Ten shadows returned soundlessly fifteen minutes later. The Heavenly Sun Douluo was in the lead, and he was holding a bag as he immediately lowered his voice once he touched the ground and said, “Let"s go. Radiant City has increased security across the entire city, so let"s get out of here. You"re back in command, Yuhao.”
Huo Yuhao could tell from the Heavenly Sun Douluo"s solemn expression that he knew about the Body Douluo"s death.
He nodded, and immediately shared Spiritual Detection with everyone. The others didn"t delay as they rose into the air and surged toward the sky.
But Huo Yuhao had just taken everyone into the air when a dumbfounded look appeared on his face. His spiritual power was incredibly sharp, and the first thing had to do to share his Spiritual Detection was to cover everyone around him. There should be sixteen people including the t.i.tled Douluo, Tang Wutong, and himself, because the Body Douluo would be missing from their initial lineup.
But when he brought everyone into the air, he could clearly hear a seventeenth heartbeat. There was another life form in the Heavenly Sun Douluo"s grasp.
What is that?
Huo Yuhao subconsciously stretched his Spiritual Detection over, and the first thing he felt was a gentle but weak spiritual undulation. It was a world apart compared to those t.i.tled Douluo, but this gentle spiritual undulation made his heart tremble vigorously as an inexplicable sensation coursed over his entire body.
The first thing that appeared in his Spiritual Detection was a small swaddling cloth, which contained a soundly sleeping infant. That heartbeat and spiritual undulation belonged to the infant!
……
Inside the Sun Moon Empire"s royal palace!
“What? The crown prince has been…” Ju Zi stared at the servant girl who was reporting back to her, shaking all over. The color had drained from her face completely.
“No, no…!” Ju Zi shouted hysterically as she charged crazily into her bedroom. Even a person as calm as she was fell apart when she discovered that her child had disappeared into thin air.
She was very calm when the Body Douluo, Du Busi was detonating his soul core and causing an apocalyptic calamity.
She was still calm when she watched her husband, the Sun Moon Empire"s Emperor, Xu Tianran fall from the sacrificial pedestal.
But when she found out that her flesh and blood had suddenly gone missing, how could she keep her cool? She couldn"t bother with anchoring the overall situation as she ran back into her bedroom, crazed.
……
“This child is…” Huo Yuhao stared at the Heavenly Sun Douluo with wide eyes and open jaw. Even though he could already faintly guess this incredibly young infant"s ident.i.ty, he still found it a little hard to believe.
A shameful look appeared on the Heavenly Sun Douluo"s face. “We don"t have any other choice. How can we send the Sun Moon Empire into disarray without doing this? It"s a pity that we couldn"t a.s.sa.s.sinate Xu Tianran. Otherwise, the Sun Moon Empire would undoubtedly descend into chaos, and the Douluo Continent"s three native empires would no longer be burdened.”
Huo Yuhao was astounded. Tang Wutong was equally astonished, because they never expected that the three empires" true goal of sending out fifteen t.i.tled Douluo, with the price of the Body Douluo"s suicidal sacrifice, was this tiny baby.
Every doubt in Huo Yuhao"s mind evaporated in this moment. He finally understood what this operation"s true mission was.
They weren"t here for a single task, they were here for two: a.s.sa.s.sinate Xu Tianran and kidnap his crown prince, Xu Yunhan.
The reason why the Body Douluo, Du Busi was so willing to sacrifice himself probably had a lot to do with his body"s condition. Otherwise, there was no reason for such a formidable individual to kill himself like that. He placed his own life on the life with the aim of a.s.sa.s.sinating Xu Tianran, and at the same time, he used his formidable strength to attract all the attention of Radiant City"s core powers. He did that to create an opportunity for the Heavenly Sun Douluo and the others.
Just as the Heavenly Sun Douluo had said, if Xu Tianran was a.s.sa.s.sinated and his son went missing, the Sun Moon Empire, which had just settled down, would descend into chaos.
This situation was what the continent"s three native empires wanted most, and this plan was made perfect with the Body Douluo"s sacrifice.
But these were fifteen t.i.tled Douluo! Some of the strongest individuals in the world actually made a move against an infant.
Huo Yuhao finally understood why the White Tiger Duke had a shameful look on his face before they left the Ming Dou Mountain Range. They couldn"t beat their enemies in a war, so they had to make a move on their children. No matter how cruel war was, such despicable methods filled his heart with contempt and disdain.
This was especially so because the child that they had abducted wasn"t just Xu Tianran"s son, and he wasn"t just the Sun Moon Empire"s crown prince. He was also Ju Zi"s son!
The image of Ju Zi crumbling from grief almost immediately surfaced in Huo Yuhao"s mind. Ju Zi was an orphan, and every single one of her family members had died horribly in a war. This had already caused her personality to twist slightly. Now that she had a child, her own flesh and blood, but her child was suddenly taken away from her. It wasn"t hard to imagine the kind of blow that she would take.
The Heavenly Sun Douluo explained no further, and they quickly accelerated into the distance. Huo Yuhao pulled Tang Wutong along, and they were still using Imitation and Spiritual Detection to control the formation. But Huo Yuhao"s mind felt very suffocated.
The reason why the Body Douluo chose to sacrifice himself instead of personally kidnapping this child was probably also because of guilt and shame!
But… but how could they have such a plan…
Huo Yuhao shut his eyes painfully.
Tang Wutong pa.s.sed a message to his mind. “You have to remain calm, Yuhao. Let"s leave this dangerous place first before anything else.”
“Yes,” Huo Yuhao nodded gently. He knew that there was nothing he could do, at least not right now. In front of fourteen t.i.tled Douluo, and also when everyone"s hearts were feeling heavy because of Du Busi"s death, there was nothing he could say that would change things. Instead, his words would be counterproductive. They had to leave this place first, and he had to fulfill his promise to the Body Douluo and take everyone back.
Just thirty minutes after they departed, Radiant City exploded like a hornet"s nest that had been impaled. Every single powerful soul master, every individual from the Holy Ghost Church, and every soldier from the army moved out at once in search of their crown prince.
Xu Tianran had woken up inside Radiant City"s royal palace.
He was leaning against the bed, and his face was as pale as could be, but his eyes were full of hatred and resentment.
He was very severely injured, and not only his body was hurt. What was more frightening was that his spirit had been heavily damaged, and his spiritual sea was almost shattered. If the Body Douluo"s final strike hadn"t been blocked by those two barriers and his personal Cla.s.s 9 spiritual-type defensive soul tool, he would probably have been completely annihilated by that tremendous pressure.
But his nightmare returned once he woke up. His crown prince, Xu Yunhan, had been kidnapped by unknown individuals.
Xu Tianran had already murdered a bunch of people because of this. Even though his face was as white as paper, he couldn"t hide the deep-seated murderousness in his eyes!
“Very good. Good, Body Douluo. Very good, Holy Ghost Church!” Xu Tianran gritted his teeth so hard that he almost shattered them.
If the Body Douluo hadn"t sacrificed himself, how could he have attracted everyone"s attention? If the Holy Ghost Church hadn"t been selfish, how could those powerful kidnappers have succeeded?
Xu Tianran was full of hate, and he wanted to kill everyone around him. He had just consolidated his throne, and this Grand Sacrificial Ceremony was to be the true starting point of his glorious empire. But something like this had to happen.
The Grand Sacrificial Ceremony was forced to end, and so many citizens" lives were lost. This dealt a heavy blow to his reputation and influence, and more importantly, somebody had kidnapped his crown prince.
“Stop crying!” Xu Tianran growled at Ju Zi, who was kneeling beneath him. He began to cough uncontrollably after his exclamation.
Ju Zi"s expression was possibly even paler than Xu Tianran"s. Her voice was trembling as she said, “Your Majesty, your majesty! You have to save Yunhan, you have to save him! He"s only a year and three months old!”
“Get up.” Xu Tianran lowered his voice as he spoke.
Ju Zi supported herself on the table beside her and struggled to stand up.
Xu Tianran pointed at the bed in front of him, and Ju Zi went over to sit down. She looked like she had lost her spirit in this moment.
“Ju Zi, I understand what you"re feeling. But right now, you have to understand what those people want by kidnapping Yunhan.”
Of course Ju Zi understood. But the more she understood, the more dejected she felt. Her eyes were filled with a pleading expression as she said, “Your Majesty, Yunhan is our child! He"s your crown prince! No matter what, you have to save him. I"m begging you. I"m begging you!”
A brutal look flashed across Xu Tianran"s eyes. “Save him? How am I to save him? His kidnappers are definitely the Body Douluo"s accomplices, and their goal is simple. They wish to stop me from restarting the war, stop me from trampling all over the continent"s three empires. Do they really think that they can stop me like that? If I can have one son, then I can have another. Since they have taken away the crown prince, then I will sacrifice their lives to pay for his. Ju Zi, you have to gather yourself immediately. I can let you command the armies, and launch an invasion against them immediately. Use their blood to pay for our son!”
“No—” Ju Zi screamed hysterically, and her expression immediately became as white as paper. She had never expected Xu Tianran to say something like that after but a moment of thought. His words were undoubtedly a death sentence for her son!
All that talk about how he could have a second one because he had a first. The crown prince wasn"t his flesh and blood in the first place; he was just another tool. Of course, Xu Tianran wouldn"t feel his heart ache. But Yunhan was her son! How could she not care about his safety?
Xu Tianran"s eyes grew fierce and sinister as he lifted his hand and grabbed Ju Zi by the neck. His insidious face brimmed with murderousness as he growled, “You dare to go against me?”