Outside Donghai City.
Countless sea beasts had surrounded Donghai City, packed layer upon layer, with countless more in the sea.
Seawater poured in, turning large areas of land outside the city into lakes where sea beasts swam.
Roar!
Innumerable sea beasts leaped from the water, roaring towards the sky.
Screech!
Seabirds also filled the sky, casting vast shadows.
The entire area outside the city was dominated by sea beasts, a dark mass whose numbers were impossible to discern.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, another massive roar echoed.
Innumerable attacks followed.
Various colored lights illuminated the sky, with countless skill effects obscuring everything.
Within this chaos, Donghai City was like a small boat on a vast ocean, tossing precariously, seemingly on the verge of destruction.
Fortunately, the formation was holding up. The incoming attacks merely made the formation tremble but did not break it.
At this moment, a middle-aged man clad in armor, wielding a long spear, with a fair, beardless face stood on the city wall.
This person was none other than the Lord of Donghai City!
The Lord of Donghai City, named Fang Jin, was a ninth-tier expert.
After the Battle of Guixu, he had returned without delay. He had barely been back for a short time when he was suddenly attacked by sea beasts.
He stood on the city wall, his face grim as he gazed out at the besieging horde.
Someone asked, "My Lord, what shall we do now?"
"Yes, the city's formation is about to give out!"
Everyone was anxious. Donghai City had stood on the shores of the East Sea for three hundred years without falling, and now it faced an existential crisis. Their hearts were filled with worry and fear.
Fang Jin glanced at them and said, "Why the hurry? They are almost here!"
The "they" he referred to were naturally Fuyaozi and the others.
Hearing this, the crowd felt slightly reassured, but as they looked out, no reinforcements were in sight. They feared they would not be able to hold out until then.
Fang Jin also felt helpless. It was not the time to scold them; fear was a natural human emotion. However, as long as he did not falter, these people would not dare to retreat.
Therefore, he remained on the city wall, like a flagpole, setting an example for everyone and calmly and persistently directing the defense.
The hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Donghai City unleashed wave after wave of attacks towards the sea beasts.
Instantly, countless sea beasts perished, but in their place, more sea beasts emerged from the ocean, filling the void.
This sight filled them with despair. The ocean was vast, its secrets too numerous, and they understood it so little.
Even before the Great Cataclysm, their understanding of the ocean had been superficial. Now, with the ocean expanded a thousandfold, it had become even more mysterious and unfathomable.
"Kill!"
Fang Jin shouted, condensing a massive flame and hurling it towards the sea beasts.
Everyone followed suit, and a new wave of attack and defense began.
Rumble!
The result was a more ferocious counterattack from the enemy.
The formation trembled, appearing on the verge of collapse.
This only intensified the humans' anxiety.
"Why haven't the reinforcements arrived yet?"
"Didn't they say Fuyaozi himself was coming with reinforcements? Why isn't he here?"
"And why haven't the Three Immortal Cities sent any help?"
"I'm so angry! The sea beasts are attacking again, their numbers are simply too great."
"We can't kill them all! As soon as we finish one wave, another appears."
"The sea beasts are relentless in their desire to destroy us. I'll give my all today and fight on the city walls!"
"..."
The citizens' emotions were varied; some were terrified, some were preparing escape routes, while others were indignant and eager to join the fight.
This was understandable, as soldiers' courage was often cultivated.
No one was born fearless, but a good atmosphere was essential. Thus, it wasn't long before people began to establish order to prevent incitement.
However, while the city appeared calm on the surface, undercurrents were stirring. Numerous wicked forces emerged, targeting the vulnerable, breaking into their homes, killing them, and plundering their belongings.
Due to the defense against the sea beasts, law enforcement personnel were severely undermanned. As a result, their response to these incidents was slow, and they even failed to mete out punishments.
Seeing that the perpetrators of these crimes went unpunished, the evil in many hearts began to grow.
If murder and robbery incur no punishment, then we shall do the same!
Consequently, thousands of people followed suit, plunging entire districts into chaos.
This was the broken window effect, a manifestation of herd mentality. When people realized that committing evil acts would go unpunished, they emulated one another.
By the time they started to take it seriously, hundreds of lives had already been lost, and thousands of families had been shattered.
The city was in turmoil!
Upon learning of this, the City Lord was enraged.
He stood on the city wall and roared, "Seize these loafers and sweep them all away, leave none behind!"
"Yes!"
Stomp, stomp, stomp!
His personal guards immediately marched into the city.
With insufficient defensive personnel, he had no choice but to deploy his personal guard. Though their numbers were few, their strength was immense.
Fang Jin was confident that they would handle the situation.
"Kill!"
He roared, his voice hoarse.
Having experienced the Battle of Guixu, his state of mind had undergone a breakthrough.
Facing life and death, there were no other thoughts, only combat.
For he understood that between life and death lay great terror, but also great opportunity. As a ninth-tier expert, he harbored aspirations for further advancement.
And life and death, for him, might well be an opportunity.
He looked out at the countless sea beasts, their heads raised, roaring at the sky.
Suddenly.
The adjutant exclaimed in alarm, "Not good, City Lord, please retreat! Something is happening in the sea. It's likely the mastermind has arrived!"
Fang Jin raised his hand to stop him. "It's fine. I want to see what these mastermind sea creatures look like."
Sea beasts were ferocious beasts with limited intelligence. But what was happening now was clearly not their doing. Behind them, there must be the shadow of some alien race from the sea.
At this moment.
In the East Sea.
Waves churned incessantly.
Suddenly, the sea surface began to undulate violently, and large expanses of water were pushed upwards.
Roar!
A colossal whale emerged from the sea.
Seeing this whale, everyone was stunned.
It was too enormous!
It blotted out the sky, casting a shadow that obscured sunlight for miles around.
From the city walls, one could not discern its full size.
"Could this be the mastermind sea race?" someone speculated.
At this moment, the whale roared, then flew from the sea into the air, showering down a torrent of water like a waterfall.
"Look, isn't there a shadow standing on the whale's head?"
Upon hearing this, people looked closely and indeed saw a shadow.
The shadow was not large, but with their excellent vision, they could still make out that it was a humanoid monster.
Some were awakened individuals with ocular abilities and clearly saw the monster's appearance.
The creature had tentacles growing from its head, and its eyes, as large as copper bells, occupied a quarter of its face.
"It's a deep-sea鲛人!"
"Deep-sea 鲛人 are different from shallow-sea 鲛人. They are monstrous and terrifying in appearance and incredibly powerful. In the sea, they are like royalty."
"The mastermind is a deep-sea 鲛人? Don't they have no interest in the land?"
"Could they have lost a war in the sea?"
"Impossible! They are a formidable race in the sea. Who could defeat them!"
"Not good! That deep-sea 鲛人 is controlling the giant whale and charging towards Donghai City!"
"..."