Inside the Dawn Hall, the continuous clicking of firearms being cocked echoed through the air.
Marc looked at Ian standing in front of Ran Bing, his weapon aimed steadily at the figure woven from light and shadow.
"Who are you?"
The guards behind him seemed to wake from a dream. Dozens of dark muzzles locked onto the figure in the center of the hall from all directions.
The air froze, the atmosphere incredibly tense.
Ran Bing leaned against the platform behind her. Looking at the anxious Marc before her, she only felt her heart pounding wildly, completely ignoring the mysterious Ian standing right in front of her.
Suddenly, Ian moved.
He ignored the lethal threats and slowly walked out from the boundary of light and shadow, fully exposing himself to the illumination.
In that instant, everyone held their breath.
It was a face that could not be described with words.
It possessed handsome contours full of masculinity, yet contained a sacred majesty that transcended gender. He seemed to be the physical embodiment of all beauty and order in the world, making people afraid to look directly at him, yet unable to resist the urge to fall to their knees and worship.
*Clatter.*
A young guard's firearm slipped from his grasp. He fell to his knees in a daze, muttering to himself.
"Lord of Light and Shadow..."
These words seemed to carry a magical power. More and more guards were awed by that divine aura. Their weapons unconsciously lowered, their eyes filled with reverence and fanaticism.
Amidst the chaos, only Charles had an ashen face.
The terror deep within his heart was replaced by an even stronger, almost consuming jealousy and suspicion.
'No!'
'The Lord of Light and Shadow I saw in my childhood memories definitely didn't look like this!'
'This is an imposter!'
'A fraud trying to steal the fruits of faith I worked so hard to build!'
"False god!"
Charles shrieked hysterically, his sharp, piercing voice tearing through the sacred silence.
"He is not the Lord! Open fire! Are you all deaf?! Kill him!"
This furious roar awakened some of the dazed guards, but as they looked at Ian's face, their hands trembled. None of them could pull the trigger.
Shoot at a god?
The thought itself was an unforgivable blasphemy.
"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"
Charles acted like a madman. He lunged at the guard closest to him and reached out to snatch his gun.
"Give it to me!"
"My Lord! You can't!"
The guard panicked and tried to take back his weapon. As the two shoved and struggled, a finger accidentally pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A gunshot exploded in the dead silent hall.
This gunshot acted like a command.
Startled, the remaining guards' long-trained muscle memory instantly overrode their brains.
"Don't shoot!" Marc tried to stop them, but it was already too late.
Countless tongues of fire erupted from the muzzles. The dense hail of bullets wove into a fatal metal storm, instantly enveloping Ian and Ran Bing behind him.
It was over.
Despair surfaced simultaneously in the eyes of Marc and Ran Bing.
However, the expected shower of blood and flesh never appeared.
All the bullets eerily halted just a dozen centimeters away from Ian.
They seemed to have crashed into an invisible wall, suspended in mid-air, densely packed and completely immobilized.
An illusory, majestically domineering phantom of golden armor flashed briefly in front of Ian.
Time seemed to freeze in this moment.
Next, a golden belt carved with intricate dragon patterns and a Tai Chi symbol appeared out of thin air around Ian's waist.
He raised his hand and took off a crystal-clear, round gemstone from his neck that seemed to condense the brilliance of the sun.
Then, he slammed it into the slot in the center of the belt.
"Emperor Hero Armor!"
The magnificent and overbearing voice did not come from his mouth, but directly echoed in everyone's minds, resounding throughout the entire Lighthouse.
"Assemble!"
Golden light erupted!
The radiance seemed even more dazzling than the sun, instantly swallowing the entire Dawn Hall.
Streams of golden data, like living serpents, rapidly spiraled around Ian's body, swiftly combining, splicing, and solidifying.
A mighty, extraordinary, and peerlessly domineering ultimate Emperor Hero Armor descended upon the world.
Massive golden wings of light unfurled behind his back, gorgeous and majestic. The ferocious dragon heads on the shoulder guards seemed alive, flashing with a cold light. The ancient Tai Chi symbol on the chest slowly rotated, flowing with profound energy.
An unrivaled imperial aura instantly swept across the entire venue.
In his Emperor Hero Armor form, Ian merely waved his hand casually.
A gentle yet absolutely irresistible force spread out like a tidal wave.
All the armed guards, along with those Adjudicators, went limp and silently fainted on the ground.
The entire world fell quiet.
He walked step by step toward Charles, who was slumped on the ground, trembling all over from extreme terror.
The metal boots of the armor stepped on the marble floor, emitting crisp, rhythmic sounds. Every step felt like it was stomping on Charles's heart.
Ian looked down at him from above. His voice transmitted through the armor, carrying a metallic texture and supreme majesty.
"Are you not my believer?"
"Since you see your God, why do you not bow?"
Charles trembled violently. He was certain that the person before him was absolutely not the "Lord of Light and Shadow" he preached about, but this power, this oppressive aura, was undeniably real.
This was an existence countless times more terrifying than a Monarch-class Pola Beast!
A thought flashed through his mind like lightning.
He immediately made a decision, prostrating himself on the ground and using all his strength to slam his head heavily against the cold floor.
"It... It is this lowly one who was blind! It is this lowly one who was foolish! Failing to recognize my Lord's true form! Please, Lord... punish me!"
He pleaded in a trembling voice, using the most humble and devout tone.
However, on his face pressed against the floor where no one could see, a trace of extreme greed flashed deep in his eyes.
His gaze was dead locked onto the belt of that armor.
That place must be the source of this person's power!
He decided to placate this "false god" first, then secretly look for an opportunity to seize that belt!
'When that time comes, heh heh!'
On the other side, Marc broke free from his astonishment. He rushed to Ran Bing's side and tightly supported her equally trembling body.
"Ran Bing! Are you okay?"
Ran Bing shook her head, looking at him in lingering fear.
Between the life-and-death catastrophe just now, all laws, all concerns, and all suppression had vanished into thin air.
They could no longer restrain their surging emotions. Casting everything aside, they embraced each other tightly, feeling each other's real body temperature and violent heartbeats.
The corner of Charles's eye caught this scene, his heart full of ambition and jealousy towards Marc.
Maintaining his kneeling posture, he loudly complained to Ian.
"My Lord! Please look!"
He pointed at the tightly embracing Marc and Ran Bing, his voice full of "devout" fury.
"These two are openly violating the Lighthouse's iron laws, committing such shameful acts under your divine radiance! This is the greatest blasphemy against you! It is an open provocation of the law!"
"Men! Take these blasphemers and..."
He stopped mid-sentence, realizing there were no "men" left to heed his command.