Jin Mulan's expression immediately darkened. "You think I'll run while you fight alone?" She said hoarsely. "Yes," Luo He answered instantly.
Ning Jia narrowed her eyes slightly. "That is not your decision alone." She argued.
Luo He stared at both women calmly for several seconds.
Then pointed directly at them. "Yes it is not entirely my place to command you. But if either of you stays behind trying to risk your lives heroically," he said flatly.
"Your asses will be the first once I'll be beating before the battle even begins." He said ruthlessly.
For a brief moment even the tension broke slightly. Jin Mulan looked genuinely offended. "You threaten your wife before battle?" She asked coldly.
"Yes. Can't I threaten my wives when they are making stupid decisions?" Luo He said proudly. Then he looked toward Ning Jia. "And you are even worse." He started to remorse.
The Third Princess actually looked mildly insulted by that. "I am a Grandmaster." She said proudly. "And still, one of the most emotionally reckless," Luo He replied calmly.
"Which is impressive considering you grew up in the imperial palace." Luo He followed up softening the blow slightly remembering still they were his loyal women.
Fei almost looked like he wanted to argue further. But Luo He's voice became colder afterward. "That was not a discussion." He said with a conclusive gaze. Silence followed immediately.
Because everyone aboard the Contingent recognized that tone. When Luo He truly made a decision, changing it became almost impossible.
Then finally his gaze softened slightly.
"Get them out safely," he told Fei quietly.
Fei lowered his head once. "Understood Master." He said boldly. Jin Mulan still looked furious. Ning Jia looked no happier.
But neither of them argued again. The decision had already been made, and pressing further would only slow their escape.
Luo He let out a faint, almost amused smile as he watched their reactions. His gaze briefly lingered between Jin Mulan and Ning Jia. "You two really should trust your husband a little more," he said lightly with a little playful gesture.
Jin Mulan narrowed her eyes immediately. "That confidence of yours is exactly what worries me," she replied coldly. Luo He chuckled softly at that completely unbothered, almost entertained.
Then, without another word, he turned the Black Cloud Shuttle by a complete 180°. But just before he left, there was a subtle pause in his tone casual, almost absent minded, as if it meant nothing at all.
"Besides," he added lightly. "You both make it sound like I only belong to one side of the story." He said proudly. Neither Jin Mulan nor Ning Jia reacted immediately.
The words were too soft, too casually delivered to fully catch their meaning in the heat of the moment. And that was Luo He's strength. He never pushed people with force alone.
He guided reactions. Shifted perception. Let meaning settle later, when it was already too late to undo. Jin Mulan frowned slightly.
"That confidence of yours is exactly what worries me," she repeated once again. Luo He only laughed softly again, as if he had heard something genuinely amusing.
Then, without another word, he turned away. And in the same motion he moved.
His figure cut through the wind and darkness with unnatural ease, vanishing into the pressure of the approaching enemy force.
Behind him, the retreat continued under Fei's control. The Black Cloud Shuttle carrying him away now in the opposite direction.
But Luo He had already gone ahead to meet what was coming. Not as a fugitive.
But as the one who decided where the battle would happen.
The wind moved violently around his robes as he stepped off the edge of the floating lamina. Below him, the dark wilderness stretched endlessly beneath the night sky while distant killing intent rapidly approached him.
The night wind howled softly through the forest. For a brief moment, he stood completely still beneath the dark sky, his figure half-hidden within the shifting shadows of the trees.
Then he summoned his armor. The Black God Suit awakened from within his body itself. Darkness flowed from his skin like living, liquid metal, pouring outward in endless streams of black matter.
It spread across his arms first, then his chest, shoulders, waist, and legs, swallowing every inch of exposed flesh without leaving even the slightest gap uncovered.
The armor did not appear piece by piece like ordinary equipment. It grew over him.
Like a living creature recognizing its master.
Smooth black plating layered over his body in seamless perfection, while faint crimson lines ignited beneath the surface like rivers of molten blood trapped beneath obsidian glass.
Ancient circular patterns rotated slowly along parts of the armor, glowing dimly with faint red light before fading again into darkness. The material looked neither fully metal nor fully liquid.
It was something older. Something unnatural. Finally, the helmet formed last.
Black liquid climbed upward along his neck before folding inward around his face.
The surface sealed completely with a low metallic hiss, leaving behind only a narrow crimson glow where the eyes should have been. And then Luo He spoke calmly into the darkness.
"System," he said conversationally. Rather almost casually, despite the terrifying transformation already completed. "I need a disguise." He said.
A soft feminine voice echoed directly within his mind. "What appearance would you prefer?" the system asked politely. Luo He smiled faintly beneath the helmet. "Something demonic." He said coldly.
The system paused only briefly. Then the armor changed. The sleek yet intimidating black-and-crimson design suddenly twisted violently across his body.
The smooth elegant surface hardened into something savage and demonic.
Dark crimson spread across the armor like fresh blood soaking through steel.
Sharp spikes erupted from the shoulders, forearms, knees, and spine.
Jagged ridges formed across the chestplate.
Parts of the helmet stretched into a crown-like shape. And two curved horns appeared towards the back his head.
The glowing crimson lines intensified until they resembled cracks filled with molten fire. He no longer resembled a warrior.
Now he looked like something that had crawled out from the depths of the underworld itself. A true demon. Luo He slowly raised his sword afterward.
Even the weapon transformed alongside him.
The living armor flowed across the elegant black steel blade and its beautifully crafted hilt, swallowing its refined appearance entirely.
The once graceful weapon became darker, heavier, crueler. The hilt reshaped itself into a jagged blood-red crescent with uneven edges resembling sharpened fangs.
Crimson lightning crawled faintly along the blade while the metal itself remained darkened beyond blackness, absorbing surrounding light instead of reflecting it.
Only then, did Luo He finally move again.
With a single step, he launched himself upward.
The forest exploded beneath him as he soared through the branches before landing effortlessly atop one of the highest limbs of a colossal ancient banyan tree.
The branch alone was thick enough to support several houses, stretching outward above the forest like the arm of some ancient giant.
There he sat. One knee raised slightly.
Sword resting casually across it. And then his aura erupted. A wave of murderous intent exploded outward from his body like an invisible blood storm.
The atmosphere itself seemed to darken.
Birds fled screaming from distant trees. Smaller beasts hidden within the forest collapsed trembling beneath the pressure. Even the wind felt colder now.
This was nothing like Luo He's usual presence. Normally, his aura was relaxed. Playful. Cold and Dangerous only beneath the surface.
But this, this was pure slaughter. A blood-soaked aura so heavy it felt almost physical. Like standing before a mountain made from corpses. The King of Hell had arrived.