Chapter 518: Conquerors of the Sura

The reason Renhuang's forces had to resort to carting around their spoils in wagons was because they had filled up their storage pouches to the brim—yes, none of the hundred thousand fighters had any space remaining in their storage pouches!

In the end, they had no choice but to resort to carrying around their treasures as though they were troops from a medieval period.

The treasures of four sura empires were concentrated among the forces of Renhuang.

The rock spirits had consumed such a great deal of ores and minerals that they had become picky and fussy, refusing to consume anything that didn't contain precious gold.

According to the leader of the rock spirits, the rock spirits had consumed too much in too short a period, and they needed some time for their bodies to digest it properly.

Regular rocks and minerals were far too mundane for the forces of Renhuang to bring back, and all sorts of herbs and plants were tossed along the roadside.

Zhang Lie invited the reinforcements from the four prime races to return to Renhuang with him for a celebratory feast. None of the races refused; indeed, they were even feeling somewhat guilty that they had reaped the spoils of war without contributing much to the battle against the empire of stars.

Renhuang's forces made it safely back to Renhuang, with no deterrent or obstacle in their way.

When the sentries at Renhuang's walls saw the triumphant forces, they alerted the Yeluo chieftain at once, who rushed out of the city to welcome them home. The outcome of the battle was obvious given their happy smiles and generally jovial mood.

Zhang Lie walked up to the Yeluo chieftain. "A complete victory," he summarized.

The Yeluo chieftain and the sentries on the city walls knelt as he approached. "Congratulations on your successful campaign, Governor!"

Zhang Lie extended a hand to help the Yeluo chieftain up, then brushed the dust from his robes. "You've worked hard as well."

The Yeluo chieftain replied respectfully, "No, no, it wasn't hard at all. We've not had any trouble while all of you were gone—you must all have had it harder."

"Here, something for you."

Zhang Lie clapped his hands. The fighters of Renhuang unloaded wagon after wagon, revealing gems and jewels, treasures and artifacts, plants and spiritual herbs. The Yeluo chieftain's eyes bulged at the sight.

Amidst the herbal aura the spiritual herbs and plants gave off, amidst the resplendent light from the gems and jewels that dazzled the eyes, the Yeluo chieftain could almost visualize how Renhuang would develop over the next few years.

The herbal aura was strong enough to attract the wood spirits over, as well as the other sentries guarding the city in the absence of Renhuang's forces.

Zhang Lie waved his arms as he shouted, "Let all of Renhuang know that we've defeated the empire of stars! We return triumphant!"

The hunters' forums had been relatively quiet in absence of news from Renhuang.

"Hasn't it been quite a few days? Why don't we know anything about the outcome of the battle between Renhuang and the empire of stars yet?"

The forces of Renhuang had had to travel a great distance to get to the empire of stars, and they were the only ones who could inform the hunters of Renhuang's victory. With no access to the forums in their own right, they hadn't been able to spread the word—until now.

"What news do you need? It's evident that they've been destroyed to the last!"

No one viewed Renhuang's advance favorably; it was almost a given that Renhuang would lose. Their opponent was the empire of stars, after all, the strongest of the known sura kingdoms, and they had sent three million sura against Renhuang.

"With the four prime races helping out, surely at least some of the troops would make it out alive?"

"It's hard to say. They're fighting against three million sura, three million!"

"It's obvious that Renhuang will lose—the question is, by how much."

"Isn't Zhang Lie an idiot? Rather than defending his city, he chose to attack with a fraction of the sura's forces!"

"Renhuang's walls wouldn't have done anything against the sura. Attack or not, the outcome would have been the same."

"At the very least, Zhang Lie's a hero for daring to resist the sura invasion. We should commemorate that, if nothing else."

"You idiot—don't you mean that he's a fool for deliberately provoking the sura?"

Suddenly, an urgent announcement sent the hunters gasping.

[After a month-long campaign, Renhuang's forces return successful in battle. This is a grand victory for Renhuang, the grandest victory for mankind!]

"Are you dreaming? Renhuang, victorious?!"

The post continued, "We defeated three million sura and made our way into the empire of stars' lands, where we sacked their capital."

The poster was one of the hunters who had participated in the battle. The moment he returned to Renhuang, he left via teleportation array, informed his family of his safety and well-being, and began posting on the forums.

"What? The opponent has three million forces—surely the fight would drag out for a few months at least, if you wanted to defeat them all! And you claim to have taken only a month to do so? Are you a fool, or do you think we're all fools?!"

"Claiming to have defeated three million sura and sacking the empire of stars' capital... you must be living in a dream! Are you sure you're alright?"

The poster defended himself. "What I've relayed is the incontrovertible truth. If you don't believe me, you can do some research for yourself—or come visit Renhuang or walk into the empire of stars' lands. It's safe now—we've taken care of all the sura we've seen."

Within the dimensional world, it was impossible to use regular technology, and there was no way to provide irrefutable evidence.

Just as more hunters were preparing to mock the poster, another hunter replied, "As a member of Renhuang's forces, I can testify that he isn't lying. We beat the sura, and we beat the empire of stars!"

"I'm also from Renhuang. It really does feel like I've been living in a dream all along."

"I'm from Renhuang too. The empire of stars is gone, and the champion of mankind, Zhang Lie, killed the monarch of stars himself!"

Despite more and more posts, the other hunters refused to believe this new reality.

"Ridiculous—the monarch of stars is known as the sura closest to becoming an asura! How could Zhang Lie have killed him?"

"We've witnessed it with our own eyes—all of us did!"

"I couldn't believe my eyes either, but it's true!"

"Zhang Lie possesses the ability to kill the monarch of stars—perhaps he's already on the same level as an asura!"

"I'm a human that was rescued from imprisonment within the empire of stars. I can verify that Renhuang really did destroy the empire—he's saved us all!"

That last reply was from an account that hadn't been active for over twenty years.