Chapter 886: The Martian Invasion

Zhang Lie nodded. "My sister brought him up with her."

Yang Ze narrowed his eyes. "As a stowaway...? You and your sister are really both troublemakers, aren't you, Captain?"

Zhang Lie sighed. "My sister is apparently fearless of everything, but I'm not sure she has the skills to back it up."

Yang Ze remained silent for a while longer. For a moment, he seemed to want to speak before subsequently changing his mind.

Zhang Lie asked, "Just what happened to you? I wouldn't have expected you to get hurt even if you were against the strongest kings of large worlds."

Yang Ze was strong even among the members of Team Zenith, and his analytical and strategic abilities made him far more devastating than the other members of Team Zenith in battle.

He had managed to kill a medium-sized king with hardly anything but his wits alone, and Zhang Lie expected Yang Ze to have had easy success.

The most fearsome foes for him wouldn't be intelligent enemies but rather ones with no intelligence at all, whose actions he wouldn't be able to predict.

Yang Ze remained silent for a while before replying, "I'd like to take some time to return to Mars."

Zhang Lie frowned.

When Yang Ze left Mars, it was almost as though he had been chased out of his clan.

The Yang clan and several other prominent clans in the Martian cities had ganged up on him, and Zhang Lie didn't think that Yang Ze bore his clan any goodwill.

He recalled that Yang Ze had once mentioned that he was nothing more than an outcast, one disfavored by his family and ostracized even among those of his generation.

Yang Ze was like the protagonist of one of those xuanhuan novels, who had seemed mediocre before grasping at a rare opportunity and subsequently embarking on a journey that would grant him limitless strength.

After Yang Ze left Mars, Zhang Lie didn't recall ever seeing him talk about his old family.

The Yang clan, on the other hand, had reached out to the kingdom of Limit more than once or twice. Yang Ze had helped to construct the kingdom of Limit, and held a high position within the Zenith Dojo.

The entire galaxy was aware of the kingdom of Limit and the Zenith Dojo; Zhang Lie's actions had brought it into prominence.

The Yang clan had been hoping to make use of their connection with Yang Ze to obtain some support from him in the second realm, to get a position of governance in the kingdom of Limit there, and perhaps to join the Zenith Dojo.

However, Yang Ze didn't respond to any of the Yang clan's overtures. He had ignored his family all throughout his advancement.

The members of the Zenith Dojo, Yun Bing, and the others chose to turn a blind eye to the Yang clan's misdeeds on behalf of Yang Ze's connection to them.

Although they were aware that the Yang clan had, along with the other clans of Mars, tried to ostracize Yang Ze, they were ultimately a blood relation, and the Zenith Dojo and the kingdom of Limit both treated the members of the Yang clan fairly.

Yang Ze understood Zhang Lie's confusion. He explained, "Mars has just suffered an invasion of bugs from outer space. The Marshal of Flame, Li Pu, was gravely injured, and half of Mars has fallen. I know the draconian world is at war. I'm very sorry, but I'd like to take a leave of absence and return to Mars for the moment. I don't have any fond memories there, but it's still my homeland."

Zhang Lie blinked. "You got injured because you were distracted with the issue on Mars?"

Yang Ze was distracted for two reasons, in truth: the situation on Mars, and the possibility that Zhang Lie might not let him leave.

Zhang Lie nodded. "In that case, let's go together."

"I know that it'll be difficult to permit my absence during the ongoing war, but—hold on, what did you say?"

"I said, I'll go with you!"

Yang Ze's eyes widened. "Hold on, Captain! Mars is my homeland—I'd hate to drag you in with me. Furthermore, don't you have to be here to make sure the invasion goes well?"

"No, there's no need for my presence here. Furthermore, we're friends and teammates, aren't we? If something like this happened to Mars, I can't let you go there alone."

Yang Ze was very touched, but he continued rationally, "Captain, are you sure? There's a tremendous time difference between the third realm and the Milky Way. Half of Mars has been invaded, and it'll take at least a month to get rid of the bug infestation. By that time, three years would have passed in the third realm!"

Zhang Lie nodded. "It is quite a problem, isn't it? But don't worry, I'll see if the other members of Team Zenith want to come as well."

"No, no, Captain, you don't understand! It's three years in the third realm—I can't hold you back for that long. So much could happen in three years, and if I were to drag my entire team down with me..."

"So what?"

Yang Ze cried out, "What would happen to your plan on conquering the third realm, Captain?"

Zhang Lie didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. When did he ever profess a desire to conquer the third realm? Who knew what the members of Team Zenith were saying about him behind their back?

The only reason Zhang Lie was doing so was to finish gathering the pieces of his map.

"If I want to conquer the third realm, I can do that at any point. The most important thing at the moment is to resolve the crisis on Mars. After all, Mars is where a significant part of humanity lives. Furthermore, even if you didn't tell me about what was going on on Mars, Hong Tianqi would surely send me a message."

Although Zhang Lie's words sounded noble, Yang Ze knew very well that Zhang Lie didn't care about such trifling matters; he was doing this for Yang Ze, not anyone else. If he were to recall the members of Team Zenith, Zhang Lie's plan of conquering the third realm would have to wait another three years.

"Given your current condition, I think you'd better get some more rest first. I'll ask the Yeluo chieftain if he has any better medicine for you."

Zhang lie returned to the draconian sage's quarters, where the sage was having tea with the Yeluo chieftain.

"How is Yang Ze?" the Yeluo chieftain asked.

"He's doing fine. Thanks to the regenerative potions you formulated, Chieftain, the worst of Yang Ze's injuries have been dealt with."

"Thank goodness."

Zhang Lie continued, "Chieftain, did you ever end up coming up with improved versions of your potions?"

The Yeluo chieftain nodded. "Of course! After studying Zhou Ling's cells in greater detail, I was able to develop an even more superior regenerative potion.

I have some of my stock with me—you should bring it to Yang Ze. The Yeluo warriors all have quite a large supply with them, and we're happy to share them with the warriors in the frontline."

"Excellent. Can I ask about the effects of the potions?"

The Yeluo chieftain smiled. "Your majesty, please relax. I wouldn't hand over potions that are still in experimental testing. These potions perform far better than the original—roughly five times better, I'd say."

Zhang Lie's eyebrows rose in delight. The effect of the restorative potions had been remarkable to begin with, and a fivefold increase was nothing short of extraordinary. He was certain that Yang Ze would be able to get out of bed in no more than two days in that case.

"Very good. On behalf of Yang Ze and all wounded hunters to come, I thank you for your contribution."

The Yeluo chieftain smiled again. "There's no need for thanks, your majesty. If you hadn't brought us out of our valley, we wouldn't have been able to aspire to such great heights."

Zhang Lie turned to the draconian sage. "Right, sage, the Yeluo would like to construct a research laboratory in the draconian world..."

The sage replied, "We were just discussing this during our conversation. I'm very happy to support the construction of such a laboratory, and research successes would benefit us all."

Zhang Lie nodded. "I won't interfere with the discussion, then—I'm going to hand these potions off to Yang Ze."