Hao Ren and his group were currently in a broad, straight corridor in a side hall of the Golden Palace. The corridor was completely exposed, with nowhere to hide or set up an ambush as far as the eye could see, so Hao Ren simply carried his weapon and stood in the middle of it, waiting without dodging or concealing himself. Although he had no idea who was coming or whether they were hostile, he still felt no unease. He was leading a group of Earth's strongest fighters (excluding the Nangong siblings), with two battle-hardened senior inspectors at his side. With a team like that, he wasn't afraid of any creature in Asgard.
As long as that eldest son didn't suddenly wake up, they'd be fine.
Anthony and Galadriel also prepared themselves beside Hao Ren. The old mage summoned more than a dozen crackling Arcane Orbs, which revolved around him. The lightning arcing between the orbs continuously wove itself into all kinds of marvelous geometric patterns. Galadriel merely stood there with her hands spread, but her eyes had already turned golden-red, and a faint Dragon's Might spread in every direction.
Behind Hao Ren, the companions in his team also entered their respective states. Those who needed to step up did so, and those who needed to cower cowered. Everyone cooperated according to their role, without the slightest panic.
The sounds coming from deep within the corridor grew clearer and clearer. Amid the clacking and scraping of metal armor came more than one heavy footstep. It sounded as though an entire squad of fully armored knights was marching this way. Hao Ren tightened his grip on the Godslayer Sword—this was the first time he had held the thing as a weapon, and he wanted to test its power—then instructed them in