Chapter 762: Preparing to Retire

"As for the other invaders, there's not much to note about them, so I'll just leave the rest of you to divide them up among yourselves. Better to have something to look forward to."

Zhang Lie retrieved a block of wood from his soulshard, which he cut into pieces with his finger. Subsequently, he inscribed the names of the invading races on them, then shuffled up all the pieces. "Go on—each of you, pick one!"

The members of Team Zenith each took one piece.

Sun Xiaowu exclaimed, "My target's the greenskins!"

Fang Yi: "Mine, the black spirits."

Zhou Ying: "And I, the giant demons!"

Yang Ze asked, "What do the bearmen look like? Half-men, half-bear?"

Li Feng murmured, "The longhairs seem like they'd be a race focused on strength..."

Zhang Lie nodded with satisfaction. "The aliens you've picked out are your targets, and they're located in the neighboring worlds. You'll be responsible for dealing with them, but you don't have to kill them: just make them submit. Either kill the king of the realm of their world, or make them hand over the proof of kingship."

"Yes, Captain!" the members of Team Zenith chorused.

The draconian sage asked, "And what about the Blackwind race?"

Zhang Lie smirked. "I'll deal with them myself."

He was intending to avenge Chen Ruiming's death on his own.

Yang Ze couldn't help but complain, "This truly is an insane task, isn't it? We're being asked to subdue kings of the realm even though we just ascended and know nothing about the third realm!"

The humans beside them, including Chen Fan, all nodded. To them, this would likewise be a Herculean task.

A king of the realm was the strongest existence in the world they governed, and asking a newly ascended hunter to kill one was like asking a baby to assassinate a princess.

Chen Fan's lips spasmed. He suggested, "I think the members of Team Zenith need some time to understand this realm better."

Zhang Lie shrugged. "They're just the kings of mid-sized worlds, aren't they? They're hardly anything impressive—I managed to kill the king of a large world when I possessed the same number of gene fragments they did! As my subordinates, they can hardly fall behind—I'd be embarrassed to consider them my protégés unless they can manage such a feat."

The humans beside Zhang Lie were all stupefied by the task.

The draconian sage suddenly frowned. "The aliens all around us seem to be making their moves. Shall I seal off the wormholes to this world?"

Zhang Lie smiled. "There's no need. They've come at just the right time—Team Zenith, your targets are here!"

"Yes, Captain!" they chorused.

Chen Fan hurriedly added, "It's hardly possible for newcomers to the third realm to kill kings of the realm, even of mid-sized worlds! I managed to become a warlord without defeating one myself..."

The members of Team Zenith nodded. "We don't necessarily have to kill them—just subdue them."

Chen Fan coughed. "There's only one Zhang Lie in this world. Don't feel pressured to replicate his success."

Yang Ze replied seriously, "Thank you for the advice, but our captain's always been our target. We don't want to end up a mediocre warlord like you, after all!"

Chen Fan felt as though he had just been pierced through the chest. The newcomers he was trying to support, calling him a mediocre warlord...

Li Feng added insult to injury. "How long has it been since you've ascended to the third realm? Why haven't you managed to kill even a king of the realm of a mid-sized world?"

Zhou Ying added to the barrage. "You didn't purchase your rank as warlord, did you?"

Chen Fan coughed even more violently. "It looks as though none of you will respect me until I show you my true strength! Zhang Lie, you don't mind if I teach them a lesson, do you?"

He might not dare strike Zhang Lie, but he was certain he would be able to handle his team!

The members of Team Zenith looked at each other. "Who's going to be our representative?"

Yang Ze stood up. "Let me go."

Chen Fan snorted. "I don't mind if you all come at me at once!"

Zhang Lie couldn't help smirking at the thought—Chen Fan wouldn't even be able to handle one, let alone all of them..

Meanwhile, the human hunters watched the scene play out with interest. They were growing quite annoyed with the members of Team Zenith, who came off as rather arrogant by insulting Warlord Chen Fan, who had protected the draconian world for decades.

However, it was true that none of the hunters present were able to take on the members of Team Zenith. Furthermore, at least part of their dissatisfaction came from their own envy and jealousy at the members' strength. Envy was simply a product of their experiences.

Despite the fact that the members of Team Zenith had saved them from a fate worse than death, they couldn't help but feel inferior when comparing themselves against them—and they were more than happy to see the members of Team Zenith make fools of themselves.

Chen Fan strode to a nearby clearing and prepared himself. "Come, face the cruelty of the third realm!"

The members of Team Zenith glanced at each other wryly. In the end, Yang Ze stepped forward and faced off against Chen Fan.

"I'm Yang Ze of Team Zenith. Let's have a good fight."

The hunters stepped back to give the two combatants some space.

"Do you see how he's acting like he's undefeatable even though he just ascended to the third realm? Who does he think he is? Everyone here was a monster in the second realm—that's how they managed to ascend!"

"Does he really think his performance in the Void Cup and his participation in establishing the kingdom of Limit are all that impressive?"

"Zhang Lie, please don't mind. At worst, your team will lose some face, but if you were to wait for the aliens to teach them that lesson, they might lose their lives!" one of the hunters whispered to Zhang Lie.

Zhang Lie responded with a smile, "If there really is someone able to teach them a lesson, that would be a nice surprise."

As Zhang Lie spoke, Yang Ze quickly took down Chen Fan.

Mist spread over the clearing and the nearby grounds. Chen Fan, as an experienced warlord, did have some skill of his own, but unfortunately for him, his opponents were the members of Team Zenith. A single horde of sharks from Yang Ze was enough to take him down.

Yang Ze had already maxed out his superior gene fragments, and the limit fragments he had accumulated back in the second realm meant that Chen Fan was no opponent for him.

The human hunters gaped. They couldn't have imagined that an experienced warlord like Chen Fan would lose so miserably and so quickly. They gained an improved understanding of Team Zenith's true strength.

Ten minutes later, Chen Fan slunk to a corner and sighed. "I'm growing old, and the times are changing more rapidly than I expected. It might be time for me to retire..."

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The draconian sage observed Chen Fan's actions with no surprise in his features, and neither did he head over to console his longtime comrade-in-arms.

Just then, Ren Kunjing returned. "Zhang Lie, I've retrieved the Mengtai's proof of kingship!"

"Oh?" Zhang Lie was quite surprised. "That easily?"

"The Mengtai chieftains' information was accurate, and I found the proof of kingship hidden where they said the high priest was located."

Ren Kunjing passed the proof to Zhang Lie. The Mengtai proof was no jade seal, but rather a scepter of bone— one made not of human bones, but rather of Mengtai bones. The bone was crystalline and translucent; it was apparent that the scepter was an artifact of great quality.

Zhang Lie inspected the scepter momentarily before tossing it to the draconian sage. "I'll leave it in your care, I think."