Chapter 534 Defeat

Chapter 534 Defeat

"Stop, don't move!"

Soon, fifty soldiers came in formation. Each of them was a burly man, holding a shield in his left hand, with a sword on his waist, and wearing leather armor. They were all elite soldiers, and their neat formation made them look even more imposing.

The fifty soldiers quickly split into two groups. Several of them ran towards Xu Yun to check the situation, while the rest drew their weapons and surrounded Huo Yuhao and Fu Rui, with the sharp tips of their swords pointing directly at the two.

These people seemed to be Xu Yun's personal guards. According to the military system, officers at the battalion commander level had the right to form their own personal guards, which consisted of a squadron of elite soldiers.

Huo Yuhao shook his head secretly. As expected, this little princess came to the army to get some experience. Seeing that she had been in the army for a short time, she became the battalion commander. Not to mention a hereditary marshal like Dai Hao, how could these people really start from the bottom of the army?

“Let’s go.” Huo Yuhao felt that he was bored and didn’t even bother to give them a glance. They were just soldiers who were slightly stronger than ordinary people. Even if they were all soul masters, to him, it would be a piece of cake to wipe them out.

He and Fu Rui wanted to leave, and no one could stop them.

At this moment, Huo Yuhao and Fu Rui's gazes were drawn by a mysterious force of destiny, and they both looked into the distance at the same time.

Suddenly, a strong light suddenly lit up in the distance. The light came suddenly and dazzlingly, and even though it was far away, it instantly attracted the attention of the soldiers. Many people subconsciously turned their heads and looked in the direction of the light source.

They saw a white-hot ball of light shining in the distant sky, spreading outward in a semicircle. The light was so dazzling that most people could not help but look away after just one glance, unable to stare at it for long. Only Huo Yuhao and Fu Rui kept their gaze fixed in that direction, without wavering.

In an instant, the ground shook slightly, and then a roar like muffled thunder rolled in from far to near, and the whole camp shook violently.

The soldiers were dizzy from the shock, and many of them lost their balance and stumbled to the ground.

"What's going on? That direction... could it be the base of the Northwest Army?" The captain of the guards' face suddenly changed, and his voice was filled with horror.

At this moment, a sharp and piercing whistle suddenly resounded throughout the Sixth Reserve Corps camp. This was the highest level of emergency assembly order.

In Huo Yuhao's spiritual field of vision, he saw that the tents were in commotion instantly. The reserve soldiers rushed out of the barracks at an astonishing speed and completed the formation assembly in the shortest possible time. The officers had already taken their positions, and the entire reserve army was operating efficiently like a sophisticated machine. Although it was only a reserve force, the military quality it displayed at this moment was no less than that of the regular army.

The order was quickly passed down layer by layer, and all reserve soldiers immediately entered a state of combat readiness. Everyone, including the new recruits, had to pack their bags and be ready to fight at any time.

The battalion led by Xu Yun was special. As the battalion commander, most of her subordinates were new recruits, including 300 in the latest batch. The entire new recruit battalion had a staff of 900 people, twice the size of a regular battalion, and all three battalions adopted double staffing.

However, at this moment, the seriously injured and unconscious Xu Yun was unable to perform his command duties. Of course, even if she was awake, the pampered princess would probably not be able to take on the important task.

Huo Yuhao had a solemn expression. Ordinary soldiers in the barracks might not be able to judge the power of the previous explosion, but as a high-level soul guide, he knew it very well. Judging from the intensity of the explosion, only a ninth-level fixed-type soul guide shell could cause such horrific destructive power.

At this moment, they were two or three hundred kilometers away from the center of the explosion, but they could still clearly see the dazzling light, hear the deafening roar, and feel the violent tremors of the ground. What did this mean? The explosion was definitely a level nine fixed-type soul guide shell, and there was more than one!

The Xingluo Empire was far behind the Sun-Moon Empire in terms of soul guide research and development. If the technology was equal, the ninth-level fixed-type soul guide shells would generate strong energy fluctuations when fired, and the border defense system would be able to intercept them in advance. But the reality was that these shells fell unhindered near the Xingluo Empire's border garrison, and the damage caused was probably incalculable.

“Could it be…” Huo Yuhao’s heart sank as he thought of this. The kill-grabbing competition was about to start?!

There was a continuous rumble like thunder in the distance. Although there was no longer the dazzling light as before, such intensive explosions could still be heard hundreds of kilometers away, which showed how tragic the border battle was.

Huo Yuhao pulled Fu Rui and quickly moved out of the city. At the same time, he shared the front-line intelligence with her through mental detection: "The front line of Xingluo has been defeated. The Western Army Group has just issued an order to build fortifications with Yuming City as a base and wait to meet up with the retreating main force."

The military camp was filled with a solemn atmosphere, and there was a hint of panic. In the eyes of these soldiers, the Western Frontier Defense Line that Xingluo Empire had been operating for thousands of years was based on the natural barrier of the Mingdou Mountains, and should have been impregnable.

However, Huo Yuhao learned from the military meeting intelligence obtained through spiritual detection that the Sun-Moon Empire's attack came without any warning. They used several level 9 fixed-type soul guide shells to directly blast open the weak point of the Mingdou Mountains, tearing open a huge gap. Then at least four soul guide groups launched a continuous attack, forcing the Western Army Group to retreat under the blanket bombing, leading the Sun-Moon Empire Army to advance straight in. Even more fatal was that a level 9 fixed-type soul guide shell accurately hit the core area where the Western Army Group headquarters was located, resulting in heavy casualties among the frontline soldiers, and the defense line completely collapsed, and was now retreating step by step.

Huo Yuhao was most concerned about whether Dai Hao's head was still on his neck. He stopped a battalion commander and used his mental power to read his memory without waiting for his reaction. From the memory, he learned that Dai Hao was leading the army to stop the enemy, but the Sun Moon Empire's offensive was extremely fierce. Although the number of troops involved was small, the three soul mentor groups of the National Guard were dispatched at one time. This elite force came too fast and too suddenly, and its destructive power was even more amazing.

The Xingluo Empire's defense system in the western border is mainly based on the Northwest Army Group, supplemented by the Western Army Group. The Northwest Army Group has 11 corps with a total strength of about 120,000; the Western Army Group has eight corps, totaling more than 80,000 people. Adding 200,000 auxiliary troops, the entire border garrison is as high as 400,000. There are also 200,000 reserve corps stationed in the seven fortress cities in the rear, forming a deep defense.

By reading the memories of several senior officers, Huo Yuhao had a clearer understanding of the situation. The Xingluo Empire deployed nearly 600,000 troops on the western front, of which 300,000 were elite soldiers. This force was not only large in size, but also the most elite force in the empire. After all, the Sun-Moon Empire was always the number one enemy, and the soul guides provided by the Sky Soul Empire were also given priority to the troops on the western front.

But even under such heavy defense, the Sun-Moon Empire was able to break through the defense line in one fell swoop, and even the most elite Northwest Army Group was defeated! The linked soul defense array provided by the Sky Soul Empire did not work at all. This should have been the key barrier to intercept the ninth-level fixed soul artillery shells.

Huo Yuhao's figure flashed and he soared into the air. With the simulated spirit skill fully running, he and Fu Rui's figures completely merged into the air. The huge spiritual power spread like a tide, instantly covering the entire sky above Yuming City.

After a brief investigation, Huo Yuhao was prepared, but he did not expect that the air defense system of this important border town was so weak. There was not even a soul guide device for high-altitude detection, and only a few basic soul detectors were deployed on the top of the city. This level of defense was not even as good as an ordinary small city in the Sun Moon Empire. The backwardness of soul guide technology was fully revealed at this moment.

Without a moment's hesitation, Huo Yuhao and Fu Rui turned into a stream of light and rushed westward.

Soon, the defeated soldiers came into view. The soldiers retreating from the western front like a tide were dejected, the team was in disarray, and almost everyone was injured. The tragic scene of the defeat was vividly displayed at this moment.

Huo Yuhao casually scanned with his mental detection, and it seemed that Senior Sister Orange’s methods were even more brutal than he expected.

Due to the serious backwardness of the Xingluo Empire's air detection technology, the Sun-Moon Empire had already infiltrated a large number of elite warriors into the Western Frontier in batches without anyone noticing. When the ninth-level fixed-type soul guide shells exploded and the entire Northwest Army Group fell into chaos, these lurking masters immediately took action and specifically sniped officers at all levels, further exacerbating the chaos in the army.

From the defeated soldiers, we learned that after the earth-shattering explosion, destructive beams of light kept falling from the sky, destroying the Xingluo Empire strongholds on the Mingdou Mountains one by one. Afterwards, a large number of flying soul masters poured into the mountains and launched a one-sided massacre.

This is a completely new type of war mode led by high-end combat power. Relying on the air mobility and absolute air superiority of the Soul Instructor Corps, the Sun-Moon Empire has maximized its military advantages.

Although the Star Luo Empire had long been aware of the gap between it and the Sun Moon Empire in soul guide technology, it was not until the outbreak of this full-scale war that they truly understood how huge the gap was, and this gap was already so large that it was despairing.

After obtaining this information, Huo Yuhao and Fu Rui continued to rush westward. In the face of the overwhelming war weapon of soul guide, traditional fortifications have completely lost their meaning. The Sun-Moon Empire has obviously made sufficient preparations. Once the natural barrier of the Mingdou Mountains is lost, the Xingluo Empire will face a catastrophe.

The distance of 200 kilometers was not far for Huo Yuhao and his team. Before they even got close to the front line, the strong soul power fluctuations were already coming like a wave. In his spiritual eyes, the direction of the border was constantly flashing with various colors of soul power, as dazzling as doomsday fireworks.

When the outline of the Mingdou Mountains came into view, Huo Yuhao's pupils suddenly shrank. A hideous giant gap suddenly appeared on the mountain range known as the natural moat. The rock formations at the edge of the gap were irregularly jagged, and the center area was completely charred. It was obviously hit by multiple ninth-level fixed-type soul guide shells that were good at explosives. What was even more frightening was that the Sun Moon Empire's troops were pouring into the gap like a flood that broke through a dam.

The defense line that Xingluo Empire had painstakingly built for thousands of years actually collapsed overnight. As soon as this thought came to Huo Yuhao's mind, he suddenly felt nervous. Where were the White Tiger Duke and his personal guards? Could it be that even they... Don't do that kind of thing!

He subconsciously glanced at Huo Yun'er behind him, only to see that his mother's face was already in tears, and her illusory spirit was trembling slightly due to excessive grief. At this moment, Huo Yuhao was actually somewhat thankful that the gods had deprived his mother of the ability to speak, otherwise those cries would have definitely made him lose his composure.

The cruelty of the battlefield was beyond imagination. Looking around, the remnants of the Xingluo Empire had completely lost their combat effectiveness. The sky ten kilometers away was filled with densely packed soul guides, and the soul guide positions on the ground were quickly taking shape. The soul skill lights that had been flickering before had gone out, announcing that the Northwest Army had completely lost the positions they had been holding in just a few hours.

Huo Yuhao was suspended in mid-air, feeling a little dazed for a moment.

This is the Northwest Army, which is said to be the most elite in the Xing Luo Empire? How could it be so vulnerable? How did they hold out for thousands of years? The Sun Moon Empire probably never even used 30% of its strength in the past?

He closed his eyes and concentrated, no longer trying to figure out which soul guide army was below him, and took back all of his outgoing mental power. Under the perfect disguise of the simulated soul skill, even the most advanced high-altitude soul guide detection device would have difficulty finding his trace, unless it was a specialized thermal energy detection device.

Suddenly, a gorgeous rose-gold vertical eye slowly emerged behind him. At the same time, a brilliant light burst out from his head, a mysterious halo appeared behind his head, and the breath of fate began to flow.

Faced with such a vast battlefield, relying solely on spiritual detection to find the White Tiger Duke was like looking for a needle in a haystack, so Huo Yuhao chose to rely on the guidance of fate.

After a moment, the vertical eye disappeared. Huo Yuhao suddenly turned to the north and rushed north with Fu Rui. The Northwest Army Group was located adjacent to the border of the Tianhun Empire, and 500 kilometers to the north was where Dragon City was located. Why did the White Tiger Duke lead the remnants to retreat northward?

As his thoughts became clearer, Huo Yuhao smiled coldly. The answer was obvious. As Orange's main target, Dai Hao chose to retreat northwards in order to divert the enemy's main force and buy time for the defeated army to retreat, and also to drag the Sky Soul Empire into the war. The first line of defense of the Sky Soul Empire in the north - Dragon City, was his only hope at the moment.

Continuing to fly northward, while spreading his spiritual power, Huo Yuhao soon noticed that the ground was covered with various traces of battles, including scorched earth bombarded by soul guides and deep pits ravaged by soul skills, with scattered corpses in between. These traces showed that the battle was extremely fierce, but the scale was not large. The total number of participants should not exceed 10,000. Obviously, both sides sent out their most elite forces.

Although the Xingluo Empire was at a disadvantage in terms of soul guides, its number of soul masters far exceeded that of the Sun-Moon Empire. The Northwest Army alone was equipped with a soul master corps of a thousand people. Although these well-trained soul masters were not White Tiger's personal guards, they directly obeyed the orders of the White Tiger Duke. In fact, the Xingluo Empire had a total of ten such elite soul master corps. However, because of its too strong combat power, the royal family never dared to hand over all the corps to the White Tiger Duke, and only deployed one in each army group.

As he went deeper, Huo Yuhao recognized from the emblems on the corpses along the way that there were at least two soul guide groups involved in the pursuit, and both were from the Sun Moon Empire's most elite national defense soul guide group. This lineup made him more and more convinced that Ju Zi was determined to get Dai Hao's head.

And...and the teachers are also helping her! This is totally making things more difficult for herself!