Chapter 24: Chapter 17: The City Ablaze (Part 1)

The Arsenal of Guidao City (also known as the First Arsenal of the Alliance Army) traces its origins to the Royal Weapons Administration of the mountain-front province during the Imperial rule. When it was established, the primary consideration was transportation conditions, hence its location near the coast close to the docks of Guidao City, where ships could directly dock at the small pier of the Weapons Administration.Initially, only four blacksmiths were stationed here, essentially operating as a large-scale blacksmith shop. The facility was responsible for storing and maintaining the weapons and equipment allotted to the royal troops stationed in the mountain-front province, without any manufacturing capabilities.

After the Federated Provinces militia captured Guidao City for the first time, they immediately seized control of the Royal Weapons Administration and emptied its arsenal.

When Guidao City changed hands for the second time, and the Federated Provinces militia realized that the war was not going to end quickly, they immediately transformed the old Royal Weapons Administration into the new Arsenal of Guidao City.

The assigned functions of the Arsenal were no longer limited to maintenance and storage, allowing the Arsenal of Guidao City to begin producing cold weapons.

The prolonged sovereignty war of more than a decade brought about a booming demand for weapons, resulting in the technical capabilities and production capacity of the Arsenal of Guidao City making major leaps forward.

At first, the arsenal could only forge weapons using ready-made iron materials. But due to trade blockades, the supply of purchased copper and iron from external sources became increasingly inadequate.

Therefore, the Arsenal of Guidao City began to recruit iron-smelters and established a smelting department, enabling the arsenal to smelt ore and supply its raw materials independently.

Latterly, as the war dragged on and soldiers using gunpowder weapons made up an increasing proportion of the militia forces, the Arsenal of Guidao City added a rifle and artillery department, specializing in the technology of gun manufacturing.

Towards the latter stages of the war, the Arsenal of Guidao City began to produce an unending stream of muskets and cannons, arming a large number of unarmed citizens.

Marshal Ned once praised this arsenal with the following words, "Without the Arsenal of Guidao City, there would be no victory!" From that moment, the nickname "Victory Arsenal" spread like wildfire, becoming this arsenal's affectionate moniker among the Alliance Army.

Over the span of twenty-odd years, Victory Arsenal underwent expansion after expansion, like an insatiable glutton swallowing up the surrounding land and houses. From a corner plot beside the docks, it evolved into a city within a city that occupied nearly half the port area.

But right now, there is no longer any Victory Arsenal, just a sea of flames.

Some fifteen minutes ago, as the cadet battalion marched to the ruins of the old city wall, a faint smoke already permeated the entire street.

The smoke infiltrated every alleyway by the roadside, every independent courtyard. The residents living at the edge of the district were all awakened, either poking their heads out from their windows or standing by their doorways gazing out, astonished at the sight of the large battalion marching towards the smoke's origin.

The further they marched, the denser and more pungent the smoke became; Winters was brought to tears by the stinging sensation, and coughing sounds emerged sporadically from the column.

The horses ridden by the instructors became increasingly restless and refused to proceed no matter how much they were spurred on.

With no other choice, the Spellcaster instructors had to continually take turns employing magic, always maintaining two horizontal Wind Control Techniques at the front of the column to blow the smoke into the residential areas on either side of the road.

Continuing forward, when they could see the glow of the fire, the situation became much worse.

The flames had already spread from the arsenal to the nearby residences; many inhabitants died from poison smoke without even waking from their sleep. Some citizens who were trying to escape ran towards the direction from which the cadet battalion was coming, crying and screaming.

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"It's the devils! The devils are spreading through the streets!"

"Run for your lives! There's nothing we can do! Escape!"

The fleeing people shouted as they ran, clutching tightly the valuables they had grabbed on their way out of their homes. Their houses had been consumed by the fire, and the possessions in their hands were now all that they owned.

Cries and howls battered Winters' chest, making him extremely uncomfortable. Facing the fleeing crowds, the battalion of cadets advanced in silence.

A little further on lay a vision of hell.

Here, darkness was dispelled by fierce flames. Streets were illuminated by raging fire, the smoke so intense that not even the Wind Control Technique could mitigate it. Bibi babbling wood burning noises and the constant rumble of collapsing houses echoed non-stop.

A woman was kneeling by the road, hysterically wailing, with no one knowing what had befallen her, nor paying her any attention.

Those who had narrowly escaped from the fire were terrified, scrambling on hands and feet towards the outskirts of the city.

And for those residents whose houses were but a few meters away from the fire line, despair had set in:

Some of them had not given up and were struggling to carry whatever valuables they could from their homes;

Some were beating their chests and cursing the devil aloud;

Some had gone mad, desperately banging their heads against the ground;

While others had given up resistance, closing their eyes and muttering prayers.

But fire and water are merciless, and all efforts were in vain. They could only watch helplessly as their homes were devoured by the flames.

When Winters first noticed the anomaly in the sky, he had a very bad premonition. A fire that could turn the sky colors was bound to be extensive.

But it was only when he truly witnessed the scale of the fire disaster that he realized his initial thoughts were far too optimistic.

The cadet battalion from the military academy couldn't even get close to the wall of the Victory Arsenal; heat waves and thick smoke stopped them a block away.

"Sir! Sir!" A man dressed in a short brown outfit, holding onto his hat, ran up to the head of the military academy: "I'm the captain of the port fire prevention team. It's so good you're here!"

"And how may I serve you, my esteemed commander?" the head of the academy asked coolly.

"The fire is beyond extinguishing now. All we can do is tear down the surrounding houses and establish an isolation zone. Your cadets have arrived just in time," the fire prevention captain said hastily, not daring to beat around the bush with his plan.

"I came here to save the army's assets. Now that the arsenal is gone, I'm not going to use my valuable officers for firefighting. That's your responsibility," the head of the academy said before turning his horse to leave.

"Sir! Please, have a heart!" The fire prevention captain grabbed the reins of the head's horse, pleading.

"Hmph," the head of the academy snorted coldly.

"I beg you! Look at the wind direction, the wind is blowing from the coastline inward. The wind feeds the fire, and if we don't establish an isolation zone quickly, it won't take long for the entire port area to become a sea of fire, followed by the whole city area," the fire prevention captain urged.

The head of the academy still had a grim face, saying nothing.

"Sir, if the whole of Guidao City is burning, can your school alone survive?" Seeing a slight shift in the attitude of the highest-ranking person in this military academy troop, the fire prevention captain refused to give up this last straw for salvation.

"The bigger the fire, the faster it spreads. It's already getting out of hand. Please, have a heart! Sir! Look at these common folk!" the fire prevention captain continued to plea desperately.