<h4>Chapter 403: Monuments and Tombstones</h4>


    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, schrs, who specialized in studying human culture, imed that such an action was an extreme insult from humans to insectoids, equivalent to gabeddi in insectoidnguage.


    When this information got out, all insectoids, especially the Sacred Warriors among them, exploded in their rage!


    In insectoidnguage, ‘gabeddi’ was considered the most vulgar insult to an enemy. This kind of obscure ng was very difficult to interpret even with the best trantion 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 humannguage, being cursed to fall down eighteen levels of hell 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 schrs. 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 wee.


    The Sacred Warriors were all enraged! Even themon folks were very riled up by that disy!


    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 rted to this interloper.


    So far, only Xia Fei had trespassed to their insectoid territory.


    The truth could not be any clearer. Overnight, Xia Fei had be 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 oldbatrades to form an extermination squad, heading for the location that Xia Fei hadst 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 dere 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 where Xia Fei had killed Tantu and set up a tform in the middle of a desert, raising a tall gpole with his tribe’s standard banner fluttering on it.


    ording to Arendaz, he did not need to form a squad with anyone as he nned to kill Xia Fei alone with his bare hands before flying his head high up on the gpole in tribute to his tribe.


    Every day, Arendaz would postments challenging Xia Fei over the insectoid inte. 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 imed that, if Xia Fei were to bump 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 ept 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 nted 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 impassioned seeing Arendaz take such crazy actions. He would also take the time to do hourly updates on the inte 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 ownments, 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 gpole higher. For every day that the coward Xia Fei did not show up, the gpole would increase by another meter.


    Actually, Arendaz was also considered one of the smarter insectoids among their species. He had calcted that openly dering his intention to fight would likely draw plenty of attention from the military, so with so many warships 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 manuscript 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 tombaste and ridicule Xia Fei, making himself out to be a real hero.


    The insectoids loved the raised tform and the challenge. More and more people began to cheer on Arendaz, believing that his actions had greatly earned back space for the insectoid race.


    The desert only had Arendaz alone and that gpole. 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 passed, on the third day when the insectoids switched on theirputers, ready to see what Arendaz was up to, they noticed that it had been three hours since hisst 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 hisst movement, a short video abruptly appeared over the insectoid inte. In it, Xia Fei had used October Flying Snow to cut off Arendaz’s head before nting his head right on Arendaz’s own gpole.


    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 gpole, to when he shed 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 cial ice. It appeared as if he had very casually turned up and in this person who had challenged him with much fanfare. Meanwhile, right before he left, it was as if he had aplished something that he ought to have done.


    The cruel truth left the insectoids short for breath. Nobody 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 piss.


    .....


    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 be 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 nkly 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.”