In the Extreme North, the trio who had just left the Fire God's secret realm were discussing their next moves.
"Teacher Qin," Tianlin said to Qin Ming, "please go assist in the Heaven Dou theater first. The Spirit Empire is pressing Heaven Dou hard. If I'm not mistaken, my father-in-law is about to act. Your Titled Douluo-level combat power will be a tremendous help."
Qin Ming nodded. "Don't worry, Xiao Tian. I'll do my utmost to assist the Sect Master."
"Boss, what about us? Aren't we going home?" Ma Hongjun asked.
"No. We're going to Star Luo. Aren't you pining for Chenxiang? My father-in-law told me he'll send her there for a mission. It's a fierce battlefield right now—perfect for you to… huh? Where'd he go?" Mid-sentence, Tianlin noticed Ma Hongjun had vanished.
Qin Ming pointed skyward. "He already took off. Once he heard Miss Bai went to the front, how could he sit still?"
"This fatty—only now does he move faster than me," Tianlin said with a wry smile. "Teacher Qin, once Hongjun and I finish over there, we'll rendezvous with you immediately. Please inform my father-in-law and my master about our movements."
"Count on me!" Qin Ming manifested his Blazing Fire Wolf and sprinted toward the Heaven Dou front.
Tianlin mounted his sword and quickly caught up to Ma Hongjun. "Hongjun, we may have to kill a lot this time. Be mentally prepared."
"Boss, in war… do that many people really die?" Ma Hongjun asked, head lowered.
Tianlin's eyes were firm. "Inevitable. If we tried to force the entire continent by pure strength, even a few million dead would be a conservative estimate. That's why my father-in-law and I emphasize strategy—to reduce casualties. Even so, since this is continental war, tens of thousands—perhaps hundreds of thousands—of deaths will be hard to avoid. Remember: on the battlefield, don't care if the enemy is strong or weak. Any who are resolutely hostile, who fight to the death and refuse to surrender—kill them. Mercy to the enemy is cruelty to your own. That is war. Understood?"
Ma Hongjun hadn't truly experienced mass slaughter before, despite his strength, so Tianlin had to warn him.
"I understand, Boss. To protect Chenxiang, I'm ready."
"Good. Then accelerate." The two turned into streaks of light, flying full speed toward Star Luo.
…
On the Star Luo front, Tuoba Xi repelled another assault today. Their success owed much to the hidden weapon schematics and talismans brought by Bai He.
Though Star Luo had completely encircled Gengxin City, they couldn't stop Bai He—unparalleled in speed—from flying over their lines and into the city.
The Zhuge Godly Crossbows were excellent for defense. Tianlin's talismans—such as Mount Tai Crushing and Infernal Hellfire—dealt catastrophic losses. Star Luo's 700,000 troops had fallen to under 600,000.
As a result, Star Luo no longer dared to storm Gengxin City.
However, after a full year of defense, Tuoba Xi's side had also suffered. Over a thousand soul masters had died, and forty thousand soldiers were lost. Grain and ore for forging weapons were nearly exhausted—enough for at most ten more days. If no reinforcements arrived by then, Gengxin City would inevitably fall.
Worse, the enemy had three Titled Douluo. Without the sliver of Asura divine power Tianlin had granted Tuoba Xi, he would already have been defeated by their combined attacks.
Just when Tuoba Xi was anxious, Bai He finally brought good news: reinforcements from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—the Shadow Battalion—had arrived. Few in number, but they weren't meant for frontal assaults. Bai He told Tuoba Xi to prepare for a decapitation strike; once the enemy fell into chaos, Tuoba Xi would lead a full offensive.
Tuoba Xi rejoiced. He had thought of decapitation tactics himself, but as a non-Agility soul master, he wasn't well-suited to it, and the enemy had as many as three Titled Douluo, each around his level.
According to Bai He's intelligence, aside from the emperor, Star Luo had a total of three hidden Titled Douluo—and they had all come.
Seven hundred thousand troops was a massive force, but ultimately ordinary men. If the decapitation succeeded and the army became headless, the Holy Dragon Soul Master Legion could rout them.
Bibi Dong could have used such tactics too, but first, she didn't understand military arts nor training—she hadn't prepared assassination-specialized units. The Spirit Empire's lack of capable generals was a major weakness. Second, she was overly confident, believing she could crush all enemies with brute force, so she never considered assassination. In this respect, Spirit Hall was ironically more upright than the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Ning Fengzhi, however, didn't care about honor. He believed that on the battlefield, the right choice was to win with minimal sacrifice—soldiers value stratagems.
…
Night deepened.
On a distant slope, Huan Yin played the zither, her beautiful music enveloping Bai He and the Shadow Battalion.
Ning Fengzhi had sent her because her support differed from conventional auxiliaries. Normal buffs—including the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's—have a range limit; once outside, the buff drops.
Huan Yin's support, like a Food-type's, persists with only a time limit and no distance limit once applied. And the support techniques she learned from the Yaoguang Score had remarkably long durations—an entire hour, more than enough for the Shadow Battalion, who relied on swift strikes, to make multiple passes.
"Immortal Melody: Hymn of the Saint!"
Huan Yin's strongest support skill: attack, defense, speed, and soul power all increased by 50%. Though the amplification was less than the Nine Treasure Pagoda's, it had an added effect: during the buff, recipients rejected all weakening-type soul skills—in other words, no debuffs would land.
"No wonder it's a technique from the Yaoguang Score favored by the God of Music. This duration and status resistance rival Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda," Yu Feng marveled.
Proud of his wife's strength, he was sincerely happy for her.
"Everyone, I'm not an Agility soul master, so I can't go to the front lines with you. This is all I can do—please return safely," Huan Yin bowed.
"Miss Huan Yin, you're too polite. With your buff and Old Lou's divine weapon, I will surely slay their Titled Douluo," Bai He said with confidence.
At a cliff's edge, Zhu Zhuqing looked complicatedly at the distant Star Luo host. Bai Chenxiang walked up beside her. "So that's a 700,000-strong formation. It stretches beyond the horizon. Zhuqing, I know Star Luo is your homeland. If you don't want to fight them, stay here and protect Sister Huan Yin. I'm sure our seniors won't blame you."
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head. "I know they won't—but coming here was my own request. From the day Zhu Zhuyun tried to take my life, I owed them nothing more.
"I'm here to claim justice for myself. To fight Zhu Zhuyun and Dai Weisi again is a dream I've longed to realize. I'll show Star Luo that Zhu Zhuqing is not inferior to them. If not for age, I would never have lost to them. Today is when I prove myself. I'll also tell them how foolish the Dai and Zhu families' centuries-old policy of weak-meat-strong-eat and fratricide truly is!"