Chapter 376: Pride and Conviction

Hovering above the skies of Qi, Zhang Lie glanced down at the entire battlefield. There were far too many that had died or been injured by the fighting, and the hunters remaining on the sura front had lost all their morale.

Zhang Lie, who had just rushed over, helped stabilize the situation with a cast of [Fists of the Silent Sea], but there were still tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of wounded fighters remaining in the city.

Zhou Ming stumbled over, supported by a fellow hunter. He shouted, "Zhang Lie, what are you doing here?!"

Zhang Lie slowly floated to the ground with a smile. "It looks like you still have the energy to speak, at least."

"Why are you here?!" Zhou Ming grabbed his collar. "Leave, immediately!"

Before the battle, Zhou Ming had known that Zhang Lie was particularly important to the world federation, but it was only after the battle had started did he realize just how important Zhang Lie was.

Zhang Lie was more important than even Qi itself; everyone could die, but not Zhang Lie. The only reason the humans had managed to hold out for so long was because of the potions that Zhang Lie had devised, and once Zhang Lie developed advanced forms of these potions, all of humanity would benefit. All of humanity would gain the strength to repel the sura, once and for all.

For this reason, Zhang Lie had to live. Only if Zhang Lie lived on would his research on limit fragments continue to develop, and only then would mankind have the power to change its fate.

"I came back because I'm a human, because I'm a resident of Qin!" Zhang Lie shouted. "Should I leave the rest of you to die while I watch on without doing anything?! I'm confident that we can still win this battle."

Zhou Ming hung his head as though in surrender. "Since you're here, you should head toward the western front, where Governor Xiao was defeated by the sura. You're the only one who can replace him now."

Zhang Lie turned toward the three other battlefields. "How about the other fronts?"

Zhou Ming shook his head. "Your technique managed to scare them off for the moment, and they won't try attacking again for the short term. The next time they do, I'll do my best to hold them back. The real problem is with the sura—as long as we can handle the sura, the alien races will surely retreat as well."

Zhang Lie glanced at Zhou Ming's severe wounds. "It looks like you'll need some help."

Zhou Ming took a deep breath and stood erect. "Even if I were to die, I'll die up on the walls, blocking the alien invasion with my own corpse if I have to!"

"Members of Team Zenith, stand forward!" Zhang Lie shouted.

The members of Team Zenith, along with Hong Xi, stood side by side with Zhang Lie.

"Each of you, pair up and support the defenders to repel these other alien invaders."

"Yes, Captain!" the members of Team Zenith replied instantly.

Only then did Zhang Lie walk toward the sura front. By then, the sura king's bloody sea had swallowed up Xiao Zhengyang's last patch of light.

The sura elder roared in laughter. "Haha, haha! Did you all see that? Kneel, humans! Your struggles will be meaningless against absolute strength!"

The sura fighters shouted, "Before the might of the sura king, all things shall turn to dust!"

"Before the might of the sura king, all things shall turn to dust!"

"Before the might of the sura king, all things shall turn to dust!"

"Before the might of the sura king, all things shall turn to dust!"

The sura fighters' chant was so loud that the human defenders could hear it all the way on the other side of the city.

The sura elder laughed again. "Submit and surrender, humans!"

One fighter, unable to resist the pressure, dropped the weapon in his hand, followed quickly by tens, then hundreds, then thousands of fighters.

The sura elder continued, "Humans, you're far too weak, so much so that you can't continue living in the sura realm. Only by acknowledging us as your new masters will you be able to preserve your life! Kneel on the ground and recognize the futility of your resistance in the face of the sura king's strength."

The humans began to despair. Even a hunter as strong as the governor of Qi had been felled in a single blow; what would the rest of them be able to accomplish?

As a few fighters began to kneel down on the ground, the sura elder began to laugh even more loudly. Soon, his plan would be a grand success—Qi would become nothing more than a human farm for the sura!

"That's right, kneel! Your foolish pride can't keep you alive!"

Many of the hunters, looking at each other, slowly began to kneel.

"Says who?" A voice suddenly rang throughout the battlefield. "I disagree!"

Everyone raised their heads.

The sura elder frowned. "Who's there?!"

"A weak human!" Zhang Lie replied coldly, but the sura elder's frown didn't dissipate. Would a weak human really dare speak out at this juncture?

As the man stepped forward, the humans' eyes began to shine, igniting once more with hope.

"It's Zhang Lie!"

"The champion of the Void Cup, Zhang Lie!"

"The man who managed to defeat Musi Yu, the warlord of the third realm, without suffering a single injury! He'll surely be able to take down the sura king!"

"We're saved, we're saved!"

The sura elder's frown deepened. He had been moments away from ensuring the humans' submission, but a wildcard had appeared at the very last moment!

"What do you think you can do, you puny human?!"

"I suppose we'll find out."

The sura fighters began to laugh once again.

"Even the governor of Qi was unable to turn the tides! What do you think you can accomplish? You might be strong for a human, but compared to the sura, you're nothing!" The sura elder shook his head.