Douluo Continent: Starting with a Heavenly Fire Judgment

Chapter 419 Mingdou Mountains

"Remember, saving lives is the most important thing, and stabilizing public sentiment as soon as possible," Xu Tianran instructed the Minister of Defense.

The Minister of Defense left, and soon after, the leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, dressed in all black, walked in without being announced. He seemed to be in a good mood, walking with a brisk pace.

"Imperial Preceptor, how is the situation?" Xu Tianran asked with concern.

The mysterious Grand Master said, "For our sect, this incident has been quite beneficial, as many of our powerful members have taken the opportunity to break through. However, there is a problem: the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Star Luo Empire, Shrek Academy, and even the Body Sect have all escaped. They actually prepared a large number of earth-burrowing soul tools and sent all their key personnel out. According to the boreholes we found, at least a hundred people were taken out. Even if there are any remnants, they are scattered among the people and will be very difficult to find."

"And the Zizai Sect has also run away. The Mingyue Hotel is completely deserted. They were lucky to escape when our sect was preoccupied with other matters. Otherwise, I would have crushed them to dust."

Xu Tianran's facial expression twisted. "Damn it, a burrowing soul tool? These despicable ground rats, strengthen the underground monitoring throughout the city. The explosion at the underground warehouse must have been their doing. There's no way they could have broken into the warehouse except by burrowing underground."

The exact situation of the underground warehouse has become a complete mystery after the explosion. No one knows the specifics, and Xu Tianran can only blame the Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire for the incident based on the principle of maximizing his own interests, thus making his future war more justifiable and righteous.

The leader of the Holy Spirit Cult said in a deep voice, "The losses this time are indeed heavy. Your Highness, oh no, now it should be His Majesty, when will you send troops?"

As the leader of the Holy Spirit Cult and the actual controller of this group of evil soul masters, no one looked forward to the arrival of war more than him. The arrival of war meant that countless soul powers would be at their disposal.

After a moment's thought, Xu Tianran said, "This incident came too suddenly. Stabilizing the internal situation is the top priority. Moreover, the destruction of the underground warehouse and the West District has resulted in huge losses for us. Most of the soul tools prepared for the war have been destroyed. If the Grand Preceptor were willing to commit his full resources, we could have launched our attack sooner, but..."

The leader of the Holy Spirit Cult shook his head decisively and said, "We can provide covert assistance, but a full-scale commitment is impossible. The Soul Master world has always been intolerant of us. Although we are capable enough to protect ourselves now, if we fully participate in the war, it will inevitably draw out those hidden sects. At that time, it will be even more difficult for you to complete the invasion. I think the war can be delayed, but we can take this opportunity to increase the hatred of the people towards those two countries, continue to increase and train troops, and do our best to produce soul tools to actively prepare for the war. Since we have already torn off the mask, we should start the arms race in advance. If we do not move, we will not move; but once we start, we must do it with overwhelming force, sweeping away all obstacles and achieving success in one fell swoop."

Xu Tianran nodded in satisfaction and said, "That's exactly what I was thinking. To deal with external threats, we must first secure the internal situation. I need to stabilize the domestic situation first. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I need to eliminate a group of traitors. I'll have to trouble the Grand Preceptor with this matter."

As he said this, a cold glint flashed in Xu Tianran's eyes, and a sinister killing intent appeared at the corner of his mouth.

The leader of the Holy Spirit Cult said calmly, "Yes, some people should indeed be held responsible for this incident. As for those who are innocent, we can say they perished in the explosion. The list will be the one you gave me last time."

"it is good."

Xu Tianran nodded.

The leader of the Holy Spirit Cult smiled slightly and said, "Then I congratulate His Majesty on his ascension to the throne in advance."

Xu Tianran said earnestly, "On the day our Sun Moon Empire unifies the continent, the Holy Spirit Sect will be the guardian deity of the nation. At that time, we will honor our leader as the guardian deity of the nation, and all people will revere him. We will then establish a divine position for you."

"That's all for later; let's take it one step at a time."

The leader of the Holy Spirit Cult was not tempted by Xu Tianran's empty promises and remained quite indifferent. He did not take the so-called divine position to heart. If it were really that easy to obtain a divine position, there would have been no one who became a god in the past ten thousand years.

After nodding to Xu Tianran, the leader of the Holy Spirit Cult turned and left.

The Mingdou Mountains, a continuous range of mountains, gradually revealed their outlines in the soft light of dawn.

On the horizon, a rising sun slowly climbs over the mountain peak, casting its first golden rays upon this ancient mountain range. The lingering effects of night have not yet completely faded, and countless stars appear and disappear in the sky, weaving together with the first rays of dawn to create a tranquil yet magnificent scene.

The mountain mist drifted gently in the morning breeze, like a veil covering the verdant forests, adding a touch of mystery to the land.

Birds sang merrily among the treetops, announcing the arrival of a new day. Streams babbled through the valley, their clear waters reflecting the ever-changing sky, shimmering like a silver ribbon weaving through a green ocean.

On such a morning, everything seems exceptionally fresh, the air filled with the fragrance of earth and flowers, making one want to take a deep breath and feel the bounty of nature. The outline of the mountains gradually becomes clear under the morning light, and those towering peaks seem to be draped in a golden coat, appearing solemn and sacred.

In this tranquil setting, Ji Lin, leading the people of Zizaimen and Dilongmen, finally arrived at the Mingdou Mountains, the border between the Xingluo Empire and the Riyue Empire, after traveling through the night.

Once you cross this mountain range, you will enter the territory of the Star Luo Empire. Moreover, the White Tiger Duke's troops and camps are stationed in the mountain range.

They no longer need to worry about being hunted down by the Sun Moon Empire and the Evil Soul Masters. However, even if someone were to hunt them down, Ji Lin and the others wouldn't be afraid. On the contrary, they would even look forward to a few Title Douluos coming to deliver their heads.

Not long after Ji Lin and the others entered the Mingdou Mountains, they heard the sound of horses' hooves. Dilongmen and Wang Dong'er became alert and looked in the direction from which the sound of hooves came. Ji Lin and Chi Yuan had already spotted the approaching group in the distance.

"They're one of us, no need to worry."

Ji Lin spoke up to remind them, and the people from the Earth Dragon Gate breathed a sigh of relief. They had no idea about the Free Gate's trump card, so they were on edge the whole time they were running away.

Soon, a group of people came into view. Leading them was Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger, whom he had met a few times before. He was dressed in military attire, riding a tall white tiger steed, with four close guards beside him, and a small squad of White Tiger guards following behind.

The White Tiger Guards are essentially the White Tiger Duke's personal guards. Even after the war ends and the White Tiger Duke no longer serves as marshal, his White Tiger Guards will continue to follow him.

In the White Tiger Guard, each squad consists of 100 men, 500 men form a company, and 1,500 men form a battalion. The entire White Tiger Guard regiment is only about three battalions, equivalent to the strength of a division, plus some special troops. This is the limit of the soldiers that Dai Hao, as the Duke of White Tiger, can command.

Dai Hao rode the white tiger steed in front, not very fast, with the white tiger guards following closely behind.

Each of them rode a dragon-scaled warhorse, clad in white armor, and the clanging of metal echoed throughout the Mingdou Mountains.

To prevent the Sun Moon Empire from launching a war of aggression at any time, the Star Luo Empire has deployed a large army in the Mingdou Mountains. Duke Baihu is stationed in the Mingdou Mountains as the commander of the Western Military Region, and also serves as the commander-in-chief of the three armies. He can be said to be the most important military official in the Star Luo Empire.

Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger Clan wields power in the military that surpasses that of the Star Luo Royal Family, also known as the Star Crown Clan.

This is also one of the reasons why Ji Lin was confident in persuading Xu Jiawei: what's the point of being an emperor if you can't fully control the empire?

The Mingdou Mountains stretch southward for thousands of miles from the border of the Star Luo Empire, the Heavenly Soul Empire, and the Sun Moon Empire. They are named after the Sun Moon Continent, where the Sun Moon Empire was located, which collided with the Douluo Continent.

The Mingdou Mountains have a very complex terrain, with jagged rocks and sparse vegetation. It is precisely because of this natural barrier that the Star Luo Empire faces much less pressure from the Sun Moon Empire. In addition, the Star Luo Empire itself is vast and rich in resources. Although it was originally one of the three kingdoms of the Douluo Continent, its overall area is larger than that of the Sun Moon Empire. With its heavy military presence, it has never allowed the Sun Moon Empire to gain any advantage.

However, while the Mingdou Mountains are advantageous for defense, the terrain makes it very difficult to deploy a large army. In addition, the mountain range is long and narrow, stretching for thousands of miles, which naturally makes the deployment of the defending forces more dispersed.

Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger often goes on tours to inspect the troops stationed in various parts of the Western Military Region. He has always been known for his strict military discipline. Over the years, he has managed the Western Military Region like an iron barrel. He has never suffered a loss in small-scale contact with the Sun Moon Empire's troops stationed on the other side of the Mingdou Mountains. This is one of the important reasons why the Sun Moon Empire has never dared to make any rash moves.

This time, Ji Lin and his group happened to run into Duke Baihu inspecting the military camp, and they met in the Mingdou Mountains.

Duke White Tiger, accompanied by four guards, quickly arrived before Ji Lin and the others. Through mental detection, Ji Lin could clearly sense that Duke White Tiger's four guards were at least at the sixth ring level, while Duke White Tiger himself had already broken through to the titled Douluo level and should now be called White Tiger Douluo.

Behind them, the White Tiger Guards were mostly Soul Masters, though not very strong, but some of them were second or third-ring Soul Masters.

For ordinary troops, this White Tiger Guard is definitely the elite of the elite, and they are all equipped with soul tools. Even soul masters with the strength of the fourth or fifth ring would not dare to confront this White Tiger Guard head-on.

It's conceivable that not all members of this White Tiger Guard were Soul Masters; some were ordinary people as well.

(End of this chapter)