Chapter 29: Shawn of the Black Armor

As Liu Zhi’s two subordinates each took down a transcendent, Liu Zhi himself had already led his troops to the gate of the great sea trench.

After slaughtering a batch of gang members, Black Armor Sean finally appeared before Liu Zhi.

Behind him stood several burly men who looked different from ordinary laborers or gang thugs.

These hulks wielded weapons resembling iron rods, while Sean himself stood at the forefront clad in a layer of black armor, gripping a wolf-tooth club.

Seeing Liu Zhi approaching with his skeleton soldiers, Sean swung his heavy-looking club and pointed it at Liu Zhi.

“I’m going to kill you.”

Liu Zhi found such words utterly pointless. He had already fought his way to Sean’s doorstep, and now Sean was spouting such nonsense. Was this some sort of pre-battle taunt?

Liu Zhi ignored Sean and gripped his Death Staff in his right hand, raising it to unleash another flash spell toward them.

But this time, the flash spell was less effective than expected. Sean and his men simply closed their eyes, neutralizing the attack effortlessly, then roared as they charged at Liu Zhi’s forces.

It was clear these men understood the undead well; they knew the skeleton soldiers’ weaknesses and all wielded blunt weapons designed for heavy strikes.

At this moment, Liu Zhi’s golden skeletons surged ahead. They were specifically created to counter blunt weapons and carried shields and flails, perfectly matched to withstand the enemy’s assault.

Once the golden skeletons engaged, the regrouped skeleton archers nocked their arrows again.

However, Sean was prepared; behind him, some men raised large shield-like boards. They had realized that Liu Zhi’s skeleton archers lacked power—any shield could block their arrows with ease.

As they fended off the volley of arrows, Liu Zhi noticed Sean had vanished behind the shields.

Without hesitation, Liu Zhi struck his Death Staff down onto the ground.

With a force beyond ordinary human strength, the wooden floor beneath him trembled.

At that moment, the floorboards beneath Liu Zhi were forcibly torn open, and Sean leapt from below, charging straight at Liu Zhi.

Sean’s plan was simple: Liu Zhi was the key to this battle. If he could eliminate Liu Zhi, the rest of the undead would pose no threat.

So Sean used himself as bait, drawing the attention of all of Liu Zhi’s men, then blocked Liu Zhi’s sight with the shield boards while launching a surprise attack from underground.

What Sean hadn’t expected was that Liu Zhi would immediately discern his strategy and force him out into the open.

“Useless. I’m only five steps away from you. You’re dead,” a thought flashed through Sean’s mind as he raised his wolf-tooth club, smashing it down toward Liu Zhi.

But Liu Zhi casually relaxed his grip, and the Death Staff floated up. He stepped back, narrowly dodging the blow.

If it had ended there, Sean might not have sensed anything amiss. Yet, as he prepared to advance another step, he noticed the Death Staff, now free from Liu Zhi’s hand, flying autonomously toward him.

Recalling the staff’s previous effects, Sean dared not let it strike him and swiftly dodged to the left.

But in that moment, he missed Liu Zhi’s next move. Unnoticed, Liu Zhi drew the slender stiletto sword hanging at his waist.

Though Liu Zhi had been aboard the beast ship these days, he had not ceased practicing swordsmanship. He had been diligently honing the Night Stabbing Technique and the Z-Pattern Secret Sword. The Night Breathing Method from the Night Stabbing Technique was beginning to enhance the effects of the Z-Pattern Secret Sword.

As Liu Zhi unsheathed his sword, its tip shimmered with a cold light that seemed to dissolve into shadows, making it nearly invisible to the untrained eye.

If Sean had been focused on Liu Zhi’s movements, he might have noticed the slender sword at his waist and anticipated the strike.

But Liu Zhi’s appearance was deceiving; no one took the sword at his waist seriously, seeing it merely as a noble’s decorative accessory.

This gave Liu Zhi the perfect opportunity. His sword strike was swift, and the momentum from dodging Sean’s attack only bolstered his counterstrike.

The sword thrust was a straightforward stab, but at its tip, three nearly invisible slashing wind blades formed a tiny Z-shape.

The sword’s speed increased as Liu Zhi aimed directly for Sean’s right eye.

He had observed that Sean’s armor covered his entire body like a second skin, affixed in some manner unknown, and that only his eyes and mouth were vulnerable.

Liu Zhi had no desire to test the toughness of Sean’s teeth—targeting the eye was the optimal choice.

However, Sean, aware of his armor’s pros and cons, was prepared. His greatest fears were poison and lime attacks, so he was careful to protect his eyes during battle.

When Liu Zhi’s sword came flying at him, Sean noticed the incoming strike.

With no time to think, Sean raised his left hand to block the sword.

Seeing Sean’s change in defense, Liu Zhi flicked his wrist, releasing the three tiny wind blades from the sword tip while simultaneously redirecting the stiletto sword to another angle.

Sean’s hand followed the sword tip, and as the slender blade moved aside, he relaxed his guard over his eye—unaware that the wind blades had already flown forward, striking his right eye.

The three minute wind blades collided inside Sean’s eye, detonating a small storm.

Sean screamed, clutching his eye as he staggered backward.

Liu Zhi seized the moment, stepping forward and driving the slender sword downwards through Sean’s right eye.

With all his strength behind the thrust, the stiletto pierced through Sean’s eye socket, through to the back of his skull, stopping only when it struck a plate of armor.

Then, Liu Zhi delivered a heavy kick to Sean’s body, sending the armored corpse flying.

Sean’s body slammed harshly onto the ground, but in the next instant, he rose again.

His black armor had turned a pale gray, and from the eye socket untouched by the stiletto sword, a faint green light radiated.

I'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.