The Record of Unusual Creatures

There was a strange phenomenon in Fort Raven and the nearby wilderness: the battlefield froze in motion with only the black tide moving slowly.

The Beast Tide had not only attracted the attention of the human soldiers but also stifled the monsters of Chaos and the black smoke columns, on the wasteland. Only a handful of scholars vaguely realized what happened: it was the suppressive power of the Light of Order.

The light that suddenly appeared on the horizon was an unadulterated Light of Order. It crossed the entire battlefield, and at this moment, was weakening the power of the storm of Chaos outside Fort Raven. Its range of influence was so broad that it even eclipsed that of the Spire of Flames on the top of the fort.

It was in such a strange and ‘silent’ way that the Beast Tide rose.

The Beast Tide consisted of millions of abhumans. It was a legion different from an army of the earthly world. It was also unlike the Order of the humans, the imposing manner of orcs, the splendor of elves, the might and grandeur of the Iceborn Giant, and even an army. Instead, it was the Beast Tide, like the normal tide rising and inundating the land slowly. The ridiculously diverse and savage races were marching forward. There were no banners and formation, only beast’s instinct and iron fists of the various chieftains to keep them going. Wherever this legion went, there was just chaos and disarray. However, the chaos and disarray sent a chill up everyone’s spine.

To the south of the Kingdom of Taros, across the wilderness south of Fort Raven, and then passing through a slope, there was the vast expanse of Black Forest. This forest was so full of dangers that even barbarians on the fringe of the kingdom did not dare to go deep into them. So only until today, the people of Taros suddenly woke up and found a powerful force was in the forests south of the kingdom.

If such a tide appeared before Fort Raven, it would have caused chaos and alarms that were no less severe than that of the attack of Chaos.

But today, the Beast Tide was coming with the Light of Order, in which every beast bathed in its glory. There was more than one leader in each herd. These leaders were wielding wands and wearing amulets of all kinds. These amulets were the divine items of Order that the humans wore, half of the Light of Order came from these celestial objects. With thousands of this light source connected, it formed a blind-spot-free, military-grade barrier of Order.

The dancing of the divine Light of Order with the ugly beasts was a sight that no one in the world could ever imagine.

Philip leaned on his big sword and seemed to have forgotten the pain on his body. For a moment, he even thought he was dead when he saw the strange phenomenon of the afterworld.

But soon he would know that what he was seeing was real; a scene that would be recorded as an epic.

The tide was still advancing. It had already passed through a boulder belt on the vast wasteland. The boulders were like a sand castle destroyed by the waves, disappearing silently and without a trace.

At the top of Fort Raven, an adjutant shouted, “General! General Ulysses! They are coming!”

The supreme ruler of Fort Raven, the head of the kingdom’s Blackblade Legion, Ulysses Ducahne stood in front of the window like an iron statue, holding a long sword, with no expression on his face. “I know.”

“They will drown Fort Raven!”

“I know.”

“Then we—”

“Then we will die.”

While it happened, the battle over Fort Raven had begun again. Just like the machine that gradually accelerated from a standstill, as more monsters of Chaos came out from the smoke, the soldiers who stuck in their daze started to wake up. The battlefield slowly ‘thawed’ from the strange frozen state, battle cries and explosions rose.

The Beast Tide was unstoppable although the battle had restarted.

It passed the Windy Stone Ring and slowly scaled and passed over the pebble beach of the wilderness, crossed the dry riverbed, over the yellow stone platform, and inundated Fort Raven’s former defenses, which had now become a ruin.

The Beast Tide finally slowed down. Ahead of them, the storm of Chaos was brewing. It was the battlefield of Chaos and Order. If the Beast Tide were to move on, it would have to get involved in the battle.

The Beast Tide paused for a moment. It seemed that some leaders had issued a command. So the demonic apes began to beat their animal-skin drums, and the mammoth monsters inflated their sacs to blow their heavy trombone, the elders of goblins swayed wildly the horrible long wand made of skull and thigh bone, and the thicket dreadfangs shilled when the lizardman riders whipped them. A terrifying sound almost blew the thick clouds of the sky away, and then the beasts began to charge at the monsters of Chaos.

But it was not the lizardman riding on the thicket dreadfangs first to arrive at the battlefield, but a light beam from a corner of the Beast Tide.

This light beam pierced through the darkness and exploded in the air over Fort Raven. Runes and silver lines began to spread from the blast center in all directions. Immediately, the light turned the hundreds of minions of Chaos into ashes.

This first strike stunned the defending soldiers of Fort Raven. Most of them had no idea what was going on. But the commanders and scholars and mages at the top of the fortress immediately knew the origin of the light.

“It is the high-order magic of the Sanctum monk!” Ulysses’ adviser, a bald, middle-aged scholar exclaimed. Even he dropped his staff. “It is the Seventh Level Divinatus – Heaven’s Strike! A Bishop-level sanctum monk is in the army!”

The lord of Fort Raven, who had just prepared to die on the battlefield, could not maintain his composure anymore. He stepped forward and asked his adviser, “Are you sure?”

“No one could fake magic. Your Excellency.” The scholar looked out the window. The second and third beam of light flashed over the fort, bursting out of a flash that was slightly less powerful than Heaven’s Strike earlier. No one could learn this magic, and except for this magic, no other magic or talent could produce this effect. The two beams of light—Holy Shock and Aurora—were fired concurrently; there was more than one sanctum sage!”

At this time, there was no need for explanation, as Ulysses cold already see the situation of the Beast Tide.

The Beast Tide had come under Fort Raven. At this distance, he could see many details.

In the vicinity of the Beast Tide’s “command center” (if there was one at all), a small group of people, which was entirely at odds with the surrounding atmosphere, continuously fired various magic attacks at the monsters of Chaos in the air or to cover the vanguard at the front. The costumes and power of this small group of people were particularly conspicuous: the sanctum people.

“They are from the Theocracy!” General Ulysses’ eyes almost popped out. “How do they end up here?”

Suddenly, a herald pushed open the door and shouted, “Your Excellency! They are helping us to fight the monster of Chaos!”

“I can see that they are fighting with the Chaos,” Ulysses shouted without looking at the herald. But he quickly realized the meaning behind the herald’s words. “Wait a minute. Are you sure those beasts are helping Fort Raven and not tearing down the fortress along with the Chaos?”

“That’s true, Your Excellency,” the herald panted. “Those beasts have formed a defense line outside the fort. They are getting into a formation to help us guard the vulnerable spots on the wall. And a dragon just landed on the West Tower; it said something.”

“What did it say?” Ulysses’ expression changed.

He had already seen a black dragon flying over the Beast Tide. As a knowledgeable noble, he could, of course, know that it was not an inferior viper but a real adult dragon.

Ulysses had no idea why a grand adult dragon joined the beasts, although the size of this group of beasts was incredibly large.

“It said…” The herald was stuttering for a while. But under Ulysses’ gaze, he continued, “It said, ‘The alpha decides to shield our fort, and wants us to prepare a pot of braised pork ribs immediately. When the battle ends, dedicate it to the alpha.”

“And then?”

“And then it flew away.”

Ulysses and his advisers and a group of commanders looked at each other dumbstruck.

“Anyone know what is braised pork ribs?” The famous “Southern Lion” squinted at his aides.

Everyone shook their heads.

The sound of explosions and battle cries were still coming from outside the fort.

The beast army was launching an unprecedentedly brutal battle with the monsters of Chaos. While the abhumans, eye red and wearing all kinds of ragged equipment, and the deformed minions of Chaos were in a melee, the powerful elemental creatures had launched a sea of fire and monster waves transforming the terrain outside the fort. Even the black dragon had returned to the battlefield and was now attacking a black smoke column in the air. The powerful breath of the dragon had produced huge fireballs on the smoke pillar.

Ulysses turned his head around and took the herald.

“Go! Go and ask around what braised pork ribs are?”

The herald nodded helplessly and quickly turned around. But Ulysses stopped him again. “Wait a minute!”

The herald turned his head around and did not know what to do.

Ulysses took a deep breath and said, “Go to the kitchen first.”