They moved.
Not at once—not recklessly—but in **layers**, like predators peeling away caution one heartbeat at a time.
The Crimson Fang Wolf struck first again, but not with a charge.
It **feinted**.
Its massive body surged left, claws tearing into the earth, qi flaring violently—enough to force a reaction. The fox's black spear twitched, tail tightening, barrier qi rising a fraction—
And that was when the wolf *vanished*.
Its body slammed downward instead, **earth qi detonating beneath its paws** as it sank halfway into the ground, stone and soil flowing around it like water.
*Earth meld,* the fox noted instantly.
Too late to stop.
The wolf burst back out a heartbeat later—not in front, but **to the fox's blind side**, stone axe already descending in a brutal arc meant to cleave spine and spirit together.
The fox reacted without panic.
The jade spear snapped forward from its jaws—not to block, but to **deflect**, striking the axe's haft at an angle. The impact rang like a bell struck by thunder.
Qi detonated.
The fox slid backward, claws carving deep lines through the soil as the sheer weight of the blow forced it to give ground—but it didn't lose balance.
Instead, it **let the force pass**.
The black spear followed immediately, stabbing low, aimed not for flesh—but for the wolf's *shadow*, its qi anchor point.
The wolf snarled and twisted, barely avoiding the strike as the spear gouged a trench through stone-hardened earth instead.
They separated in a blur of motion.
Breathing heavy now.
Qi churning.
The ground between them ruined—cracked, cratered, soaked in residual pressure.
The wolf shook its head once, eyes blazing.
"Tch," it growled. "You really are a pain."
The fox said nothing.
It was watching.
Not the axe.
Not the claws.
The wolf's **footwork**.
Too careful.
Too controlled.
*It's waiting,* the fox realized. *Waiting for proof. For weakness.*
A mistake would end this.
Around them, chaos worsened.
Earth snakes—huge, uneven constructs—erupted and collapsed wildly as the **lizard's control frayed**, smashing through trees, forcing cultivators into one another's paths. Shouts turned into screams. Alliances shattered completely.
A masked cultivator tried to flee—
Only to be dragged screaming into the soil by a collapsing earth maw.
Another transformed mid-fight, bones snapping as fur erupted, turning on former allies in blind panic.
The clearing had become a **slaughter pit**.
And still—
The wolf and fox circled.
The wolf's gaze flicked, just once, to the jade spear.
The fox felt it.
*Don't notice. Don't see it,* the fox thought, tightening its grip minutely. *Just a little longer.*
The wolf lunged again—faster this time.
Too fast.
Its axe came down in a brutal overhead strike meant to crush barrier and bone alike.
The fox met it—
—and **let the barrier shatter**.
Qi burst outward in a violent flash as the shield broke, shards of force scattering like glass.
The wolf's eyes widened.
*Now—*
The fox twisted, body flowing sideways beneath the descending axe, black spear stabbing upward toward the wolf's exposed chest—
—and at the same time, it **released the jade spear**.
Not controlled.
Not guided.
Thrown.
The spear spun wildly, imperfectly, screaming through the air toward the wolf's flank.
The wolf reacted on instinct, jerking back, axe snapping sideways to intercept the unexpected attack—
And that was the mistake.
The fox was already there.
The black spear **punched forward**, piercing through fur, muscle, and qi barrier alike, driving deep into the wolf's shoulder with a wet, crunching impact.
The Crimson Fang Wolf howled.
Not in pain—
In fury.
It slammed a claw into the fox's side, the blow crashing against its barrier and sending it skidding across the ground in a spray of dirt and shattered stone.
They separated again.
Both wounded.
Both bleeding.
Blood darkened the earth.
The wolf ripped the spear free with a snarl, blood pouring down its arm, crimson eyes blazing brighter than before.
The fox came to a slow stop, jaws aching, breath steady despite the pain. Its tails spread low, balanced.
"Good," the fox said calmly. "You noticed."
The wolf's lips curled back, blood dripping from its fangs.
"…You tricked me."
The fox's eyes sharpened.
"No," it corrected softly. "I *read* you."
Unseen, the lizard shifted in the shadows, muscles coiling, earth trembling faintly beneath its claws.
*Now,* it thought.
The clearing trembled again.
Not from the wolf.
Not from the fox.
But from **below**.
Something was about to break.
The earth **answered**.
Not with a roar—but with a deep, grinding *groan*, like something ancient turning in its sleep.
The Crimson Fang Wolf felt it first.
Its paws shifted instinctively, claws digging in as the ground beneath them grew unstable—not collapsing, not exploding—*moving*. Subtle. Wrong.
Its ears flattened.
"What—"
Too late.
The soil beneath its hind legs **gave way**, not downward but *sideways*, flowing like thick mud as massive coils surged beneath the surface.
An **earth snake** erupted—not clean, not elegant, but enormous and misshapen, scales uneven, eyes glowing with dull, feral qi. It burst upward and **wrapped around the wolf's legs**, crushing stone and roots alike as it constricted.
The wolf roared, slamming its axe down, cleaving deep into the snake's body. Stone shattered. Earth sprayed. The construct screamed—a soundless vibration that rattled teeth—
—but it didn't stop.
Because it wasn't alone.
A second earth snake burst out from the wolf's blind side, jaws snapping shut around its flank, teeth sinking deep enough to **lock**.
The wolf thrashed, muscles bulging, qi flaring violently as it tried to tear free.
"Damn it—!" it snarled, hacking at the snakes, pulverizing chunks of earth with every strike.
The fox did not rush in.
It watched.
Breathing steady.
Eyes cold.
Mind calculating.
*Wild control,* it noted. *Crude… but overwhelming.*
The lizard wasn't shaping the constructs anymore.
It was **feeding them**.
Raw earth qi poured upward in uneven surges, reinforcing damage as fast as the wolf could inflict it. Cracks sealed. Broken coils reformed. The snakes moved like a natural disaster—inefficient, unstoppable.
The wolf realized it at the same moment.
"This isn't your doing," it growled, eyes snapping toward the fox. "You're not alone."
The fox's tails swayed once.
"I never said I was."
The wolf's gaze darted—searching, sensing—but the battlefield was chaos. Qi signatures overlapped wildly. Death screams drowned subtlety. The lizard remained invisible, scent masked, presence folded tightly into the earth itself.
The wolf made a decision.
With a furious roar, it **detonated its qi**, forcing it outward in a brutal shockwave. The earth snakes ruptured, exploding into shattered stone and dirt as the blast tore them apart.
Freedom.
Barely.
The wolf staggered, bleeding heavily now—shoulder ruined, flank torn, breath ragged.
But its eyes burned brighter than ever.
"So that's how it is," it snarled. "Then I'll just kill you *fast*."
It raised its axe, qi compressing violently along the blade. The runes flared—bright, unstable.
The fox's pupils narrowed.
*It's burning its core.*
A desperate move.
A lethal one.
The fox moved.
Not forward.
**Up.**
It leapt, body twisting midair as the black spear detached and **split**—its segmented form unraveling into multiple streaks of dark light that stabbed downward like falling stars.
The wolf swung.
The axe came up in a massive arc—
—and missed.
Because the fox wasn't there anymore.
It appeared **behind** the wolf, landing silently, the jade spear finally returning to its grasp as qi surged through it for the first time.
The wolf felt it.
Not fear—
—but **calculation reaching its limit**.
Blood soaked into its fur, shoulder screaming where the spear had punched through. The fox was still standing. Still calm. Still *thinking*.
*This is no longer a hunt,* the wolf realized grimly. *This is a trap tightening.*
Its eyes flicked once—just once—to the ruined clearing. Cultivators dying. Earth beasts rampaging. Qi storms colliding. No reinforcements. No order.
Only chaos.
The wolf made its decision.
It **turned**.
Earth qi surged violently beneath its paws as it poured power into its legs, body blurring as it launched toward the treeline—choosing survival over greed.
"Leaving already?" the fox said coolly.
The wolf didn't answer.
It didn't need to.
The fox's tails snapped outward.
With a flick of its paw, it tore open its pouch and **launched three talismans** into the air.
They didn't glow gently.
They screamed.
Runes ignited blood-red as the talismans detonated mid-flight, erupting into overlapping **explosions of compressed qi**, shockwaves tearing trees apart and vaporizing soil.
The wolf snarled and crossed its arms, earth qi surging into a layered stone barrier just as the blasts hit.
**BOOM—BOOM—BOOM**
The forest vanished in fire and force.
Stone shattered.
Flames roared.
Pressure crushed inward.
When the smoke cleared, the wolf staggered out of the explosion, barrier cracked and crumbling, fur singed, blood dripping from its muzzle.
It was alive.
But barely.
And that was when it felt it.
A **pull**.
Its eyes widened.
Behind it—
The fox stood perfectly still, one paw raised.
The **black spear moved**.
Not thrown.
Not swung.
**Controlled.**
The spear ripped free from the churned earth behind the wolf, slicing through smoke and debris like a black comet, qi screaming along its length as it accelerated impossibly fast.
The wolf twisted, roaring, axe snapping up to block—
Too slow.
The spear pierced straight through the axe's haft, shattered the spirit lines etched into the stone, and **drove into the wolf's back**, erupting from its chest in a spray of blood and fractured qi.
The Crimson Fang Wolf froze.
Its breath hitched.
Its legs gave out.
The fox stepped forward slowly as the wolf collapsed to its knees, the spear pinning it in place, dark qi devouring resistance from the inside out.
"You chose correctly," the fox said calmly. "Just too late."
The wolf tried to speak.
Blood spilled instead.
With a final flick of its paw, the fox tightened its control.
The black spear pulsed—
—and the wolf's heart burst.
The massive body slumped forward, lifeless, axe clattering uselessly to the ground as its qi dissipated into the ruined clearing.
Silence followed.
Brief.
Heavy.
Then the forest screamed again as the rest of the battlefield caught up.
Unseen, the lizard watched from the shadows, earth trembling faintly beneath its claws.
And it was far from over.