Chapter 499.1. An All-out Decisive Battle?

Zhongli Wu was astonished. Just from what he could see, there were more than three thousand soul masters flying in the air, which meant every single one of the Heavenly Soul Empire’s main forces who could use flying-type soul tools. Were the Heavenly Soul Empire making a last-ditch attempt?

The Third Elder walked swiftly in front of Zhongli Wu and whispered, “Supreme Leader, the explosion should be from where the second soul engineer legion is stationed. Judging from how forceful the explosion was and the soul power undulations in the air, it’s very likely to have been from a stationary soul cannon shell.”

Zhongli Wu was both shocked and furious. “What? A stationary soul cannon shell? Isn’t the Sun Moon Empire the only one who possesses things as terrifyingly destructive as that? How did the Heavenly Soul Empire come to have one of those? Even if they did, how did they fire it into our camp? What has happened to our surveillance soul tools?”

Of course, none of the evil soul masters next to him could answer his questions.

Huo Yuhao was standing among the other evil soul masters like Nangong Wan was, but his attention was fully concentrated on Tang Ya. He was waiting for an opportunity, and this opportunity was slowly forming after the enormous explosion, which, along with the Heavenly Soul Empire’s attack, looked like an all-out assault had begun!

The Sun Moon Empire’s reaction was quick. Even though the explosion caught everyone off-guard, the entire camp began to move even as the hurricane of metal was wreaking havoc. Orders were given one after another, and Lin Hai, who was the marshal, had already entered the command tent, and was directing his army.

The other four soul tool fronts weren’t affected by any aftershocks or ripples. They activated their linked defensive formations, and they also began to charge their linked offensive soul tools to prepare for battle.

Back when the Sun Moon Empire was constructing their base in this place, they had been prepared for a long, drawn-out battle. They had camped several dozen kilometers from Heavenly Spirit City.

There were only several special stationary soul cannon shells that could reach that far. Therefore, not even their linked offensive formations could cross that distance. They had to wait for the Heavenly Soul Empire’s powerful individuals to come within range before they could retaliate.

A messenger swiftly ran over and announced, “Imperial Tutor, Commander Lin Hai invites you to discuss matters in the commander’s tent.”

Zhongli Wu nodded and said, “Please follow me, Consecrates. Everyone else will remain here. Do not leave unless absolutely necessary.”

“Yes!” The group of evil soul masters bowed in acknowledgement.

Zhongli Wu brought six Consecrates, including the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, and proceeded quickly towards the command tent. The other evil soul masters all remained behind, including Tang Ya.

Huo Yuhao heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Zhongli Wu didn’t take Tang Ya away. He could see his opportunity coming.

There were more than thirty evil soul masters remaining. There were four Titled Douluo within this group, ‘including’ Huo Yuhao, who was impersonating the Masquerade Douluo; Nangong Wan, the Third Elder, and the Fourth Elder.

That meant their real enemies were only the Third and Fourth Elders. Tang Ya was probably the strongest one out of the other evil soul masters. Even though there were several Soul Douluo, they were few in number.

Deafening war cries could be heard in the skies over Heavenly Spirit City, like there weren’t just many soul masters moving out in the sky. It looked like their army was also pushing forward over the ground.

The Sun Moon Empire couldn’t understand why the Heavenly Soul Empire had chosen to launch an assault at night, because nighttime wasn’t beneficial for their foot soldiers! Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empire had several soul tool fronts in place, and with how strong they were, even Titled Douluo would be going towards certain death if they charged them. The Heavenly Soul Empire would have to pay with far too many lives without Heavenly Spirit City’s protection to reach them.

However, the Sun Moon Empire didn’t dare to underestimate their enemies, even if that was the case. The large explosion in the second soul engineer legion camp was enough to shock everyone. If the Heavenly Soul Empire could do that, what else could they do?

Huo Yuhao gestured at Nangong Wan with his eyes, and Nangong Wan nodded at him softly.

Nobody knew what the enormous explosion was, but Nangong Wan could faintly guess. The only thing he didn’t understand was exactly how Huo Yuhao had managed to place the stationary soul cannon shell into the second soul engineer legion’s camp.

A thread of spiritual power drifted over to Huo Yuhao and integrated into this body. Spiritual power was formless, and he wasn’t afraid of anyone discovering it at all. He withdrew that thread, and could feel his spirit rejuvenate. The linked defensive dome had helped him, because his spiritual avatar had just barely risen into the sky enough before Annihilation Storm exploded. Guo Nu had ordered the linked defensive dome’s activation, which blocked the explosion’s first blast, and gave Huo Yuhao’s spiritual avatar the chance to escape and return.

“Second brother, let me go back and get something. I’ll be back in no time,” Huo Yuhao said to Nangong Wan.

Nangong Wan nodded and said, “Go, come back as soon as possible.”

“Yes,” Huo Yuhao acknowledged before he proceeded towards his own tent.

The four Elders took charge of this group. Even though Zhongli Wu had just instructed them to remain here, he didn’t say that they absolutely couldn’t leave. The Masquerade Douluo was an Elder, so nobody stopped him.

The relationship between Elders was different from that between the Consecrates. There were evil soul masters among the Consecrates, and powerful foreign soul masters. Even though they had a very high status, their relationships with one another weren’t intimate at all. The Elders were different, as they had almost grown up together in the Holy Ghost Church, and had been together for several decades now, some even more than a century. They had a good relationship with each other. The Masquerade Douluo didn’t quite fit into the group, but he was still friendly enough with the other Elders. Therefore, the Third Elder and the Fourth Elder didn’t speak out against him.

Huo Yuhao quickly moved towards his tent, and returned in the blink of an eye. Nangong Wan glanced at him and nodded gently, but nobody was paying attention to them.

The Sun Moon Empire’s soldiers were fully mobilized. The army gathered swiftly, and military orders were passed out one after another from the command tent. The Sun Moon Empire’s soul engineers were gathering at the soul tool fronts, and even appeared in the sky. Even though they were far fewer in number compared to the Heavenly Soul Empire, everyone knew that soul engineers had a great advantage on a battlefield against soul masters. They were an entire body with their linked soul tools.

The explosion caused by Annihilation Storm was starting to recede and settle down. The terrifying explosion had engulfed almost a quarter of the Sun Moon Empire’s main camp. Even though only the areas near the explosion’s epicenter had sustained heavy losses, the explosion brought chaos and panic to the entire army.

The command tent had to direct and prepare their army to defend against their enemies, and they also had to console their soldiers and take care of the wounded at the same time. The entire Sun Moon Empire’s camp appeared to fall into disarray.

The Third Elder frowned and wondered aloud, “That’s weird… why would a stationary soul cannon shell explode in our own camp?”

“Could it have been an accident?” the Fourth Elder asked.

The Third Elder shook his head and glanced at him disdainfully. “You’re so ignorant. The second soul engineer legion doesn’t even have a stationary soul cannon shell with their status, so how could it be accidentally triggered? Even the beast-ranked soul engineer legions have one at most, and they’re under strict protection. We don’t even have a single one in our army camp because the two beast-ranked soul engineer legions used their stock in the war before this.”

“Then what’s going on?” the Fourth Elder asked, confused. “Can it be that spies have snuck into our camp despite our strict defenses? At least, I’m confident that nobody has that ability.”

Nangong Wan cut in appropriately and said, “Back when Old Seven and I went around the Heavenly Soul Empire, we discovered that Shrek Academy’s people had appeared. Can this be them? It seems we have sustained incredibly large losses this time, and a soul engineer legion has disappeared just like that! We aren’t even talking about how many normal soldiers we’ve lost yet.”

The Third Elder frowned even more tightly and said, “Yes! It’s no wonder the Supreme Leader isn’t letting us go outside. Otherwise, I would want to see what kind of stationary soul cannon shell that was.”

Nangong Wan said, “The Supreme Leader is doing this for our own good; he’s concerned about everyone’s safety. You don’t have to talk so much.”

“Alright.” The Third Elder scanned the other evil soul masters. Everyone lowered their heads at the same time when they met his gaze, except for Tang Ya.

Huo Yuhao said, “Second brother, why don’t I take a look at the command tent? I want to find out exactly what is going on.”

Nangong Wan answered, “Go. But I reckon the Supreme Leader isn’t in a good mood, so you’d best be careful.”

“Yes.” Huo Yuhao acknowledged as he walked towards the command tent. Evil soul masters like them, especially those who were Titled Douluo, had a transcendent status within the army camp. Even though they were on high alert and heightened vigilance, nobody dared to stop them.

The Third Elder watched Huo Yuhao leave, and he couldn’t help but comment, “Masquerade has been a lot more normal over the past few days. I think being with him is a lot more comfortable than before. I heard that he hasn’t been ruining girls after the Supreme Leader chided him that day?”

Nangong Wan chuckled and said, “Maybe he’s afraid that the Supreme Leader will punish him.”

The Third Elder grunted and said, “He knows how to be afraid? This isn’t the first or second time that the Supreme Leader has chided him for that bad habit of his. Seems like he has promised him something this time. Do you know what that is, second brother?”

Nangong Wan shook his head and said, “That, I don’t know. You’d have to ask him or the Supreme Leader if you want to know. Him being more normal is a good thing.”

The Fourth Elder chortled and said, “Yes, that fellow is the most abnormal between us brothers. He’s always living in his own world, so being more normal is a good thing. We can do anything if us brothers are united.”

Just as he was talking in amusement, the Third Elder suddenly frowned and commented, “Why do I feel like it’s a little cold? Is the weather changing too?”