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Three days passed quietly.
Outside Xiaohai City, the Tiandou Army and New Tiandou Army had assembled, while the Spirit Hall Army and Xingluo Army remained stationed at Soul Sea City to prevent a rear attack from the Sun Moon Empire forces.
"Sun Moon's invading army, three days ago we released a prisoner to send a message, trading the lives of Xiaohai City's citizens for our captured Sun Moon soldiers!" Ge Long, mounted on a white tiger, channeled his soul power and shouted loudly.
The four Titled Douluo stood atop the city walls of Xiaohai City, their gazes fixed on the disheveled, ragged Xu Fu, all visibly shaken.
"Star Elder!"
"Despicable!"
"Barbaric Douluo, how dare they humiliate a level ninety-eight powerhouse like this!"
"They must be wiped out!"
Along with their anger, there was also fear and trepidation.
The fear came from the realization that their opponents possessed the strength to crush the Star Elder, while the trepidation stemmed from the discrepancy between this reality and their gathered intelligence. They were shocked that their soul masters showed no respect for a powerful opponent.
But for Tang San and the others, Xu Fu's reaching level ninety-eight was inconsequential. He was merely an enemy. Sparing his life while debilitating his soul power was already considered merciful.
"Bring them out!" Ignoring the Titled Douluo's curses, Ge Long ordered his men to drag a group of Sun Moon prisoners to the ground and continued shouting towards the city walls, "Will you make the exchange?"
"Will you trade or not?"
"These are Sun Moon's citizens. They must not be humiliated by the enemy."
"But to exchange them, given their injuries, healing them won't be easy. They might even become a burden to our army."
"Exchange! Although our soldiers are extremely loyal to His Majesty, the defeat of the Star Elder has affected morale. If we watch our own people slaughtered, it will shake the troops' resolve."
After discussing, the decision was made to proceed with the exchange.
Watching over a thousand emaciated, injured Xiaohai City citizens, Ge Long clenched his fists, his resolve to eliminate the Sun Moon invaders further solidified.
Tang San examined the health of the thousand or so citizens and their belongings. Once assured that everything was in order, he used his first soul skill, Infinite Recovery, to treat their injuries.
Only then did the citizens regain some of their vitality, and under the protection and arrangements of Ning Rongrong and Dugu Yan, they headed towards Soul Sea City.
"Star Elder, are you alright?"
The four Titled Douluo of the Sun Moon Empire personally came down to retrieve the Star Elder. Finding his limbs pierced and his shoulder blades penetrated, they immediately began applying healing soul skills and medicines.
When Xu Fu could move, he staggered up, his muscles still twitching and his bones trembling uncontrollably.
The pain from having his soul bones removed had passed, but the feeling of bodily loss left him with an unprecedented emptiness.
Although his soul power had not decreased, Xu Fu no longer dared to look down upon Tang San and the others. Even when facing Tang San's starry, deep eyes, he could only lower his head—
That young man was terrifying and would be a great threat to His Majesty!
"Since the exchange is complete, please leave!" one of the Titled Douluo shouted at Ge Long.
"No! The ones who should leave are you!" Marshal Ge Long roared, his voice echoing outside Xiaohai City. "Since ancient times, Xiaohai City has been the territory of the Tiandou Empire. How dare you foreign invaders occupy it? Withdraw immediately and return Xiaohai City to us, and compensate for all the damages caused by your invasion!"
"Otherwise, we will fight to the end!"
Far across the ocean, the Sun Moon Empire's invasion, which had slaughtered the citizens of Xiaohai City, could not end so simply. The Tiandou, New Tiandou Federations, Spirit Hall, and Xingluo all mobilized, demanding proper compensation for the destruction of Xiaohai City and the death of its residents. They also sought reimbursement for the military expenses incurred.
Each faction demanded compensation equivalent to billions of gold soul coins.
"Still seeking compensation?" One Titled Douluo roared angrily, "This is too much!"
"Falling behind means you'll be beaten," Tang San's voice echoed through the air. "Currently, you lag behind us in terms of combat strength. If compensation is given, everything will be fine. If not, don't blame us for turning the attacks you inflicted on Xiaohai City's citizens back on you."
As his words ended, countless Blue Silver Emperors emerged from the ground, spreading rapidly across Xiaohai City. The four Titled Douluo had no time to react and could only lift Xu Fu, whose soul power had not yet recovered, into the air.
Looking down, they saw countless Blue Silver leaves covering the entire Xiaohai City, intertwining and binding most of the Sun Moon soldiers.
Even if some tried to attack with soul guide bombs, the severed parts rapidly healed and grew back.
In a matter of moments, the entire city was covered and entangled by the Blue Silver Emperors' leaves, with Blue Silver Grass growing over the ruined buildings, swaying in the wind.
In an instant, the smoky atmosphere in the city vanished into nothingness.
"That guy—"
The four Titled Douluo were shaken, realizing this was a soul skill, but such a large-scale soul skill was beyond even their capabilities... How much soul power did it consume?
Yet, the user seemed to be expending no visible effort.
What kind of monster was this?
Endless soul power?
At the same time, Ge Long commanded his men to operate the soul guide war chariot captured from the Sun Moon Empire, positioning the cannon towards Xiaohai City.
The Sun Moon Empire's soul guide war chariot had no encryption mechanisms, and with Tang San and Guang Ling's research into soul guides, they figured out how to use it after just a few hours of study.
Although they didn't uncover all the functions of the internal buttons, finding out how to operate it and fire the cannon was sufficient.
One person drove while another operated the cannon, which was enough for their needs.
For Tang San and Guang Ling, these functionalities were intuitive and didn't require high intelligence to understand.
It was similar to various everyday soul guides—most people don't know how they work but can operate them after a few tries. The soul guide war chariot was no different.
"Bastards, using our own weapons against us!"
The four Titled Douluo of the Sun Moon Empire were both shocked and furious, unsure of what to do next.
Originally, they had arrived on this continent with a conqueror's attitude, having viewed it as part of their empire since the local soul guide technology was far less advanced than theirs.
Who would have thought that such a monstrous soul master existed on this continent, capable of opposing thousands of soldiers single-handedly? The power of their soul guide weapons was demonstrated once, but in the second battle of conquest, they suffered defeat, had their weapons seized by the locals, and now faced their own weapons being used against them.
Infuriating!
Hateful!
"That Tang San is our great enemy and must be eliminated!" Xu Fu communicated to the four, his gaze towards Tang San revealing a hint of fear, but soon replaced by determination. "Once I recover, find a way to get close to him with me, and then—"
"Self-destruct!"
"For the Emperor!"
(End of Chapter)