Chapter 1181: Black Armor

Tonight the light was dim, so dim that even the bat's echolocation waves couldn't distinguish between swaying tree shadows and something genuinely moving in the gloom. Just as the bat was about to fly down to investigate, He Lingchuan spoke: "Don't go down!"

The closer they got to Mount Keshan, the hotter the God Bone necklace became. By the time he spotted the shadows below, the necklace was almost burning a hole through his neck.

The last time the God Bone necklace reacted so intensely was in front of the Star-Plucking Tower steps in the Heavenly Palace! Back then, the tower enshrined its lid. Now, what was hidden in the shadows of Mount Keshan?

Suddenly, He Lingchuan pulled an object from his pocket. After a brief adjustment, a dazzling beam of light shot down, sharply illuminating the shadows in the ruins! This was the Shadow-Piercing Lamp he had acquired from the Heavenly Palace Ruins' grand formation. It was powerful enough to shatter the spirits of the Star-Plucking Tower's eternal lamps, making it perfectly suited for use as a flashlight now.

With a flash, the shadow revealed its true form. Both sides were caught off guard. Dong Rui, watching the live broadcast through his Eyeball Spider, instinctively cursed: "Damn it!"

The thing was a person! More precisely, it was a person in black armor! Blinded by the sudden bright light, the figure raised a hand to shield its face. He Lingchuan couldn't make out its features, but a faint red glow emanated from between its fingers. Furthermore, black smoke lingered around the black armor, but under the Shadow-Piercing Lamp's beam, it dispersed in wisps, revealing the fish-scale-like plates beneath.

The battle armor was somewhat antique in style, yet each plate was polished to a dark, gleaming sheen. The varying shades of black gave it a faint resemblance to a python's scales. The black-armored figure also seemed to be staring intently at the bat and suddenly raised a hand.

He Lingchuan was quick-witted. The moment the light hit the figure, he realized they were flying too low. He immediately pulled the bat into a sideways roll. Sure enough, two streaks of dark light flashed below, narrowly missing the bat's wing membranes. Though they missed, they circled back, charging at the bat again. More accurately, they were heading straight for He Lingchuan on the bat's back. Without any clear reason, he just knew he was the target. This black-armored figure meant no good.

With a flick of his wrist, he fired two sleeve darts, striking down the two dark streaks just before they could reach the bat. They were two spiked darts. The next moment, He Lingchuan grabbed the sharp horn on his mount's head and pulled upwards. The bat demon-puppet flapped its great wings, ascending sharply like a spring onion pulled from dry ground.

Then, a shadow swept past them from below, only five zhang away. It was the black-armored warrior! After firing the darts, it had scrambled up a tree, moving faster and more agilely than an ape. While the bat was still dealing with the darts, the warrior had already climbed to the treetop, then used that leverage for a high leap, pouncing towards the bat! The bat was more than twenty zhang off the ground; it would be difficult for any wingless creature to reach it. This thing leaped effortlessly, its battle armor seeming to weigh nothing, easily clearing another ten zhang from the treetop. It barely seemed human.

This series of movements was fluid and dazzling, made even harder to track by the dim ground light. If He Lingchuan hadn't reacted so quickly, it would have already landed on the bat's back and engaged him in close combat. Not far away, Dong Rui watched, breaking out in a cold sweat. It was a good thing He Lingchuan was handling it; close-quarters combat was definitely not his strong suit.

However, just as the black-armored warrior began to descend, something shot out from behind it, directly piercing the bat's wing! It was a chain with a barbed hook at its tip, now embedded in the outer edge of the bat's wing. The black-armored figure was surprisingly heavy, causing the bat demon-puppet to sink two zhang downwards. The bat demon-puppet cried out in pain, lowered its head, and immediately sprayed a mouthful of acid. The black-armored warrior had intended to climb the chain onto the bat's back, but seeing the acid, it could only raise its arm forward, as if conjuring an invisible shield to block the spray.

He Lingchuan patted the bat's horn, and his mount performed a great aerial somersault, flinging both the chain and the black-armored warrior high into the air. Having previously worked with the bat demon-puppet many times to infiltrate the Heavenly Palace Ruins, they shared a deep understanding. This upside-down maneuver created a strange moment where he and the demon-puppet were below, and the chain and black-armored warrior were above. The scene was both spectacular and bizarre.

Though the entire process lasted only two breaths, He Lingchuan clearly saw the black-armored warrior's unconcealed eagerness and longing in its eyes. As the chain became taut in the air, He Lingchuan swung out his Floating Life Blade. His aim was excellent, and the treasured blade never failed him. With a 'clang,' it sliced the chain in half! The black-armored warrior was immediately flung away.

After its somersault, the bat flapped its wings with a *bang*, soaring again with the wind. He Lingchuan immediately jumped onto its wing membrane and pulled out the chain's tip. The moment the black-armored warrior landed back on the ground, it looked up at the bat above. Seeing it was already twenty-four or five zhang off the ground and surrounded by no tall trees, it let out an unwilling roar: "Give it back to me!"

From this black-armored figure, He Lingchuan sensed blatant greed and malice. This thing was indeed after him. But what did "Give it back to me" mean? What did the black-armored figure want him to return?

Suddenly, the black-armored figure ripped two fish-scale plates from its shoulder and flung them skyward. Black smoke flashed, and the two plates transformed into two swarms of black bees, each the size of a fist, buzzing as they flew toward the bat. Before He Lingchuan could give instructions, the bat spat a mouthful of acid, obliterating seven or eight of the black bees. These creatures dispersed into black smoke with a *poof*, but after a few breaths, they re-formed and pursued them again as black bees.

At the same time, the black-armored figure below pressed its hands to the ground and recited an unknown incantation. He Lingchuan then saw the earth churn, and suddenly, a pair of hands emerged from the muddy pit beside the figure's feet! Then came a head, torso, legs... Even someone as well-traveled as He Lingchuan frowned. "What is this thing?"

It appeared to be a puppet, standing upright like a human, armored and armed. However, it wore only half a suit of armor, which was even rusty, and clutched a wooden hammer handle whose head was a single large stone. What's more, the missing half of its armor was completed with earth and rock, and a broken tile rested on the back of its head. One after another, puppets crawled out of the ground and stood behind the black-armored figure. Nearly all of them were damaged, half armored warrior, half earth and rock.

The Soul-Sensing Mirror in He Lingchuan's arms exclaimed, "Soul Infusion! This vile creature is trapping dead souls in damaged armor and using earth and rock to complete them, constructing an army! This method is brilliant, very insightful, indeed, very insightful!"

"Can elemental energy deal with them?" He Lingchuan asked.

"It can... perhaps?" The Soul-Sensing Mirror pondered, "But these puppets are covered in thick earth and rock, like turtle shells. Ordinary soldiers would find it difficult to harm the specters inside without hacking through them. Of course, using divine abilities might be more effective."

He Lingchuan considered this. "Let's save some energy. How about we use another's hand to kill them?"

With that, he pointed back the way they came. The bat understood, once again lowering its position and flying towards the edge of the forest. It actually had two pairs of wings, one front and one back. A hole pierced in its wing membrane didn't prevent flight; it just slowed it down slightly.