Chapter 9

Xu Dong, having attracted the attention of the scout dogs, making them all turn their guns on him, realized he had underestimated these ferocious beasts.

Why did he say that?

Because the running speed they initially displayed was not their limit! If their initial speed was just a bit faster than Xu Dong's, he was confident he could escape before they caught up. However, after they became enraged and burst into even greater speed, Xu Dong no longer dared to think that way. He had even mentally prepared himself for injury.

On the other hand, Xu Dong had underestimated the intelligence of these beasts. Under the command of the lead scout dog, they quickly dispersed. If viewed from above, they initially formed a fan shape behind Xu Dong, chasing him relentlessly. Then, like fireworks, they spread out flexibly, attempting to surround him from all sides. This made it difficult for Xu Dong to hit them with stones.

When Xu Dong noticed this, he couldn't help but feel anxious, but the initial act of slaughtering the dogs had laid a foundation, and this anxiety was quickly suppressed by reason—especially since he had already considered the possibility of such a situation. He quickly focused on what he needed to do.

Early autumn was not dry, and the air was moist. The wet mud underfoot was full of water, making it easy to slip or even fall while running. Xu Dong was fortunate because he was wearing straw shoes, which were very suitable for working in the fields.

The guard dogs, of course, were barefoot. Adapted to the forest, they were clearly not used to the fields. In just thirty seconds, two scout dogs slipped and fell due to the wet ground, getting covered in mud. One of them was even more unfortunate, crashing into a melon shed and knocking down a large bamboo frame, causing several non-fatal but painful wounds from the sharp bamboo.

Upon learning this, Xu Dong immediately changed direction before they could completely surround him, choosing to run through the wet and slippery areas. At the same time, he had a rough idea of the distribution and number of the scout dogs behind him.

According to his initial plan, two scout dogs had already lost their ability to fight, meaning that only eighteen were still chasing him relentlessly. They were positioned behind him, with the lead scout dog leading the pack of seven in the center, and five on the left side.

Moreover, due to Xu Dong's deliberate actions, the formation of the scout dogs was already quite scattered. The lead scout dog was at least ten meters ahead of the last one. Xu Dong was well aware that within ten meters, he could be caught at any moment, but beyond ten meters, as the old man called San Ye had said, he wouldn't die immediately.

Even so, Xu Dong's situation was still far from optimistic. It was like a thin thread holding a basket of eggs; one wrong move, and he would be shattered. In fact, his back had already been torn by three gashes, inflicted by the dog he had initially hit with a stone, causing it to lose two teeth and a bloody wound on its face.

After leaving three gashes on Xu Dong, the dog was still not satisfied, barking excitedly and crazily.

At this moment, a small puddle at least two meters in diameter appeared before him. The location of this puddle was quite interesting. In this era of agricultural society, the fields had a historical similarity in their ridged appearance. The ridged method involved dividing the land into ridges and furrows, with crops planted on the ridges.

This small puddle was located at the intersection of two large furrows.

Seeing this muddy, turbid puddle, Xu Dong's lips involuntarily tightened. He suddenly exerted force with his feet and leaped. Due to the excessive force, large chunks of black mud fell from his feet and landed on the ground with a thud.

The scout dogs chasing behind him didn't take this seriously and instead sped up. In their hunting experience, they often encountered sudden jumps, and after landing, the prey would either be exhausted or slow down to buffer the impact. This was a perfect opportunity!

The scar on the corner of the scout dog's eye had stopped bleeding, but it still remembered the sharp pain. Its instinct as a wild animal made it extremely eager to retaliate. Faced with such a perfect opportunity, how could it let it go? Naturally, it accelerated and stepped into the puddle.

The next second, there was a splash, and the yellow, turbid mud splashed everywhere. The scout dog sank directly into the puddle, which looked only twenty to thirty centimeters deep but was actually over a meter deep. For these smaller guard dogs, it was easy to drown.

When Xu Dong first saw this puddle, he didn't know its depth. He had jumped in without a second thought, and at the time, he was young and inexperienced. He had almost drowned, and if someone hadn't pulled him out, he would have died.

However, dogs are natural swimmers, and the famous dog paddle originated from this. After the initial panic, they quickly calmed down and swam to the shore. However, tragedy struck—they couldn't climb out of the water and could only howl in despair, their sharp claws leaving deep marks on the edge of the puddle.

The next four scout dogs, seeing this, realized the danger but didn't want to waste the opportunity to catch up by going around. Therefore, they had only one choice—jump!

Before reaching the puddle, Xu Dong had deliberately created a situation through various terrains, causing a significant distance between the scout dogs. In other words, there was a perfect time difference!

After landing, Xu Dong pulled out a sharp but not very sharp knife from his pocket and turned around resolutely. His lips were tightly pressed, giving him a particularly cold and calm look. Then, Xu Dong rushed towards the jumping scout dog!

At the same time, he stood with one foot forward and one foot back in a crouched position, which allowed him to withstand the sudden impact and maintain his balance.

The next moment, the iron knife stabbed out. With the combined force of the scout dog's charge and Xu Dong's own strength, the knife easily pierced through the dog's fur and broke through its hard chest bone, deeply embedding itself in the dog's heart, almost burying his wrist in the chest cavity—this showed the severity of the wound!

The powerful impact of the dog's body hitting him, despite Xu Dong's preparation, still pushed him back nearly a meter, with wet mud piling up at his heels.

Casually throwing the dog's body aside, a gush of hot blood splashed out, covering Xu Dong's head and face in a shocking crimson, and his body emitted a strong smell of blood, making him look as if he had bathed in blood.

The next second, another scout dog leaped towards him.

Xu Dong gritted his teeth and let out a cold snort from his nose, then charged forward!

This time, with the experience from before, Xu Dong killed the dog more efficiently.

He had killed two scout dogs in quick succession!

Due to the distance between his position and the landing point, he could only sigh and give up the idea of continuing the fight, turning to continue his escape.

The third scout dog, adjusting its posture mid-air, was ready to give Xu Dong a hard hit when he came close, but unexpectedly, Xu Dong turned and ran, causing it to land face-first and roll several times, losing the best opportunity to catch up with Xu Dong.

The entire process, from Xu Dong leaping over the puddle to killing the dogs and escaping, seemed long but actually happened in a split second.

Seeing the sudden reduction in their numbers, the scout dogs' eyes turned blood-red with anger. However, the more intelligent one realized that it was now close to the human, with no other companions ahead. A strong sense of danger suddenly swept over it, and the lead scout dog instinctively slowed down, only daring to follow from a distance.

At this moment, Xu Dong suddenly heard the sound of flowing water, and even the sound of branches hitting rocks in the stream was faintly audible.

After this series of mad dashes, even Xu Dong's enhanced body was struggling. His chest felt like it was on fire, and his throat tasted of blood. Hearing the sound of the stream, he felt a surge of energy. Yes! From the beginning, Xu Dong had realized that his only escape route after attracting all the scout dogs was this stream, which flowed down from Huaiyun Mountain!

After nearly three minutes of running, the straight-line distance between Xu Dong and the stream was only a hundred meters. It was clear that these short-haired beasts were much slower in the fields than he had imagined, and they had not yet formed a complete encirclement.

A hundred meters, a distance that could be covered in less than ten seconds, was easy for Xu Dong to escape!

In his elation, he even turned to look at the lead scout dog, which was too scared to get too close, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips. Although he knew the animals wouldn't understand, he couldn't help but mouth the words: "You think you can take me down with just you guys? In your dreams!"

However, when Xu Dong turned around, a bone-chilling coldness shot up his spine, making him shiver.

The lead scout dog, which had been chasing him relentlessly, suddenly stopped, standing twenty meters away, its gray-blue eyes, like those of a forest wolf, coldly staring at him.

What did this mean? Xu Dong instinctively turned to look at the towering Huaiyun Mountain. The next second, he heard a noise.

In the small forest by the stream, three gray scout dogs suddenly appeared, blocking Xu Dong's path and cutting off his only escape route!

At the same time, the scout dogs from all directions finally completed the encirclement, trapping him completely!

A wave of immense fear instantly overwhelmed his heart. Xu Dong looked down at his arm and saw the hairs standing on end due to fear. The sudden shift from joy to despair was almost unbearable, making him want to bang his head against the wall!

A hundred meters, sometimes, is an insurmountable barrier!

At this moment, Xu Dong's mind was jolted.

Your actions have triggered a special mission...

Refusing this task will result in the loss of survival rights...

Do you accept?

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