Chapter 292: Approachers Die

Despite the Golden-Armored Warrior's immense power being directed forward, and the ground cracks not extending backward, the tremor from his powerful punch still made the house behind him shake.

As the ground stopped trembling, dust continued to fall from the roof and beams inside the house.

If the people inside the house had looked incredulous when the Golden-Armored Divine Being first appeared, they were now utterly stunned.

A martial artist standing by the door pointed at the ground outside, illuminated by the firelight, and stammered foolishly.

"The, the ground..."

"Gulp... it's cracked open..."

Huang Zhixian swallowed hard, completing the other person's unfinished thought.

"Everyone, don't go outside yet!"

Due to poor visibility, the people inside the house couldn't see the monster that the Golden-Armored Warrior had punched out of the ground a short distance away. Yet, quick-thinking individuals like Huang Zhixian had already realized something: the Golden-Armored Warrior was clearly attacking something.

After delivering the punch, the Golden-Armored Warrior slowly straightened, his feet slightly apart, and his hands hanging at his sides. The yellow sashes on his body swayed in the wind.

"Clink, clink, clink, clink..."

Raindrops outside struck the Golden-Armored Warrior's armor, producing faint metallic sounds.

"Rumble..."

Just then, thunder rumbled, and lightning illuminated the ground, allowing the people outside, whose attention was already fixed, to glimpse the distant scene.

About twenty to thirty *zhang* in front of the house, three figures stood on the open ground. One of them, even from that distance, appeared exceptionally brawny, perhaps even comparable to the Golden-Armored Divine Being.

What was even stranger was that under the brief flash of lightning, the odd figures seemed to emanate a strange black smoke, almost like an illusion.

Merely seeing them caused an inexplicable dread in everyone, martial artists and commoners alike. Their hearts pounded, and goosebumps rose on their skin, as if they were being targeted by something extremely sinister.

However, Huang Zhixian and the others had actually missed something: not far in front of the three "monsters," another one lay on the ground. Its skin was completely ruptured, with deep fissures crisscrossing inside, resembling torn rags, and its body was still twitching ceaselessly.

This wretched-looking evil corpse was the very one that had been struck by the Golden-Armored Warrior's earth-shattering punch and forced out of the ground as it attempted to burrow its way toward the mansion.

"Those over there... are they human?"

"Eight, eighty percent probably not..."

"It's alright, we have this Golden-Armored Divine Being protecting us..."

"That's right..." "We have the Golden-Armored Divine Being!"

Although the figures outside appeared exceptionally sinister and unsettling, the Golden-Armored Warrior standing before the house gave everyone a profound sense of security.

Huang Zhixian seemed to recall something suddenly and looked around, but the paper bird from earlier was nowhere to be found.

Having heard the Golden-Armored Divine Being refer to the paper bird as "Venerable Lord," he surmised that the paper bird must be of considerable importance. Unfortunately, it had vanished again.

At this moment, the paper crane had retreated to the end of a beam inside the house, where it hung upside down, observing the scene outside. It noted the fear and excitement in everyone's eyes amidst the chaos.

Twenty to thirty *zhang* outside the house, the standing evil corpses were all focused on the Golden-Armored Warrior. This figure, still emanating faint divine light in the darkness like a fierce general, was simply too conspicuous.

"How did you conceal yourself just now? Why did I not sense your presence?"

A hoarse, chilling voice drifted from afar, belonging to the much more massive "monster" in the center.

Everyone inside the house heard this clearly, but they all knew it was directed at the Golden-Armored Warrior.

Yet, the Golden-Armored Warrior remained utterly aloof, standing there in silence.

"Are you a god or a demon? Why is your aura so peculiar? Why do you possess neither the qi of fire nor the qi of a divine soul?"

The Golden-Armored Warrior remained silent, standing before the mansion as the rain poured over him.

"You have no karmic ties of incense and vows with them. Why do you protect these mortals?"

When this third question came, the Golden-Armored Warrior, who was expected to remain aloof, actually spoke.

His voice was deep and resonant, yet exceptionally clear and deafening.

"By the command of the Venerable Lord: evil spirits and malevolent beings who approach shall die."

Silence fell for a brief moment outside. Then, after about four or five breaths, the voice spoke again.

"Who is this Venerable Lord you speak of?"

The Golden-Armored Warrior returned to his aloof state, acting as if he hadn't heard a thing.

Meanwhile, Huang Zhixian and the others inside the house instinctively looked around for the paper bird, but they couldn't find it anywhere.

In the darkness, the hulking giant corpse watched the Golden-Armored Warrior in front of the nearby house, exhaling a puff of grey, decaying air from its nostrils.

"Hiss..."

Through its eyes, it could see into the house behind the Golden-Armored General, which was filled with mere mortals, all of them exuding terror.

It looked down at the slave-creature that the Golden-Armored General had punched out of the ground, then traced its body to the ground crack. This fissure extended all the way to the General's feet, a testament to the exaggerated power of that last strike.

Tonight, it had received a report from a slave-creature about a dozen martial artists brimming with vitality. After a long time, this had rekindled its desire to personally feed on blood. It had rushed over, knowing that other slave-creatures would handle the bandits, so nothing would go to waste.

It should have been a joyful night of feasting, but the scene before it was completely unexpected.

Although the dozen or so martial artists were succulent, it wasn't absolutely necessary to consume them, especially given the unclear circumstances. However, the Golden-Armored General's apparent disdain ignited a furious rage within the giant corpse.

"Who exactly is this Venerable Lord you speak of? And who are you? State your name!"

The Golden-Armored Warrior remained standing before the mansion. This time, he slightly raised his head and looked forward, and his deep, bell-like voice resonated once more. However, instead of answering the giant corpse's question, he merely repeated his previous statement.

"By the command of the Venerable Lord: evil spirits and malevolent beings who approach shall die."

Although the night was dark, it had no effect on the giant corpse. To it, the Golden-Armored Warrior's stoic gaze was nothing short of blatant "disregard."

Though the giant corpse possessed intelligence, it was inherently perverse and had never been good-tempered, neither in life nor death. It had only patiently asked a few questions tonight due to the unusual circumstances, but now, being mocked in such a way, it could no longer restrain itself.

"Hehehehe... Since you seek death, then die! I will drain you dry first, then drain all the mortals you protect behind you! Roar----!"

"Boom!"

The ground beneath the giant corpse's feet suddenly shattered. As its body surged forward, it tore through the rain, creating a water-tunnel in its wake. Its tattered clothes were ripped to shreds, revealing bronzed skin that appeared covered in scales.

The oppressive feeling at this moment choked everyone inside the mansion, as if their hearts were being squeezed.

At that very moment, the Golden-Armored Warrior's gaze and reaction instantly transformed. He leaned forward, arms positioned like claws, and almost in the same instant he moved, the giant corpse appeared before him.

Time seemed to slow briefly, then the two colossal bodies collided. "Boom!"

The surrounding puddles exploded, sending water splashing in all directions, and the rain curtain scattered outwards. The strong winds from the impact blew open the doors of the mansion.

The people inside the house struggled to keep their eyes open, shielding their faces with their hands. The two piles of firewood flickered precariously like candles in the wind, and the one by the door was quickly extinguished.

A gully was plowed into the ground. Under the impact of the giant corpse, the Golden-Armored Warrior had been forced back to mere feet from the abandoned house's door. A mound of earth rose behind him, and one of his massive, golden-armored feet was planted firmly behind him, his body in a lunge.

"Creak, creak, creak, creak, creak..."

A sound like straining ropes in a brutal struggle echoed in front of the door. The Golden-Armored Warrior and the giant corpse had their hands clasped together, one bronzed and the other crimson.

In the depths of the giant corpse's eyes, a look of disbelief surfaced. This Golden-Armored General had actually blocked its unparalleled charge with sheer strength alone.

The giant corpse's original plan was to break directly through the Golden-Armored General, then collapse the house behind him and kill all the mortals, thereby mocking the General's laughable protection.

As horror surged within the giant corpse, the Warrior slowly raised his head. On his crimson face, his lifeless eyes conveyed nothing but "indifference" to the giant corpse.

"Creak, creak, creak, creak, creak..."

The Golden-Armored Warrior's right leg, which had been planted behind him in a lunge, lifted from the ground and stepped forward.

"Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!"

He continued to push the giant corpse backward, accelerating rapidly until he had driven it thirty *zhang* away from the abandoned house.

The two monstrous corpses on the sides became blurs as they lunged at the Warrior, clawing and biting at the Golden-Armored Warrior with their sharp claws and teeth, producing "clink, clink, clink... tear, tear..." sounds.

But the Golden-Armored Warrior seemed utterly unconcerned, his attention solely on the giant corpse. With a crimson face and bared teeth, his voice echoed once more.

"By the command of the Venerable Lord: evil spirits and malevolent beings who approach shall die."

The two yellow sashes in front of him seemed to transform into spiritual snakes, swishing and twirling as they coiled around the giant corpse's arms and waist.

The very next instant the giant corpse realized something was amiss, the Golden-Armored Warrior suddenly released his grip, pivoted sideways, and locked his arms around the giant corpse's head.

The next moment, the giant corpse felt an intense, body-wrenching sensation of weightlessness. It was swung by the Golden-Armored Warrior, tearing through the air before being slammed to the ground.

"Thud!"

While the giant corpse's body-wide tremors and numbness had not yet faded and its mind was still reeling, the very next instant, a massive, golden-armored arm was raised, then violently struck downwards in front of it.

"Whoosh... CRACK!"

Where the giant corpse lay, the ground rapidly tore open in all directions, as if forming a vast net of fissures.

After completing his right-hand attack, the Golden-Armored Warrior, as if swatting a fly, swung his left arm and, with a "thud," struck away one of the evil corpses that had been biting his shoulder plate.

He glanced at the other evil corpse that had leaped away and then ignored it, instead raising his right arm once more, punching downwards.

"Whoosh... CRACK!"

With this strike, the ground was utterly shattered, collapsing directly into a large, bowl-shaped crater about four or five *zhang* in diameter.