Holy Demon Federation VS Heaven Dou Empire! The First Battle Begins!

After saying this, Long Haochen calmly stepped into the air and departed.

He left behind a crowd of powerful natives of the Douluo Continent.

Whether it was Sword Douluo Chen Xin, or Martial Soul Hall's Thousand Jun and Falling Devil, their expressions were all very ugly at this moment.

Yet, with a tacit understanding, none of them rashly launched an attack. All that talk about "not killing the messenger" was nonsense; the main reason was the fluctuations hidden in the shadows.

Just as Long Haochen and Dugu Bo turned and flew away one after another, the auras belonging to Chen Zidian and the other five erupted from within the Sunset Forest simultaneously.

The warning was quite blunt, and the concerns in everyone's hearts were pushed to the limit.

Last time, in a six-on-six melee, they hadn't gained the slightest upper hand.

Now that the opposition had gained a traitor and another young ninth-rank powerhouse, the odds of winning in a real fight were extremely low.

Even Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin, who most wanted to make a move, fell into hesitation. After a slight delay, Long Haochen and Dugu Bo were already far away.

"Everyone, what do you think?"

They certainly didn't dare to pursue, so Yu Yuanzhen decisively changed the subject.

They never expected the other side to pull this move, deliberately issuing an ultimatum.

The impact of those few simple words on these powerful individuals was actually minimal.

The problem was that the camp didn't just contain Title Douluo; below were thousands of imperial soldiers and a small number of soul masters from the Upper Three Sects.

More importantly, there were the freelance soul masters who had come to the periphery to collect bounties and take risks, as well as a large number of mercenary groups. What would be the reaction of these people after hearing that?

"Hmph, using such despicable means to shake the morale of the army only shows that they aren't very confident in a head-on battle."

"Perhaps that is the case, but I feel the focus should be on the intelligence just revealed—they call themselves the Holy Demon Federation."

"Thousand Jun, Falling Devil, you two elders have a long history in the Martial Soul Hall; have you ever heard any information regarding this force?"

Since things had reached this point, dwelling on it was a pure waste of time.

Ning Fengzhi adjusted his mindset and carefully recalled the conversation.

Soon, he focused his attention on the name, hearing the enemy's title for the first time.

The four characters "Holy Demon Federation" had been spoken by both Dugu Bo and that youth, so it shouldn't be wrong.

"Apologies, I am not aware of it either. I will report this matter to the Martial Soul Hall. As long as the other party is related to the Douluo Continent, there should be results soon."

Thousand Jun and Falling Devil looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly.

The topic came to an abrupt end, and they fell into an awkward silence.

Suddenly, sounds of chaos erupted from below, and everyone couldn't help but look down.

They saw the dense crowd of freelance soul masters and mercenary groups in the camp fleeing in panic, with even fighting and destruction breaking out.

Ultimatums were common enough on the Douluo Continent, and once the freelance personnel realized a crisis was imminent, how could they not be afraid and flee?

"A bunch of rabble!"

Chen Xin's face darkened as he sighed gloomily.

Yet, there was nothing he could do. The group could only disperse to take action.

They gathered their respective direct subordinates to coordinate them uniformly, avoiding interference from the outside.

These were mainly divided into several parts: the thousands of soldiers dispatched by the imperial family, the soul masters from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family, and a small number of soul masters funded by the Martial Soul Hall.

The massive, mixed legion, stationed outside the Sunset Forest, was now assembling in an orderly fashion.

It looked decent enough, and many freelance personnel who hadn't run very far stopped in their tracks upon seeing this.

They certainly didn't have the guts to participate in the battle, but when it came to staying behind to watch from afar, curiosity could overcome fear.

Everyone was full of interest regarding this force in the Sunset Forest, which had been mysterious from start to finish and had only revealed its true name today.

Gradually, they formed a massive group, standing on the outer hills far away, overlooking the camp from a distance, waiting for the impending conflict.

Evening soon arrived.

The sunset glow reflected at the end of the horizon.

The atmosphere was inexplicably oppressive, not due to mere psychological effects, but originating from the depths of the forest.

The thumping vibrations traveled from afar, reaching their ears. The freelance personnel on the high slopes saw it even sooner than the soldiers in the camp.

It was a field of pristine white figures; at first glance, they resembled warhorses, but they possessed distinct, singular horns and were bathed in shimmering holy light.

Unicorns? The soul masters recognized them instantly.

Such species also existed on the Douluo Continent.

Immediately after, everyone's attention fell upon their backs.

Sturdy figures, each holding a knight's lance and looking imposing, came into view, fully armed.

Although they couldn't see the soul rings, they could feel the pressure from afar. The heaven and earth energy boiled because of them; how could their strength be weak?

And just as everyone was shocked by this and hadn't yet reacted, another uniform cry echoed, and hundreds of figures rose from the forest.

White Pegasi flapping their wings carried slightly slighter knights holding sharp swords and crossbows, guarding the sky above their comrades.

These were, naturally, the First Legion of the human race belonging to the Holy Demon Federation.

Continuing the traditional composition, it was comprised of knights, warriors, assassins, mages, priests, and summoners.

The knights leading the vanguard were subdivided into ground and aerial squads, the former contracted with Star-Glitter Unicorns, and the latter with Sacred Pegasi.

Following closely behind, the more numerous warriors broke through the thicket and stepped out steadily, each one radiating a crimson glow—the runes of the ancient Elf era.

The relatively fewer mages, priests, and summoners came into view a moment later, divided into different formations, surrounded by black-robed, masked assassins acting as their guardians.

"Th-this is the legion of the Holy Demon Federation?"

"Are you kidding me? How are they able to ride soul beasts?"

"It's terrifying! I feel like any one of them could string me up and beat me to a pulp!"

"Compared to this troop, the elite legions of the Heaven Dou Empire look like nothing more than a ragtag militia!"

On the high slope, the large crowd of onlookers who had yet to leave watched in terror as the orderly, ever-approaching Federation legion drew near.

The commotion grew increasingly intense, the sounds carrying down to the camp below, where the soldiers of the Heaven Dou Empire appeared panicked and uneasy.

From their vantage point, they could not yet see the enemy legion, but the faint sound of hooves and rhythmic footsteps felt like a death warrant closing in.

High above, Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, hovered in mid-air with her Swan Martial Soul manifested.

Beside her were Ning Fengzhi, Chen Xin, Yu Yuanzhen, and the four Title Douluo of the Martial Soul Hall.

Though the ordinary soldiers and low-to-mid-tier soul masters had yet to see the enemy, their hearts had already plummeted to the depths of despair.

What kind of power could train such a terrifying legion? Even the direct-line soul master legions of the Martial Soul Hall could not reach this standard.

Not to mention the so-called elites of the Heaven Dou Empire; even if the numbers were similar, once a formal engagement began, their side would likely be wiped out in two or three charges at most.

"This battle cannot be fought!"

Yu Yuanzhen decisively predicted their defeat.

Yet, not a single person spoke up to refute him; facts spoke louder than words.

With a formation like this, even if the few of them at the ninth rank were to strike, they might not be able to retreat unscathed.

"Your Highness, I suggest we withdraw immediately and have the ordinary soldiers hold the rear to buy time for the soul masters..."