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

Chapter 369 One Strike Breaks Through the City

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"Your Majesty," Yu Xiaogang stepped forward at the opportune moment and said in a deep voice, "The Martial Soul Empire may seem powerful, but it is not a monolithic entity. Under its tyranny, public resentment is growing. As long as we unite as one and advance steadily, we may not be without a chance of victory. The most urgent task is to continue strengthening our military, especially the hidden weapons provided by King Tang... Lan Hao. We should expand production as soon as possible. At the same time, we should contact the Star Luo Empire to form a pincer movement and jointly resist our powerful enemy!"

Emperor Xueye nodded: "The Grand Preceptor is absolutely right. This matter will be fully handled by the Grand Preceptor and King Lanhao."

Before Emperor Xueye could finish speaking, a series of hurried, panicked, and even frightened footsteps suddenly came from outside the palace!

A messenger, covered in dust and blood-stained armor, with a pair of crimson wings on his back, disregarded etiquette and scrambled into the hall, collapsing to his knees with a thud, his voice hoarse and tearful:

"Report—!!! Your Majesty! Urgent military intelligence! Jialing Pass... has been... breached!!"

"what?!"

"This is impossible!"

Inside the hall, an uproar erupted instantly! All the princes and ministers, including Yu Xiaogang, Tang San, Tang Xiao, and others, all changed their expressions drastically and stood up abruptly from their seats!
Jialing Pass! That is the most powerful and fortified pass that the Heaven Dou Empire faces in the direction of the Spirit Empire!
Built against the mountains and beside the water, the city walls are hundreds of meters high, constructed from the hardest granite mixed with refined iron. Hundreds of thousands of elite troops are stationed there day and night, with ample provisions and numerous defensive soul-guided devices! It can be called the eastern gateway of the Heavenly Dou Empire, and the safety of the empire rests on its shoulders!
How could such a formidable pass be breached so easily?!
Even if the Spirit Empire mobilized its entire army and Pope Bibi Dong personally led the campaign, it would be impossible to break through without months of arduous fighting and a relentless, costly assault! Moreover, they had not received any news of the Spirit Empire's army being mobilized at all!
Upon hearing this devastating news, Emperor Xueye felt a sudden darkness engulf him, his blood rushing to his head. He coughed violently, nearly collapsing from his dragon throne, his face turning deathly pale.
With the Jialing Pass breached, the heartland of the Heavenly Dou Empire was practically left wide open!

"What exactly happened?! Explain yourself!" Yu Xiaogang rushed forward, supporting the swaying Emperor Xueye, and shouted at the messenger, his voice trembling slightly, "Is it the Martial Soul Empire's army attacking? Did Bibi Dong personally take action?!"

The messenger seemed still reeling from extreme fear, his body trembling like a leaf, stammering incoherently: "No...not an army...no army...it's...it's a giant! A...a blood-red giant! So big...so big!!"

He gestured frantically with his hands, his eyes filled with indelible fear: "Just this morning... at the crack of dawn... that giant... suddenly appeared! As tall as a mountain! At least... at least several hundred meters! His entire body was blood red, and in his hand... in his hand he was holding an equally enormous blood-red spear!!"

He seemed to recall that earth-shattering scene, his voice becoming shrill: "It...it just...just pointed that spear at Jialing Pass...and...just stabbed it so...so lightly...BOOM—!!! The entire pass...is gone! Just...just one poke!!"

The main hall was deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned by this incredible and illogical battle report.

It wasn't a massive army pressing in, nor was it the Pope personally leading the campaign.

Instead, it was a blood-red giant hundreds of meters tall? Wielding a blood-red spear, it wiped the supposedly invincible Jialing Pass off the map with a single strike?!

Is this...is this really something that human beings can do?!
"The Martial Soul Empire...didn't take the opportunity to attack?" Yu Xiaogang suppressed the turmoil in his heart and asked in a deep voice, grasping the key point in the messenger's words.

"No...no..." The messenger shook his head, still looking fearful. "After that giant destroyed Jialing Pass...he...he disappeared...There's been no movement from the Martial Soul Empire...but...but our army...is in complete chaos...the morale...the morale has collapsed!"

Yes, morale has collapsed!
Faced with such a catastrophic force that is utterly incomprehensible and irresistible, what kind of army can maintain its fighting spirit?
If it could destroy Jialing Pass with a single blow today, could it destroy Tiandou City with a single blow tomorrow?!
Panic, like the deadliest plague, has begun to spread throughout the Heavenly Dou Empire following the fall of Jialing Pass.

Tang San clenched his fists so tightly that his nails almost dug into his flesh, and his face turned ashen.

He originally thought that with his hidden weapons, the support of the Clear Sky Sect, and his own growth, he had the resources to contend with the Spirit Hall and even seek revenge.

But this sudden news was like a bucket of ice water, chilling him to the bone. That kind of power… was it really something they could contend with?

Yu Xiaogang supported Emperor Xueye, feeling the emperor's cold, trembling hand, and his heart sank to the bottom. He looked towards the direction of the Martial Soul Empire outside the palace, his eyes filled with unprecedented solemnity and... a trace of despair.

Just what kind of terrifying existence does the Martial Soul Empire possess?

"What about casualties?" Yu Xiaogang asked abruptly, his voice carrying a hint of urgency he himself didn't realize. "What about the casualties among the people and the army at Jialing Pass?!"

This was the last straw he was grasping at! If the Spirit Empire were to use such terrifying power to massacre cities and destroy passes, causing millions of lives to be lost, then the Spirit Empire would completely lose the hearts of the people and bear eternal infamy!

At that time, no matter how strong their military power is, their rule will be unstable, and their Heavenly Dou Empire will still have the opportunity to win the hearts and minds of the people and gain moral advantage!
The messenger was startled by Yu Xiaogang's sharp gaze, hurriedly shaking his head with a strange expression on his face, a mixture of fear and disbelief.

"No...no casualties! Not a single one!"

"What?!" This time, even Tang Xiao and Tang San couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

A single blow destroyed a formidable pass, yet not a single person was injured or killed? How is that possible?!
The messenger swallowed hard, struggling to organize his thoughts as he recalled the eerie and terrifying scene: "That giant... after the giant appeared, it didn't attack immediately... it... it seemed to... speak?"

His tone was filled with uncertainty and confusion: "It wasn't a sound heard with our ears... it was... it appeared directly in all of our minds! A... a very cold, emotionless voice..."

He mimicked the voice in his mind, his tone flat and emotionless: "Everyone on the city wall and in the core defensive area of ​​the pass, evacuate within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

The people in the hall looked at each other, their eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

"At the time... everyone was terrified, but the voice was like a command directly into their souls... no one dared to disobey..." the messenger continued, "Everyone ran desperately outwards, towards the mountains on both sides, towards the plains behind the pass... it was chaotic, but... but everyone managed to evacuate."

His face still showed lingering fear: "The time it takes for an incense stick to burn... just enough time for everyone to scramble out of the city walls... and then... then the giant moved... just... like I just said... just like that..."

The messenger's voice trailed off, trembling with the relief of someone who had survived a near-death experience: "The pass... is gone... but the people... are still watching from outside... they're all... still alive..."

Dead silence.

An even deeper, deathly silence enveloped the entire hall.

A single, devastating blow was delivered with advance warning and precise control, yet not a single person was harmed!
The implications behind this sent an even greater chill through everyone present!
This shows what?
This indicates that the blood-red giant, or rather the being that controls the giant, possesses an unbelievable and precise control over power!
He doesn't even need to kill indiscriminately to achieve the ultimate deterrent effect!
This is more terrifying than a simple massacre! Because it demonstrates absolute power and... a kind of indescribable "restraint".

This restraint is not kindness, but a condescending indifference to the life and death of ants, and an absolute confidence in one's own power.

I don't need to establish my authority through killing. I just need to make you understand that I have the power to destroy you at any time, and that's enough.

(End of this chapter)