Ten kilometers from the Wind and Thunder Gorge, the Heavenly Host: Azure Fang Army halted their march.
A bitter wind swept through the air, whipping at the fur of the assembled dog yōkai. They stood in solemn silence, gazing toward their commander, awaiting his order.
Beside them, Shirayuki stood quietly, nostrils flaring slightly as she rested one hand on the hilt at her waist, her eyes thoughtful and sharp.
From afar, the wind carried faint traces of scorched earth and blood—a scent that reached Tōga's keen senses.
A faint blue light flickered in his eyes.
Within his spiritual sight, two immense, opposing auras of life force clashed violently in the distance, twining around each other above the Wind and Thunder Gorge like raging serpents.
Tōga raised an eyebrow, withdrawing his gaze from the gorge and turning it instead toward the location of the Leopard Cat Tribe encampment mentioned in the reports.
"Blessings never come in pairs, and misfortunes never come alone…"
There was no time to pity the Leopard Cat Tribe's fate—for the Dog Demon Army was now upon the battlefield.
Outside the Wind and Thunder Gorge, the Leopard Cat Tribe's encampment lay in ruins. Charred soil fumed, and red mist rose from the scorched earth.
Facing the sudden assault of the Dog Demon Heavenly Host Division, five fierce and distorted auras surged skyward like blades tearing through the heavens.
The five Leopard Cat Commanders emerged amidst the wreckage:
Tōkiba, encased in ice armor; Jin'ei, wreathed in lightning patterns; Seishin, sprouting with venomous vines; Gankai, shaking the earth with his massive hammer; and Yūtō, shrouded in illusions and mist.
In their eyes burned murderous fury as they beheld the four Heavenly Generals slaughtering their lower-ranked brethren.
No words were exchanged. No parley. When cat and dog meet, there is only battle.
Within mere seconds, the clash of mid-level yōkai began. The four members of the Heavenly Host—each well-seasoned in countless chaotic melees—maneuvered swiftly, deliberately splitting the enemy formation.
Four against five—advantage, ours!
Kujaku's toes tapped lightly against a rock wall, body soaring gracefully like a swallow. The jade magatama at her brow flared with emerald light.
Tōkiba sneered and unleashed a frozen cascade—blades of frost swept forth like a tidal wave, freezing and cracking the earth wherever they passed.
"Sankon Tessō — Wind Slash!"
Kujaku twisted midair, golden light erupting from her ten fingers. Five crescent wind blades tore through the icy torrent, the shattered frost bursting like shrapnel.
Tōkiba crossed her arms to block; her ice armor cracked with a sharp crack. But she was no amateur—flipping her wrist, she lashed out an ice chain that coiled around Kujaku's ankle and yanked her down with brute force.
"Steel Fist — Mountain Breaker!"
Gyuenmaru's crimson hair flared as he roared, charging from the flank. He tanked the venomous whip of Seishin, flames bursting from his right fist as it slammed toward Tōkiba.
Fire and ice collided—a massive burst of steam engulfed the field.
Tōkiba staggered back, footing faltering. Gyuenmaru seized the chance, tearing the ice chain apart and spinning around to swing it like a weapon, cleaving through the serpentine vines lunging toward him.
Seizing the opening, Kujaku vaulted upward, her twin claws descending like crossing scythes. The wind blades shredded Tōkiba's armor to pieces—blood splattered across the scorched earth.
Gankai, seeing this, roared furiously. Raising his colossal hammer crackling with lightning, he smashed it down. The ground beneath him shattered like a spider's web.
Seiten bared his fangs, the magatama of earth glowing upon his brow. His sinewy arms hardened into stone, and with a grunt, he caught the hammer barehanded.
The earth crumbled beneath his feet from the sheer force, dust billowing.
"Thunderstorm — Thousandfold Weight!"
Gankai bellowed. Lightning exploded from the hammerhead, scorching Seiten's armor black. Cracks ran across his body, as though he might shatter any moment—yet he only grinned wider.
"That all you've got?"
He bent his knees and heaved upward. With explosive strength, he threw Gankai off balance, sending the hammer hurtling away like a cannonball. It smashed through a stone hut, debris flying.
Just as Seiten prepared to press the attack, Yūtō's gaze fell upon him. His movements froze, eyes flickering with internal struggle.
At that instant, Shunraiga, already anticipating such a move, appeared. His blue hair whipped in the storm of lightning as he gathered a golden-blue spear of condensed thunder between his fingers—and hurled it toward Gankai's throat.
Gankai roared and twisted, narrowly avoiding the strike—but with a sneer, Shunraiga flicked his wrist. The lightning spear curved midair and pierced straight through Gankai's back.
Gankai's eyes widened, disbelief and rage frozen on his face as he collapsed to the ground.
In the blink of an eye, two Leopard Cat Commanders had fallen.
Seishin, desperate, let his poisonous vines erupt in frenzy, lashing like serpents toward the Heavenly Host.
Gyuenmaru, already struck once, forced the venom from his veins through sheer will. He smashed through the wall of vines with his steel-like body, molten fists burning through them as poison hissed against the rocks.
Unfazed, he drove through the toxic fog, his flames racing along the vines toward Seishin's true body.
"Scatter!"
Kujaku shouted sharply, her wind blades slicing apart the encroaching vines around Gyuenmaru.
Seishin took the chance to burrow underground. The earth swelled, sprouting thorned pillars that trapped Gyuenmaru within a cage of brambles.
Jin'ei, who had failed to restrain Shunraiga, rushed toward Gyuenmaru in an attempt to imitate Gankai's earlier move.
"Lightning Spear — Piercing Rainbow!"
Shunraiga hurled another thunder spear. The electric dragon tore through the ground veins, exploding upward. Seishin screamed, bursting from the soil, half-charred and impaled through the leg.
Seiten leaped high, his Sankon Tessō tearing throughSeishin's throat. Venomous blood rained down.
Kujaku leapt in front of Gyuenmaru, engaging the snarling Jin'ei head-on.
Lightning and wind clashed wildly—and through the storm, Gyuenmaru charged again, Shunraiga at his side.
Three against one.
In seconds, Jin'ei was overwhelmed—his head crushed by Gyuenmaru's blazing punch.
Within a few short exchanges, four of the Leopard Cat Commanders lay dead.
Yūtō, trembling, dissolved into mist. Countless illusions surged across the battlefield, slashing at the Heavenly Generals from all sides.
But his true body fled. He knew staying meant death.
Kujaku closed her eyes, focusing. The magatama of wind shone brightly—and in the whispering tremor of air, she caught it:
"Left—thirty paces!"
She spun and slashed, her wind blade tearing through illusion and smoke. Yūtō's true form was revealed.
Gyuenmaru roared, smashing through the fog with a flaming punch. Yūtō tried to retreat—but Shunraiga was already there, lightning spear cutting off his escape.
Seiten's towering frame loomed behind him. Invisible pressure condensed between his palms, freezing the yōkai in place.
Yūtō's pupils shrank with horror and despair. The next moment, Seiten's colossal fist came down like a hammer of stone—the mist burst apart, his enemy shattered to pieces.
When Seiten turned, the other three had already rushed to reinforce their lower-ranked comrades, cutting through waves of Leopard Cat yōkai.
Their combined assault carved through the battlefield like a divine storm—the Azure Fang Army's first battle had ended in near-perfect victory.
On a nearby ridge overlooking the carnage stood Shirayuki, her hair streaming in the cold wind. Her sharp eyes watched every clash and strike, her expression unwavering.
As she looked down upon the field of battle, her gaze softened—pride and satisfaction gleaming within. It was as if she were watching a grand and exquisite work of art.
'As expected of my man,'
the proud maiden thought.
A battle of equals—outnumbered, yet triumphant. It had been ages since the Dog Clan had seen such a glorious victory.
To witness it now with her own eyes stirred a deep, indescribable awe within her.
It felt as though she were standing atop the tide of a new era—watching the Dog Clan open a brand-new chapter in history.