Inside the Imperial Capital's Armory, besides the guards in black military uniforms, there was also a group of scientists responsible for maintaining the Imperial Arms.
One of them, a middle-aged scientist in a white lab coat, walked towards Lin Feng. He wore black-rimmed glasses and swayed his hips as he walked, which was quite flamboyant.
"An unfamiliar face, but quite handsome. I am Dr. Stylish, the head of weapon research here."
As Dr. Stylish spoke, two men, seemingly assistants, scattered rose petals behind him.
"Hello, I am Lin Feng, the newly appointed Minister of the Special Operations Department."
When Dr. Stylish heard Lin Feng's name, his body trembled involuntarily. It seemed Dr. Stylish's ears were quite sharp.
"So you are the young man who provoked General Bude in the Imperial Palace! Ahhh! So young, yet so powerful!"
For some unknown reason, Dr. Stylish suddenly went crazy, twisting his waist and circling Lin Feng. Moreover, his face showed an unusual flush, and he even reached out to touch Lin Feng's chest.
Being so close to this pervert, Lin Feng's face was covered in black lines. He used force with his right hand and pushed the pervert's chest.
With a loud "bang," Dr. Stylish, along with his assistants behind him, were sent flying dozens of meters away, their bodies embedded in the marble wall.
"Nice, Minister, 10 points!" Kurome gave Lin Feng a thumbs-up expressionlessly.
(Oh no, I think I used too much force. I still need this pervert to help Kurome find a suitable Imperial Arms.) Lin Feng walked to the wall and pulled Dr. Stylish out of it.
Because of the sudden heavy blow to his head, Dr. Stylish fell into temporary amnesia when he opened his eyes.
"Strange, what was I going to do just now? Why can't I remember?" Dr. Stylish touched his cheek in confusion.
"You're in charge here, right? Conduct an Imperial Arms compatibility test for my subordinate," Lin Feng said coldly.
Because there was no one in the upper echelons of the Empire who could use Imperial Arms, even ordinary members of the lower ranks could undergo compatibility checks.
"Oh, is it a child from the assassination unit?" Dr. Stylish looked at Kurome with disappointment. He preferred to test boys rather than girls.
"Alright, but don't get your hopes up too much. Only one in ten thousand people can be compatible with an Imperial Arms."
"Of course, I know. This child's talent is one in ten thousand." Lin Feng patted the girl's head.
Seeing Lin Feng trust her so much, Kurome's steps became lighter, and her cute face showed joy, like a puppy praised by its owner.
People whose wavelengths don't match cannot use Imperial Arms. If forced, not only will the Imperial Arms' power not be unleashed, but it will also harm the user.
Dr. Stylish showed a helpless expression and could only personally lead the way for Lin Feng, walking towards the armory that ordinary people were not allowed to enter.
Of course, the Imperial Arms compatibility test is simple. One only needs to look at the Imperial Arms, and based on the user's perception of it, the degree of their compatibility can be determined.
Lin Feng and his group arrived in front of a large iron door resembling a bank vault, where six soldiers with rifles guarded the entrance. After the person in charge verified Dr. Stylish's identity, he used a key to open the large iron door storing the Imperial Arms.
Rows of shelves displayed oddly shaped weapons, such as tridents, crutches, and large eyeballs. Lin Feng glanced at their descriptions; most of their abilities were quite useless.
He picked up a giant axe with one hand. Although its weight of over a hundred pounds felt light as a feather in his hand, he didn't expect the axe to emit a strong black aura, causing his mental energy to rapidly deplete.
It seems Imperial Arms choose their own masters.
Lin Feng then picked up a katana. The sword hilt still emitted a black aura after Lin Feng touched it, and this time, he could even hear faint wails from within the hilt.
"Come, draw the sword. I think it suits you very well."
Lin Feng held the jet-black katana horizontally in front of the girl.
Kurome's expression was solemn. After taking the katana with both hands, the black mist quickly dissipated. She drew the katana, its tip pointing upwards, radiating a cold light!
"What a beautiful sword!" The girl's pretty face immediately broke into a smile as she happily looked at the blade in her hand.
"Excellent! I didn't expect this little girl to be able to use 'Yatsufusa'. This Imperial Arms is incredibly powerful. It can control creatures slain by this sword through a curse, controlling up to eight corpse puppets at once. The puppets look like they did in life and can use their own abilities!"
Dr. Stylish introduced excitedly.
"Heh heh, now Kurome is also an Imperial Arms user. I hope you can shine in the next operation," Lin Feng chuckled.
"Yes! I promise not to disappoint Minister," Kurome saluted him happily.
No Imperial Arms reacted to Lin Feng, so he didn't become an Imperial Arms user. But Lin Feng didn't feel it was a pity, after all, the Imperial Arms in stock were too weak!
As Lin Feng and Kurome left the Armory, they passed by soldiers who hadn't been matched with Imperial Arms. They all looked at the weapon in her hand with envious eyes.
If they could become Imperial Arms users, they would surely be highly valued by the Empire. Promotion, salary increases, and marrying noble ladies would only be a matter of time. They all complained about how they couldn't even compare to an underage girl.
When Kurome walked out, she couldn't hide the excitement on her face, lovingly stroking Yatsufusa in her hand as if she had obtained a treasure.
Lin Feng looked at Kurome like this and couldn't help but feel a little emotional. A fifteen-year-old girl actually liked an Imperial Arms that controlled corpses.
Separated from her sister since childhood, her living environment afterwards was very bad, coupled with Minister Beer's drug torture. This pushed the girl's spirit to the brink of collapse.
Lin Feng got an idea and took Kurome to the bustling district of the Imperial Capital to enjoy some street food.
"Wow... Lin Feng-sama, this is so delicious!"
Kurome's eyes sparkled as she held a milkshake. She had a huge appetite, drinking five large strawberry-flavored Christmas milkshakes in one go.
Just as the girl was about to order her sixth cup, Lin Feng saw a large group of heavily armed soldiers marching grandly down the main road.
Kurome had never seen such a grand display and stood curiously by the roadside.
The soldiers at the very front shouted: "The rebellion of the Southwest Border tribes has been quelled! General Esdeath is returning in triumph!"
The tribes were ethnic minorities existing within the Empire's territory in the Southwest Border. Their residential areas were surrounded by large rivers and poisonous swamps, and there were also many fierce beasts, pests, and Danger Beasts. About ten thousand people lived there, having adapted to the harsh natural environment.
Three months ago, the tribes, unable to endure the Empire's political oppression, began an armed uprising. The Empire dispatched 120,000 soldiers to suppress the rebellion, but they were forced into a bitter struggle due to their unfamiliarity with the unique natural environment of the border.
The Empire, struggling against the tribes, sent a force of ten thousand soldiers led by General Esdeath three months ago as reinforcements.
Esdeath, known for her swiftness, froze the dozens of miles of vast swamps upon arriving at the Southwest Border, easily slaughtering the tribes that had been a persistent headache for the Empire.
In the middle of the army, a girl just over twenty years old, dressed in a pure white general's uniform, her slender legs encased in silver high boots, a Western sword at her slender waist, presented a capable appearance.
Hailing from the northern border, her skin was as white as snow, her figure lithe and tall, and her light blue hair cascaded down her back, occasionally swaying gracefully in the wind.
"What a beautiful General Najenda. How wonderful it would be if she could be my girlfriend."
"How amazing! We are so fortunate to have such a powerful General Najenda in the Empire!"
In response to the cheers of the passing commoners, the young woman smiled brightly, appearing to be a good general loyal to her country and loving her people.
Yet, she didn't genuinely care for those ordinary citizens; instead, there was a hint of annoyance between her brows.
"General Esdeath, you seem to be in a bad mood?"
Niu, dressed in a black military uniform, rode his horse next to Esdeath. Niu was one of the Imperial Three Beasts under Esdeath, a user of the Imperial Arm 'Military Music Rhapsody: Shriek', and very powerful, serving as a backbone of Esdeath's army.
They had just won a great victory, yet for some reason, there was no trace of joy on the General's face. Could it be that the army had killed too many women and children in this war, causing the General to feel remorse?
Upon hearing this, Esdeath clenched her right fist.
"How boring… Originally, those border residents and the dangerous swamp could have made for a nice hunting game. But because I received an order from the Minister to quickly suppress the rebellion using Imperial Arms, I had no choice but to crush them with Imperial Arms…"
A person like Esdeath despises the incompetent; she would not sympathize with the pain and wailing of the weak… Because Esdeath, who had not enjoyed the thrill of battle, returned with increased stress. A cold killing aura emanated from her, washing over the land in waves.
She turned her head to look at the captains around her. Although Esdeath still maintained a smile, the immense pressure made a dozen burly captains sweat profusely, fearing that the sadistic General would come up with another torturous training method to inflict upon them.
And Lin Feng looked at Esdeath's departing back; even from tens of meters away, he could feel an extremely pure and intense evil aura, as if she were merely an alien in beautiful human skin.
Perhaps because Lin Feng deliberately concealed his aura, it backfired somewhat, allowing Esdeath's keen intuition to sense something amiss. She suddenly turned her head to look at the vast crowd, her charming face filled with killing intent.
Esdeath looked back behind her. Besides a few low-headed foreign spies, there were only ordinary citizens, none of whom could fight.
A misconception?
Just now, she had momentarily sensed a powerful aura. The blood that had been quiet in her body for a long time also boiled because of it. Could her intuition also be wrong? For some reason, a hint of disappointment flashed in her heart.
"Where… where can I find an enemy that can satisfy me?"
…
"Minister Lin, why are you here?" In the Imperial Capital's guardroom, Ouka, who was training his subordinates, saw Lin Feng and a sailor-suited loli walk in.
Ouka, known as the 'Ghost's Bane', immediately greeted Lin Feng with a smile. Lin Feng had managed to kill the Minister's distant relative and still remain unharmed. How could a mere squad leader like him contend with that?
"I'm showing my subordinates around the Imperial Capital. We happened to pass by here, so I came in to take a look." Lin Feng ignored Ouka's dark face and walked directly into the training room.
At this moment, a group of team members, dressed in white karate-like gis, were practicing martial arts in pairs.
Among them, a young and lovely ponytail girl particularly stood out.
"My name is Lin Feng. I am the Minister of the Special Operations Department, specially approved by the Emperor."
Lin Feng walked up to the girl and asked for her name.
"Reporting, sir, my name is Sai Liu Ubiquitous. I am eighteen years old this year! This is my partner, Biy, the Imperial Arm—Beast Transformation: Hecatoncheires."
Sai Liu smiled brightly, picked up Biy, and introduced him to Lin Feng.
"I didn't expect you to be an Imperial Arm user. Staying here is a waste of your talent! Sai Liu, do you want to join me in fighting the evil rebels?" Lin Feng gave a charming, evil smile.
"But the rebels are very terrifying, you know. They burn, kill, and plunder, committing all sorts of evil. If you fight them, you might just die!"
"Sir! Justice will never yield to evil." Upon hearing the word "evil," Sai Liu's delicate face immediately became ferocious. To eliminate all evil and achieve justice, Sai Liu was willing to give everything she could.
Thus, Lin Feng effortlessly lured Sai Liu away from the guard unit.
Meanwhile, the rough-faced Ouka looked on with regret. He had thought his disciple, being an Imperial Arm user, would be a valuable addition to his subordinates. Who would have thought she would be transferred by Lin Feng so quickly? He was, to say the least, very depressed…