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Chapter 384: The Price of Assistance

Even more importantly were the million hunters stationed around Qi, who would lose everything they had if Qi really were to be seized by the sura. In the end, Hong Tianqi expedited the world federation\'s deliberation process and brought this matter in front of the highest authorities himself.

"We humans don\'t have much land in the second realm, and losing another city would be a major setback. No matter what, we have to send reinforcements to Qi— don\'t forget, mankind\'s loss will be the entire world federation\'s loss!" Hong Tianqi slammed a palm down on the table in agitation.

Amurong shook his head. "Hong, please calm down. It\'s unrealistic for us to be sending troops and resources over. If they were to be injured or killed in the process, who would bear responsibility? Furthermore, if there were alien races who took this opportunity to strike, we would lose more than just Qi.

"Finally, by the time these reinforcements arrive, Qi would likely have been leveled to the ground already. As you know, the sura are undefeated in the second realm, and our reports state that a sura king and his band of elite fighters are present."

"Is that so?" Hong Tianqi barked. ?"You\'ll sit by and do nothing as Qi falls to rubble?"

Amurong smiled knowingly at Hong Tianqi. "If I\'m not wrong, Zhang Lie\'s in Qi, isn\'t he?"

Hong Tianqi frowned.

Amurong continued, "Losing Qi would dramatically reduce Zhang Lie\'s rate of growth, so you\'d like to keep Qi at all costs."

Hong Tianqi snorted. "This isn\'t just a matter of Zhang Lie, but rather of the world federation at large. Don\'t forget that the existence of Qi benefits all of us, not just Zhang Lie!"

Amurong spread his arms. "How will saving Qi benefit the rest of us here?"

Hong Tianqi frowned even more harshly. "Why would providing aid require anything in return?"

Amurong smirked. "You want us, the highest authorities of the world federation, to send reinforcements to Qi, don\'t you? That will incur a cost on the other members—the rest of us. After all, sending aid means that we might be risking our own hunters."

"Aren\'t you all part of the world federation? What\'s the point of this alliance, then? We humans have sent help and assistance to other races here whenever they needed it!"

Amurong laced his fingers and supported his lower jaw with it. "As I\'ve mentioned already, your situation is different. Moving our forces to Qi will require a large expenditure of time and energy. Furthermore, your enemy is the sura, the hegemon of the second realm! If it\'s a matter of such urgency to you, surely you should provide some compensation to the rest of us. Otherwise, even if I permit this operation, I find it unlikely that anyone would volunteer to send aid.

"As you know, every mobilization order sent out by the highest authorities will require a certain amount of resources as the price. Since this order was initiated by the humans, the humans should be the ones to pay that price."

Amurong noticed that Hong Tianqi was getting rather agitated, but he didn\'t care—the power he held in his hands would be able to decide Zhang Lie\'s future, and even Zhang Lie\'s life. Given how flustered Hong Tianqi was, Amurong even suspected that Zhang Lie might be in Qi at this very moment.

Hong Tianqi retorted, "Hunters from all races in the world federation are present in Qi!"

Amurong spread his arms again. "We can recover from such a loss, but can you afford to lose Zhang Lie?"

"Isn\'t Zhang Lie also a member of the world federation?"

Amurong chuckled coldly. "Why don\'t I help you make a decision? If you promise a vial of Potion #1 for each hunter that takes part in this operation, the entire world federation will send forces in aid of Qi."

An operation of this magnitude would require hundreds of thousands of reinforcements at the very least, and Zhang Lie hardly had the wherewithal to produce the potion in such quantities.

Amurong continued, "Think quickly, won\'t you? You\'re running out of time. Shall we leave the decision to a vote?"

A representative by Amurong\'s side suggested, "Tianqi, why don\'t you give in? With Zhang Lie around, you\'ll surely be able to produce endless vials of Potion #1, and even Potions #2, #3, and #4!"

The representatives allied with Amurong smiled maliciously at Hong Tianqi, greed flashing in their eyes.

At the very least, the representatives of those races that had allied themselves with the humans seemed abhorrent of what Amurong was trying to pull off, and from their glances at Hong Tianqi, it seemed as though they would be willing to provide reinforcements regardless of whether the motion was passed.

Hong Tianqi suddenly sucked in a deep breath and wiped the anxiety from his face.

"Very well. In that case, I choose not to submit this motion for consideration. Let Qi live or die by its own hand."

Amurong\'s eyes widened. "Hong, are you certain? You—"

Amurong was about to continue trying to persuade Hong Tianqi when the doors to the meeting room were suddenly pushed open, and a scout rushed in.

"Urgent news— Qi has won a great victory against the sura, and Zhang Lie\'s captured the invading sura king alive!"

"What?! The humans won?!"

"They caught the sura king alive... I can\'t be dreaming, can I?"

Amurong and the other representatives gaped in shock while Hong Tianqi roared in laughter. "Ha, haha, hahaha! I can\'t believe Zhang Lie actually managed to capture a sura king alive. I couldn\'t do the same in the second realm; he\'s going to usher in an era of prosperity for us humans, I\'m sure."

Amurong\'s face was pinched as he asked the scout, "Is this information credible?"

"Yes, sir! I heard the news straight from the wounded governor of Qi himself!

When he heard that Xiao Zhengyang had been injured, Hong Tianqi frowned. "And what of Zhang Lie? Is he badly injured?"

"No, ?Zhang Lie wasn\'t injured at all!"

The representatives glanced at the scout in shock. How could Zhang Lie have subdued the sura king without taking injuries? That was ridiculous! They had to ascertain just what had happened for themselves, but one thing was clear: they could hardly become enemies of mankind now.

With a grin, Hong Tianqi continued, "Where\'s Zhang Lie now?"

"Well, he\'s..."

"Stop mumbling and speak up!" Amurong called out impatiently.

He had almost succeeded in forcing Hong Tianqi\'s hand, so the sudden reversal in the humans\' fortune had been a nasty surprise.

"Zhang Lie, along with three thousand hunters from Qi, has... counter-invaded the sura lands!"

Amurong: ? ? ?

The gathered representatives: ! ! !

Even Hong Tianqi was agog now.

By then, the sura capital was completely under Zhang Lie\'s control. He and the members of Team Zenith walked through the gigantic palace of the sura king. When he pushed open a door from which a nauseating smell was emanating, his face turned dark.

The room was akin to a dungeon in which thirty or so human males and females were kept. Their bodies were nude, and quite a few of the females were pregnant. Rather than humans, they seemed more like livestock. Their eyes were glazed over, and they seemed more like walking corpses than anything else.

They had already given up hope, and they barely stirred upon seeing the doors open.

Hong Xi felt a pang of pain in her chest, unable to bear such cruel torture.

"Don\'t worry, we\'re here to save you!" she cried out. "The sura have been defeated, and you\'re all free."

However, her words had almost no effect on the prisoners. Most of them began to bleat and cry out like pigs, with only a single middle-aged man revealing a hint of an unusual expression. Unfortunately, he was simply so frightened that, despite opening his mouth, he ultimately closed it and instead squealed and bleated like the other prisoners.

Only when Hong Xi repeated herself did the man ask hoarsely, "I-I\'m free?"

"Yes, you\'re free!"

"Have the, the sura b-been destroyed?"

"We\'ve killed the ones that fought and let the rest flee. It\'s over!" Hong Xi confirmed.

The man\'s eyes slowly grew wide as he processed her words. "Truly?"

Hong Xi pointed at Zhang Lie. "This is my master, Zhang Lie from the Zenith Dojo. He, along with three thousand brave hunters from Qi, freed these lands from the oppression of the sura!"

The man asked, "What of the sura king?"

When he mentioned the sura king, everyone in the dungeon shuddered, as though their fear of him had been emblazoned in their very soul. Zhang Lie could hardly imagine just what they had suffered.

Despite seeing Zhang Lie in the flesh, the men and women in the dungeon still couldn\'t believe their new reality. It seemed far more likely that they were still dreaming.

Zhang Lie turned around. "Walk outside and you\'ll understand."

Hong Xi broke apart their chains as they stepped toward the entrance to the dungeon, but they hesitated before the boundary. They were afraid that, the moment they stepped out, they would find that they had been in a dream all along.

Hong Xi and the others had to plead and cajole them before they reluctantly drummed up their courage and took their first tentative step outside.

Blinding rays of sunlight impinged on their faces. Because they had been kept away from the sunlight for so long, their eyes were unable to adapt, and they threw up their hands and averted their gaze.

The next moment, however, despite the overwhelming pain, they forced themselves to glance out of the palace and toward the capital. The buildings all around had been destroyed, and the only people on the streets were human scouts. Flags of Qi fluttered wherever they looked; one hung right above the top of the palace, visible all throughout the capital. Those humans who lived in darkness and despair cried on seeing it as they dropped to the ground and sobbed.

How long they had suffered in interminable pain! How long they had lay desolate in the icy-cold dungeon, how long they had hoped to be rescued as they watched their companions die!

They had hoped, but never truly expected, that they would see sunlight once again.