Chapter 100: The Wolf-Lion Beast Has Its Right Eye Pierced Blind.

“General He, why run so close to the enemy? His pair of Thunder God Hammers is incredibly powerful!” Zhu Hongxiu exclaimed.

“It’s because that Thunder God Hammer of his is so lethal and he’s towering over us from above, making it very disadvantageous for us. We need to take cover under that massive boulder! Haven’t you seen how it resembles a giant tree shape? General Wang, you should run toward that boulder too!” He Xinzhou urged.

Zhu Hongxiu studied the boulder where Yang Tianbao stood closely. It rose over ten house heights, broad at the top and tapering below, truly shaped like a massive tree. Anyone hiding beneath it was safe from rain. Yet Yang Tianbao planned to hurl his Thunder God Hammers downward, unleashing blinding electric light from above—an act nearly impossible to counter. No nearby spot existed either where his hammer’s eerie white glow could be evaded.

Thus, Zhu Hongxiu spurred his horse toward the boulder. As they galloped, he shouted to Wang Qingjie to abandon his fight with the beast and rush to shelter beneath it, escaping Yang Tianbao’s Thunder God Hammer assault.

As He Xinzhou and Zhu Hongxiu raced their warhorses toward the stone, Yang Tianbao unleashed a barrage of hammer strikes at both, each “boom-boom-boom” launching streams of ethereal light. Yet Zhu Hongxiu and He Xinzhou deftly dodged every blow.

Wang Qingjie, locked in combat with the wolf-lion beast, pondered: That boulder truly offered the perfect refuge from the Thunder God Hammer’s fury. But if everyone fled there, the monster would follow. What then? I’ll stay and tangle with it—perhaps I can find a weakness to slay the creature.

Throughout the wolf-lion beast’s savage maneuvers against him, each time it wheeled to unleash yin winds or snap at Wang Qingjie, he evaded by leaping behind, sliding to the flank, or vaulting onto its back to sit astride and hammer it relentlessly with his fists. The beast thrashed in fury, howling in rage.

In the heat of battle, Wang Qingjie wondered: This beast’s hide is impossibly tough. Even my crescent saber won’t pierce it! How miraculous! But surely no part of its body can be this unyielding. The meat inside its mouth is soft and penetrable—yet what other vulnerable spots exist? Its organs? The mouth qualifies as an organ, easy to wound. What about its eyes, ears, or the flesh deep within its hindquarters? Those organs’ meat must be tender too, like the mouth’s, ripe for piercing! Yes! But I have no weapon now—what can I use to strike this monster?

Wang Qingjie kept turning the idea over in his mind: Besides sharp metal implements, what else could harm it? What to do?

Suddenly, the hairpin atop his head sparked an idea. That’s it—a hairpin! Mine is forged from special metal, razor-sharp!

Seizing the notion, Wang Qingjie circled the wolf-lion beast in a playful game of cat-and-mouse, then removed his helmet, swiftly withdrew the hairpin, hastily bundled his hair atop his head, and jammed the helmet back on.

He leaped once more onto the beast’s broad back, seized the thick fur along its neck, and clambered toward its head.

The wolf-lion beast sensed Wang Qingjie gripping its neck fur and crawling upward, so it bounded high and low, shaking its head like a rattle-drum in a frantic bid to dislodge him.

Wang Qingjie crossed his legs to clamp the beast’s throat between his knees, pinned the neck fur down with his left hand, and drove his right hand’s grip with all his force. He jabbed the hairpin’s gleaming tip repeatedly into the wolf-lion beast’s eye.

Under the boulder, Zhu Hongxiu and He Xinzhou witnessed the scene and grasped Wang Qingjie’s strategy, praising it aloud. “This method—if it truly blinds the monster’s eye—will render even the mightiest creature blind and useless!” they cheered.

Yang Tianbao, perched atop the boulder, saw Wang Qingjie scaling the wolf-lion beast’s neck with a sharp object aimed at its eye. Alarm surged through him. If the foe blinds my mount, it’s finished!

He dropped from the height and flew straight at Wang Qingjie.

He Xinzhou and Zhu Hongxiu, seeing the assault, spurred their horses toward the airborne Yang Tianbao.

Wang Qingjie on the wolf-lion beast spotted Yang Tianbao charging and shouted to Zhu Hongxiu to intercept the threat. Then he redoubled his speed, stabbing viciously toward the beast’s eye.

The wolf-lion beast bounded and twisted to fling Wang Qingjie from its neck, shaking its head desperately to shield its vision.

Just as Yang Tianbao closed to within three zhang, Zhu Hongxiu and He Xinzhou galloped in, only two zhang from Wang Qingjie.

“General He, jump!” Zhu Hongxiu yelled. The pair vaulted from their horses, landing before Yang Tianbao and swinging their weapons in a crushing assault.

Yang Tianbao, mid-flight, was blocked. He instantly raised his two iron hammers to parry the golden whips and Fang Tian Ji striking toward him.

All three crashed to the ground simultaneously. One side fought to buy time for the fatal strike on the beast, the other desperately defended its beloved mount. The three grappled fiercely, shifting positions without regard for hierarchy.

Within the space of a quarter-hour, the wolf-lion beast suddenly erupted in a thunderous howl, one cry after another.

The three glanced toward the sound. There, the wolf-lion beast howled while leaping high and charging ahead.

Wang Qingjie still clutched the beast’s fur with both hands, clinging to its back as it carried him onward.

The wolf-lion beast’s right eye had been pierced by the hairpin and burst. The agony of the ruptured orb racked its nerves, intensifying its torment beyond measure. Worse, the sudden blindness on that side plunged its vision into darkness, leaving the spiritual pain of its wound unbearable.

“Great Wolf! Wait for me!” Yang Tianbao cried out in a tearful wail. Then he swung his Thunder God Hammers madly, smashing and sweeping wildly at Zhu Hongxiu and He Xinzhou.

Each impact sent the iron hammers whistling through the air with terrifying force.

He Xinzhou and Zhu Hongxiu detected the overwhelming power from the wind and refrained from meeting the blows with their weapons. They dodged aside or leaped clear.

Seizing the opening, Yang Tianbao leaped skyward and raced toward his wolf-lion beast.

Wang Qingjie clung to the beast’s back, riding several hundred meters before suddenly leaping free, letting it gallop onward alone.

The moment Wang Qingjie dismounted, Yang Tianbao swept overhead.

Yang Tianbao halted mid-air and hurled five or six Thunder God Hammers at Wang Qingjie, launching five or six beams of ethereal light from the hammer junctions.

Seeing the dual hammers descending, Wang Qingjie recognized their deadly power. He darted and bounded across the ground in evasive loops.

Yang Tianbao, missing his mark, shouted, “Wait, boy! You’ve injured my great wolf—you’ll pay! Unless I crush your bones to dust and scatter your ashes, I’ll never answer to the name Yang!”

With that, he wheeled and flew toward his mount’s direction.