Chapter 495: Aid from the Milky Way

That said, even if Zhang Lie weren't afraid of the monarch of stars, it was prudent to develop battle strategies to minimize as much injury and death as he could. Although he was still the core of Renhuang, Renhuang didn't belong to just him.

"There may be a terrible battle lying ahead of us. Unlike before, the main fighting force won't be the human hunters, but rather the crag eagles led by Yu Huantian..."

As Zhang Lie began explaining their strategy, a voice called out from the outside, "What are all of you discussing? Count me in!"

Everyone looked outside to see Zhou Liao smiling as he made his way toward them.

Zhou Liao clenched his fists tightly. "Every member of the human reinforcements has chosen to stay to defend against the monarch of stars' invasion and protect Renhuang!"

"Are you all certain?" Zhang Lie frowned. "Our opponent is the strongest sura empire."

"If we weren't certain, I wouldn't be here now," Zhou Liao replied naturally.

A black figure darted across the top of the palace, his voice reaching the gathered people before his appearance.

"Governor, there's something wrong!" The crag eagle folded his wings as he landed hurriedly and shouted, "Governor, a huge group of forces is heading toward Renhuang!"

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

A huge group of forces? Who could that be??Zhang Lie glanced curiously at Yu Huantian.

Yu Huantian rolled his eyes at him. "What're you looking at me for? I didn't summon them over. I scouted in the direction you pointed me at, nowhere else!"

Zhang Lie asked, "Are they sura?"

"No, they aren't sura. I've never met their like before—there are a few beasts as large as mountains, some creatures that look like the wood spirits but aren't half-ethereal, and others who have fish-like tails and are surrounded by a mist of water! I also saw some winged creatures with feathers of all types of colors, dark humanoids, and a whole procession of other groups following behind them. As far as I can tell, it's a multiracial coalition."

"I suppose we'll simply have to see who they are for ourselves, won't we?" Hearing the crag eagle's recounting of what he had seen, Zhang Lie had a guess for who this other party might consist of: reinforcements from the four prime races. Leaping off from the ground, he flung himself toward the city walls like a loosed arrow. The members of Team Zenith and the alien leaders raced after him.

Without startling anyone, Zhang Lie landed deftly atop a watchtower, from which he could see the procession of forces heading toward Renhuang.

"As expected..." Although he had guessed the identity of these forces, Zhang Lie was still quite surprised upon seeing them anew.

The members of Team Zenith caught up to him and glanced at the reinforcements in surprise.

"What are they doing here? The four prime races? They're known throughout the Milky Way!"

Leading the reinforcements were Xing Bai and Lianna, representatives of the starbeasts and the aquatic. Behind them were their subordinates and subsidiary races, numbering over a hundred thousand in all.

Zhang Lie stepped forward to welcome them, taking big strides in the air as though he were walking along the ground.

"May I ask what the starbeasts and aquatic are doing here?"

Xing Bai glanced up to see Zhang Lie walking across the skies, shocked at his technique. Zhang Lie emanated no trace of genetic energy; this wasn't something Xing Bai could replicate.

"Zhang Lie, my brother, it's so good to see you again!" The panda-like Xing Bai leapt up as he spread his arms wide, thinking of hugging him tightly, but Zhang Lie dodged aside gracefully.

Xing Bai frowned when he saw Zhang Lie's antics. "Aren't you at least going to let me hug you? We've been rushing for days on end to get here on time!"

"That's right," Lianna added. "We heard that Renhuang was in danger, so we immediately gathered our forces and brought them over."

Xing Bai cut to the chase. "Renhuang's being attacked by a sura empire, isn't it? I heard that millions of sura fighters are on their way over. Everyone in the second realm has heard the news!"

Lianna praised, "You truly are a special individual to be able to draw the attention of a sura empire. The entire world's focused on Renhuang. As your friends, how could we not help you in your time of need?"

"We've even brought you an excellent gift, one you're sure to enjoy," Xing Bai added. He motioned to those who were carrying the cage and shouted, "Remove the cloth!"

The guards standing by the cage removed it to reveal a ferocious wolf-type lifeform, one that simultaneously possessed draconic characteristics. Fierce and domineering, it seemed to represent a perfect union of a dragon and a wolf.

"This is...a peak-grade dragonwolf?!"

Even Zhang Lie seemed surprised. Upon hearing his words, the beast suddenly bashed its body against its cage.

Despite having been trapped for countless days, its temper was as explosive as ever. Its movement had been so sudden that it almost managed to knock the cage sideways, and everyone seemed surprised by its sudden aura.

Xing Bai nodded happily. "You're exactly right! And as you can see, it's still very energetic despite having been caged up for so long."

The four prime races had locked it in a sturdy cage and weakened it with a specialized potion, but despite its dosed and caged state, its ferocity was unparalleled.

Lianna smiled. "Do you like this gift?"

Zhang Lie nodded firmly. "It must have taken significant effort to catch one of these live."

Killing a peak-grade lifeform was difficult enough, let alone capturing it whole. It was easy for Zhang Lie to kill peak-grade lifeforms, but even he would have been hard-pressed to try to keep one alive.

Xing Bai shrugged. "We were lucky enough to find one on the verge of death. Even so, it cost us quite a few fighters to take it down."

Lianna added, "If you obtain a soulshard from it, make sure to tell us about its effects!"

Zhang Lie nodded firmly. "I accept your gift with gratitude."

He turned and shouted, "Open the city gates! Friends of Renhuang have arrived!"

The reinforcements from the four prime races all walked into Renhuang together. Glancing around, Xing Bai murmured, "Oh, this isn't bad! It's comparable to the starbeasts' cities in the second realm."

Lianna crossed her arms. "It's more than just 'isn't bad'! Could you imagine humans having such a city? The ones I've been to look like pigsties!"

Zhang Lie laughed. "Well, it's not just our efforts. We built this atop a sura capital."

The other human cities certainly weren't so bad, either; Lianna had been exaggerating in a poor attempt to heap more praise on Zhang Lie.

"At any rate, it certainly is the case that this is the most magnificent of the human cities I've had the pleasure to visit."

The four prime races were very interested in the humans and alien races that had made Renhuang their home, and the citizens of Renhuang were likewise curious about the four prime races' arrival.