Chapter 71.2: White Tiger Duke’s Mansion
Now
that they’d recovered, everyone once again ascended into the air. After
being tormented by Elder Xuan, they all began to enjoy the feeling of
flying slowly. At the very least, their complexions improved somewhat
from doing so. If one were to use Elder Xuan’s previous speed along with
both his strength and his flying-type soul tool as references, they’dd
be able to calculate that Elder Xuan would be able to travel to any
corner of the entire Douluo continent within a week. Huo Yuhao was
growing more and more curious about Elder Xuan’s true strength. The
latter shouldn’t be just any Titled Douluo; it was likely that even Dean
Yan Shaozhe wouldn’t be able to compete with Elder Xuan in cultivation
alone.
At that moment, the sky had already begun to brighten; the
sun had risen from the east and bathed their bodies in a faint golden
glow.
A large military camp slowly appeared in front of them. This
camp was set up right next to the mountains, while a few more camps
were visible in the Ming Dou Mountain Range itself.
The word
‘military camp’ was somewhat inaccurate; the undulating cotton walls to
the west of the camp were over thirty meters tall and nearly fifty
meters wide. Just how large of a project was this!?
Even though it
wasn’t quite daytime yet, an endless number of military carriages that
were carrying blocks of stone away from the mountains could still be
seen.
At that moment, Dai Yueheng was flying relatively close to
Huo Yuhao. Their relationship had deepened slightly after their previous
talk. He smiled and asked, “Yuhao, is this your first time visiting an
army camp?”
Huo Yuhao nodded.
Seemingly familiar with the
matter, Dai Yueheng explained, “The southern, eastern, and southeastern
regions of our Star Luo Empire borders the ocean. We’re second only to
the Sun Moon Empire in size. Our army consists of two sub-armies: the
Eastern Army and the Northern Army. Of these, the Eastern Army is the
most important, as it has to guard against the Sun Moon Empire. Its
total military strength numbers around five hundred thousand.”
“The
Ming Dou Mountain Range has treacherous and ever-changing terrain,
making it extremely hard for troops to march through. Furthermore, every
country now has specialised soul masters who scout the mountain range
every day. Both the Sun Moon Empire and our empire station our troops at
a relatively low-lying part of the mountain range that’s advantageous
for them, of which there are only three in the entire mountain range.
The mountain range itself spreads towards the south, and takes up almost
two-thirds of the border; the other third is a soul beast-containing
forest that’s around half the size of the Great Star Dou Forest. This
forest is known as the Great Ming Dou Forest, and is an area populated
by a variety of soul beasts. It isn’t as dangerous to us soul masters as
the Great Star Dou Forest, but it’s even more dangerous than the former
to an army. This is due to the fact that the soul beasts there are even
more aggressive than the ones in the Great Star Dou Forest. It’s
because of this, that we’ve stationed our troops at relatively low-lying
parts of the Ming Dou Mountain Range.
“Oh, right. Yuhao, I haven’t asked you this yet, but where are you from?”
Huo
Yuhao had originally calmed down somewhat when he heard Dai Yueheng’s
explanation, but his expression changed yet again when he heard this
question. He lowered his head and said, “I’m also a citizen of the Star
Luo Empire.”
“Oh? Which part of the Star Luo Empire? I didn’t
think that we’d be fellow citizens!” The smile on Dai Yueheng’s face
grew much larger.
“A small village near Star Luo City,” Huo Yuhao replied, “I’m sure that you wouldn’t have heard of it.”
Dai
Yueheng chuckled. “Even better! Not only are we fellow citizens, we’re
even from the same area. I also grew up near Star Luo City!”
As
the two conversed with each other, they arrived at the army camp.
However, the White Tiger Bodyguards who were leading the way didn’t
descend. Du Leisi, who’d led the pack, raised his right hand and
released something similar to a flare that released a multicoloured
array of light. Afterwards they continued forwards unobstructed.
However,
Huo Yuhao was able to tell with his visual acuity that a large number
of defensive fortifications had immediately reacted the moment they’d
approached the barracks. A somber atmosphere seemed to have pervaded the
entire camp. Even though it was still early in the morning, a large
number of soldiers had already begun their training drills. Not only
were they orderly, but they also released an awe-inspiringly murderous
air; they seemed like a pack of iron-blooded lions.
“The Eastern
Army has the most elite troops within the Star Luo Empire,” Dai Yueheng
proudly said. “The hundred thousand men from the Central Legion you see
in front of us are elites amongst elites.”
Even though Huo Yuhao
hadn’t ever seen his biological father before, he was still somewhat
aware of the inner workings of the White Tiger Dukedom. As the marshal
of the empire, the White Tiger Duke commanded the Eastern Army. At the
same time, he was also the Legion Commander of the Eastern Army’s
Central Legion. The amount of trust that the Star Luo Empire’s imperial
family had in him could be seen from this. Supposedly, the hundred
thousand men in the Central Legion were enough to rival the combined
fighting strength of all of the other soldiers in the Star Luo Empire.
Although this was somewhat of an exaggeration, the strength of the
Central Legion could be clearly seen with a single glance.
They
flew past one barrack after another. Once they’d flown for nearly
fifteen minutes more, a large, leather tent appeared in their field of
vision.
This leather tent was much larger than the other army
tents. Furthermore, it was hexagonal in shape, and was made entirely of
dark-brown leather. There weren’t too many guards around it. Only two
squads of the White Tiger Bodyguards, each of which numbering about
thirty, patrolled the perimeter.
Huo Yuhao’s gaze quickly landed
on a single person who was standing in front of the large tent. Although
their figure was somewhat unclear, he was still able to sense a
startling pressure from them; it was the sort of tyrannical pressure
that came from the combination of a powerful cultivation and an aura of
slaughter. That person seemed to be training his fists, though he hadn’t
released his martial soul. His movements were simple and succinct, yet a
muffled explosion of air would appear whenever he punched outwards.
Du
Leisi, who’d been flying in front, slowed down, then descended along
with everyone behind him. They began to sense the violent fluctuations
in the air when they were a hundred or meters in the air.
Huo
Yuhao focused his gaze and was able to clearly see the man in front of
them. He was currently facing towards them, his golden hair fluttering
freely about in the wind. His upper body was naked, which revealed his
rugged, copper-colored muscles. His tall figure was almost two meters in
height, and one could see just how stalwart his chiseled face was from
the side.
His seemingly slow movements had a very natural and
flowing tempo to them. Every step he took and every punch he released
were followed by a muffled explosion of air. The valiant undulations of
qi and blood he was releasing had reached the very pinnacle, which in
turn caused Huo Yuhao to feel his blood roil about somewhat as he
continued to stare.
That man slowly pulled back his fist, then
stood up straight as if he’d sensed their arrival. He exhaled, inhaled
deeply, then released a lion-like roar. A gale instantly erupted in the
several hundred meters surrounding the leather tent; it truly resembled
the descent of an actual lion. The stern aura coming from him caused
every single disciple of Shrek Academy to feel their hair stand on end.
The
pressure that Ma Xiaotao emanated during battle was already relatively
astonishing, but she was still quite a ways away from the tall man in
front of them.
Is that him? Huo Yuhao was stunned, and
all sorts of mixed feelings suddenly arose in his heart. He’d never
expected to meet his father in such a situation. Was this the man that
his mother could never forget? The man who she held no regret for, even
when she lay on her deathbed?
As everyone slowly landed, the
foremost Du Leisi had already stepped forward. He bowed slightly and
said, “Marshal, the young master and people from Shrek Academy have
arrived.”
Everyone was able to see his full appearance at this
point: He didn’t look a day over thirty, and his facial features were
proper. His deep azure eyes each contained flickering pupils. He looked
somewhat thin, yet his entire body gave off a metallic feeling. This was
especially true of his gaze, which flickered like an enormous blade as
it swept across everyone, which caused them to involuntarily stop
moving. However, his gaze quickly turned warm.
Handsome, stalwart,
tall, and an iron-blooded temperament. When they saw him, even the
Heaven’s Chosen of Shrek Academy felt like serving him. An extraordinary
splendor repeatedly flickered through Ma Xiaotao’s eyes; a steel-like
man like this was just her type.
Dai Yueheng stepped out of line,
then took a few quick steps forward. He kneeled down in front of that
tall man, then said respectfully, “Father.”
There was no doubt
about it—the tall man in front of them was definitely the current
Iron-Blooded War God who stood above everybody in the Star Luo Empire,
Dai Hao. He was also Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin’s father, as well as Huo
Yuhao’s…
The moment Dai Yueheng said the word ‘father’, Huo Yuhao
felt all the blood in his body surge towards his head. His eyes
instantly turned red, and he was nearly unable to control the flood of
emotions he felt.
It’s him, it’s him! This is the person my
mother was harmed by, yet couldn’t forget. He’s the father I’ve never
seen before! It’s truly him…
His mother’s smiling face instantly filled every corner of Huo Yuhao’s spiritual sea, and he nearly began to cry.
Wang
Dong silently stepped to the side, blocking Huo Yuhao from view. At the
same time, he stretched his right hand out, planning to sober him up by
grabbing his sleeve. However, he didn’t think that his hand would just
so happen to grab Huo Yuhao’s special area.
Wang Dong’s body
stiffened, and he immediately let go as if he’d been electrocuted. His
pretty face instantly turned bright red, but luckily everyone else had
been captivated by the White Tiger Duke.
Oddly enough however, his
grab was incredibly effective. Huo Yuhao only felt his lower body
tighten up, and his originally teary eyes vanished. The mixed feelings
in his eyes subsequently transformed into those of astonishment. Even
though Wang Dong hadn’t used much force, the feeling of being assaulted
caused him to wake with a shudder.
“What’re you doing?” Huo Yuhao whispered astonished.
Wang Dong acted as if nothing had happened. “Waking you up a bit.”
“Then do you want me to grab that part of your body when I wake you up next time?”
“Screw off…”
Despite
what had happened, Huo Yuhao’s heart had stabilised quite a bit after
this interruption. Furthermore, he and Wang Dong were standing in the
back, which had made their actions difficult to notice.
At that
moment, Dai Yueheng stood up and whispered a few words to the White
Tiger Duke Dai Hao, who then took a few large strides and smiled.
“Greetings to Teacher Wang Yan and the various talented students from
Shrek Academy.”
