Douluo Continent: Starting with a Heavenly Fire Judgment

Chapter 453 Strike First

"Are you sure you don't need my help? With my status and your Soul King cultivation, you should have no problem being a battalion commander."

Ji Lin looked at Huo Yuhao beside him.

"No need. I want to rely on my own strength to climb up from the bottom step by step."

Yes, the Star Luo Empire's military camp is Huo Yuhao's destination for this trip to the Star Luo Empire. Over the years, thanks to Fan Yu, Bei Bei, and the influence of Shrek Academy, Huo Yuhao has not forgotten his hatred, but he is no longer so extreme. He has now made his decision.

He wanted to rely on his own abilities, just like Duke White Tiger had done, accumulating military merits step by step to rise to a high position. He wanted to prove with his own strength that he was stronger than Duke White Tiger. He wanted to one day stand squarely before Duke White Tiger, standing in a higher position based on his military achievements. Only then would he reveal his identity and, based on his status in the Star Luo Empire, vindicate his mother and avenge her!

Influenced by the academy, his teachers, and his senior brothers, he understood that simply engaging in acts of killing, while providing temporary pleasure, was not what his mother wanted, nor would it fulfill her wishes. Only by honorably contributing to the country could he vindicate his mother, seek justice for her, and allow her to rightfully be honored because of him, becoming the legitimate wife of the White Tiger Duke!

Huo Yuhao was unwilling to take any shortcuts. Otherwise, given Ji Lin's status and Huo Yuhao's position as an inner disciple of Shrek Academy, Ji Lin could easily help him directly enter the army as a high-ranking officer if he wanted. But that wasn't what he wanted; he wanted to follow the path taken by the White Tiger Duke. The Star Luo Empire was his country, and although it hadn't given him anything, it was still his homeland. He would climb the ranks through merit.

Ji Lin stopped trying to persuade him and watched Huo Yuhao walk towards the registration area.

Ji Lin knew that with Huo Yuhao's cultivation and talent, it was almost impossible for him to surpass Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger Clan. However, joining the army offered a glimmer of hope. Otherwise, it would be nearly impossible for him to fulfill his mother's wish in his lifetime. Although Ji Lin thought that if Huo Yuhao went directly to Duke Dai Hao and revealed his identity, Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger Clan would most likely grant Huo Yuhao's wish, that was not what Huo Yuhao wanted. What he wanted was to take revenge on Dai Huabin and the Duchess and to rightfully trample them underfoot. Revealing his identity and hoping that Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger Clan would punish Dai Huabin and the Duchess was impossible. Moreover, he also wanted to trample Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger Clan underfoot!

However, what Huo Yuhao didn't know was that the Duchess had already died, and his only remaining enemies were Dai Huabin and the servants who had bullied him and his mother. The servants were easy to deal with, but it would be difficult to take revenge on Dai Huabin.

Watching Huo Yuhao successfully register, receive his uniform and weapons, and enter the military camp, Ji Lin shook his head, turned around, and left. With war approaching, Huo Yuhao joining the army at this time, although offering ample opportunities to acquire military supplies, was also very dangerous.

However, Huo Yuhao is still a disciple of Shrek Academy's inner court, a level six soul master, and a five-ring soul king. He has many life-saving items, as well as Tang Sect's secret techniques and hidden weapons. He has also joined the reserve legion, so he should have no problem surviving.

Ji Lin originally came along to help Huo Yuhao find a good job, but Huo Yuhao insisted on following the path of the White Tiger Duke and starting from the bottom, so there was no need for Ji Lin to go through all that trouble.

Just as Ji Lin was about to leave Yuming City and return to Xingluo City, he suddenly turned around and looked into the distance.

Besides him, many people in Yuming City looked into the distance, where a bright white ball of light suddenly appeared and shone in the distance. The ball of light was semi-circular and slowly spread outward. The intense light was extremely dazzling. Most people couldn't help but look away after taking a look, and dared not continue to look directly at it.

Only Ji Lin kept his gaze fixed in that direction.

What's going on? Has something happened?

In the next instant, the earth trembled slightly, followed by a rumbling sound like muffled thunder, and the entire Yuming City began to shake violently.

The people of Yuming City felt dizzy, and some even fell to the ground as the earth trembled.

Ji Lin frowned slightly and muttered to himself, "That direction seems to be where the Northwest Army Group is stationed. That's it."

With Ji Lin's current knowledge, how could he not see what the explosion just now was about? Judging from the power of the explosion, only one kind of soul tool could achieve that.

That is, the level nine fixed-position soul-guided cannon shell, from Yuming City, is more than two hundred kilometers away from the accident site, close to three hundred kilometers away. At this distance, the effect of the explosion can still be clearly seen, heard and felt. This power is very similar to the world-destroying scene when Mingdu exploded, and even more terrifying than when he used the Heavenly Fire Calamity to the fullest.

In other words, the effect of the explosion was not only that of a level 9 fixed-position soul-guided cannon shell, but also that there was likely more than one. The Sun Moon Empire did not shrink its defenses, but instead took the initiative and launched an attack before the three empires could initiate a war.

What a brilliant move to strike first! This was probably something no one expected. Even Ji Lin had always thought that the original Douluo Three Kingdoms would be the first to launch a war, since the Sun Moon Empire had only recently suffered a major blow and was in a weakened state. It should have been recuperating and resting.

However, thinking about it from another perspective, Ji Lin understood Xu Tianran's idea. Since war was inevitable, the three great empires would not give up the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. Therefore, it would be a hundred times better to take the initiative than to be passively attacked.

Given Xu Tianran's ruthless nature, it's not surprising that he made this decision, and the Star Luo Empire was clearly the first target of the Sun Moon Empire.

Ji Lin shook his head. In terms of the development of soul tools, the Star Luo Empire was far behind the Sun Moon Empire. Otherwise, with the strong energy fluctuations of the level nine fixed-position soul-guided cannon shells, they should have been intercepted at the border. But now it seems that they failed to intercept them at all and were bombarded by the enemy near the Star Luo Empire's border defense forces. This time, the losses will probably be considerable!

He didn't know how much the Western Army Group had lost, and if he remembered correctly, Duke White Tiger was stationed at the Western Army Group today.

A rumbling sound, like muffled thunder, came faintly from afar. Although the light was no longer as bright as before, the dense rumbling could be heard hundreds of kilometers away, which showed how intense the battle was on the border.

Ji Lin flew up to the top of the city wall, waved the token in his hand at the soldiers on the wall, and looked into the distance under the soldiers' respectful gaze.

Outside Yuming City, the Sixth Reserve Legion had already begun its operations, quickly entering the city with its weapons. Ji Lin frowned and asked around before learning that the Star Luo Empire's front line had collapsed. The Northwest Army Group ordered the Sixth Reserve Legion to immediately enter the city, using Yuming City as a base to build defensive fortifications and await the arrival of the withdrawing main force.

Ji Lin's lips twitched. You must know that the Star Luo Empire's western border defense line has been built up for thousands of years! Relying on the natural barrier of the Mingdou Mountains, it can be described as impregnable.

It hasn't been long since they were defeated. Although we overestimated the Sun Moon Empire's war potential, it seems we still underestimated them.

The man Ji Lin stopped and questioned was a battalion commander of the Sixth Reserve Army. His face was pale as he said, "The front line has collapsed. The Sun Moon Empire's attack came without warning. They used several level-nine fixed-position soul-guided shells to blast a huge gap in the relatively weak part of the Mingdou Mountains. Then they deployed at least four soul master regiments to give our army continuous blows. Under the overwhelming bombardment of the soul master regiments, they forced our Northwest Army Group to retreat and led the Sun Moon Empire's army through the gap in the Mingdou Mountains. A level-nine fixed-position soul-guided shell landed in the core position of our Northwest Army Group. The soldiers at the front have suffered heavy casualties and can no longer hold on. They are retreating."

"Where is Duke White Tiger?"

The battalion commander said, "The marshal is leading the army group to resist the enemy invasion with all their might, but the Sun Moon Empire is coming with extremely fierce momentum. Although the number of troops is not large, three of the Guardians of the Nation have been dispatched. They came too fast, too suddenly, and their destructive power is too strong."

If Ji Lin remembered correctly, the Star Luo Empire had deployed a total of nearly 600,000 troops along the western frontier. Among them, the Northwest Army Group consisted of eleven legions with a total of about 120,000 men, the Western Legion consisted of eight legions with a total of 80,000 men, and there were also 200,000 auxiliary troops, bringing the total force to nearly 400,000. Behind the border, there were seven cities with reserve legions, with a total reserve force of about 200,000 men.

Six hundred thousand troops is no small number. Moreover, the two army groups in the Western Frontier are undoubtedly the strongest in the Star Luo Empire, and their equipment is also the best. After all, the Sun Moon Empire is the biggest enemy. At least the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons that the Star Luo Empire ordered from the Tang Sect were prioritized for the two army groups.

In this situation, a major battle suddenly broke out on the border, yet it still managed to breach the Star Luo Empire's defenses. The Star Luo Empire's strongest Northwest Army Group was actually defeated, which shows how devastating the blow was from the Sun Moon Empire.

The Sun Moon Empire is coming on strong, clearly preparing to crush the entire western border of the Star Luo Empire in one battle.

After the Sixth Reserve Army entered Yuming City, the Fourth Reserve Army followed closely behind, bringing its weapons and equipment with it. It seems that the name Yuming City is about to truly come true.

Military intelligence reports kept coming in and out of Yuming City and the front lines. After the Fourth and Sixth Reserve Legions entered the city, they immediately closed the city gates and went on high alert. The most important granaries and armories were heavily guarded. The atmosphere was unprecedentedly tense and so heavy that it seemed as if water could drip from the air.

(End of this chapter)