Way of the Devil

“Go, all of you. I have only one request. Don’t die too soon,” Lu Sheng said with a smile.

“What about you, Boss?” Bach stretched his limbs. He shook his strong body slowly. He struck a pose as if he was attacking with his palm. He seemed to be reminiscing his domineering palm techniques which he had dominated the federation with.

“Me?” Lu Sheng glanced at the White Feather Army below. The big and tall man in the thick black cloak looked up at him as well.

The sides of the man’s armor were lines with sharp sawteeth that resembled dragon’s wings. He had two sharp horns on his head, and the huge tail behind him was longer than his body.

“This is a good opportunity for me to see what this academy is hiding.” Lu Sheng lifted his arm. A pitch-black streamlined form-fitting armor slowly walked out of the darkness behind him.

This was a powerful armor he had obtained unintentionally when he framed Madam Belle. It was almost the most outstanding armor among the General Armors.

The armor wielded slender blades in each hand. The extremely sharp alloy blades gave a col glint under the night’s illumination.

The armor’s arm was twice as thick as a General Armor’s. The soles of its feet were also like a lizard’s. It had delicate wide flippers, while its toes had hooks. With every step it took, it hooked itself to the floor.

“Let’s begin. Let’s show our opponents who’s the real master of this city.” Lu Sheng walked into the armor and wore it. Then, he strode down the stairs.

Bach and the remaining mysterious person stood up as well. They followed Lu Sheng down the floor.

A few Soldier Armors were already running up the stairs.

“Kill them!”

The two Soldier Armors moved synchronously. They swung their blades from the top and bottom with lightning speed toward Lu Sheng.

With the enhancement from their kinetic system’s explosive strength, the agility of these two Soldier Armors was already at the Arrest tier.

In the eyes of the ordinary person, such a speed could no longer be followed with the naked eye.

Two white lines zipped toward Lu Sheng’s waist and chest.

“Clang!”

With a deafening clash, Bach raised his hand slightly behind Lu Sheng. Before anyone noticed, he had already donned his armor. A silver thread was pulled taut before Lu Sheng’s body, and easily repelled the two incoming white strips.

From the side, the mysterious man made a move as well.

“Boom!”

There was the blast of a cannon. Half of the two Soldier Armors were blown away, and blood and flesh splattered all around them.

Lu Sheng did not slow down. He continued down the stairs. A dozen white Soldier Armors who were unafraid of death charged up the stairs.

With his manipulation of his threads, Bach precisely parried all the weapons launched at Lu Sheng.

The other person merely produced a cannon the size of his fist from under his cloak. With eerie precision, he obliterated anyone that came close.

Nobody could stop their advancement, not even for half a second.

They exited the teaching block. There were as many as 100 gun and cannon barrels aimed at the trio.

The Poison Dragon Gar Kandi stood at the front of the formation. Faint yellow gemstones were wedged into the shoulder plates of his armor. They glittered with an enchanting translucent glow under the spotlight.

“Bach Henry, I never expected you to break out of prison. I remember that I was the one who captured and brought you to justice.” The Poison Dragon’s gaze was first directed toward Bach who stood behind Lu Sheng.

Bach smiled without saying a word.

“Thunder King Nolan. I didn’t expect you to join this so-called Seven Leaves organization as well.” When the Poison Dragon Gar Kandi looked at the mysterious cloaked person, the look in his eyes was more of regret.

“You don’t understand, Poison Dragon.” The mysterious man slowly removed his cloak to show his true form.

Under the cloak was a big and tall man with an oxygen mask on his face and the look of death in his eyes.

“I really feel sorry for you,” said the Poison Dragon as he shook his head. “You lot don’t even understand what you’re about to face.”

“I know what I’m doing very clearly,” said Thunder King Nolan in his deep voice. “This body has been bedridden for a dozen years. Rather than dragging out an ignoble existence, it’s better for me to do what I want with the time I have left.”

“Very well. Do it, then. Let’s not waste time,” said Lu Sheng, impatient.

He did not gather all these experts to engage in verbal arguments.

The Iron Screen’s Screen Master, the Light of the Northern Mountain, had already shown himself. The remaining issue was with his other members. If he wanted to completely wipe the Iron Screen out, he would have to assign them to the proper locations beforehand.

Unfortunately, his Psychological Guidance Healing Art could not be used through an armor.

‘Let’s see what I can use in this academy. The greatest academy in the federation won’t let me down this easily.’

Lu Sheng walked slowly toward the experiment block at the side. This experiment block was the main building in which the academy’s lecturers gathered. There were five floors above ground and an unknown number of floors underground. The various secrets of the academy were hidden there.

“Stop him!” the Poison Dragon barked his order coldly. He leapt toward Lu Sheng.

He moved with such agility and explosive strength that Bach and the Thunder King did not have time to react.

He did not earn his title, the Poison Dragon, because his armor was poisonous. Instead, it was because the angle of his attacks and the unpredictability of his terrifying explosive strength surpassed the common people’s imagination.

His attacks were extremely merciless, for his targets would either die or be crippled, and he moved like a dragon. That was how he got his nickname.

‘Although armors are the main weapon in this world, the main form of combat is still hand-to-hand. Long-range attacks aren’t of much use for high-end armors. I must say that it’s blander this way.’

Lu Sheng looked at the charging Poison Dragon. The long blade in his left hand slashed forward in an instant.

“Pcchht!”

The blade drew a bright silver line in midair. The line was a meter long.

In the past month, Lu Sheng’s body was effectively improved under the nourishment of his Yang Essence. With Deep Blue’s help, he had also cultivated a few skills that purely dealt with outer force.

In a way, he had brought this body to its limits.

However, the enhancement of an Emperor Armor was truly incredible. The Poison Dragon’s explosive energy was even faster than Lu Sheng’s blade.

The sawteeth on his arms swung and easily parried the blade’s gleam. Then, he whipped his tail at Lu Sheng’s waist.

His body truly resembled a poison dragon. As he maneuvered in the small area, his speed, reaction, force, and explosiveness were flawless. There was no loophole in his attacks as well.

Lu Sheng’s body could not keep up with the explosive strength from his Emperor Armor’s enhancement. His explosive strength was already on the same tier as a Weapon Grandmaster’s.

“Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!”

The two of the exchanged dozens of blows with lightning speed. Lu Sheng hacked away at his opponent from all directions, his blows raining down like a tempest. However, every slash of his blade was parried with utmost precision.

The Poison Dragon was too fast for Lu Sheng. The sawteeth on his arms, his dragon tail, and the horns on his head were weapons in his arsenal.

If Lu Sheng’s martial skill had not been of a Great Yin grandmaster’s level, he would have lost after the very first blow.

The Poison Dragon was too powerful. Bach and the Thunder King wanted to butt in, but the other four silvery-white Titled General Armors engaged them.

As they attacked synchronously with the other Soldier Armors, the two of them would not be able to break free for some time.

Lu Sheng and the Poison Dragon were moving too quickly. They had crashed into the teaching block behind them in what seemed like an instant. They blew large holes in the walls of the building.

Blade marks and sawteeth tore open the floors easily enough. The entire building was like a paper box to them. It could be torn easily.

“This is the disadvantage of not having an Emperor Armor.” Lu Sheng discovered with shock that he was still at a disadvantage. The attacks of his twin blades were gradually being pushed back by the Poison Dragon.

“Give it up. You don’t stand a chance.” The Poison Dragon whipped his tail. His dragon tail collided with Lu Sheng’s crossed blades.

“Boom!”

Lu Sheng was sent reeling. He crashed heavily through a few walls and dug out a long trench in the floor as his body skidded across it. His armor was smoking slightly.

“My Emperor Armor is the greatest masterpiece in the federation’s history. It’s capable of enhancing the reaction abilities of my entire body at least 20 times better than any Soldier Armor.” The Poison Dragon walked slowly toward Lu Sheng.

“There’s no meaning to your struggles. From the moment you established the so-called Seven Leaves, it has been a sad mistake.”

“What’s hidden here?” Lu Sheng lay faceup among the rubble. There was a faint smile on his face. “The Starlight Diagram?”

The Poison Dragon stopped in his tracks.

“That’s just something used to attract attention. The Platinum Academy has the greatest strategic value for the entire federation. The reason is none other than…”

He suddenly stopped without saying any more.

“Actually, you should take pride in being able to take part as a tester in this grand event. The higher-ups were initially planning on carrying it out a few years from now. However, this opportunity which you’ve created is too great to waste. Hence, they decided to put it in motion.”

“I’m curious. What do you mean by being a tester? Have you developed some new technique or armor?” Lu Sheng was intrigued.

“Hohoho…” All of a sudden, a big, tall, and fair fatso walked slowly out of the darkness.

The fatso had a small moustache. He wore a fat white armor which resembled a bear. A dozen whips which resembled electric power cables were lashing about in the air behind him.

“Gar Kandi. This is the greatest masterpiece of the federation. Now that the outcome is decided, it doesn’t matter even if you tell him.”

“Is that so? Since you’re the person in charge, so be it,” the Poison Dragon said. He did not seem too bothered.

“Look at the time. I think it’s almost time now.” The principal turned his head sideways and gazed through the holes in the walls.

There was a rumble. The floor started shaking.

“Hohoho… It’s here! It’s here!” The principal spread his arms and cheered.

“Pcchht!”

In that instant, the Poison Dragon attacked. He appeared before Lu Sheng with lightning speed and hurled three punches with his arms in an instant.

After the three blows, Lu Sheng’s armor seemed to have been hacked by a great axe. It was finally at the limits of its resistance. With a loud bang, it shattered, exposing Lu Sheng underneath it, almost completely drowned out by rubble.

“I’ll leave the rest to you, principal. I have to go and carry out the second test.” The Poison Dragon did not even look back. He turned around and strode out of the teaching block, leaving the principal alone with Lu Sheng.

“So, what now? Are you going to kill me?” Lu Sheng looked at the principal, Earl Pella, with a smile on his face.

“You were capable of holding out for such a long time under the most powerful Emperor Armor, the Poison Dragon. You’re such a good experiment material. There’s no way I’ll kill you easily.” The principal laughed in his peculiar manner again.

“Rumble…”

The vibrations reached them again.

Outside of the building, the most colossal armor throughout history was slowly rising through the cracks in the ground on the field.

“Look at that, the greatest masterpiece of the federation. Destruction Star Armor, the Radiant King!” His laughter grew shriller.

Lu Sheng looked through the holes.

“Bam!”

A huge, black hand grabbed the edge of the crack. Then, a second hand appeared.

The two hands slowly exerted force. A giant black mecha more than 30 meters tall slowly emerged from the crack.

The mecha had tendrils on top of its head like an insect. It had four arms and eight legs that balanced itself.

When it crawled out of the ground, the engaging White Feather Army and the Iron Screen Army were stunned.

Even the seven Emperor Armor owners of the Seven Leaves were forced to stop fighting. They retreated to a safe distance and observed this colossal mecha which had just emerged from the ground.

“With the combined strength of 124 individuals, this most powerful armor in history will usher in a new generation, a new era!” the principal exclaimed passionately as he spread his arms.

“Is that so?” Lu Sheng looked at the Radiant King. No matter how he looked at it, he could not associate the term radiant with this thing.

“My beloved niece, are you seeing this?” The principal suddenly turned and looked into the darkness behind Lu Sheng.

After a moment’s silence, Quan Shihui slowly walked out from behind Lu Sheng.

“Your appetite is as great as always, Uncle. You’re intending on capturing my Iron Screen in one fell swoop, aren’t you?” Her composed smile was nowhere to be seen now. In its place was an icy and dangerous look.

“And you”—the principal looked at Lu Sheng again—”you’re still calm. I’m sure it’s because you still have something up your sleeve. Well, what about now?”

He clapped his hands.

A purple humanoid armor walked out of the darkness. A young and delicate frame was lifted in its arms.

“Rinrin… Don’t… mind me… Run…” Esha was suspended in the air by her beck. However, she still struggled to shout.

“What if I kill her now? What would you do?” The principal looked at Lu Sheng with a lecherous smile. “I’m curious.”

Lu Sheng stared at him. The smile on his face faded.

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” His voice suddenly calmed down.

“Oh? Are you going to make a move? If you move, I’ll kill her. Will you save yourself, or will you save your little girlfriend?” The principal gave a strange laugh. “Your arrangements were secretive enough. They were thorough. Alas, you’ve forgotten that the Bai Family is also here. Bai Shi had accidentally discovered this young lady and handed her over to me. I’m very satisfied with that,” said the principal with a smile. “So… what will you do now?”

“What will I do?” Lu Sheng straightened up slowly. The fragments on his body slid to the floor.

“Maybe… this?”

“Boom!”

The wall behind the principal suddenly broke open. A black metallic hand about eight meters thick broke through the wall. The entire building shook with the impact as the hand snaked its way toward him with lightning speed.