Ultragene Warlord

the way back to the Blacksteel settlement.
The disaster that had been wrought far exceeded Zhang Lie's expectations.

The settlement itself had been damaged, but it had been spared the worst of the superior-grade lifeforms' incursion due to its barrier.
Those who fared worst were the hunters who refused to listen to reason, hiding all over the realm instead of within the various settlements.
In the end, they were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of lifeforms coming for them.

By the time Zhang Lie returned to the Blacksteel settlement, the front gates had already fallen, and genetic lifeforms were prowling the streets and fighting against the trapped hunters.

Zhang Lie's return was undoubtedly a boon for the hunters within.
The moment he shot into the settlement, the beast tide began to recede.
Compared to humans, these lifeforms had far more acute senses, and the moment they sensed Zhang Lie's arrival, they began to flee.

Zhang Lie was an existence with which they could not contend.

The disaster at the Blacksteel settlement averted, Zhang Lie hurried back to the real world and summoned the members of Team Zenith, along with whichever experts the dojo had hired which were still in the first realm.

“Everyone, last night, over 90% of the lifeforms in the first realm of the dimensional world began to stampede.
All the settlements within are in danger, and the lifeforms have managed to enter over 80% of them! It's time for us to step in.
Everyone, enter the dimensional world— head to all nearby settlements that have been invaded, then expel the beasts from them! Zhou Ying, I'll leave you in charge of informing the military that it's time for them to launch their counter-offensive as well.”

When the civilian hunters were informed of the situation and returned to the dimensional world to see the havoc that had been caused, they became more trusting of Zhang Lie—his advance warning could well have saved their lives, especially when they found the bodies of their dead comrades within and without the settlement.

The alarm that Zhang Lie had sounded caused China to become the country that had suffered the fewest casualties in this onslaught.
No matter how stubborn some hunters were, the majority of the Chinese hunters had chosen to believe Zhang Lie and left the dimensional world.
These hunters remained safe and sound, but the remaining hunters in the dimensional world suffered all the more for it.

No matter where they hid, or even if they tried to defend their respective settlements, they found themselves at a loss for manpower, so despite the fact that China had the fewest casualties, they had the most wounded.

If they had been willing to follow Zhang Lie's warning, they would have survived with their lives intact, but what was done was done.
All that the remaining hunters could do was to try to fish out any survivors from amidst the rubble.

Within the Blackwind Fort, Zhou Ying had secured an audience with Su Feng.

“Commander Su Feng, according to my captain, the disaster is over—it's time to strike back!”

“To strike back? Zhou Ying, just what's going on?”

“Commander Su Feng, last night, there was a major stampede involving over 90% of the lifeforms in the dimensional world, one that led to the invasion of more than 80% of the settlements within.
At this point, the stampede is nearing its end, and it's our best time to strike back at them!”

Then, just like before, faced with a stupefied Su Feng, she hung up.
In fact, she didn't know what was going on within the dimensional world, either.
All that she knew, she had heard from Zhang Lie.
As a result, after finishing this task that Zhang Lie had assigned her, she too rushed into the dimensional world.

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