Ultragene Warlord

Chapter 435: Leave the Humans

 

The rock spirits were also very happy—despite everyone else's feast, they were still gnawing on rocks and boulders, their usual fare.
Unlike the other races, they were unable to consume the flesh of genetic lifeforms.

However, the sura riders had dropped a pile of excellent weaponry.
The metal used for the weaponry had all been refined, and the elite troops of Xuechi wouldn't resort to inferior weapons.
The minerals and ore used for their armor were necessarily the best of the best.

Furthermore, neither the humans nor the crag eagles, who were the main forces participating in the battle, wanted the armor.
The humans had genetic armor, and the crag eagles prized their speed and flexibility.

The only ones who could take advantage would be the Yeluo, with whom the rock spirits would split the gathered armor.
By promising the Yeluo a certain number of genetic lifeforms, they acquired the majority of the armor.

As the rock spirits consumed the armor, their rock armor began to glow and shine, a testament to the quality of the sura riders' armor and the boost they had gained from consuming it.

The sura king Xuechi's armor was even higher in quality, but it was in tatters.

Zhang Lie had his own armor, and he wasn't particularly interested in the set that Xuechi wore.
It might be able to block two or three blows from a peak-grade lifeform, but it was more or less meaningless against a fighter as strong as Zhang Lie or a sura king.

In the end, Zhang Lie handed this set of armor to the leader of the rock spirits, who trembled as he beheld it.
“Are you really giving this to me, lord?”

Zhang Lie shrugged.
“Take it.
I won't need it.”

“I understand, lord! Tomorrow, in the fight against the sura, I'll take the role of the vanguard!”

Zhang Lie: ? ? ?

Before Zhang Lie could understand what the rock spirit meant, it had already consumed the armor.
Subsequently, it burst into flames.

Zhang Lie: ! ! !

The rock spirit's lustrous gold body turned a vibrant red.
A flame was emblazoned on its chest, much like the one that had been engraved on the armor.

The rock spirits murmured, “Ah, I'm so jealous of our chieftain! I want such armor for myself too!”

Zhang Lie asked, “What's going on?”

The rock spirits glanced at each other.
“Don't you know what's happening, governor?”

“You handed the armor to our leader without knowing what would happen?” The rock spirits fervently murmured among themselves.

Zhang Lie asked once again, “Just what's going on?”

One rock spirit explained, “Because of the rarity and quality of the metal in that armor, our chieftain evolved upon absorbing it into his body.”

By the time the rock spirits had explained everything to him, the rock spirit's transformation was over.

He turned to Zhang Lie and bowed.
“Thank you, lord! Once again, I pledge my life to you.
Following you was undoubtedly the best decision I could have made.”

The rock spirits all nodded.
Ever since coming to Renhuang, their lives had been greatly improved.
They didn't have to hibernate to preserve their energy, and they had rocks aplenty for all of them.
Everyone in the city was nice to get along with.

Zhang Lie folded his arms.
“As though you weren't already loyal to me!”

The rock giant smiled in embarrassment, and the others also began to laugh.
The atmosphere in the city returned to what it was like before the sudden sura invasion.

Zhang Lie released Whitey and allowed it to consume its fill of the souls of the riders remaining on the battlefield.

After a wonderful feast, the next morning, the citizens of Renhuang prepared to invade Xuechi.
In the raiding party were rock giants, fighters of the Yeluo, and crag eagles.
The wood spirits weren't suited to fights in unforested areas, so they were unable to participate.

This was Renhuang's first expedition.
No one present could have predicted that it would be the start of a new legend.

The fighters of Xuechi were slowly consuming the territory that used to belong to Xueju.

Suddenly, a sura scout reported, “Something's wrong! There's a huge number of troops making their way over!”

The general of the Xiuchi forces asked, “What troops? What do they look like?”

“I'm not too sure myself.
From afar, they looked like a group of rock giants.”

“Could it be a mass migration?” the Xuechi general pondered.
“Surely we're not so unlucky.”

After mulling it over for a moment, he commanded, “What're you waiting for? Continue scouting and report back as soon as you have more information!”

“Yessir!” The Xuechi scout rushed off and returned not a few moments later.
“Not only are there rock giants, there are troops representing three different races—it might be a combined assault!”

The general cursed.
“Don't they know that we're sura? Are they blind? They must have a death wish!”

He strode into the barracks and shouted, “Soldiers, assemble! There's an army coming our way!”

The sura soldiers' eyes all gleamed with delight.
They rubbed their palms.
“Haha, something exciting at long last!

All we've been doing is killing genetic lifeforms, securing this territory, and clearing away rubble.
Finally, a salve for our boredom!”

“Let's see just how strong these alien races are to disregard the authority of the sura.”

When the general and his forces massed at the border to find Zhang Lie and his men, they couldn't help but laugh.

Zhang Lie's troops were composed of four different races: rock giants, some sort of half-bird, half-human hybrids, a humanoid clan with bronzed skin, and…

…wait a minute.
The general murmured, “Aren't those humans?”

“What are those humans there for? Emergency rations?”

“Actually, it isn't a bad idea, is it? They can be infantry on the battlefield, or emergency rations if necessary.”

“What a wonderful idea! Well, let's kill these troops—then we can enjoy fresh human meat and blood for dinner!” The sura's eyes brightened as they licked their lips.

The general strode forward and announced, “This is sura territory! If you don't want to perish, leave the humans behind and retreat!”

However, Zhang Lie and his troops ignored the general's words.
The sura troops were all rubbing their palms in anticipation, but the general didn't want to risk their lives unnecessarily.
Against an army of unknown capability, he thought it best to be more conservative.