Chapter 8

The shrill screams quickly spread across the vast, open field, causing everyone to change color in shock.

However, what completely took Xu Dong by surprise was that their next reaction was not to turn and run, but to frantically grab the baskets filled with ears of grain. In the face of life and death, the strength these elderly and weak villagers unleashed was not to be underestimated; they managed to carry the harvested grain and run quite fast, whether by lifting or dragging.

As they jolted along, the ears of grain kept spilling from the baskets, as if paving a golden path behind them. The children, though aware of the urgency and the imminent danger of being killed by the mountain guard dogs, stubbornly bent down to pick up the scattered ears of grain.

Although their speed was not slow even with the heavy load of grain, it was almost certain that they would be caught by the mountain guard dogs!

Seeing this, Xu Dong was stunned, completely unable to understand what these people were doing—was life more important or was the grain more important? The grain could be harvested tomorrow if not today, but if they carelessly left their lives here, they would have nothing left!

In a panic, Xu Dong even slapped Shengnan's hand away from the basket and shouted angrily, "Don't you want to live? Run quickly!"

To his surprise, Shengnan stomped her feet in frustration, reached out again, and tried to carry the basket filled with ears of grain on her back, as if it were a treasure more precious than her own life. Enraged, Xu Dong grabbed her hand and turned to run. But Shengnan let out a scream of extreme fear and said something that completely caught him off guard: "It's going to rain in the next two days. Without the grain, we won't survive the winter!"

After saying this, Shengnan, who didn't look particularly strong, suddenly burst with strength, breaking free from Xu Dong's grip and almost crawling madly toward the basket filled with golden ears of grain.

Xu Dong stood there in shock, clearly seeing the red tongues of the gray-furred mountain guard dogs as they ran. His gaze shifted from the approaching dogs to the basket of grain, and he felt that the golden grain seemed to emit a blood-like hue in the slanting sunlight.

In his previous life, he had never worried about food and clothing, so he couldn't imagine what a winter's worth of grain meant to these people in this era!

A surge of hot blood boiled in his chest, pumped forcefully by his heart, surging through his body, and rushing to his head!

At this moment, Uncle Daxiong's roar came from the side, "Xiao Dong, I'll draw them away. You protect the others!"

Daxiong from the North Corner clearly hadn't expected the mountain guard dogs to attack during the harvest, so he didn't have his dark iron staff with him. Now, he only had a hoe in his hand. As he spoke, he glanced deeply at his daughter, who was struggling to move the basket, and then prepared to face the mountain guard dogs, which were less than two hundred meters away and running madly.

The distance of less than two hundred meters was enough for Xu Dong to see the appearance of the mountain guard dogs clearly. Compared to the ones that attacked yesterday, they were smaller in size but had longer, more powerful limbs, making them better suited for short-distance sprints. As they ran, their muscular bodies moved powerfully, evoking the word "vigorous."

Xu Dong had a feeling that if he underestimated them because of their smaller size, he would pay a heavy price!

Moreover, there were exactly twenty mountain guard dogs, no more, no less! Such a number, and in such an open field, with their mobility, even with Daxiong's bravery, it would be difficult to drive them away completely. At best, he might be seriously injured, and at worst, he might die!

In this critical moment, Xu Dong's figure suddenly darted past Daxiong, running madly toward the mountain guard dogs.

Daxiong was shocked, "Xiao Dong, what are you doing? Come back!"

Xu Dong hadn't expected his fully enhanced body to be able to run at a speed that could compete in the Olympics. This discovery made him secretly pleased, giving him at least a 60% confidence in what he was about to do. Therefore, he shouted without looking back, "I can run faster than you. I should be the one to draw them away!"

Xu Dong had never seen Daxiong run at full speed, but he had confidence in his statement. If his speed was fast enough, then in yesterday's attack, at least six more mountain guard dogs would have been killed. From the fact that he needed to rely on a corner to defend and counterattack, his movement speed was at least not faster than Xu Dong's at this moment.

In fact, even Daxiong was secretly amazed by Xu Dong's sprinting speed, and he couldn't help but think, "Xiao Dong's speed is almost at its peak. Who is he?!"

Xu Dong ran madly toward the mountain guard dogs, the distance between them constantly closing. Seeing the prey not retreating but advancing, the dogs' eyes glowed with excitement and a bloodthirsty light, as if they had been injected with a large dose of hormones, and they accelerated even more, with large clumps of wet mud being kicked up by their paws.

One hundred meters!

Seventy meters!

Forty meters!

Ten meters!

Xu Dong immediately activated his Insight skill, and a series of information flashed through his mind:

Species Name: Scout Dog

Species Description: Compared to ordinary mountain guard dogs, scout dogs have a more streamlined and agile body. For these four-legged creatures with powerful long legs, this is not a disadvantage but an advantage—allowing them to run faster in dense forests, making them excellent for tracking and reconnaissance. The most astonishing feature is their terrifying auditory system, which can detect even the slightest sound with their triangular ears.

At the same time, Xu Dong used a soccer player's sliding tackle, plowing a deep furrow in the wet field, uprooting weeds and exposing their brown roots. He pursed his lips, making him look exceptionally calm and serious. With a fierce swing of his right hand, a stone he had prepared flew out with a whistling sound.

Without even looking, Xu Dong exerted his legs and turned to run!

The next moment, a scout dog suddenly let out a sharp, mournful cry. The stone Xu Dong had thrown had hit its mouth and scraped up to its eye. The sharp edge of the stone not only knocked out two of its teeth but also left a bloody, four-centimeter-long wound on its cheek.

Xu Dong's action was like challenging a tiger or flirting with a gangster's girlfriend, like pouring a bucket of cold water into boiling oil, causing an immediate uproar in the dog pack. At least two-thirds of the scout dogs, with red eyes, howled and ran madly toward Xu Dong. The one that had been severely injured and disfigured by Xu Dong led the charge.

However, unexpectedly, after chasing Xu Dong for less than ten meters, the scout dogs turned around and continued running toward the villagers. The villagers had just reached the field ridge, still over a hundred meters from the village entrance, and would likely be caught in ten to twenty seconds.

Xu Dong, still pursing his lips, looked as if he had expected this. He raised his hand again and threw four irregular stones in quick succession, whistling through the air.

The twenty scout dogs were spread out in a fan shape, apparently planning to surround and eliminate the villagers in one go. This strategy had its advantages and disadvantages, the main disadvantage being that Xu Dong didn't need to aim; he just needed to throw hard to hit them.

Four more scout dogs were hit, howling in pain. Two of them were particularly unlucky: one was hit on the nose, rolling on the ground in pain with blood and saliva streaming out, and the other was hit on the back of its hind leg, making it limp visibly.

This series of four consecutive hits truly enraged the scout dog pack. A long, cold howl suddenly echoed from the center of the pack, drawing Xu Dong's attention to the dog that had made the sound.

Its size was similar to the other scout dogs, but its fur was different. The gray, short fur looked as if it had been oiled, making it particularly smooth and shiny, almost like a flowing dark light from a distance.

Xu Dong pursed his lips and thought, "I was wondering if these scout dogs would have a leader like the ones from yesterday. My guess was right. If that's the case..."

The scout dog pack turned again, charging toward Xu Dong. They were furious, their eyes filled with even more bloodthirsty light. If caught, they would likely be torn to pieces!

Seeing this, Xu Dong, being the type of person he was, immediately ran as fast as he could.

Daxiong, who was always paying attention to Xu Dong, saw that he had successfully drawn the dog pack away and couldn't help but shout with joy, "Xiao Dong has drawn the dog pack away. Run quickly!"

One of the old men noticed the situation and turned to run back to the field, apparently planning to grab more grain.

Daxiong was furious, "Third Uncle, come back! Xiao Dong is risking his life to save yours. Don't waste his efforts!"

The old man was about to say that the boy was running like a rabbit and wouldn't die so easily, but seeing Daxiong's eyes turn red, he kept quiet and reluctantly ran toward the village entrance, looking back frequently.

By the time the group reached a safe position, Xu Dong and the dog pack were already far away. Daxiong, worried, ran out with a sturdy hoe in each hand, ignoring his daughter Shengnan's calls.