"Marshal, this can't go on!"
Douluo Xuanji rushed to Dai Hao's side, his expression grave.
"Their tracking soul tools are too powerful. We can't shake them off, and they seem to be deliberately herding us, trying to drive us toward a specific area."
Dai Hao was well aware of this.
He had already seen that the Soul Master legion pursuing them from the rear was not attacking with full force. It was more like a cruel "hunt," continuously draining their strength and soul power while compressing their area of movement.
"I know," Dai Hao gritted his teeth, punching apart a massive boulder, loosened by a soul cannon, that was tumbling down from the side. "But we have no choice. We must pass through the 'One-Line Sky' ahead before dark and enter the Star Luo heartland. Otherwise, if we are encircled..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood the consequences.
Once encircled by this well-equipped Soul Master legion on this defenseless wasteland, they would be lambs waiting for slaughter.
However, the Sun Moon Empire clearly had no intention of granting them this opportunity.
Suddenly, on the mountain slopes ahead, dozens of charging lights from soul tools flickered into existence without warning.
"An ambush! Be careful!"
Dai Hao's pupils contracted violently, and he issued a sharp warning.
But it was already too late.
Dozens of thick energy beams were not aimed at the group, but at the narrow exit of the passage in front of the formation.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!—"
The violent explosions completely collapsed the exit. Massive boulders mixed with soil crashed down, instantly blocking their only path to survival.
"It's over..." A voice, unknown to whom, whispered despairingly in the ranks, and panic began to spread.
At the same time, the Soul Master legion, which had been maintaining a distant presence, suddenly accelerated, pressing in from three directions like a black tide.
They no longer concealed themselves. The neat formation, the cold metal armor, and the countless soul cannons pointed at them radiated a suffocating pressure.
The legion slowly parted, and a giant soul tool commander's carriage, ornate and resembling a mobile fortress, emerged from the crowd.
Upon the carriage, Ju Zi, in military uniform and expressionless, coldly overlooked the desperate remnants of the Star Luo army.
"Duke White Tiger, I have finally met you."
Ju Zi's voice was transmitted through an amplification soul tool, calm and devoid of emotion, as if stating an irrelevant fact.
"Mingdou Mountain Range is already the territory of my Sun Moon Empire. How long will you defeated generals continue to resist stubbornly?"
Dai Hao took a deep breath, stepped out of the ranks, and met Ju Zi's gaze with his head held high.
Even in desperate straits, he maintained the pride of an Imperial Duke:
"Are you the commander of this great army? I didn't expect it to be a woman; truly a heroine among men. Victory and defeat are the way of war, and Dai Hao has nothing to say. But to expect Duke White Tiger to surrender without a fight is a pipe dream."
"Stubborn."
Ju Zi gently shook her head, her gaze resting on Dai Hao's face, which, though slightly disheveled, remained resolute.
This is the man.
The name that once haunted her childhood like a nightmare, the person she believed to be the culprit behind the destruction of her family.
To take revenge on him, she navigated the treacherous waters of power, even making a pact with a tiger, to reach her current position.
Yet now, her enemy was right before her, trapped and facing imminent death, his fate hanging on her single thought.
Why... why is there no exhilarating feeling of impending great revenge as she had imagined?
Instead, a strange sense of emptiness quietly spread.
Was it because she had grown up? Had she seen a broader world, or had her heart become numb after spending too long immersed in the mire of power?
She knew that it was indeed Dai Hao who led the Star Luo army into the Sun Moon Empire's territory back then, and the subsequent war caused her father, a chef, to be conscripted and ultimately killed in battle.
Her mother's death from sorrow also stemmed from this.
But thinking about it calmly, in a war between two nations, each side fought for its own master.
It was only right for Dai Hao, as the commander of the Star Luo Empire, to attack the enemy nation.
The ones who truly sent commoners to their deaths on the battlefield were the corrupt and incompetent Imperial Royal Family of the Sun Moon Empire at the time, who failed to protect their borders.
Was her pouring all her hatred onto Dai Hao not, in a sense... a displacement of anger?
Perhaps, for all these years, she had merely been using this seemingly unwavering hatred to sustain herself and to find a seemingly justified reason for all her choices.
The hatred was still there, of course.
The image of her parents' death still caused her heart pain.
But the animosity no longer seemed as pure and fervent as it once was. Instead, it was mixed with too many complicated elements, becoming somewhat vague, somewhat... lacklustre.
These thoughts flashed through her mind like lightning, leaving no trace on her cold expression.
She merely raised her hand slightly, giving the command in a voice that betrayed no emotion:
"Since that is the case, then... let us see the Duke off. All troops, attack."
The moment the command was given, the world changed color.
Hundreds of soul cannons roared simultaneously. Hot beams, cold rays, and explosive energy masses poured down like a destructive torrent onto the trapped remnants of the Star Luo army.
At the same time, the new type of floating artillery platforms hidden within the legion rose, releasing a force field that interfered with the operation of soul power.
There were also specialized restraint soul tools targeting high-level Soul Masters, firing energy chains in an attempt to restrict the movements of Dai Hao and Douluo Xuanji.
"White Tiger Legion, fight to the death!"
Dai Hao roared a tiger's cry toward the sky, and his seventh Soul Ring instantly lit up—White Tiger Avatar.
He transformed into a massive, furious giant tiger with blood-white pupils, pouncing fiercely toward the direction of the densest soul cannon fire, trying to open a path of survival for his subordinates.
Douluo Xuanji also roared. His Martial Soul, the "Xuanji Umbrella," unfolded in the air, transforming into a massive barrier, desperately resisting the attacks coming from the flanks.
The soldiers of the First Soul Master Legion also fought with bloodshot eyes, unleashing various soul skills relentlessly, colliding with the soul rays and erupting in continuous energy explosions.
It was an unequal slaughter.
The Soul Master legion held an absolute advantage in terrain, numbers, and equipment.
Every burst of a soul skill by the Star Luo remnants could mean a Soul Master's soul power was depleted or they were instantly killed by concentrated fire.
Yet, the firepower of the Soul Master legion seemed inexhaustible.
Soul Masters were constantly reduced to ashes in explosions, and soldiers were pierced by rays and fell.
Blood stained the scorched earth, and severed limbs flew everywhere.
In an effort to protect several young Soul Masters, Douluo Xuanji was grazed on the shoulder by a Grade 9 soul ray that penetrated the barrier. His entire left arm instantly vanished. He let out a muffled groan, his face ashen, but he stubbornly maintained the crumbling defense.
Dai Hao's White Tiger Avatar bore the brunt of the attacks, constantly accumulating new wounds, his white fur covered in blood and scorch marks.
He was incredibly brave, tearing apart several approaching soul tool mechas, but his range of action was constantly being compressed under the dense cannon fire.
Ju Zi watched all this coldly, watching her enemy, the man who had caused the destruction of her family, fall into despair, and watching his subordinates fall one by one.
"Execute the final plan." She issued a command through the soul communication tool to the special forces hidden in the dark.
A moment later, several extremely subtle, yet terrifyingly penetrating, thin beams of light shot from a great distance, aimed directly at the fiercely fighting Duke White Tiger Dai Hao and the severely wounded Douluo Xuanji.
This was a fatal blow from a Grade 9 soul tool.
"Duke, look out!"
Douluo Xuanji, relying on the keen perception of a Titled Douluo, was the first to notice. He abruptly pushed Dai Hao aside and simultaneously used his last remaining soul power to place the Xuanji Umbrella in front of him.
"Pfft—!"
One beam pierced through the Xuanji Umbrella's defense and accurately embedded itself in his chest.
"Uncle Xuanji!"
Dai Hao's eyes were tearing apart.
Douluo Xuanji's body stiffened. He looked down at the small, scorched hole in his chest, then looked at Dai Hao. He opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something, but ultimately couldn't utter a word. His body slowly fell backward, his aura rapidly dissipating.
"Legion Commander!"
The remaining soldiers of the First Soul Master Legion let out cries of grief and fury.
Dai Hao's tiger eyes were filled with tears. He knew he couldn't hesitate any longer.
"Everyone listen to my command," he roared thunderously.
"Break up the formation, disperse and break through. Save yourselves if you can. Return to Star Luo and tell His Majesty that Dai Hao... has failed to repay the Imperial Grace."
After speaking, he ignored the pursuing enemy and no longer attempted to break out. Instead, he turned with the intent of certain death and charged voluntarily toward the core of the Soul Master legion.
He would use his life as bait to buy his subordinates a final chance at survival.
The White Tiger personal guard and some soldiers of the First Soul Master Legion rushed forward with bloodshot eyes, wanting to follow, but Dai Hao forcibly pushed them away with his soul power.
"Go!"
Watching the Duke charge toward his death like a meteor, the remaining Star Luo soldiers let out unwilling cries of sorrow. Finally, with hot tears, they used the momentary chaos created by Dai Hao to infiltrate the broken mountains and forests like water droplets, scattering and fleeing.
Ju Zi looked at the White Tiger Duke charging alone, and the complex emotion in her eyes flashed again, but was quickly covered by a deeper coldness.
"Concentrate fire."
Countless soul cannon muzzles adjusted their aim, targeting the solitary and resolute white figure.
Just as the destructive energy gathered by the countless soul cannons was about to engulf Duke White Tiger Dai Hao, a sudden change occurred.
"Father!"
A furious roar, filled with urgency and desperation, came from the rear-side.
Following this, several incomparably powerful auras shot into the sky like wolf smoke. Accompanied by piercing sonic booms, several figures sliced into the battlefield with astonishing speed.
The person leading them was Dai Hao's eldest son, Dai Yueheng.
He was clad in blood-stained White Tiger battle armor, his eyes bloodshot, clearly having endured a series of bitter fights.
Behind him were several Titled Douluo powerhouses from the Star Luo Empire's military, as well as a relief force that, though equally exhausted, was high in morale.
"Star Luo Empire, Douluo Xuan Guang is here!"
"Douluo Lie Yang comes too!"
The two Titled Douluo struck simultaneously. One wielded a sky full of swirling light, like countless rotating shields, accurately blocking Dai Hao's path.
The other transformed into a scorching sun, and his violent fire soul power surged out, forcefully shattering the front row of soul cannon platforms and sending men and equipment flying.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The fierce explosions were forcibly intercepted and deflected in front of Dai Hao. Although the energy impact still shook him, churning his blood and forcing him back several steps, his life was ultimately saved.
"Yueheng?!"
When Dai Hao saw who it was, he was not only devoid of joy but his expression changed drastically, and he shouted sternly:
"You scoundrel! Who told you to come back?! Didn't I tell you to quickly go to the rear and establish a second line of defense relying on the natural barriers?! You dared to defy a military order!"
Dai Yueheng rushed to his father's side, stubbornly blocking him, and said urgently:
"Father, if I hadn't come, you and the remaining brothers would have been completely annihilated here today. The Empire has sent reinforcements; this is our last chance. I cannot just watch you..."
"Fool! You are being merciful like a woman! You are acting rashly!"
Dai Hao interrupted him, trembling with rage.
"You are a soldier! How can you sacrifice public duty for personal sentiment? Your return not only makes all previous efforts fruitless but also drags the Empire's last mobile force and reinforcements into certain death."
As if to confirm Dai Hao's words, Ju Zi, perched atop her carriage, showed no surprise at the sudden turn of events. Instead, a trace of cold calculation, of everything being within her grasp, appeared on her face.
She slightly raised her hand, as if brushing away a trivial speck of dust.
In the next moment, another change occurred.
In the shadows of the surrounding mountains, which had seemed empty, the air rippled like water.
A Soul Master corps, extremely well-equipped and radiating a dark, cold aura, silently appeared like ghosts. The emblem on their chests was that of the Evil Monarch Soul Master Corps, one of the Sun Moon Empire's Protector Hands.
As soon as they appeared, they quickly seized various commanding heights, their cold cannon muzzles locked onto the newly arrived Star Luo reinforcements.
At the same time, a dazzling starlight suddenly illuminated the sky.
An old man in magnificent stellar battle robes stood in the air, surrounded by nine Soul Rings twinkling with starlight. His powerful pressure caused the world to lose its color.
It was none other than one of the Sun Moon Empire's Three Great Soul Masters, Starlight Douluo Ye Yulin.
"Buzz—!"
A searing heatwave swept in from another direction, and the sky was reflected in fiery red.
Another powerful Soul Master Corps appeared, its banner embroidered with a phoenix reborn from fire—the Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps.
In an instant, Dai Yueheng's reinforcements, along with the surviving remnants of the White Tiger Legion and the First Soul Master Legion, were completely surrounded by the Sun Moon Empire's three top-tier forces, sealed off completely.
The situation, far from being alleviated, had plunged into an even more desperate ten-sided ambush.
Seeing this scene, Dai Hao's face was철 blue, and his last flicker of hope was completely extinguished.
He gave a miserable laugh, his gaze sweeping over the faces around him—some fearful, some resolute, some bewildered—and finally rested on his son Dai Yueheng's resolute yet undeniably despairing profile.
"Do you see now, Yueheng..."
Dai Hao's voice carried endless fatigue and a trace of unnoticed sorrow.
"We... have been trapped in the jar all along. Their pursuit and blockade were not at full strength, they were waiting for your fresh force to walk into the trap... What a clever plot, what patience they have."
Dai Yueheng now also understood, and his face instantly turned pale.
He clenched his fists tightly, his nails digging deeply into his palms, and blood dripped from between his fingers.
He understood his father's anger and the devastating consequences of his impulsiveness.
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