The dark beasts arrived and surrounded the Wide Forest City in just a few weeks. There were tens of thousands of rank 12 dark beasts, thousands of rank 13 beasts, and even more than ten rank 14 beasts; there was even a rank 15 beast.
Facing such a terrifying lineup, the Wide Forest City had no choice but to abandon the outer city, where poorer mortals lived, and focus solely on the inner city, which had a very powerful defense formation. In the upcoming battle, even martial saints couldn't play a significant role. Only martial gods and soul cultivation practitioners in the Soul Body Realm and higher could contribute.
The city had around 2,000 martial gods, about 35 soul cultivators in the Soul Body Realm, and one in the Soul Nucleus Realm. Of the 2,000 martial gods, 1,100 were in the early stage, about 500 in the middle stage, 300 in the late stage, and 100 in the peak stage. Cultivation of the Martial God Realm requires an astonishing amount of resources, so it's not surprising that most were stuck in the early stage. In fact, the number of those in the mid, late, or peak stages has increased dramatically in recent times due to the abundance of resources and wealth in Wide Forest City.
As for Soul-Body cultivators, 10 were in the early stage, 15 in the mid-stage, 7 in the late stage, and 2 in the peak. The only Soul Nucleus Realm soul cultivator was Master Green, who was at the peak of his realm.
An early-stage martial god can fight on equal grounds with a rank 11 beast, but they are much weaker than even the weakest dark beasts surrounding the city. To match a rank 12 beast, at least ten early-stage martial gods must band together to barely resist. There is a big difference between the early and mid stages; one shouldn't underestimate the differences in power within a realm.
A mid-stage martial god can fight a rank 12 beast one-on-one, though the outcome of such a battle is uncertain. Generally, wild beasts are slightly weaker than human cultivators of the same realm, mainly because cultivators can use weapons and many magic spells. Of course, if the beast in question is intelligent or has a special bloodline, the calculation would be entirely different. Fortunately, the dark beasts around the city that are below rank 15 are all dumb, with no wisdom at all. They rely solely on their physical prowess and the orders of their commander, the rank 15 beast, which seems to possess intelligence comparable to that of humans.
A late-stage martial god can defeat a rank 12 beast without much trouble. They can even fight several rank 12 beasts simultaneously and still win. A peak martial god can easily kill a rank 12 beast in one move and can fight over ten at the same time. However, when facing a rank 13 beast, even peak martial gods can only flee. Not even ten peak martial gods together can seriously threaten a rank 13 beast. Perhaps if fifty martial gods worked together, they could injure it slightly, but they would most likely die or be exhausted before even scratching it. A rank 13 beast is as strong as a quasi-rank 7 mage, nearly a full realm stronger than a peak martial god, who is only as strong as a peak rank 6 mage. The difference between realms is as vast as heaven and earth.
One oddity about beasts is that there is no variation in strength within their ranks. A rank 12 beast will always possess the same level of power. There is no late-stage or peak rank 12. For beasts, the only way to advance is by moving up in rank; there is no division within a realm. All rank 12 beasts are as strong as a mid-stage martial god unless they have a special bloodline, high intelligence, or other unique circumstances.
An early-stage Soul Body Realm cultivator can survive against a rank 13 beast for a while. They are roughly as strong as a quasi-rank 7 mage, which is enough to defend against dark beasts who lack intelligence and rely solely on their physical abilities. A mid-stage Soul Body cultivator's power crosses a realm and is as strong as an early rank 7 mage, though still a weak one. Still, they could defeat rank 13 beasts without much difficulty.
A late-stage Soul Body cultivator can fight on equal ground with a rank 14 beast, while a peak Soul Body cultivator can take on a hundred rank 13 beasts at once. However, they can only fight at most three or four rank 14 beasts simultaneously. The peak of the Soul Body Realm is not much stronger than a rank 14 beast.
An early-stage Soul Nucleus cultivator is not much stronger than a peak-stage Soul Body cultivator. The only real difference lies in energy reserves. Against a rank 14 beast, an early Soul Nucleus cultivator can face 5-6 at the same time, a mid-stage Soul Nucleus can handle 10, and a late Soul Nucleus cultivator can face over 50. A peak Soul Nucleus cultivator can fight on equal terms with a rank 15 beast. But against a rank 16 beast, even a Soul Nucleus cultivator would perish. Only a Perfection Soul cultivator can fight a rank 16 beast on equal terms. The difference between rank 15 and rank 16 is qualitative and cannot be overcome with energy alone.
With this balance of power, Wide Forest City has a good chance of winning. There are many peak martial gods who can easily cut down rank 12 beasts, Soul Body cultivators who can handle rank 13 and 14 beasts, and Master Green can take on the rank 15 beast. However, human cultivators are often selfish; who would willingly risk their life? The dark beasts, on the other hand, are mindless. They have no concept of caution or retreat. The battle will be a fight to the death.
In battles among intelligent beings of high rank, both sides usually hold back. No one wants to die, nor do they want to sustain injuries that could hinder their future path. The beasts, however, know no caution. If it weren't for the strong defensive formation, many martial gods would have already fled.
Fortunately, Wide Forest City was wise and created a large defensive formation. With the formation, human cultivators could cast spells from within while hiding behind the barrier when the beasts attacked.
...
The beasts began closing in after surrounding the city from all sides. They trampled upon billions of mortals, destroying everything in the outer city.
A rank 13 beast, standing a few kilometers tall, didn't even see the humans, who were smaller than ants in comparison. These giant beasts aren't particularly interested in human flesh. They are too big to care. Their sheer size alone classifies them as walking disasters, capable of wiping out massive cities just by walking.
The only humans left outside were those nobody cared about: the poor, those without strong connections, mostly goblins, and a few beastmen. The wood elves had all retreated into the inner city.
The dark beasts advanced, intending to destroy the inner city just as they had the outer city. However, a bright green shield appeared and blocked them—it was the city's defensive formation. At full power, it shone bright green. As it sustained more damage, it would turn yellow, then orange, red, and finally black. Black signified the impending failure of the shield. The good news was that until it reached black, the formation could block all types of attacks: physical, magical, spiritual, aerial, and even underground assaults. But once it turned black, the shield would disappear entirely. It either provided absolute defense or none at all.
"Now!" a loud shout rang out as the beasts encircled the green shield.
Tens of thousands of human cultivators suddenly appeared within the formation, launching wide-area spells. There were martial gods, Soul Body practitioners, Nascent Soul practitioners, and even lower-level cultivators like martial saints, Martial Domain, and Radiation Realm practitioners. In battles among rank 12 and above, a martial saint or cultivators below their rank couldn't contribute much. However, being within the safety of the formation meant they weren't in danger, so there was no harm in using them. The formation had a magnifier function that could combine hundreds or thousands of weak attacks into one strong attack. The lower-level cultivators wouldn't be sent outside the formation, but they still had to contribute.
Tens of thousands of spells landed on the beasts. These wide-area spells harmed dozens, sometimes hundreds of beasts at a time. The concentration of beasts surrounding the shield was so high that the entire area around the green barrier was soon reduced to chaos. Some sections turned to molten lava, others into frozen wastelands. Poison, corrosion, and even void-like holes spread across the battlefield. Hundreds of beasts fell and died. Many of the stronger spells came from Soul Body cultivators, and their attacks shredded the rank 12 beasts to pieces.
The rank 15 beast, over 50 kilometers tall, watched coldly from behind, as though it didn't care about the deaths of its minions. Instead of ordering a retreat, it sent the remaining rank 14 beasts to join the battle. Thousands of beasts attacked the formation with all their might. Although the formation was strong, under such an intense barrage, its color began slowly shifting toward yellow.