Douluo: Starting from the Nine-Curved Vine Dragon

Chapter 426 Dragon Saliva Pass

The flames of war raged on, the smoke of battle never ceased, and it did not stop because of Dai Mubai's death.

The war continues day after day.

Until one day, the Spirit Hall's Soul Master Legion still retained 60-70% of its original strength, but the ordinary soldiers of the Star Luo Empire had suffered heavy losses, and the once mighty army of a million men was now barely reduced to 500,000.

On the other hand, the Heavenly Dou side, not to mention the Soul Master Legion, still has more than 1.4 million ordinary soldiers.

Therefore, after receiving the data and intelligence from the battlefield, the current Star Luo Emperor issued twelve imperial edicts in succession, ordering the army to abandon the border fortress and retreat to Longyan Pass, another strategic pass thousands of miles away.

This order was tantamount to relinquishing the vast territory outside the Purple Dragon Saliva Pass of the Star Luo Empire.

When the first imperial edict arrived at the border fortress, even though the Star Luo generals were somewhat prepared, they were still inevitably shocked.

Before long, the golden token was presented to the golden crocodile.

"Abandon the fortress and retreat to Longyan Pass."

Jin E examined the golden token in his hand. His face, which had regained its rosy hue, remained calm, showing no sign of anything amiss.

"Yes, yes, this is His Majesty's order."

The sentry carrying the gold token lowered his head and answered nervously, fearing that the person in front of him might kill him in a fit of anger if he was displeased.

After all, the Spirit Hall now reigns supreme over the Star Luo royal family, yet the current Star Luo Emperor issued a direct order to withdraw his troops without the Spirit Hall's permission.

"That's right."

The sentry thought he had misheard and looked up in surprise, only to meet the gaze of the golden crocodile. Startled, he quickly lowered his head again, even lower than before.

"While it's still dark, quickly give the order to pack up and retreat. If we wait until dawn tomorrow, it won't be so easy to leave."

After speaking, Jin E tossed the golden token in his hand to the sentry.

Upon receiving the order, the sentry felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He hurriedly finished his salute and fled the tent as if his life depended on it.

After the sentry left, Golden Crocodile got up and walked into the depths of the camp. The four remaining worshippers in the Hall of Worship stood there, each with a different expression.

"You all heard what I just said," Golden Crocodile said bluntly.
"With the current overwhelming strength of the Heavenly Battle and the decline of the Spirit Hall, avoiding war is our only option."

He needed time to recover the energy lost from consuming two drops of divine blood, and the third brother also needed time to complete the test for the position of the God of Greed.

The attendees all understood this principle, so there was no dispute on this issue.

On the contrary, the four offerings added:
"Second brother, since that's the case, then we won't go to Longyan Pass. Before our third god is born, Longyan Pass will fall sooner or later, just like this border fortress."

"Knowing that the city will fall, rather than going to a place that is bound to fall, it would be better to choose a secluded place so that Second Brother can recuperate properly and Third Brother can have a safe place to seclude himself for a long time."

After hearing this, Jin E felt conflicted.

Bibi Dong left long ago, taking Hu Liena to some unknown corner of the continent to go into seclusion. If they follow suit and leave the Spirit Hall in this time of crisis, their hard-won reputation will once again plummet to the bottom.

But just as his inner turmoil was at its most intense, he suddenly recalled the milky white droplet that had given him a fatal threat several months ago. He later heard Bibi Dong say that it was called something like Guanyin's Tear.

"Never mind, let's just say we're keeping our lives intact."

This recollection solidified Golden Crocodile's resolve, and he said:
"Fourth brother is right, let's do as you say."

……

That night. At the Tian Dou border fortress, atop the high walls.

Sensing the movement on the other side, Lin Rong and the old butler climbed up to the other side and silently observed.

The old butler took out a map of the mainland, which was illuminated by the bright moonlight.

"The Star Luo Empire is located in the southern part of the continent. Most of the terrain within the empire is flat, with plains being the majority. Although there are thousands of mountains, they are mostly hilly, and there are very few natural strongholds."

"If this old servant is not mistaken, the destination of the Star Luo Empire's retreat to the border fortress should be this place: Dragon Saliva Pass."

At this point, the old butler pointed to a spot on the map and continued his explanation:

"Before the Star Luo Empire had recovered the vassal states, the location of Longyan Pass was a very famous border fortress of the Star Luo Empire, on par with Jialing Pass of my Heavenly Dou Empire."

"This pass was built against the mountain and is called Longyan Pass because it was built on the Longyan Mountain Range."

"Although the Dragon Saliva Mountain Range is not large, its terrain is extremely treacherous, even above the Heavenly Spirit Mountain Range. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack, making it a strategic location that military strategists must contend for."

Under the moonlight, Lin Rong looked down at the spot the old butler was pointing to on the map, muttering to himself:

"Dragon Saliva Pass, the imperial border before the recapture of the fiefdoms of various states?"

"That means that their retreat is tantamount to handing over the territories of the various countries that were previously affiliated with the Star Luo Empire."

The states that were enfeoffed by the two great empires varied in size. Some were as large as the provinces of the empire, while others were only half the size of a province, or even less. For example, the duchies among the enfeoffed states were small.

Whether it's Tiandou or Xingluo, the territories of the various states they granted out were all equivalent to half of their respective empires.

Therefore, in the original work, after Bibi Dong annexed many kingdoms and duchies, the territory of the Spirit Empire was roughly the same as that of the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire.

Now that the Star Luo Empire has retreated to Longyan Pass, the territory it has ceded is essentially given to the Heaven Dou Empire for free. However, digesting such a large territory will require not only a large number of people but also a lot of time.

Before Tian Dou completely annexes and consumes this territory, it can greatly alleviate the pressure on Xing Luo in defending Longyan Pass.

Lin Rong's goal in unifying the mainland was to harvest the faith of the mainland's people.

By annexing the territory that the Star Luo Empire had relinquished, two-thirds of the entire Douluo Continent fell into his hands.

The remaining third, which the Star Luo Empire held onto, was both important and unimportant.

"Since they want to back out, let them back out."

"However, we cannot abandon the attack on Longyan Pass, and we must also carry out the spread of faith in the territories we have conquered at the same time. We must do both at the same time."

He's not a child anymore. Choice? What's that? A real man has to have both.

Lin Rong reached out and grabbed at the air, and Ma Hongjun, who was fast asleep in the military camp, was pulled here from a distance.

"Wake up, don't sleep anymore."

He patted Ma Hongjun's face.

"Ah~ um?" Ma Hongjun woke up from his sleep, the cold wind blowing from the high wall instantly waking him up.

After he had assessed the situation, he asked with considerable excitement:

"Your Majesty, why did you bring me here so late? Are you trying to cause trouble?"

(End of this chapter)