DD Black White [423-424] (Patreon)

Chapter 423: The Opening of War

The soldiers a short distance away were struck head-on by an invisible shockwave. Bodies were torn apart and flung like discarded rag dolls, their insides shuddering like frothing blood. More men were pelted by a storm of high-velocity shrapnel and gravel, beaten as if through a sieve, then buried alive beneath collapsing mountainsides and fortifications.

The orderly barracks and solid defensive lines of just moments ago were now engulfed in hellish flames, reduced to ruins steeped in death and despair. Severed trunks, chopped-off arms, shattered weapons were scattered over the charred earth. The screams and wails of survivors sounded faint and hopeless, drowned beneath the continuous booming of explosions.

The air reeked of blood. The scorched stench and sharp tang of ozone were suffocating after the Soul Tool energies had been pushed far past their limits.

Duke Dai Hao—pillar of the Empire, famed for his bravery and tenacity—burst out of his tent the instant the first explosion sounded. When he saw that scene of devastation that looked like divine punishment, even the disciples of the Nine-Ring Douluo around him shrank back. For the first time, a shock and fury he could not conceal appeared on his face.

“Enemy attack—full alert! Activate the soul-tool defensive formation to maximum power!!”

His hoarse roar was nearly swallowed by the ceaseless thunder of detonations.

Yet before the absolute might of a Ninth-Tier Fixed-Mounted Soul Guidance Shell, the hastily raised local Soul Tool shields shattered in an instant like soap bubbles under the sun.

All he could do was watch, helpless, as the iron defense line he had painstakingly built, and the loyal subordinates he had trusted like siblings, were swept away in a mad frenzy of destruction.

“Rescue them! Hurry! All who can still move, prioritize pulling out the wounded! Give up the foremost positions and withdraw in order to the second line!!”

Dai Hao’s eyes were bloodshot. Enduring the searing pain in his heart and a monstrous rage, he forced himself to restore order amid the chaos.

His tall figure stood like a tower in the light and smoke, constantly releasing powerful soul power to withstand the blast waves. One after another, he dragged buried soldiers out from under the rubble.

But in the face of power that seemed to come from Heaven and Earth themselves, an individual’s strength felt so very small.

This sudden, annihilating strike not only completely obliterated the defensive line of the Mingdou Mountain Range—it also released a horrifying energy that spread for hundreds of miles, triggering violent earthquakes, as though the entire continent were trembling.

And in the bloodiest possible way, it proclaimed to all of Douluo Continent that full-scale war had begun.

After completing the first round of strategic strikes, Ju Zi issued her orders once more.

The vast Soul Engineer army began to advance like an efficient war machine, swiftly suppressing the remaining resistance in the Mingdou Mountains and establishing forward bases.

They encountered almost no organized resistance. The core of the Northwestern Army had been completely severed in the previous bombardment.

Yet Ju Zi’s commands did not stop.

It was not that she intended to throw everything into a frontal assault on the Star Luo Empire. Under her direction, the massive mech legions, the main flotilla of floating battleships, and the Anti-Matter Legion silently changed course, bypassing the heavily fortified western borders of Star Luo and turning toward the North Sea.

Their next target was to launch a direct trans-sea attack on the Heavenly Soul Empire, ally of Star Luo.

This move to split their forces across the sea would undoubtedly throw the original three-nation defensive deployment into utter chaos.

As overall commander of the three armies, Ju Zi remained in the Mingdou Mountain Range that had just been baptized by blood and fire. She understood her own position very clearly.

Although she bore the title of Supreme Commander, the truly core, most powerful forces—such as the Anti-Matter Legion, and most of the units enhanced with the technologies of the Doomsday King—were not actually loyal to her. Their allegiance lay with Celenova and Phantylia hidden behind the curtain.

She was, at best, a puppet pushed to the front, a symbolic figure conveying orders.

With overwhelming power on their side, the Sun and Moon Empire no longer needed the subtle strategies it had once relied upon.

She chose to remain—not to direct the overall situation, but for the obsession she had buried deep within her heart for so many years: revenge.

The reason she had infiltrated the Sun and Moon Empire under Lu Jingming’s arrangements, the reason she had approached Xu Tiannan, struggled in the military, and finally climbed to this position—her original driving force had always been the blood debt owed by Duke White Tiger Dai Hao, the enemy who had destroyed her clan.

Today, war had erupted in the most tragic fashion right before his eyes. His army had suffered disastrous losses, his fortifications had collapsed.

But to her, that was far from enough.

Ju Zi wanted to personally witness the fall of the once-invincible duke. She wanted to end this long-entangled hatred with her own hands.

She stayed in the Mingdou Mountains shrouded in smoke and death, waiting like the most patient hunter for the moment to deliver the final strike to her prey.

News of the war spread with terrifying speed, like a blood-soaked plague, to every corner of Douluo Continent.

When the detailed battle report—stating that the Mingdou Mountain Range had been reduced to scorched earth beneath a Ninth-Tier Fixed-Mounted Soul Tool, and that the Northwestern Army had been almost entirely annihilated—was rushed to the Star Luo Imperial Palace, the heart of the Empire was instantly shrouded in a heavy gloom.

…

In the luxurious, oppressive palace, Star Luo Emperor Xu Jiawei sat facing his younger sister, Princess Xu Jiujiu.

The battle report between them seemed soaked in invisible blood. Every word on it was shocking.

Xu Jiawei let out a long sigh. A trace of fatigue and a sliver of relief both appeared on his handsome face.

“It has begun.”

For this war, the original three great nations of Douluo had prepared for many years, hoarding weapons and forging alliances. Yet he—no, none of them—had expected the Sun and Moon Empire to open this war in such a brutal, uncompromising fashion, directly deploying strategic-level weaponry to obliterate the entire Mingdou defensive line.

This was no longer a conventional siege. It was a war of annihilation, driven by the pure will to destroy.

He rubbed his brows, and for a moment, firm resolve flashed through his eyes.

“Issue the order to let ‘those people’ through… Any generals or nobles who might oppose our next decisions—especially those deeply tied to the White Tiger line—are all to be sent to the front lines as reinforcements.”

This order was merciless.

Xu Jiawei knew very well that the Star Crown faction had already made its final choice—to side with Haiyuan City, destined to lead a new era, and to stand behind Lu Jingming.

What he now needed to do was clear away any obstacles that might hinder Lu Jingming from successfully taking over a ‘cleansed’ Star Luo Empire in the future.

The Star Luo Empire had originally been founded by the Dai Clan of the White Tiger. Even after the Star Crown bloodline had held imperial power for generations, the influence of the Dai family in the army, nobility, and even among the common people was deeply rooted—like the empire’s second pillar.

If he wanted to pass Star Luo’s authority completely—and without internal strife—into Lu Jingming’s hands, then the White Tiger bloodline and its affiliated forces were the greatest obstacle and had to be removed.

On the surface, the deployment order looked like additional support to the front. In truth, it was a political purge—borrowing the knife of the enemy to kill, and using the front lines as a gate of no return.

“Elder Brother Emperor, don’t worry yourself too much.”

Xu Jiujiu’s voice was gentle yet steady. She rose, walked to Xu Jiawei’s side, and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, soothing his emotions.

There was no fear of war on her face—only anticipation for a new life.

“A new era is coming. This war is indeed tragic, but if we don’t use it to shatter this old, decayed cage, how can the hundreds of millions of citizens of Star Luo hope to live better lives in the future?”

As she spoke, her other hand unconsciously and tenderly caressed her still-flat abdomen with a quiet, maternal motion.

Within, a new life was quietly taking shape—the crystallization of her and Lu Jingming’s bloodlines.

The existence of this child would be the greatest guarantee for the future of the Star Crown line.

Her relationship with Lu Jingming had already gone far beyond a mere political alliance.

He had shown her a universe far vaster and more wondrous than this Douluo Continent—endless stars, different civilizations, even the existence of parallel worlds.

All of it had already shattered their old worldview, making them deeply aware of how narrow it was to cling to the throne of a single empire.

“If the old does not break, the new cannot stand.”

She spoke softly, then gazed out the palace windows as if seeing new life arising from the baptism of war.

“After this war, the name ‘Star Luo Empire’ may become something of the past. But our people will build a truly powerful shelter and be guided into a wider world.”

Xu Jiawei nodded. His sister’s words swept away the final trace of hesitation in his heart.

Rather than be the final emperor of a doomed old empire, it was clearly wiser to become one of the founders of a new era.

The collapse of the empire was already a foregone conclusion. What they should do was build the glory of Haiyuan City and the future of the Star Crown bloodline atop the ruins.

…

The news of war exploded like thunder, shaking even the imperial capital of the Heavenly Soul Empire.

When Princess Weina received the emergency situation from the front lines, the color drained from her beautiful face.

The Mingdou defensive line had collapsed in an instant. The heavy losses of the Northwestern Army showed that this time, the Sun and Moon Empire was far more vicious than in any past conflict.

“We can’t just sit and wait for death.”

Weina forced herself to remain calm and immediately contacted the Protector Faction—the Body Sect—through a special channel.

“Those fools relying on foreign technology in the Sun and Moon Empire finally couldn’t help but bare their true fangs, eh?”

The rough, heroic voice of the Body Sect’s Poison Immortal Sect Master came through the Soul Guidance communication device, completely devoid of fear.

“Don’t worry, girl Weina. I know well the truth that ‘when the lips grow cold, the teeth will follow.’ If Star Luo falls, Heavenly Soul will be next.”

He swung his hand, and even over the transmission, the sound seemed to shake all four directions.

“All Titled Douluo elders of the Body Sect, and the inner-court elite disciples—assemble immediately. March with the old man to the front, and let’s pay the Sun and Moon Empire’s Soul Tool corps a little visit!”

Weina acted just as swiftly.

Nor had she been caught completely unprepared. With Feixiao’s help, the Heavenly Soul Empire had secretly formed and trained a special soul master army: the Qingqiu Corps.

This army was fully equipped, with training that differed greatly from traditional forces, emphasizing mobility and coordinated operations.

Weina personally donned her armor, preparing to lead this ace force to rendezvous with the Body Sect powerhouses and hurry to the unstable Star Luo front.

They understood that faced with such a fierce military offensive from the Sun and Moon Empire, it would be hard for Star Luo to hold out alone.

If Star Luo were completely defeated, the Heavenly Soul Empire would lose its most critical strategic buffer. It would be hard to preserve itself alone—when the nest is overturned, how can any egg remain intact?

The same sense of crisis shrouded the Fighting Spirit Empire as well.

Though farther away, the Dou Ling royal family also reacted as quickly as they could. Their massive armies were being assembled, and supply wagons and fodder were constantly being sent toward the Mingdou Mountains.

They intended to stand together with Star Luo and Heavenly Soul to face the Sun and Moon Empire.

Under tremendous external pressure, the prototype of the Three-Nation Alliance took shape with astonishing speed.

They mobilized troops and elites, hoping to block the Sun and Moon’s iron hooves from advancing into their kingdoms.

However, all their strategic predictions and troop deployments were based on their understanding of the old Sun and Moon Empire.

They did not know that today’s Sun and Moon Empire had already been reborn under the support of two “extinguished” kings.

The knowledge and technology it had obtained from another world had caused its military power to leap qualitatively—utterly incomparable to the old Sun and Moon, which still had to rely on strategy and gradual advances.

Just as the Three-Nation Alliance focused on Star Luo’s collapsing borders, and Ju Zi’s Soul Master corps were preparing to finish securing the Mingdou Mountains, a fatal blow descended silently from an unexpected direction.

According to Ju Zi’s existing plans, the colossal mixed fleet—composed of large numbers of new-model mechs, floating battleships, the Anti-Matter Legion, and Doomsday Beasts—would not participate in the suppression on Star Luo’s frontal battlefield.

Relying on overwhelming mobility and stealth technology, they bypassed all known routes and, like a sharp blade hidden within storm clouds, crossed the vast ocean to thrust straight toward the comparatively weak coastline of the Heavenly Soul Empire.

The ambitions of the Sun and Moon had never stopped at Star Luo.

Their goal was to simultaneously collapse the Three-Nation Alliance’s defenses through absolute strength, and settle the struggle for continental hegemony in one stroke.

That was the true thunderbolt hidden behind the storm.

In another space, Celenova and Phantylia merely observed the escalating war like an interesting experiment, watching the flames they had personally kindled spread with complete detachment.

The Sun and Moon Empire’s seemingly secret troop movements were indeed enough to escape the notice of the three traditional nations, whose technology lagged behind and whose information systems were still primitive.

But before Haiyuan City, those forces were like fish swimming in a clear pond—their every move perfectly visible.

…

Within Star’s inner sea, torrents of information surged.

Hatsune Miku’s long twin tails of green hair fluttered as if in a wind of their own. Her consciousness was linked to the entire Douluo Star; mountains and rivers, plants and animals, even the faintest fluctuations of energy—everything became raw data flowing into her core.

Moreover, the roots Lu Jingming had quietly planted had already spread into the World Tree and its leyline network, stretching silently across every corner of the planet.

On this world, there were almost no secrets from Lu Jingming.

The Sun and Moon fleets crossing the sea, splitting their forces—their routes, their numbers, even rough evaluations of their combat power were displayed before him in the most direct way.

And yet, Haiyuan City, which knew everything, remained strangely quiet.

…

Chapter 424: Awkwardly Engraved Affection

Haiyuan City.

Outside the city, on the great martial drill grounds, elite troops stood arrayed in neat formations: the imposing Night-Return Army in full gear, the oddly dressed Fools, the armored and perfectly disciplined Golden Guard, and the Lava Knights wrapped in silver-white mecha suits…

Every elite unit was already on standby, blades gleaming, merely awaiting the word to march.

But that order had not yet come.

On Lu Jingming’s blueprint, the time for Haiyuan City to reveal itself was still far off.

Only once Heavenly Soul and Fighting Spirit were on the brink of collapse, once the Star Luo Empire had fallen into chaos and the people’s hearts sank into despair, would it be the perfect moment for Haiyuan to move.

This was a cold calculation, a grand piece of stagecraft.

Lu Jingming needed the old order of the three empires to be completely trampled under the iron hooves of the Sun and Moon. Only terror and despair could strip away their deep-rooted pride and tenacity.

At that time, the pieces he had already placed—the remnant forces of Shrek Academy, represented by Ma Xiaotao—could step forth under the most righteous and inspiring banner, raise their arms, and rally the last remnants of resistance from the three kingdoms.

And then Haiyuan City would descend as the savior.

With overwhelming might, they would defeat the seemingly invincible Sun and Moon legions, banish the Doomsday Beasts and his Anti-Matter Legion, and drag the continent back from the brink of annihilation.

When that moment came, with the unmatched deterrence of his military power and the great achievement of “saving the homeland,” Lu Jingming would naturally become the one and only hope and leader among all survivors.

He would unify the remnants of the three empires, forge a new alliance with himself as the core, and then suppress the Sun and Moon Empire—which might by then be weakened by the war—finally completing the de facto unification of Douluo Continent.

Drive out the foreign invaders. Unify within. Advance with the flow of history.

It was the path with the lowest cost and the least resistance.

As for all those who would die along the way…

In his eyes, they were merely the necessary pain before a new world could be born.

From the floor-to-ceiling windows of the top-floor office of Haiyuan City’s skyscraper, one could see the cityscape shrouded in overcast mist, and beyond that, the expanse of blue sea.

Lu Jingming lounged lazily in a wide office chair, rolling a flickering data crystal between his fingers.

On the light screen projected by the crystal, maps of the Sun and Moon Empire’s military deployments were displayed, along with the hasty counter-deployments of the three empires, and long-ago-encoded messages:

“The Star Crown bloodline is ready and awaits your arrival.”

All the information pointed to one conclusion.

The continental chessboard was moving step by step along the trajectory he himself had laid out, heading toward the predetermined endgame.

The corners of his lips curled upward, and Lu Jingming’s mood was very good.

His free hand absentmindedly, indulgently stroked the head of the violet-haired catgirl buried in his lap, her mouth wrapped around his cock as he teased her.

“Cough… cough!”

A bout of choking coughs broke the silence.

Keqing abruptly raised her head. Her violet eyes were misty, full of water vapor, and she glared at Lu Jingming with a mixture of shyness and complaint. Her fair, beautiful face was flushed crimson, even the roots of her ears glowing red.

Seeing Keqing’s embarrassment, a wicked amusement surged in Lu Jingming’s heart. He said softly:

“Be good. Swallow my cum.”

Keqing tried to hold his gaze for a few seconds, but in the end she lost. As though accepting her fate, her throat moved with difficulty. A faint gulp could be heard as she swallowed his semen.

She immediately raised a hand to cover her mouth, her eyes even more flustered and ashamed, as if she had just done something terribly indecent.

“You…! You couldn’t have reminded me… earlier?!”

Her voice, hoarse from sucking his dick, carried an extra sultry quality.

Lu Jingming arched a brow and smirked.

“Oh? Remind you of what? That you… swallowed my load?”

“You—!”

Keqing’s face turned scarlet in an instant, as though it might start bleeding. She hurriedly averted her gaze.

“Wh-what nonsense are you talking about…”

Watching her shy, incapable-of-loudly-retorting appearance, Lu Jingming felt the malicious little devil in his heart thoroughly satisfied.

“Alright, stop bullying Keqing. She still has things to do.”

A playful, teasing voice sounded from outside the door.

At some point, Changli had already appeared, leaning casually against the doorframe. She wore a well-tailored uniform that accentuated her exquisite figure, and her legs, wrapped in black stockings, were long and straight.

Her eyes swept over the redness at the corners of Keqing’s eyes and the way she unconsciously wiped the corner of her mouth. The smile on Changli’s lips grew even more mischievous.

“Need a hand, City Lord?”

Keqing reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, springing up at once. She hastily straightened her messy clothes and hair, not even daring to look in Changli’s direction.

“I-I still have a lot of documents to sort out. You two go ahead and talk, I’ll… I’ll head out first!”

Before she even finished, she almost bolted from the office in a panic, forgetting to close the door behind her.

Watching her purple figure flee in such a fluster, Lu Jingming couldn’t help laughing out loud.

At last, he rose slowly, took an unhurried step forward, and walked toward the smiling “culprit.”

Seeing him approach, Changli did not retreat; instead she met his eyes directly, gaze full of provocation. She lightly licked her red lips, her expression dripping with temptation.

However, Lu Jingming moved faster. With one hand he slammed the door shut with a bang, and with the other he snaked an arm around Changli’s waist, gently pulling her in and pinning her back against the cold wall.

He leaned in at once, deftly lifting her slender leg wrapped in black silk, resting it in the crook of his arm, forcing her into a very ambiguous, enclosed posture.

“You scared poor Keqing away…”

Lu Jingming lowered his head until the tips of their noses were almost touching, his hot breath tickling her sensitive ear.

“Shouldn’t you pay some compensation?”

Before she could answer, he captured her enticing red lips with unmistakable dominance—and at the same time, pressed his entire weight against her.

“Mm—”

Changli made a token attempt to resist, but quickly went limp, her arms winding around his neck like a soft water snake, responding with equal enthusiasm.

The teasing in her eyes dissolved into a muddle of emotion, rippling like a spring.

In the office, the tension of looming war in the air swiftly thickened into a hazy, intoxicating atmosphere.

…

Just as Lu Jingming was calmly scheming within the serene Haiyuan City, the fatal blade that the Sun and Moon Empire had long prepared had already plunged deeply into the territory of the still-stable Heavenly Soul Empire.

The long coastline that had once been Heavenly Soul’s natural barrier had now become its most deadly breach.

When the massive floating battleships, the torrent of steel mechs, and the Anti-Matter Legion appeared like ghosts within sight of the coastal strongholds, the wail of alarm sirens tore through the sky—but it was already too late.

No declaration of war. No warning.

War arrived in the most direct way.

Along the sides of the high-altitude battleships, dense arrays of gunports lit up with the light of destruction.

In the next instant, thousands of Soul Tool beams poured down like a storm of light, blanketing every bunker, watchtower, and garrison of the coastal defense line.

Flames from the explosions merged together. The once-solid defensive positions were shredded like paper and crumbled under the dense bombardment, each blast equivalent to the attack of a seventh or eighth-rank Soul Tool.

The defenders barely had time to form effective defensive formations before suffering horrific casualties from the first volley.

Immediately afterward, colossal landing capsules streaked down like meteors and slammed into the beaches. Their hatches blew open, and new-model Soul Tool mechs over ten meters tall strode heavily onto Heavenly Soul soil.

The heavy cannons on their shoulders spat tongues of fire, while the high-speed rotary chainsaws that replaced some arms effortlessly shredded hastily constructed makeshift bunkers.

In the shadow of these steel giants, the monsters of the Anti-Matter Legion spread silently, leaving nothing but devastation in their wake.

The Heavenly Soul Empire’s coastal defense line collapsed in just a few hours.

When the news reached the capital, the entire nation shook.

No one had imagined that the military blade of the Sun and Moon Empire would be so deadly and so swift—that it would completely bypass the main battlefield against Star Luo and deliver a killing strike from the direction least expected.

Princess Weina and Du Busi, who had just led the Body Sect elites and the Qingqiu army to reinforce Star Luo, were struck as though by lightning when they received the urgent report from the homeland.

“We have to go back. Immediately return to Heaven Dou City!”

Weina almost didn’t hesitate. Her beautiful features were stained with blood, her eyes filled with terror at the thought of her family and country’s destruction.

Star Luo was important. But Heavenly Soul was her root.

Du Busi’s face turned deathly pale. He roared in fury:

“Those damned Sun and Moon bastards!”

He immediately ordered all Body Sect members and the entire Qingqiu Corps to reverse course at once, rushing back to the Heavenly Soul Empire as quickly as possible to intercept the enemy that had already penetrated deep into the empire’s heartland.

The two sides finally clashed head-on on a vast plain—the Emerald Plains.

Once, this had been a vital grain production area of the Heavenly Soul Empire: fertile land, endless green crops swaying in waves under the wind, and the clear Feidai River meandering through, nourishing the fields like a band of jade.

But today, this plain that symbolized vitality and abundance was destined to be dyed red with blood and war.

There were no wasted cries or empty posturing. The moment the vanguard forces of both armies came into sight, battle erupted.

The Sun and Moon’s floating battleship fleet struck first, raining down fire from above. Soul Tool bombardment plowed across the forward positions of the Body Sect and the Qingqiu Corps.

Earth was blasted dozens of meters into the air. Flames devoured the emerald sea of crops. Smoke billowed upward, darkening the sky.

“Body Sect! Kill with me!”

Du Busi bellowed. A fierce green soul power soared skyward as he hurled himself at a new-model mech like a verdant meteor.

Terrifying power condensed around his fist. With a single punch, the mech’s heavy breastplate caved in. The giant body staggered backward while the shriek of shattering components sounded from within.

Spurred by their sect master, the Body Sect experts unleashed their might.

They relied on no external devices, instead pushing their martial souls to the absolute limit—some becoming titanic beings of raw power, some moving like ghosts at impossible speeds, some whose skin was harder than steel, some whose soul power made even soul beams struggle to pierce.

They were like a line of razor-sharp blades, slicing into the mech legions of the Sun and Moon, engaging these steel behemoths in the most primitive and tragic hand-to-hand combat.

The rending of metal, soul power detonations, roars and screams mixed into a single cacophony.

On the other side, Princess Weina led the Qingqiu Corps in confronting the terrifying Anti-Matter Legion.

The soldiers of the Qingqiu Corps were battle-hardened, equipped with special Soul Tool armor, and strove to fight these abominations with sheer speed and coordinated maneuvers.

Though the time they’d had to train under Feixiao was short, every one of them was an elite, risking everything to halt the Anti-Matter advance.

But they were vastly outnumbered. Two fists could not beat four hands. One after another, Qingqiu soldiers fell.

The aerial battle was just as fierce.

The Heavenly Soul Empire’s aerial soul masters and their tamed flying soul beasts tried to harass the floating battleship fleet, but were quickly intercepted by the Doomsday Beasts.

These gigantic bio-weapons roared with ear-splitting fury. Dark-red beams of energy scythed through the sky, turning several soul masters and their mounts to ash in an instant.

Titled Douluo-level powerhouses had no choice but to take to the air to confront these Doomsday Beasts.

Soul rings blazed. All manner of powerful soul skills clashed and exploded in midair, sending ripples of energy surging out again and again.

One Titled Douluo elder of the Body Sect managed to use his formidable ontological martial soul to rip a Doomsday Beast’s wing in half—but in the next second, he was engulfed from the side by the breath of another Doomsday Beast and plummeted from the sky with a desperate scream.

On the ground, the young leader of the Body Sect’s new generation, Long Aotian, never left Princess Weina’s side.

He had already entered the “Unity of Heaven and Man” state of the Body martial soul’s second awakening. His power was close to that of a Titled Douluo. Wherever his fists reached, ordinary soul masters and mecha-soul-tool-equipped officers alike were swept aside.

He was like an unbreakable shield, blocking most of the direct attacks aimed at Weina.

But the cruelty of war lay precisely in its unpredictability.

A thick ninth-rank Soul Tool beam fired from a distant battleship was originally aimed at Du Busi, to intimidate the battlefield. Du Busi evaded at the last instant; the beam, wreathed in an aura of annihilation, shot past and streaked straight toward Princess Weina’s command chariot.

The speed was too fast, the distance too great. Weina had no time to dodge. For the first time, pure despair appeared in her eyes.

“Your Highness, look out!”

At that critical moment, Long Aotian roared in fury. Without the slightest hesitation, he poured all his soul power into his limbs, shoved Weina aside, and threw himself into the path of the deathly light.

“BOOM—!!!”

Blinding white radiance swallowed his figure.

When the light faded, only a massive charred crater remained.

The Body Sect’s young master, Weina’s childhood friend and guardian—Long Aotian—was gone without even bones left behind.

“Aotian—!!!”

Weina screamed, her heart as if torn apart. Her body nearly collapsed.

Du Busi saw it all from the distance. His eyes nearly split open. He roared like a wounded beast.

Long Aotian’s death completely ignited Du Busi’s fury and madness.

“Bastards of the Sun and Moon Empire—die for me!!”

He threw his head back and howled. His body swelled in an instant, green light engulfing him. In a heartbeat he transformed into a hundred-meter-tall green giant—towering, heavily muscled, and monstrous of face.

This was his true Martial Soul Avatar.