Chapter 14

As the sun set, the white clouds at the horizon were dyed in vibrant colors, resembling ice cream with orange sauce, making one involuntarily want to lick it with their tongue.

The main peak of Gray Cloud Mountain became particularly quiet and mysterious as night fell. In a gentle forest to the west, seven mountain guard dogs followed the scent and quietly approached. They moved cautiously, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Suddenly, the lead guard dog raised its nose. It clearly sensed that the scent ended abruptly here, which puzzled it. With a couple of light barks, the other guard dogs spread out, each searching for suspicious scents under the trees or on the ground.

At this moment, a patch of overturned black mud caught the attention of one of the guard dogs. It looked suspiciously at it, then cautiously approached the roughly one to two square meter area and sniffed carefully. The soil, rich in microorganisms and humus, had a strong, decaying smell.

Finding nothing unusual, the guard dog spread its hind legs, lowered its body slightly, and soon a trickling sound was heard, along with a pungent odor in the air. The female dog was actually urinating!

Just as it was comfortably releasing the accumulated liquid in its bladder, a hand, a hand holding an iron knife, suddenly emerged from beneath its belly. Against the black soil, the hand, covered in humus, appeared particularly pale. It swiftly flipped the surrounding clumps of soil and plunged the iron knife fiercely into the guard dog's abdomen with a swift motion.

In pain, the guard dog let out a shrill cry and instinctively darted forward to avoid the fatal attack. However, the sharp iron knife also slashed a terrifying wound from its belly toward its tail, causing a large amount of internal organs to spill out. The guard dog lost its momentum after running two meters and fell with a thud.

The commotion was like a stone causing a thousand ripples. The small team, already on high alert, all turned their heads at the sudden noise.

At this moment, a figure jumped out from the ground, and the black mud splashed like water, spreading out in all directions. This sudden appearance startled the guard dogs, causing them to crouch on the ground, their fur standing on end, and they involuntarily let out a series of growls.

The person who emerged from the mud was none other than Xu Dong.

Seizing the rare opportunity, Xu Dong swiftly lunged at the nearest guard dog, extending his right hand and swinging the iron knife, which reflected a blinding light in the setting sun, and plunged it deeply into the dog's neck. Then, he gritted his teeth, his arm muscles bulging involuntarily, and pulled the sharp iron knife backward, easily severing the trachea and arteries.

A gush of bright red blood spurted from the wound, splattering three meters away.

By the time the other guard dogs reacted, Xu Dong had already moved three meters away, effectively avoiding being surrounded.

Xu Dong barely steadied himself when two guard dogs pounced from either side. Just as they were two meters away, they leaped into the air, their front paws extended, revealing four sharp claws.

Due to the long-term life of the guard dogs in Gray Cloud Mountain, their claws contained a large number of microorganisms and bacteria. In such a fierce attack, they could easily tear the skin of animals like goats and deer, and a careless move could lead to infection and inflammation. Xu Dong had once been nearly disemboweled due to carelessness. Seeing these two large dogs use the same tactic, he was unwilling to confront them head-on.

Remaining calm, he secretly activated the "Small Quick Steps" skill, which instantly increased his movement speed by 50%. Without any noticeable movement, he just stepped on the ground, and his body moved three meters backward, perfectly evading the attack.

The two large dogs, missing their target, all four front paws hit the ground, and the powerful force caused several shrubs to suffer, with leaves and branches flying everywhere. One of them even snapped in half, revealing a slightly green, white stem.

Just as they were about to stand up again, they suddenly felt a shadow in front of them. Lifting their heads, they saw Xu Dong, like a ghost, had quickly approached. Two flashes of the knife, and the two guard dogs fell to the ground with twisted necks, clearly dead.

Having killed four guard dogs, Xu Dong was also extremely exhausted, his chest feeling as if it were on fire. However, he knew this was not the time to rest.

Among the remaining three guard dogs, one was particularly robust, with golden curly fur that added a majestic aura, the leader of the pack that had led the attack on the village!

Under the command of this leader, the remaining two guard dogs charged at Xu Dong with a mad frenzy. Their eyes were wild and insane, as if they knew no fear.

"Ah..."

Xu Dong sighed inwardly, having anticipated this situation. To be honest, over the past two days, he had lured and ambushed countless guard dogs, to the point where he even felt a bit reluctant to kill them. However, they were always fearless, with only one thought in mind: even if they couldn't kill the enemy, they would bite a piece off to create an opportunity for their companions.

In such a situation, Xu Dong could not afford to be merciful.

In fact, with the "Small Quick Steps" skill, these two ordinary guard dogs were no match for him. Over the two days on Gray Cloud Mountain, through constant ambushes, his combat skills and understanding of his own abilities had subtly improved.

Stepping back half a step, he then lunged forward, and the two guard dogs couldn't even touch his clothes. As Xu Dong approached within half a meter, positioning himself in their blind spot, the fight was almost over.

Six dog corpses lay quietly behind Xu Dong, the blood drained, and the forest was filled with a pungent, bloody smell. The "Small Quick Steps" skill had just entered cooldown, and Xu Dong stood less than five meters in front of the guard dog leader, his expression cold and indifferent, just as the leader had coldly stared at the helpless villagers that day.

"Roar!"

The guard dog leader, heavier than Xu Dong, was massive. It suddenly let out a roar and charged forward with a ferocious momentum.

Xu Dong was unperturbed and shouted, "Come on!"

At this moment, his mindset was similar to that of a student who had studied hard for months and was finally facing the final exam. He had deliberately waited for the "Small Quick Steps" skill to enter cooldown to test his progress over the past two days.

Facing the attack, Xu Dong crossed his hands in front of his body.

The next second, a fierce headbutt slammed into his chest. Despite the cross-handed block that deflected some of the force, the remaining impact still forced him to take three steps back, as if hit by a car accelerating to 70 miles per hour. The ground was even gouged with deep marks before he managed to stop.

Blood surged in his chest!

Xu Dong was secretly alarmed, "The strength of this guard dog leader is truly remarkable!"

After the headbutt, the guard dog leader took a deep breath and pounced again. This time, it stood on its hind legs, its front paws like dark metal, and with the force of its body weight, it slashed downward at Xu Dong's chest! Its massive body, weighing over a hundred pounds, created a tremendous pressure as it lunged.

Without regard for the corpses on the ground, Xu Dong rolled away at the last moment. The guard dog leader's speed was not slow, and its claws still grazed his face.

Xu Dong felt a sharp pain on his cheek. Standing up, he wiped it, and his hand was covered in blood. The wound was deep and raw, the skin torn and bleeding.

However, Xu Dong's expression remained cold and stern. The blood streaming down his face only added to his fierce and intimidating aura, but it seemed to have no effect on him. Instead, it highlighted his strong confidence, "Come on, let me see what else you can do!"

The guard dog leader seemed to sense the challenge and contempt in his words, and it let out a furious roar, charging at Xu Dong again. This time, it didn't use a headbutt or a claw strike but directly lunged at Xu Dong's neck with a vicious bite.

The next moment, Xu Dong quickly ducked, and his shoulder sank, ramming into the guard dog leader with the force of a football player. The impact was heard with a dull thud. He had deliberately aimed for the moment when the guard dog leader's neck was exposed, taking advantage of the opening.

With a purposeful move, he collided with the large, fierce dog, which was nearly as tall as his shoulder, causing it to stagger backward and fall heavily to the ground, scattering dry leaves.

The guard dog leader landed on its back, exposing its vital chest and belly. Despite its immediate attempt to flip over, Xu Dong's premeditated attack had already struck, piercing its heart.

The massive guard dog leader convulsed once, and the light in its eyes quickly faded.

Xu Dong rolled off the guard dog leader's corpse and lay on the ground, panting heavily.

Soon, a small puppy, about three to four months old, wobbled out of the forest, excitedly circling the guard dog leader's corpse, giving the impression of being overjoyed.

Seeing this little one, Xu Dong finally understood why, no matter what methods he used to hide, the guard dogs always found him. It was because of this little puppy!

This explanation, though a bit convoluted, was quite intriguing.

Two days ago, after Xu Dong killed the first batch of guard dogs, he fled the scene to avoid attracting wild animals with the strong scent of blood. He had a potion in his bag to mask his own scent, so he wasn't worried about being tracked.

However, not long after, a group of about eight guard dogs followed him. After using all his skills to deal with them, Xu Dong noticed a small puppy, about three to four months old, suddenly darting out of the forest. The puppy's leg was limping, and there was a bloody wound on it.

With Xu Dong's abilities, he naturally concluded that the guard dogs were targeting this little one. Curious, he examined the puppy, which seemed no different from other guard dogs except for its apparent intelligence.

The puppy even looked at him with a pleading expression, moving its injured leg closer, clearly hoping for help to prevent the wound from worsening.

Driven by curiosity, Xu Dong took out a healing potion and bandaged the puppy. The puppy's affectionate behavior naturally lowered his guard. However, less than an hour after the bandage was applied, the puppy sneaked away when he wasn't paying attention.

Xu Dong was both amused and exasperated, but with the day growing late, he decided to hunt more guard dogs to avoid being overwhelmed and causing the mission to fail.

Unexpectedly, no matter where he hid, he always encountered guard dogs!

Thus, it was only now, upon seeing the puppy again, that Xu Dong's doubts were finally resolved. The constant appearance of guard dogs in his ambushes was due to this little one. He couldn't help but marvel at the puppy's intelligence, wondering why it knew to use him to deal with the pursuing dogs.

Curious, Xu Dong gently pinched the puppy's neck with two fingers and lifted it to his face, "Hmm, it's a male..."

The puppy didn't struggle, moving its male parts as if showing off.

Examining it closely, it seemed no different from an ordinary guard dog puppy.

Suddenly, a thought struck Xu Dong. He almost forgot about the "Insight" skill. Activating it, he used it on the puppy. Surprisingly, the skill's proficiency increased by 10 points, from 17 to 27. Then, a series of information about the puppy appeared in his mind.

A moment later, Xu Dong's expression was as if he had seen a ghost. The fog in his mind, like the morning mist on a mountain, cleared rapidly, revealing the secret. He couldn't help but exclaim, "So that's it... Yes, only this way can all the questions be truly answered!"

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End of the chapter.