two were clearly just here for the trip.
However, since there were free weapons up for grabs, it would be a waste not to take one. They might come in handy someday.
"Senior sisters, I'm heading in first?"
Li Xiang informed the three of them and slowly walked into the massive armory.
Being overwhelmed by choice was inevitable. He liked many of the swords here—both the scabbards and the gleaming blades were extremely appealing.
Below each sword rack was an introduction to its type and the date it was forged.
Most were made over a decade ago. That seemed to be the peak period of Nagayama Jin's career when he produced many fine weapons.
Too bad he could only pick one.
Li Xiang also looked at the weapons in the glass cases Nagayama Taro mentioned. He found they were forged decades, even a century ago, with unfamiliar names of blacksmiths below.
Some didn't even bear the Nagayama surname.
"Guess I'll just pick one that suits me."
Li Xiang didn't insist on having the old master forge a new one. With so many unused swords here, surely one would fit him.
No point waiting.
The sword he needed had to be between 80 to 100 centimeters long, straight with a slight inward curve—the curvature couldn't be too pronounced. There were no strict requirements for the tip, but it absolutely couldn't be too thick or too wide.
Overall, it belonged to the ring-pommel sword type, just missing the ring at the end.
If you added a Japanese-style tsuba (handguard), it would somewhat resemble one in appearance.
Of course, there were definitely differences between the two.
This type of sword was quite plentiful in the armory, and Li Xiang quickly found himself spoiled for choice.
On the blades, due to various reasons, patterns resembling fish scales appeared. Some blades even had strange cracks, like biscuits.
The description below said this was pattern-welded steel. Besides cracks and fish scales, there were also cloud and flowing water patterns.
These two were more abstract, relying heavily on subjective judgment.
Li Xiang wasn't deeply knowledgeable about swords, so he found it hard to decide among these flashy options.
In the distance, Lu Chengfeng's excited shouts suddenly rang out.
"A man in the martial world is often helpless against his fate!"
'Huh? What nonsense?'
Li Xiang was slightly stunned. He carefully placed the sword back and ran over to Lu Chengfeng to see what was happening.
Then he saw the young man waving a long sword around on the spot. While waving it, he kept shouting.
"In all martial arts, nothing is indestructible except speed!"
"Senior brother, what are you doing? The space here is so small. Put the sword down quickly before you hit a cabinet."
Li Xiang was speechless. Although Lu Chengfeng had always been a bit of a fool, this was a first.
'Was he that excited?'
"Junior brother, I can't help myself!"
Lu Chengfeng's face was unusually flushed, as if he'd taken stimulants, as he brandished the sword in the rather cramped space.
"Lu Chengfeng! What's wrong with you? Stop it now!"
Unlike Li Xiang, Duan Yu, who arrived later, spoke bluntly. After all, waving a sword around in this setting was indeed inappropriate.
Wang Dong arrived upon hearing the commotion, holding two double-headed axes—at first glance, he looked like Olaf.
He laughed heartily upon seeing Lu Chengfeng. "Having an epileptic fit?"
"Epileptic fit? This is the reincarnation of fate!" Lu Chengfeng yelled. "Wang Dong, I've been waiting for you! Today, we settle the score and decide life and death! Have at you!"
He actually thrust the sword at Wang Dong!
"Whoa! You're serious!"
Wang Dong exclaimed, crossing his axes in front of him to parry Lu Chengfeng's sword.
"That's enough—"
Duan Yu stepped forward to grab Lu Chengfeng's arm, but halfway there, Li Xiang stopped him.
"Don't! Senior brother, go get the senior sisters quickly! Senior brother Lu is being controlled!"
Li Xiang said in a deep, grave voice.
Duan Yu was puzzled. "Controlled?"
"That's not a sword in his hand; it's a Pokémon! The Steel/Ghost-type Honedge! Go get someone!"
Li Xiang pushed him and repeated.
The sword in Lu Chengfeng's hand clearly had a single eye on the blade. The ribbon behind the eye was wrapped around his arm, emitting an extremely faint light.
The answer was right there.
He hadn't expected to encounter a Honedge in a place like this...
Wait.. It was precisely because this was an armory that a Pokémon like Honedge could easily appear.
The two stepped back quickly.
Duan Yu decisively turned to call for help, telling Li Xiang not to act rashly.
Li Xiang licked his lips, retreating to a corner where Lu Chengfeng couldn't see him, and released Greninja.
The environment was narrow; a frontal assault wouldn't work. Stealth was definitely the way to go!
Not far away, the sounds of Lu Chengfeng and Wang Dong clashing were quite loud—a series of clangs and bangs.
Actually, the two were evenly matched in strength. It was the same even when wielding weapons.
Except one was aiming for vital points with every move, while the other was unwilling to hurt his opponent.
This made it seem like Wang Dong was passively taking a beating.
Undoubtedly, the surrounding weapon cabinets were also affected. Swords clattered to the floor, and even a glass case was shattered. By this point, it was almost impossible for those outside not to have heard.
Greninja pressed against the ceiling, silently approaching Lu Chengfeng.
However, just as it was about to strike, Lu Chengfeng suddenly looked up, giving the "air" a sinister smile, and swung his sword—
"Stop!!"
A loud shout came from afar!
Lu Chengfeng's expression stiffened slightly, his movements paused. Greninja seized the opportunity to press down from the ceiling, pinning him to the ground.
Simultaneously, its tongue gleamed with a dark light, stabbing towards the Honedge's eye on the ground.
Smack!
It hit—
No, it missed.
The Honedge vanished into a cloud of black mist, disappearing on the spot.
"Phantom Force! Honedge can know that move? Which generation is this from?!"
Li Xiang, standing further away, was stunned. He turned to see Nagayama Taro standing there, face ashen, looking at the mess before him.
Beside him were Yan Hu and the others.
Wang Dong retreated, panting heavily. Lu Chengfeng fought like a madman, forcing him to constantly defend.
"Damn, what just happened?"
The square-faced sixth senior brother was bewildered.
On the ground, Lu Chengfeng, pinned by Greninja, slowly opened his eyes and muttered, "My head hurts... what happened... Huh? Did I just wreck the armory?"
He looked utterly confused as he tried to get up, but found it difficult with Greninja on top of him.
"What? Something's on me! Junior brother, save me! Wang Dong, help me!"
Lu Chengfeng cried out in panic.
'He remembers?'
Li Xiang waved his hand. Greninja, still invisible, jumped back onto the ceiling.
Over by Nagayama Taro, almost everyone except him glanced towards where Greninja had been, their expressions calm.
"Huh? I can get up again." Lu Chengfeng slowly rose, looking at Wang Dong opposite him and the surrounding scene. He couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.
"Damn, we're in big trouble."
"No, this is not your fault. I was insufficiently prepared. My apologies... guest."
Nagayama Taro stepped forward, bowing to the two on the ground. He looked at the utterly ruined sword cabinet and sighed deeply.
Yan Hu stepped forward and asked, "Taro, what's going on?"
"A troublemaker."
Nagayama Taro smiled wryly. "Didn't I tell you before that our village is under the protection of a Sword Spirit? Just now, a Honedge controlled your junior brother."
"It is a descendant of the Sword Spirit Lord. My apologies. It is merely mischievous and doesn't mean to harm anyone... Though that probably isn't very convincing under these circumstances, it's the truth."
'Sword Spirit Lord?'
Probably an Aegislash.
As expected, although the Association had established names for many Pokémon, many people still used other names to refer to certain Pokémon.
Like the previous Snow Deity and Sun Deity. And now here, a Sword Spirit.
The phenomenon of deifying Pokémon was really common.
Li Xiang inwardly scoffed. His three senior sisters stepped forward, helping the two on the ground up and checking them for injuries.
"Your skills are lacking, Lu Chengfeng! If Master finds out, he'll definitely skin you alive!"
Qi Sunsun viciously poked Lu Chengfeng's forehead. It was clear she was also worried about her junior brother.
"I... I don't know what happened. I just went to pick a sword, and then it was like this. I didn't feel anything."
Lu Chengfeng said with a miserable expression, looking at Wang Dong. "Sorry."
During the fight, he had aimed to kill with every move. If not for Wang Dong's familiarity with his style, he might have been slashed.
Of course, since the blade was actually a Honedge, he likely would have just had his life force drained.
"It's fine. But I have to hand it to you; you sure go all out when fighting your own people."
Wang Dong waved his hand wearily. A real fight wasn't like sparring; it required intense concentration every second.
Otherwise, you'd be cut down.
The entire exchange lasted less than a minute, but Wang Dong felt more exhausted than after standing guard all afternoon.