Four Months Later, Expedition

Four months later, Worship Hall.

"Reporting to the First Worship, the Engineering Department has now finished constructing sufficient warships to accommodate fifty thousand soldiers, all of which are docked at the harbor." Azure Luan Douluo reported to Qian Pocheng.

"Mm, very good. Pass down the order: all soldiers are to prepare for departure. At dawn tomorrow, the entire army will set sail." Upon hearing that all preparations were complete, Qian Pocheng issued the order directly.

"Understood, First Worship."

After receiving the order, Azure Luan Douluo turned and left the Worship Hall. Shortly after, six figures appeared within the grand hall; they were the current group of Worships:

Second Worship, level 97 Emperor Spear Douluo—Xinghe.

Third Worship, level 97 Heavenly Dragon Douluo—Murong Chayue.

Fourth Worship, level 97 Golden Crocodile Douluo—Golden Crocodile.

Fifth Worship, level 96 Fierce Fang Douluo—Mantian.

Sixth Worship, level 96 Space-Rending Douluo—Xuanguan.

Seventh Worship, level 96 Crimson Flame Douluo—Rongjun.

"Everyone, we shall set out at dawn tomorrow," Qian Pocheng said slowly to those standing before the dais.

"Understood, First Worship."

After paying their respects, the group departed one by one. This battle was expected to be extremely difficult, and Qian Pocheng's intention was for them to set out tomorrow, leaving today for them to spend time with their families, and so on.

Once everyone had left, Qian Pocheng gazed out the window. "Haimala, it is time for the grievances between us to reach a final conclusion..."

Night, Murong Mansion.

Tonight, the entire Murong Mansion held a banquet. Murong Chayue, Xiao Qingmei, Murong Fuhai, Wu Xianyun, and Huai'er were all gathered together.

"Hahaha, come, come! It has been a long time since our family gathered like this." Murong Chayue raised his wine cup and said with a smile.

Seeing this, the others raised their cups as well, and Huai'er also lifted a glass of fruit juice. After they clinked glasses, Murong Chayue looked at Huai'er and said with a smile:

"Huai'er, although Grandfather hasn't returned to the mansion in over half a year, I frequently hear the Pope praising you. You are only six and a half years old, yet you are already approaching the Soul Elder realm. This talent is unprecedented in the history of the entire Douluo Continent, hahaha!"

"Indeed, what a fine lad. I was shocked beyond measure when I first heard the news. In time, Huai'er will surely reach the level of the First Worship," Murong Fuhai added with a smile.

"Huai'er, your grandmother, grandfather, and father will be setting out with the army tomorrow. This battle will likely take about half a year. While in the mansion, you must listen to your mother," Xiao Qingmei said kindly, stroking Huai'er's head.

"Grandmother, rest assured, I will listen to Mother," Huai'er nodded with a smile.

Because three members of the Murong Mansion were joining the expedition, Qian Daoliu had removed Wu Xianyun from the list. Since the outcome of this battle was uncertain, he had acted out of personal bias, unwilling to let all of Huai'er's family members risk danger.

Aside from the seven Worships, this battle included the Pope, Qian Daoliu, who led two guardian elders, Xiongshi and Guangling, as well as the top three elders of the Elder Hall: Golden Wheel Douluo—Haiyun, Immortal Dragon Douluo—Xiao Qingmei, and Azure Luan Douluo—Azure Luan.

Murong Fuhai, meanwhile, served as the sole commander, directing the Martial Soul Hall army in an orderly assault.

"Not bad. Mother, I have seen the Red Barbarian Cannon that Huai'er invented; it is truly a weapon of war. With it, let alone Sea God Island, I would not fear even if we were to wage war against both great empires simultaneously," Murong Fuhai laughed.

Huai'er had not only provided the Engineering Department with blueprints for the Red Barbarian Cannon but also more advanced steel smelting technology, new types of siege crossbows, assembly line processes, and more.

Over the past four months, not only was the original shipbuilding task completed a month ahead of schedule, but over 150 Red Barbarian Cannons had been manufactured, along with thousands of cannonballs and a hundred siege crossbows. It was truly well-equipped.

"Nonsense, stop spouting such things." Hearing Murong Fuhai's boast, Xiao Qingmei glared at him.

"Father, Mother, don't worry. With me in the mansion, nothing will happen," Wu Xianyun said, smoothing her sleeves.

Afterward, the group enjoyed their reunion dinner.

The next day, early morning, the river crossing outside Martial Soul City.

Martial Soul City possessed an excellent geographical advantage: flanked by mountains on two sides, with a vast plain on one side and proximity to the river on the other, allowing direct access to the open sea.

At the river crossing, hundreds of warships were docked in neat rows. The lead ships were each equipped with three siege crossbows, while the twenty or so ships in the center were each outfitted with six Red Barbarian Cannons. With ample supplies and provisions, they were well-equipped and possessed sufficient firepower.

For this battle, twenty thousand Black Flame Army soldiers were dispatched. Every one of them was a battle-hardened veteran, clad in black armor, wielding long spears, swords at their waists, and bows on their backs. They were filled with a murderous aura as they stationed themselves on the large warships.

The remaining thirty thousand were ordinary Martial Soul Hall soldiers. While not as elite, they were still significantly stronger than the armies of the two great empires, and they were distributed among the remaining vessels.

Furthermore, the largest warship in the center carried a legion of three thousand soul masters. They did not bring too many soul masters, as they were at sea; ordinary low-level soul masters were limited by the maritime environment, and their utility was only slightly better than that of ordinary soldiers.

Although the High Priest of Sea God Island, Haimala, had established a sea soul master legion, the rules of Sea God Island were restrictive. Many sea soul masters, aside from the indigenous people, could not reside on Sea God Island if they failed the island's trials.

Therefore, the number of sea soul masters was not large—at most, it would not exceed five thousand, and likely not even four thousand. Ordinary armies generally could not enter the territory of Sea God Island.

However, in order to build an army, Haimala had stationed most of them outside Sea God Island. It was estimated there were fewer than ten thousand. On the sea, they possessed strong swimming abilities and, with the blessing of the ocean, their strength was enough to fight many at once.

Most of the Martial Soul Hall soldiers were landlubbers, and their combat effectiveness would be greatly diminished at sea. Coupled with the elusive sea soul beasts in the waters, if luck were poor, the army's strength would be significantly reduced before even reaching Sea God Island.

If this were on land, even the two great empires might not be able to defeat them, let alone Martial Soul Hall.

This was one point that puzzled Huai'er: even if Sea God Island defeated Martial Soul Hall, they could not achieve what Martial Soul Hall had; at most, they would remain a powerful sect force.

He did not believe that the High Priest of Sea God Island, Haimala, had failed to consider this. There was likely some hidden agenda... though the previous few battles had indeed caused no small amount of catastrophe.

Qian Pocheng was currently conducting a pre-battle mobilization for the troops. Huai'er and Wu Xianyun had also come to see them off.

Although they had the Red Barbarian Cannons, Huai'er still felt uneasy. After some thought, he secretly found Qian Xunji and pulled him aside.

Qian Xunji, confused, asked:

"Little Huai, what's wrong?"

"Senior Brother, I still feel a bit uneasy..."

Hearing Murong Huai's words, Qian Xunji shook his head with a smile, offering no rebuttal. After spending this time together, Qian Xunji understood that although Murong Huai was young, he possessed remarkable insight and a keen sense of the big picture. Thus, he asked:

"Then Huai'er, what do you think we should do instead?"

Murong Huai looked at Qian Xunji, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled four words:

"Angel--Legion!!!"