<h4>Chapter 1577: An Empty City</h4>


    The airship''s AI announced, "There are toxins in the environment."


    Zhang Lie frowned. "Was the city attacked with poison?"


    Sun Mengmeng asked, "Captain, was there ever such arge moat outside this city?"


    Only then did the hunters of Team Zenith discover the moat with jade-green water, its surface as smooth and reflective as a mirror, from which the sky''s reflection could be seen. The city itself looked as though it were floating in the sea.


    Zhang Lie frowned. "I don''t recall that moat ever being present."


    The airship''s AI announced again, "Lifeforms detected in the moat water."


    The water surged as a giant hand attempted to seize the airship.


    The airship''s AI continued, "Attacks incurred. Activating automatic counterattack."


    The airship''sser cannons sent a salvo at the giant hand in the moat, vaporizingrge quantities of water into steam.


    The moat water transformed into a human face. "I knew waiting here would be productive."


    Upon seeing this familiar sight, Zhang Lie realized what was going on. "Another of Cthaat''s sons, are you?"


    Using the airship''s speakers, Li Qianlin asked, "What have you done to those within the city?!"


    Cthaat''s sonughed. "What else? They all became my nutrients, of course."


    The human face gradually rose up into the air, the moat water gathering together to form a humanoid torso as well. The surge of water revealed an incredible number of bones deep within the moat, along with corpses that had yet to meltpletely. The corpses and bones floated in the moat water, a shocking sight.


    Sun Mengmeng stepped forward. "How dare he ughter a city of gic hunters! This is a clear challenge to us hunters of the Milky Way!"


    In the past, the gic hunters of the fourth realm had no authority or prestige to speak of. They were only able to survive as weeds, sprouting up in the cracks between the territory owned by the alien forces of the fourth realm.


    Ever since their triumphant return from the Rising Stars Cup, however, the members of Team Zenith had grown stronger and bolder.


    Sun Xiaowu clenched his fists, then rubbed his palms together. "Captain, leave this opponent to me!"


    Yang Ze shook his head. "No, no. This opponent is clearly linked to water. I should be the one to handle him."


    "Let me have at him," Li Feng argued.


    Fang Yi fumed. "How dare he take on a city of hunters from the Milky Way! It''s a clear show of disrespect. You wait right here, Captain. I''ll kill it and bring his head back before you can heat up a vat of alcohol!"


    Zhou Ying sighed. "You''re not Guan Yu, and neither is your opponent Hua Xiong. How do you intend to retrieve the head of a brainless lifeformposed entirely of liquid?"


    The members of Team Zenith argued with each other over who would get to show off their newfound strength after returning from the Cup.


    Zhang Lie strode forward. "No, I''ll take on this foe. There''s a grudge between me and the sons of Cthaat, and the hunters of this city wouldn''t have been ughtered if not for my presence. I have to avenge them myself."


    None could argue with Zhang Lie.


    "Open the airship''s hatch. I''ll raze him to the ground!"


    Zhang Lie jumped out of the airship before the poison could make its way in.


    Pale blue gic energy rippled about his arms. He flicked his wrists, causing a frightening aura to descend on the world. The sky began to darken, and a fish the size of a whale materialized in the air.


    [Fists of the Silent Sea: Soar] swept over the battlefield. As more and more gic energy gathered around Zhang Lie''s arms, it looked as though he were at the heart of a whirlpool.


    Ripples of energy spread out from Zhang Lie, warping the space around him. The towering waves looked like enraged ck dragons, flooding the area and discing the poison.


    Cthaat''s son showed no intention of evading the flood heading his way. Heughed uproariously. "Haha, you think you can take me on with water? Who do you think you are?"


    The moat water transformed into a torrential flood that met Zhang Lie''s attack in kind.


    As the waves burst apart, the air filled with echoes of Zhang Lie''s signature gic energy, shattering space and swallowing up all life in its vicinity.


    Cthaat''s son realized just how wrong he was. Zhang Lie''s attack was hardly as simple as it seemed.


    His water-attuned gic energy seemed somehow alive and independent. Cthaat''s son was unable to control or suppress it. The water that made up his moat scattered all over, producing sshes hundreds of meters tall. The waternded on the ground in a shower of rain, sizzling as it struck the earth. It was particrly corrosive.


    Zhang Lie had anticipated the nature of the moat water. A barrier of water surrounded him, preventing any drops from striking his body.


    "[The Boundless de: Daybreak]!" With a wave of his pointer finger, Zhang Lie unleashed a beam of sword energy that divided what remained of the moat in two.


    The face of Cthaat''s son reformed. He smiled. "I acknowledge your strength, but you won''t be able to kill me."


    A raging shark swam forth along the current that Zhang Lie had created, opening its bloody maw wide and biting down on the face.


    "Oh? That remains to be seen." The water-attuned barrier surrounding Zhang Lie suddenly turned dark as his gic energy changed elemental attunements.


    "[Ninecarp Transformation]!"


    A ck serpent materialized behind Zhang Lie, by now sorge and so developed that it resembled the world-swallowing serpent Jormungandr. It let out a threatening hiss as its scales clicked together.


    "Let''s see whose water is the more corrosive!"


    Pitch-ck gic energy revolved around Zhang Lie like dark clouds, then exploded forth in his vicinity, swallowing up the poison all around. The energy surged toward the moat water. Cthaat''s son, realizing that these clouds were potentially deadly, attempted to flee.


    "[Fists of the Silent Sea: Fade]!"


    As Zhang Lie punched forward, the ck serpent behind him shot into the jade-green water, corrupting it and turning it a shade of dark green. Cthaat''s son howled in pain, those howls echoing through the air.


    Zhang Lie strode across the sky. He chuckled. "Can you feel pain, then?"


    The moat water frothed. Cthaat''s son had never ever felt such frightening strength.


    Ordinary energy would be dissolved in his corrosive water within just a few minutes at most, but Zhang Lie''s pitch-ck gic energy was even more corrosive than the liquid that formed his body. It was like toxic poison.


    He had always been the one dissolving others; no other had yet managed to dissolve him—until now. This was the first time he realized how frightening it was to have his body dissolve bit by bit. To Cthaat''s son, Zhang Lie might as well have been a demon from hell.