Chapter 78 Steel Marches South, Dusk Before Jialing Pass
The three-year agreement has passed, and the Douluo Continent is now shrouded in the shadow of the Spirit Empire. Bibi Dong, with her overwhelming military power and political skills, has forcibly annexed the surrounding duchies, and now her army is stationed at Jialing Pass, pointing directly at the throat of the Heaven Dou Empire.
However, at dusk, the garrison at Jialing Pass did not receive reinforcements from the Heavenly Dou Empire, but instead saw a layer of crimson flames surging on the horizon.
"What... is that?" A scout from the Spirit Empire rubbed his eyes.
At the horizon, the edge of the forest trembled. Accompanied by a dull, rhythmic clang of metal, three-meter-tall, jet-black silhouettes slowly emerged. They had no warhorses, no shields, yet possessed a weight that made the earth tremble.
"Report! Unidentified metal unit detected, number... approximately one thousand!"
"Ali, do you see that pass?"
In the sky, the massive flying vehicle "Glory" hovered at the edge of the clouds. Ye Feng sat in the command chair, his fingertips tracing the holographic projection in the void—battlefield data transmitted in real time through hundreds of high-altitude reconnaissance drones.
"Hey, Captain, that wall is really thick, but it's probably as thin as paper in front of our 'battering ram'."
Hu Yanli's excited voice came through the communicator. He had already changed into the latest "Mammoth III" tactical armor. The armor was covered with top-grade Geng gold excavated from the ground of Gengxin City, and every joint shimmered with a cold, flowing light.
"Elephant Armor Battalion, listen to my command! Activate the Soul Power Overload Device, target the main gate of Jialing Pass, charge!"
boom--!
A thousand elite members of the Elephant Armor Sect simultaneously pressed the energy cores on their chests. Their previously heavy steps instantly became light and ferocious, each warrior leaving a long, ghostly blue trail of flame behind them.
This isn't a group of Soul Masters running; it's a group of humanoid tanks charging forward at full speed.
"Release the arrows! Unleash the soul techniques!" At Jialing Pass, the general of the Martial Soul Empire roared hysterically.
A rain of arrows and colorful soul skill lights fell like raindrops, but these attacks seemed so powerless against these steel warriors. The arrows struck the thick composite armor with a series of crisp clanging sounds before being deflected; and the explosive soul skills were weakened by at least 60% of their power by the "soul power neutralizing coating" on the surface of the armor.
"First volley, fire!" Huyanli roared.
A thousand steel warriors simultaneously raised their right arms, and the triple-barreled rotary cannons on their arm armors spat out tongues of fire that were half a meter long.
Countless sprays of blood erupted instantly on the walls of Jialing Pass.
Those weren't ordinary lead bullets, but rather "high-frequency explosive bullets" designed by Ye Feng. Each bullet would generate a tiny shockwave upon impact with a hard object, specifically designed to destroy a Soul Master's Soul Power shield.
"Ah! My shield is broken!" "Help! I can't kill these tin cans!"
The once impregnable pass collapsed in just five minutes. The Soul Masters' proud Soul Ring defenses were as fragile as a candle in the wind in the face of thousands of metal storms per second.
"This is the power of technology." Ye Feng looked at the massacre below, his eyes unwavering. "Bibi Dong, you used thousands of years of tradition to fight against my industrial civilization. This outcome was destined from the very beginning."
"stop!"
Two figures leaped out from within the city walls like lightning; they were Xie Yue and Hu Liena, who already held high positions in the Spirit Empire. Three years had made them more mature, and their auras had steadily stepped into the threshold of Soul Douluo.
"Soul Fusion Skill: Enchantress!"
A red mist once again swept across the battlefield, attempting to slow down the elephant armor battalion's charge.
"Xie Yue, do you think the same move will work on me twice?" Hu Yanli's voice came from the red mist, tinged with contempt.
"Thermal imaging system, activated. Sonar positioning, activated."
Inside Hu Yanli's tactical helmet, Xie Yue and Hu Liena's positions were clearly marked with red outlines. The steel torrent did not pause at all; instead, it accelerated and crashed into the center of the red mist.
Bang!
Xie Yue's moon blade slammed into Hu Yanli's shoulder armor, creating a burst of dazzling sparks, but not even leaving a white mark.
"Your shell…" Xie Yue stared wide-eyed in shock.
"This is called 'super alloy structure,' you idiot!" Hu Yanli spread his hand, and a burst of extremely cold nitrogen gas spewed out from his mechanical palm, instantly freezing Xie Yue's legs in place. Then, a heavy punch slammed directly into the opponent's abdomen.
Even with the protection of his soul power, Xie Yue was smashed into the city wall like a cannonball, and his fate is unknown.
Hu Liena wanted to fight back, but was held down by a black shadow that fell from the sky.
"Long time no see, Nana." Zhu Zhuqing's chilling voice rang in Hu Liena's ears. "If you move again, my high-frequency blade will cut your carotid artery."
Just as Jialing Pass was about to change hands, a devastating pressure rose from the depths of the temple inside the pass.
A purplish-black light shot into the sky, and Bibi Dong's figure reappeared. However, unlike three years ago, a ferocious demonic scythe mark appeared on her forehead, and the aura surrounding her had subtly surpassed the limits of mortals.
The Rakshasa God's test—she has reached the final step.
"Ye Feng, you really have returned." Bibi Dong's voice echoed in the sky, carrying a divine indifference. "Your toys are exquisite, but in the face of the power of 'gods,' they are ultimately nothing."
She gently raised her hand, and a purple divine light filled with an evil aura swept across the battlefield. The invincible Elephant Armored Battalion warriors, upon touching the divine light, found their exoskeleton armor beginning to crumble inch by inch.
"God? No one in this land can call himself a god."
As Ye Feng spoke, a pink streak of light swooped down from the "Glory".
Xiao Wu's figure appeared before the purple divine light. On her right wrist guard, the mechanical sphere called "Soul Core" was spinning wildly, releasing a pure white energy barrier that forcefully neutralized Bibi Dong's attack.
"Xiao Wu? You're not dead, and you still retain your soul power?" A hint of surprise flashed in Bibi Dong's eyes.
"Thanks to you, I am no longer just Xiao Wu." Xiao Wu raised her hand, and her wrist guards instantly transformed into a longbow shimmering with light. "I am the will of 'Glory'."
Whoosh—!
An arrow of light, formed from the collapse of pure soul power, shot towards Bibi Dong. The speed of that arrow had already surpassed the constraints of space, and even Bibi Dong, who was about to become a god, had to swing her scepter with all her might to block it.
"Xiao Wu...did you still choose that demon?"
A cold wind blew by, and a young man exuding an aura of death slowly walked up the city wall.
That's Tang San.
He no longer possessed the Blue Silver Grass, nor the Clear Sky Hammer. His body was covered with various dark purple stitches, the "Shura Test Subject" jointly created by the City of Slaughter and the Spirit Hall. He abandoned all humanity, solely to gain the power to kill Ye Feng.
"Third Brother…" Xiao Wu looked at the unfamiliar man in front of her, her eyes filled with sorrow, "You are completely rotten."
"As long as I kill Ye Feng... you will come back to my side!" Tang San roared madly, and eight spider spears, as sharp as bone blades, flashed with dark poisonous light as they lunged at Ye Feng.
Ye Feng jumped off the "Glory".
During the fall, the entire "Glory" emitted a tremendous mechanical roar.
"All modules, combine!"
That was Ye Feng's ultimate trump card, prepared over three years. The massive flying vehicle disintegrated in mid-air, transforming into countless intricate parts that converged on Ye Feng like a torrent.
In just three seconds, Ye Feng was no longer the boy holding the long umbrella, but a giant mecha standing five meters tall. The Thousand Manifestations Umbrella transformed into six pairs of wings on his back, shimmering with aurora light, each feather a separate floating cannon.
"Tang San, I didn't kill you three years ago because I wanted you to see the new life of this world."
The mecha's mechanical eyes locked onto Tang San, who was charging towards it.
"Now, you're not even qualified to be a background character. Gunner's ultimate skill—Satellite Ray."
A massive beam of light descended from the outer atmosphere, instantly engulfing Tang San and the entire temple of Jialing Pass.
There was no explosion, no smoke. In that intense heat that could vaporize everything, Tang San's evil body couldn't even last a second before turning into the most primitive molecules and disappearing into the air.
Bibi Dong let out a sharp roar. She wanted to retaliate, but she found that the pillar of light contained a kind of "interference field" that could block the fluctuations of divinity.
"This era no longer needs gods."
Ye Feng's voice, amplified by the mecha's loudspeaker, resounded throughout the entire continent.
"We don't need to kneel before idols and beg for good weather and abundant harvests; the steel in our hands can carve open the springs of the earth. We don't need gods to guide us; the star map before us can pierce through the endless depths of space."
Jialing Pass has fallen.
In this war known as "Dimensional Reduction Strike," the Martial Soul Empire collapsed completely after only three hours. At the last moment, Bibi Dong chose to destroy her divine status, sinking into the ruins of history with her unfulfilled ambition.
After witnessing the power of the Glory Legion, the Heavenly Dou and the Star Luo Empire wisely chose to disband peacefully.
A year later, on the site of the former Spirit City, a steel metropolis called "City of Glory" rose from the ground. Here, there were no high or low spirit ranks, only scholars who studied technology and warriors who explored the unknown.
Ye Feng stood atop the tallest tower in the city center, Ning Rongrong leaning on his shoulder. On the distant horizon, a long dragon driven by soul power rails rumbled into the distance.
"Captain, we really did it," Ning Rongrong said softly.
"This is just the first step, Rongrong." Ye Feng twirled the Thousand Chance Umbrella in his hand, its surface emitting a soft light under the drive of the tiny core.
"Our journey is to those stars."
He looked up at the deep night sky, where countless unknown worlds awaited the arrival of the steel torrent.
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