148: Arminos descends

Amidst the rubble, Shen Xiaochuan pushed away the charred wood with effort and crawled out.

His body was covered in blood, and the left side of his work clothes was badly torn.

He knelt on one knee, using his blade to support himself, refusing to fall.

His chest hurt intensely, and there was a metallic taste of blood in his mouth with every breath.

He looked up and saw the demon standing atop the half-collapsed clock tower.

The demon stepped on a broken beam, looked down at him, and sneered, "Still not dead?"

Shen Xiaochuan didn't speak. He gripped his blade with both hands, his body swaying, but he stood straight nonetheless. His eyes were filled with stubbornness.

"That punch just now..." He caught his breath and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, "...was nothing special."

The demon narrowed his eyes, suddenly leaped down, and charged at him.

The wind was strong, whipping against his face painfully. Shen Xiaochuan raised his blade to block; with a metallic clang, sparks flew everywhere.

The webbing between his thumb and index finger split open, and blood trickled down the blade. The demon grabbed the blade with one hand, tightened his grip, and the metal emitted a piercing screech.

"You call this piece of scrap metal a weapon?" The demon laughed, applied force with his left hand, and with a snap, the blade broke!

Half of the blade flew off and embedded itself into a distant wall, still vibrating.

Shen Xiaochuan was knocked back several steps, nearly falling to his knees. He looked at his empty right hand, then at the broken blade on the ground, and smiled, "Alright, you've got me there."

"Now, it's my turn." The demon raised his foot to stomp on his head.

Shen Xiaochuan couldn't dodge. In that split second, he raised his hand to protect his head, and the faith points within his body reached the critical threshold—

Hum!

A silver-blue light exploded from behind him, rapidly covering his entire body. A piece of tattered armor appeared on him.

There were cracks on the shoulder pauldrons, and a lightning pattern in the center of the breastplate. Small stones on the ground floated up, forming a shockwave.

"Bang!" The demon missed his stomp, pushed back two steps by the blast of energy.

"What is this?!" he roared.

Shen Xiaochuan stood still, lightning flickering on the armor. He looked down at his hands, feeling a familiar energy. "Remnant Armor of the Thunder Emperor... that item in the mall that couldn't be bought but had to be activated, it finally worked?"

He had no time to ponder; his body had already moved.

He took a step, and the ground exploded. He shot forward like a cannonball, raising his right hand as a mass of lightning gathered in his palm. A streak of blue light cut through the air.

"Thunderous Overlord Slash—!"

Boom!!!

The lightning struck the demon's right shoulder, shattering his armor and spraying black blood. His entire arm was nearly severed, bone exposed and charred black.

The demon screamed, retreated a few steps, and knelt on one knee. He looked down at the wound; his body began to recover, muscles moving and bones regrowing, but the speed had slowed down.

"You... actually managed to injure me?" He looked up, his eyes no longer filled with contempt, but with genuine rage.

Shen Xiaochuan did not pursue. The Remnant Armor of the Thunder Emperor was still active, but the energy was unstable. He knew this armor wouldn't last long.

Every second added one faith point, slowly replenishing the consumption. He had been fighting for over two hours, used up all his potions, and there wasn't much nerve enhancer left either.

He panted, staring at the demon's healing shoulder, calculating in his mind: ten more minutes of fighting, and the armor would deactivate. By then, he wouldn't even be able to stand.

The demon stood up, his right arm having recovered by seventy percent. He shook his hand and sneered, "Not bad. You are the first human to make me bleed. Pity... you only had one chance."

As soon as he finished speaking, he lunged forward, his speed so fast he left a trail of shadows.

Shen Xiaochuan raised his hand to block; a lightning shield lit up. Clang! He took the punch head-on. The impact made him slide back five meters, his feet carving two trenches into the ground.

The second punch struck his left shoulder. Crack! Bone shattered. He let out a muffled groan, his knees buckling, nearly collapsing.

The third punch smashed into his chest, the shield shattered, and he was sent flying, crashing through a wall.

Dust rose. He lay on the ground, his mouth full of blood. The light of the Remnant Armor of the Thunder Emperor was growing dimmer, like a lamp running out of power.

"It's over." The demon walked over, raised his foot, and prepared to stomp down.

Shen Xiaochuan struggled to lift his head, his vision blurred. He tried to open the Faith Mall, but as soon as his fingers moved, he found the interface filled with gray icons—everything was on cooldown, and there was no energy.

"Damn it..." He cursed in a low voice, slowly sitting up against the wall with his back pressed to the broken partition. His blade had long since flown off somewhere.

The demon stood before him, his shadow covering him. "You are strong. Stronger than many gods. But you are only one person."

Shen Xiaochuan grinned, blood showing between his teeth, "You're right... I am only one person."

His eyes were resolute as he said loudly, "I can't do it alone, but I have faith, and I have my companions behind me; this power will not dissipate."

He raised his hand and pointed into the distance, "But they are not."

The demon paused, taken aback, and turned around.

In the distance, dust billowed, and the ground shook. The sound of footsteps drew closer, as if many people were marching together. Sunlight shone over, reflecting a sea of golden light.

An army of fifty thousand marched forward, armor uniform, spears standing like a forest. The person at the very front rode a black horse, charging out of the ranks, holding a halberd, his cloak fluttering.

He reached the edge of the battlefield and reined in his horse. A hat covered his face, revealing only his mouth, and his voice was low: "Cloud Sea City, Aminos leads his troops to reinforce."

Upon finishing, the army behind him shouted in unison: "Kill—!"

The sound was so loud that even the air trembled.

The demon's expression changed. He turned to look at that army, and his healing right arm twitched involuntarily.

"Six-Ren Demon Suppression Formation, form up!" Aminos waved his hand.

Fifty thousand soldiers moved in unison, slamming their spears into the ground. Their armor glowed, and huge runes appeared on the ground. Six chains rose from the formation, lunging toward the demon.

"Death wish!" the demon roared, punching at the chains. Boom! One broke, but the remaining five entangled his limbs and waist, binding him tightly.

"Break for me!" He struggled desperately, muscles bulging and black blood splattering, but the light of the runes did not weaken; instead, they tightened further.

Aminos sat on his horse, not looking at him, but gazing toward the west.

Shen Xiaochuan leaned against the broken wall, the light of the Remnant Armor of the Thunder Emperor reduced to a thin shadow. He looked up at the person on horseback, said nothing, and slowly raised his right hand, clenching it into a fist.

Aminos nodded slightly, then turned his horse around and returned to the center of the formation.

"Front row, shields up! Center, prepare arrows! Rear, block the path!" he ordered.

The soldiers moved immediately, their actions uniform. Energy arrows gathered in the air, dense and numerous, aimed at the trapped demon.

The demon looked up at the rain of arrows filling the sky and suddenly laughed, "You think this can kill me? I am a perfect being! Immortal and indestructible!"

"I don't need to kill you," Aminos said coldly, "I only need to... hold you back."

He raised his hand and slashed it down fiercely: "Fire!"

In an instant, the rain of arrows fell.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Explosions occurred one after another, firelight swallowing the center of the battlefield. Smoke and dust shot into the sky, the ground cracked, the rune formation glowed brighter, and the six chains tightened around the demon.

He roared in the fire, his body exploding and regenerating time and time again. But he could not break free, nor could he get close to anyone.

Shen Xiaochuan leaned against the wall, watching the battle, finally letting out a sigh of relief. He looked down at his hand; it was trembling violently. His ribs hurt like they were being cut by knives, and his breathing was becoming shallower.

But he didn't close his eyes, nor did he fall.

He kept his gaze fixed on the center of the battlefield; even though his eyelids were heavy and his consciousness began to blur, he kept them open.

The last bit of light from the Remnant Armor of the Thunder Emperor extinguished. His body slid downward, back against the wall, his left hand supporting him on the ground, barely managing to sit upright.

In the distance, Aminos stood on a high platform, gripping his halberd, his gaze sharp. He did not look at Shen Xiaochuan, nor did he order the troops to withdraw.

The battle continued.

Arrows came wave after wave, and the chains tightened further. The demon's roars became hoarse, and his movements slowed.

Shen Xiaochuan stared at the firelight, his lips moving, his voice very small: "...It's not over yet."

He raised his right hand, his fingers trembling, wanting to touch the Faith Mall.

The page lit up for a moment, showing 472 faith points remaining.

Not enough to exchange for potions, not enough to restart the armor, not even enough to buy a single acceleration talisman.

But he didn't close it.

He just kept looking, as if waiting for something.

The wind blew across the battlefield, lifting his charred clothes. The firelight in the distance reflected in his eyes, flickering, then flickering again.

The army of fifty thousand was still in formation, their arrows not lowered.

Aminos stood on the high platform, his cloak fluttering, his figure as unyielding as iron.

The demon struggled in the fire; the chains did not break.

Shen Xiaochuan leaned against the wall, unmoving.

The battle, it had not yet ended.