Chapter 505: Sunrise City
Before stepping into the detection range, Elder Song and her group needed to make some preparations; otherwise, they would be exposed immediately. In fact, He Caitou, the only soul engineer in their team, had already set everything up. Earlier, in a forest outside the city, he had placed soul tool bombs set on a delayed detonation timer. Based on his calculations, the time had come for them to go off.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of loud explosions erupted from the forest near the city gate. Flames flared up, and thick smoke billowed into the sky, instantly attracting the attention of many, including the guards stationed at the gate.
The captain of the guards turned pale, sensing that something was terribly wrong. As a mere gate captain, he had no idea why Sunrise City was under such tight lockdown or why multiple soul engineer legions had been stationed there by the Empire. However, he knew one thing for sure he had to act quickly, or else he would face severe consequences from his superiors.
"Enemy attack! We're under attack! Close the city gates immediately!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.
The guards at the gate, following their captain's orders, quickly began shutting the city gates. Meanwhile, some of the guards carrying soul detection devices rushed into the city to report the incident. The people still outside the city grew visibly panicked, uncertain of what might happen next.
The guard captain turned to He Caitou with a fawning smile. "Please, come with me into the city."
He conveniently avoided mentioning the soul power detection test there was no time for that now. In a crisis, one had to be flexible, and conducting a rigid inspection was no longer necessary. Besides, given this nobleman's dark complexion and luxurious attire, he was undoubtedly of pure Sun Moon noble lineage. The people accompanying him were probably just newly acquired slaves who hadn't even had time to be cleaned up yet.
He Caitou gave an approving nod. "Alright."
With that, the guard captain led He Caitou and his group into the city just as the gates slammed shut behind them. Meanwhile, soul engineers belonging to the Sun Moon Empire took to the skies, flying toward the explosion site to investigate whether an enemy attack was truly underway.
Once inside the city, the guard captain breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at He Caitou expectantly. After all, he had just done a favor for a Sun Moon noble if the man wasn't ungrateful, he would surely offer a reward.
He Caitou, who had once been a crown prince and understood human nature well, noticed the captain's gaze and immediately realized his intent. He retrieved twenty gold soul coins from his storage soul tool and handed them over. "Take these and buy some good food and drinks for yourself and the other guards."
The guard captain's face lit up with excitement as he accepted the gold soul coins.
Twenty gold soul coins was no small sum. While Sun Moon citizens were generally wealthier than those of the three Douluo empires, the difference wasn't astronomical. To put things in perspective, even an elite soldier in Duke White Tiger Dai Hao's Western Army Reserve only earned six silver soul coins per month!
However, after the initial excitement, the captain quickly realized something if this nobleman had given him twenty gold soul coins purely out of gratitude, it seemed a bit excessive. There had to be something more to it.
He hesitated for a moment before asking, "What would you like me to do?"
He kept his gaze fixed on He Caitou, wary of any request that might be too outrageous. If it was something unreasonable, these twenty gold soul coins would become a burden rather than a gift.
He Caitou deliberately put on a worried expression. "I'm a soul engineer planning to stay in Sunrise City for a while to conduct business in soul tools. Before coming here, I gathered some information about the city, but I had no idea there would be so many soul engineer legions stationed nearby.
So, I'd like to understand the current situation in Sunrise City to avoid offending anyone I shouldn't while doing business."
Although spies from the three Douluo empires and Shrek Academy had confirmed that the hostages were in Sunrise City, they still faced a critical issue they didn't know where exactly the prisoners were being held.
Gathering intelligence was part of Elder Song's group's plan upon entering the city, and He Caitou, with his Sun Moon noble disguise, was the perfect person for the job.
The guard captain relaxed and began conversing with He Caitou. Although he held the title of captain, the city's defenses were primarily controlled by the stationed soul engineer legions, leaving him with little real authority. His main duties were monitoring entrants and managing the city gates. Now that the gates were shut, he had plenty of time to chat. As for the other guards, none of them would report him after all, he was about to share his reward with them.
He Caitou occasionally steered the conversation toward other relevant topics. After some time, he and his team left to investigate different parts of Sunrise City. However, despite their efforts, they still couldn't pinpoint where the Sun Moon Empire was holding the hostages. With no other choice, they rented a hotel to stay in for the time being.
Sun Moon Border.
Inside a military tent.
Huo Yuhao sat in a chair, his mind filled with swirling thoughts.
"Although Elder Zhuang and Elder Lin are dead, their souls have not been completely extinguished. Instead, Elder Yi has gathered them and placed them in the Necromancer's Sub Dimensional Realm for reconstruction."
Elder Zhuang had been Shrek Academy's only auxiliary type Ultimate Douluo.
As for Elder Lin, he had been the one in charge of Shrek's Treasure Pavilion and had staunchly supported the development of soul tools.
"But right now, I should make my way to Sunrise City. Since the Holy Spirit Cult is holding hostages from the three Douluo empires there, and Shrek Academy has also sent people to rescue them, this is a good opportunity to strike a blow against the Holy Spirit Cult.
At the same time, I can use some special methods to turn these captives into my planted agents within the three Douluo empires, secretly undermining Shrek Academy's reputation."
With this thought, he sent a mental message to Kong Deming, informing him of his departure from the Sun Moon border. Then, Huo Yuhao activated the dimensional consciousness in his mind, requesting it to teleport him to Sunrise City.
Nighttime.
Inside a hotel room, the soft glow of a soul lamp cast dim yellow light across the space.
Lying on the bed with his eyes closed, He Caitou let out a weary sigh.
He had searched every corner of Sunrise City today, yet he still hadn't found where the hostages were being held. This was a heavy blow to him.
Even though he had agreed to work as Huo Yuhao's undercover agent, he still held deep feelings for Shrek Academy. Naturally, he wanted to complete Shrek's mission.
His thoughts drifted. "Huo Yuhao's previous task for me was to infiltrate the Star Luo army. Honestly, getting into the Star Luo army isn't difficult they've already agreed to grant me a high ranking position.
But the problem is that the Academy won't release me just yet. Of course, that's understandable. After all, I am a beneficiary of the Ultimate Soldier Plan, and I should contribute to the Academy as much as possible. But once the war breaks out, I should be able to join the Star Luo army."
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