Chapter 897: Six-Star Bug

Yang Ze laughed. "Innocent, you say?"

When an avalanche occurred, no flake of snow was innocent.

Yang Ze had grown up in the heart of the Yang clan, and he had seen how vile and corrupt some of these clan-based hunters were. He didn't want to stay in conversation with them for even a second longer.

The five-star bug that had been struck by the titan-class shuttle's lasers was badly wounded and momentarily disoriented, but it recovered after a momentary period of rest.

Yang Ze ignored the members of the Yang clan as he strode forward, but they pulled him back. "Hold on—we're not done!"

"Are you trying to sneak off? Do you still consider yourself a member of the Yang clan?"

"You have to apologize to the clan head, and then escort us to the shuttle!"

Yang Ze frowned. Water-attuned genetic energy spread out around him like the tides. He activated [Mirrored Refraction].

"Scram!"

Those disciples of the Yang clan who were reaching forward to grab ahold of Yang Ze were sent flying as Yang Ze shot forward like a phantom, right in front of the five-star bug.

The crystalline lotuses that Yang Ze had manifested flew ahead of him and smashed into the five-star bug's body. Water-attuned genetic energy erupted in an explosion and formed bloody craters that pockmarked the bug.

"[The Boundless Blade: Dragonwhale]!" In the blink of an eye, Yang Ze was surrounded by a patch of ocean.

"Water?" Those around him thought they heard the crashing of waves. The pale-blue genetic energy around Yang Ze's body reached a crescendo and rose into the sky like a tsunami, manifesting in the form of a huge whale.

The whale's body was long and streamlined, with long whiskers and scales patterning its body. It filled the sky, covering the entire battlefield.

The five-star bug's eyes narrowed. Despite its size, it was minute compared to the dragonwhale. With a turn of its body, the dragonwhale crushed the five-star bug underneath it in an explosion of water-attuned genetic energy, which caused space to warp as it flooded the battlefield like waves.

Under Yang Ze's control, the water-attuned genetic energy exploded once more in a burst of white mist. It spread all around the bugs that had been circling the military encampment.

Yang Ze strode forward and lifted Li Pu's prone body from the ground. "You've worked hard, Marshal Li. Leave the rest to us."

Li Pu's expression was complicated. "You came back?"

Li Pu recognized Yang Ze—there were few people on Mars who didn't. Most had recognized him at first sight, but none had expected that he would show up now to save Mars during its time of need. Li Pu himself could hardly believe that the youth he had sent away from Mars would return bearing such stellar accolades.

Given the devastating blow Yang Ze had just unleashed, Li Pu was certain that Yang Ze was stronger than he was. Even at peak strength, he wouldn't have been able to block Yang Ze's attack. To think Mars had let go of such a promising young talent...

Yang Ze nodded. "Mars is my homeland, after all. I was forced to leave under rather upsetting conditions—but it's still my homeland, and I couldn't bear to see it be destroyed."

Li Pu was happy for and proud of Yang Ze, gratified that he was willing to return to Mars despite such danger. Though he was now a powerful hunter in his own right, and he owed Mars nothing, Yang Ze didn't forget his roots. At the same time, however, Li Pu pitied that Yang Ze, who should have become a dragon that would shake the entirety of the Milky Way, would perish against this endless invasion of space bugs.

Were he to have enough time to grow, a new star of humanity would have risen up from Mars—but Yang Ze would be dragged down by his homeland instead.

Li Pu didn't want Yang Ze to suffer such a fate, so he simultaneously regretted and was relieved that Yang Ze had shown up. His complicated emotions merged together into a long sigh. "You shouldn't have returned..."

A huge wave of bugs was approaching from the horizon, a black swarm that threatened to engulf earth and sky.

"If you're talking about these bugs, there's not much to worry about." With a wave of his hand, Yang Ze manifested a horde of sharks from within the mist, which clashed against the invading bugs. The bugs formed a black tide; Yang Ze countered with a barricade of blue sharks.

The two sides met and began to tear each other apart. Pale-blue sharks exploded into puffs of mist even as they tore the bugs apart in a battle of attrition. The sharks won out. They were made of genetic energy, and it didn't matter even if they were hurt or destroyed. They exploded into mist when destroyed, but could easily reform from the white fog that had filled the battlefield.

This was a scenario that no one had expected—that Yang Ze would somehow be able to counter the bugs' greatest advantage, their seemingly endless numbers. Yang Ze, standing alone in the center of the fog that shrouded the battlefield, turned the tide of the battle.

Everyone present gulped. Yang Ze was a hunter barely out of his youth, but he was already able to hold back a whole invasion force's worth of bugs. At that moment, he looked like a god of war, in full control of the battlefield.

The Yang clan head clutched at his heart. Such a martial god should have belonged to the Yang clan, but in a fit of lunacy, he had chased Yang Ze out of his homeland and damaged their relationship irrevocably.

The Martian soldiers glanced toward Yang Ze with awe and respect.

Yang Ze had been releasing white fog all this time, forming a huge sea of fog, in preparation for this defense. In order to counter the endless swarm of bugs, he had to come up with an equally insurmountable horde of sharks, a process that required huge quantities of genetic energy and time.

Yang Ze was very pleased with the results.

Li Pu was momentarily shocked before he released a long sigh. "What a pity. If you had come just a few days earlier, we would have been able to supply you with enough firepower to fend off this invasion, but by now, it's too late."

Yang Ze smiled. "Not too late, I should think."

The soldiers walked up to Yang Ze and helped him support Li Pu.

Li Pu shook his head. "Did you think that I was referring to dealing with all the bugs in one fell swoop, combining the forces of the Martian military, the Martian clans, and your own strength?"

"Isn't that what you meant, Marshal?" That question came not from Yang Ze, but the soldiers helping to support Li Pu.

Li Pu laughed harshly. "You underestimate the bugs. A few days ago, they had yet to devour the resources of the planet, but now..."

The entire battlefield began to shake. A huge sinkhole appeared in the ground, as though the earth itself was trying to swallow everything up. The hunters present felt a huge suction that pulled everything in—the sharks, the mist, the bugs. The ground began to collapse in on itself as a huge existence appeared from underground, the shape and size of a pitch-black skyscraper...