DD Black White [331-332] (Patreon)

Chapter 331: Destroying You—What's That to You?

"Interesting."

Di Tian disguised by Phantylia murmured, his voice carrying a cat-and-mouse mockery.

"Coming alone took courage. Admirable."

A colossal dragon tail swayed lightly, stirring the surrounding clouds.

A negotiation concerning the very survival of Shrek City was about to begin amid the thunderclouds high above.

"So you are Yan Shaozhe!"

A cold, merciless voice suddenly ripped through the sky like a blade of congealed ice, stabbing straight into the depths of everyone's soul.

The instant that voice sounded, everyone above Shrek City involuntarily shuddered, as if a hand had closed around their throats; even breathing became difficult.

The city defense soldiers trembled. The inner court disciples instinctively held their breath, their hairs standing on end—this was the supreme might of the Beast God Di Tian. With voice alone, he made all beings tremble.

The golden phoenix that Yan Shaozhe had transformed into jolted midair; the holy light flames around him visibly dimmed, like a guttering candle in the wind, as if it could be snuffed out at any moment.

He could clearly feel that the power within that voice far exceeded his understanding. The gap between them was like a firefly before the bright moon.

The pitch-black clouds began to churn violently, as though a world-ending behemoth that had slumbered for ages was stretching within them.

From the cracks in the clouds, dark scales with a ghostly metallic sheen flashed now and again, each as large as a millstone, each one pulsing with a chilling dark energy.

Every glimpse of a scale brought mountain-like pressure to bear on Yan Shaozhe, making even his soul tremble.

"Correct. I am."

Yan Shaozhe forced down the fear in his heart and did his best to keep his tone respectful.

"May I ask why Your Excellency the Beast God has torn up the centuries-long pact to launch a beast tide of this scale?"

Under the eaves, one has to bow.

With Shrek Academy's top combatants absent at this moment, facing Di Tian—the king of ferocious beasts who stood at the apex of the continent—only by first yielding could there be a sliver of hope.

He knew that if he angered the other with a single word, the negotiation would immediately collapse, and Shrek City would be plunged into a purgatory of blood and fire.

"Why?"

The icy voice suddenly took on a thread of wrath, as if resentments suppressed for countless years erupted at that moment.

"Humans never stopped hunting soul beasts. In recent years, our soul beast numbers have steadily dwindled; our living territories have been eaten away step by step by you—and now you ask me why?"

Yan Shaozhe fell silent for a moment.

He admitted that the conflict between humans and soul beasts ran deep. Hunting soul beasts for soul rings had always been the foundation of a soul master's growth.

But he also knew this could not be the real reason Di Tian launched the beast tide. If it were merely the hunting, the Star Dou Forest would have exploded long ago—not waited until today.

He steadied himself and refuted sincerely.

"Your Excellency, regarding the hunting of soul beasts, we have long sought solutions. The Stigmata System is now widespread; soul masters no longer need to hunt soul beasts for rings, and can instead receive safer, stronger stigmata blessings. In recent years, human hunts of soul beasts have dropped sharply; the soul beasts' environment has been gradually improving—this is by no means a reason to tear up the alliance."

Yan Shaozhe was no fool.

He had also heard Dragon God Douluo Mu En describe the temperament of the Beast God Di Tian in detail. With such a far-seeing mind, he would never risk an all-out war between soul beasts and humans to launch a beast tide unless some earth-shaking event had occurred.

"I beg Your Excellency to tell us the true reason."

Yan Shaozhe's voice carried a burn-the-bridges resolve.

"Even if Shrek City cannot escape destruction today, at least let us die understanding why."

Above the clouds, "Di Tian" let out a low, mocking chuckle, his tone full of derision and contempt.

"Heh. Destroying you—what's that to you?"

A simple sentence, yet it detonated like thunder in everyone's ears, chilling to the bone.

Bi Ji's delicate body jolted. She turned to the black dragon beside her in disbelief.

With her hundreds of thousands of years of understanding of Di Tian, though aloof and proud, he had always placed the survival of the soul beast race above all, and would never utter words so indifferent to life, even tinged with playful cruelty.

This was not the Di Tian she knew!

A deep suspicion sprouted and spread in her heart like wild vines.

"You…!"

Yan Shaozhe, still the golden phoenix, trembled all over, rage and humiliation surging within.

At the same time, his face went deathly pale.

Di Tian's attitude could not be clearer: he did not care about reasons or consequences—he only wished to annihilate Shrek City.

This resolve allowed no room for maneuver.

"Bastard! If it's a fight you want, then fight—we'll die if we must."

Di Tian's words that scorned all beings were heard clearly not only by Yan Shaozhe but by everyone on the walls.

Xian Lin'er's fiery temper ignited in an instant. She slammed a hand onto the battlement; the hard obsidian shattered with a crack.

"Shrek Academy has no cowards who cling to life."

Not just Xian Lin'er—the faces of all soldiers and soul masters on the walls were flushed with fury.

Di Tian's remarks had treated everyone at Shrek Academy like ants to be crushed at will.

Such naked contempt instead roused the blood in their bones.

"To live and die with Shrek!"

No one knew who shouted it first. In the next instant, tens of thousands of voices rose together, coalescing into a thunderous roar. The morale that had been cowed by Di Tian's pressure rekindled at that moment.

"Destroying you—what's that to you."

That ice-cold line was like a poisoned spike, stabbing deep into every Shrek heart, fully awakening their pride and bloodline ferocity.

Yan Shaozhe slowly drew in the holy flames around him and reverted to human form, hovering midair.

He no longer used the honorific "Your Excellency"; his voice was tight with boiling anger.

"Di Tian, must you do this? Shrek Academy may be at a temporary disadvantage, but we are no soft persimmon to be squeezed at whim. If you insist on war, even if you finally trample Shrek City, the soul beast race of Star Dou Forest will pay a grievous price."

He still held a final sliver of hope—he couldn't believe Di Tian would disregard the soul beast race's survival and choose a mutual-ruin outcome.

From what he knew of Di Tian, the Beast God was powerful but always placed the continuation of his race first.

"Hmph!"

Di Tian snorted, a sound that shook heaven and earth, and the boiling clouds suddenly split to the sides.

A colossal black dragon head slowly emerged from the sea of clouds, its golden eyes like two blazing suns, casting twin solid beams that pinned Yan Shaozhe in place.

The unrestrained pressure swept out like a tsunami. Yan Shaozhe groaned; blood seeped from the corner of his mouth as he staggered back more than ten meters in the air before barely steadying himself.

"Leave."

The golden dragon eyes were cold and indifferent.

"Say one word more, and don't bother going back."

Yan Shaozhe lifted his head to look at the black dragon head that blotted out the sky. The last hint of hesitation vanished from his eyes, replaced by resolute battle intent.

He drew a deep breath, then shot back to the city wall in a streak of light. His voice cracked like thunder across the battlefield.

"All hands, prepare the soul cannons—Shrek Academy fights to the death today. We will not retreat."

On the walls, the stillness shattered.

Soldiers rapidly adjusted the soul cannons; the whir of gears and the hum of charging energy blended together.

Soul masters released their rings; yellow, purple, and black radiance interwove atop the ramparts into a brilliant sea of light.

Though facing the terrifying Beast God and hundreds of thousands of soul beasts, a flame of resolve burned in every Shrek defender's eyes.

War was about to erupt.

"Kill! Bathe Shrek City in blood!"

The black dragon head plunged lower through the clouds, the cold, irresistible command booming over the battlefield.

As the order fell, over a hundred thousand soul beasts howled to the sky—wolf howls, tiger roars, dragon cries, beast bellows tangled into a deafening wave of sound; even the earth trembled.

The next second, the aura unleashed by all soul beasts fused into a terrifying flood. Hooves pounded and wings beat as they surged toward Shrek City like a landslide and a tidal wave.

The teeming silhouettes were like a rolling black tsunami, churning up dust and the stench of blood. Wherever they passed, grass and trees snapped, the ground cracked, and a palpable cloud of despair blanketed Shrek's sky.

"Boom!!!"

The first to break the silence was the southern wall's soul cannon array, long since primed.

Seventy-two heavy soul cannon muzzles flared with searing red light, then crimson energy torrents—like dragons exhaling—ripped the air with shrill keening and thundered toward the beast tide kilometers away.

The beams fell like divine punishment upon the vanguard.

Dazzling firelight instantly swallowed swathes of beasts. Piercing screams and the burnt stench of seared flesh drifted with the wind to the walls.

Those struck directly were vaporized on the spot; those caught at the fringes fell charred and grievously wounded. A near-hundred-meter gap was torn open at the front of the tide.

But it existed only for a heartbeat.

Beasts behind stepped over the blackened corpses of their fellows, eyes burning with crazed red light—as if they knew neither pain nor death—driven only by that cold command to hurl themselves forward in endless waves.

Their steps crushed their companions' remains, grinding blood and flesh into the soil until the ground turned muddy and scarlet.

"All soul masters, release area skills. Suppress their advance."

Qian Duoduo stood atop the highest command platform on the wall, a special soul tool amplifier etched with complex runes in his hand. His face was grave, but his voice rang out strong.

"First regiment, target the left flank! Second regiment, suppress the right! Center sector is mine!"

As the orders fell, three thousand soul masters on the wall unleashed their abilities—colors laced together in the air into a gorgeous, lethal web.

Hail, fire rain, thunderstorm, and wind blades poured down like a tempest, while ordinary soldiers coordinated with various portable soul tools to lay down covering fire.

Chapter 332: Bi Ji's Misgivings

On Shrek's south wall, soul shells whistled toward the beast tide; silver soul rays streaked like lightning, striking beast weak points with precision.

For a time, heaven and earth were shrouded in the radiance of soul skills and soul tools. Roars, explosions, beast screams, and soldier shouts wove together into a brutal, tragic symphony of war.

"We're going in!"

Yan Shaozhe roared. Golden radiance surged around him as he once more became a luminous phoenix with a wingspan over a hundred meters, shooting skyward.

As nine soul rings lit in sequence around him, he beat his wings; countless feathers wreathed in sacred flame poured down like a meteor shower.

Those holy flames held extreme heat. Any beast they touched ignited madly; even ten-thousand-year beasts turned to ash within a few breaths.

Following his lead, Xian Lin'er, Cai Mei'er, and other powerhouses struck as well.

Xian Lin'er released her Blueflame Dragon martial soul; azure fire coiled about her. In true body state, she became a massive blueflame dragon. With each sweep of her wings, cyan infernos stormed forth, leaving charred husks in their wake.

Cai Mei'er wielded the Dragon-Sundering Spear; razor gunlight cut crisscross through the beast ranks, every sweep drawing a spray of blood.

Her movements were elegant yet lethal, like dancing a waltz of death on the battlefield.

Even the ever-gentle Elder Zhuang released his Ancient Tree of Life martial soul; thick vines burst from the ground to bind and strangle the beasts at the front.

Elder Lin plunged directly into the tide; with her palms weaving, astral winds flowed, and beasts she struck weathered away into fine black ash.

The entire southern wall became a bloody grinder. Every minute, soul beasts fell in droves.

"Impudent!"

The beasts would not allow human Title Douluo to slaughter their kin unchecked.

A thunderous roar boomed like a sky-splitting crack. A dark-gold Dreadclaw Bear over thirty meters tall burst out of the tide.

His body was covered in dark-golden fur that gleamed metallically in the dim light. His golden claws flashed with chilling light—this was Bear Lord, sixth among the Ten Great Savage Beasts.

He swung those claws that could rend mountains and rivers; five golden claw lights ripped like blades through the sky, crossing thousands of meters in an instant to slash at Yan Shaozhe's phoenix.

Yan Shaozhe's pupils tightened. He beat his wings to dodge, but one claw light still grazed his left wing.

Golden feathers scattered; the holy flames dimmed. He grunted, blood at his lips, wavering in midair before stabilizing.

Meanwhile, the earth heaved. Roots as thick as giant pythons tore up from below.

Scaled in dark green, their tips shaped like spears, they shrieked through the air at Xian Lin'er, Cai Mei'er, and the others.

Where they passed, the ground split in great cracks—this was the Myriad Demon King, the Bewitching-Eye Demonic Tree, ranked fifth among the Ten Great Savage Beasts.

As a plant-type fiend, he could control all flora within several kilometers, turning the entire battlefield into his domain.

"Boom!"

A pillar of flame over ten meters wide suddenly blasted skyward from within the tide, heat so intense it melted rock into molten lava.

The pillar, brimming with annihilating power, hammered toward Shrek's wall.

Boom!

It slammed into the pale-blue barrier formed by soul tools with an earth-shaking detonation.

The shield rippled violently, waves of light flickering uncertainly, nearly shattering on the spot.

The one who unleashed that terrifying pillar was a crimson giant hound with three heads—the Scarlet King, the Three-Headed Crimson Demon Mastiff, ranked eighth among the Ten Great Savage Beasts.

With over two hundred thousand years of cultivation, his destructive power was immense; every strike carried world-rending force.

Farther back, a purple-black radiance formed a massive vortex in the air.

Soul shells and silver rays from Shrek that neared the vortex were swallowed in an instant, vanishing without a trace.

Beneath the vortex, a demon dragon covered in purple-black scales beat enormous wings. Her gaze was icy; her aura reeked of darkness and death—this was Zi Ji, the Hell Demon Dragon King, ranked ninth among the Ten Great Savage Beasts.

Her darkness attribute could devour all energy attacks—an absolute nemesis to light-based skills.

At the very rear of the battlefield, a jade-green brilliance poured down from the horizon like a canopy, a spring rain that bathed the entire beast tide.

Wounded beasts healed at a speed visible to the naked eye within that light; charred fur shed its scars, gashes to the bone knit swiftly shut.

At the same time, all beast auras swelled by more than thirty percent; their speed and strength rose noticeably.

The one casting that sacred radiance was Bi Ji with her emerald hair.

She spread vast jade wings, hands joined before her chest, eyes full of pity and reluctance—even as she continued to release healing and enhancement.

Though she ranked fourth among the Ten Great Savage Beasts and lacked peak frontal power, her healing and support were among the strongest on the entire Douluo Continent.

With her support from the rear, the beast tide's offensive became even more ferocious and unstoppable.

Boom, boom, boom!

Explosions never ceased. Outside Shrek's walls had already become a blood-soaked purgatory.

Soul shells burst in fire and smoke, blasting beasts into pieces.

Even so, the tide did not stop. More beasts trampled their comrades' still-warm bodies, charging the seemingly fragile yet stubborn soul barrier.

Their eyes gleamed with insane red light, heedless of casualties—bestial nature had wholly seized them.

Yan Shaozhe looked at the beasts surging like a flood below, then up at the black dragon in the clouds that still had not truly struck, and a growing unease gripped his heart.

Just Bi Ji, Bear Lord, the Myriad Demon King, and the others already had them on their heels. If the Beast God Di Tian took the field himself, who among Shrek could stand?

Emerald Swan healing waves fell like unending spring rain, bathing the battlefield.

Beasts blasted down and grievously wounded by soul cannons healed visibly; in barely ten breaths they could stand again, eyes still feverish as they charged Shrek once more.

"Humans… have you developed to this extent?"

Suspended in the air, Bi Ji watched soul shells and silver rays blanket the land. Countless beasts were blown to pieces before they even neared a hundred meters of the wall. Shock filled her emerald eyes; her face grew ever darker.

She had opposed launching the beast tide from the start.

The soul beast race was already in decline; every large-scale battle depleted their very foundation.

But Di Tian had issued the order under the name of "the Lord." No soul beast in Star Dou Forest had the right to disobey—she could only comply.

Now, seeing the power of Shrek's soul tools, her faint resistance fully faded.

Soul beasts had curled up in the Star Dou Forest for years; their knowledge of the outside world had fallen behind. She had thought that only humans with powerful martial souls and skills threatened soul beasts.

Now it seemed even ordinary humans without soul power, armed with enough soul tools, could endanger the race's survival.

These cold metal creations were more terrifying than any soul skill. They required no training, no talent—just a pulled trigger to take a beast's life.

Known among soul beasts for her pacifism, Bi Ji, for once, found herself agreeing with the necessity of this war.

She understood the Douluo Continent's space was limited. The faster humans advanced, the more prosperous their civilization, the more resources and land they occupied—and the less room there would be for soul beasts.

If humanity continued developing unchecked, the soul beast race would be eliminated by the times, facing extinction in the end.

Rather than wait to die, better to fight now, while they still had strength, to carve out a path for their kin.

The realization pained Bi Ji, but the healing light in her hands shone even brighter.

For the future of the soul beasts, she had no choice but to fight.

"Hmph!"

Above the clouds, the sky-blotting black dragon slowly spread its massive wings. Each scale was like meticulously carved black jade, glinting with icy light in the dim day.

The gale raised by his unfurling wings swept the smoke below clean, revealing a ravaged earth.

He lifted a foreclaw; five sharp talons gave a light tear—and the void split like fragile silk into a pitch-black seam.

Darkness elements in the vicinity boiled wildly, surging to his talons as if summoned, condensing into a suffocating, terrible energy.

The ripple of that power instantly drew every Title Douluo's gaze below; a shadow fell over each heart.