Chapter 250: Sun and Moon Battle the Martial God (Part 1)

"What has become of the people from the Three Great Empires and Shrek?" Xu He walked slowly to the old Emperor's bedchamber and pushed open the great doors.

"Because the Burrowing Soul Guidance Devices were discovered, the people from the Three Great Empires were wiped out in the east. Most were captured by the Sun Moon Empire, while the rest are still hiding in the city. With Huo Yu Hao, Wang Qiu Er, and the senior sister there, there is no immediate crisis for now."

Su Yu understood very clearly why the current situation was so disadvantageous for the Three Great Empires. In the original story, the Three Great Empires had basically used the Burrowing Soul Guidance Devices to escape from the east. It had to be said that the Mingde Hall in the original story truly lacked brains; they had been raided once before and still hadn't learned their lesson, suffering losses in the same place time and again.

I really don't know if the people of Mingde Hall are idiots, or if the Creator God is an idiot?

When they entered the old Emperor's bedchamber, the two guards still had no awareness of them. With minimal effort, Su Yu used the Soul Sealing Technique with the assistance of Yi Lao to control the consciousness of that Soul Saint and Soul Emperor.

"Go ahead, the old Emperor is right there. You can ask whatever you want to know."

In the distance, the old Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire seemed to sense something; his gaze swept over the place where Su Yu was. As his gaze passed, a familiar figure slowly arrived at the old Emperor's side.

"Uncle, long time no see. Do you still remember me?" Xu He slowly removed the Patrol Captain's helmet, revealing a face that possessed the distinct characteristics of the Sun Moon imperial family.

The old Emperor struggled to open his murky eyes and braced his body with difficulty, looking at He Cai Tou as he asked, "Are you... Big Brother's son, Xu He?"

"Ask whatever you want to ask. The general situation is already settled, and nothing can change anything now. *Cough, cough, cough*..." The old Emperor spoke with extreme difficulty, as if he would die there at any moment.

"Why did you kill our whole family back then? Weren't my father and you brothers? Is the throne really that important?" Xu He's body trembled slightly; he could not believe that this peaceful old man on his deathbed was the murderer who had launched the palace coup and slaughtered his family.

The old Emperor struggled to lean against the head of the bed, gasping for air, "Do you really think your father was a wise emperor?"

"Why wasn't he?" Tears welled up in Xu He's eyes.

He did not understand why things had turned out this way. If it weren't for the person before him, he would not have ended up in such a state, and his family would not have suffered such a disaster.

Is the throne really that important?

Father, Mother, Sister...

"Perhaps for the commoners at the bottom of the Sun Moon Empire, or perhaps... *cough, cough*... for you, your father was a wise monarch. But for the entire Sun Moon Empire, your father was an incompetent... *cough, cough*..."

The old Emperor spoke with great difficulty, needing a long pause after every sentence.

"Take this; I can let you die a little more painlessly." Su Yu knew the old Emperor's condition could not last much longer; all he could do now was fulfill Xu He's wish.

The old Emperor smiled slightly, did not refuse, and took the pill.

After swallowing the pill, an unnatural flush appeared on the old Emperor's face. As the medicinal power dissolved, the old Emperor's mental state began to become full of vigor.

"Your father was an incompetent monarch who only cared about immediate interests. Perhaps you think your father was a wise monarch, but do not forget, you are a person of the Sun Moon Empire! Eight thousand years ago, our ancestors drifted here from overseas following the Sun Moon Continent. When the Douluo Continent collided with the Sun Moon Continent, the Three Great Empires could not possibly allow an empire stronger than them to appear in the world, and we could not possibly allow the Three Great Empires to exist beside us."

"War was inevitable. If our ancestors had won eight thousand years ago, we would not have been suppressed by the Three Great Empires for eight thousand years, nor would we have signed those countless humiliating treaties. Your father was dedicated to the people's livelihood and always hoped for peace, but do you know? If we had abandoned our powerful military, we would have been suppressed by the Three Great Empires forever. One day, we would have been jointly suppressed by the Three Great Empires and Shrek, our Soul Guidance Device knowledge crystals stolen, and the people of our Sun Moon Empire enslaved!"

"Your father did not die at my hands, but at the hands of the ministers in the imperial court! For the sake of the Sun Moon Empire, I could be the usurping tyrant you speak of, but I absolutely would not allow the Sun Moon Empire to voluntarily abandon the weapons in its hands and become a lamb waiting to be slaughtered! If that had truly been done, your father would be the greatest sinner of the Sun Moon Empire!"

The old Emperor roared these words out.

"But you still couldn't kill my father! That was your own big brother!" Xu He questioned him in agony.

"If I hadn't done that, was I supposed to wait until we lost our combat capability, and the armies of the Star Luo Empire and Heaven Soul Empire bordering us invaded our Sun Moon Empire's territory before trying to persuade your father? Foolish! Your father was a short-sighted fellow, and even you are a short-sighted fellow. Why do you think we spared no cost to win the championship of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament? Do you really think we cared about that so-called glory?"

"It was because we needed a victory to inspire the hope of everyone in our Sun Moon Empire. If your father were still here, he should have known our Sun Moon Empire's predicament. How many people have paid the price with their lives for the future hope of the Sun Moon Empire? Your father only valued peace and the people's livelihood; don't you find that ridiculous? Why was I able to successfully launch the coup? Actually, you know in your heart. Don't forget, you are also a person of the Sun Moon Empire! You have the blood of our Sun Moon Empire's royal family flowing in your body! You were also once the Crown Prince of our Sun Moon Empire!"

You were also once the Crown Prince of our Sun Moon Empire!

This sentence struck Xu He's heart like a heavy hammer, leaving him unable to breathe from the pain.

Why did it have to end like this...

Why...

The old Emperor looked at Xu He and slowly said, "Whether what I said is true or not, you know better than I do."

"Big Brother He, are you alright?"

Watching Xu He's painful appearance, Su Yu knew that the truth was often cruel, because once the truth of many things surfaced, everything from the past would completely collapse!

"*Cough, cough, cough, cough*..."

A fit of violent coughing erupted; the old Emperor could no longer hold on and began to vomit blood profusely.

"We should go..."

Fresh blood stained the old Emperor's bedchamber, just as it had twenty-some years ago; everything was so familiar.

Yet everything was also so strange...

"Are you all alright? Where is that kid Su Yu? And He Cai Tou?" Xuan Lao counted the heads, only to find two were missing.

"Big Brother He got separated from us during the evacuation. Su Yu stayed behind to cover our retreat. We tried to stop him, but he went anyway. He said his parents were once disciples of Hall Master Jing Hongchen, and the Sun Moon Empire wouldn't make things difficult for him." Xiao Xiao spoke with a sobbing tone; clearly, she did not believe Su Yu's excuse.

"Don't worry about them, as long as you are all safe. It is much easier for Su Yu to retreat alone than for a group of you." Xuan Lao looked at Wang Dong'er, who had been silent, and asked, "You know where Su Yu is, don't you?"

"I, I, I don't know..." Wang Dong'er's eyes darted away, as if she were hiding something.

"If even you don't know, then you probably really don't know where he went. However, based on my understanding of that kid, he definitely gave you a plan for the evacuation. While the people of the Sun Moon Empire haven't discovered us yet, tell me about Su Yu's plan." Xuan Lao had no time to dwell on these questions; he only wanted to know how to evacuate from Mingdu, which was filled with crises.

"Su Yu said before that we should break out from another place. The West Mountain has powerful Mental Restrictions, and it is highly likely to be a trap set by the Holy Spirit Cult, so we absolutely must not retreat in the direction of the West Mountain." Bei Bei relayed Su Yu's instructions.

Xuan Lao frowned slightly, "But, in the current situation, the defense is weakest on the West Mountain side. If we break out from elsewhere, we are highly likely to run head-on into the Sun Moon Empire's army! However, the West Mountain..."

"Xuan Lao, if we really break out from the West Mountain, wouldn't we be falling right into the Holy Spirit Cult's trap? Wouldn't the intelligence Su Yu worked so hard to scout be wasted in vain?" Wang Qiu Er spoke up at this moment.

"Break out from the north. The backup plans left by the people of the Three Great Empires in the east have all been broken, and even Princess Wei Na has been captured. The Body Sect has suffered heavy casualties. The north is relatively weakly defended now; I suggest you all break out from the north."

A familiar voice came from the alley behind them. Hearing this voice, the group felt as if they had suddenly found their backbone.

"He Cai Tou, you aren't hurt, are you?" Xiao Xiao reached out her petite palms anxiously to check Xu He's body.

Xu He was in low spirits, his eyes dim, and he spoke in a low voice, "I'm fine, just a relatively large consumption of soul power."

"How did you know that?" Xuan Lao looked at Su Yu with an expression as if he had seen a ghost. They had obtained this news from Xu Tianran, but Su Yu could not possibly have entered that place.

Su Yu looked at Xuan Lao and said, "The people from the Three Great Empires have all lost contact, and during my escape, I saw quite a few captured people from the Three Great Empires. Plus, the Soul Engineer army in the city was all calling out for His Highness to withdraw from Mingdu, so I could roughly guess that the Three Great Empires' escape had failed. Xuan Lao, let's go. Mingdu has completely become a city of trapped beasts..."

Just then, a familiar voice came, "Everyone from Shrek, since you've come, why be in such a hurry to leave?"

This sentence made Xuan Lao's expression turn grave. This was the voice of Jing Hongchen; clearly, they had already found the trail of the Shrek group.

"Go!"

Xuan Lao did not hesitate at all; he immediately activated his martial soul to block the attacks of the Soul Engineer army led by Jing Hongchen from the rear.

The Martial Soul Avatar of the Taotie Divine Ox stood tall behind the Shrek group, blocking wave after wave of attacks for them.

"Xuan Lao, go quickly! We have planted a large number of Soul Guidance Bombs and High-Explosive Shells around the imperial palace; a sudden eruption should be able to hold them off for a while."

Huo Yu Hao urged everyone, and upon hearing this, Xuan Lao realized Huo Yu Hao's plan, immediately retracted his Martial Soul Avatar, and vanished from the sight of Jing Hongchen and the others.

"Continue the pursuit!"

Boom—!

Boom—!

The violent explosions were like a chain reaction, beginning to erupt everywhere in the city, and the intense blasts began to sweep out around the Sun Moon Imperial Palace.

The earth trembled faintly, the air was filled with the scent of burning flames from the explosions, and shockwaves swept through the surroundings of the Sun Moon Imperial Palace.

Earth and stone flew, a large number of buildings collapsed, and countless fragments rose into the air.

Fortunately, the range of the sweep was only a few kilometers, and it was just a series of chain explosions triggered around the Sun Moon Imperial Palace.

Xuan Lao looked at Huo Yu Hao and He Cai Tou, "Just how many bombs did you two plant?"

"Not many, we just wanted to make a feint to the east while attacking in the west. Now that the Sun Moon Imperial Palace has been bombed, it is about time for us to evacuate."

Upon hearing "not many," Xuan Lao realized the crisis of the situation; there was no longer any time for them to hesitate.

However, at the very next instant, the violent explosions came to an abrupt halt, and the sky-high flames vanished into thin air in a single moment.

This scene left all the Shrek students dumbfounded.

Impossible; those Soul Guidance Bombs were things they had prepared for a long time, made by modifying Soul Guidance Cannonballs taken from the defeated City Defense Army's Soul Guidance Devices and from nearby hidden armories—it was impossible for them to have so little power.

Logically speaking, there should have been at least thirty more explosions to follow, but at this moment, all the explosions had suddenly ceased, as if they had been cut off out of thin air by someone!

Had their opportunity been seen through as well?

A massive figure over forty meters tall slowly rose from behind them, its terrifying aura pressing down on everyone like a demon god.

It was a colossal Humanoid Soul Tool!

"People of Shrek, did you think you could cause chaos just by relying on those few Soul Guidance Bombs? Since you like to take action so much, I will accompany you to the end!"

Blue flames erupted from the back of the colossal Humanoid Soul Tool; it was a Soul Guidance Device resembling a War Machine, equipped with a melee Soul Guidance Giant Sword on its arm, as well as a Soul Guidance Giant Cannon with a terrifyingly large caliber.

On the chest of that Soul Guidance Giant, there was a red core, the red core wrapped in heavy armor, and on its shoulders were two massive Soul Guidance Annihilation Cannons.

Behind it were a pair of blood-red wings, and within the wings, a few Soul Guidance warheads were faintly visible.

This Soul Guidance Giant was entirely red and black in color; despite its seemingly cumbersome body, it appeared exceptionally agile during the pursuit.

"Continue the pursuit, do not let them escape!"

A familiar voice emanated from the Soul Guidance Mecha, and when Xuan Lao looked at that scene, he realized in his heart exactly what a crisis meant.

The Three Great Empires had no way out; even with more Title Douluo, there was no way out!