Douluo Continent: Starting with a Heavenly Fire Judgment

Chapter 325 The Father's Back

Zhao Yang swiftly retrieved his golden helmet and armor from his storage soul tool, donning them as he charged into battle. Simultaneously, he used his actions and voice to stabilize the morale of his troops, displaying the demeanor of a great general. Of course, the amplifying soul tool also played a crucial role.

The Soul Master squad on the hillside, who had been cheering as reinforcements arrived, also heard the enemy's words. All eyes immediately fell on Orange.

At this moment, disbelief filled their eyes. They never imagined that the young woman who had been commanding them for the past few months, fighting alongside them on the front lines, sharing life and death, and constantly demonstrating wisdom and decisiveness, was actually the Crown Prince's fiancée.

Orange has never revealed her identity. Since joining the army, she has climbed her way up to her current position step by step by relying on her status as a level six Soul Master. It's unclear how the information leaked out and her true identity became known.

You must know, this plan to lure the enemy deep into our territory was originally her idea! For someone of such high status to risk so much. These Soul Masters all felt as if something was stuck in their throats.

A cold glint flashed in Ju Zi's eyes. She knew that there must be a spy by His Highness the Crown Prince's side, otherwise her identity would not have been exposed so quickly.

Taking a deep breath, she looked at the Soul Masters around her. In a solemn voice, she said, "He's right, I am indeed the Crown Prince's fiancée. But I am also an Imperial warrior. Today, I will live and die with you all. Reinforcements are on the horizon, comrades, fight to protect our hope of survival! Perseverance is victory! We will hold out until reinforcements arrive!"

As she spoke, she rushed towards the direction where the Duke's heir, Zhao Yang, was rapidly approaching.

Ji Lin was startled and quickly grabbed Ju Zi's arm. Due to the reaction force, Ju Zi was unconsciously pulled back and fell into Ji Lin's arms.

Ji Lin felt a bump from two soft mounds, and because of this bump, Ju Zi was thrown out of Ji Lin's arms. This all happened in an instant. Apart from the two people involved, everyone else only noticed that Ju Zi's figure was pulled back by Ji Lin as she rushed out.

Ji Lin was speechless. Good grief, he had finally decided to save Ju Zi, but this guy was actually preparing to go up and get himself killed.

He said irritably, "What do you want to do? Can't you tell that guy is a Soul Saint? You want to go and deliver yourself to his doom, huh!"

Ju Zi's face was slightly flushed from what had just happened. Hearing Ji Lin's words, she looked up in surprise. Of course, she knew Zhao Yang was a Soul Saint. Even if she couldn't tell on the spot, her intelligence was far from lacking; she had long since memorized the information on the powerful figures in the Glorious Duke's camp. What surprised her was Ji Lin's attitude towards her. It was clear that he didn't want her to take any risks and seemed concerned about her, which puzzled her greatly. Did they know each other before? Why was Ji Lin so concerned about her life and death, even more so than she was about herself? Could it be...?

Ji Lin also realized that Ju Zi might have misunderstood something. He rolled his eyes. He couldn't very well say that he wanted to use Ju Zi to destroy the other two great empires and then reap the rewards, and that Ju Zi was just a tool to him.

Saving you is only to make it easier to unify the continent in the future.

Seeing that Ji Lin had restrained Ju Zi, Ke Ke breathed a sigh of relief. She had been startled when Ju Zi was about to rush forward, and had immediately shouted, "What are you doing? The enemy is coming! Even the Crown Princess is willing to live and die with us; are we really going to let the enemy harm her?"

"We swear to protect the Crown Princess to the death!" A young Soul Master shouted hoarsely, hoisting his Soul Guidance Cannon onto his shoulder and firing Soul Guidance Cannonballs at the swarming enemy troops with eyes blazing with fire.

Morale suddenly soared to unprecedented heights. This was due to Ju Zi's bravery, and also to the hope of survival.

Orange lowered her head and whispered, "Can you let me go now? I won't rush out again."

Ji Lin then released his grip on Ju Zi's wrist.

At Zhao Yang's call, the previously panicked rebels finally found an outlet. The people on the hillside needed to survive, and so did the rebels! They knew, of course, what it would mean to be surrounded by the imperial army as rebels. To survive, they had to give it their all.

The intensity of the offensive instantly increased several times over. With the help of their warhorses, the heavily armored infantry quickly rushed to the front of the hillside. They even abandoned their weapons, with two men carrying a heavy tower shield as they strode up the hillside.

This is, after all, just a hillside, less than two hundred meters high. And there's not much terrain to speak of.

The massive army, like a surging tide, seemed poised to engulf the less than one hundred people on the mountaintop in an instant.

Although the Soul Guidance Cannon is powerful, it also consumes a lot of soul power. Orange and the others were already wounded and had already exhausted too much of their soul power. At this moment, they were only holding on by their belief.

Even the tower shield couldn't withstand the bombardment of level four or higher soul-guided cannons. The problem was, with the tower shield blocking the way, the destructive power of the soul-guided cannons was greatly reduced. The enemy was charging towards the mountaintop step by step.

"Get out of the way. I'll handle this," Zhao Yang shouted. He was thirty-six years old, in the prime of his life. The rebellion of the Glorious Duke, who wanted to establish his own duchy, was actually closely related to this heir. If it weren't for his ambition and reliance on the fortresses and natural defenses of the Glorious Duke's territory, how could the nearly seventy-year-old Glorious Duke, who was no longer a Soul Master and was practically on his deathbed, have made such a decision?

Zhao Yang is a genius. Although he is from the Sun Moon Empire, he has never liked soul tools since childhood, preferring instead to develop his own strength. He inherited his mother's genes and possesses a remarkably powerful martial soul, the Golden Bear. At only thirty-six years old, he has already become a Soul Saint. In terms of personal strength, he is among the top in the Glorious Grand Duke's faction.

The Brilliant Grand Duke, responsible for guarding the northern border of the Sun Moon Empire, suddenly rebelled, catching the empire somewhat off guard. The Grand Duke's explanation was simple: he only requested to establish his own duchy, with all other tribute remaining unchanged, and even willing to double it. He hoped to gain the Empire's recognition.

His Majesty the Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire had long been plagued by illness and had lost his vigor. He had not originally intended to wage war against the Glorious Duke, fearing the possible reactions of the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire.

However, Crown Prince Xu Tianran overruled the objections and firmly stated that the Brilliant Duke was a traitor and must be completely eliminated in order to deter all the nobles who possessed fiefdoms.

Therefore, the army that attacked the Brilliant Duke belonged to the faction of Crown Prince Xu Tianran. That's why Ju Zi, who was originally fighting against the Sea Soul Masters in the West, joined this war with a small team of Soul Masters.

Zhao Yang's shout also made Ju Zi realize why Zhao Yang was desperately chasing after their Soul Master team—because of her identity.

Faced with the Sun Moon Empire's attack, the Glorious Grand Duke was utterly powerless to stop it. Zhao Yang also realized how foolish it was to try to establish an independent duchy within the Sun Moon Empire. At this point, the Glorious Grand Duke's side had already fallen into disarray. The reason they were so determined to send out a small number of Soul Master troops and tens of thousands of soldiers today, and to relentlessly pursue them, was actually because their target was Ju Zi, the future Crown Princess whom they had learned about from inside sources.

If he could capture Ju Zi alive, he would have a chance to negotiate with the Crown Prince's faction. He knew, of course, that the one who was in charge of this war was none other than Crown Prince Xu Tianran. He had already planned his escape route and his demands were not high. He was willing to surrender and hand over military power, but he wanted to retain his fiefdom and wealth.

All of this depends on his ability to harvest the oranges on the hillside; otherwise, it will all be in vain.

The imperial army had clearly discovered Zhao Yang's objective, and the encircling forces were rushing over at top speed.

With a loud shout, Zhao Yang slammed the bright yellow flag into the ground. Using the springiness of the flagpole, he shot out in his golden armor, heading straight for the mountaintop.

As he ran, he snatched spears from the soldiers around him and hurled them towards the mountaintop. The spears shot up the mountain like lightning, greatly suppressing the firepower pouring down from the summit.

Zhao Yang is not one of those Soul Masters with substandard Martial Souls and Soul Rings. He is a true Seven-Ring Soul Saint.

He roared suddenly, his armor shattered, and his entire body swelled instantly, his height soaring to over 2.2 meters, his powerful muscles tearing his clothes. Seven spirit rings—two yellow, two purple, and three black—rose from beneath his feet.

Seeing the seven spirit rings shimmering, the morale of the Glorious Grand Duke's army soared, and they followed their Crown Prince General as they charged madly towards the mountaintop.

The soul masters on the hillside were almost at their breaking point.

Zhao Yang spotted Ju Zi in her white outfit at a glance, completely ignoring Ji Lin beside her.

Ju Zi also saw Zhao Yang. Her face was a little pale, but when she saw Ji Lin step forward to block her way, his not-so-tall back filled her with a sense of security, just like the father who protected her when she was a child, making her unable to help but rely on him.

Reinforcements have arrived and are advancing from the rear. However, the Grand Duke's army numbers in the tens of thousands. Annihilating them completely will not be something that can be done in a short time.

Zhao Yang was extremely fast. Although he was being closely watched by the Soul Masters on the hillside, it did not stop him in the slightest. Holding two tower shields to protect himself, he charged up the hill without regard for anything else.

"I'll do it!" Keke shouted, her Thunder Cannon already aimed at Zhao Yang. She unleashed her full soul power, and intense lightning light instantly concentrated at the muzzle.

As a Soul Saint, Zhao Yang possessed extremely keen senses. Sensing the danger, he hurled his tower shield towards the mountaintop, aiming for Ke Ke. At the same time, his first and third Soul Rings shone brightly.

(End of this chapter)