Shatter the Heart Protector Mirror
Lin Taichu moved. Instead of charging forward, he withdrew half a step to the right. The Iron Sword slid free along his side, its tip pointing down as it dragged a shallow line across the blue-brick ground.
Zhou Jin was a step faster than Lin Taichu. His sword was already out of its sheath. The blade's light did not strike at anyone directly, but slashed straight toward the chests of the front row.
The sword edge struck a Heart Protector Mirror with a dull clang. Sparks flew, Zhou Jin's wrist rebounded from the impact, and he himself staggered back half a step.
A crack appeared in that Heart Protector Mirror. The dark red glow across its surface flickered, then steadied. The man who had been struck remained standing as if he had not felt the blow at all.
Feng Tie came at them from the other side. Without wasting words, he swung his short hammer in a full arc and smashed it into the hollow of a second-row man's shoulder. The man stumbled two steps sideways. A crack sounded as the hammer landed, yet when the man turned his head, not a muscle in his face moved. He continued forward.
Lin Taichu understood. The Heart Protector Mirrors on these men did more than guard their chests. Those Dharma Artifacts were channeling power through their entire bodies. As long as the iron plate on their chests remained unbroken, they could keep fighting without end.
He twisted aside to evade a grasping hand, and the Iron Sword shaved along the man's forearm. Its edge sliced through the sleeve and left a gash in the flesh. Blood dripped from the man's fingers, but his other hand immediately reached for Lin Taichu.
Lin Taichu retreated two steps and avoided