Douluo Continent: Starting with a Heavenly Fire Judgment

Chapter 461 A Deadly Question

It's not that Title Douluos can't cause large-scale casualties, but there's always a process involved, and it takes time. However, Level 9 fixed-position soul-guided cannons don't need this process. Once they explode, it's a large-scale, indiscriminate massacre. In terms of killing efficiency, Title Douluos can't compare at all.

At the very first moment of the war, the war-savvy Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger Army ordered the Northwest Army Group to retreat to seven cities on the northwestern border of the Star Luo Empire. These seven cities were all garrisoned by reserve legions and formed the second line of defense on the Star Luo Empire's border.

Meanwhile, Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger successfully returned to the second line of defense and took charge of the overall situation in Tianming City, one of the seven cities defended on the second line. The Western Army Group also made a strategic shift, expanding the scope of the defense as much as possible to avoid being attacked by the Sun Moon Empire with its large-scale destructive soul tools. There was no other way; if the army was too concentrated, it would be easy to be defeated by the Sun Moon Empire's large-scale destructive soul tools.

Upon returning to the defensive line, Duke Baihu issued a self-criticism, stating to Emperor Xu Jiawei of Xingluo that he would fight to the death in Tianming City, sparing no effort to hold back the army of the Sun Moon Empire and buy time for Xingluo Empire's reinforcements. He vowed not to yield an inch of ground.

The Northwest Army Group has been operating in the western part of the Star Luo Empire for many years. Its city defenses and troop strength are far superior to those of other cities in the Star Luo Empire. Once this second line of defense is breached, the Sun Moon Empire will face no further obstacles, and its army will advance unimpeded, even sweeping into the heart of the Star Luo Empire.

As for the reinforcements from the Star Luo Empire, it is conservatively estimated that it will take at least half a month to reach the second line of defense. This is because they never expected that the empire's strongest Northwest Army Group would be defeated overnight. Therefore, the other legions are not prepared with equipment or supplies and need time. Helpless, Xu Jiawei could only dispatch a few Soul Master Legions to support the second line of defense first.

The speed of action of the Soul Master Legion is unmatched by ordinary armies.

Looking at these battle reports, Ji Lin nodded. Currently, the Star Luo Empire has reached its limit. Although the situation is bad, it is not yet hopeless. Once the support sent by the Dou Ling Empire arrives, along with the restraint from the Tian Hun Empire and the Body Sect, plus the Star Luo Empire's own profound foundation, it may not be unable to withstand the powerful attack of the Sun Moon Empire.

After all, the Star Luo Empire was the most powerful of the three original kingdoms of the Douluo Continent, and its number of Soul Master Legions was the largest in the entire continent, including the Sun Moon Empire. Ten Soul Master Legions had ten thousand Soul Masters, which was a force that could not be ignored.

Three days have passed, and under the leadership of Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger, the situation on the northwestern frontier has stabilized. Most importantly, the Sun Moon Empire does not seem to be in a hurry to attack. However, the other forces' methods of detecting the border have been stifled by the Sun Moon Empire's high-altitude detection soul guides and soul master legions. In other words, the Star Luo Empire's reconnaissance against the Sun Moon Empire's soul master legions has been completely blocked.

Duke White Tiger also sent powerful individuals to investigate, but under the highly concentrated effects of high-altitude detection soul tools and thermal detection soul tools, any powerful individual who approached a certain range would be immediately detected, followed by countless attacks from soul tools.

In this situation, it is impossible to obtain any information or intelligence.

What is the Sun Moon Empire trying to do? Even if they just need to consolidate their positions, it won't take three days! Since the Sun Moon Empire initiated this war, they should have been prepared long ago and then launched a full-scale attack! But why didn't they move, giving the Star Luo Empire ample time to mobilize its troops?

The calmer the Sun Moon Empire was, the more uneasy Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger, with his keen intuition and long experience in leading troops, felt.

However, the current situation is clearly advantageous to the Star Luo Empire. The longer the enemy arrives, the closer the Star Luo Empire's reinforcements will be.

In the past three days, six Soul Master Legions have joined forces with the Northwest Army Group and the Western Army Group. Adding to the original two Soul Master Legions, there are now eight, which is 80% of the Star Luo Empire's combat strength! Even though the First Soul Master Legion suffered considerable losses, its combat strength is still intact. This lineup demonstrates the Star Luo Empire's determination. Moreover, as the princess of the empire, Xu Jiujiu had no choice but to represent the Star Luo royal family and personally go to the front line.

Xu Jiujiu's arrival at the front lines was not only to represent the royal family, set an example, and boost morale, but also to command the six subsequent Soul Master Legions. This represented 80% of the Star Luo Empire's Soul Master combat power. Even if Xu Jiawei had a good relationship with Dai Hao in private, it was impossible to hand over the entire force to Dai Hao. Therefore, Xu Jiujiu had to come. The Star Luo royal family was small in number. If Xu Jiujiu didn't come, would Emperor Xu Jiawei of Star Luo personally lead the expedition?

Since Xu Jiujiu has come, how could Ji Lin not come? He was worried about Xu Jiujiu going to the front line, so he brought Chi Yuan along to protect the princess. At least if things got out of control, he could help the princess escape safely.

Meanwhile, reinforcements from the Douling Empire have entered the territory of the Xingluo Empire, splitting into two groups with the Xingluo Empire's own reinforcements, and are heading towards the front line.

It seems that the situation has gradually stabilized. In at most ten days, once all the armies have been assembled and are well-prepared, it will not be so easy for the Sun Moon Empire to achieve victory in one fell swoop.

Ji Lin was quite idle. He didn't know how to command troops in battle and was completely ignorant about these matters. He could only follow Xu Jiujiu around as a bodyguard, while also learning from Xu Jiujiu how to handle military affairs.

Although his dream is to be a hands-off manager and suppress all dissent single-handedly, he can't do that yet, and learning some knowledge is beneficial.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The first batch of reinforcements from the Star Luo Empire, 30,000 troops, had entered the second line of defense and brought with them twenty Zhuge Divine Crossbows, all of which were manufactured by the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy working overtime.

As the number one academy on the continent, Shrek Academy will not be affected too much by any turmoil on the continent. As long as Shrek Academy does not take the initiative to participate in the war, the Sun Moon Empire will never do anything to Shrek City. After all, Shrek Academy is just an academy. As long as it does not stand in the way of Xu Tianran's conquest of the entire continent, Xu Tianran will not take the initiative to target Shrek Academy.

However, Shrek Academy is, after all, an academy from the original Douluo Three Kingdoms. The students, teachers, and even the elders of the Sea God Pavilion in the academy all come from the original Douluo Three Kingdoms. As human beings, they all have their own selfish motives. Although the main principle is neutrality, this neutral stance is based on the original Douluo Three Kingdoms.

Although Shrek Academy did not send anyone to participate in the war, it decided to prioritize supplying soul tools to the Star Luo Empire, especially the Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon. The Zhuge Divine Crossbow Cannon has a long range, making it ideal for defense.

"The Sun Moon Empire hasn't made a move yet, but it seems they're planning something big!" Ji Lin chuckled as he sat on the sofa. He had just finished dinner, and this was the time every day when Xu Jiujiu was teaching him.

After looking out the window at the darkening sky for a long time, he said, "Yes! Seven days have passed since the start of the war. Even if we are being extremely cautious, the Sun Moon Empire should have launched its next offensive by now."

Xu Jiujiu was also puzzled. Although she had learned a lot about war, military campaigns, and commanding troops because she was a princess and the only member of the royal family besides Xu Jiawei who was of practical use, it was all theoretical knowledge and she lacked practical experience. She couldn't figure out what the Sun Moon Empire was planning.

Ji Lin came up behind Xu Jiujiu and reached out to massage her forehead, helping her relieve stress. Xu Jiujiu had been under a lot of mental pressure these past few days. Not only her, but almost the entire Star Luo Empire's army was like this, their nerves were on edge every day because they knew that war could break out at any time. The Sun Moon Empire's army had not yet arrived, but their nerves were still on edge, bearing psychological pressure. Under such circumstances, everyone's mental pressure was enormous.

Those who don't know the situation might think the Sun Moon Empire is waging psychological warfare.

"Sister Jiu Jiu, you've worked so hard these past few days. Let's go out and relax, otherwise the stress will make you age faster!"

Xu Jiujiu's face darkened, and she slammed her elbow backward with lightning speed, striking Ji Lin in the abdomen with unerring accuracy.

"Forehead--!"

Ji Lin clutched his lower abdomen, a bead of cold sweat dripping from his forehead. He was still shaken; if that elbow had gone any lower, it would have hit his vitals.

"Sister Jiu Jiu, are you trying to murder your husband?! What if you hurt him? That's a matter of your sexual happiness!"

After a long while, she turned around and said irritably, "Serves you right. Don't you know that's a woman's taboo?"

Ji Lin rubbed his lower abdomen, straightened up, and knew that Xu Jiujiu was very careful with her strength, only causing pain but not injury. He stepped forward and hugged Xu Jiujiu in his arms, saying softly, "Don't worry, Sister Jiujiu, I'm here, nothing will happen."

Xu Jiujiu has indeed been working very hard these past few days. It's her first time on the battlefield and her first time commanding an army. You can imagine the pressure she's under. After all, she holds the lives of tens of thousands of people in her hands, and those are all the forces of their own side!

With her cheek resting against Ji Lin's chest, feeling his strong heartbeat, the pressure that had been building up in her heart for so long was instantly released, and she felt much more relaxed. Then she started to have wild thoughts: Am I really getting old?

Seeing the conflicted look on Xu Jiujiu's face, Ji Lin guessed what she was thinking and chuckled, "Don't worry, Jiujiu-jie, how could you possibly get old? I was just kidding. In my eyes, you'll always be the most beautiful."

"oh!"

After a long while, she squinted and looked up at Ji Lin. "Then, between me and Qiu'er and the others, who is prettier?"

Ji Lin's lips twitched. Oh no! This is a death trap.

"I was so stupid, why did I have to bring this up?" Ji Lin wished she could slap herself a few seconds earlier.

(End of this chapter)