“Boom…”

The ground where the giant corpse lay had completely collapsed, shattered, plunging the corpse and the Golden-Armored Warrior into the pit.

The surrounding rainwater crashed as it poured into the pit.

“Whoosh…boom…”

Another loud noise echoed from the pit, and the surrounding earth shook violently. As if it had exploded, the accumulated water, which had just flowed into the pit, shot out again like a wave of arrows.

Inside the deserted house a little further away, Huang Zhixian, Han Ming, and the others trembled again. Ever since that moment, whenever they heard a loud noise, their bodies would react subconsciously to the sound and their feet would tingle.

“Swish… swish… swish…”

Dust was constantly falling overhead, and even the old tiles on the roof shook.

“Boom…”

There was another loud noise. Huang Zhixian, Han Ming, and others clearly braced themselves for each next shock and tremor, but each time, they were startled and shuddered involuntarily again.

Many people wanted to know what was going on outside, but they didn’t even dare to speak during this agonized wait.

On the battlefield outside, the pit was already four to five or five zhang deep. The giant corpse had already taken four punches from the Golden-Armored Warrior. With the fourth blow, it could even hear the cracking sounds of its own body.

The terrifying attack and the intense pain finally brought it back to full consciousness.

“Whoosh…”

The sound of the wind tearing through the air came again. Seeing the Golden-Armored Warrior’s fist rapidly approaching, the giant corpse used all its strength to meet it with both palms.

“Roar…”

Boom…

The impact shattered the surrounding raindrops.

Crack, crack, crack…

The giant corpse blocked the Golden-Armored Warrior’s punch with both palms, and doubled over to keep standing.

But at the very moment that he blocked the punch, the Golden-Armored Warrior’s knee slammed down, striking the giant corpse’s chest.

“Bang…”

“Aaaack–“

The giant corpse was pummeled so hard it coughed out a burst of gray ash from the blow, but even then, it did not dare to let his hands down. It struggled to escape, but the yellow fabric bound him tightly, not only restricting his movements but also restraining his strength.

‘Not good, not good, this is not good, if it goes on like this…’

The giant corpse suddenly bellowed.

“Roar…”

Hearing this shout, the demonic slave corpse that had been lingering at the edge of the pit, afraid to enter, suddenly leaped towards the abandoned house a little further away.

A distance of thirty zhang was practically within reach for this monstrous demonic corpse, but this time its speed slowed down significantly, as if it were running aimlessly.

“Awooo-rooooar…”

As it ran, the strange corpse let out a roar that had Huang Zhixian and the others trembling.

This tactic of diversion1 was just a gamble for the giant corpse. The lives of a few mortals was naturally insignificant for it, but at this time it simply hoped to distract the Golden-Armored Warrior for just a moment.

At that moment, the Golden-Armored Warrior suddenly rose, stomping hard on the giant corpse to gain leverage. With a roar, he slammed sideways into the wall of the pit.

Bang… bang… bang…

Like a massive beast, he leaped out in merely six steps, his entire body trailing endless gusts of wind as he pursued the demonic corpses.

With those six steps, the Golden-Armored Warrior went from extreme movement to extreme stillness. His body had already gotten close behind the demonic corpse. He paused, leaning forward, and as he ran, he stretched out his arms and swung his hands.

“Whoosh…”

“Whoosh…”

The crimson palms swung out, leaving the demonic corpse no time to dodge, not to mention that the giant corpse’s control prevented it from changing direction.

With a whistling sound, the red palms of the Golden Armored Warrior clasped together, slamming down hard on either side of the demonic corpse’s head.

“Bang…”

“Pfft…”

The head of the demonic corpse, which was so hard that ordinary mortal warriors could hardly cut through it with their swords, shattered like a ball of fried dough in the Golden-Armored Warrior’s hands.

“Whoosh…”

“Crack, crack, crackle…”

The wind howled and the door of the abandoned house swayed violently. The remaining fire inside was instantly extinguished under the pressure of the wind generated by the Golden-Armored Warrior’s strike.

Huang Zhixian, Han Ming, and everyone inside was blown to the ground by the strong wind. They shielded their faces with their hands, the force of the wind tearing into them, making it impossible to breathe or even open their eyes.

After two breaths, the suffocating wind subsided. At that moment, the people inside, who had previously been unable to see clearly, realized that a dark figure stood outside the door, less than ten zhang away from the abandoned house. However, sitting atop the neck was not the terrifying visage they had envisioned, but a pair of giant hands.

The Golden-Armored Warrior stood behind the demonic corpse.

“Thud…”

The demonic corpse fell to the ground in front of the entrance to the abandoned house, a faint layer of yellow dust glimmering from its neck. It was clear that the Golden-Armored Warrior’s attack used not just ordinary force, but also other mysterious power.

Even a creature as unnatural as a demonic corpse could not survive such a headshot.

The Golden-Armored Warrior glanced at the corpse on the ground, then turned around and stood still again, arms hanging at his sides. His yellow fabric fluttered in front and behind him, as if he hadn’t moved at all.

In the big pit thirty zhang away, the giant corpse had already fled underground the moment the Golden-Armored Warrior moved away.

It couldn’t remember how long it had been since he had felt the emotion of fear, but now instinct drove it to flee. It didn’t even consider attacking the Golden-Armored Warrior while his back was turned.

If it were to be trapped by this opponent again, it probably wouldn’t be settled with just a few punches.

The giant corpse seemed to know that it had successfully escaped. The Golden-Armored Warrior didn’t turn around. Instead, he stood at the door of the abandoned house, eyes fixed in the direction of the huge pit, his eyes full of seeming “contempt.”

Inside the abandoned house, everyone waited for a while as they recovered from their daze and racing hearts.

“Haah…haah…haah…Are… are we still alive?”

“Gah…They probably… they probably aren’t dead yet…”

“Our horses, how are the horses?”2

“Oh, forget the horses, our lives are more important!”

“The fire is out!”

“Light it up, hurry, there are still some sparks, we can stoke it back up!”

The voices in the house were tense and anxious, and the noises they made were chaotic. Soon, the fire inside was rekindled, and the light in the room slowly returned.

Despite knowing that their safety depended on the golden-armored divine being outside, the fire and light still brought a sense of security and warmth to the group. After all, the previous strong wind had robbed them of too much body heat, leaving many of them shivering.

It wasn’t until a while later, when their bodies had warmed up, that Huang Zhixian and the other warriors regained their composure. They returned to the closed door and peered out through the holes in the torn window paper.

Boom…Boom…

Several streaks of lightning flashed across the sky, repeatedly illuminating the ground.

Only now did Huang Zhixian and his companions notice a massive crater, slightly to the west outside the door.

Even though the sight was partially blocked by the body of the golden-armored divine being, they could tell that this pit was enormous. Its depth was unfathomable, and the darkness inside it was terrifying.

Ordinary people like Han Ming were still stunned and confused, but Huang Zhixian and other warriors thought back to the intense shaking of the ground and had already begun to imagine the size of the crater. They feared that this might be the remains of the golden-armored divine being’s earlier battle with the monster.

“Excuse me, General, might I ask if you have subdued that evil spirit?”

Huang Zhixian tentatively asked. However, the Golden-Armored Warrior outside remained unresponsive, his back to the abandoned house, not even bothering to turn his head to look.

A few people looked at the headless corpse in front of the door. Although its head was gone, just seeing the sharp, long fingernails on those hands was terrifying enough.

About a hundred zhang underground, a giant corpse, easing the pain all over its body, remained focused still on the golden armored general far above on the surface.

The giant corpse had not experienced this kind of pain for a long, long time. It had been so long that it had almost forgotten it. It should not be capable of feeling pain, even if its limbs were severed, and yet that golden-armored general’s attack burned it into searing pain. This proved that the general was not merely using immense strength, but was also employing some mysterious technique, which was very likely able to kill the corpse.

But the golden-armored general didn’t seem to care about the corpse at all. This was undoubtedly a profound humiliation, leaving the giant corpse fuming with rage and helplessness underground.

It clearly understood that it was no match for the golden-armored giant, but its intense resentment made it unwilling to retreat. It would at least ensure that all those mortals perished.

Suddenly, a panicked cry echoed from the distant sky.

“Ah… aaah… aaaah…”

The screams grew louder and closer. These shouts came from Ba Zi, currently being held in Ji Yuan’s arms as they soared through the air, the flight stirring up a mix of fear and excitement. He couldn’t help but shout to vent his intense emotions.

Ji Yuan was a little speechless. The sole survivor of the Southern Great Stronghold wasn’t particularly courageous, but he possessed a great deal of curiosity. He had told the bandit to close his eyes if he was scared, but the latter still couldn’t help but open them mid-flight. Seeing himself moving through the sky, he flailed in fear.

Fortunately, Ba Zi had showed Ji Yuan the path on the way there; otherwise, with Ba Zi in this state, he wouldn’t have been able to find his way from the sky.

As they arrived at the deserted village and prepared to land, Ji Yuan naturally spotted the large crater, and even saw that the Golden-Armored Warrior had been summoned. He understood that they had encountered trouble here, too.

“Aaaah… aaaaaah…”

“Shut up.”

Ji Yuan’s indifferent words seemed to be more intimidating than his terror at their method of travel. Ba Zi immediately covered his mouth tightly.

A moment later, Ji Yuan and Ba Zi landed lightly in front of the abandoned house. By then, everyone inside had gathered at the door. Huang Zhixian hurriedly opened it.

“Mr. Ji! You are back!”

“Mr. Ji, are you alright?”

“Mr. Ji is back!”

“Great, great, sir is back!”

“Sir, please come in quickly!”

The people inside seemed extremely enthusiastic. Ji Yuan’s return gave everyone a strong sense of security, and a weight in their hearts finally settled.

Ji Yuan nodded, glancing at the headless corpse at his feet. He loosened his hold on Ba Zi’s collar and pushed him through the door.

Even before Ji Yuan had landed, the Golden-Armored Warrior had fixed his eyes on him. As he touched down, the warrior turned around.

This time, he didn’t look at Huang Zhixian or the paper crane hiding in the rafters, and bowed directly to Ji Yuan.

“Your Honor!”

“Not bad, better than I thought.”

Ji Yuan nodded at him, praising him with a smile on his face, but the Warrior naturally did not respond.

“Sir, it’s windy and rainy outside, please come in quickly.”

Ji Yuan waved his hand, gaze sweeping over the darkness outside.

“No rush.”

As he spoke, Ji Yuan walked a few steps to the well outside the house, following the stench of the corpses, and looked somewhere outside the village, with his eyes wide open. A cloud of foul black gas faintly appeared in that direction.

The giant corpse underground tried its best to hide its presence, but it could not hide the panic in its heart.

It wasn’t until Ji Yuan came back, no longer blinded by indignance, that he remembered that the Golden-Armored Warrior had spoken and called him “Your Honor.”

1. The exact phrase is “attacking Wei to save Zhao.” The idiom comes from the Warring States period in the Battle of Guiling, as recorded in Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian, wherein a general laid out the plan to free the capital of Zhao from a siege by the Wei kingdom by attacking the Wei kingdom capital. Now the idiom has become synonymous with “diversionary tactics.”

2. T/n: LOL one guy has some clear priorities there.