Starting with being handed over to the Imperial Concubine, building a family with a thousand-year hi

Without time to think, Duanmu Rong, accompanied by two Grandmaster-level experts, more than a dozen Innate-level masters, and dozens of elite members of the Duanmu family, hurried towards the east coast of Banana Leaf Island. Along the way, panicked islanders frequently rushed past, shouting "Sea monsters are coming!" The atmosphere on the entire east coast had become extremely tense.

A moment later, the group arrived at the east shore. There stood a steep cliff, and on one side of the cliff was a wide and gentle beach. At that moment, a group of huge crabs were breaking through the islanders' defenses and surging onto the beach.

These crabs were all enormous, several times larger than ordinary millstones. Their bodies were covered with shiny black shells, as hard as refined iron, gleaming with a cold metallic luster. Their two thick claws were as sharp as precious swords, making a crisp "crackling" sound when they opened and closed, as if they could easily cut through steel, making them look extremely ferocious.

On the side of the beach closer to the island, a thick stone wall rises from the ground. This stone wall was specially ordered to be built two months ago by Duanmu Rong after he noticed that the attacks by sea monsters and sea beasts were becoming more and more frequent. Its purpose was to resist the impact of sea monsters and sea beasts and protect the islanders and the stronghold of the Duanmu family.

Behind the stone wall, a large group of strong islanders, armed with bows and arrows, fired wildly at the crabs on the beach. Arrows rained down on the crabs, filling the air with the whooshing sound of arrows piercing the sky. In addition, the beach was covered with numerous traps and trenches filled with sharp logs and iron spikes, attempting to slow down the crabs' attack.

However, these defensive arrangements ultimately proved somewhat pale and powerless in the face of the well-cultivated sea monsters and sea beasts. Traps and trenches might be able to trap a few slow-moving sea crabs, but they could not stop the advance of large numbers of sea crabs, only slightly slowing their pace to the shore; and the arrows shot by the islanders, even though they were exceptionally sharp and could easily kill ordinary low-level sea monsters and sea beasts, could only make a crisp "clinking" sound when they hit the hard shells of these sea crabs, and were then bounced away without leaving a trace.

Only the large crossbows mounted on the top of the stone wall could fire thick bolts with tremendous force, barely piercing the crab's shell, causing it to crack or even pierce through it. Occasionally, they could kill a crab, but such lethality was still a drop in the ocean in the face of the endless stream of crabs.

Behind the stone wall, the islanders' faces were filled with fear and anxiety. Their bows and arrows never stopped, but as more and more crabs surged onto the beach and approached the stone wall, many of them had already shown despair in their eyes.

Just then, someone caught sight of Duanmu Rong and his group and immediately shouted, their voices filled with surprise and hope: "It's Patriarch Duanmu! Patriarch Duanmu is here! We're saved!"

This shout instantly shattered the atmosphere of despair on the beach. A large number of islanders turned to look, and when they saw Duanmu Rong and the family elites behind him, their faces showed relief at surviving the ordeal, and their archery movements became more powerful.

"That eunuch who suddenly appeared and has now been appointed as the Imperial Preceptor by the Great Qian Emperor, his ability to kill my uncle on the day of the sacrificial ceremony was definitely not just good luck!"

Involuntarily, the image of his uncle Duanmu Ping appeared in Duanmu Rong's mind. Then, the images of the Duanmu family members who had died in the inland areas flashed through his mind. A deep sorrow gripped his heart, and his eyes involuntarily reddened.

If I hadn't been blinded by greed and decided to collude with the Divine Judgment Organization in an attempt to get a share of the pie from the Great Qian Empire, I wouldn't be in this situation today—my uncle died tragically, my clan suffered heavy casualties, and my family's power plummeted. It was truly a case of one wrong step leading to no return, a complete catastrophe!

What path should they take from here? Should they continue to lie low on Banana Leaf Island and wait for the situation to change, or should they seek another patron? Duanmu Rong stood frozen in the room, his brows furrowed, his heart filled with confusion and anxiety. Looking out at the vast sea, he felt a profound sense of powerlessness for the first time towards himself and the future of the entire Duanmu family.

Just as he was feeling unsettled and his thoughts were in turmoil, a series of hurried footsteps pierced his ears. A burly man from the Duanmu family, covered in seawater and mud, stumbled in, his face pale and his voice trembling, and reported: "Master! Something terrible has happened! The East Island is being fiercely attacked by a group of sea beasts, and the clansmen and islanders on the island are about to be overwhelmed!"

"What a flustered and disorderly manner!" Duanmu Rong snapped back to reality, suppressing his grief and confusion, and coldly reprimanded him. He then turned and strode towards the door. "Lead the way, I'll go see!"

In recent months, Banana Leaf Island has been repeatedly attacked by sea monsters and sea beasts, which is nothing new. Duanmu Rong has long been accustomed to it. However, each attack brings considerable casualties and losses to the island's inhabitants and the Duanmu family.

He was secretly surprised. In the past, those sea monsters and beasts that had cultivated inner cores always lived deep in the sea and rarely approached islands near the inland, much less frequently came ashore to cause trouble. But since when did these sea creatures seem to have been disturbed by some force, their temperaments changed drastically, and they frequently came ashore to cause trouble, as if they wanted to completely devour the island.

Without time to investigate the reasons, Duanmu Rong, accompanied by two Grandmaster-level experts, more than a dozen Innate-level masters, and dozens of elite members of the Duanmu family, sped towards the east coast of Banana Leaf Island. Along the way, panicked islanders frequently ran past, crying out, "Sea monsters are coming! Run!" The air on the entire east coast was filled with an atmosphere of fear and tension.

In a short while, the group arrived at the east shore. There stood a steep cliff, and on one side of the cliff was a wide, flat beach. At that moment, a group of huge crabs broke through the islanders' defenses and surged toward the shore in an endless stream, leaving the sand pitted and uneven in their wake.

These crabs were all enormous, larger than an ordinary round table. Their bodies were covered with jet-black shells, as hard as refined iron, with a cold, metallic sheen. Their two thick claws were as sharp as swords, making a piercing "crackling" sound as they opened and closed, as if they could easily cut through steel. They looked extremely ferocious and intimidating.

On the side of the beach closer to the island, a thick stone wall stands majestically. This stone wall was built two months ago when Duanmu Rong noticed that the attacks by sea monsters and beasts were becoming more and more frequent. Fearing that the island would fall, he specially ordered the islanders to build it. The purpose was to resist the impact of sea monsters and beasts and protect the islanders and the stronghold of the Duanmu family.