Chapter 647

Xiao Er's face darkened: "Eldest son, with so many weapons, how many of our brothers will be lost! We cannot leave any; we must destroy them all!"

Tuan Tuan lifted her head from Xiao Feifei's long fur: "Uncle Xiao Er is right, big brother, you hurry and think of a way!"

"Again me?" Xiao Ningyuan said with a bitter expression, "Oh, I get it, I'll think right away."

Feng Zhou thought of Chen Village: "Just blow it up, like Chen Village."

"You think I haven't thought of it?"

Xiao Ningyuan shook his head: "But Chen Village could be blown up because you had already placed the gunpowder inside; we just need to avoid the ignition."

"But these armories have hardly any gunpowder, how can we blow them up?"

"They're not useless; evidently they've learned the lesson, so they no longer store gunpowder inside, and have broken the large armory into pieces, dispersing them."

Lu Qi nodded: "Indeed, and besides, we have no gunpowder at hand now."

"Even if we had some, how could we put the gunpowder in one by one?"

"We also have to ignite them all at once; otherwise, destroying only one or two places is like startling a snake in the grass, and attempting again would be as hard as scaling a mountain."

Xiao Ningyuan rubbed his temples, his head hurting: "This will kill me."

Feng Zhou rested his cheek on his hand: "Never mind how to ignite, where can we find so much gunpowder? This is Jingcheng!"

"Unless the Imperial Court issues an order, even if we have gunpowder, we can't transport it in."

"It's not a local cloth; during transport it must be handled with extreme care, cannot get damp or be shaken."

"Jingcheng is under the Son of Heaven," he said, looking at Eunuch Cheng, "Sir, do you have any good ideas?"

"Me?" Eunuch Cheng chuckled awkwardly, "I, an old servant, only know the affairs of the Palace, and there is no gunpowder in the Palace!"

"If there were, my head would have fallen off long ago."

"Hmm—" Xiao Ningyuan let out a groan, hugging his head and collapsing onto the table.

Everyone was deep in thought, all wearing worried faces.

Tuan Tuan looked at them, blinking: "Do we have to use gunpowder?"

She pursed her lips: "I don't like gunpowder! When it explodes, the little mice and hedgehogs have to move again."

Xiao Ningyuan suddenly lifted his head from the table: "Exactly! We are being narrow-minded; why must we use gunpowder?"

"Without gunpowder, can't we just discard the weapons?"

"Right!" Tuan Tuan nodded vigorously: "We can use something else."

Xiao Ningyuan looked at Xiao Er: "Xiao Er, you're most familiar with these; what are weapons most afraid of?"

Xiao Er thought for a moment, softly uttered two words: "Rust."

"Swords, spears, halberds, and arrowheads are all made of metal; if the rust is light, they can be polished and used."

"But if the rust forms deep pits, that's trouble."

"Even if you grind the pits flat, the metal becomes thinner; repeated rusting makes it thinner each time."

He raised both hands, pressed them together, palms intersecting: "In a fierce fight, two strikes…"

He kept one palm unchanged, curled the other five fingers: "Slice."

Lu Qi slapped the table: "Right! Brother Xiao said it well, so martial artists always keep their swords in constant maintenance, fearing rust."

Tuan Tuan grabbed Xiao Feifei's two front paws, patting continuously: "This is good! I like this! Xiao Feifei likes it too!"

"Ying ying ying—" Xiao Feifei snorted and looked at its little paws, face full of bewilderment.

Chu Yuan looked at her little demeanor and laughed: "Good! Heaven has the virtue of benevolence; being able not to hurt living beings is the best way."

Xiao Ningyuan felt relieved: "We'll act tonight! Tuan Tuan, it's up to you."

That night, Tuan Tuan rummaged from the Embroidered pouch a rust‑spotted small iron piece, whispering: "Let the weapons in the armory all rust! Rust deep, forming huge pits!"

After speaking, she released her small hand, and the iron piece fell down.

A faint light flashed, and the iron piece vanished without a trace.

Early the next morning, King Chen and King Qing, as usual, arrived at the army to watch the soldiers train.

The two looked at their great army, proud and impassioned.

King Chen, clad in armor, shouted loudly: "Soldiers! The ground beneath your feet is the capital of the Fiery Nation!"

"The swords and spears in your hands protect the righteous path and cut down the disloyal!"

"Those rebels entrenched in Xibei are nothing but a pack of stray dogs! If they dare to invade, we will leave them with no armor at all!"

King Qing stepped forward, drew his sword at his waist, raised it high: "This battle is for the realm and the state! Moreover, it is for the common people of the Fiery Nation so that they may no longer suffer the woes of war!"

"This battle will be victorious! Great triumph!"

The soldiers below raised their arms, shouting in unison: "Great triumph! Great triumph! Great triumph!"

At that moment, "Report—!"

A hurried shout interrupted the heated scene.

A swift horse galloped to the stage; the soldier on it flipped and fell, voice trembling: "Your Highnesses! A—big problem!"

King Qing furrowed his brow, slowly lowering his raised sword: "What causes the panic?"

The soldier sweated on his forehead, his face ashen: "Sir, I am from the Yong'an Armory in the western city!"

"This morning we inspected the weapons and discovered that overnight, all the weapons have… have rusted!"

King Qing frowned: "Rusted? It must be due to your poor storage!"

King Chen said calmly: "If they're rusted, why not grind them immediately?"

The soldier shook his head vigorously: "No! It's not ordinary rust!"

"Yes, whether swords, spears, halberds, or arrows, all have rusted with countless deep pits!"

"What?" King Qing roared angrily, "How could you have acted like this?"

King Chen's face darkened: "Were there any suspicious persons entering or leaving?"

"None!" The soldiers knelt on the ground: "Your Highness ordered strict guard; we subordinates dare not be negligent, and no one else has entered or exited!"

Chen Wang glanced at the troops below the platform; for now, stabilizing morale is the priority—handle this first, then we'll talk.

"Outrageous! All the weapons rusted overnight, and you still dare to make excuses and shirk responsibility!"

"Convey my order, take charge of the Yong'an Armory..."

He hadn't finished speaking when several swift horses came galloping to the Main Camp gate.

"Report——!"

"Report——!"

Qing Wang's forehead veins jumped: "Speak! What else has happened?"

Several soldiers knelt on the ground; a dark-skinned man shouted first: "Your Highness! I am from the Southern City General Armory; I just discovered that all the weapons are severely rusted!"

"I dare not delay; I have come specially to report!"

The few who knelt with him were all stunned.

"Report to Your Highness! I am from the Eastern City Esteemed Martial Armory; it's the same there!"

"Your Highness! It's the same there—our weapons have all rusted out pits!"

Below the platform, the troops stared at each other.

The fervent enthusiasm just now now feels like a bucket of ice water has been poured over it.

Chen Wang and Qing Wang exchanged a glance.

They understood each other's thoughts—no! If only one armory had trouble, that would be forgivable, but how could four or five all have problems at once?

It must be someone secretly sabotaging! They've fallen for someone's trick!

Qing Wang burst out cursing: "Trash! All trash! What are you good for?"

Chen Wang's face turned ashen: "Neglect of duty will not be forgiven! I want the heads of those in charge of these armories!"

"Yes!"

At that moment, more swift horses came riding in.

"Report——!"

"Report——!"

Again, seven or eight swift horses galloped up to the platform.

"Report to Your Majesty! I am from the Martial Achievement Armory..."

"Shut up! Shut up! All of you, shut up!" Qing Wang was furious: "Did you all plan to come here together?"