Douluo V: Taking advantage of Xiao Wu's naivety, I tricked her into becoming my wife.

Oscar swallowed hard and awkwardly withdrew his hand that had been about to help. "Um... we didn't mean to, we were just startled."

"Hmph, that's just how humans are." The parrot preened its downy feathers with its beak. "It thought I was an ordinary bird and tried to shoo me away."

"Now that you know my cultivation level, you immediately become very polite."

"You humans change your attitude faster than the weather in the far north."

Oscar remained silent in embarrassment.

"So, humans are terrifying; they change their tune depending on the wind and their attitude towards others."

"Not a trace of innocence!"

Viya, who was listening nearby, couldn't help but say, "It's as if all of us humans are bad people."

"We are afraid of soul beasts because you are too close to us. If you launch a sneak attack, we won't even have time to react."

"Hmm, I see," the parrot scoffed. "When you humans hunt spirit beasts and take their spirit rings, why don't you ever ask if we're scared?"

Viya was speechless and unable to refute.

The parrot paced on the rock, thinking, "The law of the jungle prevails, and this has remained unchanged since time immemorial."

"The weak deserve to live in fear; that's the rule of the world."

Oscar quickly tried to smooth things over, "No, no, no, we're not here to argue!"

"Teacher Ye has created the Soul Spirit System and has already begun to promote it."

"In the future, humans and soul beasts may truly be able to avoid fighting each other with swords and spears."

The parrot didn't retort after he said that.

It tilted its head and remained silent for a moment, its paws lightly scratching at the stone. "I know that, Old Bear mentioned it to me."

"Then why are you—" Oscar started to say, but was stopped by a glare from the parrot.

"I said humans are scary, not that the soul system is bad."

The parrot turned its head to look towards the deep pit, "I trust Lord Auspicious Beast."

"Auspicious beasts?" Oscar blinked. "What kind of soul beasts?"

"This... don't ask! Knowing too much won't do you any good!" The parrot realized it had let something slip.

At this moment, the ice on Shuiyue'er's hands finally melted.

She shook her numb fingertips, wanting to speak—

"Roar--!!!"

At the very front of the camp, a deafening bear howl erupted!

The howl was rapid and violent, full of warning!

The resting bears on the Arctic ice plains sprang up instantly!

The heavy body thudded and pounded, scattering snow and dust, even the fire was blown over by the wind pressure!

"What's wrong?!" Oscar drew his three-eyed ice and fire gun, his back tense.

His response was a series of roars echoing from the defensive line.

"Enemy attack!" Xue Tuan heard his companion shout. "Infected soul beasts are emerging from the pit!"

Before the words were even finished, the soul beasts corrupted by the abyss charged straight at them!

Leading the pack was an infected snow wolf, with protruding fangs and a ferocious face.

The snowball let out a low growl and charged straight at its opponent!

The bear's paw collided with the wolf's head, and the infected snow wolf was forcefully knocked back several feet!

But even more infected soul beasts surged out from the darkness.

"Shui Bing'er! Behind you!" Oscar hissed as he fired back the snow wolves that were lunging at Viya.

Shui Bing'er immediately turned around, and her Ice Phoenix Martial Soul appeared, freezing the attacker.

"Moon, do you still remember how to cooperate?"

"I remember!" Shui Yue'er nodded emphatically.

The sisters held hands, their souls connected.

The icy blue soul power converged, swirled, and merged.

Frost spreads, and water vapor condenses!

"Snowflakes are falling!!!"

The frost transformed into two intersecting, rotating arcs of light, bursting out in all directions!

The first infected soul beast that came into contact with it was frozen into an ice sculpture before it even had a chance to struggle!

Click.

A crisp cracking sound.

The infected soul beast was frozen and shattered into dust.

The remaining infected soul beasts were also slowed down by the frost!

"Great opportunity!" Oscar seized the chance to deliver the final blow.

The gunfire blasted the approaching infected beasts to pieces.

Snowball led the Icefield Bears to surround and encircle the remaining infected beasts, and they were quickly wiped out.

The parrots also joined the fray, flying high up and fanning up a biting cold wind.

Any infected soul beast that gets blown by the wind is reduced to nothing but a skeleton!

Oscar quickly walked over, and after confirming that his teammates were alright, he crouched down to check on them.

“These…” he frowned, “seem to be the group that escaped into the inner circle earlier.”

Viya also leaned in, "Are you sure?"

“Confirmed.” Oscar stood up, brushing the ice shards off his hands. “Those infected beasts on the outer edge of the core area have long been wiped out by the Allied Forces.”

"These are probably the ones who slipped through the net and are just barely surviving here."

"But this time, they specifically targeted gaps in the defenses, and they didn't have the crazy, reckless energy they used to have."

Upon hearing this, Shui Bing'er's expression turned serious. "Let's test the waters."

“Yes,” Oscar nodded, “they are testing where our weaknesses lie.”

"If I'm not mistaken, they might launch a surprise attack on our weak points early tomorrow morning!"

"That's when people are most tired and most relaxed!"

The campfire was reignited, its orange-red glow reflecting on everyone's faces.

After confirming there was no further threat, the ice bears returned to their positions.

Shuiyue rubbed her fingertips together. "So what do we do now?"

Oscar stared at the deep pit, the enormous depression in the night resembling a gaping, blood-red maw.

“Go back and report to Teacher Ye,” Oscar said, tucking the Three-Eyed Ice and Fire Gun back into his waistband. “This news cannot be delayed.”

The group hurried toward Ye Hua's tent.

But they didn't see that the parrot was standing on top of the tent, its beady eyes fixed on them.

Chapter 278 Fluorescent Amethyst! Morning Raid!

"It seems those abyssal creatures do have brains after all." Ye Hua put down his teacup.

"You've worked hard, go and rest first. I'll send someone to handle the warning matter immediately."

"In addition, we need to send people to survey the terrain and identify weak points that are easy to climb."

Everyone looked at each other.

"Is there anything else?" Ye Hua looked up.

Shui Bing'er pursed her lips, "Teacher Ye, leave the exploration to me!"

"Since the Soul Master Competition, I've had few opportunities to accumulate practical combat experience!"

"We can't just stay in the rear during this trip to the far north!"

Ye Hua saw the fire burning in her eyes and nodded slightly.

Shui Bing'er is calm, composed, and not impulsive; she is indeed trustworthy.

"Teacher Ye," Oscar quickly added, "I'm going too!"

"The exploration mission is important. The sooner we understand the terrain, the better we can set up defenses!"

"Moreover, I've spent a lot of time surveying and mapping routes over the past few years, so I have some experience."

“Alright, then you two go,” Ye Hua paused, “but don’t overexert yourselves, come back as soon as you’re done.”