"Everyone out of the tents, now!"
Zhao Wuji's unusually deep roar pierced the night's stillness, jolting the soundly sleeping Shrek group awake in their tents.
Lin Kong and the others dared not delay for even a moment. They scrambled out of the tents almost on all fours and quickly gathered behind Zhao Wuji, warily surveying their surroundings.
Lin Kong's face was taut. "A powerful enemy?"
Zhao Wuji did not answer directly. His gaze remained locked on the dense forest ahead, his voice carrying an unprecedented gravity. "If things go wrong in a moment, don't worry about me. Run straight out of the forest, as far as you can!"
Lin Kong knitted his brows, immediately seizing on the crucial point. "If they're dead set on hunting us down, can we escape with our speed?"
Zhao Wuji forced a bitter smile and shook his head. "If they're hunting anyone down, it'll be me."
At those words, everyone understood.
Soul Beasts hunted Soul Masters for the nourishment of their Soul Power. These youngsters, whose strongest was only a Soul Elder, had meager Soul Power. How could it compare to the rich, enticing Soul Power of a Soul Saint like Zhao Wuji? If a fight really broke out, as long as the enemy could take down Zhao Wuji, it would not care about small fry like them.
"Understood!" Lin Kong made his decision at once, sharply raising a hand and ordering coldly, "Everyone, keep low and back away slowly!"
They looked at one another, hesitation and tension written all over their faces. Not one dared take the first step.
"Fucking idiots!" Lin Kong cursed under his breath. Not bothering to waste more words, he tugged Oscar with his right hand and grabbed Zhu Zhuqing's upper arm with his left. "We're backing off!" he said in a low voice.
Conflict flickered in Oscar's eyes for a moment. Finally, he gritted his teeth and shuffled backward after Lin Kong.
Zhu Zhuqing glanced down at the hand gripping her upper arm. She could clearly feel the warmth of his fingertips. Biting her lip lightly, she did not pull free and likewise chose to retreat.
Dai Mubai stood where he was, watching this somewhat intimate contact between Lin Kong and Zhu Zhuqing. Yet he felt none of his usual irritation or anger. Instead, he was remarkably calm. Perhaps with life and death looming, those tangled romantic feelings had already become too insignificant to mention.
With Lin Kong taking the lead, the others came to their senses as well. One by one, they crept cautiously backward, not daring to breathe loudly.
Watching their retreating figures, Zhao Wuji gave a bleak smile of relief. He drew a deep breath and stepped forward, Soul Power silently surging around him as his blazing eyes fixed on the darkness ahead.
He was their teacher, the guardian of these children. Dying for them was not something he could not accept.
Lin Kong had made the right choice.
They were still young, with bright futures ahead of them. They had to live.
A figure that blotted out the sky slowly entered their sight. It needed no further movement. Its mere appearance pressed down on their hearts like a towering mountain, robbing everyone from Shrek of any ability to react.
It was a bone-deep terror born of life's very instincts!
Under that terror, everyone sank into deathly silent numbness.
Only Lin Kong's eyes remained clear, without a trace of fear or numbness. Gazing at the colossal creature, he spoke in a cold, utterly emotionless voice, enunciating every word. "The King of the Forest, the Titan Giant Ape."
Those words were like a thunderclap, splitting the fearful gloom hanging over their heads. The others from Shrek abruptly came to their senses, their stiff bodies finally managing to move a little.
Zhao Wuji bent at the waist with difficulty and bowed respectfully to the Titan Giant Ape-the humblest gesture of goodwill a weakling could offer before an absolute powerhouse. Struggling to keep his voice from trembling, he pleaded, "Honored King of the Forest, we have no intention of trespassing on your territory. We can leave immediately and never set foot here again!"
The Titan Giant Ape did not answer. Its choice was simple and brutal.
It merely took one slow step forward.
That single step crossed several meters. Its enormous shadow engulfed the entire clearing, leaving it mere inches from the Shrek group!
Faced with a crisis of life and death, life's instincts offered only three choices: flight, numbness, or battle.
The stage of numbness had already passed.
Now, only flight and battle remained!
"Roar!"
A deafening, furious bear roar resounded through the forest. Without hesitation, Zhao Wuji activated his Seventh Soul Skill. His body shot upward at a visible pace, reaching seven or eight meters tall in an instant. Thick vajra bear fur covered him as he transformed into a true Great Strength Vajra Bear. Facing the Titan Giant Ape's oppressive might, he charged without looking back, staking his life on a struggle with no chance of victory.
"Lin Kong! Run, all of you!"
Those were Zhao Wuji's last words to them, filled with the resolve of one who had smashed his cauldrons and sunk his boats.
Thud!
The Titan Giant Ape took its second step forward.
This step was no longer as unremarkable as the first. The instant its foot struck the ground, a terrifying gale exploded out of nowhere. Like an invisible tidal wave, it slammed into Zhao Wuji, forcibly halting his charge. His enormous body froze where it stood, unable to advance or retreat, as though an invisible hand had imprisoned him.
The gale howled past Zhao Wuji and swept toward the others behind him. Lin Kong felt as though sharp blades were scraping across his skin. It burned with pain, as if it would be torn apart in the next second.
"Fuck!"
Lin Kong suddenly burst out cursing. Gripping Oscar's and Zhu Zhuqing's arms, he mustered every ounce of strength and flung them backward, throwing them far away. He himself turned and charged toward the Titan Giant Ape, roaring as he ran, "I'll fight you to the death, motherfucker!"
A second ago, he had been the one leading their bowed retreat; now, he had become the first to charge into the abyss.
"Fuck!" Dai Mubai roared and followed right behind him. His Evil Eye White Tiger Martial Soul possessed him, and he activated his Third Soul Skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation. Muscles bulging, he charged toward the Titan Giant Ape with everything he had.
"There's no escape..." Ning Rongrong murmured in despair, yet a determined light suddenly blazed in her eyes. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda quietly appeared in her palm, two yellow Soul Rings shining brilliantly.
"Aah!" Evil Fire burned wildly over Ma Hongjun, the searing flames almost swallowing his body. He opened his mouth and spat out a thick stream of fire. The flames crackled as they scorched the air, and he staggered toward the Titan Giant Ape while continuing to breathe fire.
Flung away by Lin Kong, Oscar hit the ground hard. He struggled to his feet and turned his back on the terrifying beast, muttering his soul incantation as sausage after sausage appeared in an unending stream.
Should I still hand them out to the others?
Forget it...
Before absolute power, they were all mere ants that would be killed in a single blow. No matter how many sausages he made, they would be no more than a cup of water against a blazing cartload of firewood.
Zhu Zhuqing became a black shadow, sweeping past Lin Kong like a phantom. She left only a soft whisper that drifted into his ears on the wind. "Thank you!"
At Tang San's feet, stalk after stalk of Blue Silver Grass burst wildly from the earth. Their vines spread like a tide toward the Titan Giant Ape, only to be shredded by the gale.
Xiao Wu alone stood rooted to the spot as though all her strength had been drained away. Her empty eyes stared at the Titan Giant Ape, her whole body trembling slightly as she remained motionless.
The Titan Giant Ape watched the resistance of these ants without sorrow or joy. It slowly raised its enormous fist, then smashed it viciously into the ground!
Boom!
A tremendous crash rang out, and the earth shook!
Dense, spiderweb-like cracks split the ground, spreading hideously beneath the Shrek group's feet. Then air erupted from the fissures like a volcanic explosion, violently sweeping everyone into the air.
Zhao Wuji had the easiest time of them all. With his Martial Soul Avatar activated, his strength had risen to its limit. Combined with Ning Rongrong's enhancement, it allowed him to force his way through the restraining currents and charge right up to the Titan Giant Ape.
The next second, he was like a cannonball fired from a cannon, flying backward the same way he had charged in.
This was the strength of the King of the Forest, the Titan Giant Ape.
Absolute, unrivaled power.