"So, you've come here to ask us to act in a play with you?"
Deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, where no outsiders were present, Gu Yue sat beside the Life Lake. She was not wearing her usual silver veil, and her bare feet dipped into the lake, creating gentle ripples. Three-Eyed Golden Mou nestled quietly at her side.
"Of course, you can," Gu Yue said as she stroked Three-Eyed Golden Mou's large head.
"I'll have Ditian notify everyone immediately. Then, you can lead the Spirit Beasts to Shrek City."
"Me?" Wang Nan looked somewhat puzzled.
"Yes." Gu Yue turned her gaze toward him. "Spirit Beasts can be quite heavy-handed when they fight. With you leading them, they'll show some restraint, and we won't have to worry about Shrek Academy members harming them."
"Alright." Wang Nan nodded, not standing on ceremony.
Seeing him agree, Gu Yue withdrew her gaze and stared intently at the lake, lost in thought.
---
In Shrek City, the elders of Shrek Academy, led by Xuan Zi, stood atop the city wall. Their Titled Douluo auras spread outward without restraint toward the Sun Moon Empire.
Even from a great distance, under the pressure of so many Titled Douluo auras, the Soul Masters of the Sun Moon Empire felt their bodies grow weak.
"As expected of Shrek Academy, to be able to hold out for so long against the combined assault of the three Great Protector Soul Master Legions."
Xu Tianyuan, clad in armor, gazed at Shrek City in the distance.
"Even with all the Empire's Protector Soul Master Legions gathered here, Shrek City is not easily conquered," Mirror Hongchen said as he stood beside him.
"No matter how difficult it is, this city must be breached," Xu Tianyuan replied calmly. "Does Hall Master Mortal World expect Shrek City to fall on its own?"
"How would I dare? It's just that Shrek City has stood for ten thousand years without falling. Its foundation cannot be underestimated," Mirror Hongchen said pointedly.
Xu Tianyuan fell silent and only nodded slightly.
"Rumble…"
Just as the two sides remained in a standoff, a thunderous roar suddenly echoed through the heavens. The deafening sound made everyone inside and outside Shrek City look up.
The sky above them darkened at an alarming speed.
"Why has the sky suddenly turned so dark?"
Within the Sun Moon Empire army, a Soul Master spoke in confusion. The next moment, his body involuntarily collapsed to the ground.
Originally, enduring the pressure of several Titled Douluo auras from Shrek City's wall had already been a struggle. They could only remain standing by relying on their battle formations. But the moment the sky darkened, an even greater pressure descended from above, and he could no longer support himself.
Aside from the Great Protector Soul Master Legions, the other Soul Master units fell into varying degrees of chaos.
"All troops, retreat!" Xu Tianyuan shouted. His armor emitted a faint glow as he looked up at the sky, his brows tightly furrowed beneath his visor. "Something is wrong with this darkening of the sky!"
In just a short span of time, the heavens were completely shrouded, as if a curtain had fallen. From the southern sky, a vast mass of black surged forward like tidal waves, with several extremely powerful Spirit Beast auras faintly discernible within it.
Du Busi and the others, stationed within Shrek City, noticed the change and could not help but look up.
"I wonder how many hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts Peerless Douluo killed to provoke a beast tide of this scale."
Despite being mentally prepared, Xuan Zi and the others on the city wall all changed expressions. For a moment, they could not tell whether these Spirit Beasts had been invited by Wang Nan for show, or if the Star Dou Great Forest had truly unleashed a beast tide.
Even Wang Nan, hidden among the Spirit Beasts, had not expected Ditian to mobilize so many of them.
Aside from the Myriad Demon King, whose true body was a plant and thus inconvenient to move, all the other Great Vicious Beasts were present.
With a force of this magnitude, let alone acting, it would not have been impossible to directly confront the Sun Moon Empire.
However, this thought only passed briefly through his mind. Ultimately, these Spirit Beasts had only been invited to support the scene and to put on an act with the people of Shrek. Given Wang Nan's relationship with the Star Dou Great Forest, there was no issue with that.
But if Spirit Beasts truly joined a war, casualties would be unavoidable. Ditian and the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yue, would never agree to sacrificing Spirit Beasts for a human war.
This was already enough. A beast tide of this scale left the Sun Moon Empire with no choice but to believe it.
As the Spirit Beasts drew closer and the pungent scent of their bodies filled the air, Xuan Zi finally stomped his foot and leaped into the sky.
"Ditian, are you of the Star Dou Great Forest going to break your agreement with Shrek?" Xuan Zi demanded, his gaze sweeping across the black cloud. When he spotted a familiar human figure within it, he finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
A tall figure emerged from the black cloud, long black hair flowing behind him.
"Hmph. It was your Shrek Academy that first broke the agreement by hunting hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beasts in our Star Dou Great Forest."
Ditian was not skilled at acting, and speaking further would only risk arousing suspicion from the Sun Moon Empire. He stopped there and raised his hand to strike at Xuan Zi.
"Moo—"
A thunderous roar echoed as a giant ox-shaped light projection appeared beside Xuan Zi, meeting Ditian's attack head-on.
"Is that Ditian of the Star Dou Great Forest?"
Xu Tianyuan narrowed his eyes. Although he had heard of the major Spirit Beast habitats of the Douluo Continent and Ditian's name had circulated in Mingdu for years, this was his first time seeing Ditian with his own eyes. He had not expected him to appear so human.
"I once encountered the Evil Monarch in the Fiend Forest. Spirit Beasts of this level already rival human Limit Douluo in strength. That Shrek expert is probably not Ditian's match."
A figure stepped forward, her face no longer concealed. It was Feng Ling, Vice Cult Master of the Holy Spirit Cult. "I originally thought breaching Shrek City would take some effort. I didn't expect a beast tide to appear instead."
"That Shrek Academy prides itself on justice, building Shrek City next to the Star Dou Great Forest and claiming it is to defend against Spirit Beasts," Feng Ling continued coldly. "Now it seems they are simply reaping what they sowed."
The other speaker, also dressed in black, was Zhang Peng, the Scorpion Tiger Douluo and an enshrinement of the Holy Spirit Cult. Many members of the cult had come for this siege.
"It's just that this beast tide feels somewhat strange," Mirror Hongchen said quietly as he watched the figures battling in the sky. He did not feel optimistic.
"Is Hall Master Mortal World afraid of Shrek Academy's reputation?" Zhang Peng pulled back his hood and glanced sideways at Mirror Hongchen. "Or does the Hall Master believe Shrek Academy still has the means to control Spirit Beasts?"
"That's enough," Xu Tianyuan said coldly. He cast a subtle glance toward the Holy Spirit Cult members, recalling Xu Tianran's secret instructions before departure. His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Regardless of the final outcome between the Star Dou Great Forest and Shrek Academy, Shrek Academy will certainly be severely weakened. My Soul Master Legions excel at long-range combat. How about Cult Master Feng leads the Holy Spirit Cult to attack Shrek City afterward?"
"Hmph." Feng Ling glanced at Xu Tianyuan without giving a clear response, then turned and walked back toward the military camp.