Ultragenic Warlord

Chapter 485: The Reinforcements Arrive

Zhou Liao murmured worriedly, "I wonder whether Zhang Lie's holding out fine? I hope he's not trying to make some sort of heroic last stand..."

From humanity's perspective, Zhang Lie's current behavior was much like that of a fool. Dividing his already limited forces into six groups and attacking the seven sura kingdoms directly? Was he tired of living?

Quite a few hunters in Qi had fought with Zhang Lie before, and they were worried that Renhuang would be a pile of steaming ruins by the time they arrived. From their perspective, it was impossible that Renhuang, let alone the members of Team Zenith, would be able to hold the sura back.

The hunters of Qi had seen Team Zenith in action before, and they had to admit that the members of Team Zenith were stronger than ordinary hunters, but could they really compare to a sura king?

Among the humans, only the governors of each city had enough strength to contend against the sura kings, and they simply didn't understand what Zhang Lie was thinking.

Provoking the sura kings unnecessarily—they could chalk that off as pure arrogance, but how about sending the members of Team Zenith to face off against the seven kings? That was utter stupidity! How could the members of Team Zenith hope to kill the sura kings by themselves?

Zhou Liao and a large group of hunters rushed swiftly to Renhuang. When they arrived at the city and found it standing tall and proud, they sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness we're not too late." They had been so scared that, by the time they arrived, Renhuang would be nothing but a pile of ruins.

As they approached the city gates, they found a banner draped over it: [Congratulations to our heroes' success in killing the seven sura kings!]

The human hunters: ???

The trees that had rooted themselves around the city gates began to glow, and a member of an alien race that was pale green all over floated out from among a copse of trees. "Who are you?"

The human hunters had learned from those in Renhuang that there were a number of alien races present within. Undoubtedly, this was one such.

Zhou Liao stepped forward. "We're reinforcements sent to support the troops of Renhuang."

The wood spirit was taken aback. "Support? Reinforcements? For what?"

A hunter called out, "Don't you know? Seven sura kingdoms are making their way toward Renhuang!"

Zhou Liao explained, "The troops from seven sura kingdoms are on their way to attack Renhuang as we speak. No one can survive this ordeal on their own—we're here to help hold the city!"

Wasn't it strange that this inhabitant of Renhuang didn't seem to know about the news at all? The information had been sent directly to them; could Zhang Lie be preventing word from spreading? If that were true, had he just inadvertently ruined Zhang Lie's plans by revealing that piece of news?

The wood spirit blinked a few times and replied, "Those sura have all been killed. Look, we're preparing to welcome our heroes back now!"

The human hunters: ???

"Come in!"

Zhang Lie called out from the top of the city walls.

The wood spirit gave way gracefully. "Welcome to our city, humans."

The reinforcements walked toward the city gates. Zhang Lie saw a familiar face among them—the troop leader of the special forces of Qi, Zhou Liao.

Zhang Lie leapt down from the city walls and landed right by Zhou Liao's side, patting him on the shoulder as he laughed. "You're here too! I'm surprised Qi was willing to let its special forces go."

Zhou Liao replied seriously, "The human cities took Martial Sage Hong Tianqi's call for aid seriously, especially the governor of Qi. In order to repay the martial sage's assistance in defending Qi in the past, he sent all his elites over. We can surely help you out!"

Someone among the forces called out, "The martial sage knew that you certainly wouldn't retreat, so he staked his own reputation on a call for aid. There were even more reinforcements who had signed up, but after hearing about your battle tactics, they all backed out at the last minute."

"Thank you for coming." Regardless of whether or not their help was necessary, Zhang Lie was grateful for their kind intentions.

Zhou Ming frowned. "There's something I'm quite curious about—what's with the banner above the city gates? If there's anything that you can't tell us, that's fine, but I'd like to understand Renhuang's current situation."

Zhang Lie replied, "Yes, I was just about to mention it. Unfortunately, you've all arrived too late."

The human hunters: ???

Zhou Liao frowned. "Zhang Lie, what do you mean?"

He surveyed Renhuang with a critical eye. It didn't seem at all damaged; there were only Yeluo fighters remaining in the city, without any humans in sight.

Could Zhang Lie have surrendered to the sura? Or perhaps he had recruited aid from some alien races?

Zhang Lie pointed at the banner above the city gates. "The battle against the seven sura kingdoms is over. You're just in time for the celebratory banquet—I think our victorious forces will return soon, so you won't have to wait for too long, either."

Zhou Liao placed a firm hand on Zhang Lie's shoulder, pity in his eyes. "Zhang Lie, I know this has to be a crushing blow for you, considering how you've never suffered defeat ever since entering this realm. That said, escapism won't solve your problems, and you have to face reality."

It was Zhang Lie's turn to be startled. Hadn't he been clear and direct? How had Zhou Liao ended up with such a misunderstanding?

Zhou Liao continued seriously, "I know your opponents are very strong, so strong you won't be able to defeat them alone, so strong you're starting to despair and go crazy—but that's why we're here!

"There's a chance that we'll be able to turn the tides. We need to seize that opportunity with our own hands—with these reinforcements, and with your strength, comparable to that of a sura king, we can still push back the sura."

Zhang Lie raised a hand, interrupting Zhou Liao. "Zhou Liao, you seem to be misunderstanding something. I've never despaired, and I certainly haven't gone crazy. What I've told you is the truth."

Zhou Liao placed both hands on Zhang Lie's head. "There's no need to continue this charade. Lying to yourself and lying to others won't help—what will come will come! Why not give it your all instead? If it's you, Zhang Lie, I'm sure you'll be able to create a miracle."

Zhang Lie blinked. What he relayed was so astonishing that the reinforcements simply couldn't believe him.

Could the six members of Team Zenith really deal with a sura king each? Had the members of Team Zenith taken down the seven-kingdom coalition all by themselves? No one would believe such a ludicrous claim—humans and sura kings were two separate levels of existence entirely!

No one would deny that Zhang Lie had the strength to kill a sura king, considering he had done so not once but twice, but did the members of Team Zenith really share his strength?

Zhou Liao replied once more, "Zhang Lie, no matter how cruel reality is, you can't run away from it forever. I know what you're feeling now—I felt much the same way when Qi was about to fall! But these problems won't go away just because you ignore them. No, they'll only grow more and more severe. With our help, I'm sure you can take them on!"

Zhang Lie rubbed his temples. "If you refuse to believe me, I'm not sure what I can do. At any rate, please, enter the city. You'll find out that I've been right soon enough."