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Having found the first outpost in Weeping Creek Valley of Phantom Blade Zero, you’ll have numerous different Tales you can now follow and investigate. One of these is the Festering Secret Tale, which you’ll find when you walk through the Outpost, past the Bowman on the rooftop, and nearby Forge with her blacksmith to upgrade weapons.
How to Complete the Festering Secret Tale
To complete the Festering Secret Tale in Phantom Blade Zero, you’re going to have to complete several steps. When you first come to the wooden gate covered in giant chains, you’ll be unable to proceed, stopped short by the two guards who tease and hint at a foreboding and horrifying secret behind the gates themselves. It’s evident you’ll be able to return and go through at some point, but when? And how?
How to Open the Chained Wooden Gate
Yes, you can and will break through the gate, but to do so, you first need a Phantom Edge weapon. Specifically, you need one that is currently being held by Peng Meng, The Axemaster. He’s a critical part of the Four Fierce Axes Tale you would have found earlier on, and if you talk to soldiers around the Outpost, they will mention and refer to him in whispers and scared conversations. He’s turned into something strange, which is all you need to know to go and kill him in Phantom Blade Zero.
Continue past the chained wooden gate, and up the hill through the archway. On your left is the Cell Door key you’ll need for the earlier locked Cell Door, but continue on and through the archway with the soldier praying nearby.
Peng Meng, The Axemaster is here. Once you’ve beaten him, which takes some doing, you’ll receive his axe, the Dread Axe, which is just the Phantom Edge weapon needed. This will allow you to break chains, not just here, but anywhere in the game, even when it’s not equipped!
Return back to the chained gate, and using the newly acquired Dread Axe, break through the gate and walk through.
Through the Gate and into the Festering Secret
Walk forwards through the broken gate, as one of the two guarding soldiers runs off to report to his captain, the other will follow you into the chaos ahead. There’s numerous enemies ahead, so make sure you’ve upgraded as much as possible, as these are of a more difficult disposition than others you’ve fought recently.
You’ll have two directly in front of you, so get rid of those quickly. Don’t forget, using R2 you can now use your Phantom Edge weapon, in this case the Dread Axe, as somewhat of a super-powerful attack. It’s very useful here. If you head to the right, you’ll find another enemy hiding in a house, defeating this one will grant you a Sha-Chi Amber Shard, which when you find four, will increase your Sha-Chi by 10%.
Having killed these three Maskwalkers, you’ll get an update to the Festering Secret Tale, which will call for you to uncover the truth on how the Mandate disciples ended up as Maskwalkers.
This will send you back on yourself, past the Outpost Bell and back on the path backwards to Outpost Courtyard. Head back down the hill and through the broken gate and talk to the Gate Guard, which will now send you to the Captain to confront, as mentioned though, you’re going backwards.
Confront the Captain
The Captain is one of the first Mandate members you met inside the Outpost, sat on a wooden plinth between two others. He’s hard to miss. When you talk to him, you’ll find out that there’s an Outpost near by that a patrolling guard there may well have the answers you seek.
The Captain will give you a note, an order basically, to pass onto the soldier in hopes he’ll be able to explain what happened to the soldiers behind the chained wooden gate.
Deliver the Captain’s Order and Find Out the Truth
To pass on the note to the soldier in question, you’ll have to do quite a bit more work. The soldier in question is behind the Sha Chi Base Camp door, which is locked. Finding this key isn’t difficult, but you’ll have to work for it. After talking to the panicked soldier outside, you’ll want to head to the very top of the furnace, where you’ll meet the Friendly Shadow Warden, beginning the A Severed Mindseal Tale, and also come across an area you can’t get to just yet, because you don’t have the Hunter’s Chain Sickle.
For that, you’ll need to complete Steel and Seam, which effectively is beating The Hunt, Hunter of the Order a second time, far harder than the first, and you’ll receive the Hunter’s Chain Sickle as a reward. Once you’ve beaten him, head to the highest part of the furnace for a second time, and then use the Phantom Edge ability of the weapon to jump up. Here, with a big orange glow, is the key you need.
Grab the key and then head back all the way to the Base Camp door – the soldier has since left, presumably abandoning his post. Unlock the door, head inside, and if you continue straight on from the door, the soldier you’re looking for is holed up inside one of the buildings. Now, you’ll have to return back to the Outpost and report your findings to the Captain.
Return to the Captain
Return to the Outpost and back to the start of it, where the Captain still sits. Chat with him and let him know what you’ve found, and he’ll tell you of the news that there is a body that is dressed like the traitor you’ve been reading about all this time. Unfortunately, without grappling hooks they can’t confirm, and therefore this Phantom Blade Zero tale comes to a crashing, unsatisfying ending.
With that said, you now know how to complete the Festering Secret Tale in Phantom Blade Zero, and won’t miss it. Now you can continue on without having to speak to the captain anymore.
For your next read, don’t miss our guide on beating The Hunt, Hunter of the Order, or how to complete the Counterfeit Chapter in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 DMZ.
Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
Other Phantom Blade Zero Guides You Will Need
- How to Complete the Apprentice Healer Tale in Phantom Blade Zero
- How to Beat Hua, Deadly Betrothed in Phantom Blade Zero
- How to Complete A Severed Mindseal Tale in Phantom Blade Zero (Including Opening the Sha-Chi Furnace)
- How to Complete the Purge the Sect Tale in Phantom Blade Zero (and Get a Bow)
- How to Beat Peng Meng, The Axemaster in Phantom Blade Zero
- How to Find the Cell Key and Open the Weeping Creek Valley Cell Door in Phantom Blade Zero
- How to Upgrade Weapons in Phantom Blade Zero
- How to Beat Jagged Steel, The Frenzied Brute in Phantom Blade Zero (and get the Jagged Steel Weapon)
- How to Beat The Hunt, Hunter of the Order in Phantom Blade Zero
- How to Beat Zuo Shang in Phantom Blade Zero
