Please note that this chapter contains graphic descriptions of rape.

"Are you in such ecstasy that you can't speak? I knew you'd love this sensation—[The Boundless Blade: Dragon's Wrath]!" Zhang Lie sent another dragon into the sura king's prone body. "Again! [The Boundless Blade: Dragon's Wrath]! Look at how much you're enjoying it—your whole body is spasming! In that case, let's keep going—[The Boundless Blade: Dragon's Wrath]!"

"[The Boundless Blade: Dragon's Wrath]!"

The sura king lay in a pool of his own blood, one which grew larger by the second. He was suffering from heavy internal bleeding as a result of Zhang Lie's skills, but Zhang Lie had made sure to leave him alive for what was to follow.

The sura warriors had decimated the human forces. Despite the fact that they had all perished, the humans still bore the sura ill will, a blood feud that couldn't be easily annulled. The hunters of Qi would need to vent their anger, and the defeated sura king was the best target.

When the hunters of Qi saw Zhang Lie dragging the sura king's battered body back to Qi, they looked on in disbelief. They had hoped that a miracle would occur, that Zhang Lie would be able to kill the sura king, but it was still a shock to see that he had really done so.

A cheer broke the pregnant silence, one which spread until the whole city was in an uproar.

Zhang Lie had done it—he had defeated a sura king, all by himself! Not only had he saved Qi, he had started a new chapter in mankind's history. Humans weren't weaker than the sura—Zhang Lie was mankind's new hope!

"Hero!"

"Hero!"

"Hero!"

Cries of adulation and joy burst from the spectators' mouths. Struck by the mood, Zhang Lie raised the body of the sura king up above his head, and their shouts reached a new crescendo.

Many of the hunters began to cry, relieved that they had won, that they had survived, that the majority of Qi was safe, that Zhang Lie had proven that the sura could be defeated. He had wrought an accomplishment that even Martial Sage Hong Tianqi had not while he was in the second realm.

Their wounds and their friends' and comrades' deaths had, at the least, brought them something valuable. How many times had the spectators believed that Zhang Lie would lose? And yet Zhang Lie had overcome one trial after another, and he had succeeded in what they once would have deemed impossible.

"Master!" The members of Team Zenith rushed over.

"How are the other three fronts faring?"

Sun Mengmeng replied, "The moment the sura king launched his first explosion, the invaders began to flee. They likely sensed just how concentrated the genetic energy was in that region and realized that there was still someone in Qi whom they had no chance of beating. Wary that there might be other such hunters waiting for them, they retreated of their own accord."

Fang Yi scoffed. "Dishonorable foes, preying on the weak. I'll take them all down if I ever see them again!"

Zhou Ying shook her head. "I'd rather they not return at all."

Li Feng shrugged. "What's there to fear with our captain around?"

With Xia Na's assistance, the grievously wounded Xiao Zhengyang made his way up to Zhang Lie, where he patted Zhang Lie's shoulder. "Good job." 

Zhang Lie smiled. "Are you alright, Governor?"

Xiao Zhengyang coughed violently. "I'm not dead yet, but I've been seriously injured. Why don't you take over the governorship of Qi for the moment—no, why don't you just become the governor of Qi? I don't think anyone here would object."

Xia Na and the other members of the special forces looked ardently at Zhang Lie, hope and expectation in their eyes.

Zhang Lie shook his head. "I have more important affairs to attend to. Please find another successor."

Xiao Zhengyang sighed. "What a shame."

Xia Na crossed her arms. "What could be more important than Qi?"

Zhang Lie smiled mysteriously. Still dragging the sura king with him, he leapt up to a balcony. "Citizens of Qi, please listen to me! Are you willing to be defeated, time after time, by the sura?"

"Do you need to ask?!" someone shouted from below. "Of course we aren't!"

"In that case, follow me. We'll strike back against the sura, right here, right now!"

Silence followed Zhang Lie's proclamation. There had been other similar attempts to fend off the sura in the past, but all had ended in failure. Zhang Lie was clearly energized from his recent success, but would he be able to stage an effective resistance just like that?

"If you're unhappy with your present circumstances, then rise up! Fight with me! What's there to hesitate about? The sura have just attacked one of our cities—it's only reasonable that we attack them back! Perhaps we might not have been successful in the past, but now that their strongest fighters lay slain, I'm certain of our success!"

Zhang Lie shouted, raising the sura king's body with one arm. "Let's give the sura a taste of their own medicine!"

When the crowds saw the defeated sura king, they seemed to make up their minds.

"We'll attack the sura!"

"Yes, let's get revenge for what they've done to us!"

"We've suffered enough because of the sura all this time—it's time to get payback!"

If Zhang Lie were able to kill even the sura king, what else was there to be afraid of?

"Zhang Lie has made history! With the sura king and all his elites defeated, what's there to be afraid of?"

"By joining Zhang Lie, we'll be able to enter the annals of history as well! There's nothing to fear with him around."

The hunters all raised their weapons.

"Indeed, the sura aren't as fearsome a foe as we made them out to be. As you all saw, I managed to defeat a whole horde of the sura king's elites with just one special item."

"A special item?" The hunters all perked up their ears at what Zhang Lie would mention next.

"This potion concocted by the Yeluo clan is harmless to humans but anathema to the sura. Any drop of liquid that touches a sura fighter will cause their body to destroy itself from the inside out."

"Really?" a hunter shouted.

Someone who had seen the initial sortie replied, "Of course! I saw it with my own eyes—Zhang Lie rained down drops of some mysterious liquid on the sura fighters, and then they started melting!"

Some of the hunters who had been hesitating made up their mind.

"My brother lost his life on this battlefield. I saw a few sura fighters tear apart and devour his corpse—they'll all die for what they've done!"

"A few years ago, a few sura fighters killed and devoured my girlfriend in front of me. Since then, my main motivation for growing stronger has been to avenge her."

"The sura have apparently been rearing humans in their lands like livestock, and it's our obligation to rescue them."

Zhang Lie's words set the entire city of Qi aflame. The sura's actions toward the humans had fomented bitter hatred, but they had felt powerless to act on that hatred—until now. Zhang Lie's victory had energized them all.

As Zhang Lie leapt down from the balcony, Xiao Zhengyang advised, "Isn't it too early for something like this? I know how strong you are, but the sura aren't weak either, especially with the home field advantage."

Zhang Lie shook his head. "If we humans want to make a name for ourselves in the second realm, we have to show the sura that we can fight back. We have to defend ourselves, and our first target has to be the dominant race of the second realm—the sura!"

The reason that other alien races had attacked Qi when the sura invaded was because they thought that humans were weak, and Qi would be a good target. By retaliating against the sura, Zhang Lie intended to inform the races of the second realm that that was no longer true.

He handed the sura king, which he continued to drag behind him, to Xiao Zhengyang. "Have someone hang him on the castle walls, and let whoever wants to give him a knife to his back."

Xiao Zhengyang's eyes widened. "Isn't this the sura king?"

"Indeed. We'll make an example out of him and show the other races why we aren't to be trifled with. Remember to feed him some potions now and then so he doesn't die."

Xia Na rubbed her hands. "Can anyone attack him?"

Zhang Lie nodded. "Don't worry. I've already stripped him of his genetic core, so he won't be able to retaliate against anyone, but make sure not to kill him outright."

The gathered hunters glanced deeply at the sura king, malice in their eyes.

Xiao Zhengyang was flabbergasted, but in the end, he agreed with Zhang Lie's suggestions. Glancing at the sura king, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed that he had lost in just one blow, whereas Zhang Lie had defeated and even subdued him without killing him.

"Team Zenith, assemble! Prepare to attack the sura lands."

"Yes, Captain!"

Xiao Zhengyang asked, "Are you going to head out immediately? Don't you need some rest after that fight?"

Zhang Lie shook his head. "We can't give the sura any time to react and to summon reinforcements."

Xiao Zhengyang nodded, but he glanced gravely at the battle-weary fighters.

"Don't worry, I won't bring everyone with me. I'll pick out the healthy hunters with decent strength and form a team of elites to massacre the sura."

"Very well. I'll leave my men in your hands."

The members of Team Zenith began to examine the volunteers for the mission. Almost every hunter wanted to participate, but most were unable to do so. Those who weren't exceptionally strong and those who were injured would only be liabilities in this blitzkrieg attack; Zhang Lie wanted the best of the best.

In no more than an hour, a troop of hunters three thousand strong stood in front of him.