Tiran lost the desire to continue complaining and felt that there was something wrong with himself for still caring about this matter.

According to the bamboo slips found in the warehouse, the sense of smell of the Mangqing is very keen. Theoretically, even if separated by thousands of miles, they can track by scent, so as long as they still have the young beasts behind them, they will definitely run into the mother beast they are seeking.

However, because it was entirely passive, they had no idea how long they would need to wait.

"Why not bring more equipment if you can afford to wait leisurely? I think those Pure Yang Extinction Spears on the city gate would be quite useful. Wouldn't it be nice to shoot one from a distance when we see them?"

They stopped on a barren land about a hundred miles north of Yanmen Pass, deciding to ambush the approaching wild beasts here. Seeing Xiang Ling dismount and drive away her own mount, Tiran also followed suit by patting the horse's buttocks to shoo it away after dismounting.

It's best not to have onlookers below the Holy Rank or other creatures during battles between Holy Ranks, otherwise, one might inadvertently get swept away by the fray and lose their lives.

"Because I don't know how to use it."

"Your answer is so simple and direct..." Tiran covered his face, unable to keep the conversation going, "Why not bring more people then? Yanmen Pass is not lacking in skilled gunners. General Xiang, are you not concerned about these losses?"

"The King never sets foot on the battlefield alone. There must be tens of thousands following behind."

Suddenly, some quotes from their teenage years popped into their mind, and the princess just subconsciously blurted out.

"I am not a king or an emperor now." Xiang Ling paused for two seconds and continued, "Moreover, this is not their war, this is a battle at a different level. Bringing them here would only be a waste of life."

"Is that so?" Tiran responded, pursing his lips towards the distant horizon, "Well then, it's time to prepare for battle, Princess Xiang Ling."

Xiang Ling's eyes sharpened, noticing a pale dot in the deep blue sky far away growing rapidly and approaching at a visible speed.

It looked somewhat like the frozen young beasts behind them, with a similar stature and wingspan that was not as large as imagined; slightly taller than an ordinary human, with deep red feathers on the chest and ribs in addition to the usual ones on the neck. Behind them trailed long tail feathers resembling the hem of a long skirt, giving off a rather glamorous appearance if one were to ignore the horrifying face.

Mangqing flying closer also noticed the two figures on the vast desert and the frozen young beasts on the cart behind them. After emitting a loud cry, they winged dive, revealing their intent to attack.

As the cry resounded, Tiran and Xiang Ling both felt the surrounding air becoming viscous, as if the once freely flowing gas had suddenly turned into a gel, making movement difficult.

When facing a being capable of manipulating the laws, the first priority is to understand the rules they control.

Unfortunately, the bamboo slips only recorded some images and habits of the Mangqing, with very little mention of battle—especially the parts involving laws—so Tiran had to rely on intuition to judge.

"It doesn't feel like spatial confinement, be careful... Oh my gosh, why did you charge in?"

Xiang Ling had indeed incorporated the daring spirit of the Mangqing into her actions, grasping her long spear horizontally, then crouching and gathering strength before making a leap. Surprisingly, she directly charged upward from below towards the descending Mangqing.

The Mangqing clearly did not expect the two humans below to have the courage to confront its dive head-on. Caught off guard, Xiang Ling, who had shortened the distance with a forceful jab to its left wing, pain-wailingly veered sideways and plummeted, while Xiang Ling also utilized the recoil to retreat and land, creating a shallow pit upon impact with the ground.

Compared to Xiang Ling, Mang Qing's landing was much more awkward, with dry gravel and dust rising nearly ten meters off the ground, the commotion being felt from far away by Tirann.

"Tsk tsk, still thinking about negotiating, huh..." Tirann glanced back at the young Mang Qing trapped in the ice. Although this child couldn't move, she was still living well. The problem was that Princess Xiang Ling seemed intent on taking down her mother directly.

So, everything needs a comparison to see the difference. Tirann used to think she was quite bold herself, but compared to Xiang Ling, she seemed to fall a little short.

"Anyway, let's just watch the show together."

Since she had driven away her mount, Tirann simply pushed the ice block on the flatbed to the side to make space for herself to sit.

The young Mang Qing sealed in the ice seemed to have also caught on to the princess's intention of watching the show, as it rolled its eyes simultaneously and made a faint grumbling sound in its throat.

On the other side, Xiang Ling, who had entered battle mode, was not as relaxed as Tirann. Although she had just brought down the young Mang Qing with a spear strike, judging from the feel, it seemed that it hadn't caused too much damage. It was more like hitting steel than cutting flesh and blood.

The counterattack from Mang Qing arrived promptly. Its huge wings spread out and tore through the smoke and dust, countless steel feathers shot out like a swarm of flying bees, covering a large area in this direction almost indiscriminately.

God knows how these feathers grew, they were actually so hard that though the dry ground mixed with gravel and stones in the desert was already quite hard, it was still struck with nearly three feet deep holes. The speed was so fast that Xiang Ling couldn't completely dodge it and could only barely block it with her long spear.

Of course, the shooting of the steel feathers couldn't be sustained for long. Otherwise, even if Mang Qing had many feathers and they regrew quickly, they would have run out. After about three seconds, the shooting stopped.

The moment Xiang Ling lost the suppression, her figure disappeared from the original spot. The speed was so fast that even Tirann couldn't catch her in her line of sight.

Even though she hadn't truly reached Holy Rank yet, Tirann was among the top swordsmen. If even she couldn't catch Xiang Ling's figure, only the law of time could.

As if confirming Tirann's thoughts, the figure of Mang Qing on the other side also disappeared from the original spot, followed by a series of intense collisions in mid-air. The long spear struck at very fast speeds and clashed continuously with the steel feathers, emitting a metallic clang, stirring fierce winds that blew the sparse weeds on this barren land flat to the ground in all directions.

In the extended time, the battle between the two Holy Rank individuals was only a few seconds for Tirann in normal time. But when the figures of the woman and the beast separated again, half of the double-edged long spear in Xiang Ling's hand had already broken off, her armor had many more scars, although she herself was relatively unharmed.

In contrast, many of the white feathers on Mang Qing's body had fallen off, two beautiful scarlet tail feathers were broken, and there were many bloodstains on the exposed skin, the deepest one falling on the base of her right wing, almost revealing the white bone inside.

Struggling to flap both wings to keep her body in the air, she stared across at Xiang Ling who had returned to the ground. The vigorous vitality of a savage beast was clearly displayed. The scattered and fallen feathers on her body grew back like they were on fast forward.

"Tsk, my scalp feels a bit numb."

Tirann shivered. Feathers grew back like spring bamboo shoots after the rain. Coupled with Mang Qing's somewhat peculiar appearance, it was really hard to accept.

Roar!!!

Mang Qing let out another loud cry, and the steel feathers that had just grown on its body stood upright one by one, unleashing another round of indiscriminate shooting towards Xiang Ling.

After several clashes, Xiang Ling, who had roughly figured out Mang Qing's attack pattern, was no longer in a panic. The spirit power transformed into a crimson flame covering the weapon in his hand, swirling to form an impenetrable wall, instantly incinerating the steel feathers before they could even touch the halberd.

However, this round of steel feather scatter successfully diverted Xiang Ling's attention for a moment, and Mang Qing's figure disappeared from view.

Almost simultaneously realizing Mang Qing's disappearance, Tiran sensed a massive crisis.

He seemed to have completely forgotten the purpose of this mother beast. With the cub right next to him, wasn't it obvious which side the beast would prioritize when faced with an opponent it couldn't defeat immediately and its child right in front of it?

Consciousness sank into the sea of the mind, focusing. The world around Tiran instantly fell into absolute silence, and the laws of the world became within reach.

Time, elongate!

With that will, as Tiran opened his eyes, he drew his sword.

Unlike a true Holy Rank, he had only a split second, one strike and no more. Otherwise, the only outcome waiting for him would be to be overwhelmed by Mang Qing before reacting.

Xiang Ling had just knocked down all the steel feathers shot at him. Although the distance between him and Tiran wasn't far, it was too late to move now.

All Tiran could do was one strike.

In response, there was a forty-meter-long azure sword light!

The resolute upward strike successfully hit Mang Qing, who was charging straight at Tiran. She never expected Tiran to counterattack. The sharp blade tore through her chest and abdomen. In the brief moment of time slowing down, during which Tiran struggled to withstand the side effects of forcibly driving the laws, he quickly retreated. At the same time, a spray of blood erupted not far from the front of the flatbed truck.

"Phew... That was terrifying."

The dizziness caused by the activation of the Spiritual Power Gathering Formation was still lingering. Tiran supported himself with his sword to stay standing. The good news was that it seemed he had severely wounded Mang Qing.

Xiang Ling had also arrived, his halberd positioned horizontally between the prone Mang Qing and the truck.

"So, what's the next step...?" Tiran glanced at the apparently incapacitated beast, then at the young Mang Qing sealed in ice nearby.