Chapter 16

Xu Dong suddenly raised his head and stared intently in the direction of Ash River, unable to suppress a sharp intake of breath!

What the hell is that thing!

A canine creature, standing on all fours and already as tall as Ash River, stood obediently by his side. This terrifying creature seemed to have been stripped of its skin, revealing flesh and tendons that were as hard as rock, giving off an extremely intimidating aura.

On its tail and belly, there were small patches of skin, with ugly scabs on the surface, and a few hairs struggling to grow out.

It seemed as if this giant creature had just been pulled out of a pool of thick saliva, its entire body covered in slippery liquid, which dripped continuously, emitting an indescribable stench.

The most hair-raising part was its paws! Each of its large paws had five claws, each longer than the iron knife in Xu Dong's hand, appearing dark and metallic, and one could imagine the damage these sharp claws would cause if it struck with full force!

Ash River, finally catching his breath, didn't mind the slime on the monster dog and patted its neck vigorously, as if encouraging and rewarding it. The slime splattered with each pat, looking particularly disgusting.

Ash River glanced at Xu Dong, his voice filled with a menacing intent: "Go, get rid of this person!"

The monster dog understood its master's command, growling deeply in its throat, and suddenly pushed off the ground with all four limbs. The black ground where its paws were seemed to be scooped up by a large iron shovel, revealing four deep pits with claw marks at the edges.

The monster dog charged at Xu Dong like a fully powered heavy truck.

At first glance, Xu Dong realized that the speed of this monster dog was almost on par with his own when he used the "Small Quick Steps" skill. The key was that the "Small Quick Steps" skill only lasted ten seconds, while the monster dog had no cooldown!

Without regard for his posture, Xu Dong immediately rolled on the ground, his face and head covered in black mud, looking extremely狼狈.

The next moment, the monster dog pounced, its claws causing the earth to fly and scatter. Mud splattered onto Xu Dong's face, causing him to wince in pain, his face turning red instantly. After landing, the monster dog seemed to have anticipated Xu Dong's next move, and its long, thick tail, like an iron whip, struck Xu Dong with lightning speed.

In a panic, Xu Dong could only barely cross his arms in front of his chest.

With a loud bang, a figure flew through the air, landing on its back and rolling several times before coming to a stop. Xu Dong knew that he was in a life-or-death situation. Even with a dizzying head, he had to rush in a certain direction without hesitation.

The massive figure appeared fiercely where Xu Dong had been standing a moment ago, the powerful force causing the solid ground to be covered in flying dirt and deep pits.

Seeing Xu Dong being chased around like a stray dog, Ash River couldn't help but laugh with satisfaction: "You don't know that the divine power fruit tree produced not two, but three fruits! My mountain guard dog consumed one of them. Its strength is almost on par with the North Corner Bear, and its speed is even greater. With your skills, how do you think you can escape?"

On the scene, Xu Dong had completely lost the ability to counterattack and could only rely on his agility to dodge. The monster dog's claws were terrifyingly sharp and hard. He knew that if he were hit, he would at least lose a limb, or worse, be disemboweled. How could he dare to block it?

As the duration of the "Small Quick Steps" skill decreased second by second, Xu Dong's face grew increasingly grim. He thought to himself: If this continues, I will definitely die here! And if I even think of escaping now, I might not have a chance at all. At this moment, he subconsciously pursed his lips, "This monster dog consumed an unripe divine power fruit. How could it easily break through the constraints of life and gain such extraordinary strength?"

In fact, from the surface features of the monster dog, it was not hard to see that although its strength had greatly increased and its speed had improved, the side effects were also very obvious. The violent power surging within its body caused the skin to crack and fall off, exposing the muscles to the air.

Xu Dong's attention fell on the slime on the monster dog's surface, and he was startled, "Right, this slime is probably lymph and white blood cells produced by the body for self-protection, to prevent bacterial infection—or perhaps it has already been infected, and the slime is just preventing the situation from worsening!"

A plan quickly formed in his mind. Facing the monster dog's headbutt, Xu Dong gritted his teeth and crossed his arms in front of his chest, choosing to take the hit. The violent force struck his crossed arms with a loud bang, and he even heard a faint crack, indicating that his left arm bone had fractured! The terrifying force enveloped his body, and in an instant, blood trickled from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

Xu Dong shot out like a cannonball.

In mid-air, he forced himself not to spit out the blood in his mouth, twisting his body and rolling forward as he landed. Then, his legs, like springs, propelled him forward, and he darted into the woods like a cunning rat.

In the open area, with no vegetation or trees, Xu Dong was at a disadvantage and was being suppressed. Now, running into the woods, even though the trees were sparse, it was still much more advantageous than the area around the divine power fruit tree. Don't forget, this monster dog was unprecedentedly large, and from the fact that Xu Dong could dodge its attacks by changing direction, it was clear that its agility was much lower than that of an ordinary mountain guard dog!

The monster dog, having hit its target, found that the target had instead used the momentum to escape into the woods. Enraged, it let out a terrifying roar, scaring the birds in the surrounding forest to fly away in fear, leaving behind a large number of gray feathers. The enraged monster dog was not willing to let its prey escape and immediately chased after it with all its might.

Although the duration of the "Small Quick Steps" skill had ended, entering the woods provided a geographical advantage, and Xu Dong's agility naturally increased. On the other hand, the large monster dog, due to its difficulty in changing direction, often accelerated to its maximum speed only to encounter a tree blocking its path. It would either crash into the tree or brush past it, causing damage to its muscles and tendons, and leaving behind a trail of slime and blood.

In this situation, the distance between them not only did not close but actually increased.

Roar!

Seeing the target about to escape from sight, the monster dog finally let out a roar of extreme anger. As it ran, it would accelerate and leap over any trees blocking its path, striking down with its claws in mid-air.

Due to the divine power fruit tree absorbing the essence of the earth, the surrounding environment was deprived of nutrients, and the trees in the area could not grow robustly. The thickest trees were no more than the width of a person's waist. Under the monster dog's strength and sharp claws, they snapped like chicken bones, the cuts smooth and clean.

Xu Dong, fleeing frantically, caught a glimpse of this and his face turned pale—he knew his willow-like waist was definitely not as tough as the trees!

From a bird's-eye view, one could see a small dot zigzagging and running with all its might, while a large black dot behind it, like a bulldozer, knocked down trees and pursued with a trail of fallen branches and leaves. The distance between them had already been extended to at least fifteen seconds, but unexpectedly, the monster dog's brute force had shortened the time to about ten seconds.

Finally, a small wooden house, actually used for raising puppies, appeared in Xu Dong's sight. He had entered it before to search but found nothing and left. He never thought it would be useful now!

Not only did he use all his strength, but he even used the strength of a piston, crashing through the front door of the small wooden house and immediately kicking the door shut. The floor of the small wooden house was scattered with various items of unknown use, including two ordinary granite rocks, which were probably for the puppies to gnaw on.

How long is ten seconds?

Xu Dong rushed into the wooden house and closed the door in two seconds, then scanned the room, grabbed the two granite rocks, and threw them out the back door, causing two large splashes in the lake, which took three seconds. Then, he endured the foul smell and climbed down through a floor hatch used for disposing of waste, hanging on and securing himself, which took four seconds. The remaining second, he used to pray.

It was unclear whether his prayer worked or if the length of the small wooden house was just right.

After ten seconds, there was a loud crack, and the front door of the small wooden house was shattered by a single claw, wood splinters flying everywhere, some even embedding themselves in the wall. The large mountain guard dog then charged in, immediately seeing the ripples on the lake's surface and hearing a splash, instinctively thinking the target had jumped into the water.

Dogs are not afraid of water, and a mountain guard dog that deals with various wild animals and livestock on Ash Cloud Mountain is even less afraid of water. On the contrary, they are quite fast in the water!

Given these conditions, the mutated mountain guard dog didn't even think twice, diving in after the splash.

Beautiful water splashed up, some of it hitting Xu Dong's face.

The clear lake water turned red instantly. In the next second, a large, fearsome dog head emerged from the water, its limbs struggling and splashing, causing ripples on the calm lake surface.

However, its expression was one of extreme fear, and it even let out a painful, spasmodic howl!