—Four months later, in the Hall of Offerings.
"Reporting to the High Priest, the Engineering Department has now built enough warships to accommodate 50,000 soldiers, and they are all docked in the port," Qingluan reported to Qianpo City.
"Hmm, very good. Pass down the order: all soldiers are to prepare for departure. The entire army will set off early tomorrow morning." Qian Pocheng gave the order as soon as he heard that everything was ready.
"Yes, Your Excellency."
After receiving the order, Qingluan turned and left the Hall of Offerings. Six figures then appeared inside the hall; these were the current group of offerings, namely...
Second Elder, Level 97 Emperor Spear Douluo - Xinghe.
The third enshrined, level 97 Heavenly Dragon Douluo – Murong Shayue.
The fourth offering, the level 97 Golden Crocodile Douluo – Golden Crocodile.
Five offerings, level ninety-six fierce-toothed Douluo - Man Tian.
Six offerings, ninety-sixth level Sky-Splitting Douluo - Xuan Guan.
Rong Jun, the seventh-ranked offering master and a level 96 Crimson Flame Douluo.
"Everyone, let's set off first thing tomorrow morning," Qian Pocheng said slowly to the people below the stage.
"Yes, Your Excellency."
After bowing, the group departed. This battle was expected to be extremely difficult. Qianpo City's idea was to depart tomorrow and go back to spend time with family today, etc.
After everyone left, Qianpocheng gazed out the window, "Himara, it's time for our feud to come to a final conclusion..."
...,
Nighttime, the Murong residence.
Tonight, the entire Murong family is holding a banquet together. Murong Shayue, Xiao Qingmei, Murong Fuhai, Wu Qianyun, and Murong Huai are all present.
"Haha, come, come, it's been a long time since our family has gotten together," Murong Shayue said, raising his wine cup with a smile.
Seeing this, the others also raised their glasses. Murong Huai also raised a glass of juice. After everyone clinked glasses, Murong Shayue looked at Murong Huai and said with a smile:
"Huai'er, although Grandpa hasn't been back to the manor for more than half a year, I often hear the Pope praising you. You are only six and a half years old now, and you are already close to the Soul Venerable realm. Your talent is the greatest in the entire Douluo Continent, hahaha."
"Yes, good lad. I was shocked when I heard this news. Given time, Huai'er will surely reach the level of a Grand Elder." Murong Fuhai said with a smile.
"Huai'er, your grandma, your grandpa, and your father are leaving for the army tomorrow. This battle will probably last for about half a year. You must listen to your mother while you are at home." Xiao Qingmei patted Murong Huai's head and said kindly.
"Grandma, don't worry, I will listen to Mother." Murong Huai smiled and nodded.
Since all three members of the Murong family were going to war, Qian Daoliu removed Wu Qianyun from the list of those going to war. Because the outcome of this battle was uncertain, he also had selfish motives and did not want Murong Huai's family members to take risks.
In addition to the seven enshrined figures, this battle also includes Pope Qian Daoliu, who leads two guardian elders, Xiong Shi and Guang Ling, as well as three elders from the Elder Hall: Jinlun Douluo Haiyun, Xianlong Douluo Xiao Qingmei, and Qingluan Douluo Qingluan.
Murong Fuhai, on the other hand, acted as the sole commander, directing the Spirit Hall army in an orderly offensive.
"Excellent, Mother! I've seen the Red Barbarian Cannon that Huai'er invented; it's truly a weapon of war. With it, let alone Seagod Island, I wouldn't be afraid even if we were to wage war against two great empires simultaneously." Murong Fuhai laughed heartily.
Murong Huai not only provided the engineering department with blueprints for the Hongyi cannons, but also more advanced steel smelting technology, new types of crossbows, assembly line processes, and so on.
After more than four months, not only was the original shipbuilding task completed a month ahead of schedule, but more than 150 Hongyi cannons, several thousand cannonballs, and hundreds of crossbows were also produced, making the equipment quite sophisticated.
"Nonsense, all you do is talk nonsense." Xiao Qingmei glared at Murong Fuhai after hearing his boastful words.
"Father, Mother, don't worry, nothing will happen to you with me here in the manor," Wu Qianyun said, smoothing out her sleeves.
Afterwards, everyone enjoyed the reunion dinner.
...,
The following day, at dawn, at the ferry crossing outside Wuhun City.
The city of Wuhun has an excellent geographical advantage. It is surrounded by mountains on two sides, has a vast plain on one side, and is adjacent to a river on the other side, which leads directly to the sea.
At this moment, hundreds of warships were neatly moored at the river crossing. The first few warships were each equipped with three crossbows, while the middle twenty-odd warships were each equipped with six Hongyi cannons. They were well-equipped and had ample supplies of provisions and provisions.
For this battle, a full 20,000 Black Flame Army soldiers were dispatched. Each of them was a veteran of countless battles, clad in black armor, wielding long spears, carrying swords at their waists, and longbows on their backs. They exuded a chilling aura and were all stationed on large warships.
The rest were 30,000 ordinary soldiers of the Spirit Hall. Although they were not particularly elite, they were still much stronger than the armies of the two great empires, and they were distributed among the remaining warships.
In addition, the large warship in the very center carried a legion of three thousand soul masters. Not many soul masters were taken with them, since they were at sea. Ordinary low-level soul masters were limited by the marine environment, so their role was only slightly greater than that of ordinary soldiers.
Although High Priestess Haimara of Seagod Island has formed a legion of Sea Soul Masters, due to the restrictions of Seagod Island's rules, many Sea Soul Masters, apart from the natives, are not allowed to live on Seagod Island if they cannot pass the Seagod Island's assessment.
Therefore, its Sea Soul Master Legion will not be too large, at most no more than five thousand, and possibly not even four thousand. Ordinary troops are generally not allowed to enter the Seagod Island area.
However, in order to build up its army, Haimala stationed most of its troops outside Poseidon Island, with an estimated strength of less than ten thousand. These troops, being strong swimmers and aided by the sea, were powerful enough to fight multiple opponents single-handedly.
Most of the soldiers of the Spirit Hall are not good swimmers, which greatly reduces their strength in naval battles. In addition, there are also elusive sea spirit beasts in the sea area. If they are unlucky, their army strength will be greatly reduced before they even reach Seagod Island.
If this were on land, even the two great empires might not be able to defeat each other, let alone the Spirit Hall.
This was also a point of confusion for Murong Huai. Even if Seagod Island defeated the Spirit Hall, it couldn't become as powerful as the Spirit Hall; at most, it could only become a powerful sect.
He didn't believe that High Priestess Haimara of Poseidon Island was unaware of this; she probably had other reasons... However, the previous wars had indeed caused considerable disaster.
Qianpo City was giving a pre-battle pep talk to the crowd, and Murong Huai and Wu Qianyun had come to see them off.
Although there were some large cannons, Murong Huai was still uneasy. After thinking for a moment, he secretly found Qian Xunji and took him aside.
Qian Xunji, not understanding, asked:
"Xiao Huai, what's wrong?"
"Senior brother, I'm still a little worried..."
Hearing Murong Huai's words, Qian Xunji smiled and shook his head, offering no rebuttal. Having spent some time together, Qian Xunji understood that although Murong Huai was young, he possessed remarkable insight and a strong sense of the big picture. Therefore, he asked:
"Then, Huai'er, what do you think we should do?"
Murong Huai looked at Qian Xunji, took a deep breath, and slowly uttered four words.
"Angels—Legion!!!"