Use It Against Them Phantom Blade Zero Walkthrough

Use It Against Them is the Crimson Forest’s weapon-locked sparring tale, and one of the most characterful quests in Phantom Blade Zero: Jade Dancer and Iron Fiend — the two guardians who stood beside Mu Xiaokui — demand a rematch on their terms. Your terms are simple. Fiend Saws in your main hand. Iron Gauntlets on your Phantom Edge slot. Nothing else. Win anyway. This page covers the trigger, the equipment gates, and the payout; the companion tale Heart of the Fist starts on the same floor.

How Do You Start Use It Against Them in Phantom Blade Zero?

The tale unlocks after Mirage Estate, in the late-game window when the Crimson Forest reopens as the snow-covered Frozen Mirrorwood. Climb the Sha-Chi Tower from the south, ring the 6th Floor bell, and speak with Jade Dancer standing by the tower interior. KeenGamer’s all-tales table and Game8’s unlock row agree on the trigger: one conversation, no item hand-ins, no prior quest.

Game8 files the tale under Chapter 9, Crimson Forest, with Iron Fiend and Jade Dancer as its bosses. The 6th Floor is a shared staging ground — Iron Fiend himself starts Heart of the Fist a few steps away, so plan to run both tales in the same tower visit, exactly as our all-tales roster sequences them.

The Equipment Gates: Fiend Saws and Iron Gauntlets

The quest description leaves no ambiguity: “Challenge Jade Dancer and Iron Fiend using only the primary weapon Fiend Saws and the Phantom Edge Iron Gauntlets.” The check happens when the fight begins — show up with anything else equipped and the challenge cannot proceed as intended.

That makes the tale quietly double-gated:

• Fiend Saws drop from the extended third phase of the Mu Xiaokui fight at the end of the Village of Lu — which only triggers if you banked all five ribbons in Young Mistress before the chapter finale. Miss the ribbons and the saws are locked out until New Game+, and this tale has no legal loadout.
• Iron Gauntlets come from Stone Hand Iron Fever, an early Crimson Forest boss, so most players already own them by the Frozen Mirrorwood return.

The full weapon breakdowns live in the Fiend Saws guide and Iron Gauntlets guide.

How to Beat the Sparring Match

You have already fought this duo — they are the guardian phase of the ribbon-modified Mu Xiaokui encounter — so nothing here is unfamiliar, only remixed. The loadout constraint is the real puzzle. The Fiend Saws are S-tier dual blades built around Fiend-Aura Erosion, fast strings, and aggressive gauge pressure; the Iron Gauntlets are the shield-breaker Phantom Edge that converts guard into openings. Play to both: pressure with saws, cash out with the gauntlets when either opponent turtles.

Two structural facts keep the fight fair. First, boss progress is saved by phase, so reaching the later phases matters more than clearing the duo on the first attempt — treat early runs as scouting. Second, the arena is the tower floor you are already standing on, with no adds and no escape sequence: it is a pure martial-arts test, the game’s way of asking whether you can win without your build crutches. One more edge in your favor: you fought this exact pair at the end of the Village of Lu, so every string they have is already on file — the rematch is a test of execution, not discovery. Community strats center on the saws’ speed to stagger-lock one guardian while staying mobile against the other; specific combo damage values remain community mapping in progress.

What Is the Reward for Use It Against Them?

Victory pays the Heel Reinforcement Part, a Soul Tempering material. KeenGamer, Game8, and the All Tales roster all list it as the tale’s payout.

One correction worth being loud about, because the confusion is common: Fist Fragment: Core is not this quest’s reward. The Core drops from the Young Mistress guardian phase in the Village of Lu — the same fight that gives you the Fiend Saws you just wielded here. It is one half of the Worldbreaker Fist, the Iron Gauntlets’ own temper material, whose other half comes from the gravestone errand in Heart of the Fist. The tower floor gives you a Heel Reinforcement Part; the Worldbreaker Fist chain is assembled elsewhere, and our Young Mistress walkthrough maps its ribbon hunt.

Is Use It Against Them Missable?

No. The tale only appears in the post-Mirage Estate window, after every cutoff that could lock it has passed — KeenGamer’s roster and Game8’s unlock table both mark it as safe. The real risk is equipment-side: skip the five Young Mistress ribbons and you forfeit the Fiend Saws for the entire run, leaving the sparring challenge without a legal primary weapon. If you are on a first playthrough, bank the ribbons before the Village of Lu finale and both halves of this tale take care of themselves.

FAQ

How do you start Use It Against Them in Phantom Blade Zero?

Finish Mirage Estate, return to the frozen Crimson Forest, climb the Sha-Chi Tower, ring the 6th Floor bell, and speak with Jade Dancer. She starts the sparring challenge immediately.

What weapons do you need for Use It Against Them?

Fiend Saws as primary and Iron Gauntlets as Phantom Edge, exclusively. The saws require all five Young Mistress ribbons to obtain; the gauntlets come from Stone Hand Iron Fever in the early Crimson Forest.

What is the reward for Use It Against Them?

The Heel Reinforcement Part tempering material. Fist Fragment: Core — often confused with this quest’s reward — actually comes from the Young Mistress guardian phase and feeds the Worldbreaker Fist.

Is Use It Against Them missable?

No, but its required weapons are not guaranteed. Without the five ribbons, the Fiend Saws stay locked until New Game+, and the challenge has no legal loadout.

Sources

• Game8 — Use It Against Them Walkthrough and Rewards
• KeenGamer — All 33 Tales and Side Quests Walkthrough
• ThePhantomBladeZero.wiki — All 33 Tales List