"Qiu'er. Move." Huo Yuhao said.
Qiu'er vehemently shook her head. "No. Human, you can't! Beast God wasn't gone for long so he probably hasn't told the others of our situation."
"If you go out there, you will be immediately targeted by all the soul beasts!"
"You must understand that almost all of them out there hate humans. They wouldn't spare a single thought when they attack you — they will go for the kill!"
"With your current state, you wouldn't be able to do anything. Please. Just...stay here, for now?" Qiu'er quietly begged, lowering her head and pitifully rubbed against Huo Yuhao's right shoulder, her three eyes glistening with worry.
Huo Yuhao slightly smiled at her, his expression still dark yet mellow, he stroked her golden furred head. "Qiu'er, what are you talking about? I was just trying to take a look."
"As you have said, what can I do in my current state?"
"Really?" Qiu'er asked, doubtful.
Huo Yuhao couldn't take it anymore and broke into a laugh. "Okay, I lied. But I have to try and help those elders, and put a stop to Di Tian's bullying of them."
"B-Bullying...?"
Huo Yuhao nodded. "With how much the soul beasts here outnumber and overpower those from Shrek, Di Tian could easily wipe them out in an instant if he wanted to. But instead, he's deliberately dragging the fight out, letting them struggle and show off the might of the Great Star Dou Forest. It's his way of sending a message — a warning to humans not to mess with him or his domain."
It was one thing to know the danger, but hard to truly understand it without witnessing it firsthand.
Di Tian and the other Great Beasts haven't made much noise since around a hundred years ago when they initiated the first Beast Tide that almost destroyed Shrek Academy and Shrek City. At best, Yan Shaozhe and the others around his age were just students at the time.
It was only thanks to the cooperation of the other three empires that the beast wave was pushed back.
That catastrophic event had ended with thousands of deaths of soul masters and soldiers, with dozens being Titled Douluos! This event was marked as the most dangerous event in human history.
That event rocked the continent for years and scared numerous people, especially Soul Masters, causing the absence of soul ring hunting in the Great Star Dou Forest for at least 10 years.
However, humans lived short lives compared to soul beasts. While a decade seemed a blink of an eye to soul beasts, it was more than enough time for humans to recover and forget the terror they once faced.
New generations grew up hearing stories of the Beast Tide and the Great Beasts, but to them, it was nothing more than a myth or an exaggerated tale.
Yan Shaozhe, and some of the older Titled Douluos right now might've been a part in the First Beast Tide, but it has been decades since then. Most of them probably weren't Titled Douluos at the time. As they grew stronger since the beast wave, they had grown deluded by their own power and progress.
However, their confidence wasn't just because of their own strength but of something else that Elder Xuan had secretly stored in his person.
As someone who had been at the frontlines of that horrible wave of soul beasts, and encountered the Beast God Di Tian face-to-face, he obviously understood the gap in their power.
He and the others wouldn't have come without their "insurance".
Qiu'er blinked, clearly confused. She had obediently curled up to him as he stroked her head and back, her tail wagging around.
Inwardly, Huo Yuhao compared her to a giant pet dog.
"But why is it a problem? If Beast God scares those humans away, us soul beasts will be safe from other humans hunting us down for the next several years!" Qiu'er said.
Huo Yuhao shook his head. "It really wouldn't work. Shrek Academy or anyone else in their place, after suffering such an indignant and humiliating experience, they naturally wouldn't like others learning about it and would do everything in their power to keep it hidden."
"Or are you telling me that there're some soul beasts here that would communicate with humans amicably and spread such an event around?"
"...." Qiu'er's silence was telling enough.
Huo Yuhao's expression was serious as he said, "Qiu'er, you and every other soul beast want peace and be free of humans hunting you down, right?"
"Of course!"
"Then you'll see that what Di Tian is doing right now will push the path of the soul beasts to damnation."
Qiu'er's eyes widened in disbelief. "W-What? No, it can't be! You're lying!"
Huo Yuhao shook his head. "It's true. Although you trust in your ability to see destiny and fate, I trust in logic and reason: one person, just myself, cannot bring salvation to an entire race all on his own."
"Currently in the world, soul rings are invaluable for soul masters and soul beasts only have a finite number in the whole world. It wouldn't happen in this era, but it will happen in almost the lifetime of all soul beasts in the world — their extinction."
"Di Tian's actions right now would stir both fear and paranoia in the hearts of all humans. Humans are naturally fearful of what they don't understand or cannot control. And when faced with something that terrifies them, they will do everything in their power to either control it or eliminate the threat."
Huo Yuhao's eyes hardened as he continued, "If news of the Great Beasts' power spreads, it will not deter humans from coming. Instead, it will incite them to develop even more dangerous methods to hunt and kill soul beasts — especially considering the "spoils" they'll get."
"They'll pool resources, form alliances, and create new techniques and soul tools specifically designed to counter soul beasts. It's human nature to be greedy and overcome challenges."
Huo Yuhao faced Qiu'er, caressing the side of her face. "So unless soul beasts want an all out war against humanity, I have to stop this skirmish from escalating any further!"
Moreover, he was a bit suspicious about Elder Xuan and the others.
'They aren't fools. To have the confidence to directly invade the Great Star Dou Forest, did they bring out Teacher Mu? No, that couldn't be it. Earlier, weren't there explosions? Could it be...'
They either have Mu En laying in wait or a super powerful soul tool at the ready, either way, if Di Tian or the other Great Beasts push too far, it could escalate into a full-blown relentless conflict.
And Huo Yuhao wouldn't want that, the benefits he'd in the forest would disappear!
"We have to stop Beast God!" Qiu'er worriedly exclaimed.
Huo Yuhao furrowed his brows. "The problem is that I have a plan on how to stop them, but that's only if I can get out of this cave."
Qiu'er went quiet for a moment, contemplating. "I...may have a way in getting you out of here. But I'm not completely certain that it would work."
Huo Yuhao nodded in understanding. "Trying is better than not doing anything. What can I do to help?"
Qiu'er looked up towards the exit of the cave and seriously said, "I want you to punch really, really hard."
Huo Yuhao blinked.
"Eh?"
.....
Back outside, things were getting intense and the humans were losing.
Xuan Zi stood defeated behind Di Tian.
Yan Shaozhe and Cai Mei'er had been battling against the Myriad Demon King, and were about to defeat him, when other soul beasts came to reinforce him.
Xian Lin'er and Qian Duoduo did great battling against the Hell Demon Dragon King, but they now lay defeated on the ground; having lost due to their difference of bloodlines and elemental suppression.
Elder Song and two other colleagues at the same cultivation as hers were easily defeated by the combined force of Bear Lord and the Scarlet King.
It didn't take long before every Shrek elder were forced to stand before Di Tian; battered, bruised and severely injured with some of them losing a limb or two. Their soul power were near exhausted from all the fighting.
Di Tian looked down at the defeated humans, his golden eyes gleaming with cold disdain. The Great Beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest surrounded them, each exuding a terrifying pressure.
Xuan Zi walked over to stand with his people and stare straight at Di Tian. "Well? Are you going to talk, or you just going to slaughter us all in cold blood."
"Well, if you're offering it up—gah!" Bear Lord laughed darkly before he was promptly pulled back by the Myriad Demon King.
Di Tian coldly laughed. "Emboldened by the flames of ambition, you invaded our home with threats of destruction and death. All for what?"
"That is because you have one of our own! Kidnapped and and taken hostage! We could've talk this out, peacefully!" Xuan Zi shouted, his eyes filled with defiance despite the crushing pressure.
"And as I have said before, his presence with us concerns the safety of one our most important kin." Di Tian said.
Xuan Zi clenched his fists. "So...you aren't giving him back to us... No matter what..."
Di Tian coldly stared straight at his eyes. "The boy stays with us. And let this be a warning — even if that old man in the Golden Tree were here, it wouldn't change anything."
"The safety of our kin comes before any human demand. In reparations for invading our home, each one of you must cut off one limb." Di Tian said coldly, his voice resonating like a death knell.
The faces of Elder Xuan and the others turned dark, anger and indignation on their faces.
'Haa. I really didn't want to use this. The damages it'd do to the forest would be devastating, the soul beasts won't spare us for this. What's worse, we would owe the Sun Moon Empire for this...' Xuan Zi inwardly grumbled.
Xuan Zi coldly stared back at Di Tian, subtly moving his left thumb. "You will regret this."
Tension thickened in the air, crackling like lightning ready to strike.
However, just as Elder Xuan was a moment's away from using his "card", a familiar voice cut through the tense air like a blade.
"Wait!"
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AN(Vent): I am exhausted. For three whole days I had to go in and out of the city, the travel from the house to there takes 2 hours, and going home also makes it 2 hours, plus at least 2 more hours in the office. Around 6 hours out of the house, under blistering heat, no joke I almost fainted from the heat.
What was I doing in said office? Trying to get my national ID updated bcz they got my birthplace and other stuff wrong, making it difficult for certain accounts of mine to get verified.
Eh, at least the city food tastes good. Especially the burgers.
1/3 chapters of the week