Ultragenic Warlord

Chapter 739: Overwhelming Victory

After hypnotizing Duan Gen, Zhang Lie headed to the king of the west's quarters.

The king's palace in the world of the west was far larger than that in the scaleman world. There were nine gigantic golden pillars in the structure, with a dragon coiled around each one. The pillars supported a circular dome engraved with intricate illustrations about the history of the world, inlaid with delicate stained glass.

The most eye-catching of the engravings was at the apex of the dome. A golden dragon coiled around the apex, as though it were peeking down from among the clouds, staring at any passersby from a position of authority.

In the golden dragon's mouth was a pearl the size of a watermelon, which shone and glimmered when light struck it. This watermelon-sized pearl clearly wasn't the proof of kingship.

Zhang Lie frowned. With the king of the west dead, it was impossible for Duan Gen to maintain his rationality in the face of his mistmeld clam soulshard. In that case, there had to be some secret hidden in the pearl. Zhang Lie leapt up and retrieved the pearl from the dragon's mouth.

When he held it in his hands, he quickly noticed the problem. He crushed the pearl to powder—and indeed, in its very center was a jade seal glowing with light, the proof of kingship of the west.

This marked the end of his successful invasion of the world.

Zhang Lie then headed toward the imperial treasury. Quite a few imperial guards were already there, having immediately rushed over after the king of the realm's death. They were all attacking the doors to the treasury, knowing very well that within it was the accumulated wealth of the king for an entire lifetime and beyond.

However, the imperial treasury was naturally warded by the strongest protections the king of the realm could bring to bear, and these guards hadn't the slightest chance of succeeding in their objective.

Even in his death, the king of the realm was far stronger than ordinary people could hope to defeat, but these guards' rationality had been wholly taken over by greed and thirst for the treasures that had to lie within.

After all, it would take some time for the invading army to muster, and they would have plenty of time to steal whatever treasures they could carry and run off with them. They would be able to live off those treasures for their entire lives.

These guards didn't notice that the commander of the army was walking toward them, that he was standing basically at their backs. Of course, even if these people noticed Zhang Lie, they ignored him; none of them knew who he was, after all.

"All of you, scram!" his voice rang out, augmented with genetic energy.

The guards turned toward the newcomer with displeasure. Who was so domineering as to think that he could take on them all?

The moment they turned toward Zhang Lie, they were met with his rainbow-colored gaze. Instantly, they fled from the scene.

Of course, there were a few guards who hadn't turned around despite the commotion, who were desperately banging at the doors to the treasury.

Zhang Lie didn't waste his breath. He attacked the recalcitrant guards.

Ripples of air formed around Zhang Lie's arm, growing more and more intense as Zhang Lie combined spatial force with his water-attuned genetic energy. Zhang Lie's aura rose rapidly. The water-attuned genetic energy swirling around him condensed around his arm, kneading space as though it were nothing more than paper.

A hurricane spun into existence around him, worsening the devastation of the capital.

Zhang Lie himself seemed to have transformed into a human-sized hurricane. The roofs of the houses nearby were sucked into the air, as were the guards in close proximity. They yelled and screamed, not having been able to run away in time.

All the buildings near the palace were uprooted and sent flying. Pillars of shattered stone and balconies of wood whipped through the air, and even the palace infrastructure became unstable.

Those daring citizens who remained in the capital could see a gigantic black hurricane emerge in the center of the capital, roaring like a frightening beast as it swallowed up everything in sight.

Some who observed the phenomenon suggested that the world itself was raging at its king's death, and others that the king's soul had returned to the capital and was in outrage at the devastation wreaked on the palace.

Zhang Lie waved a hand, clearing aside the rubble and bodies strewn all over. All the guards that had been blocking his way were gone; there was no need for him to do anything more.

He walked up to the doors of the treasury, having learned how to unlock it from Duan Gen by manipulating his genetic energy in a certain manner. The rich scent of treasures and herbs filled his nostrils—the accumulated wealth of centuries, even millennia. The gleam was so dazzling as to make him avert his eyes.

Even Zhang Lie, who had pilfered more than his fair share of treasuries, was shocked by the wealth. It was outlandishly lavish.

Cataloging the treasures within by himself could very well take him years.

So many treasures and herbs were accumulated within that anyone would have been dumbstruck at the sight. As expected of a large world's treasury—the king of the realm had kept all the best treasures of the world for himself.

Among the herbs was a core ingredient for Potion #5, a surprise acquisition for Zhang Lie.

"Ah, so there really were such fragments here, too..." In addition, Zhang Lie found five pieces of the tattered map within the treasury.

There were so many treasures here that Zhang Lie couldn't help but think of Team Zenith. If his team were here, he wouldn't have to search through all of it himself. However, this was no trouble. He'd take the best treasure, then offer a bit to the aliens of the Milky Way in exchange for their help.

As for Zhang Lie, after he arranged for Red Comet, White, and Whiter to keep guard over the treasury, he went back to his temporary campsite to meet up with Li Qianlin.

Li Qianlin shouted excitedly, "I saw your fight with the king of the west from afar—it was really exciting! The entire world seemed to be devastated by both of your attacks. I almost couldn't believe that you were able to eke out victory in the end..."

Zhang Lie pretended to be upset. "Oh? Were you hoping for me to lose? If that were the case, you'd become a widow, you know?"