"Assassins! There are assassins!!"
"Protect the Crown Prince!!"
The guards were caught completely off guard by the sudden ambush, but as the Crown Prince's personal guards, their strength was considerable and their training excellent.
They quickly organized their defense, activating layer upon layer of defensive soul tool barriers to protect the Crown Prince, who was in the center of the convoy.
Soul Engineers might not be as strong as Soul Masters in one-on-one combat, but when fighting in formation, their combined power far surpassed that of Soul Masters.
Especially in defense, Soul Engineers had a natural advantage.
Some soul tool shields weren't very high-level, but their defensive power was still astonishing.
For example, the Invincible Shield—a level-five Invincible Shield could withstand the attack of a Contra-level expert for three full seconds, which was extremely troublesome to deal with.
Fortunately, the rare metals used to produce Invincible Shields were extremely scarce, and their yield was very low. Even the Crown Prince's guards didn't have many of them.
The five assassins wore loose black robes and masks that concealed both their faces and their soul power fluctuations. Each of them possessed Contra-level strength.
These five were: Wang Family Patriarch Wang Yan, Second Prince's maternal grandfather Song Zhan, and his uncle Song Peng.
The last two were Wang Yan's sworn brother Zhao Yuhang, and Song Zhan's life-and-death companion Li Fei.
Among them, Wang Yan, Song Zhan, and Song Peng had the highest cultivation levels and the strongest combat power. Even the weakest among them, Song Peng, was level eighty-five. Thus, the three were responsible for the frontal assault.
Li Fei, Song Zhan's life-and-death companion, was an agility-type Contra. His speed was so fast that even ordinary Titled Douluo might not be able to match him.
His task was to kill Xu Tiannan directly with lightning speed if the plan went smoothly—and also to lead the group's retreat afterward.
Meanwhile, Wang Yan's sworn brother, Zhao Yuhang, specialized in concealment. His job was to assist Li Fei in assassinating Xu Tiannan and then handle cleanup afterward, ensuring that the Empire's experts couldn't trace them later.
Under his loose robe, Wang Yan wore a full set of soul tool armor, holding a close-combat soul tool saber in one hand and an eighth-level soul cannon in the other—his killing intent was terrifying.
Song Zhan wielded an eighth-level soul tool halberd, the edge gleaming coldly, as if sharp enough to rend space itself.
Song Peng specialized in long-range attacks. With a metallic roar, his body instantly transformed into a terrifying metal fortress. Hundreds of soul cannon barrels locked onto Xu Tiannan's guards and unleashed a fierce bombardment.
Li Fei, the agility-type Contra, moved like a phantom, searching for openings amid the chaos, ready to break through the guards' defenses and assassinate Xu Tiannan directly.
As for Zhao Yuhang, he hadn't attacked yet. Instead, he was driving metal pillars into the ground around the area.
These pillars quickly formed a circle enclosing Xu Tiannan's convoy. Injecting soul power into them, Zhao Yuhang activated a linked formation—within moments, the entire area was sealed off, ensuring that no one could escape.
The five assassins had clear roles and immense strength. The moment they struck, the Crown Prince's guards were placed under tremendous pressure.
The multiple defensive soul tool barriers rapidly drained under the violent onslaught.
Inside the shields, the two Contra-level bodyguards and the rest of the guards did everything they could—activating every defensive soul tool they had to resist the attack.
Staring at the ferocious assault, both Contras' faces grew grim.
One was tall and thin, the other short and stout.
The short Contra gritted his teeth and said,
"Five Contra-level Soul Engineers, all wielding eighth-level soul tools—that's an enormous operation! Are they insane? They actually dare to assassinate the Crown Prince! This is treason of the highest order—an extermination of nine generations!"
The tall Contra cursed angrily,
"Damn it! Who cares about how big their operation is right now? We need to think of a plan!
The number of defensive shields is limited. These five are too strong—their attacks are too fierce. We won't last long.
Once the barriers are gone, we're finished. Aside from us two, the rest of the guards are just Soul Kings at best.
Even counting His Highness and that female Soul Sage, we're nowhere near a match for five Contras. I'm saying this now—if it really comes down to it, I'm not throwing my life away."
The short Contra replied,
"It might not come to that. As long as we can hold them off for a bit, we'll be fine. We're near the outskirts of Mingdu. With such a massive soul power fluctuation, the city's detection arrays will pick it up soon. Reinforcements will definitely come quickly."
After discussing, the two Contras felt slightly reassured. If they could just hold out for a few minutes, they'd be saved.
Once either the Five National Defense Hands' Soul Engineer Regiment or one of the Court's Ninth-Rank Soul Engineers arrived, these assassins would have no escape.
Meanwhile, at the center of the convoy—inside a luxurious, palace-like carriage—Xu Tiannan was embracing the beautiful female Soul Sage he had met half a month ago.
Several maids stood nearby with heads lowered, eyes fixed respectfully on the floor.
The moment he heard the sounds of battle outside, Xu Tiannan's expression changed drastically. He shoved the woman aside and stood, his eyes sharp and his face dark.
"An assassination? Was it Second Brother or Third Brother?!"
Soul power surged as Xu Tiannan's Martial Spirit possessed his body. Seven soul rings rose in succession, and behind him appeared a massive purple dragon.
It was the Purple Destruction Sky Dragon, an exceptionally powerful martial spirit.
Although Xu Tiannan was only a Soul Sage, with this martial spirit, he could fight evenly with a Contra-level opponent.
Thus, he was full of confidence and not the least bit panicked.
After all, the Sun Moon Empire had only a handful of ninth-rank Soul Engineers—and none would bother assassinating him. The assassins' strength couldn't exceed the Contra level.
Xu Tiannan stepped out of the carriage, glaring through the barriers at the five black-robed, masked figures whose appearances and auras were completely obscured—making them unrecognizable.
Xu Tiannan thought coldly,
"Five Contras, and all of them eighth-level Soul Engineers. Two of them are even among the stronger kind of eighth-levels. This setup is… dangerous.
Hmph! My dear brothers really do want me dead."
He stared icily at Wang Yan's group, killing intent boiling within him. He didn't even bother to question who they were or who sent them—he already knew asking was pointless.
He didn't need to guess. He knew it was one of his dear brothers—either the Second or the Third Prince.
Once I survive this, he thought grimly, I'll kill them both—and wipe out every last person behind them.
But first, he had to survive.
To ensure his safety, Xu Tiannan immediately promised his guards a massive reward.
"Today, my life rests in your hands!
Your loyalty and courage will be remembered by me, Xu Tiannan. If I return alive, all survivors will be promoted three ranks, rewarded with a high-grade elixir, and fifty thousand gold soul coins each.
Those who fall in battle will be granted noble titles, their families supported by me for life!"
After issuing the grand reward, Xu Tiannan felt a pang of pain in his heart.
Though fifty thousand gold soul coins per guard didn't seem much, he had fifty guards—adding up to two and a half million gold soul coins.
That was enough to buy a high-quality ten-thousand-year soul bone.
As for the high-grade elixirs—they weren't as rare as spirit pills, but each still cost tens of thousands of gold soul coins. Even though the Sun Moon Empire had special gardens cultivating medicinal herbs, the supply was limited.
Still, compared to his own life, such material costs were nothing.
As for the two Contra guards, he didn't need to promise anything more—they already shared in his fortune and fate. Once he ascended the throne, they would naturally enjoy endless wealth and top resources.
Hearing Xu Tiannan's words, the guards were instantly reinvigorated, as if injected with chicken blood. Their defensive barriers flared even brighter.
Seeing their renewed morale, Xu Tiannan's mood lightened considerably.
Just five more minutes—reinforcements would surely arrive.
He quickly calculated the rate of barrier depletion and their remaining strength, concluding that lasting five minutes shouldn't be a problem.
With a cold smile, Xu Tiannan made a throat-slitting gesture toward Wang Yan's group.
"Dare to assassinate me, and you're all dead men!"
Wang Yan and the others stared back through the shimmering barriers, their eyes filled with icy killing intent.
They unleashed an even more frenzied barrage. The rate of shield depletion increased sharply.
If not for the defensive soul barriers, Wang Yan's five Contras would have long since wiped out Xu Tiannan and his guards.
But the disparity in strength remained. Three minutes later, the guards' defensive tools were nearly exhausted.
Seeing this, Wang Yan sent a sound transmission:
"Their defenses are almost gone. Brother Song, it's our turn."
Immediately, Xu Tiannan's grandfather Song Zhan and Wang Yan each took out a shell radiating a terrifying aura of destruction from their storage soul tools.
These were none other than the most powerful and difficult-to-create of all soul weapons—Fixed Soul Cannons.
Their production difficulty was so high that even advanced Soul Engineers rarely succeeded in crafting one of their own level.
The ones in Song Zhan and Wang Yan's hands were both eighth-level Fixed Soul Cannons.
Fixed Soul Cannons were the most terrifying weapons of the Sun Moon Empire.
The ninth-level versions could destroy entire cities, with power so immense that even a Titled Douluo would die instantly, and even a Super Douluo would be gravely injured.
Though eighth-level Fixed Soul Cannons weren't as destructive as ninth-level ones, their power could still severely injure Titled Douluo-level experts. One could maim; two could kill.
Naturally, Wang Yan and the others wouldn't attempt such an assassination without bringing devastating weapons.
The two Contras and Xu Tiannan went pale at the sight of the shells.
Without hesitation, the two Contras scattered in different directions—they knew all too well how terrifying those weapons were.
They might support Xu Tiannan, but they weren't about to die for him. In the face of death, all promises of wealth and power were meaningless.
Xu Tiannan saw the two Contras flee and was about to curse them—
But before he could even open his mouth—
Two mushroom clouds rose to the heavens with a deafening roar…