The next day, Tianlin still had Tuoba Xi as marshal, leading the original Holy Dragon Legion's 20,000 soul masters, 160,000 elite soldiers, plus 140,000 surrendered Star Lou troops—for a total of 300,000—departing Gengxin City with him, bound for the Lima Plains.
With 700,000 troops' worth of food and supplies seized from the Star Lou camp, logistics were secure.
Those surrendered troops were of limited immediate use—loyalty being the issue. Precisely because of that, Tianlin could not leave them in Gengxin. If Star Lou attacked again, they might revolt. He had to take them along.
As for Gengxin City, Tianlin left only Oslo behind—not to defend the city, but to watch Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun. With them in hand, Dai Tianjue wouldn't dare act rashly.
Tianlin had no illusion that Star Lou would completely abandon Gengxin. Oslo only needed to stall for ten days to half a month. By then, after Tianlin resolved the other front, he could return to defend Gengxin.
Even if Dai Tianjue lost all humanity and attacked regardless of their safety, with Oslo's six soul bones and the Starshift Talisman, he could break out. Alone, he'd be more mobile.
Meanwhile, the Spirit Empire had passed Jialing Pass, even taking the Silves Kingdom, and was about to arrive under Heaven Dou City.
At each stop, Bibi Dong had to leave garrisons—naturally choosing the Barak Kingdom's troops, whose combat power lagged far behind the Spirit Empire's elite she trained herself. For assaults she used her own; Barak troops would hold cities.
Another key reason Ning Fengzhi had deliberately provoked war between the Spirit Empire and Heaven Dou was this: as the Spirit Empire's army advanced and territory grew, they would have to split forces. The detachments would not be her core elites but the levies from the kingdoms and duchies.
These troops were under the strongest military families in Barak—the Ao and Luo clans. To hedge risk, Bibi Dong left the Ghost Leopard Douluo to assist—or rather, to watch them.
The Ao clan had long surrendered to Spirit Hall, while the Luo clan was controlled by poison. It seemed watertight. She never imagined the Luo clan's poison had already been neutralized by Dugu Bo, or that Tuoba Xi had already defected to Tianlin.
Soon, Tuoba Xi would openly turn his coat and strike; the Luo father and son would open the gates. The Lima Plains, Jialing Pass, the Fasinuo province, and the Silves Kingdom would all fall to the Seven Treasures.
The entire western third of the Douluo Continent would become Seven Treasures territory.
…
"Oslo, I'm leaving this side to you. Be careful with everything." At the city gate, Tianlin reminded him again. The guy was strong but too flighty, so Tianlin had to repeat himself.
"Alright, I got it, Xiao Tian. I'm not who I was. I have one big advantage over others—I've died once. I know the value of life. I won't be reckless like before." Oslo said earnestly.
Satisfied, Tianlin marched out with the army. Speed is life in war. News of the battle two days ago hadn't spread yet; it was the perfect time for a surprise.
Once Bibi Dong reacted, she'd surely retreat. Then the Lima Plains and Jialing Pass would be hard to take.
The Spirit Empire's hundreds of thousands now stood under Heaven Dou City. Unaware of the fire about to start behind her, Bibi Dong, filled with hatred, swore to slaughter Heaven Dou and the Clear Sky Sect to the last.
But when she saw the figure on the city wall, her face darkened. "Ning Fengzhi. Why aren't you sitting quietly on your Seven Treasures Mountain? Why muddy these waters?"
"To stop your Spirit Empire, of course." Ning Fengzhi smiled.
"Ning Fengzhi, didn't your Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect already split with Heaven Dou? Why help them? Your sect is strong enough to stay out of this continental war. This has nothing to do with you. And don't forget—the Clear Sky Sect's scheme was to set us against each other. If you withdraw now, I won't stop you." Bibi Dong didn't want to fight the Seven Treasures. In top-end power, the Spirit Empire only slightly surpassed them; a fight risked mutual injury.
Ning Fengzhi shook his head. "Heh, Bibi Dong, you should know I'm not stopping you for Heaven Dou's sake. I simply don't want you to unify the continent. Only a chaotic continent suits sects. If you complete unification, how can my Seven Treasures have good days? Even if you don't attack us outright, you could impose economic blockades, propaganda attacks, bans on recruitment.
"If we don't resist, we vanish from history. If we do, we restart the hard-won peace and set the whole world against us. Either way, we lose."
Bibi Dong had no rebuttal—because that was her plan. Jun Tianlin was too strong, his progress toward godhood too fast, so she wanted to unify before he ascended and establish facts. She knew even if he became a god, he wouldn't reignite war for selfishness; he'd accept it.
Then she'd pass policies to limit sects, centralizing power in the Spirit Empire within years, and eventually hand the throne to Hu Liena, then ascend with Qian Renxue.
Tianlin had considered letting her unify. Once Hu Liena took the throne, with her under his control, the empire would still be his.
But he gave up that idea. First, even if Hu Liena were empress, the empire wouldn't be her word alone; the consecrated wouldn't ascend, and they wouldn't hand over their hard-won world to the Seven Treasures. Second, when he controlled Hu Liena he wasn't this strong; even a million-year soul skill has limits. Once Bibi Dong became a god, she'd likely discover Hu Liena's mind had been altered and undo it.
So Tianlin decided to fight for the world himself.
"Ning Fengzhi, if you won't retreat, spare me the talk. We fight. I'll erase your Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. Elephant Armored Legion, break the walls! Heavy cavalry, charge once the wall falls—razed the whole Heaven Dou City to the ground!" Bibi Dong ordered. No matter what, having come this far, she would not retreat.
Dozens of Elephant Armored Sect disciples possessed their martial souls and charged like tanks into the city wall. Heaven Dou wasn't Jialing Pass—one or two waves might topple it.
"Stop them! Breaking Clan, assault!" Ning Fengzhi commanded. Led by Yang Wudi, dozens of Breaking Clan disciples leapt from the wall, spears in hand, to meet the Elephant Legion.
Force to break defense—the Breaking Clan's attack power matched the Defense Clan's defense, while the Diamond Mammoth's defense was actually slightly inferior to the Defense Clan's. If they tried to block the spears head-on, they would suffer heavy losses.