After shaking off their pursuers and escaping far away, Chen Junting and Gu Tianchen entered the alternate space to reunite with the recuperating Dai Hao.
Sensing the fluctuation of other people's auras, before Dai Hao could even open his eyes, he heard Huo Yuhao say, "Brother Junting, Brother Gu, you're back. How is the situation outside?"
Before the two could answer, Dai Hao, a beat later, also opened his eyes and cupped his hands. "Cough, cough—Thank you three for saving me."
"There is no need for thanks, Your Grace the Duke. You should focus on healing first."
Dai Hao speaking up drew Chen Junting's attention away. Seeing this, Gu Tianchen pulled Huo Yuhao to the side to answer his earlier question, leaving space for Chen Junting and Dai Hao.
"Please excuse my poor manners." A trace of bitterness appeared on the corners of Dai Hao's mouth.
His injuries were extremely severe. So severe that if he didn't have his Titled Douluo cultivation holding him together, he probably would have died on the spot, unable to wait for treatment at all. But now, not only was his life saved, but his injuries were gradually recovering. Such a great kindness—if he wasn't truly unable to get out of bed—he would have already kneeled on the ground to kowtow in gratitude.
However, there was another matter he was concerned about right now. That was, how exactly was the defense line at the Mingdou Mountain Range?
"...The Commander should know." Chen Junting deliberated for a moment, but deliberately changed his form of address.
The implication in his words made Dai Hao instantly understand his meaning. But precisely because he understood, Dai Hao's breathing became rapid, and his wounds, which had just barely closed, actually split open once again.
Without anyone else needing to act, Dai Hao propped himself up, ripped off the bandages that were rapidly staining red with blood, applied the herbs from the side, and changed the dressings himself before finally stopping the bleeding.
Forcefully suppressing the urgency and anger in his heart, he let out a sorrowful sigh. "The defense line really fell..."
"No!" Dai Hao hurriedly swept away the sorrow in his heart. "I must hurry to Yuming City and rely on it to construct new defensive fortifications. Otherwise, once they attack, Yuming City won't hold out for long either."
"Please rest assured on this matter." Chen Junting comforted Dai Hao. "After rescuing you, to buy time for the Star Luo Empire, we set up a Lightning Sky Curtain across the entire Mingdou Mountain Range as a defensive line to block the enemy. In a short period, the Sun Moon Empire has no way to continue advancing."
Hearing this, Dai Hao's eyes suddenly lit up. He pursued the question, "How long is a short period?"
"Short is three days, long is five days."
This wasn't boasting; the array that produced this Lightning Sky Curtain wasn't primarily meant for killing the enemy, but merely for blocking them.
"Three days... three days..." Dai Hao muttered to himself, his gaze turning resolute. "Three days is enough!"
"It's good that the Commander has a plan in mind." Chen Junting nodded silently and started talking about the situation on the Tian Hun Empire's side. "The Sun Moon Empire's strength far exceeds our imagination. Even though they are missing over half an arm and have lost an entire leg, they are still not to be underestimated. Over in the Tian Hun Empire, the army led by Kong Deming is employing a scorched-earth tactic. As a result, although the Tian Hun army can steadily advance, their logistical pressure is truly immense."
"This not only delays the army's advance, but the existence of Kong Deming and those Class-9 Soul Engineers also makes people wary. So, the battlefield in the Tian Hun Empire has now turned into a quagmire, to the point where they can't even spare high-end combat power to come to our aid."
At the end of the day, it all came back to the Body Sect. You have to understand, across the Douluo Continent and the Sun Moon Continent, excluding the Four Empires, the Body Sect was a powerful faction ranked in the top five. After Du Busi broke through to Level 99 as a Limit Douluo, they even jumped into the top three rankings for a time.
But the outbreak of the Extreme North beast tide allowed Kong Deming and the Holy Spirit Cult to exploit a gap in their defenses. Their top-tier combat power almost completely vanished, their mid-tier combat power lost over half, and even Du Busi himself was ambushed. As a result, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda was forced to shoulder the main burden of the Tian Hun Empire's battlefield. They simply couldn't spare any hands to reinforce us.
"I understand." Dai Hao took a deep breath.
This time, the Star Luo Empire had to rely on itself against the Sun Moon Empire. No! To be precise, they also had the logistical support of the Dou Ling Empire. This wasn't too bad, all things considered.
"Since Commander Dai Hao already has a plan in mind, there's no need for us to say anything more. Let's send him back first." The last sentence was directed at Gu Tianchen.
Thus, Gu Tianchen waved his hand, and a large hole instantly ripped open in the originally enclosed and empty alternate space.
At the same time, inside the Northwest Army Group's main camp.
Thanks to Dai Hao's stalling, Xuanji Douluo and the other Titled Douluo safely arrived at the legion camp. However, along the way, they ran into a scene where the White Tiger Personal Guards, along with other legions leading troops to reinforce them, were rushing over. They hurriedly stopped them. At the same time, they issued a military order for the entire western army of the Northwest Army Group to withdraw from the Mingdou Mountain Range area, abandoning the Mingdou defense line.
Once this order was given, it immediately caused an uproar. But when they learned of the tragic situation, and how Xuan Snake Douluo had detonated himself while Commander Dai Hao personally stayed behind to cover the retreat, all the soldiers in the army fell silent. As military men, they naturally had to obey military orders. Furthermore, this was the Commander's "final order."
Only Dai Yaoheng, as Dai Hao's biological son, wanted to go alone. He was nearly knocked out directly by Xuanji Douluo taking action. After all, protecting Dai Yaoheng was Dai Hao's dying instruction.
But who would have thought, right as Xuanji was about to make a move, the sky above the distant Mingdou Mountain Range suddenly changed. A Lightning Sky Curtain unexpectedly descended, acting as a barrier that completely enveloped the entire mountain range, blocking the path between the Sun Moon and Star Luo empires.
Faced with such a sudden turn of events, Dai Yaoheng had no choice but to give up.
Thus, the Star Luo Empire's army, led by Xuanji Douluo and the others, returned to the main camp. They prepared to retreat in the direction of Yuming City while simultaneously relying on it to construct defensive fortifications. After all, north of the Mingdou Mountain Range, within the Star Luo Empire's borders, there was no other defensible terrain apart from Yuming City, unless they could take back the Mingdou Mountain Range. But with the current state of the Northwest Army Group and the Western Legion, they were simply no match for the Sun Moon Empire's army.
They could only request reinforcements from His Majesty and mobilize other armies. But deploying armies was not something that could be done in a short amount of time. So for now, they could only rely on Yuming City to forcefully hold the line.
Just as Xuanji Douluo, the other legion commanders, and the Empire's high officials were gathered in the command tent, coordinating the army's retreat toward Yuming City, a soldier suddenly barged in. "Report!!!"
With a thud, he dropped to one knee.
"What is so urgent!? Did the sky curtain break?"
"No, the Commander has returned!"
"What!?"
"Father!"
"..."
Several different voices rang out one after another. However, compared to Dai Yaoheng's pleasant surprise, Xuanji Douluo and the others only felt solemnity. As veterans who had weathered many battlefields, they weren't blinded by this joyful news; they remained calm.
Overjoyed, Dai Yaoheng bypassed the soldier and tried to rush out of the command tent.
"Yaoheng!" But a loud shout stopped him.
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