Chapter 157: Vengeance in Blood

The serpent's corrosive genetic energy caused the runic tree on which the spider queen was located to crash to the ground. Despite wrapping itself up in its silk and deploying all its genetic energy to form a shield, the spider queen was nevertheless unable to survive the blow. The serpent devoured it whole.

The huge commotion could be heard even from outside the Runic Forest.

"Young Master Long, it sounds like a fight's broken out within the forest!" one of his subordinates whispered.

"That's normal. With Zhang Lie's skill, however, there's no way he'd die to a superior-grade lifeform," Long Sheng replied.

After all, none of the superior-grade lifeforms in the dimensional world could be compared to the Kez's three-star black-tipped scarab. Zhang Lie had even overcome the latter, so how could the former pose any threat?

By the outskirts of the Runic Forest, Li Sheng and the others were likewise startled by the commotion.

"That noise seemed to have come from within the Runic Forest. Who could have caused such a large explosion? Could it be Zhang Lie?" Li Sheng frowned.

"Except for them, no other hunter has gone inside the Runic Forest today," one of his subordinates volunteered.

At the same time, the random unaffiliated hunters who had gathered by the forest for entertainment also began to chatter to each other.

"As expected of the Dragonwolf Zhang Lie! I bet he just encountered some dangerous foe."

"So what? With his strength, I doubt any superior-grade lifeform will be able to do anything to him.

"On the other hand, do you guys see what the Long clan's doing?"

"Heh, I'm glad someone's finally putting Zhang Lie in his place! I can't watch him flaunt his wealth any longer."

The spider queen's carcass dropped to the ground. Surrounded by dense genetic energy, a deep green soulshard condensed from the ether.

[You successfully killed a superior-grade devil-face spider and obtained its soulshard. By consuming the flesh of the superior-grade devil-face spider, you may receive one to ten superior gene fragments.]

The dimensional world's announcement shook the hunters.

"A soulshard!" Sun Xiaowu shouted, and everyone rushed forward.

The death of the spider queen caused the swarm to scatter and flee. Everyone stared at the dark green soulshard that lay over the spider's carcass. The chance of condensing a soulshard was minute, but Zhang Lie seemed to trigger it far more often than not.

Zhang Lie himself was a little surprised. He had intended on obtaining an arboreal mantis soulshard for Zhou Ying, but was lucky enough to get the even better superior-grade devil-face spider soulshard instead. An exquisite spider-silk armor could be seen within the soulshard, marking it as defensive-type.

"What opportune timing! What are you waiting for, Zhou Ying?" Zhang Lie smiled at her.

Zhou Ying sucked in a deep breath as she picked up the soulshard, her hands trembling out of excitement. "Thank you, Captain!"

"It's only expected of me, after all. Alright, we should head back now. After the aura I released, the superior-grade lifeforms nearby are likely all hiding away, so we'll have to find a new hunting ground," Zhang Lie sighed, glancing at the devil-face spider queen's corroded carcass.

They had come to the Runic Forest for Zhou Ying, and now that she had obtained a soulshard, there was no need to waste more time here. They left along the same route they came.

As they returned to the entrance of the Runic Forest, from which some rays of sunlight could be seen, Zhang Lie suddenly motioned for them to halt.

"What's the matter, Captain?" Sun Mengmeng asked curiously.

"Nothing. I just discovered the traces of a few rats." Zhang Lie smiled as he continued walking forward, followed quickly by the other members of Team Zenith. As they walked out of the forest, they covered their eyes against the suddenly disorienting sunlight.

Just then, before the hunters could react, projectiles suddenly shot toward them from afar. The hunters were startled, but not flustered. Zhang Lie's advance warning allowed them to react quickly, and Zhang Lie repelled all the projectiles with a wave of his sword.

However, another set of projectiles quickly shot toward them,

accompanied by a few figures who darted out from the nearby brush. They were all wearing uniformed white armor and staring coldly at Team Zenith.

After Zhang Lie had defended against the first wave of projectiles, the other members of Team Zenith had sensed these ambushers even before they appeared. As all the hunters present began circulating their genetic energy, the two factions faced off against each other.

"So you're the Dragonwolf Zhang Lie, and this is Team Zenith. I must say I'm impressed." One of the ambushers strode forward, brandishing a polearm shining with light. His red hair caught the eye; he seemed like a walking torch. His glare, however, was malevolent and cold, and his eyes filled with killing intent.

"Long clan, from the Godspath settlement," Sun Mengmeng deduced, glancing at their armor.

"You recognize the Long clan of Godspath? In that case, just what gave you the courage to act against a member of the Long clan?" Long Sheng's face turned dark.

Given their response to the ambush, it seemed as though the members of Team Zenith were still filled with vitality, and their combat ability hadn't been weakened. In other words, Team Zenith was far stronger than a regular team of hunters, and they would be difficult to defeat.

"Hoh, if you're from the Long clan, are you here to seek revenge for that Long hunter we defeated?" Zhang Lie chuckled, his tone filled with disdain, as though the Long elites arrayed before him were nothing more than trash.

"Any who dares challenge the might of the Long clan must die. You, your family, your friends, your team, and even your dojo—the Long clan will seize them all!"

"Oh? You mean that we should have allowed that Long hunter to kill us just because he wanted to? What impressive arrogance!" Zhang Lie laughed mockingly.

His words shocked the gathered hunters; who else could remain so calm when surrounded by hundreds of elites?

"Ha! The Long clan has been a loyal vassal of the country for centuries, and we've produced many great warriors and hunters. So what if we were to seize some soulshards for our use? Compared to leaving them in the hands of wastrels, the Long clan could make far better use of them!" Long Sheng was the epitome of an arrogant young master.

Zhang Lie narrowed his eyes and raised his sword. They had made their stances clear; there was no further need for words. The two of them shouted as they released their genetic energy, but before they could exchange blows, Long Sheng suddenly retreated, and a colored mist began spreading out from his hands.

"Zhang Lie, I have to admit that you're a strong fellow, but I came prepared!"

As the colored mist diffused into the air, everyone's genetic energy suddenly began to drain away, causing a momentary halt to the fighting.

Zhang Lie was deep in thought, having recognized the mist almost immediately. He gathered the other hunters of Team Zenith beside him.

The Li hunters were unwilling to wait any longer.

"Young Master Li, Long Sheng's already starting to make his move. Zhang Lie's sure to perish today!" a Li scout reported to Li Sheng.

"Indeed?"

This was exactly what Li Sheng had been waiting for. With the elites from both the Li and Long clans, along with a few treasures, they would certainly be able to prevent Zhang Lie and his team from escaping.

"Yes, Young Master! The Long clan's even using their secret concoction!" The scout's voice quavered with excitement.

"Haha! In that case, Zhang Lie will surely perish today!" Li Sheng raised his head to the skies and began to laugh. Once Zhang Lie died, he would no longer have a monopoly on the white-grub cores, and the Li clan would be saved, the deaths of Li Jin and Li Xin avenged!

"Let's go! We'll surround Zhang Lie from behind. I want to kill him myself!" Li Sheng's eyes turned cold. On his command, hundreds of Li elites emerged, causing the gathered onlookers to chatter away once more.

"Even the Li clan's making a move? They must both want Zhang Lie dead quite badly."

"A pity, a pity indeed! Zhang Lie will surely fall today."

"Do you think there's a chance we can get something good from their clash?"

"Well, it depends on how quickly we act." Some of the onlookers glanced at the scene greedily.

By the entrance to the Runic Forest, the fighting had temporarily stalled. It seemed as though all combatants had lost whatever reserves of genetic energy they possessed.

Zhang Lie and Long Sheng faced off against each other once more, and the hundreds of elites from the Long clan fanned out and surrounded Team Zenith.

"Ha! Today's your death, Zhang Lie!" Just as tensions were rising and the two factions prepared to clash, a shout came from the distance. Everyone turned to see Li Sheng, leading a team of elites, toward the battlefield.

Zhang Lie frowned: it looked as though this ambush had lured out many of those who were against him, but of course he wouldn't turn down an opportunity to get free soulshards.

Seeing the Li elites arrive, some of the onlookers also rushed forward, hoping that their participation would entitle them to some of the spoils from Zhang Lie and the rest of Team Zenith.

Almost a thousand combatants surrounded Zhang Lie. With a group of this size, they could easily venture deep into the Desert of Silence, but this formation was used against just one man: Zhang Lie!

Everyone expected that this was to be Zhang Lie's demise; otherwise, the Li clan wouldn't have dared to stand up against him once more.

"It looks as though the Li clan's begging to be decimated," Zhang Lie murmured.

Li Sheng paused. Indeed, Li Mo's two children had both died to Zhang Lie, and one of them had even been groomed as the Li clan's next successor. Zhang Lie was clearly threatening to do the same to him.

He raised his head and looked Zhang Lie in the eye. Despite their overwhelming numerical advantage and imminent victory, he suddenly felt overcome by fear.

"Young Master Li, you aren't afraid, are you? If you are, go home and suck on your mother's teat! The Long clan doesn't need your help," Long Sheng mocked.

"Of course not! Zhang Lie must perish today!" Quashing his distress, Li Sheng made his stance clear. He firmly believed that Zhang Lie wouldn't be able to escape under such circumstances.

However, Long Sheng corrected him with a sly smile, "No, no! How could we let him die so easily?"

"If you think you can defeat me, feel free to step forward. I'm interested to see just what sort of entertainment you've prepared for me today," Zhang Lie interjected, a faint smile on his face. He didn't look like someone surrounded by enemies.

"Zhang Lie, you'll regret what you've done to my brother!" Zhang Lie's unruffled expression enraged Long Sheng even further. "Go on, keep pretending you have everything under control! [Hundred Dragon Art: Howl]!" he yelled out, the genetic energy in his body breaking out of its stasis.

All the combatants in the field felt a dragon howling into their ears. A gust of wind started to blow, and golden sound waves, made visible by genetic energy, rapidly struck Zhang Lie and the other members of Team Zenith.

"[Golden Destruction]!" At the same time, Li Sheng pointed a finger and shot a ray of light toward Zhang Lie.

However, struck by the effects of the Long clan's mysterious concoction, Zhang Lie and the other members of Team Zenith were still temporarily unable to use their genetic energy.

Surrounded by enemies from all fronts, Team Zenith seemed to be in grave danger.