Chapter 53: Nether Candle

The Armory of the North.

More accurately, the Armory lay in the northwestern reaches of Maple Leaf City.

Within its walls resided a vast collection of military materiel, awaiting only the marching orders of the army before being distributed.

Defense here was paramount. At all times, a company of a hundred men stood guard. This company was further divided into ten squads, each led by a cultivator.

This arrangement was not a reflection of the overall proportion of cultivators within Maple Leaf City's Garrison, but rather a deliberate measure taken by the appointed generals to increase the elite presence, recognizing the critical importance of the Armory.

In stark contrast, the City Lord's Manor itself held few cultivators among its guards, for the City Lord Wei Quji himself was the most formidable force and deterrent within Maple Leaf City.

Furthermore, rotating guard duty at the Armory was a daily task for the disciples of the Daoist Academy. Each day, two such disciples stood vigil. While the Daoist Merit accrued was modest, the work was stable and largely uneventful, allowing ample time for meditation and cultivation. Consequently, this post was highly sought after, a matter of first come, first served.

The Armory was divided into outer and inner sections. Such stringent defenses were not merely for the protection of the vast, mountainous piles of ordinary armor within the outer warehouse.

In terms of sheer space, the inner warehouse was minuscule, occupying but a small chamber at the heart of the entire Armory complex.

Yet, from the walls to the ceiling and even the very ground, intricate arrays of magical talismans were inscribed, designed to thwart any forceful intrusion. Should an attack prove too potent for these protective arrays, a self-destruct formation within the inner warehouse would be triggered.

These layers of security ensured that entry to the inner warehouse was only possible through the main door, using a special command seal.

And the two disciples of the Daoist Academy, alongside the strongest ten-man squad from the hundred-man company, stood guard before the inner warehouse, unmoving from their post save for their rotating shifts.

Such a defense was nigh impenetrable. Especially today, the day of the Grand Dao Discussion of the Three Cities, a significant portion of the garrison was stationed within the city, ensuring that any foolhardy soul seeking death by attempting a breach would find their wish granted.

Thus, when two figures clad in garrison uniforms arrived, and after their command seals were verified as authentic, the duty squad leader gave them little thought, pinching a spell to open the door to the inner warehouse.

"Hold." A disciple of the City Daoist Academy, seated cross-legged on a cushion to the right of the door, suddenly spoke.

His intent was not to question the two individuals, but rather to examine the command seal himself, in accordance with his duty.

But the two figures, who had already stepped into the inner warehouse, abruptly turned their heads.

One's long hair erupted, like black needles piercing the heavens. The other opened a blood-red maw and spat forth a serpent of foul, corrupted blood!

The disciple of the City Daoist Academy, who had called out, was nearly engulfed by the black hair, collapsing to the ground, suffocated. And the cultivator squad leader of the garrison was instantly wrapped in the foul blood, leaving naught but bone!

In but a single exchange, only one cultivator fighter remained outside the inner warehouse door. The other nine garrison soldiers, while elite, possessed only mortal strength.

"I merely wished to be idle..." The sole remaining disciple of the City Daoist Academy rubbed his forehead, and the next moment he leaped up, his fingers flashing, a golden light arrow piercing the wind towards the enemy.

A top-grade D-tier Daoist spell, Golden Light Arrow.

Its instantaneous casting bespoke a practitioner who had at least completed a Minor Heavenly Cycle, their cultivation exceeding the Eighth Layer.

As he attacked, he commanded, "Disperse and report! I will hold them here!"

He harbored no illusion of defeating these two who dared assault Maple Leaf City's Armory, but at this moment within the city, the official powers held an absolute advantage. As long as word spread, no matter how many opponents arrived, their end would be swift and decisive annihilation.

Soldiers were trained to obey. They did not hesitate, and the nine soldiers immediately scattered and fled.

At this moment, chaos erupted in almost every corner of Maple Leaf City, save for the martial arenas and other locales where powerful figures were gathered.

Flames were set, people were suddenly attacked, and a clamor filled the air.

Within the Armory, the two attackers also showed no hesitation. The one wielding black hair as a weapon remained to engage, while the one spewing foul blood directly surged into the inner warehouse.

Their objective was starkly clear! A thought flashed through the mind of the remaining disciple of the City Daoist Academy. His fingers flicked in rapid succession, sharp lights appearing ceaselessly, the Golden Light Arrow employed by him to create a rain of arrows across the sky!

The Golden Light Arrow and the black hair missiles clashed, one sharp, the other insidious.

As they were locked in a stalemate, a long saber suddenly slashed across, and the black-haired attacker fell to the ground, head separated from body.

Wei Yan, saber in hand, turned and entered the inner warehouse.

A serpent of foul blood came directly at him. He neither dodged nor evaded, his long saber slicing vertically, cleaving the blood serpent in two. He stood between the split blood serpents, lunging forward, almost face-to-face with the attacker who had spewed the foul blood, and a single strike pierced the man's heart!

But this attacker laughed strangely, and with his dying breath, he hoarsely rasped, "The Netherworld Candle has been sent away by me!!"

Behind Wei Yan, the blood serpent, divided into two halves, suddenly writhed. One half lunged at the Daoist disciple who was raining down Golden Light Arrows, binding his movements, while the other half, truly like a serpent, twisted and slithered away!

Undeniably, the treasure named the Netherworld Candle was within this half of the blood serpent.

"The Netherworld Candle you can have," Wei Yan pulled the long saber from the man's heart, his voice cold as ice. "But the people you brought today, I will ensure they all perish!"

Simultaneously, throughout various locations in Maple Leaf City, masters who had long been in ambush took action.

An attacker had just finished setting a fire when the next moment, they were riddled with holes, and the flames were instantly extinguished.

Elsewhere, bloody Daoist spells were just about to rush towards innocent bystanders when waves turned, rolling logs roared... a barrage of Daoist techniques blasted the attacker into pieces.

Maple Leaf City had been prepared all along. Nearly all its masters had been mobilized, and a disaster was immediately quelled.

......

"What happened?" Hearing the distant screams, Jiang Chen first embraced Jiang An'an.

The hunchbacked old man surnamed Gui also instantly clasped Qing Zhi's hand.

"Do not panic." Wei Quji on the platform extended a hand, pressing downwards. "The competition continues!"

Outside the martial arena, aside from the soldiers maintaining order, teams of the city garrison were dispersing.

The elderly spectators were not afraid. If even Wei Quji and Dong Ah could be in trouble, then no place would be safe.

Furthermore, these garrison soldiers were clearly performing military duties and dared not leave their posts to cause disturbance.

......

In the Armory, Wei Yan strode out, almost roaring, "Shen Nanqi, why did you not stop that section of blood serpent just now? Do not say you could not!"

The blood serpent had escaped with the Netherworld Candle, and after just a few shifts, such a delicate item could vanish without a trace.

This also meant that the "bait" that Wei Quji had set out had been taken. They had to ensure all the "fish" were eliminated.

The disciple of the City Daoist Academy, named Shen Nanqi, roared back with equal volume, "What do I know of the Netherworld Candle? Who informed me? Since you had a plan, since you were prepared, why did you not reveal it to us? My fellow disciple died, died before my very eyes!"

The golden light in his hand flickered. Were it not for the critical situation, he would have almost hurled a Golden Light Arrow directly at Wei Yan's face.

"More of our garrison brothers have died," Wei Yan's face was ashen.

He might not have wished to explain, but before turning to leave, he added, "We did not know the extent of those people's lurking. If we had not kept it secret, they would not have shown themselves."

Which people? Shen Nanqi still wanted to ask, but the words remained unspoken. He knew he would receive no answer.

At this moment, he even understood that being assigned to this seemingly idle post today was perhaps also Wei Yan's arrangement. Among the Daoist disciples not participating in the competition but coincidentally "free", and capable of holding back opponents of this caliber, there was none more suitable than him, Shen Nanqi.

Fifth on the Maple Leaf City Daoist Merit List, Shen Nanqi.

The person he liked the most was absent, and the person he detested the most was Wei Yan.

Unfortunately, while he was also skilled in Metal Element Daoist spells, he was no match for Wei Yan.