The fox didn't hesitate.
The moment the ice-bound cultivator's eyes met its gaze—wide, terror finally dawning—the **black spear** moved.
A whisper.
A flash.
The spear snapped forward, a clean, merciless line of force.
It punched straight through the cultivator encased in ice, **shattering the frozen statue from within**. Blood and ice exploded outward together as the body collapsed, a ragged, bloody hole torn through it—while the spear was already retracting, back in the fox's control before the fragments even struck the ground.
Dead.
No pause.
The fox was already moving.
Its focus shifted instantly—to the bull.
Hooves scraped desperately against the frozen earth as the massive beast tried to reorient, frost still clinging to its limbs—
The fox surged forward, qi roaring as it charged, intent unmistakable—
**End it before it could recover.**
But the sky screamed.
A shrill cry split the air.
From above.
The **Iron-Claw Eagle** folded its wings and dove, talons extended, its body turning into a living projectile of steel.
Claws like forged blades tore through the air, aimed straight for the fox's spine.
*Too slow,* the fox judged.
The talons slammed into its **barrier** with a deafening *CLANG*, sparks of qi spraying outward. The force drove the fox skidding backward across the ice, claws carving deep furrows as it absorbed the impact.
The fox leapt back lightly, landing in a low stance, tails fanning wide.
"…Coming down was a mistake," it said coolly.
Its will snapped tight.
The **black spear reversed direction instantly**, streaking upward in a lethal arc toward the eagle's chest.
At the same time, the fox flicked its wrist.
Three **explosive talismans** ignited midair.
"Boom—!"
The blasts detonated around the eagle in rapid succession. Fire and force tore through the frozen air, shattering ice and blasting apart the mist in a violent cascade. Shockwaves rippled outward, chunks of ice raining down like shrapnel.
The fox's eyes stayed locked on the smoke.
"You should've stayed in the sky," it said flatly.
The dust cleared.
And the eagle was still there.
Unharmed.
A dull, metallic sheen wrapped tightly around its entire body—a seamless shell of interlocking qi plates, glowing faintly bronze beneath the frost. The explosions washed over it like waves against a cliff, leaving not a single crack behind.
The eagle screeched, wings beating hard as it hovered, confidence bleeding back into its posture.
The fox's eyes narrowed sharply.
Recognition struck.
"…Earth-grade spirit armor," it muttered, clicking its tongue once. "And not a low-tier one."
Interesting.
Its gaze flicked briefly to the bull—still struggling against the lingering frost—then returned to the eagle, now clearly the greater threat.
A slow, predatory smile curved the fox's muzzle.
"Alright," it murmured. "That explains why you were brave enough to dive."
The black spear hovered obediently at its side, humming with restrained violence.
"Let's see," the fox continued softly, tails swaying, "how long that armor lasts when I stop holding back."
The fox inhaled once.
Deep. Steady.
Then its pouch flared open.
Talismans poured out in a controlled stream—**explosive talismans**, **lightning talismans**, formation scripts glowing as they took position in the air. They didn't scatter randomly.
They **orbited** the fox in deliberate patterns, rotating like stars bound to a core.
Crackle—
Snap—
Lightning crawled across their surfaces, blue-white arcs snapping between paper and air. Explosive seals pulsed red, throbbing like restrained heartbeats.
The fox clamped the **jade spear** firmly between its jaws.
Its posture shifted.
Gone was the calculating stillness.
This was **predation**.
The black spear hovered behind it like a living shadow, while the jade spear gleamed cold and sharp, qi flowing through it in uneven waves—still unimprinted, still wild, but deadly all the same.
The Iron-Claw Eagle felt it.
Its wings beat harder, instinct screaming danger. The bull—half-frozen, muscles straining to break free—lifted its head just in time to see what was coming.
The fox **launched forward**.
The ground exploded beneath its feet as it crossed the distance in a blur, tails streaming behind it. At the same instant, the talismans **shot outward**.
Lightning talismans detonated first.
Bolts slammed down from above, twisting midair as if guided by will, striking the eagle's armored form with deafening cracks of thunder. Electricity surged across the earth-grade armor, grounding violently into the frozen terrain.
Then—
The explosive talismans followed.
"BOOM—!"
Fire, force, and shattered ice erupted together, the blasts overlapping, chaining into one another. The air warped. The battlefield vanished beneath smoke, flame, and roiling qi.
Through it all—
The fox didn't slow.
The **black spear** shot ahead, forcing the eagle to twist aside midair, while the fox surged beneath, jade spear angled upward.
The bull roared as shockwaves smashed into it, finally breaking the ice encasing its legs—but too late to intervene.
The eagle screeched, armor blazing as it absorbed impact after impact, wings faltering for a fraction of a second.
A fraction was enough.
The fox leapt.
Midair.
It snapped its head violently, **releasing the jade spear**.
The spear became a streak of green light, drilling straight toward the eagle's chest, qi howling as it struck—
*CLANG—!*
The earth-grade armor held.
Barely.
Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface, light leaking through like molten metal beneath stone.
The eagle shrieked in pain this time, wings jerking erratically as it lost altitude.
The fox landed lightly below, already extending a claw.
The **black spear obeyed**.
It screamed forward from behind—silent, merciless—aimed not for the armor, but for the **gap forming beneath the eagle's wing**.
The fox's voice cut through the chaos, calm and lethal.
"Armor protects what it covers," it said.
"But nothing covers everything."
The battlefield trembled as predator pressed advantage, talismans still burning, spears converging—
And the Iron-Claw Eagle realized, far too late—
This fox hadn't been testing it.
It had been **setting the kill**.
The black spear hovered inches from the exposed gap, killing intent condensed so tightly the air itself screamed—
Then—
**BOOOOOOM—!**
The world lurched.
The fox's barrier detonated outward in a violent ripple as something massive slammed into it head-on.
The **Mountain-Shaking Bull**.
Its horns struck the barrier like twin siege rams, earth-qi erupting from its hooves as it charged without hesitation. The impact flattened the ground, shockwaves ripping outward in concentric rings, shattering ice, stone, and lingering formations alike.
The fox's eyes snapped wide.
Too late.
The barrier **held**—but barely.
Cracks raced across its surface like lightning through glass as the bull pushed forward, muscles bulging, veins glowing with dense brown-gold qi. The sheer force drove the fox **backward**, boots carving trenches through the frozen earth.
"Hmph—!"
The fox skidded, tails flaring instinctively as it reinforced the barrier mid-impact. Its black spear wavered, trajectory disrupted, slicing harmlessly past the eagle as the moment slipped away.
The Iron-Claw Eagle screeched and flapped wildly, seizing the opening. It surged higher, blood trailing from its cracked armor—but alive.
The bull roared, breath steaming.
"NOT—YOUR—PREY!"
It slammed its hooves down again.
**Mountain-Shaking Stomp.**
The earth answered.
A deep, guttural *THOOM* rolled through the ground as shockwaves surged outward, lifting slabs of frozen earth and ice into the air. The fox was thrown off balance, barrier flaring as wave after wave struck from below.
For the first time—
The fox was forced fully on the defensive.
It flipped backward, landing in a crouch as the barrier finally **collapsed** into shards of light, the force dispersing violently. Dust and ice filled the air.
The bull pawed the ground, horns lowered, eyes burning with stubborn fury.
Behind it, the eagle stabilized midair, wings beating unevenly, armor fractured but still functional. Lightning residue crawled across its feathers as it glared down.
The rat-headed cultivator stared, breath caught.
*It stopped it… it actually stopped the fox.*
The bull snorted, blood trickling from its nostrils, but its stance remained unbroken.
"Thought you had us alone?" it rumbled. "You're strong, fox—but not invincible."
The fox rose slowly.
It brushed frost and dust from its sleeve with one claw, expression calm—but its eyes had sharpened, cold and bright.
"So," it said quietly, glancing from bull to eagle, black spear drifting back into position behind it, "you've decided to protect each other."
A faint smile tugged at its lips.
"Good."
Lightning talismans crackled back to life around it.
"That just means I don't have to choose."
Behind the battlefield, unseen within the thinning ice mist, the lizard watched—thoughts churning.
*They're grouping…*
Good.
The temperature dropped another degree.
And somewhere beneath the shattered ground.