Douluo Continent: Starting with a Heavenly Fire Judgment

Chapter 485: Sleeping in the open air

Ji Lin maintained a distance of several kilometers, following far to the side of the Sun Moon Empire's army, heading straight north.

The army marched at a very fast pace, almost always at a jog. Every half hour, they would walk a short distance and then jog again. This marching speed was quite impressive, which shows the overall quality of the army.

After a day's march, the army had traveled more than 100 kilometers north. The air was getting colder and colder, and the Sun Moon Empire's army finally stopped to rest, set up camp, and cook their meals.

Ji Lin leaned against a hilltop. The cold weather had no effect on him. However, when he looked at the smoke rising from the military camp in the distance and then at the dried rations he had taken out of his storage soul tool, the jerky in his hand suddenly didn't taste so good anymore.

Ji Lin took a vicious bite of the jerky in his hand, then looked at the distant military camp and muttered, "Just wait, I'll let you eat and drink your fill first, and then I'll give you a big one."

The thought of himself eating dry rations alone in the freezing cold, while the army of the Sun Moon Empire drank hot soup in their camp, made him feel resentful.

Thinking of this, Ji Lin remembered the promise His Highness the Princess had made, and he was instantly motivated. Although this mission was quite tough, the reward was generous!

Even if it means eating jerky for a few more days, it's all worth it to get the princess to agree.

Leaning against the rocks, Ji Lin took out a map from his storage soul tool and unfolded it. This was prepared for him by Xu Jiujiu. It was not a map of the northern part of the Heavenly Soul Empire, but a detailed map of the northern part of the Douluo Continent. The map itself was made of sheepskin, which was soft and tough and could be preserved for a long time.

After a quick assessment, Ji Lin located his current position on the map. On this day of marching, the Sun Moon Empire was still heading northeast. A little further northeast, they would reach the border between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Fighting Spirit Empire. That place was already at the edge of the far north ice plains, and it would definitely be colder than here.

The temperature there is a significant problem even for ordinary Soul Masters; can ordinary soldiers really withstand it?

Ji Lin looked toward the Sun Moon Empire's military camp, activated his mental detection, and remotely scanned the camp. He quickly discovered that something seemed to be being distributed in the Sun Moon Empire's military camp. Soldiers were lining up to receive it, and each person received two small boxes, along with a cotton-padded coat.

The cotton-padded coat looks to be of very good quality, especially the cotton-padded shoes, which are very thick and look very warm.

As expected, the Sun Moon Empire was well-prepared. With these cold-weather garments, ordinary soldiers should be able to endure the cold weather for longer.

Even so, in the extreme northern ice plains, unless you're a Soul Master, even with cold-resistant clothing, you can only last a few more days at most. I suppose those two boxes are the key.

That night, Ji Lin set up a small tent in a secluded spot among the rocks and spent the night in the biting cold wind.

The next morning, he understood what the two boxes given to the soldiers were for.

Each box was the size of a palm, and the soldiers placed it inside their clothes, close to their underwear and tied around their waists. As soon as they began to march, Ji Lin immediately noticed that the inside of the box emitted a gentle warmth that permeated the soldiers' bodies and helped them resist the cold from the outside.

As expected of the Sun Moon Empire, they even have this kind of soul tool. Indeed, with this kind of soul tool, even ordinary soldiers can survive for a long time in the extreme environment of the far north ice plains. That soul tool must also have a sealed milk bottle installed, so the soul power required to maintain the heat is not much. But judging from the size of that small box, it can only last for a few days before it needs to be recharged.

However, the Sun Moon Empire's army also has a powerful Soul Master Corps. The Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps has three hundred Soul Masters of level four or above. Charging those Soul Guidance Devices doesn't consume much of their Soul Power. As long as each Soul Master is responsible for charging some soldiers' sealed milk bottles when the troops rest at night, they can naturally replenish their Soul Power.

The development of soul tools in the Sun Moon Empire is no longer limited to military use. Instead, it has begun to develop tools suitable for civilian use. If one day the Sun Moon Empire finds a way to drive soul tools in place of soul power, then soul tools will probably no longer be the exclusive domain of soul masters. At that time, ordinary soldiers will be able to use soul tools and possess the attack power of soul masters. Just thinking about hundreds of thousands of soul masters appearing on the battlefield would probably make even a Limit Douluo break out in a cold sweat!

Just think about how terrifying it is. Currently, the Soul Master army of the original Douluo Three Kingdoms only has tens of thousands of members. But once the Sun Moon Empire popularizes Soul Guidance Devices, even a million-strong Soul Master army is not impossible.

Thinking of this, Ji Lin shook his head. If the God Realm hadn't intervened, if he hadn't appeared, if no powerful man had fallen from the sky, even if the Sun Moon Empire hadn't launched a war and had focused on developing soul tools on its own territory, it would still have been able to unify the Douluo Continent within a hundred years. The original Douluo Three Kingdoms would have had a hard time turning things around; this was already a foregone conclusion.

Despite his mixed feelings, Ji Lin continued to follow at a distance, keeping pace with the army as they advanced towards the northeastern part of the Heavenly Soul Empire.

As the weather grew colder, the Sun Moon Empire's army slowed down. What Ji Lin had originally estimated would take a day took the Sun Moon Empire's army two whole days to finally reach.

As far as the eye can see, the snow is white and the wind howls, sharp as a knife. In such a icy place, there is very little moisture in the air, because any moisture will freeze immediately. The temperature here is at least minus thirty degrees Celsius, making it extremely difficult for ordinary people to survive in such an environment.

It was nearly evening when the Sun Moon Empire's army set up camp again. Compared to before, this time the camp was more tightly packed. The Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps tents, which were originally on the innermost side, were moved to the outer edge and arranged in an arc, facing the biting northwest wind. Like a alpha wolf protecting its companions, they blocked the coldest wind from behind. Among them, the commander's tent was right at the very front, standing firm despite the cold wind.

The other tents were arranged neatly and densely at the back; only this arrangement could retain heat to the greatest extent.

The wisps of smoke from the cooking fires had disappeared, and only occasionally could one see steam rising from some large tents. Undoubtedly, the cooks had moved their cooking areas inside the tents instead of outside; otherwise, in this freezing place, starting a fire would have been far too difficult.

Ji Lin expressionlessly took out the dried rations. However, the moment the dried meat he had just taken out of the storage soul tool appeared in the outside world, a thin layer of ice crystals began to cover it. He twitched his lips, and a ball of crimson flame rose in his hand, beginning to heat up the dried meat.

Ji Lin sighed. The Sun Moon Empire's army, though frozen for a day, at least had a bowl of hot soup to drink! Although he wasn't afraid of the cold, he had been exposed to the elements for many days in this icy and snowy land, and his life was certainly not very comfortable.

However, Ji Lin glanced at the endless snow-capped mountains in the distance, his eyes narrowing slightly. In his judgment, the Sun Moon Empire's army should not be far from their destination, because they had been heading north and had now reached the edge of the far north. If they continued to go inward, they would truly enter the far north.

Ji Lin had actually been to the far north and knew the harsh weather conditions there very well. It was absolutely impossible for ordinary people to survive there, even with the thermal soul tools provided by the Sun Moon Empire.

That kind of place can be said to be a forbidden area for ordinary people. Even if a Soul Master does not have the strength of a Soul King or above, it is a waste to go in. Without ice attribute, just resisting the cold will quickly exhaust the soul power and freeze to death inside.

This is just the environmental factor. In the far north ice plains, there are also a large number of ice-attribute soul beasts. With the help of the environment, they are much stronger than ordinary soul beasts. Once they encounter a powerful group of soul beasts, even the Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps will not be able to leave the far north unscathed.

The Sun Moon Empire likely dispatched the Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps to lead this mission because all members of the Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps are skilled in using fire-attribute soul tools. In this far north, although fire attributes are limited, they can also resist the cold to a greater extent. This is the best choice in the absence of an ice-attribute soul master corps.

In Douluo Continent, ice is a rare attribute.

After dinner, under Ji Lin's observation, the Sun Moon Empire's army in the distance finally made a move.

Under the cover of night, the Sun Moon Empire placed thick metal pillars around the camp. Some members of the Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps, dressed in crimson armor, were busy at work. They flew in the air, placing the metal pillars in specific positions and then driving them into the ground to secure them.

This kind of work would require the help of large machinery for ordinary people, but it's nothing for Soul Masters. Soul Masters are Soul Crafters themselves, and with the help of some auxiliary Soul Tools, they can do these tasks without difficulty. In a short while, they have already completed most of the work.

Could these be the soul tools that the Sun Moon Empire is preparing to mine for metal? Is the metal mine located beneath the Sun Moon Empire's army? Ji Lin looked curiously toward the direction of the Sun Moon Empire's military camp, observing carefully.

Those metal pillars were obviously heavy. Each pillar was fifty meters long and more than three meters in diameter. Their weight was unimaginable, at least fifty tons, roughly the weight of a Poseidon's Trident. It would take the combined efforts of several Soul Masters from the Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps to position them and install them on the ground.

(End of this chapter)