Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Wolf-Lion Beast Shatters the Crescent Blade

Yang Tianbao withdrew both iron hammers. Suddenly, with his right hand, he flung one hammer toward Zhu Hongxiu and He Xinzhou lying on the ground, while his left hand smashed the other toward Wang Qingjie.

He Xinzhou, struck by the hammer on his halberd and then shaken to the ground by its force, spat a mouthful of blood. Yet, thanks to years of training in martial arts and inner strength, and because Yang Tianbao’s attack was not direct—he first feigned a blow at Zhu Hongxiu before suddenly turning to He Xinzhou—the impact was greatly reduced. Moreover, the halberd deflected the hammer, lessening the blow. Though He Xinzhou fell, he was unharmed; the blood he spat was due to his chin hitting the ground, and his teeth accidentally biting his lip.

Zhu Hongxiu hurried over to help He Xinzhou. As the two stood, they saw Yang Tianbao’s hammer flying toward them. He Xinzhou quickly shoved Zhu Hongxiu aside and bent backward himself. Just as Zhu Hongxiu was pushed away and He Xinzhou bent back, the hammer whistled past between them.

Wang Qingjie, thrown aside by the wolf-lion beast, had just landed when he saw Yang Tianbao’s hammer flying at him. He barely had time to dodge before the hammer, carried by a gust of wind, almost struck him. Fortunately, he landed a yard away—the exact length of the chain attached to Yang Tianbao’s hammer—otherwise, he would have been struck.

Seeing both hammers miss, Yang Tianbao, concerned for his mount, hurriedly recalled the hammers and jumped in front of his beast.

“Big Wolf, open your mouth and let me see how bad the wound is!” he commanded, prying at the beast’s jaws.

It was only then that Zhu Hongxiu and his companions learned Yang Tianbao’s mount was called Big Wolf.

As Yang Tianbao tried to open Big Wolf’s mouth, the beast, stung by pain, twisted its head from side to side, refusing to obey. Yang Tianbao punched Big Wolf several times until it whimpered and opened its mouth.

Watching Yang Tianbao anxiously tending and striking his mount, Zhu Hongxiu, He Xinzhou, and Wang Qingjie realized how deep the bond between man and beast ran, and felt a pang of sympathy. But quickly, they seized the moment—while Yang Tianbao examined the wound—to attack.

Yang Tianbao saw a torn wound in Big Wolf’s lower jaw, blood streaming from its chin. He reached into his robe, intent on retrieving medicine for his mount.

Suddenly, Big Wolf broke free, raised its forelegs, and leapt at Wang Qingjie.

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Wang Qingjie, just about to assault Yang Tianbao, saw the wolf-lion beast leap at him with jaws wide open.

He hurriedly stabbed his crescent blade at the beast’s mouth. Unexpectedly, the blade was caught less than half a foot in by the beast’s steel teeth.

Because the wolf-lion beast caught the blade mid-air, its massive body continued to lunge forward. Wang Qingjie, standing on the ground with the blade’s hilt in his hands, braced his legs and pushed forward, trying to force the blade deeper into the beast’s mouth.

Yet, not only did the blade not advance, the beast clamped down on the tip and, propelled by its momentum, pushed Wang Qingjie backward.

After pushing Wang Qingjie a yard away, the beast landed. Then, with a twist of its jaws, there was a tremendous crash as the blade—caught in its mouth—snapped in two.

Watching his mount fight Wang Qingjie, Yang Tianbao shouted, “Big Wolf, your wound’s not serious! Kill him quickly, and when we return, I’ll treat you and reward you handsomely!” With that, he swung his hammers at Zhu Hongxiu and He Xinzhou, then leapt between them.

Zhu Hongxiu and He Xinzhou, seeing Wang Qingjie’s blade lodged in the beast’s mouth, had hoped to seriously injure the monster. But it only pierced the jaw, and now the beast not only continued to fight but also broke Wang Qingjie’s borrowed weapon. Disappointed, they dodged Yang Tianbao’s hammers and circled him warily, seeking an opening.

Yang Tianbao, his anxiety for his wounded mount growing, bellowed and, wielding his twin hammers, attacked furiously, sweeping them in wild arcs and spinning them along the ground to strike at his foes.

Yet, after several wild swings evaded by He Xinzhou and Zhu Hongxiu, Yang Tianbao leapt onto a nearby boulder, swinging his hammers down from above. He struck them together repeatedly, and with each impact a white light shot forth toward Zhu Hongxiu and He Xinzhou, forcing them to leap about, desperately dodging the assault.

Where the white lights missed their targets, they struck the earth and rocks, causing a series of thunderous explosions and sending clouds of dust and debris into the air.

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With his crescent blade snapped, Wang Qingjie was left with nothing more than a stub, barely better than a club—useless for the fight. He tossed it aside and began circling behind the wolf-lion beast, keeping on its rear to avoid its chilling breath and savage jaws.

After circling for more than a dozen rounds, the beast, frustrated by its inability to catch Wang Qingjie, began to howl madly.

Yang Tianbao, standing atop the boulder, witnessed this and considered using the electric flashes from his hammer strikes to attack Wang Qingjie, but feared injuring his own mount.

Seeing that repeated hammer strikes had failed to harm Zhu Hongxiu and He Xinzhou, Yang Tianbao changed tactics and decided to kill their mounts first.

He raised both hammers and aimed them at Zhu Hongxiu’s warhorse.

Zhu Hongxiu, seeing his horse threatened, had no time to mount and escape. Instead, he put his fingers to his lips and whistled, then kicked a stone the size of a chair toward his horse.

The horse, hearing the whistle, immediately reared and bolted. As it moved, the kicked stone flew to where it had just stood, and at that moment, Yang Tianbao’s hammers collided, sending a flash of white light striking the airborne stone. With a tremendous crash, the stone shattered three feet above the ground.

He Xinzhou also whistled for his horse, which zigzagged in an S-shaped path, weaving toward its master.

Nearby, Zhu Hongxiu, seeing He Xinzhou’s horse deftly evade Yang Tianbao’s attack in an S-pattern, exclaimed, “General He, impressive! What did you teach it?”

He Xinzhou leapt onto his horse and replied, “After we win this battle, I’ll teach you!” With that, he rode his horse in an S-shaped path toward the boulder where Yang Tianbao stood.