Shi Xing drew a deep breath. The force field of his Time Domain unfurled around him, warding off some of the terror.
He turned to the defenders, his voice booming across the wall: "Soldiers, remember why you fight. Our home and our loved ones stand behind us. Shrek's glory—ours to defend."
His words seemed to carry power. Backs straightened. Fear in the soldiers' eyes slowly gave way to resolve.
At the instant the garrison's nerves neared the snapping point, streaks of brilliant light cleaved the sky like falling stars, alighting upon the southern battlements.
A surge of powerful soul force washed out like a tide, dispelling part of the suffocating pressure.
A white-clad man landed lightly at the fore, with the illusory shadow of a Radiant Phoenix shimmering at his back—Yan Shaozhe, Dean of the Martial Soul Department.
Behind him came his wife Cai Mei'er, Soul Tool Department Dean Xian Lin'er and Vice Dean Qian Duoduo, along with Elder Lin, Elder Zhuang, Gong Changlong, and other Sea God Pavilion elders.
Except for those who had gone to the Sun-Moon Empire, the Pavilion's remaining members had mustered in full.
Behind them, over forty inner-court disciples stood on the wall like drawn swords.
These elites were at least Soul Emperors, soul power surging, rings of every color intertwining.
Familiar faces were among them—the Golden Crow Saintess, Wu Ming, wreathed in golden flames—and several standouts from the Soul Master Tournament before last.
At this moment, all of Shrek Academy's strength was fully mobilized. Even outer-court students too young for war were on the walls, operating simpler defensive soul tools.
"Damn it! What madness grips the Star Dou Forest—to choose this moment?"
Yan Shaozhe's eyes were locked on the advancing tide, his face dark and grim.
He couldn't fathom why a forest peaceful for centuries would suddenly unleash a beast tide of this scale.
Worse, several of the Academy's Super Douluo had gone with Elder Xuan to the Sun-Moon Empire, escorting their tournament team.
Shrek stood at its weakest in nearly a century—caught completely off guard.
"Centuries of peace lulled our vigilance."
Elder Lin, one of the Pavilion's most senior, sighed as she watched the torrent of beasts. Her wrinkled face was etched with worry.
"Perhaps we should never have trusted those ferocious beasts' promises so easily."
She felt a strong premonition that Shrek Academy might truly be facing an existential crisis.
Yan Shaozhe forced calm on himself.
There was no time to probe the cause of the beast tide. The urgent task was to withstand the impact of over a hundred thousand soul beasts.
A hundred thousand soul beasts equaled a hundred thousand soul masters. If not for the beasts' ignorance of soul tools and lack of equipment, to resist such a force would be sheer fantasy.
If it were a hundred thousand soul masters in a soul-tool battle array, even a demigod would turn and flee.
"Calls for aid are out, but the outlook is poor."
Cai Mei'er hurried to his side, voice grave.
"The three empires' elites are also at the Sun-Moon Empire for the tournament and the Holy Grail War. Few strong fighters can be spared soon. The Body Sect hasn't responded at all."
The timing was chillingly perfect.
The Star Dou Forest had chosen an ideal moment—when human forces were distracted and shorthanded.
Yan Shaozhe wondered if some hidden conspiracy lay behind it.
Last time, the beast tide was held off only through Shrek's cooperation with the Body Sect and the three empires' reinforcements, leading to a non-aggression pact with the ferocious beasts.
Now, with the pact torn and the ferocious beasts returning, Shrek had more powerful soul tools but had lost the Body Sect, and even their own high-end power was more than halved.
Worse, Dragon God Douluo Mu En had fallen; the Academy had lost a peak Limit Douluo.
That meant no access to the Golden Tree's source power and diminished force behind the Sea God's Light.
Yan Shaozhe wracked his brain for a breakthrough—but could these soul tools alone stave off the cataclysm?
Faces around the Sea God Pavilion were grave and silent as they watched the tide advance within a few kilometers.
A suffocating quiet hung in the air, broken only by the thrum of charging soul tools.
"We can't just start fighting without answers."
Yan Shaozhe drew a breath, resolve flashing in his eyes.
"We must find out what happened."
The only chance he saw was to try to communicate with the ferocious beasts.
If they could learn why the Star Dou Forest had launched the tide, there might be room to de-escalate.
After all, ferocious beasts were highly intelligent—they would not wage an assault of this magnitude without cause.
If they could talk, there was a sliver of hope.
"The Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King is over there."
Yan Shaozhe's gaze cut through the ranks to the densest black cloud in the rear.
The pressure there was suffocating—beyond even his late teacher Mu En's peak aura.
Thick darkness twisted space like substance; even light warped oddly within it.
"At this scale, only the Beast God Di Tian could preside."
He drew a deep breath and turned to the others.
"Prepare to fight. I'll go and ask."
To face the Beast God himself—cold sweat soaked his back.
As a Level 96 Super Douluo, he knew better than most how fearsome Di Tian was—a nearly million-year-old apex predator atop the continent.
By rights, he had no standing to speak as an equal. But with Shrek leaderless and him acting in charge, the duty was his.
"Please, be careful."
Cai Mei'er gripped his arm, eyes full of worry.
"If anything feels wrong, retreat at once. Don't be reckless!"
Her voice trembled slightly; she knew how terrible the foe was.
The Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King had commanded even Dragon God Douluo's respect.
"Don't die."
Even Xian Lin'er spoke up, unusually for her. Her tone was still a bit stiff, but concern bled through.
She had loved nothing more than needling Yan Shaozhe—sworn rivals, some would say.
Yan Shaozhe looked around at them, a decisive light in his eyes.
"For Shrek's glory, I must stand forth. The Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King? If he would trample Shrek City, let him step over my corpse first!"
This was nothing like when the Snow Empress came.
Then, her target had been Huo Yuhao, not the Academy's foundation, and there had been room to maneuver.
Now Di Tian led a hundred-thousand-strong tide to their gates. The aim was plain—to annihilate Shrek.
If talks failed, then only a battle to the death remained. No retreat.
With that, Yan Shaozhe spread his arms, and a clear phoenix cry split the sky.
Brilliant gold burst from him, becoming a Radiant Phoenix wreathed in sacred flame.
Its wings spanned over ten meters. Scorching currents swept the wall; everyone felt the heat.
The golden phoenix soared, a rising small sun, dazzling in the dim world.
Where it passed, clouds scattered and light returned, bringing a ray of hope to the stifled field.
Everyone in Shrek City looked up at the golden streak.
Soldiers tightened their grips; soul masters held their breath. Hope filled every eye—the hope that they might avoid war.
"Beast God, Your Excellency—please come forth."
Amplified by soul power, Yan Shaozhe's voice rolled like thunder.
The Radiant Phoenix spread a Super Douluo's vast aura, golden light striving to dispel the battlefield gloom.
Above the clouds, the Emerald Swan Bi Ji took human form, emerald wings draping her waist. She looked to the massive black dragon crouched in the cloudbank.
In truth, she loathed starting a beast tide—as a healing-type soul beast, she knew better than anyone the pain of war.
Soul beasts were few to begin with. Such war would only worsen their plight.
But it was the lord's order. She had no right to refuse.
If it had been Di Tian's order, she might have persuaded him.
As the fourth of the ferocious beasts, her standing among soul beasts was hardly below Di Tian's.
But this was a command from the Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena, sovereign of all soul beasts—none dared disobey.
Even without understanding the reason, they had rallied every fighter they could.
What Bi Ji did not know was that the Di Tian before her was no longer the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King she knew.
The order to launch the tide was Phantylia's lie, spun under Di Tian's guise to deceive them.
After all, in the Star Dou Forest, only Di Tian could contact Gu Yuena directly.
Bi Ji and the others had no way to verify the command. Even if they had doubts, they would never bypass Di Tian to confirm.
Such was their absolute trust. No one believed that the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, who had led the soul beasts for hundreds of thousands of years, would betray his race.
The black dragon slowly lifted its head. A glint of amusement and mockery—not Di Tian's—flashed in its golden eyes.
It watched the Radiant Phoenix draw near, lips curving into a cold arc.
Dark scales gleamed metallic in the dim light, each plate flickering with dangerous darkness.