Du Weilun: Your Takeout Has Arrived! Lord Bear: There's Such a Good Thing?

Inside Shrek Academy

Before Du Weilun stood one Soul King and ten Soul Elders.

He swept his gaze over them, his expression completely unchanged.

"The mission is simple. Enter the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest and find a six-year-old boy."

"Black hair, black eyes, recently awakened, Soul Power around level ten. Suspected to possess an evil dark-type Martial Soul. Once you find him, restrain him on the spot. Do not harm him. Bring him back."

Everyone answered in unison.

Du Weilun nodded. "Move out."

Meanwhile, within the Star Dou Forest.

Ever since Lu Yuan had proposed that plan, Lord Bear had begun taking action.

After all, there was nothing to do after waking up, and his paws had been itching. This was the perfect chance to have some fun.

Today, Lord Bear had brought a few youngsters to wander around the forest's edge and try their luck.

Soul Beast meat was a great tonic for human Soul Masters, but conversely, the Soul Power of human Soul Masters was also a delicious meal for Soul Beasts.

Lord Bear licked his lips as he sprawled across the horizontal branch of a giant tree, his claws resting on the edge of the trunk while he stared at the end of the path.

He had already caught the scent of human Soul Power.

There was more than one.

"Luck's not bad today. Enough for an extra meal."

Lord Bear grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp fangs.

At the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, the Soul King leader had already arrived with his men.

The group of eleven stood before the shadows of the trees. The leader looked up at the endless dark-green canopy and silently worked out a plan.

"Split into two groups of five and search with some distance between you."

"Restrain any suspicious children and bring them back for questioning. Drive off any Soul Beasts you encounter. Do not get drawn into a fight."

The ten Soul Elders responded and split into two groups, entering the forest from different directions.

What they failed to notice was that, the instant he entered the forest, a pair of massive bear eyes was watching him through the dense foliage.

The light in those eyes carried the patience unique to a predator.

About two hours after the first group of Soul Elders entered the forest, someone noticed something was wrong.

"Boss, there are footprints here."

A Soul Elder crouched down and pointed at a row of uneven marks in the mud.

"Bear paw prints?"

The one in charge walked over and glanced at them, frowning slightly. "What's so strange about bear paw prints?"

"But these are huge."

The man gestured at the size of the prints. Each was wider than his entire head.

"These were at least left by a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast of the bear type."

A Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

What would a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast be doing in the outskirts?

The man in charge fell silent for two seconds. "Keep moving. Stay alert."

But after walking for another quarter of an hour, all the bear tracks converged in a trampled clearing.

A colossal creature stood in the clearing.

Its enormous body stood a full fifteen meters tall, covered in dense, heavy dark-golden fur. Its arms were incredibly long, hanging down at its sides. For a creature of such enormous size, its arms actually extended beyond its knees.

They were also exceptionally thick. Most exaggerated of all were its shoulders, their muscles bulging like small hills.

Behind it crouched several slightly smaller but equally terrifying Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears, their golden claws flashing.

The leader's expression changed dramatically, and his mind went blank.

He recognized this kind of Soul Beast.

Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears were apex predators of the Star Dou Forest. The strongest among them could even grow beyond a hundred thousand years.

But such creatures almost never appeared in the outskirts. They were supposed to remain deep within the forest!

Before he could make sense of it, Lord Bear had already attacked.

Lord Bear pushed off with all four limbs, stomping a crater into the ground and sending dirt flying.

His enormous body charged into their midst at a speed utterly mismatched with his size, his right claw raised.

The dark-golden claw tips carved an arc through the last rays of sunlight.

The Soul Elder at the front did not even have time to cry out before he was smashed into the earth with a single swipe.

Lord Bear's claw tips deftly scooped the man up, stuffing him into his mouth before he could release a Soul Skill.

A crisp sound of bones cracking rang out.

The remaining four Soul Elders came to their senses and released their Soul Rings at the same time. Lights of different colors flared up. Two tried to widen the distance and unleash long-range Soul Skills, while the other two charged forward.

Lord Bear did not dodge. He stood still and let the Soul Skills slam into him. The collision of Soul Power produced dull, hollow booms, yet not even a single strand of fur was knocked from his body.

Lord Bear lowered his head and looked at his chest, then raised his eyes and grinned.

"Trying to scratch an itch?"

He took a step forward and swept his claw sideways.

The second Soul Elder was struck across the waist and sent flying into a tree. He hit it with a dull thud, slid to the ground, and did not move again.

Lord Bear turned around. Another Soul Elder was already pinned beneath his paw.

The Soul Elder desperately struggled as he released Soul Skills. White light struck Lord Bear's leg, but it did not even break the skin.

Lord Bear lowered his head and bit down, swallowing the man's upper body whole.

The remaining two Soul Elders finally remembered to run.

They turned and sprinted desperately toward their leader, shouting for help.

But to Lord Bear, they moved as though they had been slowed down.

Lord Bear instantly appeared behind the one at the rear. His claw tips pierced through the man's back and emerged from his chest, lifting his entire body into the air.

The other Soul Elder had run a few steps farther, but three dark-golden shadows landed before him.

Those smaller Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears had already circled around to the flank when Lord Bear attacked. Now, they surrounded the last living man.

The Soul Elder looked back and saw Lord Bear stuffing the man from his claws into his mouth, his cheeks swelling before flattening again.

His mind had completely fallen into chaos. He had no idea what to do.

The Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears pounced.

On the other side, the leader and the remaining Soul Elders received the same treatment.

Just as he was hesitating over whether to retreat, the ground at his feet split apart.

A Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear lunged directly at them, knocking two Soul Elders over at once.

The leader released his Martial Soul, but his legs would not stop shaking. "Y-you... don't come any closer!"

"I... I'm from Shrek Academy!"

"What are you? A Soul Beast of your level shouldn't be in the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest!"

Lord Bear let out an angry roar. "I can go wherever the hell I want! What do your human rules have to do with me?"

He raised a paw and slapped down. The leader was sent flying, crashing through two trees before finally stopping. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

It could speak? A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?!

How could it be here?

He struggled to get up, but his right leg was already broken, his knee bent at an unnatural angle.

Lord Bear walked over and looked down at him. "A human Soul King... should taste better than those Soul Elders."

The leader looked up at the pair of bear eyes larger than his body, his heart filled with despair.

Even as Lord Bear picked him up, the leader continued struggling. "You... the Star Dou Forest wants to start a war..."

"War?"

Lord Bear brought the leader to his mouth. "The war began long ago. It's just that you were the ones fighting us before. Now it's our turn."

After saying that, he tossed the leader into his mouth.

The clearing was a mess, strewn with torn clothing and severed limbs.

Several Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears crouched around the edge of the clearing, blood staining their claws as they growled lowly, as if fighting over something.

Lord Bear let out a satisfied belch, wiped his mouth, and shouted at the youngsters, "Alright, alright, stop fighting! The rest is yours. Finish eating, then get back and sleep!"

The young Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bears swarmed forward.

Lord Bear sat on a broken tree nearby, watching the youngsters gather together and tear into their meal. He narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.

He recalled what Lu Yuan had said beside the Lake of Life that day.

Back then, he had thought the kid was truly black-hearted, actually coming up with such an idea for members of his own human race.

But on second thought, Shrek's people had chased the kid down and nearly killed him. What was there to talk about, fellow race or not?

"This kid's idea... really fucking works."