At the Mountain Range, several thousand meters from the chaotic clash of armies, two enormous beings stood proudly, their piercing gazes fixed on the figure ahead.
"Old dog, I never thought you'd know I wouldn't start the battle at the agreed time!"
Michinaga of the Leopard Cats sounded somewhat surprised. He had thought he could catch Tōga off guard this time.
Yet when dawn broke and he launched the all-out assault, the Dog Tribe's army was already assembled and ready for battle.
"Hmph. A stupid cat like you shouldn't have thought of that. I suspect someone else couldn't wait!"
Tōga stood atop a mountain peak, coldly regarding Michinaga and the silent Flying Moth before him.
"It seems you know something?"
Flying Moth's eyes flickered. Their operation had been so secretive. How had Tōga found out?
He was utterly baffled.
"Where's Ryūkotsusei? Get out here already!"
Tōga did not answer his question. Instead, he scanned their surroundings, searching for Ryūkotsusei's hiding place.
He actually knows!?
Michinaga, Flying Moth, and Ryūkotsusei, who was hiding in the shadows, were all startled. This was not how their plan was supposed to go.
Their ambush had been exposed before it even began.
"Ryūkotsusei, I know you've returned. Come out! Stop skulking around like a coward!"
Tōga continued shouting, his voice carrying several hundred meters.
A powerful surge of demonic aura erupted from a mountain peak five hundred meters from Tōga, and Ryūkotsusei emerged in his true form.
"How did you know I'd returned?"
Looking at the calm, unruffled Tōga, Ryūkotsusei was genuinely puzzled. He had barely shown himself at all. Even Michinaga and Flying Moth had only learned of his return when he visited them in person.
Yet Tōga not only knew he had returned, but even knew he was hiding nearby.
"Were you the one who killed my subordinates, Red Evil Ogre and Qitian?"
Tōga stared coldly at Ryūkotsusei, inwardly grateful to Mingye. Without his warning, Tōga would have known nothing about Ryūkotsusei or the string of events that followed.
He would have been trapped in a desperate situation.
"You even know about that?! How is that possible!?"
Ryūkotsusei was shocked. He had killed those two little creatures within such a short span of time, and no one besides Setsuna no Takemaru had seen it.
How on earth had Tōga found out?
It was too bizarre!
This was the first time he had ever found Tōga so impossible to read.
Ryūkotsusei grew wary. Could Tōga have some powerful ally helping him?
"Good. Today, we'll settle every debt, old and new!"
Tōga's killing intent erupted, his voice as cold as winter. Red Evil Ogre and Qitian had followed him for years. They had always been his trusted generals, men he could even consider his brothers.
Now they had died at Ryūkotsusei's hands, without even their remains left behind.
Knowing that Ryūkotsusei was inextricably involved in this entire chain of schemes, Tōga now wanted to kill him even more fiercely than he wanted to kill Michinaga or Flying Moth!
"Hahaha! Tōga, no matter how you found out, you have no chance of winning against the three of us today!"
Ryūkotsusei laughed. Tōga's killing intent did not frighten him. His own desire to kill Tōga was hardly any weaker!
"That's right! Old dog, today you die!"
Michinaga nodded and spoke coldly. Regardless of how Tōga had discovered their plan, with the three Great Yokai joining forces, no yokai of the same rank could stand against them.
"Today, you'll pay for destroying my body all those years ago!"
Flying Moth's eyes were bloodshot. When he first came to this land, Tōga had blocked his path to supremacy and destroyed his Yokai Corpse. It had taken him nearly a hundred years to recover.
Flying Moth could never forget such a bitter grudge. Today was the perfect opportunity to kill Tōga.
At the thought, his body could not help trembling. It was excitement-the excitement of finally taking his revenge!
"Come, then! Today, we'll decide not only victory and defeat, but life and death!"
Tōga drew Tessaiga from his waist and Sōunga from his back. With both blades in hand, his aura surged like an unstoppable volcanic eruption, soaring into the heavens.
"Kill!"
Michinaga, Flying Moth, and Ryūkotsusei attacked together. Terrifying waves of energy shook the space around them, reducing everything in the air to wisps of smoke in an instant.
The sky changed. Thick black clouds gathered overhead, blocking the sunlight that had offered little warmth to begin with. Not even snowflakes could survive here.
The auras of the four Greater Yokai sent a shudder through the armies fighting several thousand meters away. Every yokai faltered for a moment. Their leaders had begun their battle!
"Three Great Yokai!?"
Sesshomaru's expression shifted slightly. He looked toward the battle between Tōga and Michinaga. Aside from his father, there were actually three Great Yokai auras!
What's going on? How can there be three Greater Yokai? Who's the other one besides Michinaga and Flying Moth!?
Sesshomaru was bewildered. The sudden appearance of another Great Yokai's aura alarmed him. This was a Great Yokai who should not have been involved in this war.
Why had another one appeared now?
"Hahaha! Sesshomaru, three Greater Yokai have joined forces against your father. His defeat is certain! Your Dog Tribe is going to lose!"
Donglan, who had revealed her true form, laughed wildly. Ryūkotsusei's appearance would surely come as a great shock to Tōga. Their Leopard Cat Tribe held an absolute advantage in this battle.
"Hmph!"
Sesshomaru's eyes turned blood-red, and his aura changed dramatically. Brilliant green light burst from his body, while a tremendous wave of force spread outward, as though driven by immense pressure.
An enormous, snow-white dog appeared. Sesshomaru had also revealed his true form.
Now, aside from the advantage he held in his own fight, his side was at a disadvantage both in the clash of armies and in the battle between the Greater Yokai.
Sesshomaru decided to stop holding back and finish off the Four Heavenly Kings of the Leopard Cats as quickly as possible!
Poison gas spread rapidly with the giant dog's appearance, even reaching the battling armies and killing Leopard Cats, moth yokai, and yokai from the Eastern Country along the way.
"Stop!"
Donglan's smile froze. She hurriedly unleashed her ice power, creating a frozen domain. Enormous walls of ice enclosed both Sesshomaru and herself, cutting off the spreading poison gas.
Sesshomaru had no intention of stopping. The poison gas surrounding him continued eating away at the rising ice walls. Then he stamped down hard, making the ground sink several inches.
Despite his enormous size, he was not slow in the slightest. He became a white blur as he charged toward Donglan, a sharp claw brimming with demon power honed to perfection crashing toward her with overwhelming force.
Donglan had barely formed the ice barrier and had yet to catch her breath when a massive shadow engulfed her. Her expression changed drastically, but she had nowhere to retreat!
Her younger brother, younger sisters, and fellow tribesmen were still outside. She could not retreat from this fight!
Donglan pushed her ice power to its limit, even drawing upon her own Demon Blood to meet Sesshomaru's powerful blow.
She sensed tremendous danger in that strike. She could only give it everything she had!
The two enormous beasts collided. After transforming into a giant dog, Sesshomaru had become far more savage than he was in human form, his attacks ferocious and utterly brutal.
Donglan blocked that strike, but Sesshomaru followed with a storm of furious blows, forcing her back again and again.
Bloody gashes appeared all over her body, and great patches of fur fell away. She was a wretched sight.
Even all Four Heavenly Kings together would struggle to withstand Sesshomaru at full strength, let alone Donglan by herself.
Donglan was defeated!
Her defeat was swift! And devastating!
Wounds covered her entire body. A large chunk of flesh had even been torn from her back by his fangs, and blood poured out without stopping!
She howled in pain as Sesshomaru relentlessly pursued her, utterly berserk!
She simply could not withstand Sesshomaru in his giant dog form!
There was nothing undeserved about her defeat!
Before you continue