Star Gate

Chapter 230: Three’s Company (II)

That supernatural had plainly wished to utilize distraction from the fighting to explore the surroundings. He had to look for cover when he ran into more soldiers and encountered danger as soon as he entered a house.

He’s dead!

Li Hao and his comrades poked their heads out, looking at the houses on the two sides of the street beyond the alley. The city appeared particularly sinister at the moment. The teahouse’s banner still fluttered in the air, but none of the trio had the desire to investigate the premises.

BOOM!

Another explosion sounded from the street over. The disturbance was much greater than before; a powerhouse must be on the scene. Multiple Solars were in attendance this time. As strong as Black Armors were, they were only of the Darkmoon level. They weren’t able to bring their previous level of domination to bear. The soldiers were slated for death and destruction—there was no alternative as the gap between them and Solars was too great.

Explosions echoed repeatedly and even roared commands could be heard. “These black-armored men are strongest because of their equipment. Their strength comes from the ground, so earth types shall put down a layer of rock on the ground to cut off their source of strength!”

Li Hao didn’t know how the other side was fighting, but he sucked in a faint breath when he heard the instructions. Who was this? They were really something!

It wasn’t until now that he understood why Black Armors never left the ground. He knew that there was something special about the city’s ground, but who would’ve thought that this mysterious powerhouse would identify the key detail in the blink of an eye?

Black Armors drew their strength from below!

So did this mean that the ground provided a bottomless source of energy for these soldiers, enabling them to be undying and constantly battle ready?

“Black Armors...” Liu Long thought rapidly. “Does this mean we can take out these soldiers as long as they’re not allowed to touch the ground?”

“This may not be a good development.” Li Hao frowned. “Those guys will come across us soon after they eliminate the soldiers!”

He didn’t know why he and his comrades were in front of all of the explorers, but the Night Watchers were assigned to the middle of the pack. According to the entrance order, it was very likely the Sword Sect or Yama fighting in front of them. He couldn’t draw definitive conclusions when it came to the Sword Sect’s attitude, but Yama... Li Hao at least knew that he and Yama wouldn’t mix together.

“Let’s go take a look!” The young man decided to observe from close quarters. It might’ve been a Yama powerhouse calling out earlier—it didn’t sound like the Revolution King’s voice. It might be the other Solar within their delegation. He hadn’t spoken during the assembly outside, but it looked like he possessed a keen eye.

......

A pitched battle was underway when Li Hao, Liu Long, and Liu Yan surreptitiously made their way over. It was both Yama and Sword Sect delegations. Li Hao observed two Solars among the Sword Sect. There was a female apart from Hong Yitang—possibly his wife, bed partner, or disciple.

Who cared? Li Hao didn’t.

The two organizations were temporary allies for the being, pitting four Solars against Black Armors. There was also a peak Solar in the form of the Revolution King to consider. The other three Solars didn’t make a move. No... Yama’s metal supernatural was on the field. He was fighting the Bronze Armor that Liu Long had spoken of. The other Solars were more observing the battlefield.

Numerous Black Amors had fallen to the ground and a few were suppressed by earth supernaturals! Li Hao saw Li Dahu, self-styled Hu Po, confine a Black Armor with a single punch. It was like he’d brought Mount Tai down on his opponent, sealing the soldier away within a mountain of dirt.

The soldier struggled at first, but its movement gradually weakened until it stilled.

Li Hao’s eyes widened with surprise. The large organizations were different, alright! The small organizations possessed a fair sum of Sunflares, but they were completely helpless in front of the soldiers. There weren’t that many powerhouses in action at this moment, but they quickly broke through the combined battle array of one hundred Black Armors.

Soldier after soldier was restricted. They were either sealed away or isolated from the ground. When cut off from their energy source, their strength began to gradually weaken.

There were approximately eighty people present from the two large organizations and of smaller organizations that’d fled earlier. Black Armors did not hold an overwhelming numbers advantage. On the other hand, with Solars anchoring the clash for the expedition, the battle was entirely one-sided.

The Darkmoon Black Armors were gradually weakened to the point in which they couldn’t lift their heads. Only a dozen Black Amors and that Bronze Armor was still fighting after the blink of an eye.

The Sword Sect, Yama, and others had lost only a dozen people. That was a far more superior feat to the earlier group of would-be explorers.

Li Hao and his companions didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly. Thank goodness they were all martial masters. Otherwise, they wouldn’t dare sneak in peeks at such a close distance.

So strong!

They were finally witnessing the might of the great organizations. The metal Solar brought overwhelming strength to bear against Bronze Armor. Although bronze clad soldiers were just Sunflare, their defenses were invincible when equipped with the armor. It swiftly shattered confinement from earth supernaturals; it would take more than that to seal it.

“It’s just mid Sunflare.” The Revolution King frowned from the back. “But the blade and sword can’t seem to hurt it. A Solar can’t break through it... which makes this set of armor a first rank supernatural treasure!”

This trip would be well worth it if they could seize these suits of armor. Instead of emerging with an overall loss, they would have benefited handsomely instead. The nearly one hundred sets of black armor were also far from ordinary. They could be used to raise a supreme company of troops, and they also seemed to be more suited for martial masters!

Martial masters lacked supernatural ripples and the armor seemed to be able to conceal one’s presence. Martial masters also possessed immense physique, so if they were equipped with the black armor...

The Revolution King’s mind churned rapidly through various possibilities.

Thanks to Yuan Shuo, martial masters were showing signs of an upswing these days. The various organizations had never forsaken nurturing martial masters, primarily due to a desire to train reserve troops for supernaturals.

But what if martial masters could be equipped with these suits of armor? This equipment contained high defenses against supernaturals! So long as the martial master inside didn’t die, a Sunderer would be able to withstand a Sunflare.

The Revolution King reached out for a Black Armor as he mused, demonstrating the power of a peak Solar. The soldier struggled in his grasp for a bit, slowly ceasing to move. The man closely observed his quarry, frowning slightly.

“Is that... not a person inside?”

It didn’t seem to be!

He wasn’t sure what the specifics were—it wasn’t optimal timing to access the inside of the armor. He could force it open if he wished to. A soldier on par with a Darkmoon could not withstand his attacks.

At the same time, this was treasure. Why damage it? Weren’t they conducting this exploration for treasure?

The soldiers began sagging upon losing their connection with the ground. They didn’t hold themselves with the same support as before.

“Revolution King, let’s open one up,” said Hong Yitang. “Let’s see the internal structure of these things and what makes it possible for them to exist for so long!”

The Revolution King thought for a moment, then nodded. A blade of wind appeared in his hand. Powered by a peak Solar, the blade easily sliced open armor that Darkmoons and Sunflares were unable to damage.

Everyone, including Li Hao and his companions, fixed their stares at what was inside. Although the trio couldn’t see the scene too clearly, they were also very curious what could be found within.

“Hmm?” A startled exclamation came from the battle site.

“A skeleton?” Hong Yitang was likewise stunned.

Li Hao and the others’ hearts skipped a beat when they heard this. A skeleton? So there really were people inside?

“They’re really... soldiers!” exclaimed the Revolution King. “But they’re dead soldiers. So this city used to employ these suits of armor and martial masters as soldiers?”

That was incredible!

Someone really had been inside the armor, but they were a decayed skeleton. The bones crumbled away the moment the armor was opened and blew away as dust, instantly gone! The skeleton had been preserved in the first place due to the armor creating a perfect seal. Thus, it spontaneously disintegrated when the armor was opened.

The Revolution King turned his attention to the armor and flicked a glance at Hong Yitang. Being quick on the uptake, the latter quickly said, “If Yama desires these items, they naturally belong to you. But if there are more treasures later, the Sword Sect is a major organization as well. We cannot leave empty-handed. What say you, Revolution King?”

He knew that the Yama leader had his eyes on the armor. Although the soldiers lost their endless source of energy once isolated from the unique terrain, just the armor’s structure and durability alone made it exceedingly valuable treasure. If they could be copied and used to forge a martial master army... the results were unimaginable.

“Very well, my thanks to Swordmaster Hong!” The Revolution King smiled. Although he didn’t want to give any treasures to his counterpart, that was another Solar he spoke to. Hong Yitang had numerous Sunflares under his command and with the danger of the ancient city right in front of them, it wouldn’t do to erupt in open hostility.

Hou Xiaochen was right. They weren’t of a mind to kill each other after witnessing these dangers for themselves. Just one group of a hundred soldiers had caused them significant casualties. The two great organizations had lost roughly a dozen men and the independent supernaturals roughly two dozen. That made for more than thirty supernaturals dead, and only two hundred were present on this expedition.

They’d lost one-sixth of their strength just by scratching the surface of these ruins! Although most of the dead were Darkmoons and a few Sunflares, they were all elites in the outside world! Silver Moon’s premier strength on display in this expedition.

It was best that Hong Yitang recognized the situation that he was in.

“Yao Cheng, take care of that Bronze Armor as quickly as possible!”

Yao Cheng was the other Yama Solar. He quickly answered, “Milord, I just can’t bear to damage this armor!”

The Bronze Armors were even stronger! It wasn’t that he couldn’t subdue his opponent, but that he didn’t want to bring force to bear. As a metal supernatural, he was most adept at attack. He could bring down a mid Sunflare soldier, but what if he damaged the armor beyond repair in a furious rally?