DD Black White [289-290] (Patreon)

Chapter 289: The Trampler

At this moment, countless residents of Mingdu saw the bizarre yet dazzling sigil in the night sky. Some cried out in alarm, some were curious, but most looked utterly confused, having no idea what it meant.

In the luxury penthouse atop the Mingdu Grand Hotel, the group from Shrek Academy sat together discussing the upcoming Soul Master Tournament.

Suddenly, the pillar of crimson light outside drew everyone's attention. They all stood and moved to the windows, gazes solemn as they looked up at the night sky.

"The Antimatter Legion—how terrifying."

Sparkle's voice carried a hint of mockery, but beneath it was a barely perceptible wariness.

As the Masked Fool, she knew this mark of annihilation all too well.

Its appearance in Mingdu meant the iron hooves of the Antimatter Legion were right at the doorstep.

Besides Sparkle, Jing Yuan and Qingque immediately recognized this symbol of destruction as well.

Qingque's face went instantly pale, the corners of her mouth drooping as she wailed inwardly, "We're done for, we're so done. This is definitely the great ill-omen foretold! That's the Antimatter Legion! Sitting at the same table as Abundance's abominations! With my scrawny arms and legs, I probably can't even beat the lowest grunt. Thankfully, General Jing Yuan is here…"

She sneaked a glance at Jing Yuan beside her, eyes full of relief. Good thing there's a big thigh to cling to—time to slack off.

Jing Yuan's expression was uncommonly grave. He stared at the burning tower sigil in the sky, brows tightly knit. To him, the legion itself wasn't the frightening part; the real threat was the person commanding it from the shadows.

"Antimatter Legion? What's that supposed to be?"

Ma Xiaotao and the others looked baffled and turned their eyes to Jing Yuan and Qingque.

They knew better than to ask Sparkle—she was unlikely to give a straight answer. Jing Yuan was more reliable.

"Hey, why aren't you asking me? Why only those two?"

Sparkle immediately protested, hands on hips and cheeks puffed, looking every bit the neglected child.

"Out of the way, you little brat. We don't have time to mess around with you!"

Ma Xiaotao shot her a glare, the gravity in her eyes deepening.

She could keenly sense that ever since that red light appeared, the whole atmosphere of Mingdu had grown oppressive; a premonition of doom was creeping over her heart.

"A disaster that brings only destruction and cataclysm."

Jing Yuan's voice was low and firm. "Prepare yourselves. This land is likely about to face an unprecedented calamity."

"How interesting. Looks like someone doesn't want to follow the script."

Sparkle patted her chest, feigning fear, though excitement flickered in her eyes.

"I, Sparkle, didn't think they'd make a move this fast!"

"Revelation—!"

Jeanne suddenly clutched her forehead, her body trembling uncontrollably as her face went paper-white.

In her mind, shattered visions surged like a tide: Mingdu reduced to a charred wasteland, ruins strewn with dried blood, tens of millions of corpses piled layer upon layer in every corner of the city. The once-bustling streets had become a living hell; under a blood-red setting sun, only deathly silence spread.

That marrow-deep despair and wailing seemed to cross time and space, striking straight at her soul.

"Weina, get your people ready. The slaughter is about to begin."

Feixiao's gaze turned razor-sharp, the very air around her seeming to congeal under her aura.

That onrushing breath of destruction from afar, icy with death and surging with violent energy, set her blood boiling.

She had a faint premonition that tonight she might encounter some old acquaintances.

"This sort of pure destruction isn't beautiful at all."

Vita lightly knit her brows, the languor in her eyes vanishing, replaced by an icy chill.

The debut she had painstakingly scripted hadn't yet had a chance to begin before this sudden upheaval wrecked it.

Worse still, this kind of destruction devoid of all aesthetic was not her idea of fun.

"Wh-what is that, Saber?!"

Nan Qiuqiu tilted her head up at the eerie, burning tower in the sky, her small face filled with confusion and unease. Instinctively, she grabbed Artoria's sleeve.

"Master, be careful!"

Artoria's voice held a grave note. In an instant, her attire transformed into silver-white armor, radiant light flowing across its surface. The shape of the wind-veiled Excalibur already shimmered faintly in her hand.

"My instincts tell me something extremely dangerous is approaching. Prepare for battle!"

Her eyes were solemn. The prickling crisis, like countless fine needles piercing her skin, pushed her into maximum alert by reflex.

It felt exactly the same as when she had faced the strongest foes on the battlefield.

"Battle? This is Mingdu!" Nan Qiuqiu's eyes went wide with disbelief.

She wasn't alone. Nan Shushu and other disciples of Earth Dragon Sect were equally baffled and shocked, unable to comprehend why a battle would suddenly erupt in the heart of prosperous Mingdu.

When Lu Jingming received the emergency message from Ju Zi, his heart had already skipped a beat. Seeing the glaring sigil of annihilation in the sky, he understood instantly.

He raised his right hand at once and called, in a deep voice, "Buer!"

A soft green light flashed as a white-haired, green-eyed goddess appeared quietly, surrounded by a faint aura of nature.

She looked at the sigil in the sky and nodded, face grave. "I know what to do."

Before the words faded, her figure scattered into countless motes of light, dissolving into the air like a drop of water merging into the sea.

"What's going on?"

Gu Yue, Zhang Lexuan, and the others looked at one another, bewildered, having no clue what that eerie signal in the sky meant.

"I still underestimated that Lord Ravager."

Lu Jingming rubbed his brow, tone carrying a helpless grumble. "You really can't use common sense to guess how she thinks."

Celenova disdained playing at any Holy Grail War. She wanted to steamroll everything.

And with the Sun–Moon Empire's covert assistance, she had laid her groundwork long ago. As of now, she truly did have the power to sweep all aside.

What unnerved him most was that Celenova completely disregarded the lives of her allies—Mingdu still had over ten million citizens of the Sun–Moon Empire!

Wang Qiu'er and the others were still trying to make sense of the sudden chaos, attempting to piece things together.

Suddenly, a humming that seemed to tear at the soul resounded across Mingdu.

The sound was low and vast, like billions of stars dying at once—bearing the chaos of creation and the deathly silence that ends all things—boring into everyone's ears.

Next came a hair-raising sight—the space over all of Mingdu cracked like glass struck by a hammer, laced with a spiderweb of pitch-black fissures.

Countless spatial rifts of varying size appeared out of thin air, spreading in every direction. Darkness that devoured all light seeped from within, while unstable sparks crackled along the edges.

Rumble—

Buildings near the rifts twisted as if torn by invisible hands, then collapsed in an instant into piles of rubble.

Some were cleaved cleanly in half by a rift, the severed surface smooth as a mirror.

On the streets, civilians who hadn't yet understood what was happening were slaughtered in an instant.

A few unlucky passersby stood in the path of a spreading rift; without any warning, their bodies were torn into multiple pieces. Blood and viscera splattered everywhere—a gruesome sight.

"Ah—!"

"What's happening?!"

"What are those monsters?!"

"They're killing people! Run!"

Piercing screams, panicked shouts, despairing curses, and heart-rending cries for help… In an instant, all of Mingdu seemed tossed into boiling oil and exploded into chaos.

From the pitch-black rifts, silhouettes steeped in annihilating aura slowly stepped forth.

They came in many forms: some like twisted shadows, others like coagulations of pure negative energy, radiating a chilling deathly stillness.

The moment they entered Mingdu, they began a frenzied, indiscriminate massacre and destruction—punching through walls, stomping civilians flat; wherever they passed, only ruins and corpses remained.

Hundreds of powerful figures streaked into the sky from all directions—strongmen of major factions or guardians of Mingdu.

When they saw the endless tide of horrors pouring from the rifts, disbelief and terror were written on every face.

"They're Voidsoldiers! It really is the Antimatter Legion!"

Feixiao stood tall atop a high-rise roof, posture straight as a pine.

She swiftly drew and loosed; a radiant arrow condensed with boundless power formed in an instant and streaked across the sky like a meteor.

Mid-flight, the arrow split into a rain of falling stars, precisely pouring down over a sector packed with Voidsoldiers, exploding with dazzling light and immense impact.

The meteor-shower of light crashed down and blossomed into sheets of radiance among the ranks of the Voidsoldiers.

Countless Voidsoldiers were torn to pieces amidst light and flame, dissipating into wisps of black negative particles. But this loss was a mere drop in the bucket against the Antimatter Legion surging ceaselessly from the rifts.

More Voidsoldiers trampled forward over their comrades' remains, black figures flooding the streets like a tide. Wherever they went, brick and stone melted and life fell silent.

"Damn it!"

High above, Starry Sky Douluo Ye Yulin blazed with interwoven gold and silver light, coalescing into two enormous sun-and-moon discs above his head.

The discs spun rapidly, spewing billions of razor-edged rays that cascaded like a waterfall.

Where the light rain struck the Voidsoldiers, waves of energy rippled out—yet the black figures merely shuddered, strange patterns surfacing across their bodies as they absorbed most of the energy.

Ye Yulin's face went ashen. These monsters' energy resistance far exceeded expectations.

"Xu Tiannan! What the hell are you playing at!"

Jing Hongchen hovered in midair, eyes bloodshot as he watched the Antimatter Legion butcher at will below.

He recognized these monsters. They were clearly the secret war-weapons Xu Tiannan had been researching—so why were they turned against Mingdu?

He snapped his head toward the imperial palace, eyes full of suspicion and fury.

"What are you waiting for? Protect the civilians—hold the city!" Ye Yulin's roar cracked like thunder, snapping the Sun–Moon Empire's stunned experts back to their senses.

They jolted awake and dove from the sky—Soul Sages formed defensive arrays to shield the panicking populace, while Soul Douluo unleashed their strongest techniques, bombarding clusters of Voidsoldiers. For a time, the sky over Mingdu wove with the light of countless soul skills.

Lu Jingming's spear swept in an arc, black-red disintegration lightning reducing a humanoid armored Voidsoldier to particles, yet his frown only deepened.

Over a hundred Trampers had converged on them, each with Soul King–level combat power and coordinated as though sharing one mind.

"Xu Tiannan won't just watch Mingdu be destroyed…" His fingertip rubbed the Black Abyss White Flower.

"Unless he's been controlled—or… this was within his expectations?"

Bang!

Wang Qiu'er's Golden Dragon Spear pierced a Trampers's head, the force at the tip shredding its core.

She drew back the spear and watched the remains quickly vanish, pretty face grim. "These grunts are insanely tough and hit hard. At this rate, we'll run dry on soul power."

All around, Trampers flooded the streets like ants, one wave driven back only for another to follow.

Farther out, towering centaur-like Trampler units—over a dozen meters tall—advanced at a steady pace.

Their upper bodies were clad in heavy armor; their lower halves were bone-plated equine forms, giant bows glowing with a ghostly wind-element light.

One Trampler drew and loosed: violent wind-element condensed in an instant into a spear several 3 meters long, shrieking as it shot toward a residential building.

In a heartbeat, the building was annihilated by wind. Fortunately, its occupants had already fled.

Elder Ling Canghai of the Wind Sword Sect flashed to the Trampler's side, the aura of an eight-ring Soul Douluo erupting.

His sword turned into a streak of cyan light as he unleashed a wind-imbued sword aura with all his might.

When the sword aura struck the Trampler's body, it left only a pale scratch across its heavy armor.

"How is that possible?"

Ling Canghai's pupils shrank—this sword could hew through iron city walls, yet it couldn't even damage the thing's exoskeletal armor.

"Elder, fall back!"

Even before the warning finished, the Trampler turned its cold helm, its right arm wreathed with a visible vortex of wind blades.

It slashed down; a wind cleave tens of meters long tore through the air, gouging a snarling trench wherever it passed.

"Martial Soul True Body—Riftwind!"

Ling Canghai roared. His soul rings and sword fused into a cyan greatsword tens of meters long, interposed before him.

Boom—The impact was deafening. The wind blade set the giant sword quaking violently. Ling Canghai spat blood and was blasted back, smashing half a building apart with his landing.

He stared at the massive scar carved across the street and felt a bone-deep chill. "That strike already reached Titled Douluo levels!"

Chapter 290: Zhongli Wu, Furious and Frustrated

But what truly filled Ling Canghai with despair was that from his split-second glance in the air, he'd seen at least a hundred such Tramplers—if each one had this level of power, the situation was terrifying beyond words!

"Retreat! Break out to the east!"

Clutching his bleeding chest, Ling Canghai forced himself up and led the survivors to charge toward a weaker point.

By contrast, the weaker sects and academies had already fallen into dire straits.

One academy team led by only two Soul Sages was cornered at a street junction by over a dozen Trampers.

Their defensive skills were like paper before the Trampers' blades—screams rose one after another.

Suddenly, several beams of eerie blue energy shot from the shadows and struck the two Soul Sages with precision—Voidranger's long-range sniping. Hit, the Soul Sages stiffened and were then torn apart by the swarming Trampers.

"Phoenix Roars at the Sky!"

Ma Xiaotao plunged into the fray like a mass of living flame. Phoenix Truefire became a giant firebird, engulfing dozens of Voidsoldiers.

The heat warped space; the Voidsoldiers screeched as their black shells dripped and melted, exposing writhing negative-energy cores within.

Even so, they crawled forward aflame, trying to pounce on nearby civilians.

"Troublesome pests."

Ma Xiaotao snorted coldly. The phoenix wings at her back unfurled, and the fire's intensity surged severalfold.

This time, the firebird lanced through the Voidsoldiers' bodies and ignited their cores utterly.

Artoria shielded Nan Qiuqiu behind her, lifting Excalibur slowly.

Brilliant tracery flowed across the blade like living veins, gathering into a pillar of light that pierced the heavens.

"Excalibur!"

With her low shout, the beam crashed down like a falling star, instantly vaporizing every Voidsoldier along the street into particles and carving a vacuum corridor hundreds of meters long through the dense enemy ranks.

"Move! Follow the lighted path and break out!"

Nan Qiuqiu shouted to nearby civilians, but chaos had already destroyed reason—people fled in blind panic.

"Teacher…" Bai XiuXiu hid behind Skirk, face white as she watched a Voidsoldier rip a fleeing family of three to pieces.

Skirk looked over the ever-expanding battlefield, a complicated look in her eyes.

She flicked her hand; killing cold spread out, freezing over a hundred Voidsoldiers into ice sculptures.

"Save who we can."

Her voice was soft as she conjured dozens of ice lances at her fingertips, spearing Voidsoldiers who tried to ambush civilians.

But as her gaze swept over the continuously tearing rifts, she knew this was a drop in the bucket.

From the direction of Mingde Hall, soul tool cannon fire thundered in volleys—then quickly grew sparse.

A Trampler emerging from a rift swatted casually and smashed a three-story soul tool turret to scrap.

Its chest spewed a black energy wave that swept like a tide; an entire street became scorched earth in an instant, and the dozens of soul engineers behind the turret were obliterated without time to scream.

"Wretch!"

Ma Xiaotao roared and charged, Phoenix Truefire behind her condensing into a solid body to crash head-on into the energy wave.

Boom!

The deafening blast blossomed into a mushroom cloud of flame and darkness. Ma Xiaotao staggered back repeatedly, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.

She wiped it away; battle-intent burned hotter in her eyes. "Interesting. Again!"

…

On a high platform outside the command tent, Ju Zi stared at the pillars of fire rising over Mingdu, her nails digging into her palms until beads of blood welled.

The Command Spells on her hand lit again with an eerie red glow—and with her motion, dozens more spatial rifts tore open across Mingdu, disgorging more Voidsoldiers like a flood.

"No… please don't…"

She trembled all over, tears finally spilling down.

An unseen force was controlling her body. Each time the Command Spell flared, it felt like a knife carving at her heart.

The message she sent Lu Jingming had been her last struggle. She didn't know what else she could do—she could only watch as the prosperous city turned into a purgatory at her own hands.

Fire Phoenix Douluo Luan Feng still guarded the tent entrance. Her Fire Phoenix Sword trembled violently, the phoenix motif on the blade flaring and dimming, humming with restless protest.

In her crimson eyes, humanity and bestial fury were tearing at each other. Moments ago, she had almost broken the control, but the brand Celenova had left in the depths of her soul suddenly flared, burning her nearly to oblivion.

Now, her pupils were being swallowed bit by bit by pitch black.

In a pocket dimension, the Lord Ravager Celenova hovered quiet amid the stars.

White hair brushed a pale cheek as she gazed down at the carnage of Mingdu reflected in a water-mirror below. No ripple of emotion stirred in her hollow eyes.

At her feet, a black stellar ring slowly revolved, as if absorbing some invisible power.

This destruction wasn't a random slaughter, but a precise purification—soul power unleashed in battle, surging fear, even the wails of the dying were quietly being siphoned by the ring and converted into nourishment for her strength.

The night sky over Mingdu had been dyed wholly red by fire. Screams, explosions, and clashes of energy wove into a requiem of despair.

No one knew when this disaster would end. Fewer still could imagine how terrifying it would be when the Lord Ravager herself took the field.

In a shadowed alley, reeking, clotted blood trickled along the base of the wall.

Draped in black, Zhongli Wu stared fixedly with crimson eyes at the bodies falling in the street, his knuckles white from the force of his grip.

The elders of the Holy Spirit Cult fanned out, each holding a soul tool gleaming with eerie light—yet none of them moved. The souls that should have spilled free were, at the instant of death, vanishing into motes of light that dissipated into the air, leaving not the faintest remnant behind.

"That's impossible…"

A wicked soul master elder's voice shook. The soul-devouring bottle in his hand was empty. "Even if those monsters killed them, there should still be souls left!"

Zhongli Wu whipped his head around, face twisted with rage beneath the hood. Mingdu's tens of millions, plus the strong gathered for the tournament, should have been a feast the Holy Spirit Cult hadn't seen in a century!

He had planned to harvest a vast sea of souls in the wake of the Antimatter Legion's slaughter, to cultivate his evil arts and even break through to Ultimate Douluo.

But now, it was like someone was snatching food from his mouth—every delicacy was vanishing into thin air.

"Which bastard is behind this?!"

Zhongli Wu roared. His soul power surged; blood-red mist billowed like waves. "Find them! Turn the city upside down if you have to—drag that soul-thieving rat into the light!"

He refused to believe someone could steal souls right under the noses of evil soul masters—unless it was a top expert in space or soul arts.

…

On a rooftop, the night wind tugged at Lu Jingming's robes.

He calmly overlooked the hellscape below. His gaze passed over the panicked masses and settled on the fearless Antimatter Legion.

A thread of soul power twined at his fingertip, quivering—the feedback from his mental link with the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata. The leyline network was stable; the dreamscape had already sheltered over fifty thousand souls.

"Sometimes you have to keep a bottom line. I don't want to lose my humanity."

Lu Jingming murmured.

He could clearly sense the souls being drawn into the dreamspace. They slumbered there, like sinking into a peaceful dream, waiting for the day they could return to the light.

The restorative power of the Black Abyss White Flower and the nascent divinity of the Life Godhood flowed gently within him. Combined, they could restore broken bodies to life—provided the soul was preserved.

His eyes shifted to the soul masters falling in battle. His gaze didn't waver.

War was cruel; death was inevitable. He could not resurrect everyone—resurrecting soul masters would cost even more.

But civilians were different. They were the most innocent sacrifices in this disaster—and the line he refused to cross.

"Celenova's appearance was an accident, but I'm the one who started the Holy Grail War. This mess is mine to clean up."

Lu Jingming muttered.

…

Deep in the imperial palace of Mingdu, a rich medicinal scent permeated a lavish bedchamber.

A middle-aged emperor lay on a bed of golden nanmu, chest rising weakly, face flushed with a sickly heat.

The gilt incense burner by the bed had long since burned out, leaving only cold ash.

Xu Tiannan sat in a wheelchair, pale fingers tapping the armrest, the crisp sound harsh in the silence.

The explosions and screams from outside seemed distant. His face remained utterly calm, marked by an eerie placidity.

"As expected—just as she predicted."

A cold smile tugged at Xu Tiannan's mouth. "That 'agreement' was nothing but dust in the Lord Ravager's eyes."

He had never truly trusted Celenova. Cooperation with the Lord Ravager had always been a stopgap.

The chaos in Mingdu—and even the sacrifice of millions—were only parts of his plan: use a single cataclysm to scramble every faction's board and seize a chance to break the game.

"Unify the Douluo Continent?"

Xu Tiannan sneered, a flash of disdain in his eyes. "Stand atop the continent and a hundred years later you're still dust. In the eyes of gods, what are you but ants?"

His gaze burned, twin flames in his eyes. "Only eternal life—only godhood—is the ultimate path!"

He had long since wagered everything for that goal.

Colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult, tolerating the Antimatter Legion's slaughter of his citizens, even twisting his own martial soul—he had done it all for the "godhood" promised by his mysterious Servant.

A being even more unfathomable than Celenova, yet far better at "deals."

"No madness, no life…"

Xu Tiannan stroked the dragon carving on his chair's armrest. "What of ten thousand years with no one ascending to godhood? I, Xu Tiannan, will carve a different path!"

Even if the price was turning the entire Sun–Moon Empire to scorched earth, he would not hesitate.

"You're insane!"

A cold voice spoke from behind. Kong Deming stepped from the shadows, silver hair glinting in the dim light.

The Sun–Moon Empire's sole rank-10 soul engineer wore a deep frown, pain in his eyes.

He looked at Xu Tiannan's back as if at a stranger—a monster.

He could tolerate Xu Tiannan's ambition, even his iron-fisted methods to consolidate power. But he could not accept anyone treating the lives of millions as weeds.

Every scream from Mingdu struck him like a hammer blow.

"Insane?"

Xu Tiannan slowly turned his chair, a mild smile still on his face, as if making small talk about the weather. "Perhaps. But Elder Kong, aren't you also a prisoner bound by 'principle'?"

To him, Kong Deming's adherence to "non-interference with the royal family" and "defending the Sun–Moon Empire" was myopic.

A true strongman should break every shackle—even if it meant shattering hell—to reach the summit.

"My intuition tells me I must kill you."

Kong Deming's voice was low and steady, soul power beginning to surge around him. "Even if it means betraying the creed I've held all my life."

He had always kept to his place—ignoring royal succession and power struggles, focused only on soul tool research.

But this time, a powerful sense of crisis left him no choice. Xu Tiannan's madness would drag the entire Sun–Moon Empire into endless ruin.

"Silver Moon Divine Light Barrier!"

With a low shout, silver light burst forth, forming a vast crystal dome that sealed the entire bedchamber.

Space was locked tight—no energy could leak out. This was the rank-10 soul tool he had poured half his life into, a space-type masterpiece that let his rank-95 cultivation contend with Ultimate Douluo or even demi-gods.

"So, you really are set on this."

Xu Tiannan's smile faded. Several dark figures flickered from the shadows to stand before him.

At their head was Shadow Douluo Xue Chen, a Title Douluo wreathed in dense shadow, eyes cold as he fixed on Kong Deming.

"Elder Kong, forgive our rudeness."

Xue Chen bowed slightly, but his stance was iron-hard. "The Regent is the future of the Sun–Moon Empire. No one may harm him."

Behind him, several Title Douluo released their soul rings. Yellow, purple, and black rings interlaced in a glare that was blinding within the Silver Moon Barrier.

Did they not know of Xu Tiannan's madness?

They had no choice.

The mysterious Servant's intimidation hung like a sword above. The army's rank-9 soul engineer corps commanders who had tried to resist were now thoughtless puppets, sent to the front lines as cannon fodder.

Rather than share that fate, they gambled on Xu Tiannan winning. At least he had promised a stronger empire.

"You…"

Kong Deming frowned deeply at the loyalists still standing with Xu Tiannan.

He hadn't expected Xu Tiannan to still have diehards at this point.

"Elder Kong, take Tianzhen and go."

Xu Tiannan spoke suddenly, a rare weariness in his tone. "Leave Mingdu. Never come back."

Xu Tianzhen—his innocent little sister—was perhaps the last clean thread in the royal bloodline.

As for the ailing father on the bed and other kin… on his road to godhood, they were nothing but dust.