Douluo Continent: Starting with a Heavenly Fire Judgment

Chapter 443 Saving lives to the very end

Sunrise City: The moat outside the south city wall has exploded, and the river water is rapidly overflowing.

Ji Lin, having broken free of the water prison, flapped his ice wings and floated in mid-air. With his arms outstretched, two beams of white light struck the two sides of the surging river. Then, under the terrifyingly low temperature of the extreme ice, the rushing river water on both sides was instantly frozen into ice, a spectacular sight.

Meanwhile, Ji Lin, who was flying in mid-air, also saw the chaos at the South City Soul Master Corps' position in the distance. The plan was going smoothly, and Wang Qiu'er and the others had successfully held off the South City Soul Master Corps.

Even so, about fifty members of the South City Soul Master Corps still broke away from the Corps and were heading towards the moat. Upon seeing Ji Lin fly into the sky, they immediately launched an attack.

A blinding red light hurtled toward him like a shooting star.

A faint smile appeared on Ji Lin's lips. The Soul Master Corps' position was in chaos, but this Soul Master squad had no choice but to come to their aid. They were caught in a dilemma. Whether they turned back to quell the chaos or went to support the moat, a single Soul Master squad was powerless to turn the tide.

As the high-explosive bomb, at least at the level of a sixth-grade soul tool, approached, rings of blazing flames immediately surged around Ji Lin's body. These flames were different from ordinary flames; they were almost white-hot, indicating that their temperature had reached an extremely high level.

The high-explosive bomb exploded the moment it approached Ji Lin, and a strong shock wave and flying metal fragments spread in all directions. However, when these fragments touched the flame barrier around Ji Lin, they melted into liquid as if they had encountered a furnace. They dripped onto the ground with a hissing sound and then evaporated into wisps of white smoke.

At this moment, Ji Lin, floating in mid-air and surrounded by flames, was like a fire god descending to earth.

"It's only polite to reciprocate; it's my turn!"

Ji Lin floated in mid-air, looking down at the fifty Soul Masters gathered below. Their imposing aura clearly indicated they were a well-trained team. However, Ji Lin's eyes held only indifference as he slowly raised the Heavenly Fire Judgment in his hand.

Following Ji Lin's will, the Heavenly Fire Judgment sword began to glow, a powerful high-temperature energy gathering within it. He swung his arm sharply, the sword tip drawing a perfect arc, and then a hundred-meter-long crimson flame sword aura burst forth from the sword tip, roaring like a giant dragon as it charged towards the Soul Master squad below.

"Quickly, deploy defenses." The leader of the Soul Master squad was one of the vice-leaders of this Soul Master regiment. He was a level seven Soul Master and the only high-level combatant that Wang Qiu'er and the others had overlooked.

However, this is no longer important; a level seven Soul Master can't cause any big trouble.

Ji Lin's sword energy contained destructive power; the space it passed through seemed to distort and deform due to the intense heat. The soul masters below felt an unprecedented sense of oppression, and they all activated their respective defensive soul tools in an attempt to resist this terrifying attack.

However, Ji Lin's fiery sword energy was too powerful; even with the combined strength of fifty Soul Masters, it was difficult to completely withstand it. The sword energy collided with the Soul Guidance Shield, triggering a violent explosion. Flames flew everywhere, heat waves rolled, and dust billowed, obscuring visibility.

When the dust settled, the once orderly ranks of Soul Masters were now in a sorry state. Some were seriously injured, while others had escaped death by taking timely evasive action. Their eyes were filled with fear and awe as they looked at Ji Lin. This man had almost destroyed their entire ranks with a single blow.

Ji Lin stood in mid-air, looking down at the disheveled Soul Master team below. The Heavenly Fire Judgment in his hand still emitted a scorching light, like a god.

In the midst of this brief clash, figures rushed out from the exit of the water prison that Ji Lin had blasted open along the moat.

When dozens of imprisoned Soul Masters rushed across the frozen, impenetrable moat and out of its confinement, less than a hundred meters away were the Soul Masters who had been defeated by Ji Lin.

Because they were unaware of the situation outside, the Soul Masters who rushed out of the water prison first were all vanguards, and they were basically all at least at the sixth ring level.

In other words, the first wave of people who rushed out from the moat were all Soul Masters with cultivation levels of six rings or higher and Soul Emperor level or higher.

As soon as they broke out of the moat, they increased their speed to the extreme, charging towards the Soul Masters on the other side like hungry wolves.

The Soul Masters on the opposite side reacted instantly, and beams of Soul Guidance Light shot out rapidly.

If both sides are fully engaged in battle and have sufficient buffer distance, even if the hostages' soul masters are of high quality, they may not necessarily gain the upper hand.

Because the soul masters of the Sun Moon Empire's soul master groups have been working together for so long, their various soul tools complement each other, enabling them to unleash combat power far exceeding the sum of their individual combat strength.

However, this rescue team of fifty Soul Masters was first defeated by Ji Lin. The leading seventh-level Soul Master was the first to be seriously injured and unable to command. Without unified command and without sufficient safe distance, the Soul Master team was caught in a dilemma.

Caught completely off guard and facing a barrage of Soul Masters at close range, these Soul Masters were too flustered to mount a strong counterattack. Moreover, the Soul Masters they were facing were the best of the best among the elites of all the major sects and academies in the world.

The hostages at the forefront of the charge included four eight-ring Soul Douluos, twelve seven-ring Soul Saints, and more than twenty Soul Emperors.

Each of them was an elite among elites, and at this moment they were like tigers unleashed from their cages, their fighting spirit soaring. They charged towards the Soul Master team with almost no casualties, and the outcome was predictable.

Ji Lin did not participate in the battle below, leaving the hostages to do as they pleased.

When all fifty Soul Masters were wiped out, all the hostages also broke out of the water prison. At this moment, dazzling fireworks bloomed in the sky above Sunrise City.

That was not part of Ji Lin's plan; it was clearly a distress signal sent by the three Zhongli brothers who had escaped.

Ji Lin frowned. The Zhongli brothers were not scary, and even the two evil soul masters at the Title Douluo level were not scary. With their current combat power, they could be dealt with completely. However, if the Sun Moon Empire sent a large number of reinforcements, or even brought level nine fixed-position soul guide shells, it would be a bit troublesome. That was the power of a Limit Douluo's full-force attack, which even Chi Yuan could not ignore.

If he gets blocked by those reinforcements, it will be troublesome. He doesn't want to have worked so hard for so long only to fail at the last minute; that's not what he wants.

After all, the five most powerful Soul Master Corps of the Sun Moon Empire are all equipped with flying Soul Tools. With the help of flying Soul Tools, it won't take long to travel from Mingdu to Risheng City.

There was no time to waste. Without giving the hostages, who had just caught their breath, a chance to rest, Ji Lin gave the order, "Head south, charge out."

The allure of freedom became the greatest motivating catalyst for the hostages, and everyone unleashed their full potential, charging southward with boundless energy.

Unbeknownst to them, they had subconsciously followed Ji Lin's orders without any hesitation, obeying him without question. This was not only because Ji Lin had saved them from months of torment, but also because his simple actions had won them over. This included the four Soul Douluos, who, despite having higher cultivation levels than Ji Lin, unconditionally obeyed his commands.

Obeying the strong is the most basic rule in this dog-eat-dog world. They had already placed Ji Lin in a position stronger than them. In this tense atmosphere, they gave up thinking and handed everything over to Ji Lin, obeying his instructions.

Just then, Ji Lin frowned. His mental detection revealed that a large number of powerful auras were rapidly approaching Sunrise City from the direction of the North City.

"The reinforcements from Mingdu have arrived? How come so fast? It's only been a few minutes! What went wrong?"

Ji Lin rubbed his temples and muttered to himself.

The capital of the Sun Moon Empire, Mingdu, is located north of Sunrise City. If there are reinforcements, they will definitely come from the north. However, in Ji Lin's calculations, it would take at least half an hour for the reinforcements to arrive after they discover the situation in Sunrise City, receive orders, assemble their troops, set off, and travel the distance. In that time, he could safely escape with the hostages.

But only a few minutes have passed since they made their move, right? The speed at which the Mingdu reinforcements arrived far exceeded his expectations, making the situation, which was gradually becoming clear, blur again.

Ji Lin transmitted his voice to the hostages below, instructing them to reunite with Wang Qiu'er and the others and break out from the south together.

He turned around and headed towards Sunrise City. Feng Ling, whom they had rescued, was still in Sunrise City. They would begin their operation tonight, and of course, they couldn't bring the burden of Feng Ling along. So, they left him alone in the hotel. Now that the Sun Moon Empire's reinforcements had arrived, Sunrise City was about to become a den of dragons and tigers. Ji Lin had to go and get Feng Ling out. Since they had already rescued him, and he had a strong will to live, even in that situation, Ji Lin certainly couldn't just abandon him like that.

It would be extremely irresponsible to rescue someone and then simply leave them in Sunrise City unattended.

The Soul Master Corps stationed outside the South City had a total of three hundred people. Fifty of them were killed by Ji Lin and his group. With Wang Qiu'er and others stirring things up inside, things were now in complete chaos. Facing the attack of hundreds of powerful Soul Masters, they couldn't hold out for long. Wang Qiu'er and her group would soon be able to take the hostages and break out of the encirclement.

If Ji Lin were even slightly more ruthless, he would be breaking through the southern lines with the hostages and fleeing far away, instead of returning to Sunrise City to rescue a useless person who has little to do with him.

(End of this chapter)