The soldiers a short distance away were struck head-on by an invisible shockwave. Bodies were torn apart and flung like discarded rag dolls, their insides shuddering like frothing blood. More men were pelted by a storm of high-velocity shrapnel and gravel, beaten as if through a sieve, then buried alive beneath collapsing mountainsides and fortifications.
The orderly barracks and solid defensive lines of just moments ago were now engulfed in hellish flames, reduced to ruins steeped in death and despair. Severed trunks, chopped-off arms, shattered weapons were scattered over the charred earth. The screams and wails of survivors sounded faint and hopeless, drowned beneath the continuous booming of explosions.
The air reeked of blood. The scorched stench and sharp tang of ozone were suffocating after the Soul Tool energies had been pushed far past their limits.
Duke Dai Hao—pillar of the Empire, famed for his bravery and tenacity—burst out of his tent the instant the first explosion sounded. When he saw that scene of devastation that looked like divine punishment, even the disciples of the Nine-Ring Douluo around him shrank back. For the first time, a shock and fury he could not conceal appeared on his face.
"Enemy attack—full alert! Activate the soul-tool defensive formation to maximum power!!"
His hoarse roar was nearly swallowed by the ceaseless thunder of detonations.
Yet before the absolute might of a Ninth-Tier Fixed-Mounted Soul Guidance Shell, the hastily raised local Soul Tool shields shattered in an instant like soap bubbles under the sun.
All he could do was watch, helpless, as the iron defense line he had painstakingly built, and the loyal subordinates he had trusted like siblings, were swept away in a mad frenzy of destruction.
"Rescue them! Hurry! All who can still move, prioritize pulling out the wounded! Give up the foremost positions and withdraw in order to the second line!!"
Dai Hao's eyes were bloodshot. Enduring the searing pain in his heart and a monstrous rage, he forced himself to restore order amid the chaos.
His tall figure stood like a tower in the light and smoke, constantly releasing powerful soul power to withstand the blast waves. One after another, he dragged buried soldiers out from under the rubble.
But in the face of power that seemed to come from Heaven and Earth themselves, an individual's strength felt so very small.
This sudden, annihilating strike not only completely obliterated the defensive line of the Mingdou Mountain Range—it also released a horrifying energy that spread for hundreds of miles, triggering violent earthquakes, as though the entire continent were trembling.
And in the bloodiest possible way, it proclaimed to all of Douluo Continent that full-scale war had begun.
After completing the first round of strategic strikes, Ju Zi issued her orders once more.
The vast Soul Engineer army began to advance like an efficient war machine, swiftly suppressing the remaining resistance in the Mingdou Mountains and establishing forward bases.
They encountered almost no organized resistance. The core of the Northwestern Army had been completely severed in the previous bombardment.
Yet Ju Zi's commands did not stop.
It was not that she intended to throw everything into a frontal assault on the Star Luo Empire. Under her direction, the massive mech legions, the main flotilla of floating battleships, and the Anti-Matter Legion silently changed course, bypassing the heavily fortified western borders of Star Luo and turning toward the North Sea.
Their next target was to launch a direct trans-sea attack on the Heavenly Soul Empire, ally of Star Luo.
This move to split their forces across the sea would undoubtedly throw the original three-nation defensive deployment into utter chaos.
As overall commander of the three armies, Ju Zi remained in the Mingdou Mountain Range that had just been baptized by blood and fire. She understood her own position very clearly.
Although she bore the title of Supreme Commander, the truly core, most powerful forces—such as the Anti-Matter Legion, and most of the units enhanced with the technologies of the Doomsday King—were not actually loyal to her. Their allegiance lay with Celenova and Phantylia hidden behind the curtain.
She was, at best, a puppet pushed to the front, a symbolic figure conveying orders.
With overwhelming power on their side, the Sun and Moon Empire no longer needed the subtle strategies it had once relied upon.
She chose to remain—not to direct the overall situation, but for the obsession she had buried deep within her heart for so many years: revenge.
The reason she had infiltrated the Sun and Moon Empire under Lu Jingming's arrangements, the reason she had approached Xu Tiannan, struggled in the military, and finally climbed to this position—her original driving force had always been the blood debt owed by Duke White Tiger Dai Hao, the enemy who had destroyed her clan.
Today, war had erupted in the most tragic fashion right before his eyes. His army had suffered disastrous losses, his fortifications had collapsed.
But to her, that was far from enough.
Ju Zi wanted to personally witness the fall of the once-invincible duke. She wanted to end this long-entangled hatred with her own hands.
She stayed in the Mingdou Mountains shrouded in smoke and death, waiting like the most patient hunter for the moment to deliver the final strike to her prey.
News of the war spread with terrifying speed, like a blood-soaked plague, to every corner of Douluo Continent.
When the detailed battle report—stating that the Mingdou Mountain Range had been reduced to scorched earth beneath a Ninth-Tier Fixed-Mounted Soul Tool, and that the Northwestern Army had been almost entirely annihilated—was rushed to the Star Luo Imperial Palace, the heart of the Empire was instantly shrouded in a heavy gloom.
…
In the luxurious, oppressive palace, Star Luo Emperor Xu Jiawei sat facing his younger sister, Princess Xu Jiujiu.
The battle report between them seemed soaked in invisible blood. Every word on it was shocking.
Xu Jiawei let out a long sigh. A trace of fatigue and a sliver of relief both appeared on his handsome face.
"It has begun."
For this war, the original three great nations of Douluo had prepared for many years, hoarding weapons and forging alliances. Yet he—no, none of them—had expected the Sun and Moon Empire to open this war in such a brutal, uncompromising fashion, directly deploying strategic-level weaponry to obliterate the entire Mingdou defensive line.
This was no longer a conventional siege. It was a war of annihilation, driven by the pure will to destroy.
He rubbed his brows, and for a moment, firm resolve flashed through his eyes.
"Issue the order to let 'those people' through… Any generals or nobles who might oppose our next decisions—especially those deeply tied to the White Tiger line—are all to be sent to the front lines as reinforcements."
This order was merciless.
Xu Jiawei knew very well that the Star Crown faction had already made its final choice—to side with Haiyuan City, destined to lead a new era, and to stand behind Lu Jingming.
What he now needed to do was clear away any obstacles that might hinder Lu Jingming from successfully taking over a 'cleansed' Star Luo Empire in the future.
The Star Luo Empire had originally been founded by the Dai Clan of the White Tiger. Even after the Star Crown bloodline had held imperial power for generations, the influence of the Dai family in the army, nobility, and even among the common people was deeply rooted—like the empire's second pillar.
If he wanted to pass Star Luo's authority completely—and without internal strife—into Lu Jingming's hands, then the White Tiger bloodline and its affiliated forces were the greatest obstacle and had to be removed.
On the surface, the deployment order looked like additional support to the front. In truth, it was a political purge—borrowing the knife of the enemy to kill, and using the front lines as a gate of no return.
"Elder Brother Emperor, don't worry yourself too much."
Xu Jiujiu's voice was gentle yet steady. She rose, walked to Xu Jiawei's side, and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, soothing his emotions.
There was no fear of war on her face—only anticipation for a new life.
"A new era is coming. This war is indeed tragic, but if we don't use it to shatter this old, decayed cage, how can the hundreds of millions of citizens of Star Luo hope to live better lives in the future?"
As she spoke, her other hand unconsciously and tenderly caressed her still-flat abdomen with a quiet, maternal motion.
Within, a new life was quietly taking shape—the crystallization of her and Lu Jingming's bloodlines.
The existence of this child would be the greatest guarantee for the future of the Star Crown line.
Her relationship with Lu Jingming had already gone far beyond a mere political alliance.
He had shown her a universe far vaster and more wondrous than this Douluo Continent—endless stars, different civilizations, even the existence of parallel worlds.
All of it had already shattered their old worldview, making them deeply aware of how narrow it was to cling to the throne of a single empire.
"If the old does not break, the new cannot stand."
She spoke softly, then gazed out the palace windows as if seeing new life arising from the baptism of war.
"After this war, the name 'Star Luo Empire' may become something of the past. But our people will build a truly powerful shelter and be guided into a wider world."
Xu Jiawei nodded. His sister's words swept away the final trace of hesitation in his heart.
Rather than be the final emperor of a doomed old empire, it was clearly wiser to become one of the founders of a new era.
The collapse of the empire was already a foregone conclusion. What they should do was build the glory of Haiyuan City and the future of the Star Crown bloodline atop the ruins.
…
The news of war exploded like thunder, shaking even the imperial capital of the Heavenly Soul Empire.
When Princess Weina received the emergency situation from the front lines, the color drained from her beautiful face.
The Mingdou defensive line had collapsed in an instant. The heavy losses of the Northwestern Army showed that this time, the Sun and Moon Empire was far more vicious than in any past conflict.
"We can't just sit and wait for death."
Weina forced herself to remain calm and immediately contacted the Protector Faction—the Body Sect—through a special channel.
"Those fools relying on foreign technology in the Sun and Moon Empire finally couldn't help but bare their true fangs, eh?"
The rough, heroic voice of the Body Sect's Poison Immortal Sect Master came through the Soul Guidance communication device, completely devoid of fear.
"Don't worry, girl Weina. I know well the truth that 'when the lips grow cold, the teeth will follow.' If Star Luo falls, Heavenly Soul will be next."
He swung his hand, and even over the transmission, the sound seemed to shake all four directions.
"All Titled Douluo elders of the Body Sect, and the inner-court elite disciples—assemble immediately. March with the old man to the front, and let's pay the Sun and Moon Empire's Soul Tool corps a little visit!"
Weina acted just as swiftly.
Nor had she been caught completely unprepared. With Feixiao's help, the Heavenly Soul Empire had secretly formed and trained a special soul master army: the Qingqiu Corps.
This army was fully equipped, with training that differed greatly from traditional forces, emphasizing mobility and coordinated operations.
Weina personally donned her armor, preparing to lead this ace force to rendezvous with the Body Sect powerhouses and hurry to the unstable Star Luo front.
They understood that faced with such a fierce military offensive from the Sun and Moon Empire, it would be hard for Star Luo to hold out alone.
If Star Luo were completely defeated, the Heavenly Soul Empire would lose its most critical strategic buffer. It would be hard to preserve itself alone—when the nest is overturned, how can any egg remain intact?
The same sense of crisis shrouded the Fighting Spirit Empire as well.
Though farther away, the Dou Ling royal family also reacted as quickly as they could. Their massive armies were being assembled, and supply wagons and fodder were constantly being sent toward the Mingdou Mountains.
They intended to stand together with Star Luo and Heavenly Soul to face the Sun and Moon Empire.
Under tremendous external pressure, the prototype of the Three-Nation Alliance took shape with astonishing speed.
They mobilized troops and elites, hoping to block the Sun and Moon's iron hooves from advancing into their kingdoms.
However, all their strategic predictions and troop deployments were based on their understanding of the old Sun and Moon Empire.
They did not know that today's Sun and Moon Empire had already been reborn under the support of two "extinguished" kings.
The knowledge and technology it had obtained from another world had caused its military power to leap qualitatively—utterly incomparable to the old Sun and Moon, which still had to rely on strategy and gradual advances.
Just as the Three-Nation Alliance focused on Star Luo's collapsing borders, and Ju Zi's Soul Master corps were preparing to finish securing the Mingdou Mountains, a fatal blow descended silently from an unexpected direction.
According to Ju Zi's existing plans, the colossal mixed fleet—composed of large numbers of new-model mechs, floating battleships, the Anti-Matter Legion, and Doomsday Beasts—would not participate in the suppression on Star Luo's frontal battlefield.
Relying on overwhelming mobility and stealth technology, they bypassed all known routes and, like a sharp blade hidden within storm clouds, crossed the vast ocean to thrust straight toward the comparatively weak coastline of the Heavenly Soul Empire.
The ambitions of the Sun and Moon had never stopped at Star Luo.
Their goal was to simultaneously collapse the Three-Nation Alliance's defenses through absolute strength, and settle the struggle for continental hegemony in one stroke.
That was the true thunderbolt hidden behind the storm.
In another space, Celenova and Phantylia merely observed the escalating war like an interesting experiment, watching the flames they had personally kindled spread with complete detachment.
The Sun and Moon Empire's seemingly secret troop movements were indeed enough to escape the notice of the three traditional nations, whose technology lagged behind and whose information systems were still primitive.
But before Haiyuan City, those forces were like fish swimming in a clear pond—their every move perfectly visible.
…
Within Star's inner sea, torrents of information surged.
Hatsune Miku's long twin tails of green hair fluttered as if in a wind of their own. Her consciousness was linked to the entire Douluo Star; mountains and rivers, plants and animals, even the faintest fluctuations of energy—everything became raw data flowing into her core.
Moreover, the roots Lu Jingming had quietly planted had already spread into the World Tree and its leyline network, stretching silently across every corner of the planet.
On this world, there were almost no secrets from Lu Jingming.
The Sun and Moon fleets crossing the sea, splitting their forces—their routes, their numbers, even rough evaluations of their combat power were displayed before him in the most direct way.
And yet, Haiyuan City, which knew everything, remained strangely quiet.
…