Chapter 111: A Joyous Funeral, It Must Be a Joyous Funeral!
Bang!!
Star Luo Imperial Palace.
"What did you say?"
"The White Tiger Duke's Mansion was razed to the ground, the White Tiger Duke's whereabouts are unknown, and only a few servants and Dai Luoli somehow survived."
Inside the main hall, Xu Jiawei could hardly believe what he heard. Even the several Titled Douluo of the Star Luo Empire in the shadows frowned.
The person reporting from below was badly frightened and stammered:
"Your Majesty, when we arrived, the White Tiger Duke's Mansion was indeed razed to the ground. Besides the few servants and one of the Duke's bloodlines who somehow survived, we found nothing else."
A headache, Xu Jiawei felt an extraordinary headache, and an unbelievable fear spread through his heart.
To be able to eliminate the White Tiger Duke's Mansion without anyone knowing—and to raze it to the ground without anyone being aware—this must have been done by an incredibly powerful expert.
But why? Who has such great hatred for the White Tiger Duke's Mansion? Is Dai Hao still alive?
Slumped on the dragon throne, Xu Jiawei rubbed his temples wearily.
This matter has escalated greatly.
"Have you questioned those who survived? Did they see who did it?"
Now, he could only hope that those who survived would be of some use and that Brother Hao was still alive. Otherwise, the Star Luo Empire would surely face immense turmoil.
The person who came to report, the City Lord of the main city closest to the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, could only brace himself and say:
"Your Majesty, those people said that they suddenly lost consciousness. When they woke up again, they were already dozens of miles away from the Duke's Mansion."
"And—" He looked up slightly and cautiously said, "—and according to the Duke's surviving son, Dai Luoli, the White Tiger Duke was also in the mansion that day."
As soon as these words were spoken, the last shred of hope in Xu Jiawei's heart completely vanished. Dai Hao must be dead; otherwise, there would definitely be news by now.
A Soul Douluo, Dai Hao was a Soul Douluo, and his strength was infinitely close to that of a Titled Douluo. Moreover, many elders of the Dai family line must have been secretly present in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion. So many people, yet they were eliminated without a sound. This was simply too terrifying.
However, before he could speak, the City Lord below spoke again.
"Your Majesty, on a hillside not far from the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, we found some deliberately left writings."
"It... it said that the killer was Shrek's Taotie Douluo."
Bang!!
The sound of something being thrown came again.
"Shrek, shrek, my foot! Is your brain filled with shit? You have to report such things!"
Although Shrek was troublesome, they would never be so foolish as to eliminate the entire White Tiger Duke's lineage. Besides Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin, there was no conflict between the two sides.
And precisely because of Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin, Shrek should compensate the White Tiger Duke's Mansion for its shortcomings.
They couldn't possibly eliminate the White Tiger Duke's Mansion just because they didn't want to spend resources, could they? Not to mention Shrek, which has always branded itself as the embodiment of justice— even the Holy Spirit Church wouldn't do such a thing.
Moreover, Taotie Douluo had just been attacked by evil Soul Masters and had returned to Shrek City with his team. He couldn't possibly have the ability to create clones and run off to the White Tiger Duke's Mansion to stir up trouble, could he?
It must be a frame-up. The best course of action would have been to quickly erase those writings after seeing them, and then secretly report it.
Needless to say, the news must have spread, and he would have to clean up the mess and clear Shrek's name.
Therefore, Xu Jiawei, furious, immediately cursed out loud:
"Bastards! Every single one of you is an idiot! As for the White Tiger Duke..."
His expression then turned cold, and he quickly controlled himself from continuing, stopping at the right moment. Some things, if spoken, would damage Shrek's reputation—and he absolutely should not say them.
If the news got out, even if it wasn't truly Shrek's doing, some people would unconsciously associate it with them.
Furthermore, this year's Shrek competition team was led by Taotie Douluo, who had successively caused Dai Yueheng to die and Dai Huabin to be severely injured from the White Tiger Duke's Mansion.
Outsiders unaware of the full story would find it difficult not to speculate that the Taotie Douluo had some vendetta against the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, which is why he deliberately harmed them—or perhaps he made a mistake and eliminated the mansion to avoid criticism.
There are always foolish people. What is needed now is calmness. The White Tiger Duke's Mansion is gone, and Dai Hao is likely dead. The matter is concluded.
What needs to be done now is to quickly identify the culprit, determine who can do these things, and minimize the potential impact.
Calming down, Xu Jiawei's mind replayed the events of the past. He seemed to already know who was responsible.
Someone with a grudge against the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, capable of acting without detection—so ruthless—silently accomplishing these things. There were only two possibilities:
The evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Church, who previously attacked Shrek's Xuan Zi, and Huo Yuhao, who declared at the competition that he would be irreconcilable with the White Tiger Duke's Mansion—or perhaps the two were linked.
The former acted without scruples, while the latter harbored an indelible hatred for the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, backed by Kong Deming and possibly close ally Du Busi.
However, recalling Huo Yuhao's passionate declaration in front of everyone, Xu Jiawei suddenly lowered the possibility of the latter being responsible.
But the Holy Spirit Church doesn't make sense; they have no reason to raze the entire White Tiger Duke's Mansion and then leave some people alive, do they?
Then the conclusion is clear: the culprits are those guys from Sun Moon Empire, Kong Deming, and Huo Yuhao. The statements made during the competition were merely a smokescreen, designed to confuse everyone.
They could do this, and those who survived were lucky enough to escape because Huo Yuhao didn't want to implicate innocent people.
And the giant hammer that burst into the hall only confirmed this suspicion.
"Your Majesty, the Western Army of the Mingdou Mountain Range has been attacked by the Sun Moon Soul Engineer Legion! They sent word asking Your Majesty to quickly order White Tiger Duke to return and take command of the overall situation!"
Damn it!
When it rains, it pours. As expected, it was that old scoundrel Kong Deming. This was a planned, premeditated attack.
The Sun Moon Soul Engineer Legion must have known Dai Hao would be in trouble—hence, they broke the peace on the western border and began moving against the Star Luo Empire.
"Take command of the overall situation?"
Dai Hao is gone! Where can he go to take charge?
Calm down, he needs to stay composed. The western border cannot be neglected, and the Mingdou Mountain Range must not be lost.
"Issue an order immediately: dispatch the Xuanji Douluo to the Western Army to take command, assume overall responsibility, and resist the Sun Moon Soul Engineer Legion's attack."
...
Xu Jiawei could only make hurried arrangements. He deeply regretted recalling Dai Hao.
He had originally thought Dai Hao's presence would boost morale, strengthen confidence, and demonstrate unity within the imperial family and military, facilitating coordinated action. Now, it seemed everything had gone to worse.
He could already foresee that even if Xuanji Douluo went to the border to command and resist the Sun Moon Empire threat, the territory lost by the Star Luo Empire would be inevitable.
At the very least, control over the Mingdou Mountain Range would be lost, and the Star Luo Empire would lose its critical strategic defensive line against the Sun Moon Empire.
"Fight back?"
He dared not—further escalation would be dangerous, and the Star Luo Empire wasn't prepared for a full-scale war.
The idea of cooperating with Shrek, which he had previously considered, now had to be reconsidered. Shrek absolutely could not continue to be passive. Without the support of Shrek's experts, the Star Luo Empire would face immense difficulties.
Those words were left deliberately vague. They would pressure Shrek, forcing them into action. He didn't believe Shrek would accept such slander; he didn't believe they would swallow this insult.
Dai Hao's death must not be publicly disclosed. Even if it is, the true reason must remain secret. His death was too humiliating. The God of War of Star Luo Empire, a Legion Marshal—what a devastating blow that would be to morale and confidence.
Dai Hao must have died in battle. The destruction of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion was enemy retaliation against the Star Luo Empire.
A joyous funeral—it must be a joyous funeral!
—
End of Chapter