For the soldiers of Heavenly Brightness City, although they had long grown accustomed to the tense atmosphere near the border, they had never felt as uneasy as they did today.
It was already time for the dawn shift change, but the guards on the city walls showed no intention of leaving. The soul guide cannons for city defense had been moved up to the walls early, and every soldier stared solemnly in the direction of the Mingdou Mountain Range to the west.
Some of the younger soldiers, who had never participated in a real war, gripped their weapons with hands that trembled slightly, whether from tension or fear, no one could tell.
"Full alert!"
A loud voice rang out, startling everyone. Then, they saw streaks of fiery red light approaching closer and closer. All kinds of lights released by soul tools came pouring toward Heavenly Brightness City like a storm.
"Boom—"
A deafening explosion sounded from outside the city. The entire ground shook violently, as if the whole of Heavenly Brightness City were swaying left and right. Some soldiers on the stairs hurriedly braced themselves with their weapons against the ground to avoid falling.
The group exchanged glances. After a moment of silence, they suddenly reacted and rushed toward the city walls.
"Hurry, raise the defenses!"
The city defense general's roar echoed from the top of the wall, instantly spreading throughout Heavenly Brightness City. The city immediately burst into activity, with noisy sounds rising from all directions. Countless soldiers moved busily, as if they had rehearsed it countless times.
Although Heavenly Brightness City had received advance notice of the Sun Moon Empire's surprise attack on the Mingdou Mountain Range, no one had expected the Sun Moon Empire's assault to come so swiftly and fiercely.
Heavenly Brightness City had only made the most basic preparations when the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion launched an aerial assault. Before dawn had even broken, they had crossed the entire Mingdou Mountain Range and appeared before Heavenly Brightness City.
"Hurry, hurry!"
The Heavenly Brightness City's defending general was still shouting orders at the troops. Seeing the soldiers running about, he suddenly reached out and grabbed the messenger soldier beside him.
"Hurry and report the news upward, Heavenly Brightness City is under attack! Quick, go now!"
"Yes, sir!"
"What about the scouts? Has there still been no news from the Mingdou Mountain Range side? What about the Duke? Does anyone know the current situation of the army in the mountain range?"
Amid the booming of soul tools, the general shouted hoarsely, but his questions were destined to go unanswered.
Beneath the cliff of the Mingdou Mountain Range, mangled corpses lay mixed with shattered rocks across the valley floor. The pungent smell of blood filled the air everywhere under the cliff.
The majestic White Tiger steed lay in the valley, its body smashed in half by falling boulders from above. Its glossy fur was covered in dust, and its long mane had congealed with dried blood into muddy clumps.
The bodies of many White Tiger Guards were piled together. Their armor had scattered or been smashed during the fall, almost unrecognizable from its original form.
The sun had just risen. A ray of sunlight slipped through the gap between the mountain peaks and fell into the valley. The dew on the corpses quickly evaporated under the sunlight.
Suddenly, one of the corpses twitched. An arm that was already barely attached snapped off and rolled to the side of the body. Fresh drops of blood seeped from the nearly dried wound.
Then, a hand covered in wounds reached out from beneath the pile of corpses.
"Cough—cough—"
Two heavy coughs came from under the bodies. A figure pushed the corpses aside and crawled out from below.
Dai Hao's face was also covered in grime. His helmet had fallen off somewhere unknown. His messy golden hair hung loosely behind him. The somewhat blinding sunlight made him squint slightly.
As his senses gradually returned, the first thing he saw was the valley full of the corpses of the White Tiger Guards who had accompanied him for so long.
Even as a commander who had long grown accustomed to life and death, he still stood frozen in place for a long while.
"Cough—"
The burning pain in his chest snapped Dai Hao back to reality. Only then did the pain from all over his body surge in at once.
With a top-tier martial soul like the Evil Eye White Tiger, Dai Hao's physical resilience was naturally far beyond that of ordinary soul masters. But even so, falling from such a height had left him seriously injured.
Yet at this moment, he had no time to care about his wounds or mourn the White Tiger Guards. He knew full well that if something happened to him, the defense of the Mingdou Mountain Range and Heavenly Brightness City would face a major crisis.
"Brothers, today you all died for the country. Yet the war is urgent, and I, Dai Hao, cannot collect your bodies. If there is a next life, I will surely repay you with grass rings and衔 gratitude!"
Dai Hao cupped his fists. His tall figure knelt to the ground and bowed deeply toward the scattered corpses of the White Tiger Guards. Then he abruptly turned and headed out of the valley.
However, Dai Hao had not gone far before he suddenly stopped.
He looked up slightly. The glaring sunlight made it hard for Dai Hao to open his eyes fully, but he could still make out a figure standing quietly ahead, hovering in midair as if it had been waiting there for a long time.
"Marshal Dai, have you finished your farewells?"
"Who are you?"
Dai Hao instantly became vigilant. The little soul power he had left was gathered within him, causing waves of pain through his meridians and making his face turn pale involuntarily.
But he paid no heed to his injuries. His tiger-like eyes widened, staring fixedly at the figure before him.
The other party could hover in midair, so their cultivation was clearly not low. Moreover, in all his years guarding the Mingdou Mountain Range, he had never known of such a person hidden here.
Clearly, this person was not originally from the Mingdou Mountain Range. The greatest likelihood was that they had come with the Sun Moon Empire's forces.
"Marshal, you are gravely injured. Best not to struggle, just come with me."
Dai Hao watched as the figure took a light step forward. When their foot landed again, they were right in front of him. His heart sank even further.
As a Titled Douluo, he could naturally see that this was the use of spatial power. But even among the Super Douluo, he knew, few could wield spatial power as effortlessly as this person.
"You're from the Sun Moon Empire?"
As Dai Hao spoke, his body gradually lowered and leaned forward, like a hunting tiger poised to strike. Two yellow, two purple, and five black, nine soul rings rose one after another. A massive phantom appeared faintly behind him.
"You could say that."
As the words fell, soul rings rose around the person before him. Seeing those six black and three red, nine soul rings shining together, Dai Hao froze in place.
He was absolutely no match for the person in front of him.
For a moment, that was the only thought in Dai Hao's mind.
But soon, his gaze grew resolute again. Heavy breaths came from his nostrils.
"Marshal Dai still wants to struggle?"
"What struggle? It's merely death!" Dai Hao roared. "A true man dies for his country, why fear death!"
With those words, a tiger's roar echoed through the entire valley. His soul rings flashed. Dai Hao's scarred body instantly swelled. His hands transformed into tiger paws, razor-sharp claws glinting coldly. His figure turned into a streak of white light as he lunged forward.
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