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After sailing at full speed for more than twenty days across the vast ocean, the group finally returned to the Douluo Continent. Throughout these three weeks, Davis had been consumed by anxiety regarding the safety of his parents and family. He remained in a state of constant, burning worry, yet the journey was not entirely without its silver linings.
During those twenty-plus days, both Zhu Zhuyun and Zhu Zhuqing had managed to increase their spirit power by one rank each.
This was hardly surprising. It had been more than eight months since they had obtained their ninth spirit rings and ascended to the rank of Title Douluo. During this interval, they had never once slackened in their cultivation, making this breakthrough a natural progression of their hard work.
The advancement of his two wives undoubtedly bolstered Davis's confidence as he prepared to face Qian Renxue. Zhu Zhuyun, in particular, had reached Rank 96, officially becoming a Super Douluo.
Now, with the twenty-day voyage behind them, the group arrived at the border region between the Star Luo Empire and the Fasinuo Province. What was once a desolate stretch of overgrown weeds and wilderness was now engulfed in raging flames.
Searing heat swept over the hills and surged into the clouds. Though it was only the transition between spring and summer, the local temperature was already as stifling as the height of a midsummer heatwave.
To be "desolate" usually implies silence and terror, but it can also mean peace—a place where no soul stirs and no one comes to disturb the quiet. Now, however, the landscape was a canvas of war and chaos. Davis could even hear the fierce, heroic shouts of battle echoing from the south. That was the direction of Pelaji City, the capital of the Pelaji Kingdom, one of the vassal states of the Star Luo Empire.
There was no doubt that Pelaji City was under assault. As for where the attacking army had come from, the answer was obvious: Spirit Hall.
Since forming an alliance with the Heaven Spirit Empire, Spirit Hall not only commanded tens of thousands of Spirit Masters but also possessed a massive army of five hundred thousand soldiers—a force they could only have dreamed of in the past. Although they currently had only six Title Douluo, the presence of Qian Renxue, the Angel God, rendered Spirit Hall effectively invincible.
"How can this be? Is Spirit Hall already at Pelaji City?" Zhu Zhuyun's expression shifted drastically in shock. "If Pelaji City falls, the heartland of the Star Luo Empire will be in immediate peril!"
The four kingdoms, including Pelaji, served as the Star Luo Empire's first line of defense against Spirit Hall and the Heaven Spirit Empire. Once Pelaji City fell, a gaping hole would be torn in that defensive line, allowing Spirit Hall's armies to drive straight into the empire's interior.
"We cannot let them succeed! Let's go!" Davis reached the same conclusion instantly. He released his martial soul and soared toward Pelaji City, with Zhu Zhuyun and the others following close behind.
Davis moved with incredible speed, flashing like a bolt of lightning as the gale whistled past his ears. Within minutes, he reached Pelaji City, only to find the ground below swarming with people and littered with corpses.
Thirty thousand soldiers of the Heaven Spirit Empire had surrounded Pelaji City so tightly that not a drop of water could leak through. Behind them stood rows upon rows of catapults—at least a hundred of them.
While catapults lacked the sheer power of cannons, they were cheap to build, and the materials were readily available. Given the production capacity of the Heaven Spirit Empire, an estimate of ten thousand catapults a day would be conservative, and stone projectiles were even more abundant.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the siege engineers released the tension ropes, a series of powerful gusts heralded the descent of over a hundred stone boulders upon Pelaji City. In a single volley, at least thirty defenders had their heads reduced to pulp. Other stones smashed against the city walls, creating a web of expanding cracks.
Although Pelaji City had been equipped with powerful cannons thanks to the support of the Star Luo Imperial Family, the war had not just begun. This was the tenth day of the siege by Spirit Hall, and their ammunition had long since been exhausted.
Currently, only ten thousand soldiers and the King of Pelaji remained inside the city. Facing a three-to-one disadvantage, the city would have fallen long ago if its walls weren't exceptionally sturdy.
Against the repeated bombardment of a hundred catapults and the devastating physical attacks of the Qianjun Douluo, the city walls were truly being pushed to their limit.
Beyond the catapults, the Qianjun Douluo stood at the foot of the wall, brandishing his Coiling Dragon Staff. He swung it with such ferocity that the air whistled and cracked. Then, with a sudden, violent roar, he slammed the staff against the wall. The relatively small Coiling Dragon Staff seemed to carry the weight of ten thousand tons as it struck the stone.
Rumble! Rumble!
Accompanying a sound like rolling thunder, countless dense cracks appeared on the walls of Pelaji City, making it look as though it might shatter into pieces at any moment.
A cruel smirk played on the Qianjun Douluo's lips. One more. Just one more strike and the wall would be torn open; then, he could end this battle in minutes.
Once he crushed the King of Pelaji's head into a bloody paste, the rest of the defenders would become nothing more than a leaderless rabble. With this thought in mind, the Qianjun Douluo prepared to strike again. But at that moment, a deafening tiger's roar suddenly erupted from behind him!
"Stop!"
Before the sound even arrived, the person was already there. Davis's speed had clearly surpassed the speed of sound. By the time the Qianjun Douluo even heard the shout, a large hand had already clamped firmly onto his Coiling Dragon Staff.
"Hm? You're Davis!" The Qianjun Douluo gnashed his teeth in fury. He would never forget Davis's face—the face of the killer who had murdered his brother.
Although he had no idea why Davis had suddenly appeared here, the grudge of a brother's death was irreconcilable. He would fight first and ask questions later.
Suddenly, the Qianjun Douluo threw a massive punch toward Davis's face. However, Davis's reflexes were peerless. He pushed off the air itself, drifting backward like a piece of downy feather caught in the wind of the punch.
"Where do you think you're going? Martial Soul Avatar: Coiling Dragon Staff!" Facing his mortal enemy, the Qianjun Douluo immediately activated his Spirit Avatar. Davis, however, was even more blunt and brutal. His ninth spirit ring suddenly flashed with a brilliant light.
"Ninth Spirit Skill: White Tiger Beast Emperor Break!"
Golden light flashed as a yellow dragon emerged, its majesty shaking the eight desolations and the nine heavens.
In an instant, Davis concentrated his spirit power between his arms and fired a beam of golden light. It roared past like a soaring dragon, an unstoppable force of nature.
Under the brilliance of that golden light, the Qianjun Douluo and his Coiling Dragon Staff were swallowed by the dragon. He died instantly, his very existence erased. How could a mere Super Douluo hope to withstand a spirit skill with the power equivalent to a five-hundred-thousand-year-old soul ring?
"This is bad! Lord Qianjun Douluo has fallen! Retreat! Retreat now!"
Someone shouted the alarm, and the fifty-thousand-strong army of the Heaven Spirit Empire began to pull back like a receding tide. But how could Davis let them escape so easily?
He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword. To provoke him was to invite a price that had to be paid in blood.
"Eighth Spirit Skill: Earth Power!"
Davis condensed a sphere of earthy yellow light, filled with the essence of the ultimate earth attribute. He hurled it at the ground, injecting the energy into the soil. Immediately, the earth began to churn and buckle as if a great subterranean dragon were flipping over. Countless stone spikes erupted from the ground, impaling the fleeing soldiers one by one.
By the end of it, fewer than a hundred soldiers managed to flee back the way they came. Davis did not pursue them further. Beyond this point lay the Fasinuo Province, which had been seized by Spirit Hall two months prior.
Currently, Fasinuo was garrisoned not only by the Heaven Spirit Empire's army but also by the elite Spirit Masters of Spirit Hall. It was entirely possible that Qian Renxue herself was stationed there. Consequently, Davis did not dare to be the slightest bit careless.
(End of Chapter)