Chapter 403: Monuments and Tombstones
Tantu was killed, and the Defense Force Army’s border encampment got single-handedly destroyed by Xia Fei. The news popped out all across the insectoid territory like mushrooms after rain; especially that part where, after Xia Fei had spiked Tantu’s head high on a lightning rod, he stuck out his middle finger, it was an action that had piqued everyone’s curiosity.
Soon, scholars, who specialized in studying human culture, claimed that such an action was an extreme insult from humans to insectoids, equivalent to gabeddi in insectoid language.
When this information got out, all insectoids, especially the Sacred Warriors among them, exploded in their rage!
In insectoid language, ‘gabeddi’ was considered the most vulgar insult to an enemy. This kind of obscure slang was very difficult to interpret even with the best translation chip, for just the word alone held plenty of meaning, and it was not just a simple curse.
To have been scolded with that word, in an insectoid’s eyes, was a very serious matter. In human language, being cursed to fall down eighteen levels of h.e.l.l and never to reincarnate, then multiply that by a thousand, more or less had the same meaning as gabeddi.
Normally, if an insectoid was scolded by a human with this word and they did not seek to end the human and his entire family, the insectoid would end up being despised by the entire race. Furthermore, the insectoid would lose their qualification to live with the tribe and would have to leave their home at once.
In any case, being scolded ‘gabeddi’ was a very serious matter, and the only way to resolve it was for either side of the conflict to wipe the other out, and there was no room for relief aside from it.
Xia Fei did not know that the gesture he had done got exaggerated to such a degree by these so-called human culture scholars. There was no doubt that they had done so in an effort to attract even greater hatred toward humans. The animosity that the insectoid had toward humans ran deep, and it was something the governing authorities very much welcome.
The Sacred Warriors were all enraged! Even the common folks were very riled up by that display!
However, the disturbance that Xia Fei had caused did not end there. The Sacred Warrior Leaderboard was announced two days after Tantu’s death. The names of Mengen, Goxan, Kikiger, the Sacred Guild’s Twelve Wings, as well as Tantu had all been removed from this elite warrior leaderboard.
The Top 100 Sacred Warrior Leaderboard had lost sixteen names simultaneously! It was the first time that this had happened in over a thousand years’ history of this leaderboard! When news got out, it immediately caused an uproar throughout the insectoid race!
Furthermore, the reason for their loss of position was all death!
Sixteen top experts had all been murdered in such a short time! In the insectoid society that respected strength, it was simply unimaginable! Even the Golden Tent lost three out of their Seven Champions! Just who could have such great power to be capable of hitting the insectoids so hard in just a month’s time?
The meticulous readers picked up some clues from the simple review at the end of the posting, stating vaguely about how somebody had barged into the insectoid territory. Though they did not state that all sixteen of these insectoids had been killed by the interloper, it very clearly pointed out that their death was closely related to this interloper.
So far, only Xia Fei had trespa.s.sed to their insectoid territory.
The truth could not be any clearer. Overnight, Xia Fei had become the murderer of sixteen top-grade Sacred Warriors. There was no need to mobilize everyone; defending against Xia Fei instantly became the primary task of all insectoids!
To have killed sixteen top-grade warriors in one go, Xia Fei was definitely not weak; everyone knew that. Most had contacted their old combat comrades to form an extermination squad, heading for the location that Xia Fei had last been spotted, hoping to get the opportunity to retaliate on behalf of the race.
There were also countless Sacred Warriors who were making a beeline for Xia Fei. The challenge that the intruder had issued caused many to declare something about letting him experience what it meant to be in a real fight.
One such insectoid went by the name of Arendaz. He specifically went all the way to a nearby barren planet where Xia Fei had killed Tantu and set up a platform in the middle of a desert, raising a tall flagpole with his tribe’s standard banner fluttering on it.
According to Arendaz, he did not need to form a squad with anyone as he planned to kill Xia Fei alone with his bare hands before flying his head high up on the flagpole in tribute to his tribe.
Every day, Arendaz would post comments challenging Xia Fei over the insectoid internet. In his eyes, a single human being was not at all threatening—that it had merely been sheer luck he had managed to kill Kikiger, Mengen, and all the other elite warriors. He claimed that, if Xia Fei were to b.u.mp into him, the human would not have any such good luck at all.
It was in the insectoids’ nature to feel joy in joining the hustle and bustle, and seeing Arendaz hype things up only heightened everyone’s interest toward this matter. Many warriors even wanted to head over to where Arendaz was located and lend him a hand, but it was unfortunate that Arendaz was so arrogant to the point he deemed anyone out there who would try to interfere with his action as his enemy! He was adamant about killing Xia Fei without anyone’s help, so as to demonstrate the might of the Sacred Warriors.
To be attacked even when lending a hand? There was no one out there who would accept such preposterousness, which was why those who wanted to join Arendaz to take on Xia Fei all gave up on the idea, opting to team up with others, instead.
Anyone with eyes could tell that, while it appeared as if Arendaz was openly challenging Xia Fei to a fight, the insectoid was actually borrowing Xia Fei’s name to spread his own. As for that planted standard banner, it was of course a monument that he had set for himself.
Challenging Xia Fei, the human who had killed sixteen top-grade Sacred Warriors solo, the symbolism of such an act could not be underestimated. For a moment, Arendaz experienced great fame, and heroic exploits of his were being extolled everywhere.
The civilians were all greatly impa.s.sioned seeing Arendaz take such crazy actions. He would also take the time to do hourly updates on the internet regarding his battle situation.
On the first day, Xia Fei did not appear. Arendaz cursed Xia Fei for being a coward, only daring to enact shameful deeds but not having the guts to face a true warrior one on one. The insectoids all left their own comments, praising Arendaz for his bravery while spurning the timid Xia Fei.
On the second day, Xia Fei still did not appear. Arendaz delightedly announced that he was already on Xia Fei’s mind, even raising that flagpole higher. For every day that the coward Xia Fei did not show up, the flagpole would increase by another meter.
Actually, Arendaz was also considered one of the smarter insectoids among their species. He had calculated that openly declaring his intention to fight would likely draw plenty of attention from the military, so with so many wars.h.i.+ps gathered around him, he was hoping to capture Xia Fei by using this chance.
In such a situation, not even a fool would pick up the challenge, and as such he was essentially doing a risk-free transaction, safe and worriless. He could even greatly promote his own reputation.
Sure enough, everything unfolded as he expected. The moment his challenge went out, a ma.n.u.script from the Golden Tent came, while several fleets hurried nearby to where Arendaz had situated himself, concealing themselves as they awaited for Xia Fei to appear and apprehend him in one fell swoop.
Arendaz became even bolder after he knew about the fleets’ movement, demonstrating the full extent of his capability to lambaste and ridicule Xia Fei, making himself out to be a real hero.
The insectoids loved the raised platform and the challenge. More and more people began to cheer on Arendaz, believing that his actions had greatly earned back s.p.a.ce for the insectoid race.
The desert only had Arendaz alone and that flagpole. However, everywhere around was also the elite from his tribe. When it came to fearing death, Arendaz was actually as afraid as anyone else, though he was even more aware about the logic behind how risk was behind every fortune.
To really fight to the death with Xia Fei? Arendaz had never once entertained the thought. The smarter someone was, the more they would value their life. This was a truth which rang true even among the insectoids.
After two lively days pa.s.sed, on the third day when the insectoids switched on their computers, ready to see what Arendaz was up to, they noticed that it had been three hours since his last update. Could something have really happened?
The insectoids all waited uneasily for news. They refused to believe that their hero had fallen, much less that Xia Fei had dared take on the challenge.
After it had been six hours since Arendaz updated his last movement, a short video abruptly appeared over the insectoid internet. In it, Xia Fei had used October Flying Snow to cut off Arendaz’s head before planting his head right on Arendaz’s own flagpole.
This monument, which he had been using to raise his fame, became his own tombstone. This was not something the civilians had imagined; Arendaz himself had not expected it, either.
Xia Fei had moved with such ease and such cleanliness throughout; from the moment he struck to kill Arendaz and how he stabbed his head onto the flagpole, to when he flashed his middle finger right before departing, everything was done in one go, hardly dragging anything out.
Everyone was stunned. It turned out that this insectoid hero who had challenged Xia Fei was so defenseless. In fact, when Xia Fei’s October Flying Snow went to cut Arendaz’s throat, they could very clearly see in the video that a warm patch sprouted from his pants.
Xia Fei did not show a change in his emotional or psychological state throughout the entire process. His pupils were as calm as still water, his expression cold like glacial ice. It appeared as if he had very casually turned up and slain this person who had challenged him with much fanfare. Meanwhile, right before he left, it was as if he had accomplished something that he ought to have done.
The cruel truth left the insectoids short for breath. n.o.body would have believed that the hero they had been supporting would die just like that. In just two days, before anyone even managed to help him shout, that belligerent challenge had been lowered full mast, while the insectoid hero whose head got chopped off left the mortal coil with a pair of pants drenched in p.i.s.s.
…..
That expensive golden silkwood table in front of Uti was met with a terrible fate once more. Every time Uti was angered, that table would become his punching bag, though it seemed that, in recent times, the table had been weathering more and more punishment.
“What a disgrace! What were the troops even doing, to have watched blankly as that human warrior killed Arendaz and then let him leave without responding at all!
“Do you think all you’re throwing is Arendaz’s face? No, it’s dishonor for all insectoids!” Uti bellowed in his shrill rage. “Men! Call for the High Priest Ryun! Tell the old man that I have something to discuss with him!
“Hold it!” Uti very quickly shook his head just as he finished making that statement. He sighed. “Forget it; best if I go over myself.”