Chapter 292: The Outbreak of the Great Battle
Jialing Pass, the main battlefield between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Hall Empire, was universally recognized as the decisive battlefield.
Since the establishment of the Spirit Hall Empire, in recent years, it had aggressively attacked both the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire, displaying immense strength.
Originally, the Spirit Hall Empire had consolidated all the affiliated principalities of the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires and occupied two provinces of the two empires. In terms of territory, it was no weaker than either of the empires. However, due to the relatively short time of military training, the total army was only over a million strong.
The Xue Ye Emperor and the Star Luo Emperor had allied, and although the Spirit Hall Empire had dispatched Title Douluo to attempt a surprise attack, the three major sects had already prepared. Bone Douluo, Tang Zhan, and Niu Gao led their sect's soul masters to break the surprise attack, causing the Spirit Hall Empire to suffer significant losses.
Since the meeting between the Xue Ye Emperor and the Star Luo Emperor, the two empires had confirmed their strategic cooperation to jointly fight against the Spirit Hall Empire, launching simultaneous attacks.
The battlefield of the Heaven Dou Empire was Jialing Pass, while the Star Luo Empire's battlefield was the Tianmen Pass, thousands of miles away. By launching attacks from both sides, they could prevent the Spirit Hall Empire from being able to handle both fronts simultaneously.
The Spirit Hall Empire also mobilized its forces with different strategies for each battlefield.
To handle the Star Luo Empire's attack, the Spirit Hall Empire sent a large army to defend Tianmen Pass, while deploying ten thousand soul masters along with hundreds of thousands of soldiers to set up defenses.
Tianmen Pass was easy to defend but hard to attack. Although the Star Luo Empire's military strength was formidable, it lacked true Title Douluo level experts. With several hundred thousand troops, they could only engage in mutual skirmishes, unable to determine the outcome.
The Spirit Hall Empire didn't station any Title Douluo at Tianmen Pass. Instead, they sent a large number of elite Soul Douluo to ensure the pass would not fall.
In contrast, the situation at Jialing Pass was much more difficult.
With the support of the three major sects, the Heaven Dou Empire had numerous Title Douluo, especially with the Xue Ye Emperor personally leading the charge. He had gathered the major sects to assist the Heaven Dou Empire, offering great rewards to mobilize the full strength of the Empire.
Just in terms of Title Douluo, there were almost ten heading to Jialing Pass, including Tang San, Tang Hao, and Tang Xiao of the Haotian Sect, with a total of six Title Douluo.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect also sent two Title Douluo, Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo, as well as Ning Fengzhi, the continent's top auxiliary soul master. The Body Sect similarly dispatched four Title Douluo, plus Feng Xiaotian and his group.
Of course, there was also Dugu Bo, a guest elder of the Heaven Dou royal family. But Dugu Bo was relatively low-key among so many Title Douluo. Although he claimed to be invincible in group battles, once he entered the battlefield, he would surely be targeted.
In total, the Heaven Dou Empire had thirteen Title Douluo, surpassing the Spirit Hall Empire.
Bibi Dong knew that this battle could be extremely brutal. Not only did she personally lead the charge, but she also brought the four remaining Title Douluo and six great worshippers, including everyone except Qian Dao Liu and Qian Renxue.
Originally, Bibi Dong didn't have the authority to mobilize all the worshippers, but at this moment, the Worship Hall didn't dare act arrogantly. If Jialing Pass fell, the Heaven Dou Empire's army would easily march into the Spirit Hall Empire, potentially leading to the Spirit Hall Empire's destruction at its inception.
Of course, in terms of soul masters, Bibi Dong had dispatched nearly 40,000 soul masters, accounting for 70% of the total number of soul masters. She was clearly putting everything into this battle.
When the Xue Ye Emperor's group learned of the number of soul masters in Bibi Dong's army, they were all stunned.
It was known that normally trained soul masters, when fighting regular armies, could take on one hundred enemies at a time, so 40,000 soul masters were roughly equivalent to several million soldiers.
The total number of soul masters in the Heaven Dou Empire was only around 8,000, with over 3,000 from the three major sects, and the rest were recruits the royal family had nurtured through various means over the years.
While individual soul masters might not be terrifying, once they formed a soul master legion, their power could be multiplied.
For example, the Spirit Hall Empire's famous soul master legions included the Elephant Armored Legion, the Holy Dragon Legion, and the Angel Legion, all of which were incredibly strong.
The Elephant Armored Legion was like a copper wall, primarily made up of the Elephant Armored Sect, with a large number of defensive-type soul masters. Even several hundred thousand troops might not be able to break through.
The Holy Dragon Legion was extremely aggressive, led personally by Holy Dragon Douluo Tuoba Xi, with the main force consisting of over a thousand soul masters with the White-armored Holy Dragon Wuhun, plus a large number of beast-type Wuhun users. The total size of the legion exceeded 10,000.
The Angel Legion, while fewer in number, consisted entirely of angel soul masters who could fly, with extreme mobility. They were deadly on the battlefield.
The overall leader of the Spirit Hall Empire was Bibi Dong, and her deputy leader was Golden Crocodile Douluo, both 98th-level top experts.
Although the Xue Ye Emperor led the Heaven Dou Empire's army, their strength was formidable, but when facing a true soul master legion, even Title Douluo would be somewhat hesitant.
The Spirit Hall Empire's Title Douluo were not amateurs; they had undergone extremely strict combat training and were quite formidable.
Moreover, while soul masters of the same level could win one-on-one, if it were five against one, they likely wouldn't even have a chance to resist.
At the military camp outside Jialing Pass, all of the Xue Ye Emperor's top ministers had arrived, including Ning Fengzhi and others, even Yu Xiao Gang was present.
The Body Sect was represented by Lin Gong, along with a few Title Douluo and Oscar, who was the nominal Vice-President of the Body Sect and the only Food System Soul Douluo.
Over the years, with Tang San's recommendation, Yu Xiao Gang had been assisting the Heaven Dou royal family in training soul masters, which had played a role in the development and was appointed as the chief instructor.
But everyone was now focused on the huge sand table in front of them, and their expressions were serious.
Jialing Pass was incredibly grand, with its walls standing 100 meters tall. The Spirit Hall Empire had been preparing for this moment for a long time, constructing various defensive works. Ordinary armies would need several times the force to break through Jialing Pass.
Now, to attack Jialing Pass, it would require a significant sacrifice, but the Heaven Dou royal family only had a million soldiers, and they did not have enough high-level soul masters to fill that gap.
The Xue Ye Emperor's face was solemn. "Everyone, we are at a crucial moment. The Star Luo Empire has already tied down some of the Spirit Hall Empire's strength. If we cannot break through Jialing Pass, it will be detrimental to the battlefield. Especially if the war drags on, our losses will be much greater than the Spirit Hall Empire's."
"Moreover, from the current situation, the Spirit Hall Empire's mobility is far superior to ours. Our supplies have been repeatedly attacked, and things will probably get more difficult."
Everyone remained silent upon hearing this. Ning Fengzhi and the others were not very adept at military command.
Even Tang San seemed quiet. Although he had reached level 96, he didn't have the overwhelming strength like when he wielded the Sea God Trident in the original story.
Furthermore, without the support of the Tang Sect, without the Title of Blue Hao Wang, his status was not as high as in the original.
Tang Hao was also only at level 95, which was after years of recovery, but his body hadn't been treated with the healing medicines from the Ice Fire Yin Yang Eyes, and his strength had not further improved to level 96.
Among all present, the strongest in combat was Sword Douluo, followed by Tang Xiao and Tang San. Sword Douluo was the only 98th-level Title Douluo among them, while Tang Xiao and Tang San had extraordinary combat strength.
Seeing that no one was responding, Tang San spoke up.
"Your Majesty, Tang San is willing to lead a team to protect the supplies and ensure our army's logistical support. However, I hope to receive everyone's support."
The Xue Ye Emperor said, "Tang San, if you have any requests, just speak them, and we will try our best to accommodate."
Tang San replied, "The Spirit Hall Empire has many soul masters and great mobility. Every time they attack our supplies, it's not many people—no more than thirty—but they are all led by Soul Douluo-level experts."
"I hope to receive help from Senior Bai He. The Minzhi Clan's reconnaissance abilities are second to none. With this, we can always keep track of the enemy's movements and prevent surprise attacks."
Everyone turned to look at Bai He.
After a moment of thinking, Bai He spoke, "Your Majesty, there are no more Minzhi Clan members, only the Body Sect. The Body Sect can help with reconnaissance, but other matters should be avoided."
Bai He's attitude was clear. He didn't want to get involved with Tang San and the Haotian Sect.
Tang San, though a bit angry, didn't argue in front of everyone.
In the end, Bai He arranged for the Body Sect to deploy personnel along the entire supply line. Tang San led a portion of the Haotian Sect personnel to surround the Spirit Hall Empire's soul masters.
As for the original Shrek team, each person had their own tasks. Only Yu Tianheng, Dai Mubai, and a few others would act alongside Tang San. The others were busy with their own sects and affiliations and wouldn't get too involved with the Haotian Sect.
The Xue Ye Emperor seemed to think of something. "Elder Lin Gong, Elder Yang Wudi, may I ask where the leader of the Body Sect is? Can you please bring him to the frontlines of Jialing Pass?"
It was clear that the Xue Ye Emperor had investigated Yang Xiong's strength and hoped that such an expert would come to assist. After all, both the leaders of the Haotian Sect and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had already arrived on the frontlines.
Lin Gong responded, "Your Majesty, our sect leader has gone to the Two Mountain Peaks for a battle with the granddaughter of the Spirit Hall's Grand Priest. We have not received any news of him yet."
"However, everything in the sect has been arranged. Most of the Body Sect's top experts have come to assist the Heaven Dou Empire on the frontlines."
Everyone fell silent after hearing this. Although they might not have seen Qian Renxue, they were all well aware of her talent and strength. If Yang Xiong could defeat Qian Renxue, it would certainly boost their morale, as Qian Renxue was the true inheritor of the Spirit Hall's Angel lineage.
(END CHAPTER)
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