Encirclement

The Abyss Stairs were not actual stairs, but a treacherous region formed by a series of enormous, nearly vertical undersea cliffs with tremendous drops between them. The dark seawater was carved into layer upon layer of bottomless "platforms" and "abysses." The currents were complex and ever-changing, with raging undercurrents. The cliff faces were riddled with holes and fissures, making them both excellent ambush points and deadly traps.

Led by the sixty-thousand-year Demon Whale, Jingtian's group avoided several abyssal nests emanating terrifying auras, crossed a dangerous region of frequent crustal activity where scorching magma occasionally erupted from cracks, and finally reached the edge of the area marked by the intelligence.

Before they even approached the core battlefield, the violent collisions of Soul Power, the muffled booms of exploding energy, and the furious, unyielding roars of the Deep Sea Demon Whale came rolling through the dense water from afar like dull thunder. Mixed in were the sounds of Demon Soul Great White Sharks slicing swiftly through the water, along with the calm—or cold—commands of the human soul masters.

Jingtian immediately signaled the group to stop. He intensified the effects of Guixu Assimilation, enveloping every member of his side, while pushing his senses to their limit. Like the most precise radar, his perception pierced through the complicated waters and terrain, scanning toward the source of the sounds.

The sight before him was more intense than he had expected—and more... sinister.

The battlefield lay at the bottom of a relatively broad V-shaped gorge between two massive undersea cliffs. The gorge narrowed above, allowing almost no light to penetrate. Only glowing minerals on the cliff walls and deep-sea creatures provided dim illumination.

At the bottom of that dark gorge, an exceptionally massive Deep Sea Demon Whale, dark gold bordering on black from head to tail and resembling a moving hill, was charging about madly! It was the eighty-three-thousand-year beast! Its body was covered in crisscrossing wounds. On its left side in particular was a huge tear through which bones glinting with faint golden light could nearly be seen! Blood gushed from numerous wounds like fountains, staining the surrounding seawater deep red.

Yet its ferocity had not diminished. Instead, pain and desperation had driven it completely wild! Every sweep of its tail raised terrifying undercurrents that sent loose stones raining from the gorge walls. Every blast from its mouth carried violent frost and water blades, forcing its enemies to keep their distance. Its fighting was utterly unstructured, yet filled with the mad resolve to perish together with its foes. Clearly, this was the "violent temperament and rich combat experience" described in Moyuan's intelligence.

However, its enemies were no easy opponents either.

Five human soul masters—three Soul Douluo and two Soul Saints—stood on several relatively safe protruding platforms high above the gorge, launching precise and lethal long-range attacks from above. One Soul Douluo wielding a massive blue bow, around level eighty-eight, was the main attacker. His arrows flashed like deadly blue light, each strike accurately targeting vital points such as the Dark Gold Demon Whale's wounds and eyes, forcing it to constantly expend Soul Power defending or evading. Another, a control-type Soul Douluo at level eighty-six, repeatedly released enormous blue energy Spider Webs in an attempt to entangle and restrain the Demon Whale. Though they were repeatedly torn apart by the Demon Whale's violent strength, they greatly slowed its speed and agility. The last, a defense-type Soul Douluo at level eighty-five, held up an enormous aqua shield of light, blocking the Demon Whale's occasional wide-range blasts and scattered rocks for his companions.

The two Soul Saints continuously cast support soul skills, speeding up their companions, enhancing their attack power, or releasing disruptive mental waves in an attempt to throw the Demon Whale's already crumbling mind into further disarray.

Eight Demon Soul Great White Sharks, led by a particularly enormous sixty-thousand-year-old leader with cunning, cruel eyes, had divided into two teams and darted through the gorge like elite hunting hounds. They did not clash head-on with the Demon Whale. Instead, they relied on speed and agility to launch repeated surprise attacks from its blind spots—beneath it or from its rear flanks—using sharp saw-like teeth to add new wounds to its body or attack its relatively vulnerable fins and eyes. Whenever the Demon Whale turned in fury, they scattered at once, allowing the other team to take over the harassment. Their tactics were executed with extreme proficiency. They had clearly been trained for a long time as a unit specialized in hunting large prey.

The Dark Gold Demon Whale possessed nothing but brute force and ferocity, yet it was completely restrained by its enemies. When it tried to charge up the cliffs and attack the soul masters, it was forced back by energy Spider Webs and arrows, all while needing to guard against the sharks that appeared and vanished below. When it tried to deal with the troublesome sharks first, the soul masters' long-range attacks left it unable to focus on both. Its injuries continued worsening, its Soul Power was being consumed at a frantic rate, and its room to maneuver was compressed step by step. It was like a prehistoric beast trapped in a snare. Though still terrifying, its defeat and death seemed only a matter of time. Its roars already carried a trace of exhausted frustration and a deeper, despairing rage.

"Master..." The sixty-thousand-year Demon Whale sent a thought filled with worry and urgency. It recognized the Dark Gold Demon Whale. It seemed to be a peer within its clan, one renowned for its bravery.

"The main attacker and controller must be dealt with first." Jingtian's cold thoughts rapidly analyzed the battlefield. The three Soul Douluo had clear roles, forming a perfect chain of long-range suppression. That chain had to be broken first! The sixty-thousand-year Demon Soul Great White Shark leader was no fool either, commanding the shark pack as easily as moving its own limbs. It was also a major threat.

"The plan." Jingtian's thoughts surged into the minds of the two Demon Whales behind him like battle orders, forming a brief but clear image of the fight.

"You—the sixty-thousand-year Demon Whale—charge from this position on the flank of the gorge. Create chaos and draw the attention of the sharks below and that defense-type Soul Douluo. Do not fight to the death. Just disrupt them."

"You—the seventy-thousand-year mother whale—take the Young Whale and hide at this position, the safer depression on the other side. Wait for my signal. Once the soul masters above are thrown into disarray, protect the child while using your strongest area-of-effect breath to cover that area." He indicated the cliff wall beneath the platforms where the soul masters stood. "Cause rockfalls and confusion, disrupt them, and create an opening for the one below."

"The target—the Dark Gold Demon Whale—I will handle it. Carry out your orders. Do not act on your own, and do not retreat."

Two firm, obedient waves of thought came in response.

"Move."

There was no more hesitation. Opportunities in battle vanished in an instant.

A trace of resolve flashed through the sixty-thousand-year Demon Whale's eyes. Its enormous body silently slipped free of the concealment field. Like a cannonball that had been building power for ages, it suddenly accelerated toward the position Jingtian had designated, charging with unstoppable momentum into a relatively narrow passage in the middle of the gorge! Two Demon Soul Great White Sharks were swimming there!

Boom—!

The sudden impact and the Demon Whale's roar instantly shattered the battlefield's original rhythm! The two Demon Soul Great White Sharks were caught completely off guard and sent reeling. One even slammed directly into the cliff wall, bones and tendons shattered! The sixty-thousand-year Demon Whale did not linger. It immediately twisted its body, whipping up violent undercurrents as it rampaged through the shark pack, while letting out a provocative roar toward the soul masters' platforms above!

"More reinforcements?!" "Another Demon Whale! Defend!" The soul masters above were startled. The defense-type Soul Douluo immediately turned his light shield, covering his companions while warily looking toward the impact. The shark pack below also fell into momentary turmoil. The sixty-thousand-year shark leader let out a sharp screech and immediately split off half the sharks, sending them at the newly appeared troublemaker.

The Dark Gold Demon Whale was also startled by the sudden change, but the fierce light in its eyes only intensified. Though it did not understand what was happening, the enemy's confusion was its opportunity! It roared and, ignoring its injuries, blasted a thicker and denser stream of frost breath than before toward the control-type Soul Douluo above!

"Hmph, a dying struggle!" The control-type Soul Douluo sneered, preparing to use a soul skill in response.

At the crucial moment when old and new chaos intertwined, and every enemy's attention was drawn to the sixty-thousand-year Demon Whale's ambush and the Dark Gold Demon Whale's counterattack—

"Dan-Devour—Triple Strike."

Hidden in the shadows of his original position, Jingtian's Ninth Tentacle glimmered with dim light at its tip. Three murky streams of light, more condensed, swifter, and more filled with killing intent than any before, shot out soundlessly as if transcending the limits of space!

His targets were not the three Soul Douluo. Their attention had indeed been diverted, but the instinctive defenses and Soul Power protection of Soul Douluo-level experts remained. They were also too far away; after crossing such a distance, Dan-Devour might not possess enough power to kill them instantly.

Jingtian's targets were the two Soul Saints standing at the edge of the platforms, wholly focused on supporting their companions and possessing comparatively weak defenses, as well as... the sixty-thousand-year Demon Soul Great White Shark leader, which was screeching as it directed the shark pack to split up, with most of its attention on the sixty-thousand-year Demon Whale!

To shoot the rider, shoot the horse first. To capture bandits, capture their leader first. Kill the support, and weaken the enemy's overall endurance and condition. Kill the shark pack's commander, and throw the sharks into chaos!

Pff! Pff! Pff!

Three faint sounds rang out almost simultaneously.

"Argh!"

The concentration on the two Soul Saints' faces instantly became extreme pain and bewilderment. Their support soul skills stopped abruptly. As if their spines had been pulled out, they crumpled limply, their Soul Power running wild as their life auras rapidly faded.

"Screech—?!"

The sixty-thousand-year Demon Soul Great White Shark leader had been pointing its tail fin toward the sixty-thousand-year Demon Whale. In the next instant, its massive body convulsed violently, and the cunning, cruel gleam in its eyes was instantly replaced by boundless terror and agony! It felt as though its soul and life core had been thrown into concentrated sulfuric acid, dissolving and corroding at a frantic pace! It let out half a shriek, its cry warping with misery, before rolling about in agony. The silver glow over its body rapidly dimmed, and its command over the other sharks was instantly severed.

Two supports down! The Shark King was heavily injured!

"What?!" "Careful! There's an ambush! It's that strange poison!" The three Soul Douluo above reacted at once, their expressions changing drastically! They finally realized that more than one Demon Whale had arrived! That bizarre attack, which had instantly robbed their companions of their combat strength, reminded them of certain unpleasant rumors!

But it was already too late.

"Now!" Jingtian's thoughts sounded like a charge horn as they reached the mother whale.

The seventy-thousand-year mother whale, hidden on the other side, had long been poised to strike! Upon receiving the order, she shot from the depression, carefully shielding the Young Whale behind her body. Then she unleashed a long-accumulated, wide-ranging high-pressure water cannon mixed with an ice-shard storm at the foundation of the cliff wall beneath the soul masters' platform!

Rumble—!!!

She did not attack the soul masters directly—the light shield would have blocked it—but struck the "foundation" beneath their feet! The battered cliff wall could no longer endure such a violent bombardment. Huge sections of rock cracked and collapsed, crashing down toward the platforms! Though the soul masters were not struck directly—they leaped away in time—the collapsing rocks and billowing clouds of sediment instantly swallowed that entire area. Their vision and senses were severely disrupted, and their formation was completely broken!

Though the Dark Gold Demon Whale did not understand exactly what had happened, its battle instincts were exceptionally sharp. It immediately seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! It stopped blasting upward and instead poured all its rage and strength into a full-force bodily charge, targeting the remaining shark pack, which had fallen into brief confusion after their leader was injured and the rockfall disrupted them!

Boom—!!!

Like a collapsing mountain, the Dark Gold Demon Whale's enormous body carried its final burst of violent power as it smashed into the shark pack! Two Demon Soul Great White Sharks that failed to evade were crushed on the spot, their bones and tendons shattered. Several others were flung away by the terrifying shockwave, and their formation completely collapsed!

"Retreat! Retreat now! The intelligence was wrong! There's more than one Demon Whale! And that strange thing too!" The Soul Douluo with the massive bow screamed sharply amid the dust and sand. He no longer cared about the mission and turned to flee this gorge, which had suddenly become a death trap.

The control-type and defense-type Soul Douluo also wanted to retreat, but the dust filled the area below, rocks continued falling, and their vision was unclear. For a moment, they panicked.

At that moment.

Within the dust and sediment, an enormous shadow deeper than darkness itself, radiating endless coldness and deathly stillness, appeared without warning ahead of their escape route like a nightmare rising from hell. It blocked the relatively broad exit at the top of the gorge.

Jingtian had cut off their path.

Nine tentacles slowly unfurled in the darkness. The black Ninth Tentacle, like Death's gaze, locked onto the three shaken Soul Douluo.

"Now you want to leave?" Jingtian's cold, indifferent thoughts, seeming to come from the deepest netherworld, pierced the terrified minds of the three like the sharpest ice spikes. "Don't you think... it's too late?"

Before his words had even faded, the Ninth Tentacle became a black flash of death, striking first at the giant-bow Soul Douluo, the greatest threat and the most panicked among them!

At the same time, the furious roar of the Dark Gold Demon Whale, the dying shrieks of the Demon Soul Great White Sharks, and the coordinating roars of the sixty-thousand-year Demon Whale rose from below.

The hunting ground of the Abyss Stairs had reversed attacker and defender in an instant.

And the one ending this hunt had already bared all his... venomous fangs.