Douluo 2: This Dragon God has too much martial virtue

Chapter 549 Since things have come to this, might as well just die.
The Star Luo Empire was not entirely without a countermeasure. The most direct way was to recover the fallen cities as soon as possible and defend them at all costs. Only in this way could they barely maintain the front line.

However, looking at the bigger picture, the situation is far from optimistic. Within the Sun Moon Empire, soul-guided technology has already penetrated into the homes of ordinary people. As for the occupied Star Luo territories, reclaiming them would be an impossible task, because compared to the Sun Moon Empire, the Star Luo Empire's soul-guided technology is far too backward.

Even if the Sun Moon Empire ceases its offensive, as long as the status quo is maintained, the people in the occupied territories will genuinely submit within a few years. At that time, the Sun Moon Empire will gain more resources and manpower, and the development of its soul-guided technology will inevitably advance by leaps and bounds, widening the gap with Star Luo even further. If the Heavenly Soul Empire had not planned ahead and kept pace with the times thousands of years ago, the Sun Moon Empire's unification of the continent would probably have already become an irreversible historical fact.

The wheels of history roll ever onward, and perhaps the continental landscape will eventually resemble the confrontation between the two great empires of Tian Dou and Xing Luo ten thousand years ago. However, times have changed, and today, ten thousand years later, the protagonists of this epic battle will ultimately be the two great empires of Tian Hun and Ri Yue.

Huo Yuhao pondered to himself that the Heavenly Soul Empire had lost nearly a quarter of its territory in the beast tide, and would inevitably seek compensation from elsewhere. He recalled that this empire was originally a product of the split of the Heavenly Battle ten thousand years ago. Back then, the Heavenly Battle split in two, transforming into the present-day Heavenly Soul and Battle Spirit.

The Douling Empire has the smallest territory and the weakest national strength. Its reserves of Soul Masters and its Soul Guidance Technology are far behind, with only the East Sea coast being rich in rare spiritual herbs. Perhaps… the Heavenly Soul will seize this opportunity to annex Douling and recreate the former glory of the Heavenly Dou Empire?

As for whether the Sun Moon Empire will take this opportunity to attack the Heavenly Soul Empire, what a joke! Isn't the Sun Moon Empire an asset of the Dragon Pavilion?

Huo Yuhao's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a blinding light that appeared from the direction of the Mingdou Mountains. Countless brilliant lights exploded in the night sky, illuminating the entire heavens as if it were daytime. The deadly trajectories of soul-guided rays intertwined into a net, the flames of soul-guided cannons rose and fell, and a violent energy storm raged in the clouds.

After a long while, she suddenly stood up. "The battle has begun?" She looked up at Huo Yuhao, her fingertips unconsciously digging into her palms once again. "Does your promise from earlier still stand?"

"Of course." No matter how many times she asked, Huo Yuhao would give the same answer.

After receiving the promise, her tense nerves finally relaxed slightly. She rushed out of the room; now she had to act quickly to mobilize her forces.

Huo Yuhao gazed at her departing figure, a sudden curiosity rising within him. If judged solely on battlefield command abilities, how did this Star Luo Princess compare to the youngest marshal of the Sun Moon Empire?

As soon as the battle began, Xu Jiujiu dispatched hundreds of Soul Masters to mingle with the army and confront the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Master Corps. This scene could be described as the pinnacle of the continent's highest-level military confrontation. However, Huo Yuhao, merely observing the battle from afar with his spiritual detection, discovered that the Sun Moon Empire's front line had more than three thousand attack points simultaneously unleashing artillery fire.

Soul-guided artillery formed the main force for long-range strikes, while soul-guided rays served as auxiliary tools for precision strikes. Although those azure rays were not as long as the soul-guided cannons, they possessed terrifying penetrating power and agility. The entire battlefield formed a perfect firepower hierarchy, with a sky full of soul-guided shells in the distance and a deadly storm of soul-guided rays intertwined nearby.

Huo Yuhao secretly estimated that even if he gathered all the soul tools originally belonging to the Douluo Three Kingdoms except for the Heavenly Soul, it probably wouldn't be enough to match the firepower density on the Mingdou Mountain Range at this moment. Those constantly flashing soul tool arrays were interpreting the changing of the times in the most brutal way.

Such a massive array of soul tools would inevitably require an astonishing number of soul masters to operate in coordination. Clearly, Orange had made thorough preparations for this battle. With the support of sealed, charged soul tool technology, even low-level soul masters could unleash mid-level combat power; as long as the supply of charged soul tools was sufficient, their firepower output could be continuous. This technological innovation caused the destructive power and lethality of the Sun Moon Army to increase exponentially.

The Star Luo Empire mobilized over five thousand Soul Masters to the front lines, but only a little over five hundred were actually deployed for the attack. However, this elite force consisted entirely of Soul Saints and above.

An army of five hundred Soul Saints, if engaged in a head-on confrontation within a limited area, might not necessarily gain the upper hand even if there were three times the number of Level Seven Soul Masters. After reaching the Soul Saint realm, ordinary soul tools are no longer a threat to them; only high-level soul tools or dense barrages can be effective.

These Soul Saint level experts did not launch a reckless attack, but instead continuously launched probing attacks. Like a group of experienced hunters, they were both depleting the Sun Moon Empire's reserves of charged soul tools and patiently waiting for the opportune moment to deliver the fatal blow. On the surface, this indeed seemed to be the best tactic that could be deployed for a long time, achieving maximum damage to the opponent with minimal losses.

However, on a battlefield of this scale, individual combat power becomes insignificant. On the Sun Moon Empire's side, all detection soul tools are operating at full power, creating an impenetrable surveillance network. In contrast, the Star Luo Empire has virtually no soul tools capable of launching an effective counterattack.

As time passed, the soul-guided artillery fire from the direction of the Mingdou Mountains clearly began to weaken, indicating that the continuous supply of charged soul tools had its limits. Especially those high-level soul tools capable of threatening a seventh-ring Soul Saint; each launch was frantically consuming the soul power reserves of the charged soul tools and the soul masters. This protracted battle had undoubtedly exhausted countless precious charged soul tools and the energy of the soul masters.

The Star Luo Empire astutely detected this shift and immediately began to advance, attempting to apply further pressure. The Sun Moon Empire's defenses then erupted in a final, fierce counterattack, temporarily forcing back the attacking Soul Masters. However, after this initial burst, their firepower clearly began to wane, waning even more significantly.

On the surface, the scales of victory seem to be tipping in Xingluo's favor. After all, they still have thousands of Soul Masters who haven't yet joined the battle. Once the high-level Soul Masters break through the defenses, the follow-up troops will swarm in, and taking over the Mingdou Mountains should be a piece of cake. After all, terrain advantage is ultimately limited in the face of absolute strength.

However, Huo Yuhao, who was watching from afar, suddenly had a strange feeling. The Eye of Destiny gave him a faint warning, which, combined with his understanding of Ju Zi, made him certain that the woman was plotting something in the dark. Following the mysterious guidance of fate, he used his mental detection to scan the ground. Immediately afterward, his pupils contracted sharply, and he almost instinctively wanted to withdraw his outward mental energy.

As expected of her senior, she actually came up with the wicked idea of ​​using a level-nine fixed-position soul-guided cannon shell as a landmine! But thinking about it, it makes sense; she could even devise the cruel torture of having her subordinates take turns sterilizing Dai Hao, what else wouldn't she do? The Star Luo Empire's soul master legion advanced once more, this time the Sun Moon Empire's resistance noticeably weakened. The soul masters had closed in to a point where they could directly bombard the Ming Dou Mountain range's defensive positions with ranged soul skills. In the night sky, the soul rings on the bodies of hundreds of Soul Saint powerhouses lit up one after another, their dazzling light forming a continuous expanse. If just a third of them successfully launched their attacks, it would be enough to inflict a devastating blow on the Sun Moon defense line.

At this crucial moment, everyone felt the earth begin to tremble slightly. This familiar fluctuation was exactly the same as when the Northwest Army Group was attacked by level-nine fixed-position soul-guided artillery shells!
The ground beneath the Soul Saints, who were gathering for their charge, suddenly collapsed. The next second, the entire earth roared deafeningly, and the sand and gravel from the collapse surged back into the sky at a hundred times the normal speed. A mushroom cloud of death rose into the air with earth-shattering power, and the scorching shockwave, carrying debris and rubble, spread out in a ring. Half of the Soul Saints who had just released their Martial Souls were instantly annihilated in this earth-shattering explosion.

"This...how is this possible?!" Xu stood frozen in place for a long time, staring at the mushroom cloud that was still churning dozens of miles away. The continuous tremors of the earth reached her feet, and her eyes were filled with indescribable fear and despair.

To her even greater despair, the already weakened soul-guided artillery fire erupted once more like a volcanic eruption! Soul-guided rays and shells, even more ferocious than before, formed a deathly barrage, raining down on the still-shocked Soul Saints. In a mere instant, this elite force of five hundred Soul Saints crumbled, the survivors fleeing in all directions, disregarding their dignity. The once fierce battlefield was instantly emptied.

It seems that the senior student is still better! Huo Yuhao had already made up his mind.

The Star Luo Empire's offensive froze instantly. Though their army was arrayed in the distance, they remained motionless, as if frozen in place. Huo Yuhao didn't need to witness it firsthand to imagine the Star Luo military in utter chaos. The loss of over two hundred Soul Saint level experts was enough to shake the very foundations of the nation. Even more devastating was the fact that the Star Luo Empire's recently revived morale had been completely shattered by this devastating blow.

Inside the Star Luo Empire's temporary command tent, Xu Jiujiu's face was deathly pale, mirroring the white soft armor she wore. Although the battle had temporarily ceased, the mushroom cloud rising from the direction of the Mingdou Mountains cast a shadow over everyone's hearts. The moment that level-nine fixed-position soul-guided cannon exploded, she felt her soul shatter. More than two hundred Soul Saints perished simultaneously, including more than a dozen Soul Douluos. Such losses were arguably the most devastating since the founding of the Star Luo Empire.

What's even more unacceptable is that after paying such a heavy price, they failed to inflict the slightest damage on the enemy. This tactic was entirely devised by her personally, after all, the entire Soul Master Legion was under her control.

Originally, the White Tiger Duke's former subordinates advocated concentrating elite forces to break through the Sun Moon Empire's air blockade at all costs. However, due to his resentment and dissatisfaction with Dai Hao, Xu Jiujiu overruled the objections and decided to send out Soul Saint-level experts for probing attacks, intending to wear down the enemy's defenses before launching a general offensive.

However, harsh reality proved that her decision was a grave mistake. Her command of the Soul Master Legion to attack, despite her status as a princess, resulted in the complete annihilation of her elite forces. The Soul Master Legion commanders gathered in the tent now looked at her with eyes devoid of their former respect, only cold doubt and disappointment remaining.

She took a deep breath and stood up abruptly. The princess, who was always proud, now had a firm look in her eyes and a steady, powerful voice: "The defeat in this battle was all due to my stubbornness and tactical mistakes, which caused heavy casualties to our army. I should apologize to His Majesty. From this moment on, I will fully cooperate with you all and obey the orders and commands of each legion commander."

As a core member of the royal family, she knew better than anyone what was most important at the moment—the entire nation must unite to fight the enemy. Therefore, she did not hesitate to set aside her princess dignity and publicly admit her mistake.

Although the generals were quite dissatisfied with the princess's previous autocratic actions, they all understood that the overall situation was paramount. The immediate priority was to reverse the decline, not to assign blame. The situation was already critical. The Sun Moon Empire had repeatedly demonstrated the terrifying power of its soul-guided technology with level-nine fixed-position soul-guided shells. Even more fatal was the fact that the Star Luo military had completely lost its battlefield reconnaissance capabilities. Completely unaware of the enemy's movements, they were entirely exposed to enemy surveillance. How could they possibly fight this battle?
After a long silence, she returned to her seat, relinquishing all command. Suddenly, she thought, what if Huo Yuhao, this spirit-type soul master, had offered his help back then… This thought was quickly suppressed; now was not the time for regret. Even if she harbored resentment, she had to conceal it perfectly. After all, although Huo Yuhao claimed to be a citizen of Star Luo, given his demonstrated strength, if Xu Jiujiu showed even the slightest dissatisfaction at this moment, it could very well push the Star Luo Empire into an even more difficult situation. He wouldn't care whether she was a princess or not.

The military conference lasted until dawn. When the last general left the command tent, he remained seated in his original position like a statue for a long time, without changing his posture at all.

Huo Yuhao silently pulled out the chair next to her. The sound of the wooden chair scraping against the floor made Xu Jiujiu shudder. She turned her head blankly, her unfocused gaze gradually focusing on the boy's face. Suddenly, she stood up abruptly, then knelt heavily on the ground again.

"Your Majesty, what should we do now?" She no longer addressed Huo Yuhao by his name directly, but instead used the respectful title reserved for a Title Douluo. "Please help me... save Xingluo..."

Huo Yuhao did not directly respond to her request, but instead recounted a past event: "When I was a child, my knowledge of history came from the myths and legends my mother told me. It wasn't until I came to Dragon City with my teacher that I began to seriously study history."

He turned his back to look at the gradually brightening sky outside the tent: "My teacher once said that before the Holy War began more than four thousand years ago, the original Douluo Three Kingdoms were dotted with duchies and kingdoms. When the country was in danger of extinction, if those monarchs chose to die for their country, the greatest sin they would be condemned in history would only be 'incompetence'."

"What do you mean by this?!" Xu Jiujiu trembled and looked at Huo Yuhao in disbelief. She had thought this was her only lifeline, but judging from Huo Yuhao's words, he was planning to let her die.

“Therefore, I suggest you write a letter to His Majesty, and that you and your sister die for your country together.” Huo Yuhao bowed slightly. “This can prove to history that all your crimes stemmed from a failure of methodology, not from a flawed value system. Your Highness, you cannot only love your country when you win. Dying for your country proves that you still love your country when you lose, proving that your methods were flawed, not that your initial intentions were flawed.”

Sending so many high-level Soul Masters to the enemy country in one go, any country would have to atone with death, right?

　Is it acceptable to die for one's country? Yes, it is!
　　Huh? It looks like something weird is stuck in there (((Д;)??)
　　(End of this chapter)