txolops Chapter 407 The Beast Tide Retreats
Chapter 407 The Beast Tide Retreats
Chapter 407 The Beast Tide Retreats
They were familiar with this drumbeat! It was produced by the "Demon Gathering Drum," a special magical artifact used by certain powerful races among the deep-sea demons to command large-scale battles! The changes in the drumbeat rhythm represented different commands.
Those three rapid and heavy drumbeats were the order for the demon race to launch a general offensive, sparing no expense to crush the enemy ranks in one fell swoop!
Sure enough, as soon as the drumbeat ended, a roar followed—!!!
"Awooo—!!!"
"hiss-!!!"
Outside the light screen, countless demonic beasts that were originally attacking in an orderly manner and cooperating with each other seemed to have been injected with a berserk potion. Their eyes instantly turned red, and they let out earth-shattering roars and howls!
They no longer cared about casualties or formations. Like a completely frenzied wave, they launched a suicidal and ferocious charge towards the protective formation of Silver Shark Island from the sky, the sea, and underwater!
Impacts, bites, spitting venomous acid, self-destructing demon cores—all kinds of attacks were like a storm, instantly causing the great array light screen to distort violently, flash wildly, and emit a "creaking" sound due to the unbearable pressure!
At the same time, beneath the sea, several powerful auras that had been lurking and hidden suddenly erupted! Huge figures tore through the surface of the sea and joined the attack!
Among them was a giant octopus that was nearly two hundred feet long, with eight tentacles that swung like a giant python, and whose aura had reached the peak of level seven!
Its cold, compound eyes were fixed on the defensive zone where Yuan Yao was located, and it emitted a low hum, as if summoning nearby level five or six demonic beasts to concentrate their strength and break through the defenses here in one fell swoop!
In addition, several other unfamiliar sea beasts, previously unseen, with ferocious appearances and auras all exceeding level six, also appeared, joining the fierce attack from all directions. Clearly, the demon race had been concealing a considerable portion of their strength!
"These demons—they actually have so many high-level combatants hidden! This time they're determined to flatten Silver Shark Island in one fell swoop!" Yuan Yao's pretty face turned pale, and a trace of fear flashed in her beautiful eyes.
She could sense that the island's protective formation wouldn't last much longer under such a frenzied attack. Once the formation broke, the tidal wave of demonic beasts would flood in, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
Jiang Rufeng's urgent voice rang in Yuan Yao's mind.
"Judging from this situation, the island's protective formation won't last much longer! Once the formation is broken and the demonic beasts flood in, you must immediately take Ruyin and Siyue and evacuate through the reserved secret passage, breaking through towards the Inner Star Sea. I will cover the rear."
However, Yuan Yao slowly shook her head. A strange, sweet yet resolute smile appeared on her pale face. Her clear eyes gazed at the distant horizon behind the demon army, as if waiting for something. Her voice was soft yet exceptionally clear: "Elder Jiang, I appreciate your kindness. But—even if this island is truly breached today, we—cannot leave."
""
Jiang Rufeng was taken aback and said urgently, "Mistress, this is not the time to act rashly! As long as we live—"
Yuan Yao interrupted him, her eyes softening even more, even carrying a hint of inexplicable expectation and cunning. "If we leave, some irresponsible guy will come back and not be able to find us, and he'll probably be worried."
"What?" Jiang Rufeng was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then suddenly realized something, and her heart began to pound wildly. Could it be—
Just as Jiang Rufeng was filled with doubt and uncertainty—
Behind the demon army, a seemingly inconspicuous cyan light, like lightning tearing through dark clouds, was hurtling toward the southeastern defense zone of Silver Shark Island!
It was through mental perception that Luo Ming determined the exact location of the Wind Fox Beast, and he rushed over at all costs, even at the cost of slightly revealing his whereabouts!
Before Luo Ming even arrived, his divine sense had already swept across the chaotic battlefield like a tidal wave. He looked at the dozen or so high-level demonic beasts frantically attacking the great formation or hiding among the beast horde, waiting for their chance, and at the seemingly endless beast tide in the distance, a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips.
"There are quite a few high-level demonic beasts here, perfect—I'll take them to my little ones for a treat and to replenish their blood and blood."
With a thought, he suddenly swung his wide sleeves towards the area where the dozen or so high-level demonic beasts were located!
"Buzz buzz buzz!!!"
A chilling, extremely dense metallic buzzing suddenly resounded throughout the sea! From Luo Ming's sleeve, a dazzling "golden cloud of insects" shot out!
The swarm of insects left the sleeve and swelled in the wind! Instantly, it split into more than a dozen condensed, almost tangible "golden arrows" formed entirely from countless beetles with golden spots on their backs and ferocious mouthparts!
Each arrow precisely locked onto a high-level demonic beast, tracing strange arcs as if it were alive, avoiding the low-level beasts that blocked its way, and shooting towards its respective target at a speed beyond the limits of the naked eye!
"roar?"
The giant octopus at the peak of level seven was waving its tentacles, preparing to launch a full-scale attack to break through the crumbling array of light in front of it when it suddenly felt a terrifying aura that made even its demonic soul tremble as it locked onto it. Then it saw a golden light shooting towards it.
Although it was startled, it was not flustered. Sensing that the other party's aura seemed to be only at the "late stage of Core Formation", it was immediately enraged, thinking that it was a human reinforcement who was unaware of its own death. Several thick tentacles, carrying immense power, were about to slam down in the direction from which the golden light came, preparing to smash the person and the "arrow" into a pulp!
"Hmph, I was just feeling bad that your transformed ancestor got away by accident. Perfect, I'll capture you and collect some interest to make up for it." Luo Ming's icy voice, like a fine needle, pierced through the noisy battlefield and clearly entered the giant octopus beast's simple consciousness.
Before the words had even finished—
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! ————"
Twelve flying swords, each only a foot long and shimmering with a dark golden luster, with faint patterns appearing on their blades, shot out of Luo Ming's body without warning!
It was formed from the Xuan Yuan Pearl, his natal magic treasure, which he had refined and nurtured by combining his own essence and blood with the energy of Geng metal. It secretly corresponded to the number of the earthly branches, and their energies were connected to form a simple yet profound sword formation.
The twelve flying swords were even faster, arriving first despite being behind, instantly surpassing the dozen or so "golden arrows," and appearing near the vital points of the peak level seven giant octopus beast as if by teleportation!
The sword trembled slightly, and a terrifying power as heavy as a mountain, seemingly capable of suppressing space, suddenly erupted. This was the new divine ability that Luo Ming had comprehended along the way from the Inner Star Sea over the years.
"Buzz—!"
The giant octopus felt the space around it suddenly freeze, its demonic power was blocked, and its outstretched tentacles seemed to sink into an invisible swamp, greatly reducing its speed!
It was terrified and tried to struggle, but the twelve flying swords were like nails, pinning it to various parts of its body. The sword energy intertwined, forming a temporary "trapping domain", which forcibly "fixed" its huge body in place, making it unable to move!
No matter how frantically it twisted and spewed out its demonic power, it could not break free from the sword formation that combined the suppression of primordial magnetic gravity with the sharpness of Geng metal!
At the same time, the "golden arrow" that was shot at it had already reached its body!
"Bang!"
The arrow exploded the moment it touched the giant octopus's protective shield of demonic energy, transforming into a dazzling "golden cloud of insects" that enveloped its head!
Countless gold-devouring insects, like sharks smelling blood, pounced on it frantically. Their sharp mouthparts ignored its tough keratinized skin and protective demonic power, and began to devour its flesh, demonic power, and even—its bones! The sounds of devouring were terrifying.
"Awooo—!!!"
A piercing, agonizing roar erupted from the giant octopus's mouth, shaking the sea! It struggled desperately, its demonic blood splattering everywhere, but it was utterly unable to escape the suppression of the sword formation and the devouring of the swarm of insects. In just a short moment, its massive head disappeared and caved in at a visible speed, its demonic energy rapidly waned, and its life force quickly dissipated.
The same scene played out on a dozen other high-level demonic beasts that were targeted by the "golden arrows." They tried to dodge or fight back, but all their struggles were in vain in the face of the Gold-Eating Insects' ability to ignore defense and devour everything.
In an instant, the screams of high-level demonic beasts, which had been the most fiercely attacking defensive zone, gradually diminished, leaving only swirling golden clouds of insects and rapidly dissipating demonic energy.
The low-level demonic beasts in that area, having lost the command and suppression of the high-level demonic beasts and sensing the ferocious aura of the Gold-Eating Insects that instilled their instinctive fear, immediately fell into chaos. Their offensive power was greatly reduced, and they even began to instinctively retreat and flee.
The cultivators in this area, including Jiang Rufeng, Wen Siyue, Jiang Ruyin, and others, all stared in disbelief at this sudden and astonishing reversal, watching as the dozen or so high-level demonic beasts that had caused them headaches and even despair were swallowed up by the mysterious golden cloud of insects like clay chickens and earthenware dogs.
Watching that ferocious, peak-level seventh-rank giant octopus rapidly meet its demise under the combined force of the sword formation and the swarm of insects—it all happened so fast, so shocking, that many people couldn't recover for a long time.
Just then—
"Whoosh!"
A dark shadow, like a real black lightning bolt, shot out from Yuan Yao's shoulder, traversing hundreds of feet in a few breaths, and pounced into the arms of Luo Ming, who had just sheathed his flying sword and was standing in mid-air, smiling as he looked at Yuan Yao.
It was indeed the Wind Fox Beast! The little guy excitedly rubbed against Luo Ming's chest, making cheerful low "woofing" sounds, clearly extremely happy.
The cold, murderous look on Luo Ming's face instantly melted into endless tenderness. He reached out and gently stroked the smooth, docile fur of the Wind Fox Beast, his eyes filled with apology and the joy of a long-awaited reunion: "These past years, you've had a hard time taking care of Yao'er."
His gaze swept across the chaotic battlefield, past countless astonished faces, and finally locked firmly on that exquisitely beautiful figure who was also looking at him, her eyes brimming with tears, a smile playing on her lips, yet tinged with a hint of something indescribable—a mixture of resentment and joy.
Yuan Yao.
However, at that moment, a loud "thump! thump thump thump—!!!"
Several muffled drumbeats, slightly hurried and with a rhythm quite different from the previous general attack drumbeats, once again came from the depths of the demon army! This time, the drumbeats were less violent and more urgent, even with a hint of panic.
As the drums sounded, the countless demonic beasts that were in the midst of a frenzied all-out attack suddenly halted their offensive! Those high-level demonic beasts that were attacking other defensive zones seemed to have received some kind of command, and they all let out unwilling roars, and actually began to slowly retreat, breaking away from contact with the formation!
In just a few dozen breaths, the terrifying beast tide that had once covered the sky and seemed to be about to engulf Silver Shark Island actually began to retreat in full force! Although the retreat was not chaotic and the basic formation was still maintained, the momentum of the desperate attack had completely disappeared.
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