Ultragene Warlord

As for the remaining six princes, Zhang Lie couldn't really tell which of them were traitors to the realm. Who was in cahoots with the Jinghun clan?

The third and fifth princes were the crown prince's closest competitors. Even though Zhang Lie had seen them struggling amidst the beast stampede, he couldn't rule out their involvement completely.

The remaining four princes all had a credible motive for conspiring with the Jinghun as well.

The crown prince suddenly announced, "I'll get Father a new tent."

The king of the realm was just about to retire for a rest when a small group of a few dozen wounded troops rushed into the encampment.

The crown prince glanced at the troops with a frown. "They seem to have come from the capital."

The ninth prince folded his arms. "After this long? We've resolved the problem already!"

"Something's wrong. It's impossible that only so few imperial troops have come as reinforcements—and they're all injured!"

The princes all rushed out to have a look. "What's going on?" the crown prince hollered.

One of the guards dismounted from his horse and knelt on the ground. "Crown prince, something's very wrong! The capital's about to be overwhelmed!"

"What?!" The princes all glanced at the guard in dismay. Matters at the hunting grounds had just been resolved; had something happened to the capital in the meantime?

The guard reported, "The capital's been attacked by a large number of beasts, including a significant number of fourth-level ones. The imperial guards are desperately defending against the onslaught."

Another guard reported, "The capital's defenses have almost been breached. We humbly request that the king of the realm return to the capital immediately to defend the kingdom!"

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The crown prince's frown deepened. "The capital's defenses should be more than up to par for a beast stampede."

The capital of the kingdom was the heart of the world and the king of the realm's residence, and the king of the realm would obviously lay down his strongest defenses there.

The walls of the capital were constructed with the best materials available in the world, and they should have been able to resist even disaster-grade lifeforms.

The first guard explained, "While the capital was under siege by the beasts, a rebellion took place within the capital itself. Those damned bastards rushed toward the palace and tried to wrest control of it, and now everything's in a mess!"

The crown prince paled. "Who did this?!"

"A foreign race—the Jindao clan!"

"The Jindao clan?!"

The Jindao had been present in the world for quite some time, and they had managed to sneak a large number of strong fighters into the capital without drawing any attention to themselves. Now, those fighters had caused a huge fiasco.

Zhang Lie smiled coldly. "It looks as though the second prince was simply a pawn in the Jindao's plans."

The ninth prince sighed. "I wonder how my second brother would have felt to learn of this..."

The third prince shook his head. "This might be part of the Jindao's plans, too. The moment they realized that their plans had gone awry, they had to make their move and secure their objective before the king of the realm could get rid of them."

Zhang Lie shrugged. "Regardless, the Jinghun also have to be involved somehow."

The guards added, "The imperial guards are working with the Yinlian clan to subdue the Jindao, but at this rate, with both the beast stampede and the Jindao rebellion occurring simultaneously, it's only a matter of time before the capital falls to these invaders. We need his majesty to return."

The crown prince turned around. "I'll report this to Father immediately."

However, the king of the realm was already standing right behind him. "I've heard everything I need to."

"Your majesty!"

"We greet his majesty!"

The guards and princes all bowed down, but the king of the realm cut them off with a curt wave of his hand. "We must return to the capital immediately." 

He turned to Zhang Lie. "Master, I don't believe I've asked for your name...?"

Zhang Lie was just about to state his name when he realized that the Jinghun clan were still around. The reason the Yinlian and Zijing clans hadn't recognized him was because he had disguised his appearance.

If he were to reveal himself now, the other princes would know his name, and those princes' backers would likewise be informed of his presence. However, Zhang Lie was so famous that they would surely make the connection to him from name alone.

Thus, Zhang Lie gave a pseudonym, the first name he could think of. "My name is Hong Tianqi!"

The Yinlian who accompanied the sixth prince looked Zhang Lie up and down. The Heijie clan knew of Zhang Lie's true identity. They were a little shocked to see him report a false name, but they didn't comment on it.

"Let's proceed to the capital, then, Master Hong." The king of the realm escorted Zhang Lie through a rift he had sliced open in the world, which led them directly to the capital.

The capital had clearly seen better days. On the outside, it was being battered by an entire stampede of beasts—peak-, superior-, and mutated-grade alike.   All these lifeforms had a crystalline purple shard on their heads.

Zhang Lie couldn't help but remark, "What an investment..."

He simply couldn't fathom where the Jinghun had obtained so many lifeforms, nor why they were willing to expend so many on this world.

The king of the realm's face gradually grew pale, as though he had just thought of something.

The interior of the capital was faring much better than the exterior; the Jindao had made a beeline for the palace without attempting to wreak havoc. The palace was heavily guarded, and the Wang and Feng clans had temporarily allied in order to defend against the outside threat.

However, as one of the top hundred races of the Milky Way, the Jindao fared well even against these imperial guards and local clans. Their resources and strength were incomparable to those of the natives.

Zhang Lie's Zenith Dojo was still a weaker force compared to these races, but once those hunters from the kingdom of Limit ascended to the third realm, he was confident that they would fare well against any of the top hundred races.

Perhaps he might even be able to take over the third realm, just as he had with the second?

Even if not, Zhang Lie was confident that the kingdom he had devoted his efforts to would bear fruit. Once the hunters of Limit ascended, the entire realm would know of the kingdom.

Although the Jindao were able to hold off the defenders for the moment, they knew that prolonging the battle would ultimately be against their favor.

While the rest of their clan clashed against the defenders, a small group of elites broke through the defensive lines and headed straight for the imperial treasury.

Zhang Lie recalled the Heijie mentioning that the Jindao were interested in the primordial starflower that was in the imperial treasury, and his face turned dark in an instant. The primordial starflower was meant to be his!

It looks like the Jindao are out of patience. Sensing that the second prince's coup was a failure, they decided to seize the treasure by force. Zhang Lie called out, "I'll deal with the palace. You can handle the border of the capital."

Surprised to be given a command, the king of the realm hesitated for a moment, nodded firmly, and rushed off in the opposite direction.