Preparing for battle

The Heavenly Host's Azure Fang Heavenly Army halted ten kilometers from Wind-Thunder Gorge.

A biting wind howled past, ruffling the dog yokai's fur as they watched their army lord and quietly awaited his orders.

Ringetsu stood to one side, her nostrils twitching and one hand resting on the sword hilt at her waist, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

The wind blowing in from afar carried the faint scents of scorching and blood into Tōga's nostrils.

An eerie blue radiance appeared in his eyes.

Through the Mind's Eye of the Netherworld, two lights of life, different in nature yet both surging skyward, intertwined within Wind-Thunder Gorge.

Tōga raised his eyebrows slightly, withdrew his gaze from Wind-Thunder Gorge, and looked toward the Panther Cat camp mentioned in the intelligence report.

"Good fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortune never comes alone."

Before there was even time to feel "sorry" for the Leopard Cat clan, the Dog Tribe's Heavenly Tribe arrived on the battlefield!

Outside Wind-Thunder Gorge, scarlet mist rose from the scorched earth of the Panther Cat camp.

Facing the Heavenly Tribe's lethal assault, five twisted, savage streams of yokai energy tore through the sky like sharp blades.

The five Panther Cat commanders emerged, stepping over the ruins that had only just been destroyed-

Winter Claw, encased in ice armor; Swift Shadow, wreathed in lightning patterns; Green Thorn, overgrown with poisonous vines; Rock Overlord, whose enormous hammer shook the ground; and Phantom Eye, surrounded by illusory mist.

Reflected in their eyes were the four members of the Heavenly Host leading the slaughter of the low-level Panther Cats, and their killing intent seethed.

No greetings, no words. When the cat and dog tribes met, they fought!

Within just four or five seconds of the battle between these mid-level yokai, the four Heavenly Host fighters, all richly experienced in being ganged up on, deliberately stretched out and divided the battle line.

Four against five-the advantage was theirs!

Red Evil Ogre lightly tapped her toes against the rock wall, nimble as a swallow, the blue-green tomoe blazing between her brows.

Winter Claw grinned viciously and unleashed Icefall. Frost blades swept forth like a tide, freezing and cracking every layer of rock they passed.

"Iron-Reaver Soul-Stealer: Wind Cutter!"

Red Evil Ogre flipped in midair, golden light flaring from all ten fingers. Five curved wind blades tore through the icy tide, sending shattered ice bursting outward like buckshot.

Winter Claw crossed her arms to block, and her ice armor shattered with a crack. Far from lacking battle experience, she immediately flung out an Ice Chain, wrapped it around Red Evil Ogre's ankle, and violently dragged her toward the ground.

"Steel Fist: Mountain Shatter!"

His crimson hair whipping wildly, Prison Flame Maru charged in from the flank, taking the poisonous vines Green Thorn lashed through the air head-on. Scarlet flames enveloped his right fist as he drove it toward Winter Claw.

Ice and fire collided, instantly raising a vast cloud of white steam.

Winter Claw staggered backward, unsteady on her feet. Prison Flame Maru seized the opening, tore the chain apart with both hands, then turned with the icy chain in his grip and swung it hard at the vines surging toward him like snakes.

Working in concert with him, Red Evil Ogre used the momentum to flip upward and slash down with both claws crossed. Her wind blades shredded half of Winter Claw's ice armor, splashing blood over the scorched earth!

At the sight, Rock Overlord's eyes widened in fury. He swung his solid, enormous hammer, lightning patterns flickering across its face as the ground beneath his feet cracked like a spiderweb.

Qitian bared his fangs. The earth-aspected yokai energy tomoe Tōga had bestowed upon him shone between his brows, and the muscles in his arms bulged, revealing glimpses of hard, stone-like skin.

He actually caught the hammer's shaft with his bare hands. Under the impact of that tremendous force, the earth beneath his feet collapsed with a thunderous crash, throwing up a cloud of dust.

"Thunderstorm: Thousand Jun!"

Rock Overlord roared, and lightning exploded from the hammerhead. Qitian's armor blackened and shattered, while cracks spread across the surface of his body as though he might break apart at any moment. Yet his face wore a wild grin.

"Is that all the strength you've got?"

He suddenly bent his knee and drove it into the hammer. His immense strength overturned Rock Overlord instead, sending the enormous hammer flying from his hands like a cannonball. It smashed through the stone house behind him, scattering fragments everywhere.

Just as Qitian was about to press his advantage, Phantom Eye turned his gaze upon him. Qitian froze on the spot, a look of struggle appearing in his eyes.

Instant Thunder Raiga, who had been fighting Swift Shadow, appeared, already prepared for this moment. His blue hair streamed through the lightning as a gleaming spike of gold and pale blue electricity formed at his fingertips and stabbed toward Rock Overlord's throat.

Rock Overlord roared and rolled away. The streak of light skimmed past his shoulder, only to abruptly change direction as Instant Thunder Raiga sneered, piercing his back straight through the heart!

Rock Overlord's eyes widened, his face filled with shock and unwillingness as he slowly fell.

In the blink of an eye, two of the five Panther Cat commanders were gone. Under mounting pressure, Green Thorn sent vines growing wildly from all ten fingers, their poisonous thorns coiling toward the Heavenly Host like a swarm of snakes.

Prison Flame Maru, who had been struck earlier, forcibly expelled the venom from his iron-hard yokai body and smashed through the wall of vines with a punch. Wherever the venom splashed, the rock walls hissed and corroded.

He paid it no heed. His bare, crimson fist battered the vines, and fierce flames burned along them toward Green Thorn's body.

"Scatter!"

Red Evil Ogre shouted sharply, sweeping her wind blades across the poisonous vines around Prison Flame Maru and severing them.

Green Thorn seized the chance to burrow underground. Pillars of vines abruptly surged from the earth, trapping Prison Flame Maru in a thorny cage.

Having failed to hold Instant Thunder Raiga back, Swift Shadow now tried to follow the slain Rock Overlord's example and charged toward Prison Flame Maru.

"Thunder Spear: Piercing Rainbow!"

Instant Thunder Raiga hurled the Thunder Spear. Electricity pierced the earth like a dragon, and Green Thorn burst from the ground with a scream, half his body charred black and his left leg impaled by the spear.

Qitian seized the opening and leaped up. Iron-Reaver Soul-Stealer tore Green Thorn's throat apart, sending poisonous blood spraying like rain!

Red Evil Ogre swiftly moved in front of Prison Flame Maru and plunged into a fierce battle with Swift Shadow, who had arrived a step too late and was now grinding his teeth in fury.

Amid the interweaving flashes of claws and lightning, Prison Flame Maru charged wildly forth!

With Instant Thunder Raiga joining them an instant later, it became three against one. In the next second, unable to fight back at all, Swift Shadow had his head blown apart by Prison Flame Maru's fist.

Terrified by what had happened in those few brief exchanges, Phantom Eye turned insubstantial. Dense fog spread across the battlefield, and countless blade-wielding phantoms attacked the four Heavenly Host fighters.

Phantom Eye's real body chose to flee outright. If he kept fighting, he would meet the same end as the other four!

Red Evil Ogre closed her eyes and focused. Her Wind Tomoe suddenly blazed, and the air currents beside her ears quivered ever so slightly-"Ten meters to the left!"

She spun and slashed with her claws. Howling wind blades shredded the illusions, forcing Phantom Eye's true body into view.

Prison Flame Maru roared and charged, his crimson fist shattering the barrier of mist. Phantom Eye hastily retreated, only for Instant Thunder Raiga to anticipate where he would move and seal his escape route with lightning spikes.

Qitian's hulking figure appeared. Between his arms, an invisible pressure restrained Phantom Eye and slowed him down.

Phantom Eye's pupils abruptly contracted, his face filled with terror and despair. Beneath Qitian's fist, as large as a cooking pot, the mist dispersed and his body split apart.

By the time Qitian turned around, Red Evil Ogre and the other two had already gone to support the low-level dog yokai, who had formed ranks to hold off several times their number of Panther Cats.

Their figures darted across the battlefield, securing a nearly perfect victory in the Heavenly Host's Azure Fang Heavenly Army's first battle!

Ringetsu stood on a hillside where she could enter the fighting at any moment and take in the entire battlefield. The fierce, cold wind freely tossed her long black hair, while beneath her shifting bangs, her eyes never blinked.

She gazed at the fierce slaughter below, her eyes filled with gratification and satisfaction, as though she were admiring an unparalleled artistic spectacle.

That's my man!

So thought the proud young woman.

An overwhelming victory against greater numbers of enemies at the same level-Ringetsu could no longer remember how long it had been since she had heard of such a feat within the Dog Tribe.

Now that she had witnessed it herself, an indescribable shock surged through her heart. She almost felt as though she were witnessing history.

It was as though she stood atop the crest of the age's great tide, watching the Dog Tribe turn a brand-new page before her very eyes!