Chapter 793: Blinded by Arrogance
As Li Feng negotiated with the golden mammoth, the blizzard around them suddenly grew far more intense, and the temperature dropped to a bone-chilling level.
A voice came from behind. "There's no need. I'm already here."
Li Feng turned around to see a twenty-meter-tall figure striding toward them through the blizzard.
The golden mammoth trembled. "Herdleader!"
The mammoth who appeared had long fur, glittering and crystalline like diamond. Wind and snow circled him. He had the stature of Optimus Prime. The mammoth herdleader commented, "I'm disappointed. You were unable to stop even a puny human. You became so weak because you spent all your time with the humans in the draconian world."
The golden mammoth began to cough out blood.
Despite the golden mammoth's injuries, despite the fact that the golden mammoth was to be the next successor to his title, the mammoth herdleader didn't seem to care for the golden mammoth at all. Instead, he harshly criticized the golden mammoth for failing his duties.
Li Feng frowned.
If nothing else, the golden mammoth had tried to stop Li Feng at the cost of his life. Even if he had failed in that mission, the fact that the mammoth herdleader was simply criticizing him without attempting to help with his life-threatening injuries was ridiculous.
"You've truly disappointed me. How dare you refuse my order to command the invasion troops, to criticize me in front of the other mammoths for turning against our allies, for nothing but these weak, puny humans! It's clear you don't respect my authority!"
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe golden mammoth wearily raised his head. "I apologize, herdleader, but even now, I haven't changed my mind. The humans and draconians are allies to our world, and they've contributed to our survival in this frozen land. I refuse to turn my back on our allies when they're in need!"
If not for the humans imparting the mammoths their knowledge of military formations and blacksmithing, the mammoths would surely have a much harder time surviving their bitter climate.
The mammoth herdleader cried out, "Who made you my successor, and who has been protecting the herd all this time? Who elevated our living conditions? Not the humans, not the draconians, not our allies—but me! Without me, would the herd still be around?"
Li Feng laughed coldly. "Hah! As if you were solely responsible for your herd's welfare! Or do you claim that you've never received any kindness from the humans or draconians? Herdleader, you're far too self-centered!"
If not for the humans' knowledge, the mammoths wouldn't be able to hunt for food so easily, and neither would they grow strong enough as a race to begin invading their neighboring worlds.
More importantly, neither would they have been recognized by the will of the world.
The mammoth herdleader had worked hard to elevate the tribe, and his strength was hardly in question, but it would be inappropriate for him to claim all the credit.
Li Feng sighed. "What a pity. I wanted to have a look at the volcano around which the mammoths built their base, but you've already come to die!"
The mammoth herdleader snorted. "Given what you can see of our living conditions, shouldn't it be obvious why we're hoping for something better?"
"Yes, but to do so by betraying your allies is wrong!"
The mammoth herdleader pointed at Li Feng as he shouted to the golden mammoth, "Look, look right here, my young successor! Some random human is standing in front of me and criticizing me shamelessly and impolitely. This is all your fault. If you had attacked the draconians with the rest of the tribe, you wouldn't be lying on the ground as wounded as you are now! This is all your fault!"
The golden mammoth remained quiet upon hearing the herdleader's words.
The herdleader criticized him even more viciously. "If you had listened to me, there would be no humans pushing into our territory now—and you couldn't even redeem yourself by stopping a single human! You're useless, utterly useless!"
Li Feng interjected with a harsh laugh. "Useless? No, not him—but soon, you will be!
I had thought that, as the king of the realm and the leader of the mammoths, you would be far more insightful and open-minded, but you're just a petty and narrow-minded fellow!"
The mammoth herdleader twisted his head. "Do you want to die, human?"
Li Feng taunted, "What, you think you can kill me?"
The mammoth herdleader laughed. "Puny human, I could kill you with just one finger!"
Li Feng raised his head to the skies. "I wonder which race it was that had to submit and bow down to us for some information that we don't even use anymore?"
"You dare!" the mammoth herdleader howled, punching forward with a leg. Ice and snow shot forward, freezing Li Feng's face even before the main force behind the attack landed.
"[Light Dragon's Remnants]!" Li Feng's hands moved so quickly they were hardly visible, sending countless dragons of light flying out toward the mammoth and counteracting his punch. Light and ice exploded, and the frozen ground grew even frostier. Li Feng began to prepare another attack.
"[Dance of the Incandescent Wyrm]!" Li Feng summoned dozens of serpents, flaring with blinding light. They tore apart the shield of ice and snow around the mammoth and struck him directly.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHowever, the mammoth herdleader's skin and hair was even tougher and more resilient than the golden mammoth's. Li Feng's dragons of light were able to penetrate the snowstorm shield, but not the mammoth's hair itself.
The mammoth herdleader grinned, stomping out the dragons with his legs.
.
"[Arclight Dragon's Imprint]!" Li Feng, now clad in a suit of dragon armor, waved his left arm. A seal of light materialized around him.
The next moment, a gigantic dragon's claw struck the mammoth herdleader from above.
The frozen ground began to crack.
"[Light's Bulwark: Draconic Fist]!" Li Feng clenched his fist. His right arm, clad with light, was covered with scales. The scales began to move as an arclight dragon materialized, howled, and rushed toward the mammoth.
The mammoth herdleader reached out and grabbed the arclight dragon. "Is this all the strength you have?"
With a heavy stomp, the dragon dissipated into formless energy.
"[Light's Bulwark: Dragon's Teeth]!" Li Feng charged up for a stronger attack. Concentrated light-attuned genetic energy surrounded him as he shot forward in a beam of light.
The mammoth slammed a leg on the ground, causing a wall of ice to erupt. Li Feng's fist smashed into that wall. Subsequently, as the mammoth raised a leg and smashed the wall apart, Li Feng was sent flying. He stabilized himself in mid-air, then readied another technique.
"[Light's Bulwark: Meteoric Fist]!" An arclight dragon appeared behind Li Feng. He punched forward, and the dragon shot toward the golden mammoth like a bullet from a sniper rifle.
The light dragon left behind a starry trail, breathtakingly beautiful.
As Li Feng continued to punch forward like a gatling gun, the dragons he manifested broke apart the ice that the mammoth herdleader had created. Li Feng's rain of bullets was finally able to penetrate the mammoth herdleader's defense and wound his body.