Smack—
Just as the shadow was about to place the bamboo tube under the large tree, a hand abruptly reached out from the shadows and patted his wrist, gripping it tightly.
This hand was like an iron shackle, making it impossible for him to struggle free.
"Who is it?!"
A furious roar exploded from the shadow's mouth. At the same time, he thought to himself: Not good! He knew he was completely exposed.
In an instant, soul power erupted from within him as he completed his martial soul possession. Eight soul rings revolved around his body, flashing with dazzling light. Especially those four black 10,000-year rings, which looked profoundly intimidating.
"Roar—"
A bear's roar erupted from his throat.
His wrist suddenly expanded, thick, hair like steel needles covering his entire arm. Just as he mustered his strength to struggle free himself, he counterattacked, slapping a palm directly toward the visitor's face!
Smack—
The collision of force let out a muffled thud.
The shadow's expression drastically changed. Not only did the hand gripping his wrist fail to break free, but it actually gripped a few degrees tighter. Furthermore, the sharp tiger claws and white hair undoubtedly indicated the identity of the person who had found him out.
"Commander?!"
An angry tiger roar echoed by the shadow's ear.
Smack—
A heavy foot viciously kicked the shadow in the face.
The immense force caused the stunned shadow to directly feel a sharp pain, rolling down the slope with a dull thud.
By the time the shadow recovered his wits, Dai Hao, clad in armor, was already standing before him. The dazzling light of nine soul rings was enough to make anyone clearly see the anger in Dai Hao's eyes, mixed with naked, visible disappointment, as well as an unstoppable tinge of pity.
"Why?"
There was no emotion in his tone, only calmness.
But this question left the shadow unable to answer.
"Mo Yan, why betray the country?"
Another pressing question, which similarly received a silent answer.
For the third question, Dai Hao didn't ask it out loud; he had already completely stood in front of Mo Yan, this traitorous Army Corps Commander.
He raised a fist, aiming right at his face...
Smack, smack, boom, rumble—
The sound of collisions, the surging momentum, muffled groans, until later pitiful screams rose and fell one after another in the woods.
After about ten minutes, Dai Hao was completely uninjured, with only slightly red knuckles.
As for Mo Yan, the Army Corps Commander at this moment was lying on the ground. His head had swelled up like a bun, and both his eyes had turned pitch-black. Blood dripped from the corners of his mouth as he lay on the ground, panting heavily.
A final glance of pity was left for this old brother who had followed him through life and death.
Crack—
A soul tool shackle snapped onto Mo Yan.
"Someone come!"
At his command, numerous soldiers and officers emerged from the forest. They had already been ordered by Dai Hao to set up an ambush here, just waiting for the traitor Mo Yan to throw himself into the trap.
The surrounding soldiers and officers looked at Mo Yan with complex expressions. But within that complexity, the overwhelming emotion was hatred.
Those who betray their country have always been despised!
"Commander, how should he be dealt with?!"
Facing his subordinate's inquiry, Dai Hao had already completely retracted his emotions. His eyes were cold and ruthless. Looking at Mo Yan, who didn't have the slightest intention to explain himself, he ordered: "Escort him back to the main camp. Pry all the information out of his mouth. After that, behead him in front of the troops as a warning!"
Once the words were spoken, Dai Hao left without looking back.
The earlier emotions had long since dissipated into thin air.
And hearing his command, the subordinate immediately took the order.
"Yes!"
...
Night.
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The wind rose from the southeast.
The fully prepared commanders had made all arrangements. Riding the Titan Giant Eagles, Xuanji Douluo and Suixing Douluo led the soul masters and soul engineers in the rear. Bai Sheng of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect led the various sect disciples in the front to act as the vanguard. As for Dai Hao, he led his personal White Tiger Guard in the center.
And every single unit carried the soul tools manufactured by Jing Hongchen, allowing them to shield all of the Sun Moon Army's detection methods. At the same time, once they reached their destination, it could also block alarm signals.
Taking advantage of the night, everyone had already soared into the high sky. Even worrying that making even the slightest sound would startle the forces below, whether it was men or the Giant Eagles, all held pieces of wood in their mouths, ensuring not a single sound was uttered.
The grand army marched south, finally arriving at the river valley.
"Everyone, the river valley is right below us!"
Dai Hao gave the order, signaling everyone to prepare.
Dai Hao drew his war blade. His martial soul was already attached. Though positioned in the center of the army, he was not just there to supervise the battle, but to personally fight!
"Burn the river valley, success in one battle!"
"Kill!!!"
With a single order, the Titan Giant Eagles swooped down from the sky!
...
"Eh? Why is the wind getting stronger?"
Tonight's duty officer, the Class-9 Soul Engineer Qiu Yu, felt the suddenly intensifying wind and couldn't help but feel a trace of surprise.
"Wait! This isn't just strong wind!"
At the same time, Xu Tianyuan was fast asleep in his tent.
But as a Class-9 Soul Engineer, his perceptions were naturally exceptionally sharp. Hearing the rumbling sound like war drums, he rolled out of bed and shouted toward the outside of the tent, "What's all the noise about?!"
The tent flap was thrown open. Along with a small soldier running in from outside, a gust of fierce wind rolled into the tent. "Commander, the wind outside suddenly grew stronger, and a sandstorm is striking."
"What?! A sandstorm!?"
Xu Tianyuan charged out of the tent, but just as he opened his mouth, a mouthful of sand blew inside. "Cough, cough, cough— This is a river valley, how could a sandstorm of this magnitude suddenly appear here?!"
"Where is Qiu Yu?! Where is Xu Tianya?!"
"Old Xu!"
"Commander!"
In just a few seconds, three Class-9 Soul Engineers gathered.
"Old Xu, this sandstorm isn't right!"
"Nonsense!"
If they couldn't see the problem at this point, they didn't deserve to be the Commander, Vice Commander, and Leading Generals of the Sun Moon Empire's elite Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Corps.
"Someone is raiding! Defend!"
However, in the next moment, under the cover of the sandstorm, countless light points suddenly fell, smashing into the defensive barriers.
Rumble, rumble, rumble—
Amidst the violent explosions, the countless light points violently detonated. The terrifying explosive power instantly transformed into the most intense shockwave, sweeping over the soul tool defensive barriers formed by the soul engineers.
This sudden massive explosion was something no one had anticipated, because previously, there hadn't been the slightest fluctuation of soul power detected outside.
Under these circumstances, with zero preparation, aside from the elite soul engineer corps who instinctively reacted, the ordinary soldiers, no matter how elite they were, had absolutely no defensive capabilities outside the overall soul tool defensive barrier. When this massive explosion hit, countless people instantly turned into chunks of minced meat, splattering across the battlefield.
Even a large amount of the grain was ignited by it.
For a moment, the entire scene had turned into absolute chaos.
"The rations must not be compromised! Old Qiu, personally lead men to put out the fire! If the grain suffers heavy losses, I'll take your head!"
"Everyone else, hold the defense!"
Just as his voice fell, a ray of golden light erupted from the chest of Xu Tianyuan, the Commander of the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Corps. The golden light transformed into a light barrier, pushing outward, while the remaining light points fell to the ground below.
He and Xu Tianya swiftly rushed to the forefront of the explosion. Joining forces, they propped up the soul tool barrier, forcibly holding it up.
As for Qiu Yu, he led troops to the river channel to draw water to extinguish the fire.
The big explosion came too fast. Although its power was terrifying, under the joint defense of Xu Tianyan and the others, it didn't take long for it to dissipate.
After the explosive power vanished, the casualties among the ordinary soldiers were unknown, but the number was absolutely not small. As for the soul engineer squads, three and a half squads, due to insufficient strength, had their linked defensive barriers shattered by the shockwave, directly blown to pieces by the explosion.
Just at this moment, the night sky, which had already grown dim with starlight, now grew speckles of starlight amidst the dark sandstorm and thick dark clouds. The next second, these starlights arranged themselves into a giant furnace, igniting with a dazzling flame, pouring down!
"Bastard!"
Looking at the massive fire, which would be unstoppable once it landed, Xu Tianyuan's mindset was no longer stable, his face turning iron-blue.
If these rations were gone, he was finished!
But don't forget, he had signed a military pledge!
"Thief! I'll f*cking..." Xu Tianyan was so enraged he started to curse, his eyes nearly splitting from anger.
But curse all he wanted, he couldn't let this furnace land.
He picked up a peculiar soul tool over three meters long, looking like a long spear—a Class-9 Decomposition Cannon.
He hoisted it onto his shoulder.
Xu Tianya took one glance and recognized this soul tool.
A Class-9 Decomposition Cannon!
Its value was astronomically high; even their Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Corps didn't possess one. That he had one was probably because their commander was tasked with guarding this river valley, so he was specially granted it for the occasion.
But upon seeing this soul tool, Xu Tianya immediately understood what their commander intended to do.
Aiming at the giant furnace falling from the sky, he immediately activated his martial soul true body, transforming into a Sun Crow. Accelerating toward the direction the furnace was falling!
A mouthful of white light was spat out, creating a barrier that wrapped around the furnace. But at this moment, numerous attacks violently rained down toward Xu Tianyan's Sun Crow. Almost in the first second, rays of different colors flashed from his body.
Invincible Barrier, Class-9 Defensive Barrier... As long as it was a defensive method, he activated them all.
Rumble, rumble—
Continuous explosions covered Xu Tianyan.
Meanwhile, below, Xu Tianyuan injected his soul power into the Class-9 Decomposition Cannon. Instantly, it emanated a bizarre, dark-green light!
Circles of dark-green light extended from the tail, ultimately converging at the tip. That green light was profoundly deep, and in the space outside the tip of the spear, a tiny black dot appeared, seemingly like a black hole.
However, this was not the kind of black hole that could swallow everything; it was the trace of shattered space.
Under normal circumstances, broken space would quickly close back up. But the broken space here was continuously maintained, showing absolutely no signs of closing.
Schi—
Amidst a piercing screech, a dark-green ray of light shot out from the tip of the spear. Its speed could be described as a flash of light accurately striking the defensive barrier.
The moment it hit, the defensive barrier trembled slightly.
Immediately after, green smoke rose from the barrier's surface.
Seeing this, Xu Tianyuan took action to adjust it.
The next second, the dark-green light suddenly expanded, completely enveloping the entire barrier along with the furnace inside, and pressed inward.
In the short span of a moment, everything inside turned into countless green light points, vanishing into thin air.
However,
Smack—
With a dull thud, Xu Tianyan was directly knocked down.
Only to see high above, an overwhelmingly massive number of Titan Giant Eagles completely descended. In the lead was a White Tiger, carrying striking purple-star light, shedding streams of purple-gold intersecting light.
Directly severely wounding Xu Tianyan once again!
At the same time, the Heavenly Star Furnace reappeared, directly trapping Xu Tianyan inside!
And then, inside the furnace, a raging fire ignited. Numerous holes on the furnace's walls continuously spewed out rolling tongues of flame, surging straight toward the grain!
"Seeking death!"
Xu Tianyan was instantly furious!
He wanted to stop it, but a White Tiger blocked his path.
"Dai Hao! You actually personally took the field!"
Xu Tianyan laughed back in fury, "Good, good! Today, we'll join forces to slay you first! This way, when we go put out the fire later, no matter what, we can at least save my head!"
"Bring it on if you can."
The White Tiger spat out human words. Then,
"Roar—"
A tiger's roar echoed. Up in the sky, Xuanji Douluo's array descended, spinning rapidly to trap Xu Tianyan. At the same time, purple starlight illuminated the night sky.
Seeing the situation turn bleak, Xu Tianyan went all out!
"Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Corps, follow my order, slay the enemy!"
As his voice fell, his seventh soul ring instantly lit up.
With the White Tiger's fierce pounce, a burst of smoke erupted. Amidst the smoke, an explosive dragon roar full of savagery echoed out.
A giant Evil Dragon, with a barbed tail, violently swept out. It aimed its head straight for the tiger's neck.
Dai Hao swept out a front claw, fiercely pressing the dragon head to the ground.
The next second, a ferocious, sinister dragon head suddenly thrust out from the smoke, aiming for the White Tiger's neck, viciously biting down!
But before he could achieve his goal, Xuanji Douluo's array spun, locking the Evil Dragon in place.
Immediately after, starlight sparkled, falling like meteors, fiercely striking down.
Rumble—
At this moment, an indescribable crisis instantly rose from the bottom of Xu Tianyan's heart.
But he didn't need to make any reactions himself. The touch-based defensive barriers on Xu Tianyan—the soul tool barrier, the Invincible Barrier, the Class-9 Defensive Barrier... almost all of them activated at the first possible moment.
"Old Xu!"
Qiu Yu, seeing Xu Tianyan being besieged by three Titled Douluos, was instantly filled with anxiety. But right now, he himself was also in dire straits.
Boom—
The Heavenly Star Furnace shook, crashing straight down!
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