Wolves raced through the forest.
Weaving through the countless trees and sprawling roots.
A flash of a golden light shone throughout the surroundings.
Smashing downwards, a halberd split a wolf's skull in two.
The clean swing turned and swept horizontally, slicing the noses of another two wolves.
They reeled in pain and halted, allowing the man who attacked them to jump back a few steps.
Sun steadied himself and prepared to attack once again.
The Second tide has already arrived. Corpse Mountain Settlement was well-prepared to face this advent.
Warrior of Spring created a new plan in place of his prior one.
Instead of facing the tide methodically, he focused on pure offence.
There were lines of mortal warriors and Cultivators.
Warrior of Spring and the two Third Foundation Cultivators made the first line.
Sun was in the second line, as well as Shade of Autumn, and most other Second Foundation Cultivators.
The third line was made up of First and Second Foundation Cultivators, with mortal warriors in the mix.
While the fourth line was made up of mortal warriors.
These four lines would share the force of the tide, with the frontmost line taking the brunt of the tide, such as the Beast Kings and Mystical Beast Kings.
During these initial waves of beasts, there was no problem with their expected arrival.
Wolves were the first and the current beast group they were facing.
Sun was fighting the ordinary wolves, which slipped past his senior Cultivators.
Focusing on full brutal combat was a better fit for Sun.
The ambush tactic restricted his Dao Art -- Crown Ring Tyrant's War Banner, which was better for long and bloody battles.
The more prevalent blood and violence, the stronger Sun gets.
Cleaning up his site of ambush was essentially getting rid of the source of his power's amplification.
Now that there was no worry about cleaning this mess, he would not have to dampen his power.
Raising his Halberd, Sun threw it forward.
Approaching was a large wolf, a Beast King. As soon as its presence was known, it was killed.
Sun's halberd pierced through its skull; the Wolf King collapsed as blood leaked from its wounded head.
Running forward, Sun ran through the agitated wolves that howled towards him.
Qi surged through his arms, and he grabbed a wolf by its scruff and tossed it towards another wolf.
Flowing through the muscles of his leg, the Qi amplified his strength as he leapt forward.
Crossing the distance between him and his halberd, Sun landed and retrieved his weapon.
As he did this, a dozen wolves were already upon him.
Dao Art -- Golden Arc and Ribbons!
Sun also activated a supplementary Dao Art, warming his limbs as he twisted his body.
His halberd rose and cut up into the first wolf, cutting through its jaw and skull.
A pale light followed in the blade's path.
As he traced the air with the blade, the light flowed like a ribbon.
It cut into the other wolves that made contact with it.
The blade stabbed into another wolf's stomach, then tore upwards, escaping through the spine.
It was Sun's greatest offensive Dao Art, a blend of elegance and violence.
He danced around the battlefield of grey wolves, iron-rich in the air and crimson dyed soil.
Dashing forward, he received a Wolf King's bite with his halberd, driving the shaft into its jaw.
It was equal to his height, but its bulky body could not oppose Sun's strength.
Raising his foot, he struck the Wolf King in its throat.
As the beast gagged, it released Sun's weapon.
Spinning the halberd around his body, the ribbon light flowed and created a ring around Sun's body.
The ribbon cut into the approaching wolves, deterring them from approaching him.
From his right hand to his left, the halberd travelled and stabbed into the Wolf King's side.
As it pierced the beast's face, it struggled before falling limp.
The scent of blood assailed Sun's nose.
He was already too familiar with the scent; it was quite morbid, but also invigorating.
Without hesitating, he pulled the weapon out of the Wolf King's head.
Retreating a few dozen steps, Sun glanced at the scene he had just caused.
Dozens more wolves awaited him, bearing their fangs; others ran past him, fleeing.
Sun readied himself to continue fighting until he saw a new wave of beasts approaching from afar.
'Foxes...? The second group has already appeared?'
Watching as the foxes approached fearlessly, Sun paused as he thought.
The wolves also looked in fear, whimpering and losing all vigour they once had.
'This is-!'
Horror also befell on Sun's face.
'The first of the insane beast groups has arrived...'
He wasn't particularly scared of these beasts; it only meant that they'd fight more aggressively than sane beasts.
It was an uncomfortable sight, however, looking as drool ran down their jaws, and a sense of frenzy not born of fear pervaded their group.
Bit by bit, the dozen wolves begin to run away, leaving Sun alone to fight off these beasts.
'There is likely no Beast Kings among this group...'
'I should remain cautious, the sheer numbers are just... unbelievable.'
Looking at all the beasts, readied himself to fight against this relentless horde.
The scent of blood invigorated his body with strength, but a sinister chill raked down his spine.
...
Amid a crater, Warrior of Spring was surrounded by a sea of flames.
The Mystical Beast King, cold beneath his feet, had a sinister ability to ignite anything within a radius.
Unfortunately, it was not able to affect Warrior of Spring.
He killed it quickly; it was no match for the First State Cultivator.
The surrounding area of a three-meter radius was burning.
A solemn, almost sad, look befell Warrior of Spring.
He cherished the environment dearly, so its destruction not only enraged him but also left him mourning as well.
Of course, in the midst of a war, he could not overindulge in this loss.
The countless foxes surged forth.
Foaming from their mouths, Warrior of Spring could sense misery, fear, rage, joy, and countless other emotions from these simple beings.
With a wave of his hand, verdant winds blew and brushed a few dozen.
Instantly, the scent of iron mixed with the spring's breeze.
Clenching his fist and smashing down, a formless force crushed another handful of foxes.
The heat boiled the blood, and it continued to spread.
'This feeling-!'
Looking up, a massive figure was floating high above him.
It had a long, slender body, almost a hundred meters in length.
four limbs ending with claws, a pair of horns that twist up and inward.
White scales shimmer under the pale starlight.
Looking down, its roar shattered the air.
Shaking the lands and stealing everyone's attention.
"Rend them all... Tear everything apart...! Blow them all away!"
A grating voice screamed from above, as a heavy pressure began to build in the sky.
The dragon took in air, and after a few moments, it breathed out.
...