Douluo Dalu II: I, Huo Yuhao, join Sun Moon

Douluo Dalu II—Chapter 176: Xu Jiawei: I and the Evil Soul Master Are Irreconcilable

After a while, Dai Hao, accompanied by his personal soldiers and several servants, arrived near the Duke's Mansion. At this moment, the mansion was heavily guarded by royal guards, and their expressions were extremely serious.

Because this scene was so rare, many passersby peeked out to see what was happening at the Duke's Mansion. However, due to the guards' obstruction, they couldn't get a clear view of the situation inside.

"The Duke is returning to the mansion—everyone, make way!" The personal soldiers rode tall horses to clear the path for the White Tiger Duke.

Hearing this, passersby stepped aside and looked at Dai Hao. The White Tiger Duke was very famous in the Star Luo Empire. Although he was still well-known, Dai Hao now bore some stains because Huo Yuhao exposed his actions.

Of course, some of these stains were caused by Huo Yuhao himself. The image of White Tiger Duke Dai Hao had always been loyal to the emperor and patriotic, but his son had become a supporter of the Sun Moon Empire and was living quite well there.

This undoubtedly caused some extremely negative effects on the Star Luo Empire. Some Star Luo people who were dissatisfied with the imperial family even began to yearn for the Sun Moon Empire.

Dai Hao felt the strange gazes from the passersby but paid little attention. His most urgent task was to reach the Duke's Mansion as quickly as possible to assess the situation.

Soon, Dai Hao and his personal soldiers arrived at the gates of the Duke's Mansion. When the royal guards saw Dai Hao, they all saluted: "Your Excellency the Duke," and then stepped aside.

Dai Hao and his soldiers immediately entered the mansion.

Soon after, Dai Hao saw Xu Jiawei.

He hurriedly shouted, "Your Majesty!"

Xu Jiawei turned around and looked at Dai Hao. At this moment, his eyes were somewhat red. "Dai Hao, you should know what happened here. According to the servants, my daughter was killed by those damn evil soul masters.

I didn't expect the evil soul master to be so bold as to enter the Duke's Mansion and kill people directly. If I had arranged a Title Douluo as her protector, perhaps she wouldn't have died today. I will never coexist with the Evil Soul Master."

Protector of the Nation Douluo Cheng Gang said, "Your Majesty, please accept my condolences. No one thought… someone would dare to kill the princess. They are so brazen."

Dai Hao's eyes were red. He reached out and grabbed Xu Jiawei's arm, his voice choked with emotion. "Your Majesty, it is my incompetence; I failed to properly deploy the Duke's Mansion's defenses. I bear some responsibility for the Evil Soul Master entering the White Tiger Duke's Mansion to kill.

One day, I will drive the Evil Soul Master out of this continent to avenge my wife."

Although he didn't like what the Duchess had done to Huo Yun'er, he and the Duchess had two children and had known each other for many years. There was some affection between them.

Xu Jiawei nodded. "The evil soul masters are indeed a scourge. Dai Hao, I want to tell you something. The organization behind this is called the Holy Spirit Church. I suspect that the attack on the White Tiger Duke's Mansion is related to the Holy Spirit Church. According to the surviving servants, there are too many evil soul masters involved. They must be well-organized and prepared."

Dai Hao looked confused. "The Holy Spirit Church? Are they an evil soul master organization?"

He didn't quite understand Xu Jiawei's words. Aren't evil soul masters usually a loosely organized, bloodthirsty, and often solitary group? Do they have an organized structure?

"Yes, the Holy Spirit Church is indeed an evil soul master organization." Xu Jiawei nodded, showing a helpless expression.

He was well aware of the Holy Spirit Church's existence. After all, he had obtained a 100,000-year-old soul beast embryo from a Sun Moon Empire's Level 9 soul engineer. It wasn't surprising that he knew about the Holy Spirit Church.

He hoped that the Holy Spirit Church and the Sun-Moon Empire might come into conflict. If that happened, the Star Luo Empire could benefit.

Dai Hao clenched his fists subconsciously. "Your Majesty, do you know where the headquarters of the Holy Spirit Church is? I will lead troops to deal with them immediately."

Xu Jiawei shook his head. "Dai Hao, I don't know the exact location of their headquarters, but I can tell you with certainty that the Holy Spirit Church has significant influence within the Sun-Moon Empire. It's not easy to eradicate them."

Although the death of the Duchess saddened him deeply, as emperor, he knew he must remain calm when facing such a powerful organization as the Holy Spirit Church. Immediate military action wouldn't be wise.

"Is the Sun-Moon Emperor supporting this?" Dai Hao asked.

He wondered—if he were the Sun-Moon Emperor, he'd be worried about the existence of such an organization within his empire. Evil soul masters are notoriously cruel and bloodthirsty, which could have serious consequences for the empire.

Unless the Holy Spirit Church was under the Emperor's control, he wouldn't be worried.

Xu Jiawei immediately denied this. "Dai Hao, I don't believe the Sun-Moon Emperor supports this. Although I dislike their ambition, I must admit that their attack on the Duke's Mansion has little strategic value. Instead, it could provoke our anger and accelerate the likelihood of war.

If I were the Sun-Moon Emperor, I would be gathering strength and preparing for war rather than provoking other royal families. This behavior is more likely the spontaneous action of the Holy Spirit Church."

Dai Hao frowned slightly. As the White Tiger Duke who had been leading troops outside, his impulsive grief over his wife's death by an evil soul master eased somewhat after hearing Xu Jiawei's analysis. After a moment of reflection, he nodded. "Your Majesty, how should we retaliate against the Holy Spirit Church?"

He knew he was just a minister, and he needed to respect the emperor's decision. Although Xu Jiawei usually treated him as a brother, some rules could not be broken.

Otherwise, even if Xu Jiawei didn't care, the royal family elders would be dissatisfied if they found out.

Xu Jiawei said immediately, "The simplest way to retaliate is to expose their location. Because of the evil soul masters, Shrek Academy suffered heavy losses in the last Soul Fighting Competition.

They are now actively hunting evil soul masters. If we share this intelligence with Shrek Academy, I believe they will target the Holy Spirit Church in the Sun-Moon Empire.

Remember, the next Soul Fighting Competition will be held there. Shrek Academy won't miss this opportunity for revenge. We can also cooperate with them further. Discussing a joint plan would be best."

He looked at Dai Hao. "Of course, I want to hear your thoughts as well."

Dai Hao nodded. "Your Majesty, what you said makes sense. My idea is simple: increase investment in soul guidance devices as much as possible. Training a Title Douluo is extremely difficult.

If the army of Star Luo Empire could be equipped with sufficiently advanced soul guidance devices, we could use fewer people to contain a Title Douluo. When facing the Holy Spirit Church, we'd have a stronger ability to respond."

(End of this chapter)