Ultragenic Warlord

Chapter 344: A Shameless Elder

Zhang Lie gritted his teeth. "As I've mentioned time and time again, I'm here in search of potions made by the Yeluo clan, not to kill its warriors."

His patience was reaching his limit.

The elder laughed coldly. "Don't you think you're being a bit arrogant, young man? We Yeluo fighters aren't so easy to defeat. Release Ya Xiongtu, and I'll consider sparing your life given that it's your first offense!"

"Let go of Ya Xiongtu, or today will be the day of your death!"

"Elder, have at him! Who would dare to cause such a fuss outside our village? If word of this were to spread, our reputation will surely crumble!"

"Right, he has to pay a price for his transgression!"

The elder hmphed. His bones groaned and creaked as his body suddenly grew taller and larger. In a matter of moments, not only was he no longer hunchbacked, he had grown into an eight-meter-tall giant. His body was full of bulging muscles, and his genetic energy burned as bright as flame. "It's been a long time since I took on this form. Lad, let go of Ya Xiongtu and beg for mercy, and I might spare you yet! You seem to have some skill of your own—I'm happy to grant you the opportunity to serve the Yeluo."

Zhang Lie scoffed. "Are the Yeluo all as brash and arrogant as you? Serve the Yeluo? Beg for mercy? No. I'm here for the potions that only the Yeluo know how to brew. Tell your clan head to come forth, or I'll kill this man right here and now!"

The elder immediately countered, "You dare? In front of a Yeluo elder himself?!"

"On the count of three: if the Yeluo clan head doesn't show up himself, this man will die. One!"

The Yeluo fighters all stared at Zhang Lie ferociously.

"Elder, kill this bug for besmirching the reputation of the Yeluo!"

"When have we ever been threatened by these puny humans? We wouldn't succumb even against the sura!"

"Two!"

"Lad, I advise you not to be rash. If you dare kill Ya Xiongtu, all of humanity will fall for your crimes," the Yeluo elder threatened. On the ground, Ya Xiongtu continued to struggle, spitting out a gob of saliva. The elder's arrival made his eyes gleam. "Aren't you going to let me go, lad? Do you really want to sacrifice everyone you know, your friends and family alike, for your foolishness?"

Zhang Lie ignored the Yeluo fighters, the Yeluo elder, and Ya Xiongtu. He held Venombane in one hand and sliced Ya Xiongtu's throat, out of which fresh blood gushed.

Ya Xiongtu pressed one arm to his neck as he stared at Zhang Lie in disbelief. He tried to say something, but was physically unable to do so: "What about three? Didn't you say on the count of three?"

Zhang Lie looked back at the elder and smiled. "My goodness, I'm sorry. It looks like my hand slipped."

The Yeluo fighters and elder gaped at what they had witnessed. Had that human really dared to kill Ya Xiongtu?! The Yeluo fighters brimmed with rage.

"You damned stinkbug—for your crime, you will die!" the elder shouted, howled to the skies, then charged at Zhang Lie like a rampaging beast. Whenever his feet touched the ground, it shook as though there were a volcano right about to erupt. "I've changed my mind. I won't let you die so easily—I'll smash apart your bones, then kill every human I can find in the second realm. You'll watch on as we torture your friends and family to death!"

Ya Xiongtu was his grandson, as well as the strongest fighter of the Yeluo clan. He was being groomed to become the next clan head—until he perished at Zhang Lie's hand. The elder hadn't been too worried that one of Ya xiongtu's arms had been cut off. That was a troublesome injury, but not a wholly unmanageable one. With Zhang Lie enslaved and helping Ya Xiongtu out, the latter could still have become the clan head—but now, his plans for the next clan head were gone, along with his grandson!

The elder took two more steps forward, then cocked his arm back for a punch so intense a cavity of space formed all around his fingers.

"[The Boundless Blade: Dragon's Wrath]!" However, Zhang Lie didn't hold back either. He struck forward with Venombane, matching the elder's punch with a punch of his own. Both combatants stumbled back from the force of the impact.

When the Yeluo fighters saw that the elder's attack had been effective, they immediately roared, "Elder, kill him! Destroy this human!"

"[Meteoric Punch]!" The elder bounded upwards, then shot down toward Zhang Lie like a meteor. His fists flared and sparked with friction, then burst into flames. He broke the sound barrier, sending a tremendous boom into the air as he landed.

Zhang Lie smiled as the elder leapt up into the air, then pressed his palms to the ground. "[Ninecarp Transformation: Fourth Form]!"

Four mysterious runic tablets crashed to the ground, increasing the force of gravity on the poor elder so much that he began curving downwards instead of heading ballistically toward Zhang Lie.

The Yeluo fighters gaped. Their elder had jumped up into the air, morphed into a meteor, and was right about to... fall to the ground powerlessly?

Zhang Lie would naturally take advantage of such an opportunity. He punched upward, sending a blood dragon rising up into the air directly into the elder's path. Dragon and elder clashed in midair, causing a blood-colored explosion.

The elder crashed into the ground like a burlap sack, wounded and burned all over. The moment Zhang Lie had triggered his unusual technique, the elder immediately went on the defensive—but even so, he was unable to block the effects of Zhang Lie's technique fully.

An arm and half his shoulder had been sloughed off, and his organs were visible around the grotesque injury.

"Elder!" the Yeluo fighters cried out.

Their shouts reminded him that he wasn't alone. Ignoring his wounded body, he commanded, "You damned fools! What are you doing standing there? Go capture that girl! As long as you do, this man will do as we say!"

Zhang Lie laughed coldly. "You dare?"

He thought that the Yeluo fighters were nothing more than simple-minded fools, but to think that one of their elders would stoop to such underhanded acts! He would have to reevaluate working with them, it seemed.

The fighters all began to rush toward Hong Xi.

"Heh, don't blame us, little human girl—your man's simply been too irksome."

"Don't be afraid, we'll take good care of you!"

Zhang Lie was right about to head off to help his apprentice when the elder, dragging his battered body, blocked his way. "Lad, while I'm alive, don't expect to get anywhere!"