"Big Sister Winter Gale!"
The cry sounded as though despair had seized it in a crushing grip, tearing through the battlefield's din with shock, fury, and disbelief.
The voice trembled in the air, laden with boundless grief.
Like a sharp dagger, it stabbed deep into the heart of every Leopard Cat.
Fear surged into Autumn Gale's heart like a tide. The flames between her palms dimmed, and as she faced the Dog Yokai Captain's slashes, she no longer had the fighting spirit she had shown at the start.
Even Winter Gale, the strongest among them, had been killed in a fair fight. Summer Gale could not believe she would survive.
Though every thought urged her to flee, her fierce sense of responsibility as a member of the Leopard Cat clan kept her feet rooted in place.
She could only steel herself and helplessly face the Dog Yokai Captain as he came charging again, barely able to contain his excitement.
Bloodlust gleamed in the Dog Yokai Captain's eyes. Every attack carried tremendous force, and Summer Gale could barely fend him off.
Wounds gradually opened across her body. Crimson blood ran from them and dripped onto the pristine snow, blooming into glaring red flowers.
Autumn Gale had completely lost his reason to rage. His eyes blazed with fury, and the sparks surrounding him surged ever more violently.
He swung his arms recklessly, launching frenzied attacks at Qitian and pouring every ounce of strength into each blow.
His attacks had no order or technique. Amid the scattering sparks, they carried a madness that cared nothing for his own life.
Whether it was Summer Gale, ruled by fear, or Autumn Gale, lost in madness, both were firmly held back by Qitian and the other captain.
With Winter Gale's death, the situation on the battlefield changed drastically.
The low-ranking Leopard Cats, who had been fighting the Dog Yokai on equal footing, instantly fell into disarray after losing their pillar of support.
The Dog Yokai seized the opportunity like starving wolves catching the scent of blood, immediately launching a fierce assault.
A towering Dog Yokai lunged at a Leopard Cat, his sharp claws instantly gouging several deep, bloody furrows in the Leopard Cat's neck. The Leopard Cat screamed and fell into the snow, struggling a few times before going still.
Another Dog Yokai evaded a Leopard Cat's attack, then bit through his throat. Blood gushed out and splattered across the Dog Yokai's face, further stoking his bestial instincts.
Some Leopard Cats fought desperately for their lives, unleashing their inner ferocity to strike back.
Yet just as they were about to bite the Dog Yokai to death, their bodies abruptly froze. The next instant, they fell beneath sharp canine fangs.
"You demon!"
Trembling all over, Spring Gale stared with hatred and fear at the Dog Yokai before her, who remained perfectly composed, as leisurely as though he were strolling through the battlefield.
Tōga stayed calm and unhurried, letting her unleash all manner of Yōjutsu Illusions. Not only did he dispel them with ease, but he also fired tiny, precisely aimed arrows of yokai power right in front of her to aid the other Dog Yokai.
Spring Gale was filled with bewilderment and despair. She simply could not understand how their strength could differ so greatly when they were at the same level.
Even Winter Gale, whom she trusted utterly, had never exerted such terrifying pressure.
So Big Sister died. That woman and this man are both monsters among monsters!
With every breath, Spring Gale felt as though her strength and courage were being drained away. Her legs gave out, and she sank to her knees in the icy snow.
Two trails of clear tears slipped down her sweet, pitiful face.
"Giving up already?"
Tōga stepped across the white snow, each footfall giving a crunch.
To Spring Gale, those sounds were a countdown to her death, each one hammering against her nerves.
He had not even drawn the Fang Sword. His ten slender fingers danced nimbly, flicking out tiny arrows from time to time.
As he provided one final safeguard for the Dog Yokai fighting bloody battles, he watched the utterly demoralized Spring Gale with an unhurried expression.
Spring Gale slumped on the ground, her delicate body trembling like a fallen leaf drifting in a cold wind. Her eyes stared blankly ahead, without a trace of life left in them.
At that moment, she was no different from someone waiting to die.
Tōga was in no hurry to deal with Spring Gale. His gaze slowly swept across the battlefield, his eyes filled with satisfaction.
After spending more than a decade with him, it was only natural that Ringetsu would overwhelm Winter Gale.
The Fang Sword alone, passed down from the Dog King and imbued with much of a great yokai's power, might not have possessed the wondrous might of the Three Swords of the World.
But it was still a rare and formidable weapon, enough to give her a clear advantage over Winter Gale.
The Moon Mark on Ringetsu's forehead signified her pure-blooded descent from the Dog King. She was naturally attuned to moonlight power, and her pure great yokai bloodline granted her yokai power of flawless quality.
In that respect, she far surpassed Winter Gale.
Moreover, Ringetsu was gifted to begin with. Under Tōga's occasional, careful guidance, she could effortlessly employ a systematic repertoire of techniques and secret arts.
Her regular sparring and exchanges with Tōga had also given her abundant practical combat experience.
Winter Gale, by contrast, could gain no advantage over Ringetsu in weapons, bloodline, yokai power, combat techniques, cultivation level, or any other aspect.
The fact that she could exchange even a few moves with his first wife meant Winter Gale was actually quite capable.
Yet before Ringetsu's nearly overwhelming strength, her resistance amounted to little.
Japan's famous mainstream anime all have worlds where bloodlines reign supreme. The four big series-Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, and Dragon Ball-are like that, and so is Inuyasha.
The children of the strong would remain strong.
Having inherited a great yokai's bloodline, Ringetsu had been born an intermediate yokai. Even if she did nothing at all, she would become a high-ranking yokai upon reaching adulthood, and a powerful one at that.
Sesshomaru, who would later travel with his family in tow and fight along the way, was an outstanding example.
His innate Bakusaiga was a treasure crystallized from his bloodline.
And as Ringetsu grew, she also had Tōga to accelerate her growth in combat strength, making her far stronger than she would otherwise have been at the same age.
If Tōga had not been confident that he could remain stronger than Ringetsu, he really would not have dared nurture his first wife, whose pride ran deep in her bones.
He had no desire to have Ringetsu break his canine legs someday when he brought his second wife, Izayoi, home.
At that moment, Ringetsu walked lightly toward Tōga. Her luxurious moon-white robes fluttered gently in the cold wind like flowing moonlight.
Her breathtakingly beautiful face was as calm as still water. Wisps of moonlight power still lingered on the Fang Sword in her hand as she slowly returned it to its sheath.
"How should we deal with the rest?"
Having no interest in personally slaughtering the weak, Ringetsu approached Tōga's side. Her voice was clear, but carried a hint of coldness.
She lifted her eyes slightly, sweeping her gaze over the Leopard Cat corpses strewn across the battlefield and the survivors being surrounded and killed by multiple Dog Yokai. There was not a trace of pity in her eyes.
In a war for a race's very survival, there was no room for sentiment.
It would only end when one side submitted completely or was annihilated.
"Leave the rest to them. We won't interfere."
Tōga folded his arms across his chest, a faint smile curling his lips. "These Leopard Cats were too weak, after all."
As time passed, Autumn Gale and Summer Gale also found themselves in imminent danger.
The somewhat weaker Dog Yokai Captain was joining three capable low-ranking Dog Yokai in surrounding the badly wounded Summer Gale.
Once Summer Gale died, Autumn Gale, whose burly physique resembled a boar yokai and whose body crackled with sparks, would also be surrounded and killed by Qitian and the others.
Having spotted a few promising fighters during the battle, Tōga looked away from the battlefield and cast another brief glance at Spring Gale's despairing figure.
Then he turned to Ringetsu, his eyes full of admiration. "That's my Ringetsu. As outstanding as ever."
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