When High Priest brought Coral Douluo, Conch Douluo and Shrek's Mu Yun back to Sea God Island, what greeted them was not the triumphal song of victory, but the smoke of gunpowder that had not yet dissipated, the thick smell of blood, and the suffocating sadness and chill that permeated the entire holy land.
On the ground of the once pure and holy square, broken carapace of Sea Soul Beast that had not been cleaned up, sticky bloodstains and scorch marks of energy burning could be seen in many places. Wild Soul Power fluctuations remained in the air, showing how fierce the battle had been not long ago. Although the guarding Soul Masters were still standing upright, their faces had hard-to-conceal fatigue, sadness, and a trace of confusion about the aftermath of the disaster.
High Priest's footsteps paused slightly the moment he stepped onto the square. On his old and majestic face, his eyes as deep as the sea quickly scanned the mess around him, and finally landed on Sea Swallow Douluo and Sea Turtle Douluo who were coming forward.
Both of them bore traces of the battle. Sea Swallow Douluo's light blue Sacred Pillar robe was torn in many places and stained with dark blood. Their faces were slightly pale, but their eyes were still sharp, but something heavy seemed to be settling deep down.
Sea Turtle Douluo's Black Armor Sacred Turtle phantom has been put away, but his body's breath is full of indescribable fatigue and stagnation, and there are several deep claw marks on his huge body that have not yet been fully healed. He stands there silently, like a rock that has become even more silent after experiencing the impact of violent winds and rains.
High Priest's eyes searched behind the two people and beyond, but did not find the burly and violent dark golden figure that was expected to appear. His brows furrowed almost unnoticeably, and an ominous premonition quietly came to Entanglement's heart like a cold vine.
"High Priest!" Sea Swallow Douluo took a step forward and bowed, his voice carrying a deliberately suppressed sadness and a hint of hoarseness, "You are back. And Elder Mu, Coral Douluo, Conch Douluo, just be fine."
Sea Turtle Douluo also followed suit and bowed slowly without making a sound, but the huge, drooping head seemed a bit heavier.
High Priest did not respond to Sea Swallow's greetings. His gaze was like substance, firmly locked on Sea Swallow, and his voice was calm, but with a sense of depression about to come. "What's going on?" He pointed to the traces of the battlefield around him, and finally asked the most critical question, "Where is Crayfish Douluo?"
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Sea Swallow Douluo took a deep breath, raised his head, and met High Priest's gaze. His eyes showed strong grief, anger, pain and a trace of "self-blame" at the right time. He answered in a low and clear voice:
"Back to High Priest... Shortly after you left, a large-scale beast tide suddenly broke out in the deep sea direction. The scale was unprecedented. Among them were several Ferocious Beast leaders whose cultivation level was close to Hundred-Thousand-Year. Crayfish Douluo, myself, and Sea Turtle Douluo led the crowd to defend. Crayfish Douluo... He fought the most bravely, charging at the front, and alone blocked the most violent waves of the beast tide..."
He paused, as if suppressing his emotions, and continued, "... However, among the beasts, there are several extremely cunning and vicious Soul Beast who are good at spiritual assault and space penetration. They take advantage of Crayfish Douluo After fighting several Iron-Armored Dragon Turtle, the old wounds were slightly affected and the breath was stagnant. At the moment, he suddenly launched a sneak attack... Crayfish Douluo He... was caught off guard and was hit by several mental spikes and space cracking blades at the same time..."
Sea Swallow's voice was choked with sobs. He turned his face sideways, as if he couldn't bear to say any more, and just shook his head heavily. "... We... we couldn't rescue him in time... by the time Sea Turtle Douluo and I tried our best to kill the group of beasts and rushed over...Crayfish Douluo he... had... died from exhaustion... and his body... was completely... engulfed by the wave of violent beasts that followed..."
After speaking, he lowered his head deeply again, his shoulders shaking almost unnoticeably, vividly portraying the image of a "survivor" who had lost his colleagues, felt angry and blamed himself.
At this time, Sea Turtle Douluo, who had been silent next to him, slowly raised his huge head. His eyes, which were always half-closed and seemed indifferent to everything, were filled with a deep, almost substantive exhaustion and emptiness. His thick voice sounded, slow and calm, but every word struck people's hearts, with an almost self-destructive indifference:
"It was my dereliction of duty. As a defense system Sacred Pillar, I should have been the strongest shield to protect my colleagues. But at that time... the beast tide was too strong and there were too many gaps. I... was powerless. I couldn't... protect him."
He made no excuses or excuses, he just stated this "fact" with a tone that was so plain that it made people's hearts go cold, but because of its plainness, it also revealed a heaviness as if all thoughts were lost. It was as if Crayfish Douluo's death in battle had taken away the last bit of energy he had to excuse himself, leaving him with only the acceptance of fate.
There was deathly silence in the square. Only the sea breeze blew by, carrying a faint smell of blood and burnt food.
When Coral Douluo and Conch Douluo heard that Crayfish Douluo had fallen, they looked at each other subconsciously, and they both saw deep panic in each other's eyes.
Elder Mu Yun stood aside. As an outsider, he could clearly feel the heaviness, sadness, and a trace of... extremely subtle and indescribable weirdness permeating the air.
High Priest listened and watched quietly. He did not speak immediately, but his eyes became deeper, as if he wanted to see through Sea Swallow and Sea Turtle Douluo in front of him, and even the entire square.
He saw the sorrow and self-blame in Sea Swallow's eyes, and saw the almost numb posture of Sea Turtle Douluo. He also saw the remaining traces of the truly brutal battle on the surrounding battlefield, and felt the chaotic and violent aura of various powerful Sea Soul Beast that had not yet dissipated.
Many images flashed through High Priest's mind: the arrogance of Sea of Shipwrecks Kraken and the fall of Ye Yang, the cunning of the evil beast during the deep sea pursuit and the ambush of beasts arranged in advance, and... the reports of Sea Swallow and Sea Turtle Douluo in front of him.
Kraken...Kraken again! This beast wave must have been started by him! It was for revenge, for containment, and even... just to create this "accident"!
Finally, High Priest slowly closed his eyes and slowly opened them again. The confusion, pain, and anger tumbling in his eyes were finally forcibly suppressed, turning into a bottomless, heavy fatigue and a decision that a leader had to make.
He did not make any comments on the reports of Sea Swallow and Sea Turtle Douluo, nor did he investigate the so-called dereliction of duty. He just looked at the two people deeply with his eyes that seemed to be a little older. At one glance, the gaze seemed to carry Qian Jun's weight, making Sea Swallow's head hang even lower, making Sea Turtle Douluo's already heavy body seem to be even more rickety.
"That's all..." High Priest's voice was hoarse, with a hoarse tone of mental and physical exhaustion, "Soul Beast is brutal and the war is unpredictable... it's not your fault."
He paused, as if he had exhausted all his strength, before turning the topic to the most important matter at present. He turned his eyes to Mu Yun aside, and his tone became solemn again, but it was difficult to conceal the heaviness and urgency in it: