Wars on Every Front: The Heavenly Soul Campaign
Xu Xingyu was not surprised that Huo Yuhao would launch an attack on the Star Luo Empire at this time.
He had previously stated that he did not believe the Holy Spirit Empire's attack on the Heavenly Soul Empire was serious, but rather an offensive launched to attract attention.
While Huo Yuhao's personal intervention was somewhat surprising, it was also understandable, given that the border of the Mingdu Mountain Range was home to the person Huo Yuhao hated most in his life: White Tiger Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger.
What Xu Xingyu still can't understand is why Huo Yuhao became the emperor of the Holy Spirit Empire?
According to intelligence, Zhongli Wu, the leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, has broken through from Level 98 Super Douluo to Level 99 Limit Douluo. With such strength, he is fully capable of taking on the position of emperor.
If the intention was simply to manipulate Huo Yuhao from behind the scenes, that would be understandable, because without Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao, even if Zhongli Wu broke through to the Limit Douluo, he would be unable to support the entire group alone.
The fact that Zhongli Wu did not appear on the battlefield further suggests that he intended to operate behind the scenes.
However, what's strange is that this expedition seems to have involved almost all of the Holy Spirit Empire's high-level combat forces, except for its ultimate combat power.
The Holy Spirit Cult has nine Titled Douluo elders, dozens of Soul Douluo Evil Soul Master, and countless Soul Saint to Soul King Evil Soul Master.
Even if they transformed all the evil souls of the entire Sun Moon Empire into Evil Soul Master, shouldn't they have launched an attack in such a desperate, all-or-nothing manner?
Keep in mind that the Holy Spirit Empire has Ju Zi Sun Moon War God from the original story, in command. Given Ju Zi's military talent, it's highly unlikely she would do something so foolish.
It can't be that the evil soul-transforming Soul Tool they developed not only turn people into Evil Soul Master, but also have this function of lowering their power, right? If that's the case, then Ju Zi's military talent is truly wasted.
Alas, all these discordant elements made Xu Xingyu feel that the Holy Spirit Empire was still brewing a big move, but he also couldn't ignore the Holy Spirit Empire's attack on the border of the Mingdu Mountain Range.
Not only because of the importance of the border itself, and because the Star Luo Empire was her homeland, but also because the description of Huo Yuhao's equipment by the scouts aroused a suspicion in Xu Xingyu's mind.
It was precisely because of this suspicion that Xu Xingyu felt it necessary to go there in person, otherwise the chances of the border falling would be very high.
Ultimately, Xu Xingyu made the decision to take Ma Xiaotao, Gu Qiuxi, and a group of people from Spirit Contract Pagoda and Shrek to the border to support the White Tiger Duke, the border commander.
Gu Yuena and Jiang Nannan were left in the Spirit Contract Pagoda as acting commanders. Of course, before leaving, Xu Xingyu left a Star Soul Clone in the Spirit Contract Pagoda as insurance, just in case.
As for Xu Jiujiu, she was already at the border, as the work of transporting and selling the mecha and mass-produced Battle Armor had been Xu Jiujiu over to her.
Now, Xu Xingyu can do is quickly deal with the war on the Star Luo Empire border and hope that the contingency plans she has left behind can resolve any hidden tricks the Holy Spirit Empire might be up to.
Heavenly Soul Empire, Skysea City.
Skysea City was once a beautiful coastal city with azure sea, golden beaches, and a bustling port.
At dawn, the sun slowly rises from the horizon, the sea sparkles, and the buildings and busy vendors are everywhere in the city, while the bustling market is filled with people's laughter.
As night falls, the city streets are brightly lit, the night markets are bustling, and the air is filled with the aroma of various delicacies.
However, Skysea City is no longer the bustling and tranquil place it once was.
Under the combined invasion of the Holy Spirit Empire's army and the Sea Soul Beast army, the once beautiful city is now devastated, with ruins and broken walls everywhere.
Along the coastline, Sea Soul Beast such as Evil Spirit Orca and Warblade Octopus continuously launched attacks from the shore, and powerful Soul Power shockwaves, or the ocean controlled by them, destroyed countless buildings.
A strong stench of blood filled the air, and the seawater surrounding Skysea City's harbor had turned a blood-red color, inspiring fear in all who beheld it.
The Heavenly Soul Empire's army fought valiantly, and only thanks to the mechs and mass-produced Battle Armor provided by the Spirit Contract Pagoda did the war prevent it from becoming a one-sided affair.
Some soldiers piloted mechs to attack the enemy from high above, while others piloted mechs to engage in close combat to cover their comrades.
Meanwhile, the soldiers, clad in mass-produced Battle Armor and equipped with various advanced soul-guided devices, unleashed their Martial Soul and engaged in a life-or-death struggle with their enemies.
The sounds of metal clashing, the screams of the poor students, and the cries of agony mingled together, every moment on the battlefield filled with cruelty and bloodshed.
Nevertheless, their mission was primarily to cover the evacuation of civilians, as a direct confrontation with the Sea Soul Beast army, empowered by the power of the ocean, was virtually impossible.
Therefore, the Heavenly Soul Empire chose to fight back by maneuvering against the Holy Spirit Empire and the Sea Soul Army, and rescuing all the civilians while the two were delayed.
Finally, after ensuring everyone had evacuated, they abandoned these coastal cities, allowing the Holy Spirit Empire to occupy them.
If they were at war with the Sun Moon Empire, they would not have so easily abandoned so many cities, and even if they did, they would not have done something like rescuing civilians.
The problem would be fine if it were just the Holy Spirit Army, but as mentioned before, the power that Sea Soul Beast can exert in the ocean surpasses that of ordinary strongmen of the same level.
Even their Guardian Douluo, Du Busi, couldn't defeat the strongest member of the Sea Soul Beast army, the Deep Sea Demon Whale Demon Empress, who had nearly a million years of cultivation. So what could they possibly use to fight him?
Their Soul Guidance Technology is not advanced enough. Even with the mechs, mass-produced Battle Armor, and high-level Soul Tool provided by the Spirit Contract Pagoda, Heavenly Soul can do nothing but delay.
It would be better to simply abandon these cities and let the Holy Spirit Empire occupy them.
The higher-ups of the Heavenly Soul Empire knew that although there were many Evil Soul Master, it would take time to digest them all at once to occupy so many cities.
After capturing these cities, the Holy Spirit Empire's army would have to disperse its forces across the various cities, thus giving them a chance to retake them in the future.
The reason why they weren't worried about the Holy Spirit Empire continuing its attacks was that while the Sea Soul Beast were powerful on the coast, their strength would decrease by nearly half once they reached land.
Therefore, if they attack other cities of the Heavenly Soul Empire along these cities, their battles will be even more difficult, since the Sea Soul Beast on land can provide very little help, and they can only rely more on the power of the Holy Spirit Empire itself.
The reason why these nobles, who generally only have a perfunctory attitude towards commoners, would support this effort to save them is quite simple.
The higher-ups at Heavenly Soul were afraid that the Holy Spirit Empire might also have planted the same bio-weapons that had corrupted most of Mingdu in their city.
This is why they chose to evacuate the people from the cities, and they will station troops at the borders of the occupied cities, forming only one defensive line at a time, to prevent the Holy Spirit Empire from infiltrating the Heavenly Soul Empire and causing another biohazard crisis.
Skysea City is now one of the last few coastal cities they have left, and they can only hope that nothing goes wrong this time.