The moment the declaration was issued, it sparked a powerful reaction. The clearest sign was that the Daming Army stationed in the Tianjing Kingdom withdrew.
On July 15, the Fire Phoenix Empress, disguised as Ma Xiaotao, signed a peace treaty with Xu Nian'an's Great Ming Empire. The whole country erupted in celebration, and Ma Xiaotao's supporters in the Tianjing Kingdom surged in number like never before.
Everyone knew that the Star Luo Empire and the Great Ming Empire were at war.
In truth, the people of the two great empires were not the ones most afraid.
How to put it? The people of both empires lived within their own borders, far behind the front lines. It would take time for the fighting to reach them.
The people most afraid were those living along the edges of the battlefield, especially in places of strategic importance.
After all, one wrong move, and the place where you went to sleep yesterday could become the very heart of the battlefield. Getting caught up in the war and suffering casualties was nothing unusual.
Now, at least, the Tianjing Kingdom had signed a peace treaty with the Great Ming Empire.
As long as they no longer had any ties to the Star Luo Empire, the war would have nothing to do with them.
Their kingdom would no longer lose lives to war.
For the people of Tianjing, who had longed for peace, how long had they waited for this?
"Damn it, damn it!"
"How dare they? How dare Tianxing Province declare independence! How dare they sign a peace treaty with Great Ming!"
"This is outright betrayal!!!"
In the Star Luo Imperial Palace.
Emperor Dai Haochen was furious!
He hadn't been idle over the past few days. He'd tried a number of measures, such as provoking a limited clash with Great Ming and putting pressure on the Tianjing Kingdom.
Unfortunately, none of it had worked. The most important thing was that they had lost the Tiger Roar Defense Line, along with the chance to control most of the Tianjing Kingdom's territory.
If they still held the Tiger Roar Defense Line, and the Tianjing Kingdom dared to rebel, then by afternoon the Star Luo Empire could have issued them Star Luo identity cards.
But it was too late. Everything was too late.
Of course, the Star Luo Empire still had ways to attack the Tianjing Kingdom. It wasn't as if they had no options.
They could send troops from another province. Unfortunately, if they pulled troops away from the Great God Lake, the Daming Army could attack the very next moment. They would lose the defense line again, and then Star Luo City would be in danger.
"Your Majesty, don't be angry. Great Ming should be the one worrying now."
"As long as Star Luo holds the Great God Lake Defense Line, we'll keep Great Ming's main force pinned down here."
"Given the strength of both sides, the Heaven Dou Empire has gathered five hundred thousand troops on the other front. They should win quickly. When that happens, Great Ming will surely be defeated!"
On the surface, Xu Nian'an had brought four hundred and fifty thousand troops, plus another two hundred and fifty thousand stationed to defend Xingyao and Galloping Wolf. That made seven hundred thousand in all.
For an empire that had only recently been founded to command so many troops was already astonishing.
Meanwhile, the Heaven Dou Empire was coming to raid Great Ming's home. How many troops could Great Ming possibly spare to defend itself?
"Report!!!"
Xingyao City!
A saber-bearing guard in red armor came running from afar, moving with long, swift strides.
Xu Nian'an glanced at him. He was young—by modern standards, perhaps not even an adult, only sixteen or seventeen.
He was from the latest batch of Imperial Guards.
"Your Majesty, a secret report from the Haagen-Dazs Kingdom!"
At that, Xu Nian'an narrowed his eyes.
"Bring it here."
He opened the report. There was just one short line inside.
[The Balak Kingdom has joined forces with the Heaven Dou army, gathering five hundred thousand troops to attack Great Ming!]
Five... five hundred thousand.
Heh. He hadn't expected the Heaven Dou Empire to have another five hundred thousand left after losing five hundred thousand along Great Ming's border.
They really were willing to pay the price.
Still, the number had caught Xu Nian'an off guard.
Under normal circumstances, Heaven Dou would have been willing to send at most another two hundred thousand troops.
Those two hundred thousand would be facing one hundred thousand Dragon Guards—and the Dragon Guards would be defending. The enemy wouldn't stand a chance of breaking through Great Ming's border.
Even with three hundred thousand, they'd have no chance.
But this time, the enemy force was a full five times the Dragon Guards' number.
Xu Nian'an narrowed his eyes. Perhaps he'd been heading in the wrong direction from the very beginning.
The Great Snow Dragon Cavalry and the Dragon Guards were both his most loyal armies.
They were far stronger than ordinary people. Why had he chosen to fight the Star Luo Empire and wear them down?
Honestly, if he weren't so pressed for time, Xu Nian'an would have unhesitatingly sent the people of the Holy Spirit Cult to awaken Martial Souls for every soldier in his army.
With the Great Ming Empire's National Destiny Divine Beast, the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon, every citizen of Great Ming had a hundred percent chance of awakening a Martial Soul and possessing Soul Power.
After awakening their Martial Souls and obtaining Soul Rings, wouldn't it be easy for each of them to take on ten people?
The more Xu Nian'an thought about it, the more he felt he'd taken a loss.
However.
Given Great Ming's national strength, territory, and wealth, maintaining an army of one million wasn't a burden. But one million—or even tens of millions—of Soul Masters would be another matter.
For instance, equipping the First Soul Rings of one million, or tens of millions, of Soul Masters would be a problem all on its own.
That was no small number.
There would always be a way over the mountain.
Xu Nian'an shook his head, clearing his mind of every thought.
In the end, he made up his mind.
He wouldn't use the Dragon Guards and the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry to fight the Star Luo army head-on anymore. That would simply mean wearing down his own forces.
"It's time to end this battle."
By this time tomorrow, many people might be dead, and Xu Nian'an might become a sinner across the entire continent.
But... he didn't care.
The number of people whose deaths he had caused indirectly had already surpassed one million. A few hundred thousand more made little difference.
At the Tiger Roar Defense Line, a gigantic launch platform was slowly assembled on a distant mountaintop.
"Let me ignite the fire of peace—nuclear peace—across the Douluo Continent!"
Vrrrmm—!!!
The next instant, Xu Nian'an brought his palm down hard on the launcher.
In an instant, the heavens and earth roared, and a colossal missile shot into the sky.
Its target was the Great God Lake Defense Line, which had clashed with the Daming Army no fewer than five times over the past ten days, yet still held out.
It was also the Star Luo Empire's final line of defense, and its strongest. More than five hundred thousand troops were stationed there.
Unfortunately, with a single roar, everything was reduced to ashes!!!
Bang—BOOM!!!
A piercing explosion rang out. The next instant, amid the endless night, a spark of flame blazed to life.
The flame grew larger and larger, swelling as it rode the wind. Tiny sparks instantly set the entire night sky ablaze, transforming into a second Sun above the darkened Douluo Continent!
Vrrrmm, vrrrmm, vrrrmm—!!!!
"This is the power of the nation's ultimate weapon, the Level 9 Soul Tool Little Girl!"
Gulp—!!!
Xu Nian'an swallowed. Even though he'd come from the modern world, he'd never actually seen a nuclear explosion.
Now his head was buzzing, filled with a deafening roar.
Whoosh—
The tremendous boom jolted Dai Haochen awake in the Star Luo Imperial Palace. Countless high-ranking officials throughout the Star Luo Empire shuddered and jumped to their feet.
Then they were completely dumbfounded. As far as they could tell, they'd only just gone to bed—and now it was already light outside.
In Xingyao City, Xu Nian'an opened his mouth, then rubbed his ears, trying to ease the pain in his eardrums, if only a little.
It was over. He was sure the Great God Lake Defense Line was full of familiar faces now.
"In that case..."
"Guards, pass on My command! Abandon the Great God Lake Defense Line. No one is to go there without My order. Head south, skirt around the Tiger Roar Defense Line, pass through Huwei Forest, and make straight for Star Luo City!"
Xu Nian'an's orders were quickly carried out. The first to move were the three hundred thousand Great Snow Dragon Cavalry, since they were cavalry to begin with.
The Dragon Guards followed afterward.
By the time a pale fish-belly glow appeared on the horizon, the three hundred thousand troops in white robes and silver armor stood at the gates of Star Luo City!
Star Luo Imperial Palace!
"R-Report! Your Majesty, this is bad! Three hundred thousand elite troops from Great Ming have taken a hundred-mile detour overnight and reached the gates of Star Luo City! We're surrounded!!!"
Whoosh!
Dai Haochen's head snapped up.
The sudden events of the previous night had kept him up late. He'd only just managed to sleep, and now he'd been woken to hear... this bolt from the blue?
"What? Has My great Star Luo Empire fallen?"