Chapter 453: Taking the Lead
Just as Zhang Lie and the members of Team Zenith were traveling all around in search of more peak gene fragments, the seven-kingdom sura coalition had set off in earnest from seven different directions toward Renhuang.
A battle between the sura and humans, never before seen in history, was about to begin. There had never been an enemy force, let alone a human force, that warranted such attention. Most shockingly, the seven kingdoms' target was a single human city.
Everyone, human and alien alike, was carefully following the upcoming assault.
"What?" The sura are mobilizing seven kingdom's forces to deal with an alien race? Who would warrant such a grand display of strength?
"Renhuang, you say? Surely they're not related to humans?"
"What? Have the humans grown so strong that the sura need to mobilize seven kingdoms to take them down?!"
The seven kingdoms' troops were slowly heading toward Renhuang. After six days of travel, Shouta found himself completely drained of any energy.
He shouted, "Elder, when are we going to arrive?"
The elder called back, "Your highness, you've asked the same question eighteen times today already!"
Shouta replied impatiently, "Well, answer me, then—when are we going to arrive?"
The elder replied, "We're about six or seven days out. If it rains, we might take twice as long to get there."
Shouta grrumbled, "Can't we get the infantry to speed up?"
The elder spread his hands. "This is the fastest sustainable speed for the troops. If you want to speed up even further, we'll have to leave our supply lines behind."
Shouta folded his arms. "Why is it taking so long?!"
"Traveling with so many troops is bound to create a lot of commotion. If we move too quickly, it'll be easy to end up engaging in combat with the wild lifeforms all around. Better to avoid any needless confrontation," the elder advised.
Shouta had never fought in a war; all he had ever done was raid enemies with a small, elite team. From this perspective, it was particularly impressive that he was nevertheless renowned as a 'battlefield butcher'.
Shouta jumped up. "In that case, what if I head over to Renhuang with just a small group of elites, like I always do?"
The elder shook his head in exasperation. "Surely you must be joking, your highness! If you run over to Renhuang, what are the rest of us to do? Furthermore, it's very possible that Renhuang is backed by an opponent that even the monarch of stars has to be wary of. Please don't be rash!"
Unfortunately, Shouta refused to listen to reason. He patted the elder's shoulder and announced, "Elder, I have an important task ahead of me. I'll leave command of the army to you!"
"Your highness, please don't make a fuss!"
Shouta spread his arms. "This is what I've always done. Has there ever been a problem?"
The elder vehemently shook his head. "No, no, you can't! This isn't a battle for you alone— you're expected to be working in tandem with your six brothers! If you don't perform up to par, the monarch of stars will surely castigate you."
Shouta replied seriously, "Elder, that's where you're mistaken. It's precisely because we're a seven-kingdom coalition that I have to be the vanguard."
The elder still seemed rather wary. "Do you intend to test their strength before the frontal assault, then? That... that just might work! I can't believe you've thought of such a strategy by yourself, your highness!"
Shouta nodded sagely. "Exactly! You don't know just how perverted the other kings are," Shouta recounted with a shudder. "When they learned that the monarch of stars was about to wage war, they were so excited saliva almost dripped out of their mouths.
"Shicang cackled as he announced that he wanted to refill his necromantic army, Fenghe that he wanted to try out some of his creations in the battlefield, Moyan that he wanted to add some human eyes to his collection, Gaoyuan that he wanted to collect more races' testicles, and Suiyue that he wanted to find some older human men!"
Shouta mimicked the other kings' words and actions. "If I arrive late, there won't be any humans left for me—the six of them will take them all!"
The elder's mouth spasmed. "You're over-exaggerating."?Don't you think I know you well? You just want to slaughter more humans so you can start building a tower of heads…
"Elder, I'll leave the rest here to you, then!" Shouta vanished like a wisp of smoke as the elder clutched his face.?Why do I have to do everything? Why did I want to be an elder to begin with?! Perhaps I should resign...
Zhang Lie and the members of Team Zenith cooked the three peak-grade lifeforms in a stew and ate it all before heading to their next target, following the route they had outlined with the diary's assistance.
Zhang Lie stood back as he observed the members of Team Zenith and the leader of the rock spirits fight.
In a flash, Zhou Ying had activated three different soulshards.
"[Avatar of the Fae: Dance of the Earth Dragon]!" Two jade-green dragons darted out of her hands like two beams of light, trapping her peak-grade prey.
"[Lunarflame Shot]!" An arrow shot out of the flaming bow in Sun Mengmeng's hands, transforming into a firebird as it shot toward the peak-grade lifeform, which vanished behind a curtain of flames.
Fang Yi yelled, dashing forward with his spear in hand. Hurled forward by wind and storm, the spear seemed nigh unstoppable. As it struck, [Rondo of Wind and Storm] pierced the peak-grade lifeform's head.
"[Adamantine Aegis]!" A layer of golden runes covered Sun Xiaowu's skin, augmenting his defense to such a magnitude that even the peak-grade dragon-type lifeform was unable to break through his armor.
"[Light Dragon's Remnants]!" Li Feng's hands moved so quickly they were hardly visible, sending countless dragons of light flying out toward their prey.
With their prey battered and bruised all over, Yang Ze struck the finishing blow with [The Boundless Blade].
Along the way, they had already managed to hunt down seven or eight peak-grade lifeforms, and Zhang Lie's peak gene fragments were maxed out, as were those of the members of Team Zenith and Hong Xi.
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