"This... this...!"
The Heaven Dou Empire's emperor stared in disbelief at the scene displayed upon the Heavenly Curtain.
Frightened out of his wits, he slumped directly onto his throne.
This emperor had never imagined that their mighty Heaven Dou Empire would, in the future, be driven all the way to its imperial capital by the Sun Moon Empire in merely a dozen-odd days, losing a third of its territory!
The Heavenly Soul Royal Family could only flee east like stray dogs under the cover of their two remaining Soul Engineer legions, relentlessly pursued by the Sun Moon Empire's forces.
Moreover, the situation was steadily worsening, as though the empire would be completely destroyed at any moment.
The cruel reality before them was a resounding slap across the Heavenly Soul Royal Family's face.
All the efforts and reforms they believed they had made were so utterly insignificant before the Sun Moon Empire's army!
"Relocate the capital. If necessary, we must relocate the capital!!"
Though it was something that would only happen in the future, it had already scared the Heaven Dou Empire's current emperor out of his wits.
Such a thing was simply unheard of!
If outsiders learned what the emperor was thinking at this moment, it would undoubtedly cause a tremendous uproar and spark massive public controversy.
As the highest ruler of the Heaven Dou Empire, when facing the enemy nation that would invade his country in the future, his first thought was not to make greater preparations to resist;
Instead, he chose the utterly spineless option of treating relocation of the capital as a necessary measure in a critical moment.
Shrek Academy is our only hope! Only after calming down slightly did the emperor begin considering how to deal with the Sun Moon Empire.
It could only be said that thousands of years of habitual dependence had made the emperor think of Shrek Academy at once.
Whenever disaster struck the original Douluo Three Kingdoms, Shrek Academy would always step forward to resist it.
Shao Zhuang must be richly rewarded and vigorously won over!!
Furthermore, the Heavenly Curtain had already exposed a supreme prodigy like Shao Zhuang, making the Heavenly Soul Emperor even more certain that the future lay with Shrek Academy.
Especially since Shrek Academy was located within the Heaven Dou Empire's territory, and Shao Zhuang, who would stand at the pinnacle in the future, was also from the Heaven Dou Empire.
Thus, the Heavenly Soul Emperor was prepared to go all in, clinging tightly to Shrek Academy and Shao Zhuang.
That way, even if the Sun Moon Empire launched an invasion in the future, they could still remain safe with Shrek Academy's assistance and avoid the near-collapse shown on the Heavenly Curtain.
One might have thought that after calming down a little, the Heavenly Soul Emperor would make more considered decisions.
Yet unexpectedly, he still placed his hopes in others, with no intention whatsoever of making any effort to reform the Heaven Dou Empire from within.
It could only be said that the emperors of the original Douluo Three Kingdoms were all like this. No wonder the Sun Moon Empire would unify the entire continent in the future.
Compared to the Sun Moon Empire, the original Douluo Three Kingdoms were simply far too backward and lacking in ambition.
"Attend me. Convey my decree: bestow upon Shao Zhuang the title of Duke Xuanyao..."
Having decided to keep clinging to powerful backers, the Heavenly Soul Emperor swiftly took action.
He immediately issued a decree granting Shao Zhuang the title of duke, with his former home city as his fief.
Once Shao Zhuang appeared on the Heavenly Curtain and displayed his monstrous talent, all the major powers had obtained his information.
Thank heavens such an unparalleled genius belongs to my Heaven Dou Empire. What a blessing amid misfortune.
The Heavenly Soul Emperor was still rejoicing that they had such a great talent, someone destined to stand at the pinnacle of the world in the future.
As long as they built a good relationship with him in advance, would their Heaven Dou Empire not be free of all future worries?
After all, having learned of the future beforehand, Shrek Academy surely would not stand idly by and watch the Heaven Dou Empire perish.
Lingdou City, Dou Ling Imperial Palace.
Watching the Heaven Dou Empire's near destruction on the Heavenly Curtain, the Heaven Spirit Emperor could not help but feel the sorrow of a rabbit mourning a dead fox.
Among the original Douluo Three Kingdoms, their Dou Ling Empire had the smallest territory and the weakest overall strength.
Their military strength was the weakest, and their foundations were the weakest as well.
If the Sun Moon Empire could destroy the Heaven Dou Empire so swiftly, then its destruction of the Dou Ling Empire would surely be even faster.
The Heaven Spirit Emperor guessed that the only reason their empire had not been destroyed first was its geographical advantage.
Compared with the Star Luo Empire, which directly faced the Sun Moon Empire, and the Heaven Dou Empire, which was extremely close to it,
their Dou Ling Empire was "protected" deep within by the two great empires of Star Luo and Heaven Dou, far removed from the Sun Moon Empire.
Thus, even if the Sun Moon Empire opened three fronts at once, attacking the Dou Ling Empire would require far more military resources.
"What good is holding out a little longer? It only means accepting death a little later." The Heaven Spirit Emperor sighed.
Tianyang Douluo appeared within the imperial palace and comforted the emperor. "Your Majesty, so long as the royal family endures, there will always be a chance to rise again."
"Besides, the Heavenly Curtain has thoroughly exposed the Sun Moon Empire's wolfish ambitions. So long as the original Douluo Three Kingdoms unite and stand together with Shrek Academy against the Sun Moon Empire, there is still great hope."
"Uncle Yang, I understand all that, but how can anyone guard against thieves for a thousand days?" the Heaven Spirit Emperor sighed.
How could he not know that this was the best solution available at present?
Just as they had done thousands of years ago, the original Douluo Three Kingdoms united and, under Shrek Academy's leadership, successfully defeated the Sun Moon Empire, restoring peace and stability to the continent.
But just as he had said, how could anyone guard against thieves for a thousand days?
If the Sun Moon Empire was not destroyed, then the original Douluo Three Kingdoms would have to live in constant fear.
"If only the Sun Moon Continent had never merged with our Douluo Continent?!" The Heaven Spirit Emperor suddenly indulged in that baseless fantasy.
Their Dou Ling Royal Family had originally evolved from the Heaven Dou Royal Family of ten thousand years ago.
Although the vast Heaven Dou Empire had split into the Heaven Dou Empire and the Dou Ling Empire, their Xue Family had still retained its royal status.
After ten thousand years, they had long grown accustomed to the current imperial borders.
Living on like this was perfectly fine.
But the Sun Moon Empire, with its wolfish ambitions, was always trying to unify the continent.
Alas... A trace of disappointment flashed through Tianyang Douluo's eyes as he looked at the emperor.
The Dou Ling Royal Family had enjoyed comfort for too long; it no longer possessed even a shred of fighting spirit.
With disaster nearly upon them, they were still unwilling to make changes, speaking such dispiriting words and even entertaining such unrealistic fantasies.
Was this the attitude an emperor ought to have?
Had the late emperor not shown him immense kindness, Tianyang Douluo would likely have long since found a place to retire in seclusion, rather than continuing to serve as the Guardian Douluo and devote himself wholeheartedly to the Dou Ling Empire.
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