The Dawn Society's base in Tianyuan City was hidden deep in a desolate canyon. From the outside, it looked like an abandoned ancient mine. The rusted iron gates and collapsed walls perfectly concealed the modern facilities inside. The afterglow of the setting sun spilled on the mottled metal exterior, reflecting the dark red light.
Normally, this place was very quiet. But today, the air was filled with a suffocating tension.
"Report to Captain. The Third Mecha Squad's soul tool cannons have completed charging."
"The Fourth Mecha Squad has entered the intended attack position."
"Radar reconnaissance shows the southeastern side of the base has the weakest defense."
Reports from various units kept coming through the communication channel. Xu Lingfeng, the captain of the Tianyuan City Soul Tool Battalion, stood on the shoulder of his Black Grade Mecha. His black military coat flapped loudly in the canyon wind. He narrowed his eyes, looking at the seemingly dilapidated mine, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
"The Dawn Society. Did you really think such a disguise could fool our eyes? Before, His Majesty and the Speaker just had not made up their minds. Now, your time of death has arrived."
He raised his right hand and sharply swung it down. "All corps, attack."
In an instant, hundreds of blinding lights lit up on the ridges on both sides of the canyon. Soul tool shells fired simultaneously. Countless soul tool beams poured down like a torrential rain, drawing brilliant arcs of death in the air.
"Boom. Boom. Boom."
Amidst the deafening explosions, a translucent blue barrier lit up on the perimeter of the base. The soul tool shells exploded against the barrier, creating countless energy ripples. The shockwave shattered the surrounding mountain rocks.
Xu Lingfeng said coldly, "Send orders. Concentrate fire on coordinate H-7."
As the order was issued, a special mecha unit charged out from the formation. These mechas were equipped with giant soul tool siege cannons on their backs. The muzzles flashed with dangerous energy light.
"Lock on target. Fire."
Three dazzling white beams cut through the sky, precisely hitting the same point on the barrier. Under the continued bombardment, the blue barrier finally emitted a sound of shattering under the strain, dissipating into countless points of light.
"The barrier is broken. All forces, charge." With Xu Lingfeng's command, dozens of mechas simultaneously activated their thrusters. A steel tide raised a dust storm in the canyon.
Just then, the rusted iron gate of the base suddenly exploded outward.
At the moment the mecha corps was about to rush into the base, the rusted iron gate suddenly exploded. More than ten mechas and dozens of soul masters charged out, but they were quickly suppressed by Xingluo's forces.
Xu Lingfeng watched this scene with satisfaction, the corner of his mouth slightly raised. He turned his head to look at Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena standing not far away, a hint of self satisfaction in his tone. "It seems the combat strength of the Dawn Society base here is nothing special. It seems we have made you come all this way for nothing."
His gaze lingered on the two for a moment, a trace of barely perceptible wariness flashing in the depths of his eyes.
In the surrounding and annihilate plan, the main attacking force was naturally their Xingluo army. The Douluo Federation experts were only there as a deterrent and insurance, in case the evil soul masters had hidden more than expected combat power, ensuring nothing went wrong.
But in Xu Lingfeng's view, not to mention the Holy Spirit Cult behind the Dawn Society, just dealing with the Dawn Society alone, such caution was unnecessary. They were just a bunch of rats in a sewer. If the higher ups had not had their hands full before, these people would have been wiped out long ago.
This Dawn Society base seemed to have no real strength. If they had to let the Douluo Federation soul masters act, not only would the military lose face, but the Council would also question his ability. He could not give these two the chance to act.
"Seeing Xingluo's military strength is not nothing."
Huo Yuhao casually said something polite. The soul powered light screen in his arms suddenly rang.
Huo Yuhao looked down at the light screen, his brow suddenly furrowing tightly. Gu Yuena sensed something unusual and asked softly, "What is wrong?"
"..."
Huo Yuhao was silent for a moment, then sent a telepathic message with a strange expression. "There is an undercover agent on the other side who has been turned by a spirit soul."
Gu Yuena was startled. Knowing the inside story as well, she did not know what expression to make for a moment.
Spirit souls sold to Xingluo needed to be different. Some were purely smuggling trade. Others were "undercover agents" planted in Xingluo.
After all, given Xingluo's lack of large spirit beast gathering places, the demand for spirit souls among soul masters here was enormous. Smuggling spirit souls naturally became a huge market.
Some people wanted to help Xingluo become stronger. Some wanted to benefit, harvesting the specialty resources of the Xingluo Continent. Others even wanted to use this to win over soul master families on the Xingluo side.
Under such circumstances, even people within the Spirit Transmission Tower were probably involved in spirit soul smuggling. Some of the Spirit Transmission Tower's high ranking members simply decided to play along and secretly plot.
If you want spirit souls, fine. We will add some sand for you.
In other words, some spirit souls were lurking in the Xingluo Federation as hidden agents.
After a moment of silence, Gu Yuena frowned. "Could this be a scheme of Xingluo?"
Compared to humans, spirit souls were relatively simple, and their actions were easily restricted. Asking them to be undercover agents was actually a bit difficult for them. Fortunately, spirit souls had their own advantages.
They had plenty of time to observe and find trustworthy people. They could also use various methods to influence the contract holder, achieving the effect of turning them.
However, even if they chose spirit souls that were relatively intelligent and clever, after spending many years in a place like Xingluo far from the inland, problems could not be ruled out. After all, the current situation in Xingluo was truly hard to feel at ease about. Hence Gu Yuena's question.
Huo Yuhao glanced at the battlefield and shook his head slightly. "The other party only made his choice at the last moment. He probably struggled with it as well. Let us first see what he plans to do."
Naturally, those spirit souls did not know his contact number. But they knew the emergency contact within the Spirit Transmission Tower and could send information through special channels.
With that, Huo Yuhao directly, in front of the Xingluo officers, began contacting the Dawn Society members who were being surrounded and annihilated.
Xu Lingfeng saw Huo Yuhao "playing with his toys instead of focusing on his duties" and said nothing. Good. If he did not participate, then the credit would be his.
But just then, he suddenly heard urgent reports coming through the communication device.
"Captain, an abnormal energy reaction has appeared inside the base. Detecting... detecting the activation signal of at least a seventh grade Fixed Type Soul Tool Shell."
"What?"
Xu Lingfeng's expression changed dramatically. He immediately ordered, "All units, retreat."
Whether on the Douluo Continent or the Xingluo Continent, Fixed Type Soul Tool Shells were strictly controlled and prohibited from circulation military equipment. Only authorized military institutions could possess and use them. Private individuals were not allowed to own or trade such weapons.
Because their power was simply too terrifying.
The power of a seventh grade Fixed Type Soul Tool Shell was equivalent to the attack of a Titled Douluo. Moreover, its explosion range reached a diameter of over a thousand meters. If caught in the core area of the explosion, apart from Three Word Battle Armor Masters and experts above Titled Douluo, survival was basically impossible.
If his mecha battalion suffered heavy losses, not only would he not receive commendations, he would not even be able to keep his current position.
However, he was worrying too early. He should be worrying about himself.
A dazzling white light erupted from deep within the Dawn Society base. A shell was hurtling toward his position.
Xu Lingfeng's pupils sharply contracted. The shadow of death instantly enveloped his entire body.
To prevent the Dawn Society members from getting the news and fleeing, the army had been mobilized from nearby areas. And their mecha unit from Tianyuan City, while not weak, was not top tier in the entire Xingluo Federation. It had no Red Grade Mecha pilot stationed.
As a Soul Douluo and Black Grade Mecha pilot, he felt that he probably,should, perhaps could not withstand a seventh grade Fixed Type Soul Tool Shell.
Seeing the shell getting closer and closer, about to explode, at this critical moment, a brilliant silver light suddenly lit up in the sky.
Gu Yuena's figure stood in midair. Her long, slender jade finger gently pointed.
The space in front of the shell suddenly twisted and folded, forming a silver light screen spanning heaven and earth. That seventh grade Fixed Type Soul Tool Shell hit the light screen, its speed sharply decreasing as if trapped in a quagmire. The energy about to be unleashed was also contained.
Gu Yuena's clothes fluttered. Her silver dress flapped loudly in the energy storm. Her peerlessly beautiful face showed not a trace of panic, but rather a hint of proud looking down on all beings. The tips of her slender fingers glowed with silver light, drawing an elegant arc in the air.
"Transfer."
Those two understated words made the entire space tremble.
That shell, a half man tall, suddenly disappeared in midair. Then, a violent energy fluctuation came from the distance.
"Boom."
An energy pillar over a kilometer in diameter shot into the sky, tearing a huge hole in the clouds above the canyon. The shock wave swept through like a tsunami. The entire canyon trembled, knocking many mechas to the ground.
Xu Lingfeng stood frozen in place. Cold sweat soaked his back. He rejoiced that he was still alive while feeling shocked by the scene before him.
He had heard about Huo Yuhao's strength. But this girl beside him, he had not heard that she possessed such powerful strength before. Now seeing Gu Yuena easily transfer a seventh grade Fixed Type Soul Tool Shell, he was naturally shocked.
He had originally thought Huo Yuhao was the main combat power sent by the Douluo Federation. He had not expected this silver haired girl's strength to be so unfathomable.
"Thank you for saving my life."
Xu Lingfeng thanked Gu Yuena. But the latter ignored him. After blocking the shell, she walked over to Huo Yuhao, looking indifferent.
Xu Lingfeng did not mind this.
The strong had the privilege of being proud.
Xu Lingfeng calmed his mind, looked at the battlefield, and was about to continue commanding when another urgent alarm came through the communication device.
"Report to Captain. Detected high-intensity spirit power fluctuations. There is a Titled Douluo level energy reaction inside the base."
Xu Lingfeng's pupils contracted. He immediately looked up toward the direction of the Dawn Society base.
On the battlefield where they had been at an advantage, a Black Grade Mecha suddenly descended. Two giant hammers spun fiercely in his hands, raising the morale of the slightly flagging Dawn Society.
But what he focused on was not that Black Grade Mecha. With his experience, he could easily discern that the pilot of the Black Grade Mecha was only a Soul Emperor, not his match. What he focused on was the Dawn Society base gate opening behind him.
There, a Red Grade Mecha was slowly walking out.
With both a seventh grade Fixed Type Soul Tool Shell and a Titled Douluo level expert, this Dawn Society base was much more complex than he had imagined.
The Red Grade Mecha raised its arm. A dark red beam suddenly shot out, instantly vaporizing three Xingluo mechas.
Seeing the situation slipping out of control, Xu Lingfeng immediately turned to face Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena. "Please help. This evil soul master's strength far exceeds expectations. We're afraid we cannot resist."
His voice carried a hint of urgency. He had clearly realized that relying solely on Xingluo's military strength, they could not fight against this Red Grade Mecha and the Titled Douluo inside.
At this moment, Huo Yuhao had already looked up from his soul powered light screen. His gaze was calm as he looked at the Red Grade Mecha. "Captain Xu, have your people retreat. Leave this to us."
Gu Yuena had already stepped forward. Her magnificent silver white battle armor covered her entire body. Six spirit rings lit up beneath her feet in order. Purple, purple, black, black, black, red.
As soon as that eerie hundred thousand year spirit ring appeared, the entire battlefield fell silent.
Feng Linwan, the pilot inside the Dawn Society's Black Grade Mecha, was the first to notice this. His expression could not help but sink.
He was also a renowned genius in the resistance organization. At only twenty seven, he had already reached the Soul Emperor level. He was regarded as a rising star in the organization, with hopes of becoming a divine level mecha pilot in the future.
But compared to this silver haired girl before him, he was like a firefly compared to the bright moon.
Not to mention that behind her stood Huo Yuhao, the number one of the Douluo Federation's younger generation.
"So this is the top talent of the Douluo Federation." He murmured to himself, a trace of unwillingness flashing in his eyes.
This was clearly an internal affair of Xingluo. Yet those Xingluo high ranking members had invited experts from the Douluo Federation to suppress it. This filled his heart with an indescribable sense of humiliation.
He thought of the commoners oppressed by nobles, the soul masters exploited by the imperial family, the dark side of Xingluo that the Dawn Society had shown him. Was all this to be forcibly suppressed by external forces?
Just then, his teacher's raspy voice came through the communicator. "Linwan, what are you daydreaming about? Quickly lead the people to retreat. Leave this to me."
Feng Linwan suddenly snapped back to reality and gritted his teeth. "But sir, you are alone."
"I will be fine." The old man sitting inside the Red Grade Mecha, Lin Junjie, looked at Gu Yuena walking toward him, his expression grave. "Act according to plan. I just gave you the locations of the Dawn Society bases that can be trusted. If we are separated, go to those places to seek help."
"But..."
"Go quickly."
"Yes."
Feng Linwan gritted his teeth. He took one last look in the direction of the Red Grade Mecha and forcefully pushed the control stick. The thrusters on the back of the Black Grade Mecha spurted dazzling blue light, carrying the survivors as they sped toward a hidden passage on the other side of the canyon.
Huo Yuhao in the distance seemed to have no intention of stopping them.
Seeing this, Lin Junjie recalled their previous conversation.
"Words are empty. How about first offering a pledge of loyalty?"
"What do you want?"
"According to Xingluo's plan, they want to force the Dawn Society to gather its strength through encirclement and come to a head on battle. But we both know the tricks involved. Since that is the case, why not attack the Dawn Society base locations that are not part of Xingluo's attack plan? I imagine you do not like those places either."
Lin Junjie snapped back to reality and smiled bitterly, shaking his head. "After fighting all my life, this is the first time I have encountered such a situation."
The enemy general was our own undercover agent?
What strategy could still work then?
"Now, I need to put on a good show."
Before his words had faded, Gu Yuena's silver spear had already cut through the air.
The Red Grade Mecha hastily raised its arm to block. The dark red energy barrier and the silver spear light collided, erupting with a deafening boom. The shock wave swept out, directly overturning the ground for dozens of meters around.
***
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