Although the Golden-Armored Warrior was clearly unleashing an immense forwards force, and the resulting cracks did not extend backwards, the vibrations from his powerful punch still made the house behind him tremble.

The tremors in the ground subsided, but dust continued to drift down from the roof and beams inside the house.

If the eyes of the occupants had previously been filled with disbelief at the initial appearance of the Golden-Armored Warrior, they were now completely stunned.

A martial artist by the door pointed to the ground outside the mansion illuminated by the firelight, and stammered out:

“The ground, the ground…”

“Gulp…it’s cracked…”

Huang Zhixian gulped, interrupting the second half of the other man’s words.

“Everyone, don’t leave just yet!”

Due to the limited visibility, the occupants of the mansion couldn’t see the monster lurking a little further away, having been ejected from the ground by the Golden-Armored Warrior’s fist. However, those with quicker reactions like Huang Zhixian had already realized: it was clear that the Golden-Armored Warrior was attacking something.

After delivering a punch, the Golden-Armored Warrior slowly stood upright, his feet slightly apart, hands hanging down at his sides, yellow scarf fluttering in the wind.

“Ting, ting, ting…”

Raindrops falling outside the mansion struck the Golden-Armored Warrior’s armor, making faint golden clinks.

Boom… Boom…

At this moment, thunder roared and lighting illuminated the earth, revealing the more distant scenes to everyone outside the house who had been paying attention.

Just twenty or thirty zhang in front of this house, three figures stood on the open ground. Even from this distance, one of the three appeared unusually large, perhaps even rivaling the size of the Golden-Armored Warrior.

Even more bizarre was that, in the fleeting flash of lightning, the strange figures seemed to be emanating a strange black smoke, as if their presence were just a hallucination.

At the mere sight of these figures, warriors and ordinary people alike felt a strange palpitation of the heart, a panic so intense that goosebumps covered their entire bodies, as if they were being watched by some extremely evil being.

However, Huang Zhixian and others still overlooked another person lying not too far in front of the three “strange men.” This one’s skin was cracked and furrowed, like a ripped rag, and its body trembled constantly.

This miserable-looking corpse was the one that had been struck by the Golden-Armored Warrior’s earth-shattering punch as it had attempted to burrow underground to approach the mansion.

“Is that… a human over there?”

“I’m eighty per– I’m eighty percent sure that it’s not…”

‘It’s okay, we have this golden armored divinity protecting us…”

“Yes, yes, yes…”

“He have a god in golden armor!”

Although the individuals outside seemed incredibly sinister and eerie, the presence of the Golden-Armored Warrior standing in front of the mansion gave everyone a sense of security.

Huang Zhixian suddenly seemed to have thought of something and looked around, but he couldn’t find the paper bird anywhere.

Hearing the Golden-Armored Warrior address the paper bird as “Your Honor,” he figured the latter must be of some importance, but unfortunately it had vanished again.

By this time, the paper crane had already hidden itself once again at the end of the beam in the rafters of the house, hanging upside-down and looking out, watching the crowd’s panic and agitation at the current situation.

Twenty or thirty zhang away from the house, the demonic corpses still standing were basically all staring at the Golden-Armored Warrior. Even in darkness, this figure was too conspicuous, radiating a faint divine aura and resembling a formidable general.

“How did you manage to hide just now? Why did I not sense your presence?”

A hoarse, cold voice echoed from a distance. It came from the much larger figure standing in the center.

Everyone in the house heard these words clearly, but they all knew that they were obviously meant for the Golden-Armored Warrior.

However, the Golden-Armored Warrior remained aloof and silent, standing there without saying a word.

“Are you a god or a demon? Why is your aura so unique? Why can I sense neither vital energy nor a soul?”

The Golden-Armored Warrior still remained silent, standing in front of the house, letting the rain wash over him.

“You have no ties to these mortals nor have you made any vows, so why are you protecting them?”

At this third sentence, the supposedly aloof Golden-Armored Warrior suddenly spoke.

The voice was deep and rich, yet remarkably clear and resonant.

“By order of the Honored Lord,1 any evil spirit or demon that approaches shall die.”

There was a brief silence, and then after four or five breaths, the figure spoke again.

“Who is this Honored Lord you speak of?”

The Golden Armored Warrior once again fell into a cold silence, as if he hadn’t heard a word.

Huang Zhixian and others in the house, however, subconsciously looked around for the paper bird, but unfortunately they couldn’t find where it went.

In the darkness, a massive corpse stared at the warrior in front of the nearby house, a puff of ashes emanating from its nose.

Fwoosh…

It could see through to the room behind the Golden-Armored Warrior. The room was filled with mortals, each of whom exuded fear.

He glanced down at the slave corpse that had been knocked out of the ground by the golden-armored giant, then his gaze followed the body down towards the fissure in the ground, which stretched all the way back to the giant, clearly revealing the incredible strength of that one blow.

Tonight, after receiving a report from a slave corpse about over a dozen warriors with abundant vitality, he had finally felt the urge to personally devour their blood essence, so he set out. He left those bandits to his other slave corpses, so their blood wouldn’t be wasted.

It was supposed to have been a joyous feast, but the scene before him was obviously unexpected.

While the dozen or so warriors were plump prey, he didn’t truly need to eat them, especially given this unpredictable situation. However, the Golden-Armored Warrior seemed to treat him with extreme contempt, which infuriated the giant corpse.

“Who is this lord you speak of? Who are you? Tell me your name!”

The Golden-Armored Warrior still stood in front of the mansion. This time, he raised his head slightly to look forward. His deep, bell-like voice echoed again, but instead of answering the giant corpse’s question, he repeated his previous words.

“By order of the Honored Lord, any evil spirit or demon that approaches shall die.”

Although the night was dark, the lack of light naturally had no effect on the giant corpse. In its eyes, the dull gaze of the Golden-Armored Warrior resembled blatant disdain.

Although the giant corpse was intelligent, it was also inherently evil. It was never one to hold its temper, neither in life nor in death. He had only been patiently inquiring thus far because something strange had happened to night, but now, faced with such taunts, how could he bear it?

“Hehehehe… Since you are seeking death, then just die! I will drain you dry first, and then drain all the mortals you’re protecting. Roooar—!

“Bang…”

The ground beneath the giant corpse’s feet was suddenly crushed. Its body erupted, tearing a blank tunnel of air through the falling rain as it passed. The ragged clothes on its body were torn to pieces, revealing a bronze skin covered in scales.

The sense of oppression brought by this moment made everyone in the big house feel suffocated, as if their hearts were being squeezed.

At this moment, the Golden-Armored Warrior’s expression and reaction suddenly changed. He leaned forward, his arms forming claws. Almost instantly, the giant corpse appeared before his eyes.

Time seemed to slow for a brief moment just before the two massive bodies collided.

Bang…

The surrounding puddles of water were blasted out around them, and a curtain of rain lashed out in all directions. The strong gust of wind blew the door of the house open.

Those inside the mansion shielded themselves with their hands, struggling to keep their eyes open. The two flames on the piles of firewood swayed like candles in the wind, and the campfire by the door was quickly extinguished.

A crevice was plowed into the ground. The impact of the giant corpse’s charge forced the Golden-Armored Warrior to within a few feet of the abandoned house’s entrance. A mound of earth rose behind him, and a massive, golden-armored foot slammed forwards, its body moving into a lunge.

Clang, clang, clang…

The sound of armored men wrestling resounded in front of the doorway. The Golden-Armored Warrior and the giant corpse gripped each others’ hands, one bronze, the other crimson red.

A look of disbelief etched itself in the giant corpse’s eyes. The Golden-Armored Warrior had blocked its unparalleled charge with sheer force.

Originally, the giant corpse’s plan had been to directly smash through the Golden-Armored Warrior, collapsing the house behind it and killing the mortals inside, as if to mock their ridiculous defenses.

In the giant corpse’s moment of horror, the warrior slowly raised his his head. His face was entirely colored red, his eyes lifeless, and the giant warrior’s gaze betrayed a cold indifference.

Clang, clang, clang…

The Golden-Armored Warrior’s right leg, previously braced in a backwards lunge, suddenly left the ground and stepped forward.

Clang, clang, clang…

Just like that, he continued to push the giant corpse back, accelerating until he was thirty zhang from the abandoned house.

The two nearby demonic corpses, having long since faded into the shadows, now pounced on the warrior, their fangs slashing and biting at him. They made a repetitive clanging, slashing sound as the stabbed into him.

But the Golden-Armored Warrior didn’t seem to care. His attention was completely on the giant corpse. His face was red and his teeth were bared as he spoke once more.

“By order of the Honored Lord, any evil spirit or demon that approaches shall die.”

The two fluttering yellow lengths of fabric in front of him seemed to have transformed into serpents, swirling and wrapping around the giant corpse’s arms and waist.

Just as the giant corpse felt that something was amiss, the Golden-Armored Warrior suddenly released his grip, spun sideways, and locked his arms above the corpse’s head.

The next moment, the giant corpse felt a sense of weightlessness so intense that it tore through his body. Golden-Armored Warrior had picked him up completely, swung him around, and sent him tearing through the air, before smashing into the ground.

Boom…

In the moment right before the giant corpse’s shock and numbness subsided, while his mind was still dazed, a massive golden-armored arm came down from an angle and slammed into his chest.

Whoosh…boom…

The ground where the giant corpse had fallen was rapidly shattered in all directions, forming a large web of ravines.

After completing the attack with his right hand, the Golden-Armored Warrior flicked his left arm as if swatting a fly, and with a thud he sent the demonic corpse still biting at his shoulder flying.

He watched from a distance as the remaining demonic corpse ran away, but ignored it. Instead, he raised his right arm again and punched downward.

Whoosh…boom…

With this blow, the ground completely shattered, creating a bowl-shaped pit about four or five zhang in diameter.

1. 尊 (zūn): to honor/to respect/a senior, 上 (shàng): above/upper. Lit. “honored senior above me,” very respectful honorific