Kamikaze Corps

After crossing the border between the cat and dog territories, the leopard cats slowly came to a halt in the woods near the clearing at the foot of the Dog Tribe's outpost.

All was quiet around them, save for the occasional breeze rustling the leaves.

Winter Gale, who had signaled the halt, turned her gaze gently to her side.

Spring Gale was concentrating fully on maintaining the White Mist Barrier. Beads of sweat had already formed on her small forehead, glimmering faintly like tiny crystals in the dim light.

Concern stirred in Winter Gale's heart, and she asked softly, "How are you holding up? Can you keep going?"

At her question, Spring Gale slowly exhaled, her little face sweet and serene.

A distance of ten kilometers would barely have taxed even a low-level leopard cat, much less an intermediate-level one like her.

But maintaining this barrier while leading more than forty leopard cats forward without a sound was another matter entirely.

Spring Gale quickly assessed her remaining strength, then raised her head and looked at Winter Gale with clear eyes. "Big Sister, leave it to me. I'll be fine."

"Good. We'll rest a little, then charge straight through."

Seeing her younger sister's earnest expression, Winter Gale chose to trust her without hesitation.

Then she looked up at the Dog Tribe's outpost. She was standing in exactly the same spot from which she had spied on it in the snow before.

And the Dog Yokai who had once made her heart tremble was standing quietly at the outpost's entrance again, just as before, with several Dog Yokai on guard duty.

An ornate golden hair crown bound his waist-length hair into a high ponytail, revealing his flawlessly handsome face.

He wore a battle robe patterned with a hundred flowers, its designs delicate and exquisite, with the Silver Armor over it. The armor gleamed with a cool luster in the faint light.

The Jeweled Belt at his waist lent him an even more heroic air.

His bearing was so commanding that even an enemy could not help looking twice.

"If he'd been born a leopard cat, he would surely have been the root of all evil."

Winter Gale narrowed her eyes, thinking of the sorry-looking specimens in her tribe. Among the males, Autumn Gale was the most gifted. She felt a little bad for thinking it, but that face of his, as though he had been born into the wrong body, simply did not suit her tastes.

If Autumn Gale were replaced by the Dog Yokai Tōga standing before her, she had no doubt the females in her tribe would fight one another bloody over him.

After a while, Spring Gale tilted her head slightly and looked at her elder sister.

Their eyes met, and they understood each other at once.

Under the watching eyes of the leopard cats, Winter Gale slowly raised her hand as though gripping an invisible longsword, then chopped it down sharply in a silent command.

"Charge!"

At the order, the leopard cats rushed forward behind Winter Gale like arrows loosed from their bows.

To Tōga, watching from halfway up the mountain, their charge resembled the dying embers of Japanese fascism-the Kamikaze Corps.

With blind, unyielding resolve, they hurtled toward their fitting fate: to be reduced to the dust of history beneath the Dog Tribe's razor-sharp Fang Swords.

The moment the leopard cats stepped onto the clearing's pristine snow, rows of footprints abruptly appeared, exposing their movements.

Seeing this from halfway up the mountain, Tōga threw back his head and let out a long howl.

The rolling roar carried fine threads of yokai power, forming tangible sound waves that slammed into Spring Gale's barrier.

The White Mist Barrier concealing their figures first became visible under the impact, then shattered instantly like fragile glass.

Dozens of leopard cats with savage faces were exposed before everyone.

The White Mist Barrier's main purpose was to suppress their presence and hide them from sight. Against an attack, it was no more than a sheet of thin paper.

"You've noticed us far too late!"

Winter Gale had already anticipated that they might be discovered, and not a trace of panic showed on her face.

Calmly, she thrust out her arm and spread her fingers. Moisture in the air rapidly condensed, and a longsword of ice and snow swiftly took shape in her hand.

Its blade was long and translucent, gleaming with a chilling light as though all the cold in the world had gathered within it.

Winter Gale gripped the ice sword tightly. Killing intent spread around her like tangible mist, and her shout rolled through the surroundings like thunder.

"My kin, follow me! Slaughter every last one of those dog whelps!"

Besides the leopard cats' deafening, impassioned cries, her answer came in the form of the surrounding snow suddenly exploding without warning.

Amid the sharp crack of the Dog Tribe's barrier breaking, the leopard cats' expressions shifted instantly from the excitement of their charge to shock.

Then came unmistakable panic, until fear engulfed them entirely.

They stared wide-eyed at the sudden turn of events, momentarily at a loss.

Leading the Dog Yokai of three patrol squads, Qitian appeared as though descending from the heavens and surrounded the leopard cats in an instant.

"You're the ones who'll die!"

The Dog Yokai roared in unison, their voices shaking loose the snow around them.

With Qitian leading the charge, thirty Dog Yokai lunged forward together.

An ambush? When?

Why were we, the ones launching a surprise attack, being ambushed by the Dog Yokai?

Winter Gale was startled but not rattled. A host of thoughts flashed through her mind before she pushed them aside.

She quickly surveyed the surroundings. Aside from two intermediate-level yokai, Qitian among them, the rest were all low-level Dog Yokai. This was hardly a death trap.

Besides, their elder was supporting them from the shadows. That gave Winter Gale ample confidence as she stepped forward. The ends of her icy-blue hair swung, and bitterly cold yokai power poured out.

"Ice Tornado!"

As though summoned, the swirling snowflakes instantly gathered together, forming a circular tornado of ice and snow.

Carrying a bone-piercing chill, the tornado howled toward the Dog Yokai, forcing those charging ahead to retreat.

With no time to think, Qitian reached out to stop several Dog Yokai who had nearly been shredded by the tornado and saved them. He turned to look at Tōga, only to receive a smile telling him to be patient.

Behind Tōga, Ringetsu slowly stepped forward.

"Big Sister, what do we do now?"

Spring Gale asked anxiously, a hint of tension in her voice. She had never imagined a situation like this.

Her question immediately set the fiery-tempered Summer Gale off.

Summer Gale's eyes widened, blazing with fury, as she shouted at the top of her lungs, "We came here to kill! Now all those Dog Yokai whelps are gathered in one place, so of course we slaughter them all!"

Autumn Gale struck his fists together, sending thin arcs of electricity crackling between them.

He shouted excitedly.

"Summer Gale's right! With all four of us here, killing just one squad of dog whelps would've been a waste of our talents. This is perfect!"

"Good, then!"

Winter Gale spoke in a low voice, her composure reassuring.

"Spring Gale, focus on support. Use your abilities to give everyone an advantage. Summer Gale and Autumn Gale, each of you take one captain. Leave Tōga to me. We'll work together and wipe out the dog whelps right here!"

The captains' attitude was a shot in the arm for the low-level leopard cats, instantly restoring the morale that had plummeted when they were ambushed.

Their shock at having the tables turned on them was swiftly replaced by fighting spirit and bloodlust.

As soon as the ice tornado dispersed, the leopard cats howled and charged at the Dog Yokai.

Summer Gale and Autumn Gale each locked onto a target and shot toward their opponents like arrows from a bow, their taunts faintly carrying through the air.

When Winter Gale raised her eyes toward the mountainside, she saw that a silver-haired girl holding a sword in one hand had appeared beside Tōga at some point.