Ye Chen glanced at Kaba beside him, noticing a subtle sneer in the latter's eyes. He remained outwardly composed, saying calmly, "Hurry up and excavate."

"Yes," Kaba nodded in acknowledgment.

Whoosh!

Just then, a fierce gust of wind whipped up from behind, followed by a shadow that plummeted down with sudden force, landing steadily behind the rank of Mummy Puppets. The figure bent slightly on one knee before slowly rising—it was the Black-Armored Man.

Ye Chen’s gaze sharpened, yet he showed no reaction. He glanced at Kaba, who paused, looking at the Black-Armored Man with a strange expression, a hint of bloodlust deeply hidden in his eyes.

After landing, the Black-Armored Man was startled to see the long line of cloth-wrapped mummies before him. His gaze swept past them and fixed on Ye Chen nestled deep within the ranks, causing his eyes to light up. A sinister smile curled on his lips. "Finally found you, my dear adopted son!"

Ye Chen replied mildly, "You've had a hard time."

The Black-Armored Man almost spat blood. Hard time? He had had a hard time! For the past year, he had tried every conceivable method to enter the Pyramid, all in vain, causing him immense inner torment.

"It's good that you know!" The Black-Armored Man clenched his fists, his voice chilling. "Come over quickly, and I'll leave your corpse whole!" Though furious, he sensed something unusual about the mummies before him, so he did not act rashly.

Ye Chen looked at him, then turned his head toward Kaba. "Someone wants to kill me."

"..." Kaba was speechless, thinking, What does that have to do with me? But he understood Ye Chen’s implication: they were in this together now; if Ye Chen fell, he would suffer too. With that, Kaba stepped forward, his expression arrogant, looking down upon the Black-Armored Man. "Little fellow, where did you crawl out from? State your name, and your grandpa will leave you whole!"

The Black-Armored Man’s eyes bulged.

Arrogant!

His rage erupted into a bitter laugh.

"I am a figure on the Earth Ranking even in the Dark Great World! A figure on the Earth Ranking! Who the hell do you think you are, shouting at me like that? Originally, I only intended to kill that brat, but since you’re seeking death, I shall grant your wish!" The Black-Armored Man’s mouth twisted into a savage grin as he fixed his violent gaze on Kaba.

Kaba’s eyes narrowed, a flash of sharp intent crossing them. Already bristling with suppressed anger from being controlled by Ye Chen, he now encountered someone utterly clueless. He clenched his fists until they audibly cracked, his face turning ashen. "So, you’re from the Dark Great World. A mere piece of trash from the Earth Ranking dares to jump around in front of me? Die!"

He raised a hand and beckoned. His body shot out. This Pseudo-God Realm puppet, meticulously refined by him, began to emit waves of pure Divine Power from every pore, instantly enveloping him in a layer of golden radiance!

The Black-Armored Man was greatly alarmed. Sensing the profound Divine Power surging from Kaba, his heart shook violently. "Impossible! Such pure Divine Power—he was hiding his strength!" An unprecedented sense of crisis enveloped him, every hair on his body standing on end as he rapidly retreated backward.

In reality, Kaba hadn't intentionally concealed his strength. The puppet, when not engaged in combat, resembled ordinary metal—its radiance contained, showing little more than a faint aura of menace. This was precisely why the Black-Armored Man hadn't charged in recklessly upon arrival.

Ye Chen remained placid, watching the two fight. He observed their techniques, especially Kaba’s; the former Pseudo-God Realm expert moved with an aura of invincibility in every gesture.

Whoosh!

As Kaba rushed forward, the air in the entire hall seemed to be sucked away, creating an intensely suffocating pressure.

The Black-Armored Man sucked in a sharp breath. Without a word, he scrambled upward, intending to flee, only to find that the top of the Pyramid had closed at some unknown time. A chill ran through him. He turned back to see Kaba bearing down on him in fury, forcing him to wheel around and flee instead.

"Brat, weren't you just arrogant?" Kaba sneered cruelly, his face contorted with mockery. "Show me your arrogance now! Aren't you an Earth Ranking master? Rise up for me! Ah?"

The Black-Armored Man had never anticipated encountering such a formidable opponent deep within. Even more shocking was that such a powerful figure would obey Ye Chen's commands. His mind trembled as he fled, pleading desperately, "My Lord, this junior was blind and failed to recognize your might. I beg you to spare me; I swear eternal servitude, please..."

Kaba let out a cold laugh. "With your meager physique, you think you’re fit to be my slave? Just a nascent Half-God Realm weakling, yet you dare swagger before me? I have countless slaves, and the lowliest among them are mid-stage Half-Gods! Die!"

Whether Kaba spoke the truth or not, the Black-Armored Man pleaded, "My Lord, why force the issue? You must know that once one reaches the Half-God Realm, self-detonation is possible. If I explode, you will be injured too. Why bother?"

Kaba’s eyebrow arched. "Little thing, you dare threaten me?" He struck out with his hand, launching a beam of divine light, sharp as a sword and swift as lightning. It pierced instantly through the Black-Armored Man’s body, passing straight through his chest.

The Black-Armored Man shuddered, realizing in horror that his internal Divine Power had dropped by dozens of points. This was alarming; he knew another hit like that would deny him even the chance to self-detonate, leading to immediate demise.

A thought flashed through his mind, centering on Ye Chen. He snarled, "If I must die, I'll drag you down with me!" With that, he surged downward rapidly, sweeping past the multitude of mummies and heading straight for Ye Chen.

Kaba’s expression changed. He roared, "Protect him!"

The Burly Man and the Seductive Woman immediately moved to block Ye Chen. Both puppets were Pseudo-God Realm entities, equipped with intelligent optical computers, obeying Kaba’s every command.

The Black-Armored Man roared, "Get out of the way!" He unleashed a divine energy blade that shot out like a light-saber, striking the two puppets. This attack contained 5 points of Divine Power, and he was confident it would kill them.

However, the moment the Divine Power made contact, it silently sank into the strike, merging into the body of the Burly Man, causing a layer of golden light to shimmer over his frame.

It had actually devoured the Divine Power!

The Black-Armored Man’s face shifted in alarm. As anxiety mounted, he suddenly heard a sound ripping through the air behind him. Turning around, he gasped in terror. Kaba had conjured an immensely long Divine Power greatsword. As he swung it, black striations followed the blade, causing ripples in the space itself. If that struck him, nothing would remain but dust.

"No, I will be your slave..." the Black-Armored Man begged loudly.

"Die!" Kaba snarled, intense bloodlust burning in his eyes.

As the blade approached, the Black-Armored Man gritted his teeth, hatred blazing in his eyes. "You force my hand! Die! All of you, die!!"

His entire body suddenly swelled, and waves of Divine Power erupted from his pores. His aura instantly magnified tenfold. Vibrating at an ultra-high frequency, his body rapidly contracted before violently exploding!

Boom!

This all happened in an instant. Kaba roared, "Protect him quickly!"

The Burly Man and the Seductive Woman knew something was wrong the moment the Black-Armored Man began to explode. They swiftly moved to surround Ye Chen, sheltering him within their embrace, raising their energy shields to envelop him.

A thin, pale green energy shield was pressed around Ye Chen. When the Black-Armored Man’s body ruptured, a surging, pale-gold Divine Power swept out like a tidal wave, washing over the group of mummies. It was like a hurricane, blasting the remaining 15 Mummy Puppets away.

The residual energy impacted the Burly Man and the Seductive Woman, while the excess slammed against the energy shield, causing it to flicker precariously. Waves of pale-gold Divine Power seeped through, bombarding Ye Chen.

Thump!

Ye Chen’s body shuddered. His bones felt as if they were being crushed by an immense force. A cold light flashed in his eyes, and he silently commanded the Holy Flame Armor within him to manifest. A layer of milky-white light writhed forth, slowly coalescing into the Holy Flame Armor. With its exquisite secret markings and awe-inspiring design, paired with Ye Chen’s sharp features, he looked like a Sacred Knight!

Layers of divine energy shockwaves swept across the Holy Flame Armor. After continuous weakening, only a small fraction reached Ye Chen, no longer capable of inflicting harm.

Once the wave of Divine Power subsided...

Silence returned to the entire scene.

The energy shield enveloping Ye Chen slowly dissipated. The Burly Man and the Seductive Woman glanced at Ye Chen, momentarily stunned by the remarkably unique design of the armor he wore.

Ye Chen’s gaze passed over the two figures to the center of the Divine Power explosion. He saw only a patch of dust; nothing remained. A Half-God Realm expert had perished just like that!

Strangely, despite the terrifying destructive force of the Black-Armored Man’s self-detonation, the room showed no damage whatsoever—no furniture harmed, no walls marred!

The 15 Mummy Puppets swayed, slowly rising from the ground. They appeared relatively unscathed, proving the incredible resilience of their bodies!

Whoosh!

A figure flashed over. Kaba rushed over, looking at Ye Chen with exaggerated concern. "You’re not hurt, are you?"

Ye Chen nodded slightly. "Thanks to you, I'm still alive."

Kaba's expression stiffened slightly before he gave an awkward cough. "It was my oversight. Rest here for a moment; I will open the passage to the third layer for you immediately."

Ye Chen said no more, turning to sit down aside. In the retreating figure of Kaba, a glint of light passed through Ye Chen's eyes. Everything that had just occurred might deceive others, but it could not hide from Ye Chen. Kaba could have killed the Black-Armored Man from the start but deliberately waited until the opponent rushed close before forcing him into self-detonation!

It appeared natural, but in truth, it was merely a calculated move to use the Black-Armored Man to teach Ye Chen a lesson!

The defensive strength of the energy shield was clearly only enough to weaken a portion of the shockwave. With Kaba's vision, he could perfectly calculate the destructive index of the Black-Armored Man's explosion and therefore knew that even after the shield's attenuation, the residual shockwaves would still severely injure Ye Chen.

Though it wouldn't kill him, it would certainly wound him—a small act of retribution.

Ye Chen felt fortunate for the Holy Flame Armor; otherwise, he would have had to resort to activating his Lightning Superman mode to withstand the blast.

As he circulated his energy, Ye Chen's injuries healed rapidly. Not long after, Kaba successfully blasted open the passage!

Pfft!

As the seal was broken, a bone-chilling aura radiated from within. Even Kaba’s face shifted, and he retreated several steps, daring not to approach.