"Marshal, we can't go on like this!"
Xuanji Douluo rushed to Dai Hao's side, his expression solemn.
"Their tracking soul tools are too powerful. We can't shake them at all. It even looks like they're deliberately herding us away. It's like they're trying to lead us to a specific place."
Did Dai Hao not see it?
Of course he did. He had long realized that the army of soul engineers chasing them from behind wasn't attacking at full force. Instead, it was a cold, methodical hunt, constantly grinding down their physical stamina and soul power, compressing their space to maneuver.
"I know."
Dai Hao gritted his teeth and smashed apart a boulder that had just rolled over from the side, blown here by a soul tool cannon.
"But we have no choice. Before night falls, we have to cross the First Sky Line and enter deeper into Star Luo territory. Otherwise…"
He didn't finish, but everyone understood the outcome.
Once, they had nearly been encircled by this well-equipped legion of soul engineers. If that happened again in these mountains and ruins, they would be nothing but lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
Yet the Sun Moon Empire clearly had no intention of giving them that chance.
All of a sudden, dozens of points of light flared to life without warning on both sides of the low hills ahead—soul tools charging up.
"Ambush, be careful!"
Dai Hao's pupils shrank abruptly as he shouted a stern warning.
But it was already too late.
Dozens of thick beams of energy didn't shoot at their ranks, but instead blasted straight toward the narrow exit of the mountain path in front of the team.
"Boom—!!"
With a violent explosion, the exit was completely blown apart. Massive rocks and earth mixed together and came crashing down, instantly sealing off their only way out.
"It's over…"
Someone in the group whispered in despair. Panic began to spread.
At the same time, the soul engineer army that had been trailing behind them suddenly accelerated, surging forward from three directions like a black tide.
No longer concealing themselves, they advanced in a neat formation. Cold metal armor, and countless soul tool muzzles all pointed this way, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression.
The legion slowly parted, and a massive soul tool command vehicle emerged from among them. It was like a beautiful moving fortress.
Inside the vehicle, a woman in military uniform, her face expressionless—Ju Zi—looked down indifferently at the remnants of the Star Luo army.
"Duke White Tiger, we finally meet."
Her voice, amplified by a soul tool, echoed clearly over the battlefield. It was utterly calm, without the slightest ripple, as if she were simply narrating some unrelated fact.
"The Mingdou Mountain Range is already the territory of my Sun Moon Empire. Tell me, how long can you defeated generals last?"
Dai Hao took a deep breath, pushed aside his men, and looked up at Ju Zi.
Even in such a desperate situation, he still maintained the pride of an imperial duke.
"You're the commander of this army? I didn't expect it to be a woman. And such a woman… really not one to frown even as kings rise and fallen generals turn to bandits."
He said nothing more, but the implication was clear: he knew she would never let Duke White Tiger surrender without a fight. That was only wishful thinking.
"Stubborn."
Ju Zi shook her head slightly and lowered her gaze onto Dai Hao's embarrassed yet resolute face.
So this is him.
This was the man whose very name had once shrouded her childhood in nightmares, the root cause of her family's destruction.
For revenge, she had plunged headlong into the struggle for power, wearing the tiger's skin to climb step by step to her current position.
And now, the enemy stood before her, trapped in total despair. His life and death rested in the palm of her hand.
Why then…?
Why did she not feel the pleasure of revenge in her heart?
A vague, inexplicable emptiness quietly spread through her chest.
Was it because she had grown up? Because she had seen a wider world? Or because she had been soaked too long in the quagmire of power, until her heart had gone numb?
Of course, she knew it had been Dai Hao who led the Star Luo army into Sun Moon territory back then. The war had dragged in her father, a simple cook who was conscripted and ultimately died on the battlefield. Her mother's depression had stemmed from that as well.
Yet if she thought about it calmly, both empires were at war for their own rulers. As the Star Luo commander, it was only natural for Dai Hao to attack the enemy. The ones who had truly allowed their citizens to be sent to the front and die were the corrupt and incompetent royal family of the Sun Moon Empire, who had failed to guard the border.
She had pinned all her hatred on Dai Hao—this was, in a sense… misdirected anger.
Perhaps, all these years, she had used this seemingly unshakable hatred to support herself, to justify every choice she had made.
The hatred existed, yes. The sight of her parents' deaths still tore at her heart. But that hatred was no longer as pure and blazing as it once was. It had become entangled with too many other things, blurred and faint.
These thoughts flashed through her mind like lightning, leaving no trace on her indifferent face.
She merely raised her hand slightly and issued an emotionless command.
"In that case… send the Duke a proper warhorse. All forces, attack."
The instant the order was given, heaven and earth seemed to change color.
Hundreds of soul cannons roared at once. Beams of flame, icy rays, and explosive clusters of energy surged forth like a tidal wave of destruction, pouring down on the encircled remnants of Star Luo.
At the same time, newly-developed floating gun platforms, hidden within the legion, rose into the air. They emitted a special field that interfered with the flow of soul power. There were also high-level restraining soul tools, designed specifically to shackle top-tier experts—blasting out chains of energy to limit the movements of Dai Hao and Xuanji Douluo.
"White Tiger Legion, fight to the death!"
Dai Hao threw his head back and roared skyward. His seventh soul ring abruptly flared—White Tiger True Body.
He transformed into a colossal ferocious tiger, eyes bloody-red. With a furious leap, he charged straight toward the direction where the soul cannon barrage was fiercest, trying to carve out a path of survival for his subordinates.
Xuanji Douluo also roared. His martial soul, the Xuanji Umbrella, blossomed in midair, turning into a massive barrier as he desperately withstood the attacks from the flank.
The soldiers of the First Soul Division all had bloodshot eyes. Every kind of soul skill erupted outward like molten gold, colliding with the soul tool beams. Explosion after explosion of rampant energy blossomed across the battlefield.
This was an unequal slaughter.
In terrain, numbers, and equipment, the soul engineer army possessed absolute superiority. Each display of soul skills from the Star Luo side meant their soul masters were burning through their remaining soul power—or dying in the flames.
By contrast, the firing of the soul engineer army seemed almost inexhaustible.
Soul masters turned to ash in the violent blasts. Some soldiers were pierced by beams and collapsed where they stood. Blood dyed the scorched earth, and severed limbs flew in all directions.
To protect a few young soul masters, Xuanji Douluo took a grade-9 soul cannon beam through the shoulder as it punched through his barrier. His entire left arm vanished in an instant. He merely snorted through his nose, his face pale as paper, and continued to prop up the crumbling defense.
Dai Hao, in his White Tiger True Body, took even more blows. New wounds appeared one after another, his white fur matted with blood and scorch marks.
He fought with desperate bravery, tearing apart several soul-tool mechas that tried to get close. But under the dense bombardment, the area in which he could move grew smaller and smaller.
Ju Zi watched it all indifferently, watching the enemy who had ruined her family struggle in despair, watching his soldiers fall one after another.
"Execute the final plan."
Through a soul tool communicator, she issued orders to a special operations unit lurking in the shadows.
A moment later, a faint, almost imperceptible beam of light shot out from far away, yet its penetrating power was terrifying. It locked directly onto Duke White Tiger Dai Hao and the severely injured Xuanji Douluo.
It was a fatal strike launched by a grade-9 soul engineer.
"Duke, be careful!"
Xuanji Douluo, with the sharp perception of a Titled Douluo, sensed the danger instantly. He abruptly shoved Dai Hao aside and, at the same time, used the last of his soul power to raise the Xuanji Umbrella one final time.
"Bang—!!"
The thin beam of light pierced the umbrella's defense and bored straight through his chest.
"Uncle Xuanji!"
Dai Hao's eyes nearly split. Xuanji Douluo's body stiffened. He looked down at the charred hole in his chest, then looked at Dai Hao. His lips moved, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, no sound came out. His body slowly toppled backward, and his breath faded rapidly.
"Commander!"
The remnants of the First Soul Division let out a collective roar of grief and rage.
Tears filled Dai Hao's tiger eyes. He knew he could hesitate no longer.
"Everyone, obey my orders!"
He roared, shaking the ground.
"Scatter! Break apart and run! Break through in all directions—go one by one. Return to Star Luo and report to His Majesty that Dai Hao… has failed the Emperor's grace!"
With that, he no longer paid any attention to the pursuers behind them, nor did he try to break out. Instead, he turned and charged straight into the core of the soul engineer army alone, choosing death as his destination.
He was using his own life as a decoy, to wrest one last thread of survival for his men.
The White Tiger Guards and the soldiers of the First Soul Division wanted to follow, eyes red with madness, but were forcibly flung back by Dai Hao's soul power.
"Go!!"
Watching the duke rushing toward death like a falling meteor, the remaining Star Luo soldiers let out unwilling sobs. In the end, with tears in their eyes, they seized the brief chaos Dai Hao had created and scattered like raindrops into the shattered mountains and forests, fleeing in all directions.
Ju Zi stared at the lone, charging Duke White Tiger. A flash of complicated emotion appeared in her eyes again, but it was quickly buried under a deep, icy coldness.
"Concentrate your fire."
Countless soul cannons swiveled in unison, their barrels locking onto that solitary, resolute white figure.
Just as the destructive energy, gathered by innumerable soul cannons, was about to swallow Duke White Tiger Dai Hao—
"Father!!"
A roar full of panic and determination rang out from the side and behind.
The next instant, a fierce, boundless aura surged skyward like wolf smoke. The sharp sound of someone cutting through the air at shocking speed sliced across the battlefield.
The first to arrive was Dai Hao's eldest son, Dai Yueheng.
He wore blood-stained White Tiger armor, eyes crimson. Clearly, he had just gone through a series of brutal battles. Behind him were powerful Titled Douluo of the Star Luo Empire's army and a contingent of reinforcements who were equally exhausted, but whose morale burned high.
"Star Luo Empire's Xuanguang Douluo has arrived!"
"Lieyang Douluo is here!"
Two Titled Douluo struck at the same time. One swung his domain of radiant light, turning it into countless rotating shields that accurately blocked the barrage in front of Dai Hao. The other turned into a blazing sun, sweeping forth with tyrannical flaming soul power, blasting the vanguard of soul tool batteries into scrap.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The savage explosions were forcibly stopped before they could reach Dai Hao and even rebounded somewhat. The energy impact still left Dai Hao's qi and blood churning, forcing him back several steps—but it saved his life.
"Yueheng?!"
Seeing his son clearly as he rushed closer, Dai Hao's expression did not show joy. Instead, his face changed drastically, and he berated sharply:
"You little brat, who told you to come back?! Didn't I order you to immediately fall back to the rear, use the natural terrain to establish a second defensive line?! What do you mean by disobeying military orders?!"
Dai Yueheng rushed to his father's side, stubbornly standing in front of him. He spoke hurriedly:
"Father, if I hadn't come, you and the other brothers would all have died here today. The Empire has sent reinforcements. This is our last chance. I couldn't just stand by and watch you—"
"Confused! Letting softhearted sentiment direct your will like a woman's kindness!"
Dai Hao cut him off, his voice shaking with fury.
"You are a soldier. How can you abandon your duty for personal feelings?! This time you haven't just wasted all we've fought for so far, you've also dragged the Empire's last mobile force and reinforcements into the mire with you!"
As if to confirm Dai Hao's words, Ju Zi, sitting atop the command vehicle, did not show the slightest surprise in the face of this sudden change. Instead, she looked even calmer.
She lifted her hand gently, as though brushing away a speck of dust.
In the next instant, the battlefield shifted again.
In the shadows of the surrounding mountains—where there had seemed to be nothing before—the air rippled like water. A highly-equipped soul engineer group appeared silently like ghosts, exuding a dark, chilling aura. The emblems on their chests read: "Evil Sovereign Soul Engineer Legion," one of the Sun Moon Empire's guardian legions.
The moment they appeared, they seized every advantageous firing position. Cold muzzles locked onto the newly arrived Star Luo reinforcements.
At the same time, brilliant starlight suddenly flared in the sky.
An old man clad in a gorgeous robe of stars appeared high above. Nine soul rings sparkled with starlight around him, and his overwhelming pressure almost blanketed heaven and earth.
This was one of the Sun Moon Empire's Three Great Soul Masters—Starry Sky Douluo, Ye Yulin.
"Buzz—!!"
A scorching wave of air surged from the opposite direction, dyeing the sky a blazing red.
Another powerful soul engineer legion emerged, its banner embroidered with a phoenix reborn from ash—the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion.
In an instant, the reinforcements Dai Yueheng had brought, together with the original remnants of the White Tiger Army and the First Soul Division, were surrounded by three of the Sun Moon Empire's main forces. There was no longer any path of retreat.
Rather than improving, the situation had plunged into an even more hopeless ambush.
Seeing this, Dai Hao's face turned ashen. His last shred of wishful thinking was utterly shattered.
He gave a bitter smile, glancing around at the faces full of terror, resolve, or shock. Finally, his gaze rested on the profile of his son, Dai Yueheng—trying to be resolute, yet unable to hide the despair in his eyes.
"Do you see now, Yueheng…"
Dai Hao's voice was full of endless weariness and an undertone of grief.
"We… have long been like turtles in a jar, surrounded and intercepted on all sides. It's not that we didn't try our best—it's that they've been waiting all this time for you, the fresh troops, to plunge into the net… Their planning and patience are truly terrifying."
Dai Yueheng understood in that moment. His face instantly turned deathly pale.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms. Blood flowed between his fingers and dripped to the ground. He fully understood then what devastating consequences his anger and impulsiveness had brought.
…