43: Chapter 43 The Beast Tide Arrives Ahead of Schedule, the Army Approaches the City

By the time Lu Changyuan and his group returned to Blue Moon Island, the sky had already pressed down extremely low.

Though it was still daytime, the sky above the sea was so dark it seemed as if evening had arrived early. In the distance, the clouds were constantly churned by an invisible, massive force, rolling into an inky blackness; occasionally, a ghastly white light would crack through, only to be quickly swallowed by the even deeper darkness.

The Cultivators responsible for keeping watch on the island had clearly noticed something was wrong as well; the short warning bell on the Sea-Watching Platform had already rung three times in succession.

Just as Lu Changyuan stepped ashore, Su Qingli came to meet him, her face even colder than usual.

"The beast tide in the Outer Sea is moving."

"These aren't ordinary scattered sea beasts; they are pressing toward us in massive waves. Half an hour ago, our two outermost scouting lines went silent at the same time."

As she spoke, she handed over a communication talisman that was still dripping with water.

Only a single, intermittent message remained within the talisman.

"The black tide is sweeping east... the numbers... endless..."

After that, there was only the harsh static of water explosions.

Lu Hu, who had just handed the Black-Armored Giant Crab over to the people at the mining area for temporary placement, also looked grave upon hearing this: "My Lord, should we recall all the outer patrols first?"

"Recall them all," Lu Changyuan replied instantly. "Bring back as many as we can. Those who can't make it back must hide in place immediately; they are not allowed to force their way through."

After saying this, he looked up directly at the rolling black clouds on the horizon.

Three months.

The Jade Slip had given them three months.

But looking at the current situation, how could they possibly have three months to wait?

Su Qingli said in a low voice, "Could it be that the activity at the Dragon King Palace drew the vanguard of the beast tide here early?"

Lu Changyuan stared at the churning black clouds on the horizon, his voice kept extremely low. "Once the outer Restriction of the Dragon King Palace loosened, it was like throwing a stone into water—it pushed the vanguard of the beast tide, which was originally gathering slowly in the deep Outer Sea, right in front of Blue Moon Island a full two months early. What's coming isn't the whole force, but just the earliest vanguard being driven forward and the scattered sea beasts swept up along the way. The real tide is still behind them."

Just as his voice fell, the Zhenhai bronze bell at the highest point of the island's north was suddenly struck by a heavy hammer.

Dong!

Dong!!

Dong!!!

This time, it was no longer a short warning, but the island's highest-level wartime muster. Swept by the sea breeze, the tolling of the bell instantly drowned out the hammers of the Workshop, the neighs of the sea mounts, and the clamor of the harbor, striking directly into the chest of every single person on Blue Moon Island.

Everyone knew.

Something big had happened.

Lu Changyuan wasted no more time and barked out orders: "Su Qingli, initiate the wartime contingency plan. All Mortals are to evacuate into the underground shelter tunnels, with children, women, grain stores, and fresh water going first. Extinguish the outer fires of the Workshop and transition to the underground fire chambers. The Sea Cavalry Battalion is to seal off the eastern shallows; no one is to approach the shore without military orders!"

"Lu Hu, gather all Cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage and above the rank of centurion. We will hold a war council on the city wall in half a quarter of an hour."

"Leng Feng, take men to the crossbow emplacements. String all the mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbows, and carry up the fire talismans and spare strings."

"Shi Jian, personally lead the auxiliary soldiers to push the cold iron barricades, rolling logs, and oil barrels to the front line. If anyone panics, execute them first to rally the troops."

As the rapid succession of military orders was handed down, the panic that had briefly flared up due to the approaching black tide was instead suppressed by this fiercer, steadier will.

Everyone dispersed to carry out their orders.

Before turning to leave, Su Qingli suddenly asked, "My Lord, what about the Black-Armored Giant Crab...?"

"Bring it up to the city wall as well."

Lu Changyuan said, "Since it acknowledged its master today, it can bleed first to defend Blue Moon Island."

Soon, the entirety of Blue Moon Island was fully in motion.

The Workshop, which had been as hot as an iron furnace just a breath ago, completed its transition of fire within a single breath. Under the shouts of Cultivators and auxiliary soldiers, a vast number of Mortals carried their children and slung their rations over their backs, evacuating underground along the long-dug ramps. The ships in the harbor were all dragged into the inner bay or scuttled to block the path. On the city walls, the tarpaulins over the crossbow emplacements were uncovered one by one, while Cultivators clad in cold iron armor continuously gathered upward along the stone steps.

Before long, Lu Changyuan was standing on the highest city wall of Blue Moon Island.

The sea breeze was heavier than usual, blowing against the armor plates and carrying a faint, bloody dampness.

He looked out, and with just a single glance, his eyes turned completely cold.

At the edge of the sea, what had originally been just a rolling black line had now truly turned into a tide.

That was not a metaphor.

It was a literal black tide, packed together from countless low-tier sea beasts, mutated water demons, and frenzied vicious fish. Crowded layer upon layer, they pressed from the Outer Sea toward the Inner Sea. Crimson, eerie green, and deathly pale eyes glinted densely amidst the crests of the waves; from afar, it looked as if the entire ocean had opened its eyes.

The numbers were simply too vast.

So vast that, with Blue Moon Island's current foundation, it was absolutely impossible to sail out and split their forces to meet them.

They could only defend.

And they had to defend to the death.

On the city wall, the dozen or so newly promoted Foundation Establishment Cultivators who had just arrived looked at this scene, their breathing involuntarily turning heavy. The hot blood and high spirits brought by breaking through their realms last night were finally crushed by the harsh reality upon seeing this beast tide.

The veins on the back of Lu Hu's hand holding his saber bulged, yet he still couldn't help but curse: "Is this motherfucker trying to fill the entire ocean over us?"

No one replied.

Because everyone knew in their hearts that the scene before them was far from something that could be brushed off with a simple curse.

Su Qingli had already taken her position at the center of the Formation Plate, swiftly checking the feedback from various array cores. Her voice was cold and steady: "The outer Shallow Water Formation can still absorb the first wave. The barricade zone has been laid out, and the main array and bunker crossbow emplacements are all on standby. However, if they throw their lives to fill the gap, the outer defensive line will be worn through in half a day at the latest."

Lu Changyuan said, "Then let them fill it first."

He turned his head to look behind him.

Behind the city wall were young, tense, pale faces that nevertheless did not dare to retreat. There were core members who had just broken through their realms last night, veterans who had fought alongside him from nothing, and new recruits who had only recently been incorporated into various battalions, their armor plates not yet even broken in.

Further back was the entirety of Blue Moon Island, which had already begun evacuating underground but still pinned its final hopes on this very city wall.

Lu Changyuan suddenly reached out and drew his longsword.

As the blade left its scabbard, the cold gleam reflected in the eyes of everyone on the city wall.

"Look closely, all of you."

His voice was not loud, but it was steadily carried across the entire city defense by his true essence.

"Those things out there aren't here to test us; they are here to eat us."

"There is no second wall behind Blue Moon Island, no path of retreat, and no so-called reinforcements to fight this battle for us."

"If we cannot hold today, the island's Mortals, Workshops, mineral veins, spiritual fields, along with the lives you just secured last night, will all be swept away by the tide."

A dead silence fell over the city wall.

Everyone was listening.

"So from now on, let no one think of going outside the city to play the hero."

"Qi Refining Cultivators guard your positions, Foundation Establishment Cultivators plug the gaps, and the Sea Cavalry Battalion stand by—no unauthorized charges."

"The mystic ice spirit-breaking crossbows will fire in volleys upon command. If anyone dares to fire a single arrow out of turn, I will execute him first."

"If the array does not break, no one retreats. If the array breaks, then use your lives to plug the gap."

The tip of his sword slowly rose, pointing toward the rapidly approaching black tide.

"Hold tonight."

"If we hold, Blue Moon Island will still have a tomorrow."

Just a few short sentences, without a single word of empty passion.

Yet it was precisely this cold hardness, which severed life and death from rules with a single stroke, that allowed those on the city wall—whose chests had been tight from the pressure of the beast tide—to catch their breath and find their resolve once more.

Lu Hu was the first to clasp his hands heavily, his voice practically a roar: "This general obeys your command!"

Immediately after, all the Cultivators, Dao soldiers, and auxiliary soldiers across the city wall shouted in low unison.

"We obey your command!"

Before the shouts had even faded, the foremost wave of Vicious Beasts on the sea had truly entered the range of the Shallow Water Formation.

In the next instant, the Array Patterns on the seabed flared with light.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A succession of depth-charge-like explosions erupted beneath the sea. Dozens of the foremost sea beasts were instantly torn to shreds of flesh and blood, immediately dyeing a vast stretch of the sea red. Yet the Vicious Beasts behind them seemed entirely blind to death, continuing to surge forward over the shredded meat and corpses.

The second layer.

The third layer.

The barricade zone trembled violently from the impacts, the submerged stakes snapping in droves. There were even larger vicious creatures that directly threw themselves forward while dragging the carcasses of their kin, forcefully paving a path for those behind them.

Su Qingli's eyes darkened. "They aren't charging blindly; someone is driving them from behind."

Lu Changyuan had naturally noticed this as well.

This kind of advance speed was absolutely not an order that low-tier sea beasts could form on their own.

Deep in the Outer Sea, there had to be a truly high-tier sea monster commanding them.

What made his heart sink even lower was that the entity commanding the tide had yet to show itself.

The unseen was always the most dangerous.

Because this meant that the opponent was also waiting.

Waiting for Blue Moon Island to expose more of its trump cards first, waiting for the Shallow Water Formation, the barricade zone, and the defensive layout to reveal themselves.

The sea tide continued to press forward.

Wave after wave, like a black well that could never be emptied. Though the Qi Refining Cultivators and auxiliary soldiers on the city wall had not yet engaged in hand-to-hand combat, cold sweat was already breaking out on their brows. Everyone could see how those sea beasts used carcasses to pave the way and how they sacrificed their kin's lives to grind down the defensive lines, yet before that true commander revealed itself, no one dared to unleash their heaviest trump cards first.

Su Qingli said in a low voice, "It is forcing us to make the first move."

"Then let it watch first,"

Lu Changyuan gripped his sword hilt, his gaze passing over the black tide and coldly casting toward the deepest part of the horizon. "Let's see how far we can hold, and see if it dares to enter the field itself."

As if in response to his words, an exceptionally massive shadow suddenly appeared at the edge of the horizon.

At first, the shadow was merely an outline darker than the night.

But as it drew closer, the waves across the entire sea actually began to part on their own. The low-tier sea beasts that had been frantically charging the city just a moment ago seemed to have met their true natural predator, letting out chaotic and terrified screeches as they retreated to both sides.

Above and below the city wall, everyone's breath instantly caught.

For the first time, Su Qingli's fingers tightened around the Formation Plate. "It's here."

In the next moment, the shadow slowly rose out of the water.

The first to appear was a section of a terrifyingly thick, pitch-black tentacle.

Then a second section, a third section...

A total of eight.

Each one was as thick as a massive pillar, its surface covered in dark green suckers and fine bone spurs. With just a gentle sweep, it crushed dozens of nearby low-tier sea beasts that couldn't escape in time into a pulp of flesh. Further up was a massive, hideous octopus head, its eyes cold and eerie like two green moons submerged in blood, staring down emotionlessly at the entirety of Blue Moon Island.

The terrifying pressure of Foundation Establishment Perfection descended without reservation at this moment.

The light barrier of Blue Moon Island's outer protective array instantly let out an overburdened, low wail.

Lu Hu's expression changed dramatically, his grip on his saber tightening.

Yet standing at the very front of the city wall, Lu Changyuan did not retreat his gaze even half an inch.

He knew.

The real siege was only just beginning.