After this, Huo Yuhao saw that the Sun Moon Empire had used these metal pillars as a foundation to build machines around them.
It was Huo Yuhao’s first time seeing such machines. He had no idea what they were. Their structure appeared very complicated, and soul power undulations rippled from them.
These machines were very sophisticated. Although Huo Yuhao could use his spiritual power to imprint their structure in his mind, he had to get closer first. Right now, he was around five kilometers from the Sun Moon Empire’s military. He would only be discovered if he went too close. This was why he wasn’t anxious at all.
No, I’ll go take a look at night. Huo Yuhao believed that he could find out what these soul tools were used for if he could observe their core formations, given his understanding of soul tools.
The Sun Moon Empire wouldn’t do this for nothing. They had to have their reasoning behind building such a formation here. Furthermore, he was a little relaxed knowing that the Sun Moon Empire had not built them as a means of war. The Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion didn’t seem to have the intention of constructing a soul formation here. Without a sufficiently large soul formation, Huo Yuhao believed that this place wasn’t enough to threaten him yet.
Night fell. The Sun Moon Empire’s soul engineers returned to their tents after working for more than two hours. When night fell, the temperature of the Extreme North would fall significantly. No soul engineer would be able to work under such rigorous conditions!
The sky had turned fully dark. Amidst the chilly wind, the snow on the ground was blown into the air, turning into huge patches of ice flakes. Not only was the temperature of these ice flakes extremely low, but they also combined with the chilly wind to make it bitingly cold. If a normal person’s skin was exposed, it would dry up and sustain frostbite in a matter of seconds.
Huo Yuhao waited another two hours until the entire military base had quieted down and all the soul lamps had been switched off before he silently snuck out.
Around a week had passed since the start of this expedition. Huo Yuhao believed that the Sun Moon Empire’s military should have lowered their guard slightly, even though they were very cautious. Those machines were on the perimeter of the base. No matter what, there shouldn’t be too much danger.
Huo Yuhao inched forward amidst the darkness. He unleashed his Imitation and rapidly came closer to the military base.
Five kilometers was a very short distance for him. In just a short while, he managed to get close to the military base.
He unleashed his Spiritual Detection and first scanned the sky. He didn’t want to repeat his earlier mistake. If the aerial surveillance soul tools were at an altitude of five hundred meters or below, he would rather give up on this surveillance mission.
There were indeed aerial surveillance soul tools in the sky. However, they were much higher up. They weren’t carrying out any oscillation detections towards the ground. At the same time, Huo Yuhao also carefully used his Spiritual Detection to scan the surroundings of those machines. There weren’t any oscillation detectors or spiritual barriers around those machines either.
After ensuring his safety, he continued to get closer, and quickly came near those large-scale machines and observed them.
The massive metal pillars gave off a stronger sense of oppression the closer he came to them. He touched them gently before using his spiritual power to sense them. Huo Yuhao discovered that these metal pillars were constructed using alloys. Although they were large, they were still mixed with many other rare metals inside. This also meant that the cost of even one metal pillar would be astronomical. The pillars were very strong. It seemed that they were being used to support some other soul tools.
Many of the soul tools that were manufactured with these metal pillars as their foundation didn’t have core formations yet. They looked very exquisite, but it was unclear what they were going to be used for.
After furrowing his brow, Huo Yuhao started to become a little confused. What is the Sun Moon Empire trying to do?
It seemed like he had to continue waiting. It was only through greater observation that he could discover their true motive.
Huo Yuhao didn’t dare to stay any longer as he thought until here. He turned around and was prepared to retreat.
At this moment, a cold voice sounded. “Since you’re already here, you don’t have to rush to leave.”
Huo Yuhao was petrified. At that instant, the surrounding several hundred square meters started to shine brightly with light. All the lights were focused on him, and the metal pillars were completely exposed under the lights.
Although Huo Yuhao was protected by his Imitation, he could clearly sense that he was being locked on.
How is this possible? Huo Yuhao was astonished at this instant. He had believed that he was very cautious. How could he possibly have been discovered? He hadn’t discovered any oscillation detectors or spiritual barriers earlier!
“Weird, isn’t it? You don’t have to be surprised. Since you’re able to perform surveillance on us, we had to put in a lot of effort to set this trap for you. The edges of the Extreme North are famed for their extremely low temperatures. Amidst the low temperatures, thermal detectors are especially sensitive. Even though you’ve tried your best to assimilate your body temperature with your surroundings, you forgot that there will be changes in the air currents as you move about. This more or less changes the temperature of the air. No matter whether it’s you or the air, the outcome is the same.”
“Of course, such slight changes are unable to explain anything. Generally, we wouldn’t be too bothered even if we discovered this. However, it’s different today. When I instructed people to build this foundation, I expected you to come. This was why I gathered many thermal detectors far away, and these thermal detectors are specifically targeted at this small region. Even a slight thermal change can be detected. Furthermore, those controlling the thermal detectors are ordinary soldiers under me. They don’t know what the point of it is. This is why they won’t develop any caution against you.”
“I’m clearly aware that Titled Douluo like you are very sensitive to danger. However, these people I sent out won’t pose any threat to you. How can you sense any danger if that’s the case? Even the people surrounding you right now were informed that this was only an exercise. I’m afraid you have nowhere to run now.”
Huo Yuhao couldn’t help but sigh as he heard the lady speak until here. It seemed like he had been too careless! Or rather, this person was simply too cunning. To trap him, she had been waiting for an opportunity to set up this trap. Wasn’t she afraid that he hadn’t followed them here? Or rather, she was setting up this trap based on the thinking that he would be here. She was patient, even more patient than him. She was indeed a very strong opponent.
Huo Yuhao didn’t utter a sound or move. He could only feel his skin numbing, and couldn’t move at all. Once he moved, countless hidden soul tools would be fired towards him instantly.
Since the enemy had prepared such a trap, they would definitely reckon that their attack was sufficient to harm him. Furthermore, he could also hear from the words of the enemy that it was a trap set for a Titled Douluo.
Huo Yuhao wasn’t feeling depressed. He was reprimanding himself instead. In the academy, he was the only one who had completed the Ultimate Soldier Plan, but he was actually in such a situation right now. He could only blame his carelessness. It was a problem birthed from his overconfidence.
Of course, the cunning of his enemy was key to him being trapped. However, he could only pick problems with himself at this moment. At the same time, he started to think of ways he could escape.
“You should feel that you’ve been locked on by us. I’m not afraid of telling you that you have been completely locked on by our linked defensive soul tools. It’s impossible for you to escape. At the same time, there are more than a hundred offensive soul tools aimed at you. They are all at least Class 5 soul tools. Among them, one is even a Class 9 soul tool. There are sixteen Class 8 soul tools. If you think you can escape, you can try.”
That cold voice sounded gentler. For some reason, Huo Yuhao seemed to feel that he knew this voice as it became gentler.
Do I know this person?
However, this thought disappeared as soon as it appeared. The pressing issue was how he was going to escape. The enemy had said everything she said to out psychological pressure in him. However, by saying all that, it was clear that she wanted to capture him alive.
Although Huo Yuhao was trapped, he had great spiritual power, and was very calm. He was able to maintain his cool even in such a situation, and made a correct judgment.
The other party doesn’t want to kill me. She wants to capture me alive. This is my opportunity.
If their aim was to kill him, he would have felt it earlier. He didn’t have the senses of a Titled Douluo, but he possessed the Eye of Destiny. Once he faced mortal danger, he would have some sort of sensation. His enemy was too cunning. She got almost everything right, but she didn’t have any intention of killing him.
It seems like it’s my Imitation and Star Anise Omnithrust that attracted her attention. Given her absolute advantage, her intention must be to capture me and get information out of me. If that’s the case, I stand a chance.
Huo Yuhao didn’t move. He unleashed his spiritual power and turned it into a huge invisible web that started to spread out in the direction of that voice.
Very soon, he discovered that he knew nothing about this trap. The soul engineers that were in ambush weren’t on the ground at all. They were beneath the ground. They weren’t far away and dug their way out before aiming their soul tools at him.
At this instant, Huo Yuhao understood everything. When the enemy was installing the metal pillars earlier, they looked like they were trying to draw his attention. In fact, they were thinking of ways to dig tunnels below and hide their soul engineers. Without a doubt, these soul engineers had some ways of hiding their own auras. At the same time, they didn’t receive any instructions to carry out an ambush. This was why Huo Yuhao didn’t discover them. Cunning, this marshal is indeed too cunning. She actually set such a big trap to catch me.
Huo Yuhao intentionally deepened his voice, made it nasally, and said, “What’s the point of saying all that? If you want to kill me, do it.”
The lady with the cold voice laughed. “I just want to avoid unnecessary death. As long as you’re willing to lay down your arms and surrender, I can guarantee your safety. Otherwise, we’ll just lose some machines.”
Huo Yuhao was silent for a moment before saying, “How do I know you’re telling the truth? What if you kill me after I surrender? What happens then?”
That lady chortled coldly, “Do you have the right to negotiate with us now? If you believe me, you might survive. If you don’t, you’ll die. A clever person knows what to choose.”
Huo Yuhao definitely knew that there weren’t any guarantees, given such a cunning opponent. However, he needed some time to analyze the situation. This was because this lady was clearly using a displacement soul tool. Her voice didn’t come from where she actually was. He needed more time to determine her position.
“Let me consider it for a moment.” Huo Yuhao replied.
“You can do so, but shouldn’t you reveal your true self, so that I can see who the person who brought so much damage to my Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion is?”
“Yes.” Huo Yuhao answered without any hesitation. At the same time, he removed his Imitation. It was just that he used it to slightly change his appearance just as he removed it. He now looked like an ordinary middle-aged man. As for his figure, he didn’t change it. It was easy to be exposed if he changed his appearance too much.
As Huo Yuhao slowly appeared, more and more equipment locked onto him.
The other party seemed to be observing him. After a brief moment, that lady’s voice sounded very skeptical, “You used a soul skill to conceal yourself? Not a soul tool?” Her voice sounded disappointed.
Huo Yuhao nodded and replied, “You’re right, of course it’s through a soul skill. I have never heard of a soul tool being capable of concealing someone.”
That lady said after a momentary silence, “Alright, whether it’s soul skills or soul tools, you only have one chance to survive – that is to submit to the Sun Moon Empire and become one of us. Life is precious. Everyone can only live once. You’ve been cultivating since the beginning, and have put in a lot of hard work. I don’t suppose you want to die just like that. If you listen to us from now on, I can give you a new life. This world is going to be ruled by the Sun Moon Empire soon.”
