Sun Moon Empire's Surprise Attack on the Dou Ling and Star Luo Empires

In the late autumn borderlands of the continent, there was no sign of wind or rain. Only the bleak autumn wind swept across the thousand-mile plains, brushing past the frontier camps along the border between the Dou Ling Empire and the Star Luo Empire.

Years of stability across the continent had long caused the two great empires to lower their highest level of wartime vigilance. Everyone believed that after several rounds of balancing negotiations and the Holy Spirit Cult's retreat into concealment, the ambitious Sun Moon Empire would enter a long period of recuperation and would not easily disrupt the continental balance. The Dou Ling Empire's territory was mild and prosperous, with Soul Master sects scattered throughout its lands. Having gone without major war for so long, its border troops mostly rotated through routine deployments. The soldiers conducted only basic patrols each day. Their weapons and armor were neatly arranged, yet lacked the chilling edge of warriors prepared to spill blood. As an old powerhouse, the Star Luo Empire possessed deep foundations. Most of its military's main force was stationed in key inland cities to deter the remaining rebel forces within its borders. Though the frontier defenses appeared impregnable, they were strong only in appearance. Their formations were loose, riddled with hidden flaws.

The borders of the entire western and northern continents basked in a relaxed atmosphere of peace and prosperity. No one knew that within the Sun Moon Empire's top-secret military industrial fortresses and Soul Engineer Legion bases deep behind its borders, a three-year plan for a surprise annihilation campaign had quietly reached its final stage.

In the Sun Moon Empire's imperial palace, a thousand meters underground within an absolute forbidden zone, there was neither light nor sound. It blocked all spiritual detection and soul power perception.

The current emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Tianran, sat upon an obsidian-glazed imperial throne. No imperial aura radiated from him; there was only a chilling, deathly stillness. His fingertips lightly stroked a Soul Guidance command jade tablet etched with intricate runes. His clear eyes held no emotion, only the utmost calculation and coldness toward expanding his territory.

"Three years of patience. Three years of planning. The Holy Spirit Cult concealed itself and cooperated. The eyes of the entire continent were drawn to the disturbances at Shrek, the Tang Sect, and the Far North. No one paid attention to the edge of our Sun Moon Empire any longer."

Xu Tianran's voice was low and calm, yet it carried a force capable of overturning the continent as it echoed through the empty forbidden zone.

At his side stood Ye Xishui, the Holy Spirit Cult's leader, her entire body hidden beneath a black robe. Her aged yet powerful soul power flickered faintly, and the pressure of her half-step godly rank was restrained to the extreme, without disturbing even the air around her. She lowered her eyes slightly and said flatly, "Your Majesty has prepared for a long time. Weapons, legions, spies, formations—everything is ready. The Holy Spirit Cult's seven great elders have already gone to secret strongholds along the borders of the two empires. At any moment, they can tear open the defenses for our army and eliminate the high-level resistance."

"Not eliminate. Crush."

Xu Tianran raised his eyes. His gaze pierced through the heavy rock layers as if he could already see the borderlands a thousand miles away.

"Our Sun Moon Empire has endured for years and never initiated a large-scale conflict, all for the sake of settling everything with a single strike today. The Dou Ling Empire has remained isolated in one corner. Its Soul Master system is mild, its top-tier fighters are scarce, and its border troops are loosely organized. It is the best point of breakthrough. The Star Luo Empire has deep foundations, but it is strong only on the surface. Its main forces have withdrawn inward, and no supreme expert guards its borders. After today, the territories of the northern and western continents will all belong to me."

As his words fell, a thread of soul power emerged from his fingertips and crushed the command jade tablet in his hand.

The fine jade fragments transformed into streams of light that spread through the transmission runes densely woven throughout the underground forbidden zone, reaching every combat unit across the Sun Moon Empire in an instant.

Across a thousand miles of depth, ten thousand troops lay in wait.

The next moment, hundreds of enormous war Soul Guidance artillery platforms within the Sun Moon Empire—sealed year-round and never revealed to the outside world—were unlocked with a thunderous roar!

Dull mechanical rumbling burst from beneath the earth. Heavy alloy defensive plates slowly slid apart, while colossal cannon barrels far larger in caliber than ordinary war machines gradually rose. Azure, crimson, and silver-white halos of extreme soul power flowed across their bodies. Countless intricate energy-conducting runes lit up layer by layer, gathering the natural soul power of the entire land.

These were the Sun Moon Empire's top-secret weapons, forged through years of painstaking effort and the resources of the entire nation—the Level-Seven Extreme War Soul Cannon Array. Every cannon platform possessed enough power to severely injure a Title Douluo head-on. When dozens fired together, they could instantly erase a medium-sized city. They were true territorial crushing weapons.

At the same time, twenty fully organized Sun Moon Empire Soul Engineer Legions, heavy-armored Soul Master Legions, and rapid assault legions emerged from secret bases hidden within border forests, valleys, and deserts.

Their standardized black armor stood in solemn formation, and the cold gleam of countless Soul Guidance firearms flashed. Layers of high-level mobile Soul Guidance shields unfolded, while the presence of the legions instantly shattered the long silence. Unlike the individual clashes of traditional Soul Master battles, the Sun Moon Empire's legion warfare had long formed an absolute system: Soul Guidance firepower coverage, heavy armor advancing head-on, rapid forces circling and penetrating. Their roles were clear and their coordination flawless. They were an overwhelming force capable of crushing traditional Soul Master armies.

Hundreds of high-level spies embedded within the Dou Ling and Star Luo Empires activated their hidden formations at the same time, instantly severing every border communication Soul Guidance device, signal rune, and long-distance transmission formation!

In an instant, the borders of both empires were completely cut off from the world.

All external contact was severed. Every distress signal was blocked. Border camps and city watchtowers became isolated islands amid the vast continent, unaware that a catastrophe of extinction had already descended.

The first barrage struck the southern border of the Dou Ling Empire.

Terrifying crimson cannon fire, red as blood, tore through the morning mist. Trailing a long tail of flame and carrying a horrifying force that could crush everything, it slammed into the defensive barrier of the Dou Ling Empire's first southern frontier fortress—Azure Mist Fortress!

"BOOM—!!!"

A deafening explosion erupted, violently shaking the earth within a radius of ten miles. Mountains trembled, and shattered rocks flew everywhere.

The Dou Ling Empire's prized Level-Six composite defensive Soul Guidance barrier did not even last half a second under the first combined barrage from dozens of Level-Seven Extreme Soul Guidance cannons. It instantly collapsed, shattered, and vanished!

Brilliant fragments of soul power scattered across the sky. The border soldiers atop the fortress walls did not even have time to cry out before the violent shockwave swept them away and swallowed them.

More than half of Azure Mist Fortress's walls collapsed in an instant. The sturdy bluestone ramparts cracked inch by inch, countless defensive machines were reduced to scrap metal, and over half of the thousands of low- and mid-level Soul Masters and soldiers stationed there were killed or wounded immediately.

Within the fortress, the surviving Dou Ling commanders stared in horror. Their pupils shrank, and their entire bodies went cold.

"It's... it's the Sun Moon Empire's ultra-extreme Soul Guidance cannon!!"

"How dare they?! The continental pact is still in effect, yet they dare launch an open surprise attack to destroy a nation!"

"Send word! Quickly, send a request for reinforcements to the imperial capital!!"

Panicked roars rose one after another, but every communication method had failed. The signals across the entire border had been completely sealed. No matter how they channeled their soul power or activated their runes, they could not send even the slightest message.

Following the artillery barrage, the Sun Moon Empire's rapid assault legions arrived through the air.

More than a thousand high-level Soul Engineers hovered in the sky, wielding high-level armor-piercing Soul Guidance guns as they unleashed sweeping fire across the shattered fortress positions. Dense energy rounds fell like rain, sweeping over the earth, the ruined walls, and the defenders resisting in panic, mercilessly harvesting life after life.

The Dou Ling Empire's Soul Master system leaned toward support, control, and affinity. Assault-type Soul Masters were already rare, while high-level combatants were even scarcer. Against the Sun Moon Empire's systematic, large-scale, crushing Soul Guidance firepower, traditional martial soul possession and soul skill releases had no way to resist.

A three-ring Soul Elder had just activated his martial soul and unfurled a defensive light screen when several high-energy blasts pierced through it the next second. The screen shattered, and his body was instantly torn apart by the soul power shockwave. Several five-ring Soul Kings joined hands to unleash a combined defensive soul skill, barely blocking one round of fire, only to be hit head-on by the following heavy Soul Guidance shells moments later and annihilated along with their skills.

On the battlefield, there was no evenly matched slaughter. There was only one-sided crushing and massacre.

In only fifteen minutes, the Dou Ling Empire's first southern frontier fortress had completely fallen. The defending troops collapsed across the board, and blood dyed the entire bluestone earth red.

And this was only the beginning.

While the Dou Ling Empire's southern front descended into hell, the Star Luo Empire's western border suffered an equally devastating surprise attack!

Compared with the caught-off-guard Dou Ling Empire, the Star Luo Empire's western defenders were stronger. Its border commanders were all veteran generals hardened by countless battles, its defensive works were sturdier, and two seven-ring Soul Saints were stationed there to guard the frontier.

The instant azure cannon fire filled the sky and shot toward West-Guard Fortress on Star Luo's western border, the two guarding Soul Saints reacted immediately.

"All troops, prepare for battle! Enemy attack!!"

An aged yet sharp roar resounded through the military camp. Two powerful surges of soul power shot into the sky, and brilliant martial soul true bodies bloomed at the same time.

A mighty giant eagle spread its wings across the sky. Wild winds howled, air currents tore apart, and wind blades swept in all directions. A heavy giant bear clad in rock armor stomped the earth apart, gathering earth-element soul power into a colossal shield that firmly protected the fortress core.

The Star Luo Empire's traditional assault soul skills erupted with full force, attempting to withstand the Sun Moon Empire's artillery bombardment.

But in the next moment, the second combined barrage of dozens of Level-Seven Extreme Soul Guidance cannons crashed down!

Extreme explosive soul power instantly crushed everything. Every wind blade was annihilated, and the rock shield cracked apart inch by inch.

The expressions of the two seven-ring Soul Saints changed drastically, their eyes filling with utter disbelief and terror.

"Level-Seven Extreme Soul Guidance cannons... since when did the Sun Moon Empire mass-produce weapons like these?!"

They had seen countless Soul Guidance devices throughout their lives of war, but never such terrifying large-scale weapons of war. A single Level-Seven Soul Guidance device was already a top treasure of the continent, yet the Sun Moon Empire had turned them into an army artillery formation!

Before they could recover, four figures had already stepped through the sky and descended above West-Guard Fortress.

Black robes surged around them, and dark soul power blotted out the sky. The Holy Spirit Cult's four great Title Douluo elders appeared at once!

"Settle all high-level combat power on the Star Luo border."

As the cold words fell, four terrifying surges of titled soul power bore down.

The gap between a Soul Saint and a Title Douluo was a heavenly chasm. The two seven-ring Soul Saints were instantly suppressed. Their martial souls were restrained, their soul power froze, and even moving a fraction became extraordinarily difficult.

Dark soul skills poured down from the sky, pulverizing all resistance.

West-Guard Fortress's defensive line collapsed, disintegrated, and was destroyed at a visible rate under the double assault of the Holy Spirit Cult's titled combatants and the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Guidance artillery.

The Star Luo defenders resisted desperately. Heavy-armored soldiers charged with weapons in hand, while Soul Masters unleashed soul skills in succession to stop the enemy. Yet before the absolute gap in combat power and equipment, every struggle was pale and powerless.

Blood rapidly spread across the entire fortress. Wails, rumbling, and explosions intertwined into a tragic dirge for a fallen nation.

In just two hours, all three major frontier fortresses on the Star Luo Empire's western border had fallen. The thousand-mile border defense line collapsed completely, leaving vast stretches of national territory directly exposed to the Sun Moon Empire's military edge.

The flames of war spread like wildfire.

The Sun Moon Empire's million-strong army split into two routes. One swept through the Dou Ling Empire's southern interior, while the other drove straight into the Star Luo Empire's western lands. Wherever they passed, cities fell, defenders scattered, territory was lost, and countless civilians were displaced. The flames of war devoured thousands of miles of mountains and rivers.

Only now did the imperial capitals of the two empires receive fragmented and incomplete emergency warnings from the border.

In the Dou Ling Empire's imperial court, every civil and military official turned pale in horror. A deathly silence fell over the court before overwhelming panic erupted. No one could believe that the continental order, stable for decades, had been utterly torn apart overnight. The Sun Moon Empire's wolfish ambition had far exceeded everyone's expectations.

The Star Luo royal family was consumed by rage, panic, and regret. They urgently summoned every inland garrison to reinforce the border and mobilized powerful sect experts for battle. But distant water could not put out a nearby fire. The border defense line had already collapsed, the enemy army had penetrated deep into their territory, and the path for reinforcements was fraught with obstacles at every step. They simply could not swiftly halt the Sun Moon Empire's advance.

The continent trembled!

This utterly unforeseen and brutally merciless lightning assault instantly shattered the continental balance that had endured for ten thousand years.

On the Far North snowfields, frigid winds swept across the frozen earth. Di Tian stood atop a ten-thousand-year ice peak, his black eyes gazing south toward the lands engulfed in war. He murmured in a deep voice, "The Sun Moon Empire has built up strength for years, only to strike now. It intends to annex two regions and unify all of Douluo Continent... The chaos of the world has already begun."

Shrek City, beside Sea God Lake.

The tranquil lake surface stirred without wind, ripples spreading outward in layer after layer. The Shrek Inspection Corps immediately detected the intense fluctuations of soul power across the continent and urgently sounded the highest-level alarm.

The dull, urgent, heavy alarm bells rang throughout all of Shrek City, awakening every teacher, student, and Tang Sect disciple.

All members of the Shrek Seven Monsters gathered before the council hall. Gazing at the faintly spreading blood-red flames of war on the southern horizon, their expressions were grave and their eyes filled with cold fury.

Huo Yuhao frowned tightly. Cold light flowed through his Ultimate Ice Eyes as his spiritual power spread outward, crossing a thousand miles of territory to sense the tragic battle and despair along the borders of the two empires. He said in a low voice, "The Sun Moon Empire has prepared for years and hidden all its strength. This is not a local conflict. It is a war of national annihilation. They endured and concealed themselves, deceiving the entire continent. With today's surprise attack, they are determined to succeed."

Wang Dong'er's eyes were sharp, her wings trembling slightly as the light soul power around her stirred faintly. "The Dou Ling and Star Luo borders were utterly unprepared, and the gap in combat power is enormous. With the Holy Spirit Cult aiding them in secret, the defenses are collapsing far too quickly. If we delay any longer, the two empires may be completely destroyed."

Bei Bei's face was solemn, and faint dragon might radiated from him. "Once the Sun Moon Empire annexes all of Dou Ling and Star Luo, integrating the resources, national power, combat strength, and weapon reserves of the three regions, its strength will soar. At that point, no one on the entire continent will be able to check its edge."

The imperial courts shook, the sects panicked, war spread like wildfire, and mountains and rivers shattered.

No one knew whether this sudden war of annihilation would ultimately burn across the entire continent, or whether someone would step forward to turn the tide, sever the Sun Moon Empire's monstrous ambitions, and overturn this crisis of a chaotic age.

The curtain rose completely on the age of chaos belonging to Douluo Continent.