Talented Martial Hero
Chapter 878 An Alliance With The Black-Armored Man (Part One)

Soon the black-armored man realized that the voice he heard was not that of his master. As he looked about, he was even more puzzled and startled to find that Darren was nowhere to be seen. "Why are you so scared?" asked the voice, and it was closer this time—coming from directly behind him, in fact.

Horrified, he whirled and found none other than Darren standing before him, smiling and looking none the worse for wear.

"You!" the black-armored man gasped. "You... You can break the soul attack?"

He was exceedingly astonished. He'd never guessed that anyone could survive after withstanding the soul attack, let alone be unscathed, as this man apparently was.

"Of course I can. Otherwise, how do you think I could stand here talking to you?" Darren answered with carelessness.

At that moment, a desirous light came into the other man's eyes. Obviously, something was overpowering his fear: curiosity.

"How did you escape the attack?" he asked earnestly.

"It's none of your business.” Darren strode over and stopped before his erstwhile enemy. "I know that you want to get rid of his control, is that right?"

The other man, powerful and imposing in his night-colored armor, trembled at those words. He had dreamed of freedom ever since the Misty Emperor had brought him back to life. The mere thought that he might stand a chance of getting it was overwhelming—and, perhaps, too good to be true. "What do you want from me?" he asked cautiously.

"It's simple,” Darren explained. "Just let me out of this place, and I'll take you with me."

Dread shrouded the mind of the armored warrior, and he shook his head gravely. "That's impossible. My soul is in the hands of my master. I'm surely doomed if I try to escape.” As long as the Misty Emperor controlled the soul of his servant, it would be a simple matter to kill him as soon as he learned of any escape attempt.

"You have nothing to worry about. You have seen for yourself that I have great powers and techniques at my command. If I can resist the soul attack, then I'm also powerful enough to help free you of his control.” Darren's tone was cool, purely confident, but in reality he was only bluffing. He had no weapons or skills that he thought could help the armored man overcome the Misty Emperor. But unless he convinced this guardian of the cave that he did, he had no chance of escaping this place.

For a long moment the black-armored man was silent. Though deeply moved by Darren's charisma, he still had some doubts and had to think carefully before daring to defy his master.

After all, the Misty Emperor was a half-step emperor who possessed a great cultivation method of Soul Control Skill. How on earth could an ordinary cultivator like Darren break through that so easily?

But on the other hand, Darren had taken the brunt of his soul attack—he'd seen it with his own eyes. This man must have possessed some mysterious and powerful skills which the black-armored man had never heard of.

What if he could be trusted? But what if he couldn't? If the black-armored man made the wrong choice, his second life could come to an end in an instant.

He decided to hedge his bets and said, "Help me get free of his control first. Then I'll get you out of this place.”

"That is impossible!" Darren snapped. "What are you, some kind of an idiot? Right now, we are still in the realm of his Space-time Palace. Suppose I used my secret method right now to cut off the link between your soul and his imprint. He would immediately be alerted to it. What do you think would happen then? Would he just let us do as we please?

He's not going to have anything kind in store for us—especially not for you, a traitor. If you want to completely get out of his control, you and I must escape from this place first. Then, after we've put a safe distance between us and him, I will break his control over your soul. That is our best option, considering the current situation.”

The other man did not reply. He strode back and forth for a moment, poring over Darren's words in his mind.

He knew that his current life was not what he had hoped for. This resurrection to life had brought him servitude, not the freedom and power that he had expected. As the moments passed, he started to see things Darren's way. Even if Darren did cut him free of his master's influence right then and there, he would still be caught and killed by the Misty Emperor in short order.

"Do you want freedom or slavery? It's up to you," Darren chimed in. "Anyway, as long as I don't hand over the dark-spirit crystals, my life won't be in danger. And besides, even if you won't help, my elders are sure to find a way to save me sooner or later, so I'm not in a hurry.” Saying this, he went, sat down against the wall, and closed his eyes as if taking a nap. The silence stretched on and on, and he frowned, hoping his bluff would work. He wasn't sure what else he could say, if the black-armored man remained unconvinced.

After some time, the black-armored man spoke. "Aren't you afraid that he will kill you if I tell him that you are faking?"

"You can just go ahead and tell him what you saw," Darren replied slowly. "But I don't think you will. I mean, if you did, I'd be obliged to talk with him and let him know what sort of things you're thinking about.

From what I've seen so far, it's plain that he's extremely careful and suspicious about your loyalty. So, if I was to tell him that you're plotting to turn against him, I bet he would believe me

Do you think he would keep a dangerous person by his side?”

Now the black-armored man was even more perturbed. Once again, he found no way to dispute with Darren's remarks. At last, he made up his mind and said, "You win. We will do as you say. Now get up! We may as well be on our way now."