Chapter 123 Weapons

When Ikasa came down for training in the morning, he saw an unexpected visitor waiting for him. Noticing Ikasa's arrival, Mo Fan immediately stood up, treating him with the respect he would give a Sense Realm Expert.

"Brother Mo Fan! What brings you here so early in the morning?"

By calling him 'Brother' deliberately, Ikasa gave him a way to address himself. It alleviated the awkwardness in the room, and a smile broke out on Mo Fan's face. He excitedly reported the news.

"Brother Ikasa! We won a splendid victory yesterday. The City Lord has invited you and other Sense Trainers for a celebration banquet at the Manor in the afternoon."

"Victory?"

Ikasa asked with confusion. He had not received any news about a significant event happening yesterday.

Joyous, Mo Fan excitedly shared the news with Ikasa.

"We recaptured the Port from the Monstrous Flame Sect! Lord Zhen himself led the charge. He grievously injured their Third Elder and led us to victory."

Ikasa smiled to express his happiness. Still, he did not feel any admiration for this operation at all.

'An important asset such as the Port should never have fallen in the hands of the Monstrous Flame Sect in the first place. And if he had a way to retake it, he should have used it earlier.'

It might be his bias against the City Lord, but he hid his true feelings behind his smile. After promising to attend the banquet, Ikasa bid the sleepy Mo Fan farewell.

Contrary to sleepy Mo Fan, he was wide awake. He was ready to practice the Low-grade Staff technique, How to Clean up: A Janitor's Insights.

Since his return from Hu Clan last week, he had spent every free hour practicing this technique with Feng Yan and Chu Kuang. With some exercises from their City Guard days,  they had helped Ikasa increase his proficiency with a wooden staff.

Their efforts bore fruit as Ikasa could smoothly handle the weapon afterward.

As he continued his exercise with the Bamboo pole, he went through every form of his staff technique. An hour later, Ikasa rapidly connected his moves and performed a combo of different attacks shown in the manual.

Swoosh! Swish!

He stopped after completing the chain of attacks and reviewed his movements.

'This should be good enough to counter the most powerful blows of Sect Master Yan.'

He judged before wiping the drop of sweat rolling down his forehead. Looking at the Sun ascending from the east, he decided to end his training for today.

'I should also prepare Feng Yan and Gu Dan for the banquet in the  afternoon.'

He noted and went inside to wash up. After instructing Caretaker Han to get the two old men ready, he buried himself in the paperwork.

Even though Ikasa was not feeling so great about City Lord, he needed his help to further his plan. More specifically, Zhen Wu was his only chance to contact a powerful family comparable to the He family.

For the plan he had in mind, he needed the backing of such a powerful entity to negotiate terms with He Family.

'I am thinking too far ahead…  First I need to get a contractual guarantee of safety from the Zhen Family.'

Shaking his head, he began to formulate a plan that would let him get what he wanted from the Zhen Family.

Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, it was time to leave. Dressed in gorgeous blue robes, the three Sense Trainers entered the City Lord's Manor.

"Where is everybody? Are we the first to arrive?"

Gu Dan wondered, seeing the empty hall. They did not have the wrong location as the hall was decorated appropriately for the banquet. Before they could make inquiries with the servants, City Lord's aide arrived to receive them.

"Brother Ikasa, Welcome! Sense Trainer Feng, and Sense Trainer Gu, thank you for coming. The City Lord is waiting for you. Please come this way."

The three men followed Mo Fan to the back of the Manor. Dressed in ceremonial robes, the City Lord waited for them near an iron door.

Ikasa observed the building the door led to. It was not too tall; just around the height of two men. The building looked older and sturdier than the rest of the Manor.

When the three Sense Trainers arrived by the City Lord's side, he engaged them in some small talk. He began to regale them with tales of his heroics from the previous night's battle.

Feng Yan got hooked on his storytelling, and Gu Dan also looked interested. Nonetheless, the City Lord couldn't command Ikasa's attention. He ended his story shortly after and addressed the elephant in the room, the building behind him.

"This building is the Weaponry of Birch City. Generations of City Lords have collected and stored many good weapons inside."

The introduction of the building caused the eyes of all three Sense Trainers to light up. Feng Yan and Gu Dan looked at the door and City Lord with anticipation. And the City Lord realized their expectations.

"To thank all of you for the timely rescue at the Hu Clan, you can choose a weapon each from the weaponry."

Saying his piece, he smilingly pushed the unlocked iron doors open. Feng Yan and Gu Dan swiftly went inside, disregarding their composure. The former was excited to get his hands on the weapon; the latter wanted to study as many weapons as possible in the short time they had.

Ikasa thanked the City Lord politely before taking sedate steps inside. As he scanned the insides, he was disappointed. From the City Lord's grand introduction, he had expected rows and rows filled with weapons of all types.

Instead, he found only tens of weapons mounted on the walls. Most of them were commonly used weapons like longswords and sabers, but there were also some oddities.

'Still, there are quite a few unusual and rare weapons here.'

Ikasa consoled himself as he approached one of the weapons that caught his eye. It was a pair of hammers. Pointed on one side and flat on the other, they would suit a macho man.

He took them down from the wall, only to grunt at their weight.

"Uff! This is too heavy for my taste."

His grunt attracted Gu Dan's attention. He rushed over to Ikasa's side, his eyes shining as he looked at the Hammers. As someone who worked closely with hammers, he appreciated the pair in Ikasa's hands.

"Master, are you taking these?"

He asked with apprehension, handling one of the hammers with ease.

"No. They are too heavy for me."

"I'll pick these hammers then."

Gu Dan twirled the Hammer before catching it with his hand. Ikasa watched with happiness and a hint of envy as his subordinate found the weapon he wanted.

This made Ikasa realize that his physical body could use a lot of improvement. Just relying on his Top Grade technique was not enough to match the strength of those engaging in intense physical exercise.

When Gu Dan found his weapon, so did Feng Yan. His loud laughter reverberated in the narrow space of the Weaponry.

"Hahaha! I want this! This halberd will work well as the weapon of Red Eye!"

His loud proclamation drew the attention of Ikasa and Gu Dan. In his hand, Ikasa saw a double-bladed Halberd. The blades were reddish in color. When looked at it from afar, the blades looked like a giant eye with the parts connected to the pole imitating a pupil of the eye.

"This Halberd really suits you, Old Man."

Ikasa complimented Feng Yan. Gu Dan also gave him an appreciative whistle. As if protecting his weapon's modesty, Feng Yan hid the halberd from the Blacksmith's lecherous eyes.

Ikasa shook his head at their antics and went deeper to search for a weapon that would suit him. Nothing caught his eye so far.

"Do I have to make do with a mundane weapon like a sword or a saber?"

He talked to himself as he inspected the swords and sabers mounted on the wall.

"There is nothing wrong with a sword or a saber. Countless others use them."

Ikasa murmured as he walked to one of the nearest swords. When he was about to take it down, he saw something shine in the corner of his eyes.

A small disc with serrated edges was half stuck into the stone wall. He abandoned his original goal and walked to the disc. It came out as soon as Ikasa pulled it.

It was a golden disc slightly larger than a DVD. The disc had sharp serrated edges and a small hole in the center. Ikasa inserted his index finger in the hole and spun it like one would spin a key chain.

Then aiming at the wall, he launched the disc. Without making a noise, the disc lodged itself into the wall.

"Yes! This should be my weapon."

He decided to pick the serrated disc. He did not care that this disc wouldn't help him defend in close quarters. Even attacking in close quarters would be harder with this disc.

The sheer coolness factor of beheading an enemy from a distance attracted him. He imagined sentencing the Sect Leader Yan and Clan Master Qing to death and then sending his serrated disc to behead them.

'I am a businessman. If my goons cannot prevent the enemy from approaching me, what good are they?'

Ikasa justified his choice with a ridiculous reason. Still, this disc was clearly extraordinary from the way it silently sliced through the stone, and that alone deserved his attention.

'I can get a conventional weapon like a sword or saber made from Gu Dan later, but I would regret it if I left this little treasure locked inside the weaponry.'

With a logical reason to pick the disc, Ikasa finalized his choice.