Roooooar—!
Rumble!
As Rotell was thinking, the cry of a distant beast suddenly rolled through the forest.
The cave trembled, causing stones to fall.
Dust drifted from the ceiling while the light near the entrance flickered violently. The sound was incredibly far away, yet despite the distance, the sheer scale of the roar still caused everyone present to subconsciously tense.
Cirsen immediately stood up.
"No…" Her face turned very serious. "That sounds like…"
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
The ground beneath the cave began shaking, but this time, it didn't stop.
Rotell's expression also changed.
"This is… a beast tide? In the secret realm, how is that possible…"
Rotell moved toward the cave entrance before crouching near the edge and peering outside.
The distant forest was trembling.
Dozens of flocks of birds filled the sky, while spirit beasts fled through the forest in a chaotic wave. Like hundreds of tributaries repeatedly splitting and re-converging, they seemed to intend to loop around the length of the outer ring of the fog-filled forest, counterclockwise.
"…It really is a beast tide," Rotell muttered.
A wind-like pressure continuously swept through the surroundings, causing Rotell to retract her head.
She returned, a frown on her face.
Seeing this, Cirsen immediately grabbed her spear.
Behind her, Qucell slowly stood up while stabilizing the excess of foreign spiritual energy within her body, then quickly expelled it. Although her realm was unstable, she was still a Fifth Order practitioner now, so it was best to cleanse herself, then heal as quickly as possible. While thinking this, she paused, then as if thinking of something, she suddenly retracted the spiritual energy that had just been expelled and pulled it back into her body.
As a necromancer, she didn't possess a way to store spiritual energy, at least not before, but now, wasn't her empty sea of consciousness the perfect storage container?
Wanting to quickly try, Qucell was pleasantly surprised to discover that it worked!
She could now store Soul Force in her Soul Core (Which was now her Physical Body), and Spiritual Energy in her Sea of Consciousness.
In the short term, she could use this!
"…Should we move?" Mellia asked
Rotell nodded.
"We need to leave before we get surrounded."
Everyone began preparing to move, but suddenly—
Tock, tock, tock, tock!
A few Figures slowly appeared outside the cave.
Blue robes, curved blades, and hooked weapons, these were people from the Blue Sea Guild!
They entered in a group of over twelve, their eyes immediately sweeping past Qucell. One of the men grinned viciously. Old man Roa was frail and weak, Mellia appeared to be a child, Qucell had just advanced, and her cultivation was still unstable, and Rotell was only at the middle stage of the Golden Core Realm. Excluding the beastly Cirsen, in their eyes, these four, alongside the small handful of faceless officers travelling with Rotell, were nothing more than a free feast!"
"…Heh! Looks like we arrived just in time!"
* * *
While Rotell was experiencing the most suicidal robbery ever attempted, the camera turned to a place quite a distance away…
Here, the Beast Tide appeared in the Secret Realm like a natural disaster.
From high above, the beast tide resembled an endless black flood constantly swallowing parts of the forest. Countless spirit beasts stampeded through the forest simultaneously, uprooting trees, shattering the terrain, and trampling everything beneath their feet. The earth continuously rumbled, and wind was endlessly released, forming a storm of shockwaves. Smoke and dust rose into the sky, while the cries of countless beasts echoed endlessly throughout the realm.
Beasts of every shape, size, and species surged through the forest…
-
Despite only an hour having passed, the Secret Realm had already descended into a bloody battlefield.
Excluding a few exceptions, everyone else was forced into the fight.
The Dragon Clan, Trili, Rifrit, Popo, Lilit, and Atllin stood atop a distant cliff, calmly watching the beast tide sweep past the surroundings like a storm.
Like the Dragon Clan, the Telltera were mostly the same, choosing to stand to the side rather than fight.
As for the Demon Clan, they had also vanished.
Meanwhile, the Blue Sea Guild revealed an unexpectedly terrifying foundation. Large groups of well-equipped low-lives, mercenaries, and self-trained practitioners spread throughout the forest, actively intercepting the beast tide. Harpoons, beast nets, hooks, and literal fucking explosives continuously erupted throughout the forest as they cooperated surprisingly well against the incoming beasts.
Meanwhile, Rolilly completely avoided the beast tide. The third princess calmly sat atop a giant spider-shaped puppet hidden within the upper canopy while lazily drinking tea, as her guards fought below.
Elsewhere, unlike her passively lying sister, Rotell directly confronted the beast tide head-on.
Her sword split apart a charging beast while Cirsen's crimson spear impaled, then split another in half. She slammed her foot down, fracturing the ground, then exploded forward and blasted straight through the side of a massive armored serpent. Mellia continuously summoned walls of earth mixed with quadrupedal stone spider-type earth elementals in an attempt to redirect the beasts, while Old Man Roe manipulated the forest and surrounding creatures, causing gigantic roots to erupt from the ground to forcibly redirect entire sections of the stampede. In addition to being a fifth-level formation master, he was also a fifth-level beast tamer, so as the beast tide approached, it unconsciously turned, providing the perfect position for their continuous battle.
At the same time, the overseas experts and countless adventurers clashed throughout the forest on a massive scale. Bandits robbed fleeing parties, assassins used the chaos to hunt their targets, and bounty hunters captured isolated practitioners. Where there were people, there was conflict; and where there was conflict, there was blood, and this blood only made things worse, so soon—
The entire forest was split into multiple battlefields, showing no signs of stopping…
* * *
Time passed—
-
Now, how does one stop a Beast Tide?
Well—!
Under normal circumstances, the best method was simply to wait. Eventually, after becoming thoroughly exhausted, consumed by fear and confusion, and after a sufficient number of casualties had accumulated, the Beast Tide would naturally weaken. At that point, a powerful practitioner could strike the vanguard of the exhausted horde directly at its 'nose', forcibly shattering its remaining momentum.
But this method took far too long!
The people currently exploring the Secret Realm simply could not afford to wait for several days, while an endless tide of panicked beasts rampaged unrestrained through the forest.
So instead, they chose a suppression strategy.
A Beast Tide, at the end of the day, or at least most of the time, was a collection of fleeing beasts that could only run forward. The beast in the front drove the tide, and when it got tired, it would be trampled from behind and replaced.
The front of a Beast Tide represented a mass of beasts desperately fleeing, while the back represented a separate horde frantically pursuing the pack in hopes of escaping something unseen.
They were not very smart!
Anyways…
The suppression effort gradually formed into three stages.
The first stage—
Diverting the tide!
Many powerful practitioners fought continuously at the front edge of the stampede, redirecting the fleeing beasts away from major gathering points. Entire teams of mixed cultivators moved through the forest like guiding currents, pushing the tide sideways little by little to prevent it from spreading too broadly. At the same time, they intentionally compressed the front face of the beast tide into a narrower point. This process took many hours and created countless casualties. While it made the beast tide denser and far more dangerous, it also made the horde much easier to control.
Walls of earth erupted throughout the forest, while explosions continuously shook the ground. Ice barriers, summoned vines, lightning nets, sword light, and countless spells repeatedly redirected the fleeing beasts, minimizing casualties among the practitioners.
The second stage—
Splitting the tide!
Two large groups, each formed from the elites, worked together to forcibly divide the beast tide into two separate streams, then direct them away. This was extremely dangerous and required multiple attempts, but it was absolutely critical. This process alone took nearly an hour and three attempts to achieve, two of which ended in bloody failures.
Because the beast tide began in the southern part of the outer ring, the left side of the split tide was redirected toward the western edge of the Secret Realm, while the right side was forcibly guided eastward. Entire teams continuously attacked from the flanks, pushing the stampede along predetermined routes through forest-filled valleys, cliff faces, and shallow ravines. Like two rivers circling a mountain, the two tides gradually looped around the entire outer ring of the Secret Realm.
Eventually, the two streams began curving back toward one another near the north.
Finally, here came the third stage—
Crashing the tide back into itself!
BOOM!
When the collision eventually came, the forest shook, forming an earthquake.
The Beast Tide, split into two, collided head-on!
The impact resembled two raging waves slamming into one another with catastrophic force. Countless beasts smashed together amidst panic and confusion, while spiritual energy erupted wildly throughout the forest.
The entire Secret Realm shook violently.
Trees shattered, the earth cracked, and the air even seemed to distort beneath the pressure.
The beasts at the front were crushed by the impact, slamming into the beasts behind them, while the rear continued stampeding forward without understanding what was happening ahead. Like two rivers crashing together, the tide burst outward. The compressed momentum scattered violently throughout the forest like a giant splash.
It was at that exact moment—
Everyone attacked!
Sword light descended from the sky as massive spells exploded throughout the forest. Cultivators, adventurers, overseas experts, mercenaries, bounty hunters, and even some hidden old monsters all unleashed attacks simultaneously. They attempted to completely destroy the tide's momentum before it could restabilize and return to its initial state.
But no matter how long they attacked—
Even after countless creatures died, more beasts continuously surged forward from the rear of the tide!
The panic had already spiraled out of control!
And just as the situation gradually began showing signs of returning to its original beast tide state—
Everyone realized just how terrifying this beast tide had become!
Perhaps it was because of the uniqueness of the beasts involved, or perhaps it had something to do with the isolated nature of these creatures, but they responded very differently than the beasts outside.
In short, it wasn't stopping!
Seeing this, the practitioners gritted their teeth and pushed even harder. More attacks descended, more formations activated, and countless extra explosions shook the forest floor.
But it was all futile…
The tide continued reforming, even showing signs of growing.
Like water flowing downhill, it simply refused to stop!
But—!
Just then!
OoOoOoOoOAR—!!
A roar that sounded like a blend of a lion and a dragon shook the void!
The horrifyingly loud roar suddenly shook the heavens and the earth! Originating from the depths of the Secret Realm, it exploded outward, causing everyone to freeze!
The forest went dead silent…
Then, peaking over from the horizon, a colossal shadow emerged in the distance. It towered behind the forest canopy, and its eyes ignited from the core area of the Secret Realm; its body, though hazy, was like a small mountain. It was neither too large nor too small, and nobody could properly see its true form, but even from the outer rim, it commanded everyone's attention without question.
The beast tide that was showing signs of reforming immediately collapsed. The beasts scattered in every direction, vanishing into the forest like frightened insects.
As they fled, the gigantic silhouette disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.
Soon, a heavy silence followed…
* * *
Later that day, far away from the battlefield—
Petra sat happily atop the head of a gigantic spirit beast, kicking her little legs back and forth.
The enormous beast, its large eyes glistening with tears, had a look of utter despair.
Petra's new cushion was a colossal spirit beast standing four meters tall and stretching ten meters long. It bore the massive frame of a bison, yet its fluffy fur and faint features heavily resembled a giant sheep. Two short, sharp horns protruded from its brow, with a body supported by four stubby pillar-like legs. By all indications, the creature was a docile herbivorous beast, and yet, its maddened, tear-filled bloodshot eyes suggested it desperately wanted to devour a certain someone alive."
"…See?" Petra proudly exclaimed while patting it on the head.
Petra's Five Principles of Life, No.2: 'Books, Baking, and Breaking! Look back in life, what can't they beat?'
Wind: "…"
Mell: "…"
Petra smugly stared at the beast beneath her butt!
Let's give an example—
Not too long ago, Petra got tired of walking, so as the Beast Tide swept past, this big guy attacked her and became Petra's slightly unwilling volunteer.
Mm, first… Petra crippled it to make sure it didn't run away, then after making sure that it would survive, she then retrieved a Beast Encyclopedia and began learning about its specific species. After trying multiple methods to befriend it, then failing repeatedly, she decided to move on to the next step, which was to bake it a beast-worthy feast, one worthy of a king!
The final result of her somewhat clumsy culinary endeavor was something she called the Legendary Monarch's Golden Marrow Hotpot, a dish of terrifying magnificence!
Ahem, it was a self-proclaimed title…
In the center of a bubbling volcanic-like cauldron lay the seemingly indestructible skeleton of a certain Golden-Ringed Boar King, its unblemished bones slowly leaking radiant, sparkling bone marrow directly into a deep crimson broth. Thick slices of rich, marbled meat floated amidst a vibrant array of freshly harvested spices, all of which were hand-picked herbs taken from the Verdelith Castle that were so hot they could force the world's most gluttonous kings to bow down in tear-filled submission.
As the steam rose from the pot, it carried a sharp, soul-scorching aroma filled with pure elemental energy, a feat that Even Wind was unsure as to how Petra had achieved.
After she was done, it was time to eat!
But for some reason, even after force-feeding it this gourmet dish, the big beast seemed even more resistant to Petra's beast taming…
Following a second failure, Petra could only sigh reluctantly and move onto the third and final step…
Mm, and proceeded to beat the living shit out of that beast!!
Anyways…
The giant beast, black and blue and badly beaten, wept silently in place.
Nearby, Rose looked away.
"…Poor thing…"
Lira seriously nodded to this!
Petra proudly crossed her arms. "Anyways, now it's tamed!" Nobody knew if it counted as 'tamed,' and in truth, Petra didn't know the first thing about beast taming, and she was also way too lazy to look it up. Aside from those attracted to her by her physique, at least in her eyes, all other beasts were nothing but her food or fun.
-
Time slowly passed.
As night gradually swept across the Secret Realm, the exhausted groups scattered throughout the Secret Realm all found a relatively safe place to pass the night.
During this period, the last vestiges of the beast tide were also cleaned up.
The forest slowly quieted down, and night arrived…
* * *