King Tianliang was defeated and the Oran Empire was on the brink of destruction.
As soon as Xu Mingxi stepped into the Oran Empire, he saw scenes of wailing everywhere, with the people living in misery—especially in the cities on the border between the Oran Empire and the Sun-Moon Empire. The roads were severely damaged and marked with signs of bombing by soul-guided weapons.
Compared to the Sun-Moon Empire's advanced soul guidance technology, the Oran Empire was nothing but a poor and remote land. It was at a great disadvantage in this confrontation. The people had suffered through the baptism of war, and the light in their eyes had vanished.
Unable to bear this sight, Xu Mingxi decided to change their living environment after obtaining his ninth soul ring.
If the opportunity arose to plunder the Oran Empire's treasury, its national strength would decline, and it would soon be defeated by the Sun-Moon Empire. Then, these people could be merged into the Sun-Moon Empire.
He was truly a good man. As for whether these people would become civilians or slaves after joining the Sun-Moon Empire, that would depend on whether they had worked hard enough.
The Grand Elder received word that the Moon-Worshipping Wolf King had appeared in the largest soul beast forest in the Oran Empire seventy years ago. This soul beast forest was called Lanto and was located on the border between the Oran Empire and the Otto Empire.
Xu Mingxi and his companions did not hesitate. After failing to gather any information outside the city, they dove into the depths of Lanto Forest.
The information about the Moon-Worshipping Wolf King was outdated, so they could only begin their search from where it had been previously spotted. Fortunately, Lanto Forest was much smaller than the Demon Forest in terms of area, number, and age of soul beasts.
The Moon-Worshipping Wolf King might be the strongest creature here. With the combined strength of the four of them, they couldn't say the journey would be smooth, but there was no need to worry too much either.
To avoid any accidents, the four acted together, and Xu Mingxi carried the medicinal rabbit in his arms. Every night, he would occasionally extract some essence of moonlight from the sky. This would not only help the medicinal rabbit grow faster, but he also hoped to use it to lure the Moon-Worshipping Wolf King.
As a result, the Wolf King remained elusive for a time, but many other soul beasts were attracted instead. Their desire for the essence of moonlight made them lose all reason, attacking recklessly despite the oppressive presence of the Grand Elder, who was a Titled Douluo.
There was no other choice. Xu Mingxi could only collect a little moonlight essence from different locations every few hours to attract the Moon-Worshipping Wolf King. As for the medicinal rabbit, it would have to endure this for a while.
At the same time, in Oran City, the capital of the Oran Empire, a soul-guided carriage that looked simple on the outside but was luxurious inside sped toward the palace.
Two guards glanced at the passing carriage, looked at each other, then went back to lounging.
"Captain, the logo on that carriage looked like the royal crest of the Otto Empire."
"I don't know. We just need to do our jobs. The less we see, say, and do, the longer we live."
Peace returned to the palace gates, but undercurrents stirred within the palace. The Emperor of the Oran Empire, Lance, sat on his throne holding a golden letter, staring at a middle-aged man in luxurious robes standing before him.
"Does Tony truly think this way, or is this just the Otto royal family pretending to relay his wishes?"
"Your Majesty Lance, how would we dare? His Majesty Tony is the most esteemed figure in our Otto Empire, and this letter was personally written by him."
"Hmph, I'll think about it. Escort him out."
"Then I urge Your Majesty Lance to reply promptly. This is a rare opportunity. If we delay any longer, neither of our empires will stand a chance."
After the envoy left, the hall returned to silence. Lance sat in his seat, repeatedly examining the letter in his hands.
Of course, he didn't believe the Otto Empire's envoy. Tony had long been stripped of power by the Otto royal family. This letter was most likely forced upon him.
Tony had always been a proponent of peace regarding the Sun-Moon Empire, but the letters he sent now were full of warlike intent. Lance had every reason to suspect that Tony had completely lost the power struggle in the Otto Empire.
The Otto Empire wanted to start a war and wouldn't allow the Oran Empire to remain intact. They would inevitably drag it into war. That was what Lance feared.
Lance didn't know the full situation in the Otto Empire, but he was well aware of the Oran Empire's state. Aside from one aging Titled Douluo in the royal family, they had no significant military strength.
In terms of soul-guided weapons, they were hopelessly behind the Sun-Moon Empire. Once war broke out, the Oran Empire could fall quickly. He might as well enjoy his throne for a few more days.
He couldn't understand what the Otto Empire was thinking. Did they have some hidden trump card that made them think they could go to war with the Sun-Moon Empire?
It couldn't just be because two major cities in the Sun-Moon Empire were destroyed and a few Soul Douluo were killed. Lance didn't get it, but that didn't stop him from mobilizing Oran's forces to prepare for the coming war.
In the carriage leaving the Oran Empire, the Otto Empire's envoy looked back at the capital and smirked cunningly, as if his plan had succeeded.
He had seen Lance waver, which meant he would take action. In doing so, he would fulfill that man's command, and once his task was done, he would surely be promoted to nobility.
Thinking of that man's terrifying power, the envoy couldn't help but tremble. He truly couldn't be blamed for fearing death. That man clearly wasn't someone they could defy. Rather than waiting to die, it was better to take a chance.
In the Otto Empire's royal palace in Otto City, the royal nobles gathered, with Emperor Tony at the center, wearing a grim expression.
"Do you realize that you're hastening the destruction of my Otto Empire?"
"Brother, you're overthinking it. I've successfully reached the legendary Titled Douluo level. With the Grand Elders and the combined strength of our two empires, we can surely defeat the Sun-Moon Empire."
"You… you fool! Toba, do you really think our two empires are the only ones with hidden Titled Douluo? Do you really think the Sun-Moon Empire has no foundation?"
"Brother, there's no point in discussing this further. Just wait for me to return victorious and abdicate the throne."
After the crowd dispersed, Tony collapsed onto his throne. How could he not know that Toba only wanted his position and was using this as a pretext to remove him?
However, attacking the Sun-Moon Empire had been Tony's intention from the start. Ever since Toba achieved the rank of Titled Douluo, he believed he was a match for Xu Zilong.
The royal relatives agreed. Now that Risheng City and Yuesheng City of the Sun-Moon Empire had been completely destroyed with heavy casualties, even if Toba couldn't defeat Xu Zilong, he could at least hold him off. Then, with the strong backing of both empires, they would surely win.
If only it were that simple. Tony sat alone in the empty palace, his sigh echoing for a long time.