Chapter 1122: Battle To The Death (II)

“Dean Zhang, does a descendent of the supreme need to skulk in the shadows like this?” Zheng Gong appeared young and looked around with a hint of wariness. His tone remained calm. “Boundless simply revitalized a few years earlier. The dean did not determine right from wrong before sending Li Hao to execute our guardian plant spirit. I say it’s the dean who’s betrayed our civilization!

“The dean now hides himself and is afraid to show his face. Is this what the supreme teaches his descendants?”

He was confident that Zhang An was here. Zheng Gong remained on high alert despite not knowing where the man was. Zhang An was still terrifying in modern times even without a physical body. He couldn’t detect where the dean was hiding!

Li Hao chose to remain silent. His body was crumbling, but there was so much Water of Life around them that they were blanketed in the resource. He seemed to be floating along a river of life. Thus, his body swiftly recovered.

The young man hadn’t expected that the enemy would mistakenly think that Zhang An was also here and be on guard against that eventuality. They were so cautious that they didn’t choose to take advantage of the opening created by Li Hao killing a Saint. Instead, they remained passively on defense!

This... ran counter to their expectations!

They had two Saints, dozens of Immortals, and tens of thousands of soldiers on their side, but they chose to defend simply because they hadn’t discovered Zhang An yet. They were that wary of the Evenround Martial dean!

Li Hao naturally wouldn’t say that Zhang An hadn’t come. He utilized the breathing space to furiously absorb Water of Life, an act followed by the others. There wasn’t just Water of Life to go around, but endless indestructible matter and core origin energy as well. Whether it was the Great Li king or Watercloud empress dowager, they pulled from their surroundings without saying a word.

Joy leapt in their hearts—this was the remains of a Saint!

Under normal conditions, they would have to engage both Boundless Saints at the same time. Although they’d killed one, the other would immediately follow up on their comrade’s death. There wouldn’t be anytime to stop and absorb these resources. Who would give them a chance to?

No one had expected that the enemy would misunderstand the situation at hand.

Zheng Gong grew irritated at the continued silence and his voice dropped threateningly. “Zhang An, you are as cowardly as ever! They say that you are the trash among the Zhangs, that you are weak and incompetent. You are less than Zhang Peng and Zhang Xue. So you are still thus after so many years!

“Do you think we won’t be able to find you simply because you’ve gone into hiding?!”

A ray of light dawned over the massive city’s airspace. It pierced through the world and swept in all directions! A main city had a plethora of means at its disposal and would hardly be caught defenseless by an intrusion.

Even Li Hao’s contingent was within the light’s range. The void behind them was probed as well. However, Zheng Gong’s expression shifted slightly as the light continued its search.

What was this? How was this possible? Zhang An...

Zhang An was not detected.

Was he not here, or had they just not found him yet?

It was impossible for him not to be here.

Would Li Hao come if Zhang An wasn’t part of the entourage? Wang Ye was here!

Li Hao was strong enough. Zheng Gong had seen the young man kill the peach tree with two strokes after his sudden appearance. At the same time, those two blows were likely the limits of what Li Hao could achieve. Even his body was crumbling after that opener.

It was quite frightening that a human of the modern age to reach this level of accomplishment. But if the Zhengs were turncoats, then one Li Hao was not enough. He would just be coming to his death if he showed up alone.

Where was Zhang An?

Vice Commander Han Jiang’s expression shifted as well. He coldly scanned the surroundings and finally rested his gaze on Li Hao and the others. Could it be... that these were the only members of the invasion?

Was that possible?

......

Li Hao rapidly absorbed large quantities of Water of Life. He stared at those on high alert in front of them, his voice sounding in everyone’s ears. “Who would’ve thought they would have two Saints in residence? Granted, they seem to only have two Saints present. This is better than our worst case scenario...

“And best of all, they didn’t attack as soon as they saw us. This has created an opportunity for us...”

The heavens smiled upon them!

One’s courage shrank the more one fretted. If the defenders were brutes that heedlessly charged the intruders without giving thought to Zhang An, Li Hao would’ve only had time to deliver one stroke. He wouldn’t have been able to handle two Saints at the same time.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

But now, he’d repaired his body and closed off the extraneous dao meridians. This was fantastic!

“I am unable to stand against the joint offensive of two Saints. Teacher, king of Great Li, empress dowager of Watercloud, and Director General Zhao will keep one of them preoccupied. Focus your efforts on Zheng Gong. I’ll take care of Han Jiang!”

The Great Li king felt like he’d swallowed a fly.

Didn’t you say we would handle existences below Saint? Why am I fighting a Saint now??

But Li Hao had even assigned his teacher to the task force. Yuan Shuo was only third level Sun and Moon, the equivalent of peak Apex. There was a big difference between that and the Saint level. Was the young man not concerned that his teacher would be instantly obliterated by the enemy?

“The others will decide on your targets as soon as possible. As for the army, it’s useless once we engage their leadership! But be careful of them assembling into formations. That will bestow their Silver Armors with Immortal-level strength. All of you must be careful!”

Since the enemy had given him some time, he would make best use of it to lay out optimal arrangements.

They hadn’t known much about the enemy before barging into Boundless. Now, everything was clear. The true threat came from the two Saints. Thank goodness their earlier arrangements were effective and they’d managed to kill the guardian plant spirit before the fighting truly broke out. Otherwise, three Saints would be entirely beyond their capabilities to handle.

......

Within the city.

Zheng Gong’s face flickered through a range of emotions before he looked at Han Jiang. “Commander Han, do you think it’s possible that... Zhang An hasn’t come?”

Han Jiang was unable to come to a conclusion either. An idea occurred to him and he transmitted, “Young city lord, why don’t we... give this a try. The supreme...”

Zheng Gong’s eyes widened. He was still afraid of those people even after so many years. But given the state of affairs, they couldn’t just stand and stare at the enemy, could they? Look at Li Hao’s group gobbling down endless Water of Life after killing the guardian plant spirit!

He swiftly tamped down his budding fear and denounced crisply, “Zhang An, you piece of shit! Do you hide your face because you think you’ve shamed your family? Don’t worry, Supreme Zhang is trash too. He could’ve been the Human Emperor, but he wanted to be generous and abdicate in favor of the Human King. The Zhangs should’ve been the masters of the world. Zhang An, your grandfather is just as hypocritical as you...”

Zhang An wasn’t present to hear these words, but they infuriated Wang Ye and the others! Even some of the Silver and Gold Armors within the city shifted restlessly.

“Traitorous bastard!” raged Wang Ye. “How dare you insult the Human King and Supreme Zhang!”

“You dog of a thing, Zheng Gong!” Jiang Yingli was absolutely livid. “You’re just a side branch of the Zheng family. How dare you insult the Human King and Supreme Zhang!!”

Zheng Gong was also a bit terrified of what he’d said, but no response was forthcoming after his words. The dread in his face faded away. Instead, he looked at Li Hao with some incredulity and disbelief.

“You... seriously are crazy!” he murmured.

He was certain that Zhang An wasn’t part of the invading force. Otherwise, he would’ve shown himself when they insulted the supreme. Even outsiders grew indignant at his words! This had nothing to do with a strategy of provocation. It was simply a humiliation that the Zhangs would have to protest no matter what!

Zhang An would’ve had to take a step forward for the family’s honor. That he hadn’t could only mean one thing—Li Hao really hadn’t brought Zhang An along!

“Li Hao, do you think that Boundless is newly awoken like the other cities?” Zheng Gong smiled. “Do you think our battle strength is limited as a result, and that you have nothing to fear because you possess the ability to kill a Saint?”

He suspected that Li Hao thought Boundless was the same as the other ancient cities. Where else would he get such courage to attack?

After confirming that Zhang An was not hiding somewhere, Zheng Gong’s rage boiled over. Had he known that Zhang An was absent from the battlefield, he might’ve been able to stop Li Hao’s second stroke. He’d simply been wary of the man suddenly joining the fight, so didn’t dare rush the young man at first light.

The look in his eyes turned cold and he shouted, “March! Kill the enemies and exterminate them!”

The dome of light over the city disappeared. Zheng Gong and Han Jiang vanished at the same time. Since Zhang An wasn’t here, what could Li Hao do against them?

Large numbers of Gold Armors flew out behind them. The void shook as a domineering presence enveloped the world.

Plant spirits appeared in the surroundings, arranged in particular spots as if they were assembling into formation. They were so exceedingly furious that the void hardened around Li Hao’s group, wanting to lock them into place.

Meanwhile, Li Hao shot straight into the air and sped for Han Jiang. The army’s leadership would undoubtedly possess fearsome battle strength. He didn’t know if he would be able to identify the best timing like he had in the battle with Earthflare, but it was worth a try.

The Great Li king and others struggled with what they should do. In the next moment, they rose into the air with Li Hao’s roar and flung themselves at Zheng Gong.

......

BAM!

The two sides met in battle. Li Hao blocked the vice commander’s path; Han Jiang swung his blade down in return. The world was nearly split asunder!

Li Hao had just stabilized his body when another loud collision rang out. Stellaris trembled violently and the young man’s body shattered again! The enormous killing intent sent his entire being trembling.

Close to him, a void chain snaked out of the air to immobilize the Great Li king’s fist. A tug-of-war ensued, flesh and blood flew everywhere. The chain was close to snapping, and the boring glove was almost being tugged off the king’s fist.

Mighty as the Great Li king was, he was just a child in front of his opponent.

“The Tyrant Sovereign’s boxing gloves!” Zheng Gong identified coolly. “How are you worthy of wielding them?”

A seal smashed down on him at this time; his bloodline shook in response.

“The Eight Directions Seal?” sneered Zheng Gong. “This is to keep the various children of the eight families in line. And you use it on me? How ludicrous!”

He was no child—he’d been a peak Apex back in the day and was now a Saint. He was a premier existence in Silver Moon! Could a treasure meant for disciplining students corral him?

The Eight Directions Seal trembled when he punched it and flew backward. Director General Zhao, newly ascended to fifth level Sun and Moon, was so overwhelmed by the backlash that his body instantly fell apart!

The director general looked on with shock. Was this what was meant by the Saint level? A casual punch had sent the Eight Directions Seal flying and shattered his own body. He’d felt himself invincible just seconds ago, but none of this was worth anything now!

Li Hao was also a fifth level Sun and Moon, but he’d killed a Saint by himself. The rest of them had even thought that they stood a chance of doing the same if they worked together!

They abruptly came to their senses now.