Douluo Dalu 3: The Legend of the Dragon King

Tang Wulin's heartstrings instantly received a tug, but at the same time, he was struck by a peculiar feeling, which was that not only had they not grown closer through this shared gaze, they seemed to have only grown further apart.

"Let's go." Yali gave Tang Wulin a gentle tug, and they departed with everyone else from the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy.

At this point, Dong Zi'an had already recovered his composure, but he didn't say anything. Yu Guanzhi had only given him a call, informing him that the Central Legion and Northwestern Legion would help him reconstruct some of the destroyed defensive infrastructure as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, the Blood River Godslayer Array was still advancing at a slow and steady pace, gradually drawing closer and closer.

The sky was gradually dimming as night approached, and the atmosphere in the Western Legion was an extremely somber one.

No matter how battle-hardened a unit was, morale would inevitably take a huge hit after over a third of their forces were lost, especially during such a short span of time.

The enemy was so powerful that their confidence had been crushed, and the entire Western Legion was lost and dejected.

Dong Zi'an was currently situated in the temporary control center that had just been built, and inside the control center were all of his most important subordinates.

As for Spirit Pagoda representatives, only Gu Yuena was present.

"Firstly, I'd like to thank you for your help and support on behalf of our legion," Dong Zi'an said to Gu Yuena.

Regardless of what had happened, Gu Yuena was worthy of respect. If she hadn't kept the Spirit Sovereign occupied and allowed him to run rampant, then it was very likely that the Western Legion would've been entirely wiped out.

Gu Yuena merely nodded in response.

Dong Zi'an took a deep breath, then continued, "I am deeply saddened by the loss of so many brothers, but now is not the time to be lamenting their passing. if I survive to the end of this battle, I'll hand myself over to the military court; it was my decision that resulted in this tragedy. However, I don't plan to go back. Unless the abyssal plane is completely forced back into retreat, I won't take a single backward step. I will fight till the bitter end, but I no longer have the right to ask you to do the same with me."

He closed his eyes with a pained expression as he spoke.

"Don't say that, General. Without you, we wouldn't be where we are today, and prior to the surprise attack, there didn't seem to be any fault in your decision. You did everything for the sake of the legion and our brothers, and your decision represents the decision of everyone, so we should all be shouldering the blame together. Our fallen brothers won't blame, and nor will we. If you're going to fight to the end, then we'll do the same. We won't retreat; we must avenge our fallen brothers."

The one who had spoken was a major general who was rather ugly in appearance, but there was a valiant spirit about him.

All of the soldiers present rose to their feet in unison. "We vow to live and die with the legion!"

Their voices were all filled with vigor and passion, and none of them had hesitated for even a single moment.

Tears immediately welled up in Dong Zi'an's eyes, and he also stood up as memories of the past flooded into his mind.

On the first day he had joined the Western Legion, he had started as an insignificant private, and over the course of decades, he had accumulated accolades upon accolades, finally becoming the commander of the Western Legion. Furthermore, the Western Legion had been ranked quite low among the eight major legions, but under his leadership, it had risen to its current status.

It could be said that his presence was felt throughout every corner of the entire legion. All of his subordinates in the control center had been nurtured by him, and the Western Legion was extremely unified.

It was always in times of peril that true loyalty shone through, and in this instant, Dong Zi'an felt like everything he had given and sacrificed for the Western Legion was worth it.

"Alright, then we'll live together and die together! For the federation!"

"For the federation!" Everyone roared in unison.

Soon, the Central Legion and Northwestern Legion began to converge toward the Western Legion.

As a precautionary measure against a potential surprise return from the enemy, the two legions had each deployed a third of their troops to the Western Legion.

Meanwhile, everyone from Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect was gathered around the secondary tree of life, waiting for the moment of truth.

Ling Zichen was currently standing beside Tang Wulin, and even now, her eyes were still filled with irrepressible excitement.

The modification of Eternal Heaven was a success. She had already recovered from her exhaustion with the assistance of the secondary tree of life, and her heart was brimming with excitement. If Tang Wulin hadn't insisted that she keep this matter a secret, she would've most likely been unable to hold back her urge to tell the entire world.

That's right, Tang Wulin had decided not to spread this information, and was a decision that he had arrived at after communicating with Yu Guanzhi.

There were clearly spies in the Western Legion or the Spirit Pagoda. Otherwise, how had the abyssal army grasped the timing so perfectly?

If it weren't for Gu Yuena's unexpected display of power, there was a very good chance that the defensive line would've already crumbled. Thus, the only ones aware of Eternal Heaven's successful modification were Tang Wulin, Yu Guanzhi, Cao Dezhi, Zang Xin, and a select few others.

Currently, the human army was facing virtually the worst situation possible with the exception of the Holy Lord descending onto this plane. The Spirit Sovereign, whom Gu Yuena had only just barely managed to hold back, was already infinitely approaching godhood. Aside from him, there were also many sovereigns on the battlefield, as well as the enormous abyssal army.

The most difficult period of this battle was about to arrive, but it would also bring an opportunity for them to strike back at the abyssal army.

At the main control center.

"The Sea God Legion, Northsea Legion, and Eastsea Legion, prepare all of your long-range artillery shells, including soul missiles, and lock onto the position 30 kilometers away from the Western Legion's defensive line, then await further orders."

Yu Guanzhi was currently issuing one order after another with a serious expression.

Chen Xinjie was currently standing beside him, and neither of them had gotten a wink of sleep this entire night.

They were waiting for what was very likely going to be the final moment in this battle, where triumph or defeat would be decided.

The atmosphere inside the control center was extremely tense. The federal parliament had just issued an order for Yu Guanzhi to do as he saw fit on the front lines. Their only objective was to keep the enemy from reaching further inland, and they were to do this at all cost.

The Southern Legion was currently picking up the pace, and it would take them one more day at most to arrive.

After receiving authorization from the federal parliament, the first order that Yu Guanzhi issued was that anyone who dared to retreat would be executed on the spot without being granted a trial in the military court.

The human army currently numbered in excess of 1,000,000 troops, but would it be enough to stop the abyssal army?

No one knew the answer to that question, not even Yu Guanzhi himself.

"The Blood River Godslayer Array is 40 kilometers away; it's about to reach the designated strike zone." An advisor's report rang out, and the tension in the air was heightened to a peak.

Yu Guanzhi raised his hand, and as he dialed a number on his soul communicator, his hand was trembling slightly. As a Limit Douluo, this was something that had never happened to him before.

"Sect Master Tang, is everything ready over on your end?"

"Everything is ready to go."

"Alright, then I'll be counting on you. The Blood River Godslayer Array is currently situated 40 kilometers away from us; you can make the final preparations now."

"Copy that."

After ending the call, Yu Guanzhi took a deep breath before issuing another urgent order. "All warships and artillery shells are to go to DEFCON 1. Lock onto the target and await my orders."

...... 

Ling Zichen's mecha was slightly different from before. There was now a red rhomboid gem on its chest, creating a nice contrast with her pink mecha.