Dai Hao stared blankly at the scene before him, murmuring,
"How… how is this possible…"
Xue Yu was an Ultimate Douluo. Even if he couldn't match Jiang Qingtong, how could he be killed so easily? It was far too unexpected. Everything happened so quickly that even if Dai Hao had wanted to help, he wouldn't have been able to reach in time.
He was, after all, not an Ultimate Douluo. The Star Luo Empire's chosen Ultimate Douluo candidate was not him, but another—Medical Immortal Douluo, Wang Qian'er. She was the strongest Super Douluo in the Star Luo Empire, and thus was chosen by Da Ming to become an Ultimate Douluo.
Although the Star Luo Emperor repeatedly insisted that they should choose a combat-type Titled Douluo, none of the other Titled Douluo in the empire had high enough cultivation.
Even Dai Hao, at this moment, was only a Titled Douluo. He was still far from becoming a Super Douluo.
Thus, he was powerless to influence this battle.
In the sky, the lingering shockwave of the explosion slowly dispersed. The dark clouds above the Sun Moon Empire's border drifted back into their original place, blocking out the sun once again, preventing even a sliver of sunlight from falling upon the empire's land.
Jiang Qingtong descended, holding the Ice-Fire Dragon Spear, hovering in the air before Yuming Pass. She looked down upon Dai Hao and the others below.
Without hesitation, Dai Hao sounded the alarm. Many Titled Douluo flew up from within Yuming Pass, preparing to engage! On the walls, rows of soul tool cannons aimed their barrels at Jiang Qingtong, ready to fire at any moment.
Seeing these soul tool cannons—models already obsolete within the Sun Moon Empire—Jiang Qingtong let out a cold, mocking laugh.
"Duke White Tiger, you plan to deal with me using this scrap metal and a few Titled Douluo?"
Hearing her voice laden with draconic might, Dai Hao's brow tightened. He replied in a deep voice,
"Empress of the Sun and Moon Empire, your empire's ambitions will never succeed! If you withdraw now, perhaps the gods will show mercy upon you yet, seeing that you are mortals."
"How ridiculous."
Jiang Qingtong lightly swung the Ice-Fire Dragon Spear in a sweeping arc. A surge of overwhelming power burst forth, knocking all the Titled Douluo below straight out of the sky!
Light of various colors exploded from Dai Hao's body—defensive soul tools of different grades activating at once. But the highest among them were only grade seven; they could not withstand even the shockwave of Jiang Qingtong's attack.
Crackling sounds filled the air as the soul tool barriers shattered. Dai Hao's protective glow vanished instantly.
A massive force slammed into him, sending him flying! The Titled Douluo behind him suffered the same fate.
Below, the defensive soul tool cannons fired wildly at Jiang Qingtong, but she didn't even bother to block. The ten level-nine soul tools on her person effortlessly neutralized the cannon blasts, which at most were grade-six outputs.
Explosions burst before her eyes, but Jiang Qingtong's expression remained calm.
Elder Hong and the others rose behind her. Liao Mengkai was already mobilizing the Terrorclaw Soul Engineer Regiment and the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Regiment. Large numbers of soul engineers poured out of the gate, advancing toward Yuming Pass.
"Your Majesty the Empress, we can seize Yuming Pass now!" Liao Mengkai called excitedly as he flew up behind her.
Jiang Qingtong glanced at the group, then fixed her gaze on the colossal fortress of Yuming Pass. This barrier had blocked the Sun Moon Empire for thousands of years. She raised the Ice-Fire Dragon Spear and pointed its tip directly at the battlements.
She said nothing, but Liao Mengkai understood immediately and issued the order to attack!
The combined assault of the two Beast King-level soul engineer regiments instantly overwhelmed the Star Luo defenders. The wall facing the Sun Moon Empire was torn open in mere moments.
A fixed-mount soul tool shell streaked downward in a brilliant trail of light, landing inside Yuming Pass with a massive explosion.
Behind the soul engineers, levels of soldiers advanced alongside soul-guided war chariots, each wielding a standard-issue soul ray rifle.
With these rifles, even ordinary people with no cultivation could release attacks equivalent to a level-two soul engineer.
In the sky, the Titled Douluo whom Jiang Qingtong had beaten back returned to the battlefield, trying to stop the Sun Moon Empire from breaching the pass. But Jiang Qingtong gave them no chance—her sheer aura alone prevented them from interfering.
Nearly ten Titled Douluo hovered in the sky—and she held them all back by herself.
Elder Hong and Liao Mengkai wanted to assist, but they realized there was no place for them in this battle. Watching Jiang Qingtong fight so many Titled Douluo alone, Elder Hong sighed,
"We truly have grown old…"
"Long live the Empress!" Liao Mengkai shouted, diving toward Yuming Pass.
Since he couldn't contribute in the sky, he would take charge of the battle on the ground!
Seeing him move, Elder Hong followed suit. Summoning the Star-Glimmer Heavenly Mirror, he poured his soul power into it. The mirror's range expanded to cover the entire sky over Yuming Pass as countless stars manifested, each firing beams of starlight that struck down the resisting soldiers.
Moments later, a Titled Douluo's corpse fell from the sky, half of his body charred black by Ultimate Fire.
Soon, more Titled Douluo bodies plummeted to the ground. In less than fifteen minutes, only three of the original group remained.
Dai Hao's duke's robes had been torn and burned. His golden hair was disheveled, and a burn mark stretched from his chest to his neck—the lingering force of Ultimate Fire. Their side had suffered catastrophic losses. In contrast, Jiang Qingtong remained uninjured—only her soul power had decreased slightly.
She raised her right hand and glanced at it. Then she inhaled deeply. She had to finish this quickly; this empowered state wouldn't last long.
Thus, the remaining three—including Dai Hao—soon sensed her attacks growing fiercer. They had no ability to resist. The two Titled Douluo beside Dai Hao exchanged a look and made their decision—igniting their soul power.
"Duke! Go!"
"As long as you live, the Star Luo Empire still has hope!"
"We must never allow the three nations of the original Douluo Continent to fall into the hands of the Sun Moon Empire!"
The two Titled Douluo shouted as they rushed toward Jiang Qingtong. Dai Hao's eyes went wide with rage.
"Get back here!!"
But once soul power was ignited, it could not be stopped. The explosion of their combined power blocked Jiang Qingtong's path to Dai Hao. Dai Hao clenched his fists and looked down at the chaos in Yuming Pass before gritting his teeth, turning, and fleeing toward Star Luo City at full speed.
The self-destruction of two Titled Douluo was tremendous, but even combined it was only roughly equivalent to a grade-nine fixed-mount soul tool shell. Though comparable to a full-strength strike from an Ultimate Douluo, to Jiang Qingtong it was not a real threat.
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