Becoming a Saint From the Iron Armor Skill

Two young women in coarse-cloth tunics emerged from behind a massive boulder high above. Standing atop the rock, they drew their bows, their arrows trained on Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng smiled and cupped his hands. "I am a Purple-clothed Guard of the Demon Suppression Department," he said. "I’ve come all this way to Chen Family Gully to slay a Demon Beast.

Are you the people of Chen Family Gully Village?"

Upon hearing this, the two women’s faces lit up, but they immediately began to study Chen Cheng closely.

They saw his Purple-clothed Guard uniform, the long saber at his waist, and his commanding presence—he was a perfect match for the rumored description of an official from the Demon Suppression Department.

The two of them lowered their bows, but their expressions remained guarded.

In this world, it wasn’t just Demon Beasts that brought disaster; there were also all manner of bandits and thieves. With the village men all away, the women had to be cautious.

The woman with the sturdier build and respectable features spoke up.

"We are from Chen Family Gully Village, taking refuge on this cliff to escape the demon scourge. If you’re here to slay demons, Lord Official, what business do you have with us?"

Chen Cheng replied, "I came to ask about a few things."

Chen Cheng already had a decent grasp of the situation in Chen Family Gully.

The villagers had taken refuge in the cliffside caves to escape the demon scourge and were currently safe.

However, before Chen Ergou died, he had revealed something: the village hunters were apparently planning to hunt a Tier One Wolf Demon that had appeared on Zhegu Ridge.

Zhegu Ridge was several miles away, and near it was another village, Li Family Village.

The people of Li Family Village had no cliffside caves for shelter, so they had all gathered inside a stockade in the center of their village.

Ordinary beasts couldn’t breach the stockade, but this Wolf Demon was exceptionally powerful. With its sharp fangs and claws, it was difficult to injure with blades. It moved like the wind and could leap twenty to thirty feet into the air.

It had already broken into the stockade several times at night, taking many lives.

Li Family Village and Chen Family Gully were neighboring villages, with many families connected by marriage.

So, with Li Family Village in peril, the people of Chen Family Gully had gone to help, planning to set a trap and kill the Wolf Demon.

A matter of life and death like this wasn’t something one or two people could decide; it was the result of a consensus among all the villagers.

The information gathered earlier by the He Xingwen brothers hadn’t mentioned this, so they were clearly unaware of the plan.

And Chen Ergou hadn’t mentioned it to them either. The reason was obvious: Chen Ergou bore a grudge against both Chen Family Gully and Li Family Village.

He didn’t want the Government Office to learn of the danger the two villages were in.

In truth, most villages in Qingxi Town plagued by demon attacks had faced similar situations. Even the town itself saw the occasional Demon Beast.

Everyone was busy defending their own homes; who could spare the manpower to help another village?

In Chen Ergou’s mind, if Chen Cheng went to Chen Family Gully alone to exact revenge, he would be facing fierce villagers. Even with his formidable Martial Arts Power, he would be overwhelmed by their numbers, and something unexpected could easily happen.

If Chen Cheng went to Li Family Village first, he could take advantage of the chaos while the villagers were fighting the Wolf Demon. He could kill Chen An, his sons, and the other men in one fell swoop, then return to the cliffs to deal with the women and children. That would have been a much safer approach.

But Chen Cheng was always meticulous. He didn’t take Chen Ergou’s one-sided account at face value and had come to the cliffs first to verify the situation for himself.

After all, Li Family Village was only a few miles away. At his speed, he could get there in no time, so it wouldn’t cause a significant delay.

The woman’s expression was suspicious. "What is it you wish to inquire about, Lord Official?" she asked.

Chen Cheng thought for a moment before asking, "Is it true that the men from your village have gone to Li Family Village to help slay the Wolf Demon?"

"That’s true," the woman said after a brief hesitation, deciding to answer honestly.

"Did Chen An and his sons go as well?" Chen Cheng asked.

"You know Chen An?" the woman asked, her suspicion returning.

So Chen Cheng revealed his identity. "My name is Chen Cheng, and my father is Chen Ping. Chen An is my eldest uncle."

"You... My lord, are you Uncle’s son, Ah Cheng?" The woman studied Chen Cheng closely, and seeing a distinct resemblance to the Old Chen Family in his features, she was overjoyed.

"The very same," Chen Cheng confirmed.

"Please wait a moment, my lord. I will come down to speak with you," the woman said, preparing to climb down from the cliff.

In this world, official rank superseded kinship. Thus, even knowing Chen Cheng was her husband’s cousin, the woman still had to address him as "my lord."

"No need," Chen Cheng said calmly. With a single leap, he landed atop the massive boulder, which stood over twenty feet high.

Such a feat of leaping proved without a doubt that he was a Martial Artist.

The woman hastily prostrated herself on the ground and said respectfully, "My name is Li Chunhua. I am Chen Chong’s wife, which makes me your cousin-in-law, my lord."

The other woman also knelt. "My name is Zhang Ru," she said. "I am... I’m Chen Rui’s wife."

Li Chunhua was about twenty-five or twenty-six, with respectable features and a sturdy build. She had a formidable air about her and was clearly no great beauty.

Zhang Ru looked to be around twenty and was prettier. Judging by her build, she too was a capable and industrious farm woman, well-suited to running a household.

"There’s no need for such formalities, my two cousins-in-law. Just call me Ah Cheng." Since they were members of the Old Chen Family, Chen Cheng dropped his formal airs.

Li Chunhua and Zhang Ru hesitated for a moment before replying in unison, "Yes."

"I heard that my eldest uncle and the others are planning to move against the Wolf Demon tonight?" Chen Cheng asked.

At the mention of the Wolf Demon, Li Chunhua’s expression tightened. "Normally, that Wolf Demon only appears at night," she said with concern.

"But they just lit the signal smoke over in Li Family Village. I’m afraid the Wolf Demon has already shown itself."

"So soon?" Chen Cheng was surprised as well.

"Wait here, you two. I’ll go help my cousins slay the Wolf Demon."

With that, Chen Cheng leaped down from the cliff.

Li Chunhua suddenly called out, "Ah Cheng, we’re going with you!"

"I’ll go too," Zhang Ru added.

As they spoke, each woman grabbed a long spear and began scrambling down the stone footholds.

As the saying goes, it’s easier to go up a mountain than to come down. The steep cliff face was over twenty feet high, and the crude stone footholds offered no protection. An ordinary person would have to use every ounce of their strength just to climb up.

Coming down was even more difficult. A fainthearted person likely wouldn’t even dare entertain the thought.

Yet Li Chunhua and Zhang Ru descended with ease.

It was clear the two women were quite capable!

Even Chen Cheng was taken aback for a moment.

His reaction, however, made the two women misunderstand. They thought he didn’t want them to come along.

Li Chunhua’s face filled with determination. "We wanted to go help kill the Wolf Demon in the first place, but our husbands absolutely refused. They insisted we stay here."

"But I really want to help, even if it’s just to tend to their wounds if they get injured."

Zhang Ru’s voice choked with emotion. "Slaying a Wolf Demon is terribly dangerous. I’m afraid I might never see my husband again."

"I’ve already thought about it. If something... happens to my husband while fighting the Wolf Demon, at least I can be there to see him one last time."

’To think that ordinary village women could be so resolute! Who says women are inferior to men?’

Chen Cheng was moved. "In that case, let’s all go together."

"You two, hold on tight to your long spears."

Li Chunhua and Zhang Ru were both stunned, not understanding what he meant.

Then they saw Chen Cheng give a slight smile. He reached out with both hands, grabbing the shafts of their long spears and lifting both women into the air.

Taking a great stride, he shot forward like a bolt of lightning, racing toward Li Family Village.

His speed was even a notch faster than a cheetah’s.

In a matter of moments, he had left the cliff far behind, reaching the foot of Pine Forest Mountain on the way to Li Family Village. He soon disappeared down a forest path.

Back on the cliff, the remaining elderly, women, and children who witnessed this were all utterly aghast.

"That Purple-clothed Guard... could he be an immortal?" someone exclaimed in shock.

...

Beyond Pine Forest Mountain, several miles away at the central stockade of Li Family Village, an extremely perilous scene was unfolding.

The stockade walls were over thirty feet high, constructed from massive logs so thick it would take two people to wrap their arms around one. The top was lined with sharpened stakes.

Its defenses were likely no less formidable than the Moshan County City Wall.

Forget ordinary people—even a Martial Artist or an entire army could not easily breach the stockade.

A massive pit had been dug in front of the stockade, stretching fifty to sixty feet across and over thirty feet deep. It was a hunter’s trap, its bottom lined with sharpened wooden stakes. The walls were smooth, and it was designed to be wider at the base than at the opening.

A trap of this magnitude could instantly kill more than a dozen fierce beasts if they fell in.

Two wild boars, each weighing over three hundred pounds, were tied up inside the pit. They were still very much alive, squealing intermittently.

This was, of course, the bait specially prepared for the Wolf Demon.

A dozen or so men armed with bows and arrows were hidden atop the walls. They had taken measures to conceal their own life force, making it easier for the Wolf Demon to notice the boars in the pit.

All of them had smeared themselves with herbs to mask their scent.

"It’s here!"

Thick smoke suddenly billowed from the top of an ancient, towering tree at the village entrance—the signal that the Wolf Demon was approaching.

Immediately following the signal, a frenzied howl ripped through the air. A Wolf Demon, roughly ten feet long and nearly seven feet tall with glowing scarlet eyes, appeared at the village entrance.