"Spiritual Sharing!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Huo Yuhao activated Spiritual Sharing. When he fully mobilized his spiritual power, he could accurately extend its reach up to nearly 500 meters in a single direction.
With his cultivation at the Soul Sect level and a third martial soul awakening, Huo Yuhao was unmatched in spiritual power. A 500-meter range wasn't his limit—just the limit to maintain pinpoint precision.
Without hesitation, he pulled the trigger, instantly launching twenty preloaded level-six soul-guided cannon shells.
Accompanied by a ground-piercing roar, the shells burrowed through the earth with their reinforced casings, heading straight for the targets. Once within ten meters of impact, the outer shell split open, revealing the inner explosive payload.
These were earth-piercing bombs—designed to deliver their explosive power underground, minimizing wasted damage and maximizing precision.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!"
The distant earth-piercing soul devices moved at incredible speed, but to Huo Yuhao and the members of the Royal Soul Engineering Corps nearby, it was as if time slowed. They seemed to auto-track their targets, as if they had pre-calculated their trajectory and velocity. There was no need to think—just follow instinct and launch.
And that instinct was precisely guided by Huo Yuhao.
A total of fifty-two people, including Xing Yi, locked onto their targets within seconds and unleashed nearly a thousand soul-guided cannon shells, ranging from level six to level eight.
Within his spiritual perception—
Huo Yuhao saw the enemy's underground vehicles being obliterated in an instant. Powerful figures burst out of the wreckage, one of them an old man radiating terrifying pressure, managing to intercept nearly a hundred incoming cannon shells. But even his strength wasn't enough to block such a barrage unprepared.
To make matters worse, Huo Yuhao's mouth twitched as he noticed Xing Yi—cursing loudly—pull out a level-nine loaded launcher and fire two level-nine earth-piercing cannon shells straight at the enemy.
Xing Yi was an eighth-level Soul Engineer, only recently promoted. Due to his youth, he was currently serving as a company commander. Otherwise, he'd at least be a battalion commander or deputy.
"Get down!"
As the two level-nine soul bombs launched, Xing Yi shouted and deployed several invincibility shields, protecting Huo Yuhao and another team member nearby.
"BOOM—!!!"
A true ground-shaking explosion erupted.
The entire underground chain trembled violently.
At the same time, not only the southern section of Mingdu's city wall, but also the eastern, western, and northern walls all quaked as if an earthquake engulfed the whole capital.
"Pfft~"
Yan Shaozhe coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face pale.
Soul power surged from within him, scattering the surrounding debris and revealing a more spacious area.
He released his spiritual power and let out a slight breath of relief. Elder Mu and the other Pavilion Elders were unharmed; only one elder was slightly injured. But soon, his expression turned grim.
"Damn it!"
"Ten Soul Douluos have fallen; nineteen remain. One Titled Douluo has fallen; eighteen remain. Elder Mu..." Qian Duoduo, with the strongest spiritual perception, quickly tallied the casualties and regrouped beside the leading Elder Mu En.
This was already the best-case scenario—Elder Mu, Elder Xuan, and the others had taken the brunt of the attack. Had they been slower, the death toll would have easily doubled.
"I'm going to kill them!"
Elder Xuan roared. His Gluttonous Martial Soul manifested, and as a tunneling expert, he began channeling soul power, preparing to strike back at the source of the attack.
"Xuan Zi!" Mu En called out sharply.
Elder Xuan gritted his teeth but slowly halted his charge.
"It's a trap," Yan Shaozhe muttered grimly, covered in dirt.
At the same time, he was deeply unsettled.
Could this all be because of his recent visit to the Holy Spirit Church?
That shouldn't be—Even if he had been discovered, how could they organize such an offensive in so little time? Unless… Yan Shaozhe's mind reeled—the Sun Moon Empire had known of their plan all along.
"Hoo..."
Mu En's expression was cold. As commander, he could not afford panic. Shrek's foundation was at stake. If anything went wrong, he'd have no face to meet the Pavilion Masters of the past.
But—
"Not just the south. Enemy forces are attacking from all three other directions as well," Mu En said softly.
Though the rumblings were faint, to the ears of Limit Douluos, they were as clear as thunder.
"It seems the Sun Moon Empire lacks walls, but not defense..." Mu En took a deep breath. "Perhaps they anticipated this. But this is our best-prepared offensive yet. If we miss this opportunity, Shrek Academy and the former three nations may never recover. Besides, our troops have already broken through..."
"..." Yan Shaozhe felt his eyelids twitch wildly. This was like a boiling cauldron, just waiting for them to jump in.
After all, they had come this far. Retreat now, and they'd lose Shrek's ten-thousand-year legacy of honor.
Shrek had rallied the strongest of the continent—just like four thousand years ago—and everyone had charged in. If Shrek Academy retreated now?
It would be a permanent stain on their history.
"Xuan Zi, lead the way. Avoid these forces. Time is tight. We must reach the Sun Moon Imperial Academy as scheduled. Otherwise, the whole plan will collapse!" Mu En made a firm decision.
He could already sense thousands of soul engineers converging underground. Even as a Limit Douluo, alongside a group of Super Douluos, they could still be held back. At this point, every second counted.
"Yes! Martial Soul True Body!" Elder Xuan's muscles bulged as earthen-yellow soul power erupted from his body. His form swelled to several times its size, with a sharp horn forming on his head. Like a raging bull, he charged forward, carving through the soil. Within seconds, they had advanced a kilometer.
"Pfft! Pfft!"
Xing Yi poked his head out of the soil and spat out two mouthfuls of dirt, hurriedly searching his surroundings.
"Company Commander, we're alright!"
Huo Yuhao raised a hand, digging himself free and calling out loudly.
Heart still pounding, he glanced around. The underground chain had collapsed, and they were in pitch-black tunnels—likely part of the Starlink connection. Thankfully, based on spiritual sensing, all team members were still alive.
"Haha, the Mingdu city wall shielded us from the worst," Xing Yi said, grinning as he pulled out teammates like radishes.
Hearing the distant rumbling, Xing Yi chuckled, "Reinforcements have arrived. The entire south side—First and Second Battalions—are concentrated here. Once the enemy is detected, support is dispatched immediately. Judging from the sound, they've got the enemy pinned down. Those bastards won't get into the city unless they abandon all forces below Titled Douluo and go in solo."
He visibly relaxed and added, "Xiao Hao, our mission is complete. Orders just came down—we're to assess the wounded and check for losses. The other companies can handle the rest."
(End of Chapter)