The dense mist of Star Dou Forest coiled like silent serpents between the ancient trees, their roots twisting like grasping hands through damp soil. The sunlight had dimmed into pale shafts breaking through the canopy, filtered by layers of green. The rustling of leaves above masked faint movements — prey and predator shifting alike in the underbrush.
Li Wei stepped forward with careful rhythm, boots soft against the moss-covered floor. Every breath was controlled, every footfall deliberate. This was no longer the calm retreat they had planned. Something had shifted.
"Everyone," Zhao Wuji's low voice rumbled behind them, "stay sharp."
The Shrek students instinctively tightened formation. Tang San and Xiao Wu took the front left, their movements almost mirrored. Zhu Zhuqing flanked to the right, silent as a shadow. Oscar looking toward the right and left rapidly afraid that spirit beast will jump out suddenly. Dai Mubai's golden pupils gleamed as he glanced toward the foliage ahead.
Li Wei, at the center, scanned the thickets with narrowed eyes. His fingers rested on the Diendriver at his waist that he manifest for what if and that what if is bearing fruit. He didn't need Spirit Detection to sense it — he can felt it, something was circling them.
He turned slightly whispering with voice high enough for others to pick up. "Three, maybe four. One large… others smaller, fast. Coordinated."
Tang San nodded without a word, releasing a handful of Blue Silver Grass that slithered outward to anchor onto nearby trees. The threads vibrated faintly, and he whispered, "You're right. They're closing in on us."
Then the attack came — not from the front, but from above.
A silver blur shot from the canopy, talons gleaming. Zhu Zhuqing reacted instantly, vanishing into black mist as the creature crashed into the spot where she had stood in. Its wings fanned outward — a Wind Razor Hawk, its body nearly three meters long. Spirit Beast, approximately 800 years old, Li Wei estimated.
Before it could turn, Dai Mubai let loose a roar, golden light erupting as his White Tiger Body Enhancement activated. With a feral step, he dashed forward, claws gleaming with condensed spirit power. His strike collided with the hawk's wing, forcing it to recoil with a screech.
Two smaller beasts darted in next — agile, four-legged shapes that flanked from either side. Shadowclaw Lynxes, judging by their speed and movement. Zhu Zhuqing intercepted one, vanishing again and reappearing behind it with twin claws slashing in an X-shaped strike. The lynx cried out but wasn't downed.
"Too many to hold back without risking injury," Li Wei muttered. His eyes flicked to Oscar, who was already backing up toward Zhao Wuji.
"Teacher Zhao?" Li Wei asked, voice calm but firm.
Zhao Wuji's massive arms were crossed. "I'll step in if someone's dying. Otherwise— you guys handle it yourself."
Li Wei didn't hesitate. He raised his Diendriver.
[KamenRide: Diend!]
The green holographic ring spun before him. Cards scattered through the air like shattering glass. In the next breath, Li Wei was clad in Diend's blue armor, sleek and sharp-edged. His visor glowed as if reading the battlefield in layers.
Speed. Focus. Clarity. He felt the surge of enhancement fill all his limbs.
"Let's test their instincts," he murmured.
He drew a card from his belt and slipped it into the Diendriver side slot.
[KamenRide: Faiz!]
The card flared as he shoot toward the front as a translucent card shape blue beam form beside him, and from it stepped a glowing figure clad in black and crimson armor — Kamen Rider Faiz in his base form. Sparks shimmered along his body. Faiz wasted no time, firing a crimson burst from his Phone Blaster directly into the charging lynx. It yelped as the energy hit, giving Zhu Zhuqing a second opening to finish it with a precise neck strike.
Li Wei spun and raised his Diendriver again.
[AttackRide: CrossAttack]
Two translucent cards formed mid-air, flipping forward as if summoned by thought. With a whirl of blue light, Kamen Rider Blade and Kamen Rider Ryuki appeared behind him. Their eyes flared. In perfect synchronicity, both leapt forward, executing their finishers.
Blade's energy slash carved a blazing arc through the Wind Razor Hawk's shoulder. Ryuki's mirrored dragon form burst forth, crashing into the second lynx and hurling it into a tree.
The beasts screamed — wounded, but not yet defeated.
Li Wei shifted again, reaching for another card.
[BuffRide: Kabuto!]
He fired the bolt directly at Zhu Zhuqing, the energy striking her chest like a spark of lightning.
Clock Up.
To her credit, she adapted instantly. Her already blinding speed surged into a new realm. She vanished, and the lynx didn't even have time to react before a claw tore through its spine.
Dai Mubai took a hit to his arm from the hawk's talons, but he powered through, golden spirit power erupting in a wave to throw it back. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass latched onto its wounded wing, pulling it downward.
"Li Wei!" Tang San called out. "Now!"
He didn't hesitate. Another card flicked into place.
[Final AttackRide: Di... Di... Diend!]
The Diendriver flared violently. Nine holographic rings burst forth before him, each bearing the image of a different Heisei Rider. As the energy gathered into his weapon, Li Wei steadied his aim.
"Dimension Shoot."
A green-black beam surged forth, piercing through the card rings. Each one amplified its force, shaping it into a massive stream of destruction. The Wind Razor Hawk didn't even have time to screech before the beam engulfed it. It vanished into the foliage with a thunderous explosion, leaves torn from the trees in a storm of force.
Silence fell for a heartbeat.
Then a rustle. A growl.
Zhao Wuji's brow furrowed. "Another one."
Li Wei turned. His visor dimmed and dissolved as the transformation wore off.
From the shadows emerged a beast easily five meters long, dark red fur bristling with heat. Flames danced between its claws.
"Flame-Fanged Ground Tiger," Oscar whispered, pale. "That one's at least one thousand five hundred years!"
Zhao Wuji's expression hardened. He didn't move, but his eyes were locked on the beast. Ready to take action if they cannot handle it. Usually he will not let his student dare to handle this type of spirit beast but he then look at Li Wei, Shrek has true monster right now.
Li Wei inhaled slowly. "Now the real battle begins."