Strip me of my armor? I'll summon the Emperor in a flash!

Chapter 19 Wind Eagle vs. Dark Armor
The raindrops, like needles, pierced the deep darkness of the night.

Dongshan stepped onto the slippery road, each step feeling like walking on cotton, unsteady and powerless.

Fine beads of cold sweat trickled down his forehead, washed away by the icy rain, but the weariness that seeped from his very bones could not be washed away.

He looked up at the towering building in front of him, brightly lit, yet it inexplicably gave him a sense of oppression.

"call"

He was breathing heavily, and raised his hand to wipe his face, but he couldn't tell if it was rain or sweat.

Drop drop-

His thoughts were interrupted when his communicator suddenly rang.

"Hey, Meizhen, what's wrong?" He pressed the answer button, his voice sounding a little hurried.

"Dongshan, you're the only one missing. Everyone else is here. Why aren't you here yet?" Meizhen's voice came through the communicator, tinged with reproach.

"I'm on my way there, it'll probably take another twenty minutes." Dongshan looked up at the building not far away, his eyes flickering slightly.

He instinctively wrapped his leather jacket tighter, but it still couldn't block out the biting cold.

"Okay, I understand, hurry up." Before Meizhen could finish speaking, Dongshan suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head!
Bang!
The dull thud of a blunt object striking the ground was particularly clear in the rainy night.

Dongshan's vision suddenly went black, and his body fell forward uncontrollably.

"Snapped!"

The communicator fell to the ground, the screen shattered, but Meizhen's anxious voice still came through: "Dongshan? Dongshan! Can you hear me?"

No one responded.

Several dark figures darted out from the alleyway, moving with ghostly speed. They were dressed in black, their faces completely covered, revealing only pairs of cold eyes.

One of them bent down, picked up the communicator, and stomped on it without hesitation.

"Target captured, take him away!" the leader barked.

The other two immediately lifted the unconscious Dongshan and dragged him to a black van parked by the roadside. The door slid open silently, and Dongshan was roughly thrown inside.

"Hurry up! Don't leave a trace!"

The engine roared, tires churned through the puddles, splashing water everywhere. The black van sped away from the scene, disappearing into the rain.

-

ERP Research Institute

Meizhen stared at the communication signal on the screen, her expression suddenly changing.

"Dongshan's communications are down!" She jumped up, the chair scraping against the floor with a screeching sound.

Bei Miao frowned: "What's going on?"

"I don't know, but the last place the signal disappeared was at the alley entrance three kilometers east of the research institute!" Meizhen quickly pulled up the surveillance footage, but the cameras in that area had been jammed at some point, and the picture was just static.

"Something's not right." Xi Zhao's eyes darkened, and he immediately stood up. "I'll go check it out!"

"Wait!" Meizhen stopped him. "If Dongshan is really in trouble, the other side is likely prepared. It's too dangerous to go there rashly!"

Bei Miao snorted coldly: "What's there to be afraid of? I'd like to see who dares to mess with the ERP team!"

He grabbed the summoner from the table and strode toward the door.

However, at this moment——

boom!
The entire building suddenly shook violently! A piercing alarm blared throughout the corridors, and red warning lights flashed wildly!
"Warning! High energy response detected!" the cold, mechanical voice of the artificial intelligence announced. "The research institute's perimeter defense system is under attack! Repeat, the research institute's perimeter defense system is under attack!"

Meizhen's face turned deathly pale: "Oh no! Check the external surveillance footage!"

The screen switched, and the next second, everyone froze in place.

Inside the hamburger shop

Two figures stood there openly and honestly.

Meizhen and the others glanced at it; it was unfamiliar.

Never seen it before.

However, just as they stood there, Meizhen and the others sensed that something was wrong with the other party.

However, the next second

Meizhen, Beimiao, and Xizhao stared wide-eyed at what appeared on the surveillance footage in disbelief.

There were four dark shadows moving around in the surveillance footage.

"Shadow Protector!"

Xi Zhao, who came from the film industry, stared in disbelief at the scene before him and slowly uttered four words.

They were clearly recognized!

"Shadow Guardian?!"

Upon hearing Xi Zhao's words, Mei Zhen exclaimed in surprise.

Her voice rose involuntarily, but was quickly lowered again.

"How did they get here?"

This is their ERP research institute!
How could they possibly be here?!
Xin Nan and Kun Zhong were also surprised and couldn't believe it.

The people in the surveillance footage seemed to realize they were being watched, and they slightly raised their heads.

"Hello you all!"

One of the middle-aged men smiled and seemed quite approachable, but his smile sent a chill down the spines of both Meizhen and Xizhao!
Then the next second,
The surveillance footage suddenly went black.

"Damn it!" Mei Zhen was so angry that her face turned pale, and she slammed her hand on the table!

"Damn it, how did they get here?!"

"Xi Zhao, you didn't expose our location, did you?" Bei Miao narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing in them, his tone filled with murderous intent. "You used to be a member of the Shadow Realm!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the research institute turned to look at Xi Zhao.

His eyes were filled with doubt and skepticism.

Xi Zhao's face was extremely pale. He clenched his fists tightly and said through gritted teeth, "Impossible! I didn't do it!"

"Who else could it be if not you?"

"Among all of us, you're the only one who used to be in the film industry!"

"Just as I expected, a rotten orange is a rotten orange!" Bei Miao suddenly grabbed Xi Zhao by the collar and yanked him sharply. "I should have known! You joined us to find your place!"

"I didn't!" Xi Zhao roared angrily!

Meizhen frowned as she watched the two arguing.

"enough!"

"Now is not the time to argue, but to figure out how to get rid of them!"

"Instead of fighting amongst ourselves and waiting to die!" Meizhen shouted in a deep voice.

Bei Miao and Xi Zhao glared at each other and finally shut their mouths.

"There's no other way but to fight them to the death!"

Kunzhong clenched his fists, his eyes burning with fierce flames. "Go!"

"To protect the research institute, we absolutely cannot let them in!" Xin Nan also took out the Flame Dragon Armor Summoner, ready for battle at any moment!
After the monitoring screen flickered a few times, it went completely dark, and the air inside the research institute seemed to freeze.

Meizhen's fingers dug deeply into her palms, her nails leaving shallow scratches on the metal tabletop.

"System, activate the emergency defense protocol!" Her voice trembled slightly.

A cold, mechanical female voice responded: "Warning, the external energy barrier is 78% damaged. Countdown to complete failure: 3 minutes 42 seconds."

Bei Miao's hand was still gripping Xi Zhao's collar tightly, his knuckles turning white from the force.

Xi Zhao's breathing became heavy, and the veins on his neck bulged, but he still did not fight back.

Bei Miao abruptly released Xi Zhao, sneering, "You still believe him? Are you crazy?"

"Now is not the time to doubt our comrades!" Mei Zhen shouted sharply, her eyes reddening. "Xi Zhao is now a member of our armored squad! He's our comrade!"

The research institute suddenly shook violently, and dust fell from the ceiling. The alarms became more urgent, and the red warning lights flickered, illuminating everyone's faces.

"Walk!"

Xin Nan was the first to stand up and walk outside, preparing to stop those Shadow Protectors.

Kunzhong and Xizhao followed behind Xinnan.

As they passed each other, Xi Zhao heard Bei Miao's low voice: "I'll be watching you, traitor."

The moment the passage door closed, Xi Zhao's fist slammed hard against the metal inner wall, producing a dull echo.

“You shouldn’t have trusted me,” he said hoarsely to Xin Nan and the others. “Even I’m not sure myself.”

"Don't say that, I believe you!"

“We’re comrades now!” Xin Nan patted Xi Zhao on the shoulder and said firmly.
Suddenly, the passageway began to shake violently.

Xi Zhao and the others reacted extremely quickly, and at the same time, the summoning device had already slid into their hands.

"Snow Mastiff Armor—"

"Fire Dragon Armor!"

"Earth Tiger Armor!"

"Combined!"

……

Cold water droplets dripped down Dongshan's hair. He gradually regained consciousness, but the sharp pain in his head made him groan involuntarily.

He struggled to open his eyes, his vision still blurry. He could only see several figures looking down at him from above in the dim light.

"woke up?"

A hoarse voice rang out, as harsh as metal scraping against metal.

Dongshan suddenly looked up, his pupils contracting sharply—five men dressed in black and wearing masks were surrounding him, while he himself was bound to a metal chair by thick iron chains, unable to move.

what happened?

Memories flooded back—he was clearly on his way to the ERP Research Institute, talking to Mi-jin, when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head and lost consciousness instantly.

"Who are you?!" Dongshan demanded sharply, while secretly straining to break free of his restraints.

"Heh, is this all the alertness the summoner of the Wind Eagle Armor has?" The leading man sneered, coldly looking at Dong Shan, and mocked him.
"Who are you..." Dongshan frowned, alarm bells ringing in his mind.

“You don’t need to know who I am.” The man grinned, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “You just need to know that I am the summoner of the Dark Flame Dragon Armor.”

"Dark Flame Dragon Armor?!"

Dongshan's heart skipped a beat, his gaze fixed on the black summoner in Diannan's hand—the grotesque device was exactly the same as the summoner of the Flame Dragon Armor, but it exuded an eerie aura.

"You... are Li Yan's people?!" Dongshan said through gritted teeth.

Dark Armor!

As far as he knew, only Li Yan possessed the Dark Armor!

Dian Nan suddenly raised his hand, and dark purple energy condensed in his palm, then—

"Dark Flame Dragon Armor - Combine!"

boom--!
Suddenly, pitch-black flames erupted, and the Dark Flame Dragon Armor instantly covered Dian Nan's entire body!

Unlike Xin Nan's fiery dragon armor, which was blazing and dazzling, this armor was entirely black, with dark purple energy patterns wrapped around its joints. The eyes beneath the visor gleamed with scarlet light, making it look like a demon crawling out of hell.

Dongshan's breath hitched, and his heart pounded—Dark Armor?!

"Now, it's your turn." Dian Nan's voice came through the armor, deep and imposing. "Summon your Windhawk Armor, and let me see... whether you are worthy of this armor!"

Dongshan gritted his teeth and glanced around—the factory interior was spacious, but the exits were blocked, and there were four other men in black standing around, clearly summoners of the Dark Armor.

There's no escape, only a fight!
"Wind Eagle Armor—" Dongshan took a deep breath and clenched his fist tightly, "Combine!"

Swish-!
A bluish-green light burst forth, and the Wind Eagle Armor instantly covered the entire body!
Dongshan suddenly broke free from his restraints, and with a flash, quickly created distance.

"Heh, not bad reaction." Dian Nan sneered and slowly raised his hand. "Unfortunately... it's still too slow."

Before he finished speaking, his figure suddenly disappeared!
boom!
Before Dongshan could even react, he was struck hard in the chest and sent flying backward, crashing into the metal wall of the factory!
"Cough—!" he groaned.

How can it be? !
Dongshan stared wide-eyed at Diannan in disbelief—this guy's speed and strength far surpassed Xinnan's Flame Dragon Armor?!

"What? Surprised?" Dian Nan approached step by step, his tone mocking. "You think the Dark Armor is just a different color? Heh... Our armor has been 'enhanced'."

Dongshan gritted his teeth, quickly adjusted his posture, and with a flick of his hands, the Wind Eagle Sword instantly materialized!
"Then give it a try!"

He charged forward suddenly, his Wind Eagle Sword drawing a sharp arc, aiming straight for Dian Nan's throat!
however--

clang!
Dian Nan didn't even dodge; he simply raised his arm, and the bracers of the Dark Flame Dragon Armor easily blocked the attack!
"Too weak." Dian Nan sneered, then swung a heavy punch at Dong Shan's abdomen!
boom!
Dongshan was repelled once again, and the alarm inside the armor sounded sharp and piercing.

"Hahaha! Is this ERP's armored squad?" Jersey, who was watching from the rear, burst into laughter. "Looks like we overestimated them!"

"Don't rush, let me have a turn too." Wen Dong grinned maliciously as he stepped forward, a black summoner flashing in his hand. "Dark Wind Eagle Armor - Combine!"

Swish-!
Black wings unfurled, and the Dark Wind Eagle Armor instantly covered Wen Dong's entire body!
Unlike Dongshan's Wind Eagle Armor, which is light and agile, this armor is filled with a violent aura, and the edges of the wings even have a blood-red sharpness.

"Dongshan, right?" Wen Dong's voice came through the armor, tinged with sarcasm. "Let me see... whether your Wind Eagle Armor can outrun me."

Before he finished speaking, his figure suddenly disappeared!
Swish!
Dongshan didn't even see his movement clearly before he was hit hard in the back and kicked away!

"Thud—!" He fell heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

too fast……

Dongshan gritted his teeth and barely managed to sit up, only to see the other three slowly step forward as well—

"Dark Snow Wolf Armor - Combine!"

"Dark Tiger Armor - Combine!"

"Dark Rhino Armor - Combine!"

boom! boom! boom!
Three dark armors descended simultaneously, and the terrifying pressure made the air in the entire factory seem to freeze!

Dongshan's breath almost stopped—all five Dark Armor Summoners...had arrived?!
"The game should end now." Dian Nan slowly raised his hand, and the energy core of the Dark Flame Dragon Armor began to charge. "Dong Shan, your strength... is nothing special."

"As expected of the worst armor summoner!"

(End of this chapter)