Chapter 494: The Monarch of Stars Approaches

Zhou Liao called out, "Hold on, all of you! Let me finish my announcement first!"

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

The hunters ignored him. How could they wait? If they were too slow to sell the information to the guild, someone else would get there before them!

Zhou Liao shouted at their backs, "Renhuang's going to be destroyed! What're you going to do with that money?"

The startled hunters turned back. "What did you say? Even the seven-kingdom coalition was unable to take down Renhuang. Isn't it the safest place in the entirety of the second realm?"

This was part of the reason the hunters who had arrived in Renhuang as reinforcements didn't want to leave—their home cities might be destroyed by just a single sura king or a targeted invasion by another alien race, but Renhuang was different.

In Renhuang, the members of Team Zenith could each take down a sura king by themselves, and a sura or alien invasion was all but out of the question.

"What exactly would destroy Renhuang?"

"There's a sura empire on its way," Zhou Liao replied seriously.

"What's a sura empire?" The majority of hunters present at the scene hadn't heard of the term.

"I think I've heard of them before... they're supposedly sura kingdoms that are much larger and stronger than usual. Apparently, there are multiple sura on the level of sura kings in each sura empire?"

"What? Isn't that ridiculous?"

Zhou Liao explained what Zhang Lie had told him. "A sura empire's roughly about a hundred times as strong as a sura kingdom—that is, we'll see an invasion force roughly the equal of ten times what Zhang Lie and Renhuang managed to hold back."

Zhou Liao's comparison shook the hunters to their core.

"The governor of Renhuang himself, Zhang Lie, has suggested that you flee." Zhou Liao glanced at them critically. "I want your opinion: will you stay and fight, or will you flee? I won't stop any of you from returning, but I'll say one thing—I'm staying."

"As if we'd be afraid!"

"We're genetic hunters, and we came to Renhuang to fight!"

"Isn't that wonderful timing? We were invited to the banquet despite not participating in the defense of Renhuang at all. Now's the time for us to shine!"

Considering that these reinforcements had been willing to head toward Renhuang in the face of critical danger, it was only natural that none of them chose to leave now.

Zhou Liao's face remained as serious as ever. "You can certainly all stay, but I want to make sure you're aware of the facts. Compared to the seven sura kingdoms, the empire of stars will be a much more difficult foe to face, with greater strength and larger numbers. Only one in ten of you might survive."

"Troop Leader Zhou, we came here to fight, not to be tourists! We were already prepared to give up our lives in hopes of guarding the creation of a new future. Despite only having been in Renhuang for a few days, I daresay everyone here thinks that it's a worthy cause to fight for!"

"The members of Team Zenith were able to defeat the seven sura kings alone. It's certainly not impossible that, with our help, they might be able to take down a sura empire's forces."

"How can we grow as hunters if we constantly flee from danger?"

Zhou Liao surveyed the gathered hunters with growing appreciation. Indeed, this was what humans should be like! He nodded firmly. "I'm proud of all of you here, of all you human hunters!"

"We'll protect Renhuang to our deaths!"

"My soulshards are still in the guild—I need to acquire some superior-grade lifeforms!"

"Right, I have a date with a wood spirit!"

Over the course of just a few days, they had become invested in the city's fate.

If Renhuang were to fall, the currency that they had accumulated with their soulshards would become useless. The hunters clearly weren't willing to see this happen; Renhuang would be a shortcut to power in the long run, and they had to survive this ordeal!

.

Zhou Liao added, "I'll inform Zhang Lie that everyone's planning to stay. You're all dismissed. Prepare for a difficult battle to come."

The hunters rushed off in the blink of an eye to sell what they knew to the guild.

Zhang Lie summoned the members of Team Zenith and the leaders of each of the alien races to the palace.

"Another foe is approaching us," Zhang Lie declared.

Sun Mengmeng seemed rather surprised. "What kind?"

It was very rare for her to see such a serious expression on Zhang Lie's face. He clearly felt that their next foe would be a dangerous threat, far more so than the seven sura kings ever were.

"The monarch of stars and his forces are approaching us."

Sun Mengmeng couldn't help but ask, "The monarch of stars? Does he lead a sura kingdom?"

Considering Zhang Lie's lack of regard for the seven sura kings' invasion, a single sura kingdom shouldn't have been enough to provoke such a serious response.

"No—a sura empire."

The shaman of the wood spirits and the leader of the rock spirits each sucked in a breath, and the Yeluo chieftain appeared so frightened his face turned blue.

Sensing the shock in the three clan leaders' faces, the members of Team Zenith were certain that this so-called sura empire wouldn't be an easy target.

Zhang Lie explained just what a sura empire represented to the members of Team Zenith. After he told them the entire story, the members of Team Zenith all turned serious.

"About ten times stronger than the seven-kingdom coalition we faced..."

Since they heard the news directly from Zhang Lie, no one doubted the veracity of the information at all.

The leader of the rock spirits sighed. "It's been a very long time since I've heard of a sura empire attacking those from other races."

The leader of the rock spirits explained that his seniors had told him never to provoke a sura empire. Back then, the sura weren't yet hegemons of the second realm, and their territory had been much smaller than it was now. Even so, they boasted such strength that the domineering rock giants had been unwilling to provoke them.

Sun Mengmeng asked, "If they're so strong, why don't we know of them? Don't they attack other races?"

The leader of the rock spirits retorted, "Would you humans wage war against ants?"

Sun Mengmeng: …

The rock spirit sighed. "I can't believe that we'll have to face the monarch of stars himself, and immediately after defeating the seven sura kings, too! Renhuang truly is suffering from calamity after calamity."

The Yeluo chieftain asked, "Governor, we'll obey your every command. What do you propose we do?"

Zhang Lie thought for a moment. "Let's wait for Yu Huantian to return with news before deciding on our next steps."

He consoled the members of Team Zenith as he looked at their serious, glum faces. "There's no need to worry to such an extent. Even against a sura empire, Renhuang won't fall so easily. Don't forget that we have the Yeluo potions, which will be an invaluable asset in such large-scale battles."

While Zhang Lie was consoling the crowd, Yu Huantian returned.

His face was slightly green, his voice slightly panicked, as he reported, "Governor, as you suspected, there's a large force making its way toward Renhuang from the north. Their pennant is a compass surrounded by countless stars, with a bloodied beast at its center. If I'm not mistaken, it's indeed a force led by the monarch of stars."

"How many sura are approaching?"

Yu Huantian's voice turned firm. "Three million sura."

This was within his expectations; Zhang Lie didn't panic. After all, panicking wouldn't serve any purpose now. He had no intention of backing down against anyone but an asura himself.