Thorne sensed the time was near—no more than half an hour remained before the beast tide army reached the lake area.
He took the ghost thorns pulled from the Ghost Thorn Tree and planted them in a calculated pattern on land farther out, a fair distance from the lake, forming the first line of defense.
Next, he turned the water pre-left at the bottom of the pits dug by Gordon and the others into ice spikes, covered the surface with a thin layer of ice, and sprinkled soil over it. The frenzied magic beasts would never notice. This was the second line of defense.
But these two lines could only create some chaos among the beasts. The real key lay with Thorne himself.
As Shelley had suggested, he could hide, and no one would detect him. But that would leave him targeted by Transcendent Tier beasts as their spiritual energy supply, and he'd eventually be exposed.
With the system, Thorne was destined for greatness, but his strength wasn't yet enough to fully display that potential.
Just as everything was set and he awaited the beast tide, a familiar figure appeared in the distance.
"Why's she back?"
It was Shelley, returning on her flying carpet, her face etched with urgency.
Spotting Thorne's water figure, she leapt off the carpet and shouted, "I'll join you to fight the beast tide together!"
Thorne asked with a teasing tone, "Oh? Didn't you leave? Why'd you rush back in such a panic?"
Shelley had expected mockery for her disheveled return, but now wasn't the time for pride.
"Spare me your taunts. This beast tide isn't just starting from the east—it's erupting from all directions at once. I flew south, nearly out of the desert, when I ran into a massive flock of fire crows. I had no choice but to turn back."
"Not just from the east?"
Thorne had only sensed the eastern tide's roars, assuming it would sweep west. He hadn't expected the elves to deploy forces in all four directions—likely to trap anyone trying to flee early.
But this meant the converging tides might clash, even with Transcendent Tier beasts controlling them. Chaos could erupt.
Magic beasts were unruly by nature, and a beast tide amplified their bloodlust and ferocity. Even Transcendent Tier beasts might struggle to dominate such a horde.
"The elves are ruthless, not caring about these beasts' lives at all."
With the situation unfolding, Thorne had no choice but to agree to Shelley's alliance. An extra ally meant extra strength.
Though the tide erupted simultaneously, speeds varied, so Thorne would face the eastern wave first.
This side was closest to the elves, and their powerhouse might be among this wave.
"I need wide-range destructive weapons or something to disrupt the beast tide's formation. Got anything?"
Since they were teaming up, Thorne didn't hesitate to demand resources.
Shelley thought for a moment, pulling out several scrolls.
"This is a Wind Blade scroll. When activated, it unleashes hundreds of wind blades, effective against beasts below Transcendent Tier."
"This is a Meteor Shower scroll. It rains down hundreds of fireballs from the sky, also damaging beasts below Transcendent Tier."
"This is a Soul Storm scroll. It summons a soul hurricane, briefly disorienting the weak souls of magic beasts."
Thorne gaped at the powerful scrolls Shelley produced.
He almost felt she didn't need to return—she could've broken through the tide alone.
"With such strong scrolls, you shouldn't have needed to come back," he said.
Shelley rolled her eyes. "You think I wanted to? These scrolls only work on Mortal Tier beasts, not Transcendent ones. Plus, I ran into fire crows—the trickiest aerial magic beasts."
Thorne nodded noncommittally, clearly skeptical.
But there was no time to argue—the beast tide had arrived.
In Thorne's perception, a black wave larger than the lake surged toward him. Part of it charged straight ahead, while a sizable portion, blocked by the lake, couldn't turn in time and kept rushing forward.
When the tide hit Thorne's ghost thorn zone, some beasts stepped on the thorns and collapsed in agony.
Once the Ghost Thorn Tree's thorns pierced a creature, they automatically drained blood and devoured souls, causing unbearable pain.
The fallen beasts didn't have time to rise before being trampled to mush by those behind.
Soon, the beasts reached the second line—the pits.
"Plop, plop"—many fell in. Some were impaled dead by ice spikes, while thicker-skinned survivors struggled to climb out.
The next wave tried to halt, but the rear kept charging, sparking chaos. Many beasts were crushed, though it was a drop in the bucket for the massive tide. Some had already reached the water.
Assessing the situation, Thorne conjured water arrows. As the pits nearly filled with beasts, he struck.
Thousands of water arrows shot out, freezing into ice midair, targeting beasts about to breach the second line.
Though less potent individually, the ice arrows were lethal to the tide's mostly Level 1 and 2 low-tier beasts.
A large swath fell under the barrage, but their corpses paved the way for more to surge forward.
The scent of blood drove them into a frenzy.
Shelley hid in Thorne's lake, using a water-repelling spell to stay submerged. Thorne, too busy to shield her, left her to fend for herself.
"Shelley, act."
Thorne's calm voice rang out. He had to deal with the dozens of beasts in the lake now. If they reached the opposite shore, the Huang Tribe would be wiped out.
Shelley emerged, hovering midair. She unfurled a scroll, releasing hundreds of wind blades that slowed the beasts' advance. The mounting casualties dulled the madness in some beasts' eyes, replaced by flickers of fear.
These awakened beasts tried retreating from the death zone ahead, but more frenzied ones pressed forward.
Thorne swiftly dispatched the dozens in the lake—easier to kill there. But with tens of thousands, even his best efforts could only cull a fraction.