Chapter 423.1. The White Tiger's Crisis

There couldn’t be any more delays. Every soul engineer of the two large soul engineering legions of the Sun Moon Empire brought along Milk Bottles that corresponded to their rank, each having at least two. However, the Star Luo Empire’s soul master legions weren’t equipped in the same way. Among the three empires of the Douluo Continent, the Star Luo Empire was the most traditional. They were the ones who disregarded the development of soul tools the most. As there were too many traditional sects in the Star Luo Empire that discriminated against soul tools, the imperial family wasn’t able to advertise the use of soul tools on a large scale.

It was only after Princess Jiujiu interacted with the Tang Sect that they decided to start using Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannons. It was just that the Sun Moon Empire had managed to completely destroy the cannons on the Western Border before they could even unleash their full strength. Only some of the cannons in the military camp were able to have some effect.

Seeing that the Big Dipper Douluo was about to take Dai Yueheng away, the White Tiger Duke revealed a gentle expression on his determined face. While Dai Yueheng was a slightly haughty person, he had become much better after following his father for a few years. Furthermore, his cultivation talent even exceeded the White Tiger Duke’s. With both Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin around, the White Tiger Duke’s lineage would definitely last beyond him. However, whether this national crisis would…

Dai Hao lifted his head again after sighing silently. He had already made his decision. Hecould only make a choice now, and it was only by sacrificing his White Tiger bodyguards and himself that he could save those soul masters. War was brutal. As a commander, he had to be decisive.

“White Tigers, listen to my command!” Dai Hao shouted.

If the First Soul Master Legion retreated, his defense here would immediately disappear. When that happened, his White Tiger bodyguards were likely to be killed by the attacks of the aerial soul tools even though their individual fighting strength could compare to either a one or two-ringed soul master.

As he clenched his lips tightly, Dai Hao took a deep look at all the brothers and comrades that had followed him for years. He tried his best to hold back his tears. After this short half a day’s worth of war, there were only slightly more than a thousand of his White Tiger bodyguards left.

My brothers, I’ve let all of you down!

All the commanders among the White Tiger bodyguards quickly gathered in front of Dai Hao to receive their orders. These commanders were also soul masters, and their cultivations were quite high, too.

Dai Hao said, “Later, we’ll need to cover the First Soul Master Legion as they retreat towards the north.”

One of the leading commanders asked, “Marshal, are we creating a diversion?”

“Yes.” Dai Hao nodded.

This bunch of commanders kneeled down on the ground at the same time, “Marshal, please retreat along with the First Soul Master Legion.” They understood the White Tiger Duke very well. They could naturally see the determined look in the his eyes.

Dai Hao smiled and lifted his hands. A strong force lifted these loyal commanders to their feet. “Do you think those guys from the Sun Moon Empire will let me off if I’m among those who are trying to escape? More people can escape if I’m the bait. White Tigers like us cannot be cowardly, given that we lead the Northwestern Field Army. Are all of you willing to die with me?”

“Marshal!” All of them exclaimed sorrowfully. They weren’t afraid of death, and were willing to sacrifice their lives for the White Tiger Duke. It was just that they couldn’t watch helplessly as the White Tiger Duke perished along with them!

“We don’t have much time left. This is an order. All of you should understand that no one can change my course after I’ve made up my mind. Go and prepare! After I make my move, all of you shall follow me! Quick!”

This bunch of commanders held back their tears as they turned around. Dai Hao’s tears finally flowed as he watched their backs. He lifted his head to look into the sky and muttered to himself as he watched the soul rays that were coming from the sky, “If there’s a next life, I’m willing to be brothers with all of you again. I’m sorry that I can’t protect all of you.” He clenched his fist, and the veins on his arms became very obvious. His aura started to rise rapidly, and nine soul rings rose from beneath his feet. The aura that he released was extremely wild, and even the Starsky Douluo Ye Yulin and the other strong individuals could sense it clearly.

—

Ye Yulin said coldly, “The White Tiger Duke is going to go all-out. Be prepared to unleash all of your strength.” As he spoke, his body also shone brightly. A large amount of soul power was poured into his Sunmoon Divine Needle. He only had one goal… kill Dai Hao! As long as this White Tiger Duke was dead, all the defenses on the western side of the Star Luo Empire would be compromised. Of course, he didn’t think that the White Tiger Duke’s presence could affect the big picture that much either way. Whether it was the Star Luo Empire, the Heavenly Soul Empire or the Dou Ling Empire, he believed that they were on the cusp of annihilation. This world already belonged to soul tools. While these three empires had started to realize this in recent years, they were still a little too late.

Just as things got tense between both sides and the battle was about to reach its end, a strange aura suddenly filled the entire place.

A rose-gold vertical eye suddenly opened in the sky without any warning. It appeared between the two soul engineering legions in the sky and the remaining White Tiger bodyguards on the ground.

When it appeared, the soul rays that shot towards the ground would instantly be diverted away by some strange force when they came within a hundred-meter diameter from it. These soul rays were then unable to pose any threat.

Rose-gold sunray patterns slowly spread out. Under the influence of these magical patterns, everything in the area turned weird.

The White Tiger Duke heard a familiar voice in his head. “Aren’t you going to carry out your plan? What are you waiting for?”

When he heard this voice, Dai Huo was first shocked. After this, he immediately recalled something, and revealed a delighted look in his eyes. He shouted, “White Tigers, follow me. First Soul Master Legion, retreat!”

The White Tiger Duke was the first to move, and he led his bodyguards towards the north. He led the charge, and quickly burst into the distance. He intentionally ran very quickly, and widened the gap between him and his bodyguards. He knew that he was his enemies’ most important target. The closer his men were to him, the faster they would die!

On the other side, the Big Dipper Douluo was already tearing up. Dai Yueheng, who planned to save his father, led the First Soul Master Legion towards the southeast. Figures rose roughly five meters from the ground and flew in that direction using flying-type soul tools they had already prepared. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to protect the White Tiger bodyguards and flee so far. Without the White Tiger bodyguards to burden them now, they were able to flee much more quickly.

Dai Hao flew forward with all his speed. Given his abilities as a Titled Douluo, his speed was very high even though he wasn’t an agility-type soul master. However, he found it very strange that the soul engineers in the sky didn’t unleash their all-out attack against him even though he was fleeing at top speed. Even if the Starsky Douluo’s attack could cover a huge region, was he really so self-confident?

However, the White Tiger Duke didn’t know that all the soul engineers, including Ye Yulin, were seeing things quite differently. Just as Dai Hao heard that mysterious voice, the Starsky Douluo and every soul engineer heard that mysterious voice as well.

“I come from the Holy Ghost Church, and I was tasked by my leader to assist all of you. I’ll use a secret technique to freeze all of them below. After that, you can attack them with all your might and destroy them.” A cold voice sounded in everyone’s head. Even the Starsky Douluo was moved, even though he was normally a proud person.

They were in a defensive formation formed by several hundred soul engineers working together. Even a Transcendent Douluo wouldn’t be able to breach this formation easily. It was a combination of the strength of a few hundred soul engineers. Although this huge protective barrier wasn’t completely impenetrable, it should be able to resist a few attacks from an Ultimate Douluo. This was also the strongest trump card of the five soul engineering legions of the Sun Moon Empire’s Hand that Protects the Nation.

However, the person with that mysterious voice was still able to transmit his spiritual intent even under such conditions. It showed how strong his spiritual power was.

Furthermore, Ye Yulin felt a very familiar feeling when he heard that voice, although he couldn’t recall where he had heard it before.

However, he still chose to believe that mysterious voice as he had no other choice, given what happened below.

The light released from the scarlet-gold vertical eye engulfed the entire area below, and the entire White Tiger Duke’s remaining army was hugely affected. All of them were disoriented, and their defense against aerial attacks weakened significantly.

Ye Yulin wouldn’t forgo such an opportunity. He immediately pointed his right hand downward and shouted, “All-out attack!”

Soul rays immediately rained down. His Sunmoon Divine Needle that had just been fully charged unleashed a streak of golden-silver light towards Dai Hao, who had exposed himself.

Suddenly, there was a bloody scene below. Along with the coordination of the rose-gold vertical eye, there was a massacre. Patches of bloody light shone, and lives were quickly taken. Only the defenses of some soul masters were still effective. Even so, they were still completely annihilated after some time.

After Ye Yulin unleashed his Sunmoon Divine Needle, he immediately retrieved a Milk Bottle to recover his soul power. While his Sun Moon Divine Needle was strong, it greatly drained his soul power. He had already used it twice today. As a soul engineer, he knew that he had to keep himself at his peak in enemy territory. He didn’t continue attacking. The White Tiger Duke would definitely be unable to hold on for much longer!