Ultragenic Warlord

Chapter 948: Clamoring to Participate

Sun Mengmeng asked, "Captain, do you have any plans for us during the death spirits' war?"

"Surely you must have some plans for us if you're forbidding us from joining the draconians." Yang Ze turned to Zhang Lie as well.

Zhang Lie was just about to speak when sharp knocks rapped at the door. Even before the door opened, the draconian sage had used his authority as king to figure out who lay behind it.

"Your sister seems to be searching for you," he told Zhang Lie.

Zhang Lie wasn't surprised. Just as the draconian sage could invoke his authority to see who lay behind the door, Zhang Lie could use his power to do the same. "What's the matter, Hanxiang?"

Zhang Hanxiang opened the door, her face beaming. "Brother, look who I brought with me!"

Zhang Hanxiang moved aside, revealing a figure behind her that made the members of Team Zenith light up in excitement.

"Hong Xi!"

Standing behind Zhang Hanxiang was Hong Xi.

Zhang Lie had sensed Hong Xi behind Zhang Hanxiang near-immediately, and he wasn't too surprised. He smiled as expected. "Hong Xi, you've finally ascended to the third realm."

Hong Xi nodded. "I finished up my responsibilities on Mars. Reconstruction will take some time, and I left Jun Jiuxiao and Ye Xianchen in charge of those affairs. Subsequently, I handed my tasks in Limit in the second realm to my brother. With all that settled, I finally ascended."

Zhang Lie smiled. "Excellent timing. You've arrived just in time to participate in a mythic battle that will remain in the annals of the third realm."

Zhang Lie would be fighting in the thick of things, and he might not have the attention to spare for others. He couldn't take over the role of commander for the war.

The warlords, led by the four prime races, could be an independent force on the battlefield. Zhu herself could lead the lifeforms she controlled.

After succeeding in the trial that the realm had seen fit to bestow her, Zhu had lost all the negative side-effects that came as a result of her being a stowaway. Participating in this war would be much-needed training for her, as well as for the disaster-grade lifeforms that she was trying to evolve into mythic-grade. They needed to participate in as many of these large-scale battles as they could.

The humans would be led by the warlords; the draconian sage would take care of the draconians.

The problem rested with the fact that the draconian world consisted of more than just humans, draconians, and genetic lifeforms. There were factions and races of varying strength and number, which Zhang Lie intended to make use of on the battlefield.

The members of Team Zenith and the warlords had conquered many worlds, and there were bearmen, mammoths, greenskins, and so on in the draconian world.

These races wouldn't necessarily listen to the draconians. The draconian sage hadn't had time to come to an agreement with these races, who had been bested by the members of Team Zenith and would only follow their command.

In order for these forces to work in harmony with each other, it was imperative that there be an overall command in charge of the draconian world at large.

It would have been ideal for this command to consist of Zhang Lie and the members of Team Zenith, but Zhang Lie had to represent the Zongming world, and he ?didn't want the members of Team Zenith to participate in the war. The third-most suitable person would be the draconian sage, but he didn't intend to participate personally, either—he would be immensely difficult to replace if he were to die in battle somehow.

Hong Xi would be a perfect candidate to fill this role.

"Hong Xi, I name you commander of the draconian world's forces in resistance of the death spirits' invasion."

Hong Xi was gobsmacked. She had just ascended—she was nothing more than a newbie! Commander?

"Can I really do it?"

Zhang Lie nodded firmly. "You can."

"No, I can't!" Hong Xi's voice quavered.

Zhang Lie smiled gently. "You'll be fine. The other races are still cowed by the threat of Team Zenith. If you can explain to them what's going on, I'm sure they'll understand the benefits of cooperation. You'll be able to take advantage of the name of Team Zenith to serve as the battlefield commander."

The draconian sage understood what Zhang Lie was trying to do. "You're trying to form some sort of coalition among us cannon fodder?"

All the inhabitants of the draconian world could at least agree on two things: they didn't want the draconian world to be defeated, and they didn't want to die. In that case, they would have to use others as cannon fodder.

Zhang Lie continued, "The best approach for our survival is to gather together a large enough group of cannon fodder and compensate for lack of quality with quantity. That's the one chance that the draconian world has for survival on a battlefield with two massive foes."

The draconian sage was touched that Zhang Lie had thought so far ahead.

Zhang Hanxiang raised a hand. "I want to participate, too! I want to be part of this mythical battle!"

Zhang Lie scowled. "Ridiculous! Do you understand just how dangerous it is for you?"

"Of course!"

"What would you know? Do you know what the death spirits are like—or how shameless our allies, the superior worlds, can be? ?Do you know of the superior worlds that lord over this realm?"

Zhang Hanxiang replied excitedly, "No, I don't know any of that, but if it's a war that you're calling mythical, Brother, it has to be something truly impressive!"

Zhang Lie had never thought much of any of the draconian world's invasion attempts, and the fact that he was calling this war mythical revealed just how imposing and impressive in scope it would be.

Zhang Hanxiang's analysis was correct. The scope of this war would encompass the entirety of the third realm, the likes of which had never been seen and would likely never be seen again.

Zhang Lie sucked in a deep breath. "If you're unaware of your enemies, how can you expect to fare well in battle? You'd perish on the battlefield without realizing how you've died. Stay behind in the draconian world and wait for my return."

Zhang Hanxiang frowned and crossed her arms. "Can't you bring me along with you, Brother?"

"You know nothing of the enemy! It would be foolish to bring you with me."

Zhang Hanxiang protested, "But Hong Xi has just ascended as well! She doesn't know anything about the enemy, either—why would you let her become the battlefield commander?"

Zhang Lie clutched his head in exasperation. "The enemy we're facing this time is no joke. The death spirits are being led by the death spirit king, whose goal is to take over all three thousand worlds of the third realm and become the strongest existence within it."

Zhang Hanxiang frowned.

"That's only the start of his ambitions, too—he plans on using the third realm like a springboard from which to drain the first and second realms dry, before heading up into the fourth and fifth realms. His ambition is bolstered by overwhelming strength, and I can't afford to take care of others while in the heat of battle."

Hong Xi trembled and wanted to shrink back.

She had just advanced, and she didn't have any third-realm gene fragments to her name. For Zhang Lie to have set up such a foe for her—how was she meant to do it all?

Zhang Lie continued, "Our enemy is a terrifying foe, and our allies are unreliable and shameless. The only reason we're working together with them is because we can't let the death spirits succeed. The superior worlds' goal is to drag all three thousand worlds into the battle with them, hoping that as many of them perish as possible so that they can profit from those worlds afterwards."

In other words, they were allies only in name.

The strongest enemy they had faced to date, and the worst allies to have—there could be no worse combination.

Sun Mengmeng suggested, "Captain, considering the big picture, I believe it would be more appropriate for Hanxiang to be the battlefield commander."

Zhang Lie glared at Sun Mengmeng.

On the other hand, Zhang Hanxiang seemed very touched. "Thank you, Mengmeng!"

Sun Mengmeng smiled gently at Zhang Hanxiang.

Yang Ze thought for a moment, then added, "I agree with Sun Mengmeng. Hong Xi has just advanced, and even if we tell everyone that she's your disciple, it'll be hard for her to gain traction. Her roots in the third realm are too shallow."

Zhang Lie pointed at his sister. "Is Hanxiang any better?"

Sun Mengmeng replied, "At the very least, she arrived in the third realm before Hong Xi, and more people are aware of her. Hong Xi's a perfectly fine candidate, but Hanxiang's been here longer, and they all know that she's your sister. The draconians and humans, at least, will do their best to protect her."

Everyone understood that a commander was necessary for the battle.

The warlords and members of Team Zenith had taken down too many worlds, and the various races would frequently clash with each other unless they were appropriately controlled. An apt commander was necessary.

However, these races only feared the warlords and members of Team Zenith, so the commander of these forces had to have some level of strength, as well as guards composed of humans and draconians alike.

Human guards were particularly important: human hunters had participated in the invasion of nearby worlds under the direction of the members of Team Zenith, and the races feared and respected human strength.

From this perspective, Zhang Hanxiang, who was known to the third realm and a familiar face to the human hunters, was a better choice than Hong Xi.