Chapter 744: The Empty-Headed Mengtai
Chapter 744: The Empty-Headed Mengtai
The humans of the third realm were active on a medium-sized world. Because they weren\'t indigenous to the realm, they weren\'t eligible to become kings of the realm.
Instead, their world was led by indigenous draconians, who were on very good terms with the humans. They helped out and watched over each other, considering the large number of relatively strong enemies nearby.
The draconians and humans existed on equal footing.
The humans required the draconians to maintain control over the world, whereas the draconians, low in population, required the manpower of the humans. The two species coexisted in harmony.
Not only had Zhang Lie met these draconians before, he even had quite a few friends among them. ?The draconians looked much like humans, though they had the pupils and horns of a dragon. In combat, they were able to effect a draconic transformation.
The completeness of this transformation determined a draconian\'s strength; the closer to a pure dragon they could become, the stronger they were. Cultivation for draconians involved trying to activate the latent potential in their blood and bloodline.
Draconians tended to be hot-tempered, forthright, and blunt, but they respected those with intelligence.
The most unusual draconian was their current clan head, the wise sage Liszt. He was a deeply intelligent draconian, one who would have quickly become the king of the realm of a large world if not for his lack of ambition.
Was there a correlation between those of high intelligence and an aversion to material things like money and power? Liszt wasn\'t interested in power; it was sufficient for him to see the draconians survive through the ages.
Instead, he preferred to cultivate heroes, heroes of legendary deeds and triumphs. Many of the strongest fourth-realm human hunters had been personally trained by him. According to the sage, he had been waiting for a hero of legend, a once-in-a-lifetime talent, whom the entire realm would revere and laud. This hero would unite the three thousand worlds of the realm and be recorded forevermore in the annals of history.
Zhang Lie shook his head at this notion—a hero of such caliber was the stuff of an overactive imagination. He asked, "Just what race dared to provoke the humans?"
He was a human himself, and had spent quite some time in the third realm. He had quite a good idea of what races were most hostile to humans here—essentially all the races that populated the nearby worlds. The humans were alone in a sea of enemies, and there were so many of them that he didn\'t know who the aggressor was.
"The Mengtai," Ren Kunjing reported.
Zhang Lie thought for a moment. "You mean those giants the size of mountains, the big-headed and brainless ones? To be honest, I\'m surprised they haven\'t gone extinct given the average intelligence of their kind."
Ren Kunjing was a little taken aback. "You seem to be very familiar with this race, Zhang Lie."
Although Zhang Lie had been in the third realm for almost half a year, he had never set foot in human territory.
There were three thousand worlds and three thousand races in the third realm. Even a warlord like Ren Kunjing, who had been in the third realm for who knew how many years, couldn\'t guarantee that he knew even half the races around.
Zhang Lie rolled his eyes. "Of course I had to ascertain how the humans were doing in the third realm before ascending from the second. I simply didn\'t expect that my preparation would be in vain, given the unusual circumstances of my arrival."
Ren Kunjing nodded; Zhang Lie\'s explanation made sense.
Fortunately, in the three worlds they had to hop between, there were aliens from the Milky Way familiar with where the wormholes were located on each world.
Otherwise, if Zhang Lie were working alone, it would have taken him far longer to find the required wormholes to advance through his journey—the two-week journey might have stretched out to a whole month, or even four.
The next world, the last one before arriving at the human world, would be the most difficult to pass through: it was the Mengtai homeworld.
The aliens of the Milky Way asked for Zhang Lie\'s instructions on how to proceed.
Zhang Lie\'s eyes glittered with malice. "We\'ll attack them directly, of course. Invade the largest Mengtai settlement and kill their king of the realm. We\'ll let them know the power of humans, of the enemy they\'ve chosen to make!"
The Mengtai were a nomadic race, and they didn\'t have a capital. However, the nomads primarily wandered around a central region where the king of the Mengtai was situated.
Zhang Lie and a number of the aliens of the Milky way knew where that region was, and they quickly set out to find it. Along the way, they encountered quite a few Mengtai.
The Mengtai were as large and strong as bears, but their appearance and aura were even more fierce. They had long claws and gigantic mouths with sharp canines that revulsed the eye.
Zhang Lie and his followers quickly made their way to the central region where the Mengtai were located.
The Mengtai immediately grew wary upon seeing a large group of foreigners in their territory, and a band of Mengtai blocked the aliens\' way. "Who are you?"
Ren Kunjing turned to Zhang Lie. "What should we do?"
"Let\'s knock. It\'s only common courtesy."
The Mengtai frowned. Who was this idiot? There weren\'t any doors around!
Li Qianlin blinked. "Weren\'t we here to cause trouble?"
The Mengtai were growing increasingly annoyed at being treated as though they weren\'t there. "Answer us! Who are you, and why have you come here?"
Nevertheless, Zhang Lie continued ignoring him as he leisurely answered Li Qianlin\'s question. "We\'re here to cause trouble, yes, but we\'re individuals of high moral standing. We\'ll remain polite and courteous."
The Mengtai warriors, incensed at being ignored, exploded with fury. Their eyes turned bloodshot, and they prepared to attack Zhang Lie and his delegation outright.
However, before the Mengtai could strike, a blur of red light whizzed past the Mengtai warrior, who was neatly cut into multiple pieces.
"Brother!"
The other Mengtai gaped at the sight. They whirled their heads as they searched for the red blur, which slowly resolved into the shape of a dark red mantis hovering in the air.
Compared to the Mengtai, it was far smaller—perhaps only the size of their heads, but its scythes were almost twice as long as its body. They were charged with killing intent and shone with a cold gleam.
Despite its small size, it radiated a frightening aura, one that immediately made the Mengtai grow wary. Just looking at the mantis made them feel as though their lives were in danger; their hearts beat like drums, as though pounding on their ribcages in an attempt to get them to leave.
"What\'s this?" The Mengtai decided to run away to warn their clan head, but by the time they saw the mantis for themselves, it was already too late...