Word Count: 3,486 Words
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"Hold on... how does the Star Luo Empire have only this many soldiers…"
Inside the central command tent, the delegations of the Angel Empire and the Star Luo Empire sat on opposite sides. The White Tiger Duke lay grievously wounded and hovering on the brink of death. Emperor Xu Jiawei himself had taken personal command of Star Luo City's defense, yet the situation on the battlefield remained grim beyond words.
The Sun Moon Empire had marched six hundred thousand soldiers to the city walls. Star Luo City's defenders numbered fewer than twenty thousand. The chasm between the two armies could crush the spirit of anyone who dared look upon it.
Wu Feng sucked air through her teeth. The quiet complaint had slipped from her lips only moments ago, and Ning Tian shot her a helpless glare that silently told her to stop blurting out painful truths.
The faces of the others had grown no less heavy. From everything Xu Jiawei and Xu Jiujiu had shared, the Sun Moon Empire had spared no expense in its invasion of Star Luo.
Every member of the Sun Moon Imperial Spirit Guidance Legion had been outfitted with the most advanced Humanoid Spirit Guidance Devices, trading away their life force for combat strength on par with a Spirit Douluo. The Fire Phoenix Spirit Guidance Legion had brought with them a peak Class 9 High-Energy Compression Cannon and a vast stockpile of Class 9 Stationary Spirit Cannon shells, and top-tier experts like Silver Moon Douluo Kong Deming and Illustrious Virtue Hall Master Jing Hongchen stood among their ranks as well. That was how the Sun Moon army had crushed everything in its path and driven straight to the gates of Star Luo City.
Ling Bai sank into thought. Ju Zi loathed the White Tiger Duke down to her marrow, and that hatred had bled into a particular ruthlessness throughout the invasion. Star Luo's soldiers had suffered appalling losses, and the disparity in this defense of Star Luo City dwarfed even the one at Jialing Pass!
Xu Jiawei let out a long sigh. With his nation engulfed in calamity, the once high-spirited Star Luo Emperor seemed to have aged twenty years in the span of a single breath.
"I will not conceal it from our friends of the Angel Empire. War Empress Ju Zi delivered her final ultimatum to us today.
If we hand Brother Dai over within three days, the Star Luo Empire will be permitted to surrender, and the Sun Moon army will not harm a single one of the million civilians within these walls. Otherwise, not so much as a chicken or a dog in Star Luo City will be left alive."
Ling Bai's brow drew together slightly. "And what does Star Luo intend to do?"
Xu Jiawei's expression dimmed, and his voice dropped low. "In the battle at the Ming Dou Mountain Range, Brother Dai was struck head-on by the Silver Moon Divine Light Barrier. The White Tiger Personal Guard fought to the death to bring him back, and he is now being tended to by his eldest son, Dai Yueheng.
Immortal Doctor Douluo has examined him. The odds of his survival are next to nothing. We cannot fathom why the War Empress of the Sun Moon Empire has fixed her hatred upon Brother Dai alone, but for the sake of the civilians of Star Luo City..."
His words cut off abruptly, but everyone in the tent was sharp enough to grasp what he could not bring himself to say aloud. Should the defense of Star Luo City fail, Xu Jiawei would sacrifice Dai Hao alone in exchange for the lives of the innocents within the city walls.
"Holy Evil Douluo."
Xu Jiujiu spoke without warning. The flames of war had ravaged her homeland, and her breathtaking face had grown noticeably gaunt, yet her eyes still burned with hope and longing as she asked softly, "What do you think the Star Luo Empire could do to drive back the Sun Moon Empire?"
"This..."
Ling Bai hesitated for a heartbeat, then lowered his gaze. "Let us discuss the matter at greater length."
From several seats away, Dugu Lin had been silently observing every shift in his expression. Her emerald eyes flickered with the faintest light, and at her fingertips the Nine Segment Jade coiled and flicked out its scarlet tongue.
"Holy..."
Xu Jiujiu seemed about to press the question further, but Xu Jiawei cut her off.
"The Angel Empire has only just emerged from the battle at Jialing Pass. That they stand willing to reinforce Star Luo at all is already an act of profound benevolence and righteousness. Jiujiu, see to the accommodations for our guests from the Angel Empire. We shall discuss our response tomorrow."
"Understood, Imperial Brother."
Xu Jiujiu's pearly teeth bit down on her crimson lips. She carried a secret close to her heart. Years ago, in the Luminous Mystic Forest, she had glimpsed Death Abyss Douluo before he had fully come into his power, and she was utterly certain that the Body Sect Master, Du Busi, was not Death Abyss Douluo.
That calculating mind of hers had pieced it all together long ago. Holy Evil Douluo Ling Bai and Death Abyss Douluo Ning Bai were one and the same man.
Ling Bai was the foremost holy Spirit Master across the entire continent, and at the same time the unrivaled first among all Evil Spirit Masters under heaven. As everyone knew, Evil Spirit Masters were born adept at slaughter. If Ling Bai cast aside every restraint and let himself butcher the Sun Moon army without mercy, the Star Luo Empire might yet snatch victory from the jaws of ruin.
That thought clung to Xu Jiujiu's mind with stubborn persistence and refused to fade. After escorting Ling Bai to his military tent, she resolved to follow him inside, hoping that the bond they had once shared in years past might still serve as leverage to win her country its future.
Just as she moved to follow, a pale hand tipped with emerald-green nails pressed firmly down upon her shoulder from behind. Dugu Lin drew an utterly unsuspecting Ling Qiuxi close, gave her a gentle push that sent her stumbling into the tent, and offered Xu Jiujiu a smile whose meaning could not be easily read.
"Princess Jiujiu, Holy Evil Douluo has important matters to attend to. Kindly excuse yourself."
"...Very well."
Xu Jiujiu fixed Dugu Lin with a long, searching look before turning away in dejection. With her country besieged by enemies abroad and troubles within, she had no wish to provoke a venomous serpent as deadly as this one.
"You absolute lunatic!"
Ling Qiuxi ducked back out of the tent and snapped at Dugu Lin without restraint. The latter paid no mind to the rebuke. She merely peered through the slit in the tent fabric at the figure within, who appeared to be silently weighing every gain and loss in the balance. Her emerald eyes seemed empty of all emotion, and yet at the same time crowded with a thousand feelings tangled into one.
…
Deep into the night.
The Star Luo military camp lay wrapped in a near-deathly hush, broken only by the crackle of campfires and the measured tread of patrolling sentries. Within the deeper shadows, a dark silhouette wove between the tents like a nimble grass snake, slipping past every guard with practiced ease before leaving the encampment behind and darting toward the outer gates of Star Luo City.
"Stop right there."
A cold voice rang out from behind. The dark figure froze mid-step, then slowly turned to find a face of flawless beauty awaiting her, one in which not the smallest detail could be faulted.
Ling Qiuxi stood with her arms crossed beneath her chest, her expression iced over. "Dugu Lin. The hour grows late. Where exactly are you sneaking off to?"
The dark figure was indeed Dugu Lin. She offered an indifferent shrug, her composure as smooth as still water. "The camp felt too stifling. I came out for a stroll."
"I followed you the entire way. You were clearly trying to slip out of the city!"
Ling Qiuxi's voice cracked through the air like a whip. Her pupils contracted in an instant into the golden vertical slits of the Golden Dragon, and the Golden Dragon Spear materialized in her grip. Eight spirit rings flared into existence around her in fierce procession, yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, red, red, and a savage, violent pressure surged outward in every direction!
"Speak plainly! What are you trying to do?!"
Hum—
A dense emerald radiance ignited in answer. Eight spirit rings spun into being around Dugu Lin's body: two yellow, two purple, two black, two red. Ring for ring, hue for hue, she did not yield by so much as a breath. The Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor lifted its savage, cruel head and met the gaze of the very ancestor of strength, the Golden Dragon, without flinching!
"You want to fight me?" Ling Qiuxi sneered with open disdain.
On the surface, the colors of their spirit rings were a perfect mirror, but the gulf between their eighth rings alone was vast. The Evil Spirit Orca King's cultivation surpassed that of the Nine Absolutes Jade Phosphorous Flower King by a full two hundred thousand years!
And though both possessed Ultimate Attributes, the Golden Dragon stood innately superior to the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor. Her overflowing vitality and surging blood granted her immense natural resistance against Ultimate Poison. Ling Qiuxi held absolute confidence in her ability to subdue Dugu Lin.
Yet beneath the relentless pressure of the Golden Dragon, Dugu Lin only let out a cold laugh. "All of you... every single one of you can do nothing more than share his pleasures. Not one of you is willing to truly shoulder his burdens!
Had I been the childhood sweetheart at his side, none of you would ever have dreamed of taking him from me!"
Ling Qiuxi's willow-shaped brows shot upward, and her aura grew more dangerous still. "What do you mean by that?"
Her secret already exposed, Dugu Lin abandoned all pretense and laid the truth bare. "Do you know why Ling Bai refused to give Xu Jiujiu a straight answer? Because he needs faith. Not only from the three former great empires of the Douluo Continent, but from the Sun Moon Empire in days yet to come!
Those six hundred thousand troops of the Sun Moon Empire are invaders. From the perspective of the three great empires, invaders must die. But the Sun Moon army is too powerful. Even now, with Star Luo and the Angel Empire joining their full strength, they still lack the means to destroy them. On the surface, the only one who can truly turn this battle around is Ling Bai.
You must understand this one thing. The butcher absolutely cannot be Ling Bai! The key to becoming a God through faith lies in the image he presents to the world. He is the Seraphim who delivers the suffering and rescues the desperate, not some blood-soaked demon!
At a moment such as this, someone has to take the blame in his place. Someone has to slaughter these invaders for him. On one hand, he stands as the commander of the Angel Empire's reinforcements, so the people of Star Luo will remember his contribution for all generations to come!
On the other hand, once the two continents are unified, the Angel Empire will move at the greatest possible speed to clear his name. After all, he himself has only slain the Evil Spirit Master Ye Xishui and her running dog Long Xiaoyao, at most with the few hundred members of the Imperial Dragon Spirit Guidance Legion added on top. That is nothing compared to six hundred thousand troops!
Ling Qiuxi, for the sake of the greater picture, you never saw me tonight.
In a head-on duel, I am no match for you. But on a battlefield against an army? You fall far short of me.
Let me be the one whose sins are beyond forgiveness!"
Ling Qiuxi's pupils nearly contracted into thin slits. She could scarcely fathom that Dugu Lin would willingly go this far for Ling Bai's sake, and her cold, hard demeanor could not help but soften.
"I've heard that your ancestor Dugu Yan already cured the backlash of the Jade Phosphor Serpent poison. It was only later, when Poison Douluo Dugu Bo massacred the million soldiers at Jialing Pass, that heaven's wrath fell upon his bloodline.
Are you not afraid the serpent's poison will turn upon you and your descendants once more?"
"I do not care!"
Dugu Lin gave a soft, mocking laugh and lifted her gaze to the boundless field of stars above. A wistful emptiness settled upon her face. "When I came into this world, the elders of my line declared I would never live past twenty-five. As it happens, I am twenty-five this year.
I have walked this world utterly alone. Every soul I've ever known fears me, loathes me, recoils from me. Not one has ever wished to draw close. He alone offered me even the faintest sliver of his light.
I know it was likely born of pity. He does not love me deeply.
But for one drowning in despair, even the smallest fragment of light is enough.
I can stand drenched in filth and reviled by all the world, so long as the man I love walks in the sunlight and receives the worship of the masses. Whatever heaven's wrath may come, let it fall upon me!"
That twisted, half-mad devotion bled through every word she spoke. Ling Qiuxi stood shaken by the sheer depth of Dugu Lin's obsession. Without another word, Dugu Lin silently withdrew her eight spirit rings, brushed past Ling Qiuxi's shoulder, and strode resolutely toward the night beyond Star Luo City's walls.
"Wait! I'm coming with you!" Ling Qiuxi suddenly called out.
Dugu Lin paused. "You?"
"Two are stronger than one. If you succeed, it'll be for his sake."
The two women advanced shoulder to shoulder, their long hair streaming wildly in the night wind. Ling Qiuxi lowered her gaze to the pendant resting against her chest. The Black Dragon Reverse Scale drank in every glimmer of starlight and moonlight, rich and silent.
This time, no Sea God Tang San would intervene. The vessel of Di Tian had returned to the battlefield at last!
…
Beyond the city walls, the Sun Moon army churned without pause, grinding forward like the slow rotation of an immense millstone. Their Spirit Guidance Devices stood ready to fire at any moment, poised to reduce Star Luo City to dust.
Two Spirit Douluo of Ultimate Attribute slipped past the Star Luo sentries with effortless ease and crept beyond the city walls. Dugu Lin spotted the High-Altitude Aerial Surveillance Spirit Guidance Devices hovering above the Sun Moon encampment and activated her 100,000-year Snow Swan Kiss spirit bone. Its spirit skill conjured an aura barrier that veiled their forms from detection, and the pair stole slowly toward the Sun Moon legions.
Poison was a sinister, treacherous craft. Against true powerhouses, its effect was sharply limited. Ultimate Poison, however, was an entirely different matter.
Her seventh spirit ring bloomed without a sound. Dugu Lin transformed into the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor and began winding along the outer edges of the Sun Moon encampment, injecting Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor poison directly into the earth.
The ground slowly took on a deep emerald hue. Like a tightening noose, the color spread at terrifying speed toward the heart of the camp. Ling Qiuxi shadowed her every movement, vigilant against ambush, then suddenly slapped the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor across the back, struck by a belated thought.
"We should have brought Ning Tian along! With her Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda amplifying your attribute, your Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor poison would surely be far more potent!"
"Lighter with the hand, please." Dugu Lin sucked in a sharp breath. "Why don't you try being the poison Spirit Master instead?"
Every fiber of Dugu Lin's being brimmed with cunning calculation. She locked her sights on the vast number of Spirit Guidance Legion members below the seven-ringed rank and spewed Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor poison into the ground with frenzied intensity.
Command of the Spirit Guidance Legions rotated among the Class 9 Spirit Guidance Masters. Tonight, the duty happened to fall to Illustrious Virtue Hall Master Jing Hongchen.
With his hands clasped behind his back, Jing Hongchen strolled at a leisurely pace past one orderly column of Sun Moon tents after another, a cordial smile resting on his face.
"The Empire shall break Star Luo City any day now. That said, the Star Luo Empire's greenery is rather splendid. Even the ground itself is green...
Wait. That is not right!"
Jing Hongchen's face drained of all color in an instant. His entire body shot skyward, and from high above he beheld the eerie emerald hue creeping in upon the Sun Moon army from every direction. Then his eyes found the culprit!
Dugu Lin lifted her gaze to the airborne Jing Hongchen and offered him a smile of chilling malice. She brushed a strand of short emerald hair behind her ear. By now she had already withdrawn from the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor's Avatar form, and her complexion was pale as paper, clearly the look of someone who had drained her spirit power to the dregs.
A bone-deep chill flooded Jing Hongchen's limbs, and his body began to tremble against his will. His mind flashed back to the words Meng Hongchen had spoken to him after the exchange program at Shrek Academy had ended.
'Grandfather, I met a girl at Shrek Academy with the compound surname Dugu. She seems to be a descendant of Poison Douluo from ten thousand years past. Her Martial Spirit, the Jade Phosphor Serpent, has fused with the Jade Phosphor Five Poisons. It is even more terrifying than my Red Eyed Ice Toad poison.'
"Sun Moon Legion, enemy attack—!"
No thunderous roar. No overwhelming detonation. No spectacle of force at all. Dugu Lin merely lifted her palms a fraction, and a hazy emerald mist rose from the earth itself, spilling into every last corner of the Sun Moon encampment.
"AHHH—!"
The first scream tore from the throat of a Class 3 Spirit Guidance Master. He had glanced down without thinking, only to find that his military boots had already turned green. His heart went cold as ice in absolute terror, and a piercing shriek erupted from his lungs. He vomited a mouthful of emerald blood, crashed to the ground with a heavy thud, and the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor poison began corroding his body at horrifying speed.
The Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor poison had already encircled the entire Sun Moon encampment. The poisonous fog engulfed the camp in the blink of an eye. By the time the Spirit Guidance Masters and rank-and-file soldiers became aware of it, parts of their own bodies had already turned green. Those who carried wounds from earlier engagements perished where they stood as the poison erupted within them. Even the higher-ranked Spirit Guidance Masters could clearly feel that horrifying serpent poison creeping along their veins, devouring their organs from the inside out.
Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor poison stood at the level of Ultimate Poison and could not be barred by spirit power alone. The harder one drove their spirit power to resist, the swifter their blood flowed, and the swifter their blood flowed, the sooner they would meet the King of Hell.
Screams swept across the Sun Moon army like a rising tide. Spirit Guidance Masters below the seven-ringed rank had no time even to draw their Spirit Barriers before the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor poison stole their lives. Panic shattered the legion's discipline. The merest brush of that green mist was enough to invite the poison into one's flesh. Scream after scream tore through the camp as more and more Spirit Masters collapsed into the poisonous fog, only to become fresh wellsprings of poison themselves, their dissolving bodies feeding the deepening miasma.
The stronger Spirit Masters still struggled within the fog, but their deaths were merely a question of how many breaths remained. As corpses multiplied at a geometric pace, the poison saturating the Sun Moon camp grew ever thicker and more concentrated. The emerald fog rose in great drifts, blotting out the sky, swallowing the stars and the moon, until the entire battlefield resembled the ten-thousand-year poison miasma encircling the outer reaches of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!
It was as though an inescapable cycle had turned full circle. Ten thousand years later, the inheritor of the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor had stepped onto the very same path her ancestor once walked!
Everywhere beneath the sky was drowned in ghostly green!