With Dai Hao's recovery, Xu Jiujiu immediately held a private meeting with him to discuss how to deal with the Sun Moon Empire. Chen Junting and the other two were allowed to sit in and offer their opinions and suggestions.
Soon, they learned from Xu Jiujiu that for this expedition, the Star Luo Empire had mobilized almost their entire military. Although the majority consisted of legions made up of ordinary soldiers, eight out of the Star Luo Empire's ten Soul Master Legions had already arrived at the western front. Moreover, these Soul Master Legions were equipped with soul tools, configured similarly to the Sun Moon Empire's.
However, this kind of configuration could only be considered drawing a tiger based on its skin. After all, how a Soul Engineer Legion was formed, how it trained, how it coordinated... these were things the Sun Moon Empire had figured out generation after generation. It wasn't something that could be perfectly mimicked just by looking at it.
Of course, even if they couldn't grasp the essence, it at least improved their combat power. Otherwise, when facing a Soul Engineer Legion in battle, the traditional Soul Master Legions might not have been able to hold them off.
With the grand army assembled, the next step was to discuss tactics for recapturing the Mingdou Mountain Range defense line. By the time they officially summoned all the generals, they would have a feasible plan ready.
Regarding this, the White Tiger Duke's original intent was that air superiority was the most critical factor in the battle for the Mingdou Mountain Range. Therefore, they needed to dispatch experts to destroy the Sun Moon Empire's aerial blockade at all costs.
Xu Jiujiu naturally had no objections. As a princess of the Star Luo Empire who usually resided in the imperial capital, she wasn't well-versed in military affairs. Therefore, whether it came to strategy or tactics, she naturally kept her interference to a minimum, deferring to the Commander, the White Tiger Duke. Otherwise, if something went wrong, she would be to blame.
This point actually made Chen Junting look at her with newfound respect.
"Old Chen, it seems this Princess actually knows her place." Walking out of the command tent, Gu Tianchen said to Chen Junting, "I thought her coming to the battlefield in person was to seize power."
After all, when the vast majority of a nation's military power was concentrated in the hands of a Marshal, let alone an outsider with a different surname, even someone with the same surname—the current ruler of an empire—would find it hard to feel at ease.
...Of course, perhaps someone with the same surname would find it even harder to feel at ease...
So, it would have been perfectly normal for Xu Jiujiu's first action upon arriving to consolidate military power from Dai Hao's hands, and there would have been nothing wrong with her issuing orders.
"This is quite normal." Chen Junting shook his head slightly and said, "Even if the royal family truly fears the White Tiger Duke, worrying that the Dai clan holds heavy military power and might rebel, right now the nation is in a time of crisis. Militarily, aside from Dai Hao, no one else in the Star Luo Empire is capable of shouldering this responsibility."
So, even if the Star Luo royal family really wanted to curb the power of the White Tiger Duke's lineage, they would have to defeat the Sun Moon Empire first. At least on this point, Xu Jiawei and the others were rational.
"That's for the best." Gu Tianchen glanced at the seemingly indifferent Huo Yuhao. "It saves us from having power struggles and internal conflicts during the war that end up dragging us down."
The success or failure of a war relied on the frontlines, but even more so on the rear. If the rear fell into chaos, it would truly be... a massive plague!
...
Since the Star Luo army had arrived, the time for a counteroffensive naturally came. The Star Luo Empire's strategy and tactics could be called highly appropriate.
However, although this grand army had mobilized at least five thousand Soul Masters, according to Dai Hao's tactics, they first needed to break through the Sun Moon Empire's aerial forces to shatter their air superiority. Therefore, at this moment, fewer than five hundred people were participating in the attack, but the strength of these five hundred was at least at the Soul Saint level, possessing the ability to hover in the air.
In addition, they were equipped with flight soul tools, Rank-7 soul guidance rays, and standard Rank-7 defensive soul tools.
Five hundred Soul Saints!
What a terrifying combination of strength!
Without soul tools, and in a one-on-one scenario, within a certain range, even three times their number in Rank-7 Soul Engineers wouldn't be their match. Once a Soul Master reached the Soul Saint level, ordinary soul tools could no longer threaten them. It was only through the concentrated firing of incredibly powerful soul tools that they stood a chance of injuring them, let alone a Soul Saint equipped with soul tools, who became even more formidable!
However, those destroying the Sun Moon Empire's air supremacy weren't just these five hundred Soul Saints equipped with soul tools; there were true experts leading them. Three Titled Douluo, plus Chen Junting and the other two, seemed to have an advantage over the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion.
Of course, to give this unit the opportunity to dismantle the Sun Moon Empire's aerial forces and the Imperial Dragon Legion's air superiority, the ground forces were doing everything possible to breach and strike at the Sun Moon army.
As for the Sun Moon Empire side, they had clearly anticipated this. It was just that their physical conditions had only just mostly recovered, and they hadn't guessed the Star Luo Empire's reaction would be this fast.
Therefore, judging by their current defensive strength, the Sun Moon Empire had only deployed three Soul Engineer Legions on this side for defense, supplemented by a large number of low-tier soul engineers for assistance.
The message was clear: stop the Star Luo Empire from seizing air superiority.
The artillery fire was continuous, seemingly linking together into a sea of flames.
Even though the Sun Moon Empire's advantage in soul tools was incredibly strong, after receiving "help" from the Sun Moon Empire, the gap in this area had obviously shrunk considerably.
As time passed, the soul guidance cannons and rays spouting from the Mingdou Mountain Range direction seemed to gradually weaken. After all, sealed milk bottles weren't perpetual motion machines; their sustainability had its limits. And the soul tools capable of threatening seven-ring Soul Saints naturally consumed a massive amount of soul power.
Maintaining this for so long meant heaven knew how many milk bottles and soul engineers' soul power had been consumed. This was a weakness the Sun Moon Empire had exposed early on in the previous days of fighting. And although this weakness had been discovered, the Star Luo army and Dai Hao had deliberately ignored it, never seizing the opportunity.
Because what they were waiting for was today!
The moment they detected the weakening of the Sun Moon Empire's defensive power, the Star Luo military's combat strength instantly erupted! They fiercely pressed forward, continuously increasing the pressure on their opponents.
The Sun Moon Empire side instantly bolstered their resistance with soul guidance cannons and rays, forcing the Star Luo Soul Masters back. But after this reinforcement, they seemed to have reached the end of their rope; the firepower grew even weaker.
On the surface, it looked like the Star Luo Empire was gradually gaining the upper hand. After all, they still had thousands of Soul Masters who hadn't even entered the fray. Once the high-tier Soul Masters here achieved a decisive advantage, all the Soul Masters would charge together. With that, charging down the Mingdou Mountain Range defense line would be no problem. The topographical advantage meant little to Soul Master experts.
"Prepare to move."
This was a signal.
Almost the instant the voice rang out, Huo Yuhao's spiritual power completed a connection with the Star Luo forces fighting for air superiority.
Immediately, his spiritual will surged forth, rapidly spreading toward the outside of the camp. All the detection results were transmitted into the minds of everyone present through Spiritual Sharing.
In an instant, centered on Huo Yuhao, a fully three-dimensional image within a five-kilometer radius appeared in everyone's minds. Even though the five hundred Soul Saints and three Titled Douluo had mentally prepared before the plan began, they were still taken aback. But they quickly suppressed their surprise and calmed down.
All of this took less than a single breath. Then...
"Everyone, kill!"
A burly and imposing Titled Douluo charged to the very front! With a furious roar, the moment he raised his right hand, a mass of yellow light ignited upon it.
Two yellow, two purple, five black.
As his nine soul rings rose, a giant mallet, crystal-clear and entirely yellow, appeared in his hand. The moment it appeared, it emitted a heavy, imposing aura.
His Title was named directly after his martial soul—Hammer Douluo!
Hammer Douluo swept his massive arms and fiercely smashed the water-vat-sized giant mallet toward the linked soul tool barrier formed by the Sun Moon Empire's aerial forces and the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion.
With just this single smash, although terrifying power rippled across the barrier, there was no booming sound. Instead, a mass of yellow light continuously spread outward.
But Hammer Douluo wasn't the only one taking action. The other two Titled Douluo, including Chen Junting's group, and the five hundred Soul Saints equipped with soul tools all struck at once. Soul skills combined with soul guidance rays poured down in a relentless barrage.
As a result, layers of soul tool barriers were consecutively shattered.
However, the Sun Moon Empire's aerial forces and the Imperial Dragon Legion were no pushovers either, and they immediately launched a counterattack! But with this level of strength, how could they possibly resist them?
Up in the high sky, the Star Luo Empire's side could be described as killing gods if gods blocked their path, and slaughtering Buddhas if Buddhas blocked their path. Even if those Rank-9 Soul Engineer experts attacked, they would have to leave their lives behind first.
"Encircle them! Take down the one with the glowing eyes first!"
Ten members of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion immediately halted. A massive cannon, two meters long with a one-foot caliber, appeared on each of their shoulders. They aimed directly at Huo Yuhao's position in the sky and swiftly fired.
Boom, boom, boom...
Ten massive silver lights soared into the air. Ten astonishingly powerful Rank-7 Shock Shells flew straight at Huo Yuhao. Simultaneously, two Rank-9 Soul Engineers moved to flank him.
Clearly, their intent was to take his life. After all, Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing soul skill posed too great a threat on the battlefield. So, the moment this battle started, their primary target had been placed on Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao's eyes flashed, but he did nothing. He even ignored the attacks and the encirclement, continuing to unleash his own attacks toward the surrounding enemies.
Just as the ten masses of silver light were about to reach him, a golden silhouette suddenly blocked his path.
Boom, boom, boom—
The Golden Armored Mystic Turtle appeared, allowing the shock shells to detonate against it. With just a shudder of its golden shell, the shockwaves were nullified.
However, blocking the shock shells didn't stop the two Rank-9 Soul Engineers. Their figures flashed past as two attacks streaked straight toward Huo Yuhao's face and heart.
Buzz—
The void trembled as a Void Gate opened. Beside the Golden Armored Mystic Turtle, a delicate, jade-like hand reached out from the gate. The jade finger pointed lightly, and one of the Rank-9 Soul Engineer's attacks seemed to be completely frozen by the Ultimate Ice.
The Snow Empress hovered in the air, exuding a noble aura, just floating quietly in the night sky, giving off an intangible sense of beauty. With a mere wave of her wide sleeve, a pure white halo spread out, turning into sheets of crystal-clear ice flowers in the sky.
Without even looking, these ice flowers were smooth as mirrors, each one precisely blocking a sudden soul guidance ray.
Her right hand clenched, and a luxurious ice sword condensed in her grasp.
Imperial Sword: Peerless Ice Extreme!
The ice sword danced as she struck out toward the nearest Rank-9 Soul Engineer. Moreover, five dark-gold claw lights struck out preemptively, slashing through the air toward that Rank-9 Soul Engineer with a terrifying momentum!
As for the other Rank-9 Soul Engineer, things weren't going well for him either. Before he could even get close, a bone-chilling cold enveloped him.
Seemingly sensing the crisis, this Rank-9 Soul Engineer didn't hesitate for a second. The moment he triggered his defenses, he simultaneously used a Rank-9 soul tool to counterattack. His feather fan fluttered, and streams of light, like crane feathers, swept toward the most lethal chill.
In that instant, a terrifying sword intent shattered the crane-feather light! It seemed to originate from hell, bringing a sense of death that utterly pulverized the Rank-9 soul tool's attack, heavily slashing down upon his defensive barrier. At this moment, the Rank-9 Soul Engineer felt as though his barrier was broken... No! To be precise, it felt like impending death!
The Rank-9 Soul Engineer's eyes widened, and he was about to counterattack.
But the moment his feather fan moved, a blindingly cold light appeared before his eyes. The Rank-9 Soul Engineer subconsciously raised his fan to block...
Clang—
The sound of metal and jade rang out.
But mere metal, even if it was a rare alloy, without defensive functions and inherently lacking hardness, how could it withstand the sharpness of the Ultimate Gold martial soul? With just a poke of the sword tip, the feather fan was shattered.
The Rank-9 Soul Engineer's heart ached with bitter agony! But this agony lasted only for an instant. Because next, he had to worry about his own life. He knew he couldn't escape. The locking of the killing intent sealed off all directions.
Out of the nine soul rings rising from the Rank-9 Soul Engineer, the black soul ring ranked seventh flared with brilliance. The next instant, he transformed into a white crane over thirty meters long.
His wings flapped, using his sharp beak as a weapon.
Chen Junting's figure appeared. The Seven Kill Sword in his hand flashed. Using only an amplification-type soul skill, a terrifying sword intent surged through him. Death? No! This time, it was more accurate to call it destruction!
Clang—
The sharp beak shattered, and the sword edge advanced like a bamboo shoot breaking through!
The moment the sword tip pierced the beak, the terrifying Sword Intent of Destruction surged like a torrent, flowing down the beak and into the giant crane's true body. The Rank-9 Soul Engineer's body convulsed violently because he felt the threat of death.
No! I don't want to die!
This was the only thought in the Rank-9 Soul Engineer's mind. But it was just a thought; it couldn't stop his death.
Pfft—
Following the aura of destruction, an overwhelming sword intent descended from the heavens. Without exception, the Seven Kill Sword pierced straight through the skull of the crane's true body.
Chen Junting's eyes were icy, like an ancient well without ripples. With a slight tremor of the Seven Kill Sword in his hand, he gave it a shake.
The Rank-9 Soul Engineer reverted from his crane true body back into human form. The space between his brows was a bloody mess, and his gaze gradually dimmed.
He only struggled in the air for a few seconds before plummeting to the earth, filled with unwillingness. Yet, even at the moment of his death...
Chen Junting didn't even know his name or his Title. He was, in every sense, a nameless nobody.
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