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

Chapter 8: Being Tricked
夜晚
The Milky Way is dazzling, adorned with countless stars.

A bright moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the entire night.

Inside an abandoned factory

Silvery moonlight poured down through the broken dome, casting dappled shadows on the rusty mechanical wreckage, like countless peering eyes.

Li Yan leaned against a broken transformer, toying with the half-blackened wood shadow stone between his fingers.

Dark purple energy threads meandered through the cracks in the rocks, wrapping around his fingers like living things, leaving faint burn marks on his pale skin with each touch.

"Tap, tap, tap—"

The belated footsteps echoed in the empty factory, startling the bats roosting in the corner.

The ugly man walked ahead with a hunched back, glancing back every now and then.

King Kai's mechanical prosthetic eye glowed crimson in the darkness, and the sound of his alloy prosthetic limbs crushing the broken glass on the ground was particularly jarring, causing the dust floating in the air to tremble with every step.

"I thought you had changed your minds."

Li Yan's voice was very soft, but it made the ugly general break out in a cold sweat on the back of his neck. He subconsciously touched the wound on his neck that had not yet healed.

The painful memory of that meeting a few days ago is still fresh in my mind.

The Wood Shadow Stone in his palm suddenly burst forth with a bright light, illuminating everything within a ten-meter radius—including the fresh crack on the King of the Realms' metal mask and the still-wet bloodstains on the Ugly General's sleeve.

Clearly, the two of them had just "finished" their work.

Wherever the light reached, the oil stains on the ground reflected rainbow colors, while the darkness further away seemed to wriggle and retreat like a living thing.

King Kai's mechanical fingers twitched slightly, and the hydraulic pipes hissed as they released pressure: "Armor of Destruction?"

His synthesized voice had a metallic, grinding noise, like rusty gears gnawing at each other. "What proof do you have that this isn't a trap?"

"You should know that you were once a member of the Armor Squad!"

The moonlight was suddenly obscured by dark clouds.

Li Yan revealed the nearly completely blackened Wood Shadow Stone: "Is this enough?"

The once emerald green Wood Shadow Stone is now covered with spiderweb-like black patterns on its surface, and an ominous purple light flickers at its core, causing subtle distortions in the surrounding air with each pulsation.

"This is... a Wood Shadow Stone?"

King Kai's mechanical prosthetic eye quickly adjusted its focus, and the iris component emitted a faint "click" sound.

He stared in disbelief at the stone that shimmered with black and green light, his breathing rate noticeably increasing beneath the metal mask.

This piece of wood-shadow stone is now covered by two-thirds black veins, like polluted blood vessels, and its original appearance is about to be unrecognizable.

If you didn't know he was a light and shadow stone, no one would believe it.

King Kai glanced at the corrupted Wood Shadow Stone twice, then gave Li Yan a deep look.

Their wariness of him grew even stronger.

Wood Shadow Stone is a type of light and shadow stone belonging to the Wind Eagle Armor.

This Wood Shadow Stone has always belonged to the Armor Squad, but he never expected it to appear in front of him now!
"I didn't expect you to actually steal the Wood Shadow Stone!" The Realm King's mechanical voice showed a rare fluctuation. "Doesn't this mean that the Armor Squad now only has the Flame Dragon Armor and the Black Rhino Armor?"

"This is truly a gift from heaven!"

Li Yan's lips curled into a cold smile as the moonlight shone down again: "Not only that, the Flame Dragon Armor and the Black Rhino Armor have been severely damaged by me, and they probably won't be able to participate in the battle for a while."

"Good! Good!" A deep echo resounded from the King of the Realms' mechanical chest. He raised his alloy arm, the cannon barrel involuntarily opening and closing in his palm. "With this, the Armor Squad is completely wiped out! We, the Shadow Realm, can wreak havoc without restraint! No one can stop us anymore!"

"My lord, dominating the earth is just around the corner!" the ugly general said obsequiously, rubbing his hands together, but suddenly shrank back when Li Yan glanced at him.

He clearly remembered how this seemingly frail young man had torn apart the alien beast with his bare hands during their last meeting.

"I'm starting to look forward to our collaboration."

King Kai took a step forward with his mechanical foot, his alloy foot crushing the concrete blocks on the ground, and spiderweb-like cracks spread under his feet.

He slowly extended his mechanical right hand, the hydraulic joints hissing as they operated: "However, I need to know your true purpose."

Li Yan did not respond immediately, but instead tossed the Wood Shadow Stone high into the air.

The corrupted light and shadow stone drew a strange arc of black and green light in the air, and when it fell, it hovered three inches above his palm, slowly rotating.

Countless black threads seeped from the surface of the stone, wrapping around Li Yan's wrists like living things, leaving glowing patterns on his pale skin.

"Purpose?"

Li Yan suddenly laughed, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

He flicked his fingertip, and the Wood Shadow Stone suddenly burst forth with a blinding black light, illuminating the entire factory like a ghostly realm: "I just simply don't like them."

Before he finished speaking, his gaze suddenly sharpened like a knife as he turned to the dark night outside the factory: "However, I have a feeling that you're not very sincere about this collaboration."

The smiles of King and the Ugly General froze instantly.

The air was thick with a suffocating sense of oppression, and even the swirling dust seemed to stand still.

The ugly general's Adam's apple bobbed, and cold sweat slid down his temples—he smelled the scent of death.

"How could that be?" The King of the Realms' synthesized voice trembled unnaturally. "Our sincerity is more than enough!"

The two retreated imperceptibly, the sound of their boots crushing against broken glass particularly jarring in the silence.

King Kai's mechanical prosthetic eye flashed wildly, and his left hand, hidden behind his back, was quietly activating a device.

"Xi Zhao!" he suddenly roared, "Take the things back!"

"boom--!"

The abandoned factory's iron gate flew in like a cannonball, crashing heavily onto the rusted steel frame.

Amidst the smoke and dust, a silver-white snow mastiff armor strode across the ruins, each step causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Five mutated alien beasts followed closely behind; they were more ferocious than the regular models, their bodies covered in purple crystals.

"Hand over the Wood Shadow Stone."

Xi Zhao's voice came through the armor, carrying the coldness of metal.

With a flick of his right hand, the Thunder Axe emitted blinding lightning, illuminating Li Yan's ambiguous smile.

"Ding! Defeat the Snow Mastiff Armor!"

"Reward: Dark Snow Wolf Armor!"

The system sounds.

Li Yancai showed a slight interest.

"Ah"

He slowly put away the shadow stone, a flash of black light disappearing from his fingertips.

He walked forward casually, his footsteps echoing in the empty factory.

"Why not take a perfectly good partnership?"

His pupils suddenly flashed purple, and the surrounding shadows began to writhe: "He's really courting death."

"Dark Wind Eagle Armor - Combine!"

A black and gold light instantly enveloped his entire body, but this time the armor was completely different—sharp metal wings extended from the shoulder armor, the goggles on the visor were dark purple, and the patterns on the chest moved like a living creature.

Even more terrifying, the space around the armor was distorting, as if it could not withstand the force.

Feeling such overwhelming pressure, Xi Zhao had no time to think and instinctively swung his axe down: "Thunder Strike!"

"too slow."

Li Yan's figure suddenly blurred.

The Snow Mastiff Armor's attack missed, and the next second, the Dark Wind Eagle Sword was already pressed against his back.

"boom!"

Xi Zhao was kicked away and crashed through three concrete walls before coming to a stop.

As soon as he looked up, he saw the most horrifying scene—the five mutated monsters were being torn apart by Li Yan with his bare hands!

The first mantis's serrated arm was snapped off, and what gushed out from the break was not blood, but blackened energy mist.
He grabbed the tail of the second scorpion and used it as a whip, slicing the other two in half with a sweeping motion.

The last one tried to escape, but Li Yan grabbed it from a distance, causing its entire body to collapse into a fist-sized energy ball. "Is this the sincerity of your Shadow Realm?"

Li Yan crushed the energy ball, and arcs of purplish-black electricity danced between his fingers.

He walked slowly toward Xizhao, and with each step he took, spiderweb-like cracks spread across the ground.

Xi Zhao struggled to get up.

"stop!"

King Kai's mechanical arm suddenly deformed, revealing a hidden ion cannon.

But before he could even aim, Li Yan simply raised his finger.

King Kai was sent flying backward.

On the other hand, the ugly general had somehow disappeared without a trace.

No wonder he's an assistant director!!!

"I gave you a chance."

Li Yan's voice echoed like a deep abyss.

He grabbed Xi Zhao by the neck with one hand and lifted him up, while pressing his other hand against the faceplate of the Snow Mastiff Armor.

"Impossible." Xi Zhao's voice was broken and intermittent. He felt that he was about to die in the next second!

He couldn't believe how vast the gap was between them!
At this moment, a sudden change occurred!
"Li Yan, let's talk again!"

King Kai's mechanical vocal cords distorted due to unstable voltage. He struggled to prop himself up with his only remaining left arm, and the cooling system in his chest cavity spewed out a large amount of white mist.

At the severed end of his torn right arm, the exposed cable twitched like a dying snake.

"I can tell you the most crucial secret of the film industry!"

Li Yan paused slightly.

The Dark Wind Eagle armor disintegrated, revealing his ambiguous smile: "Oh? Tell me about it."

"What the Shadow Guardians fear most," the hydraulic system hissed as it teetered on the brink of collapse, "is not the Imperial Armor, but the Demon-Sealing Box that seals them!"

Li Yan's pupils suddenly contracted.

A sudden flashback of memories—in the original storyline, that seemingly ordinary wooden box did indeed play a role in the final battle.

But in his memory, it seemed that the Demon-Sealing Box only appeared in the hands of Xin Nan, the Flame Dragon Armor, at the very end.

"Do you know where it is?" Li Yan's voice suddenly turned dangerous, and the surrounding shadows began to writhe. "Ever since the Black Emperor unsealed the Shadow Guardian, that thing has disappeared."

King Kai, hidden behind his mask, had his pupils shrink when he heard the words "Black Emperor".

The Black Emperor is a name known to very few in the film industry.

Or perhaps, only the Shadow Protector, him, and the Ugly General knew.

King Kai's metal mask suddenly popped open, revealing half of a rotting human face.

He forced a stiff smile, revealing a chilling grin: "Because...it's always been...with me!"

"A few years ago," King Kai's mechanical body leaned against the wall, his voice somewhat weak, "I obtained it by chance, and until now, no one but me knows about it."

Hearing the King of the Realm's words, Li Yan's doubts were also resolved.

If what King Kai said is true, then it's not surprising.

The Demon-Sealing Box is with him, so nobody knows anything about him.

It later appeared in Xin Nan's place, probably because it was found by King Kai when he was defeated.

"I'll trade you the Demon-Sealing Box, how about it?" The broken body of the Realm King suddenly sprang up, his mechanical left hand stabbing towards Li Yan's heart like a sharp claw. "Trade your life for it!"

Dark Eagle Wind King Armor, combined!
"boom--!"

Li Yan's figure vanished instantly, leaving a five-meter-diameter crater in his wake.

He appeared behind them, coldly watching the scene.

There, amidst the swirling dust, King Kai was nowhere to be seen.

"Good good!"

"boom!"

Li Yan's fist slammed into the twisted steel beam, and dark energy exploded like a storm, instantly leveling the entire factory ruins.

Amidst the smoke and dust, his pupils had completely turned dark purple, and the turbulent energy swirling around him crushed the rubble into dust.

"drop--"

The moment the communicator connected, Bing'er's cool voice, accompanied by static, came through: "What? Did the cooperation fall apart?" The sound of waves could be faintly heard in the background, indicating that she had already left the base.

"Take me to the Shadow Realm." Li Yan's voice was terrifyingly low, each word like it had been poured into ice water. "Now!"

Suddenly, the communicator emitted a piercing interference sound, and Bing'er's voice became intermittent.

"it is good!"

"I understand."

After hanging up the phone

Li Yan gave the ruins one last cold look.

……

影界
"Cough, cough..."

"asshole!"

The King of the Realm collapsed on his throne, panting heavily. His body was covered in wounds, and blood dripped from his mask. "Ugly General, where did you run off to?!"

The ugly general standing to the side, seeing this scene, had a flash of panic on his face.

But he quickly calmed down, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he said nonchalantly, "My lord... I'm just an ordinary person, I can't possibly withstand this!"

"So, the only option is to find a place to hide."

After saying that, he revealed his fawning smile.

"Humph!"

"How badly is Xi Zhao injured?" King Jie asked coldly.

"It's alright." The ugly general quickly lowered his head and wiped his sweat. "I'll be fine after a period of rest."

"Stop resting, take him and go get the Earth Shadow Stone!"

"Xi Zhao alone isn't enough, so bring two more mutant beasts!"

King Kai closed his eyes to calm himself down, then suddenly opened them and stared at Ugly General, shouting sternly, "This time, there can be no mistakes!"

"Yes, sir!" the ugly general hurriedly accepted the order.

"By the way, where's Bing'er?"

Looking around, he saw no sign of Bing'er.

King Kai had a vague sense of unease in his heart.

"No, I don't know. Bing'er hasn't come back these past two days; she's been out the whole time," Chou Jiang quickly replied.

"I'll tell her to come back right away!"

King Kai's expression worsened.

"We absolutely cannot let Shadow Boss know about what happened today!"

"Did you hear me!"

King Jie felt an intense hatred for Li Yan regarding what happened today!
If it weren't for the emergency teleportation device, they probably would have lost their lives there!

"No, I have to report this to my superiors!"

(End of this chapter)