Douluo Continent: My Martial Soul is the Black Dragon, I am the Lord of the Gods

Chapter 279 Rainy Night Raid
……

Ten days have passed, and the journey is already halfway complete.

The night was as dark as ink, pressing heavily upon the earth. Due to obstacles encountered along the way that delayed their journey, and with the next city still dozens of miles away, the caravan had no choice but to set up camp on the spot.

Campfires flickered throughout the camp, their light illuminating tired yet vigilant faces and dispelling some of the chill.

Xuanming remained protected in the central area of ​​the Pope's convoy. More than sixty Soul Emperor-level Saint Emperor Warriors formed a defensive formation, with three Title Douluo also present—let alone assassination or sneak attack, even getting close was absolutely impossible.

As midnight approached, most of the people in the camp had gone to their tents to rest, and the camp, which had been filled with flickering firelight, gradually fell silent.

Xuanming and Gu Yuena sat side by side by the campfire, not yet asleep.

"Shouldn't you go back after the competition?" Xuanming said softly.

Gu Yuena paused slightly, then nodded gently: "Mm."

"How have you felt about the human world these past few days?"

Gu Yuena was silent for a moment, then said only, "It's very complicated."

"I will do my best to keep my promise." Xuanming looked at her. "Even if I can't fully fulfill your wish, at least I will try my best to help."

Gu Yuena's eyes flickered slightly: "What do you mean?"

Xuanming looked up at the starry sky and said, "If I cannot reach the top, at least I will clear the obstacles below for you."

Gu Yuena's eyes flickered, and she reached out to grab Xuanming, but suddenly a gust of cold wind swept in—carrying an eerie aura, and extinguished most of the campfires in the camp at an extremely fast speed!
"All alert!"

The leader of the Royal Knights shouted, instantly waking the entire camp.

Immediately afterwards, several dark clouds blanketed the camp without warning. Before anyone could react, thunderclouds surged, and a torrential downpour began!

The raindrops were cold and dense, pounding against the tents and armor with a dull thud.

Xuanming and Gu Yuena quickly stood up and looked around warily.

"This is no ordinary rain," Gu Yuena whispered, the Silver Dragon Spear already in her hand.

Xuanming nodded. He could sense the fluctuations of soul power contained in the rainwater—this was clearly the work of a soul master.

A martial soul capable of manipulating the weather, similar to Xue Wu's ability at Tianshui Academy, but capable of causing such widespread rainfall, indicates that the opponent's cultivation level is extremely high, at least at the Soul Saint level.

"alert!"

Yue Guan gave a cold shout, and the Holy Emperor Warriors quickly formed a formation, circulating their soul power and imbuing their martial spirits into their bodies. The terrifying aura instantly kept the torrential rain at bay.

"These people actually dared to make a move?" Yue Guan squinted at Lei Yun. "They even dared to attack the Pope's convoy? Do they really think they're Tang Hao?"

Even if Tang Hao himself were to arrive, he would have to think twice before facing this situation!

Bibi Dong stepped out of the main tent and looked toward the chaotic academy caravan.

Groups of men in black emerged from all directions and, under the cover of night, engaged the Royal Knights in battle. Students from various academies also joined the fight.

"A thief?" Hu Liena asked in confusion.

"Have you ever seen a thief who dared to attack the Pope?" Bibi Dong reached out and caught a few raindrops, sensing them carefully.

Seeing the Royal Knights unleash a one-sided massacre on the men in black, Yue Guan's expression grew serious: "Your Holiness, they seem to be just ordinary thieves."

“It’s just a feint.” Bibi Dong looked towards where the dark clouds came from. “I’m curious how they can break through the defenses here.”

Before the words were even finished, the college convoy suddenly changed direction!
The Royal Knights and students, who had been advancing with unstoppable momentum, began to feel strange sensations in their bodies—their throats felt like they were being burned by fire, causing unbearable pain, followed by dizziness and weakness in their limbs.

"Oh no! The rainwater is poisonous!" an experienced royal knight cried out in alarm, only to collapse to the ground.

Before those around them could react, they collapsed one after another.

In an instant, the fierce battle turned into chaos, and cries of agony filled the air.

"Your Holiness, what should we do?" Yue Guan asked urgently.

"Ignore them." Bibi Dong said coldly. "Their methods are simply to create chaos and distract us. Their target is Xuanming."

“But…” Yue Guan hesitated.

Although the lives and deaths of these people are irrelevant to the Spirit Hall, if the entire participating team is wiped out here, what face will the Pope have left?
Yue Guan realized this, and Bibi Dong naturally understood it as well.

At this moment, she even began to suspect that the mastermind behind the attack was Golden Crocodile Douluo.

If these students really die here, what authority will she have left when she returns to Wuhun City?

"Holy Emperor Warriors, heed my command! Annihilate the enemy!" After weighing the options, Bibi Dong still ordered the Holy Emperor Warriors to go to the rescue, leaving only the two Douluo, Chrysanthemum and Ghost, to guard them.

She refused to believe that anyone in the world could break through the defenses of the three Title Douluos!
The Holy Emperor's Warriors charged out on command, their soul power erupting like tigers unleashed from their cages, carving dazzling trails through the rainy night. Wherever they passed, the black-clad thieves fell dead instantly.

However, their good fortune was short-lived, as the Holy Emperor's warriors who had launched the attack also began to feel unwell.

Many Soul Masters were mixed in with the thieves, and even the Holy Emperor Warriors began to suffer casualties in this poisonous rain.

“Your Holiness, this poisonous rain has unique properties. While it is not particularly lethal, prolonged exposure will cause weakness throughout the body and hinder the flow of soul power. Without precautions, only those at the Soul Saint level or higher can resist it,” Yue Guan reported.

"If this continues, the Holy Emperor's Warriors won't be able to hold out for much longer."

The Holy Emperor Warriors are mostly Soul Emperors. When they are assembled, they can resist the poisonous rain, but when they are scattered and unprepared, they will probably collapse soon.

"The source of the rain is over there."

Xuanming, who had been sensing the soul power of the rain, suddenly opened his eyes and pointed to a dense forest a kilometer away.

“Yue Guan,” Bibi Dong said coldly.

Yue Guan responded immediately, transforming into a streak of light that hurtled towards the dense forest. He left trails of afterimages in the rain before vanishing from sight in the blink of an eye.

"A wide-ranging poisonous rain, with an extremely strong paralyzing effect; this crowd control ability is almost on par with Dugu Bo," Xuanming said to Bibi Dong. "The Spirit Hall has no information on this person?"

Bibi Dong shook her head: "No."

In the past, the world of Soul Masters was constantly embroiled in conflict, and the so-called "Number One Weapon Soul in the World" and "Number One Beast Soul in the World" were all titles earned through fighting.

However, in recent decades, not only because Qian Daoliu purged the Title Douluos who were not convinced by the Spirit Hall when he served as the Judgement Elder, but also because of the expansion of the Spirit Hall, more and more Soul Master families have chosen to go into hiding.

They stopped displaying their abilities, fearing they would be targeted by the Spirit Hall.

The Spirit Hall has no idea how much the seven major families have hidden.

Even the Spirit Hall doesn't know how much the Star Luo Empire has hidden.

Everyone is hiding!

This made the Spirit Hall's prestige in the Soul Master world unassailable, but it also led to a huge loophole in its control over information in the Soul Master world.

Just like the people who released the poisonous rain right now, they had absolutely no clues!

"Although the Holy Emperor Warriors are wounded, none have died. It seems they don't intend to completely break ties with the Spirit Hall," Ghost said, observing the battle in the distance.

The poisonous rain had an extremely strong paralyzing effect and was highly concealed. By the time the Holy Emperor's Warriors noticed the anomaly, it was too late to react.

"You stay here, I'll go check it out." Xuanming summoned his blood spear.

"What are you going to do?" Bibi Dong grabbed him.

“Since the target is me, this attack will definitely not be so simple.” Xuanming analyzed calmly, “If you keep guarding me, the other side will probably use other methods, such as kidnapping the people around me to force me to show myself. Just thinking about it is troublesome.”

"Why don't I take the initiative and lure them all out?"

"No," Bibi Dong persisted, "We don't know how many people they have, or what their backup plans are. What if they have some underhanded tricks up their sleeve?"

Xuanming is indeed powerful; even a Title Douluo would find it difficult to pose a fatal threat directly.

But what if it's a silent assassination like before, or other special martial souls or strange soul skills?
It's easy to hide from open guns, but hard to guard against hidden arrows!
Xuanming gently held Bibi Dong's hand, "You have to have faith in me, I'm not that fragile."

"Besides, the feeling of being watched from the shadows like prey is disgusting. No matter how good his stealth is, he will inevitably be exposed after he makes a move. I will act as bait, and you can seize the opportunity to make your move."

Bibi Dong frowned slightly, "But..."

"Trust me, okay?" Xuanming said.

Bibi Dong remained silent for a moment, then finally released her hand. "Be careful."

"You two stay here too, don't wander off." Xuanming looked at Gu Yuena and Hu Liena.

"I..." Hu Liena was about to speak when Bibi Dong patted her hand, signaling her to listen.

Gu Yuena didn't say much, she just nodded slightly.

Xuanming nodded slightly, then his figure flashed, transforming into a streak of blood-red light as he rushed towards the academy's convoy.

As he approached, he saw that most of the once energetic students were now collapsed on the ground, and members of the Royal Knights and the Holy Knights were struggling to resist the attacks of the black-clad thieves while also enduring the corrosive effects of the poisonous rain.

(End of this chapter)