Douluo Jueshi: I Don't Want to Be an Evil Soul Master

Chapter 316 Ambush
In the Mingdou Mountains, an army clad in white armor marched along the mountain path along the border of the Star Luo Empire.

The crisp clanging of metal echoed through the mountains and forests as soldiers rode their dragon-scaled warhorses, their bodies ramrod straight, exuding a chilling aura.

The leader was tall and imposing, and his mount was neither a horse nor a tiger; it looked like a variant of a tiger-like spirit beast.

The only sounds during the entire group's movements were the clanging of their armor and the footsteps of their mounts, demonstrating their exceptional training. They were none other than the White Tiger Guards of the White Tiger Duke of the Star Luo Empire.

Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger sat on the back of the white tiger horse, occasionally glancing around at the surroundings.

The relationship between the Sun Moon Empire and the Star Luo Empire is becoming increasingly tense. According to information obtained by the Star Luo Empire, Xu Tianran, the regent of the Sun Moon Empire, is already eager to make a move.

In recent years, the border cities of the Sun Moon Empire have undergone more than one transformation. Now, those cities may look like ordinary towns, but they have long since become solid fortresses, capable of withstanding the Star Luo Empire's army when retreating and providing support for the Sun Moon Empire's attacks when advancing.

Having been stationed on the border for many years, Dai Hao was naturally aware of this situation. Border defense had become his top priority, and he personally inspected the border almost every day.

However, just as he was leading his White Tiger Guards on a patrol of the border as usual, the White Tiger horse beneath him suddenly snorted slightly.

The sudden change in the white tiger's footsteps made Dai Hao, who was on the back of the white tiger, frown even more. He reached out and stroked the white tiger's neck, only to find that the fur close to the white tiger's skin was standing on end, as if it was afraid of something.

With a tug on the reins with his left hand and a raise of his right arm, the white tiger horse instantly stopped in its tracks, and the white tiger guards behind him also stopped.

The surroundings fell silent instantly. Dai Hao's gaze turned cold, his pupils flickering in and out of focus. For some reason, this mountain path, which he had walked countless times, gave him a vague sense of unease today.

An ordinary person might simply think they're being paranoid and not investigate further. But Dai Hao had already reached the level of a Title Douluo half a year ago. With the perception of a Title Douluo, any slight disturbance could be an invisible warning.

As the commander of the Star Luo Empire, he was even more sensitive to this feeling.

He then reached out and stroked the white tiger's fur, slightly calming its unease. Suddenly, Dai Hao turned to his adjutant beside him and said, "Pass down the order: we'll take a different route today. Everyone, be on high alert."

"Yes!"

The adjutant didn't ask any further questions.

Dai Hao personally inspected the border defense line, and there was naturally more than one route. The route he took each day was decided on the spot. Otherwise, if it were leaked, wouldn't that be waiting for the enemy to ambush him in advance?

The White Tiger Guards were well-trained, and the news quickly spread throughout the army. The soldiers immediately turned their dragon-scaled warhorses around.

Dai Hao lightly kicked the white tiger horse in the belly and took the lead on another route. However, just as they changed direction and had not gone far, the white tiger horse suddenly reared up and stopped abruptly.

Before Dai Hao could see what was happening, something suddenly rose up from the horizon, turning half the sky green.

The terrifying aura made all the soldiers of the White Tiger Guard look up into the distance, where streaks of green flames shot out, heading straight for Dai Hao's location.

"Not good!" Dai Hao's expression changed drastically, and he turned around and shouted, "Prepare to intercept!"

Although his White Tiger Guards were few in number, each soldier was exceptionally skilled, equipped with various soul-guided devices. Faced with the sudden attack from the Sun Moon Empire, they naturally had no intention of immediately turning tail and fleeing. Furthermore, the attacks from afar, having just crossed the Star Luo Empire's border, were immediately detected by the Star Luo Empire's garrison in the Mingdou Mountains. Large swathes of red light rose into the air to intercept the Sun Moon Empire's attacks.

However, the Sun Moon Empire's attack seemed to have eyes, and the Star Luo Empire's air defenses were useless in the face of these attacks. The green beams suddenly changed and completely bypassed all of the Star Luo Empire's defenses.

Dai Hao was slightly taken aback by the changes in the sky.

He was not surprised that the Sun Moon Empire would suddenly launch an attack. In fact, during his years guarding the border, he had imagined more than once that the Sun Moon Empire would suddenly launch a war like this.

However, to his surprise, with just the first strike, the Sun Moon Empire taught everyone in the Star Luo Empire a very real lesson in the field of soul tools.

The gap between the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire in terms of soul tools could no longer be explained using the terminology understood by the Star Luo Empire. All that could be seen was that the attacks coming from the Sun Moon Empire's territory were as if they were entering an empty field, and in the blink of an eye they were already close at hand.

These thoughts flashed through Duke White Tiger's mind. As a titled Douluo, he immediately reacted, and his already burly figure suddenly swelled up a bit, his short hair turning into black and white tiger stripes.

Nine spirit rings—two yellow, two purple, and five black—suddenly rose up. As the fourth spirit ring shone brightly, dazzling meteors, trailing long flames, shot into the sky like fireworks, meeting the attack coming from above.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom——"

A series of terrifying roars rang out. Even though the dragon-scaled warhorses ridden by the White Tiger Guards had been on the battlefield many times, they were pushed about by the aftershocks of the explosions and neighed repeatedly.

The other guards around Dai Hao also reacted, and various spirit rings rose up to help Dai Hao defend against the attack coming from afar.

However, at that very moment, the Sun Moon Empire's attack came again. Suddenly, a brownish-yellow light appeared in front of them, and in an instant, it spread to dozens of meters away.

The ground shook violently, the mountain wall cracked, and huge boulders kept falling from one side and rolling down the mountain road.

Dai Hao's expression changed. He stepped onto the back of the white tiger horse, his body leaping into the air to avoid the rolling rocks. However, some of the white tiger guards were not so lucky. Some soldiers with lower cultivation levels had not yet recovered from the shock and were subsequently buried completely by the falling rocks.

"Defense! Retreat!"

Dai Hao's eyes quickly turned red. These White Tiger Guards were all handpicked, each one an elite among elites. How could he not be heartbroken to see them lost so inexplicably?

He quickly realized that the attack by the Sun Moon Empire was probably aimed at him.

Dai Hao had no idea how the Sun Moon Empire had learned of his travel time, nor did he have the time to investigate. At this moment, all he wanted was to take the White Tiger Guards away from here.

"withdraw!"

With another loud shout, his second spirit ring lit up, shooting out a dazzling white light that cleared away the boulders. He then leaped onto the back of the white tiger steed and sped off towards the military camp.

(End of this chapter)