16 Chapter 0016: The Rising and Falling of Dog Barks

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"Fierce Earth Dog!"

Marcus's heart lurched, and his Knight Spear trembled.

But in the next moment, he suddenly found that his Knight Spear had precisely pierced a small bloody hole in the Fierce Earth Dog's body. The ferocious lunge of the Fierce Earth Dog was halted by his spear, and it fell heavily to the ground.

The Fierce Earth Dog on the ground tried to turn and pounce again.

But Marcus gave it no chance, discarding the Knight Spear unsuited for close combat, he drew the One-Handed Sword hanging on his horse and hacked wildly at the Fierce Earth Dog.

The strength of an Earth Knight was astonishing, and even his One-Handed Sword had undergone systematic training.

For a time, he chopped at the Fierce Earth Dog, even larger than the Wind Blade Wolf, making it howl in chaos, its scattered retaliations completely lacking in technique. And from beginning to end, the Fierce Earth Dog did not use any magic but simply engaged in a melee with Marcus.

"Why is the most powerful Magical Beast of Thorn Ridge, the Fierce Earth Dog, no different from a common wild beast, so weak?" he wondered with a million doubts in his mind.

But his Longsword did not cease for a moment, and shortly after, the Fierce Earth Dog was severely injured and lay bleeding on the ground.

Barely hanging on to life.

Marcus dared not relax, picking up the Knight Spear from the ground and thrusting it toward the throat of the Fierce Earth Dog.

Pu-chi!

"Whimper…"

The Fierce Earth Dog's gaze scattered and it breathed its last.

Pulling out the rope he carried, Marcus skillfully tied it around the Fierce Earth Dog's tail, then mounted his dun horse, speeding back the way he had come. He dared not linger in Thorn Ridge, especially since the blood scent of the Fierce Earth Dog might attract wild beasts, even Magical Beasts.

According to the laws of the nobles, all produce from the territory belonged to the landlord.

Therefore, even though Marcus had killed the Fierce Earth Dog, it belonged to Liszt's property. He sped along and quickly returned to the two-story castle.

"Teacher Marcus." Karl Ironhammer was on duty; their Retainer Knights needed to guard the castle's safety.

"Quick, go inform the Baron, I've killed a Magical Beast!"

"What, a Magical Beast!"

Swiftly, the entire castle was stirred, whether Retainer Knights, manservants, maidservants, the butler, or the cook, all followed Liszt to come and see the Magical Beast. Magical Beasts were actually not uncommon, for Tulip Castle had them bred, but in this small place, a Magical Beast was still a rarity.

Moreover, Magical Beasts were valuable, treasures from head to toe!

"Teacher Marcus, is this the King of Thorn Ridge, the powerful low-level Magical Beast called the Fierce Earth Dog?" asked Liszt, his eyes gleaming with deep thought.

"It is indeed a Fierce Earth Dog, under normal circumstances, even two of me might not be able to defeat a Fierce Earth Dog, as it can release Earth Attribute magic—Rock Spike, which is very difficult to defend against, and upon encountering it one can only flee. But the one I have hunted only used wild beast pounce, it did not use magic even once."

"It didn't use magic, what do you think is the reason?"

Marcus had clearly pondered during his wait: "I think, I might have encountered a Female Tyrant Earth Hound that had recently given birth. Looking at its abdomen, shriveled and slack, these are postnatal traits, and it is still in the lactation period. Also, I found many bite marks on its body."

"Lactation period? Bite marks?"

"Here, here, and here, these are all tooth marks; Baron, do you remember the Wind Blade Wolf we encountered earlier? These tooth marks are starting to heal, they are not very clear, but I think they are from the Wind Blade Wolf."

"So you're suggesting..." Liszt felt suddenly assured, "This Fierce Earth Dog was attacked by Wind Blade Wolves during its pregnancy, it might have won and given birth to its offspring, but the battle drained its strength and magic power, forcing it to rely on its animal instincts to hunt, and then it encountered you, Teacher Marcus?"

"Very likely."

Liszt suppressed his excitement and calmly said, "In that case, Teacher Marcus, compared to the valuable corpse of the Fierce Earth Dog, I think its offspring are the real treasure. Are you still able to fight? Join me in searching Thorn Ridge to find the Fierce Earth Dog's offspring."

"I am always ready to fight," Marcus puffed out his chest, then added, "but Thorn Ridge is very dangerous, I alone should go in to search."

"Together, I am also an Earth Knight."

"Baron..."

"Don't forget, nobles, too, need to fight. Just treat this as a practical knight lesson for me," Liszt declared with righteous fervor.

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In his heart, however, he thought that with the mission reward lying just over there, how could he be content without claiming it.

Moreover, the fact that the weakened Fierce Earth Dog survived and attacked Marcus suggested that there were no Magical Beasts over there threatening its life; otherwise, it would have already become a pile of dung.

No one could stop Liszt's determination.

Marcus placed one hand over his chest and respectfully performed a Knight's salute, expressing his respect for Liszt's courage.

The butler, Old Carter, bent at the waist to bow, "My lord, your courage is armored and sharp, and glory shall surely be with you!"

"Of course."

Liszt donned the Magical Beast Leather Armor and mounted his horse with a heroic bearing, "Let's set out!"

...

Two Earth Knights followed by four Retainer Knights galloped off, quickly entering the territory of Thorn Ridge. Guided by Marcus, they reached the spot where he first sensed the Fierce Earth Dog's presence.

"Baron, this is the spot where I felt its presence. The Fierce Earth Dog followed me for about a mile from here before it ambushed me."

"Then, its den must be nearby. Let's start searching."

The mounds of earth rose and fell unevenly, and the woods were in disarray.

The group of six searched for half an hour without finding the den of the Fierce Earth Dog, growing somewhat irritable and disappointed.

"My lord, perhaps the Fierce Earth Dog only passed through here, its den might not be near here, or it might not even have a den," Karl said.

But Liszt firmly stated, "I believe its den is around here."

The confidence in the reward from the Smoke Mission was unyielding; it was his backbone.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Does anyone know what a Fierce Earth Dog sounds like?"

"Fierce Earth Dogs are still dogs; their barks are no different than those of ordinary dogs," Marcus provided the answer.

"Then, Karl, Rom, Gray, Auden, you four must keep imitating the barking of dogs. If there are any young cubs of the Fierce Earth Dog here, they will definitely respond—they probably won't understand what the imitated barks mean and will think it's their mother calling for them."

"Good idea." Marcus agreed.

So, along with the four Retainer Knights, he imitated a variety of dog barks as they continued to search the area.

A quarter of an hour later.

Marcus suddenly raised his hand, "Silence!"

After everyone fell quiet, he made a gesture of listening intently and whispered, "Baron, listen."

Liszt concentrated his listening, and after a few seconds, he heard a faint "awoo" sound amid the unknown bird calls. It was unmistakably a dog's bark.

"It's over there."

"Yes, just over there." Marcus signaled to Karl, "Your imitation is the most realistic, now you keep doing it."

Karl did as instructed.

Each time he barked, a faint "awoo" would respond from not too far away. Following this puzzling conversation, Liszt and the others finally found the Fierce Earth Dog's den, concealed within a thicket of bushes.

Pushing aside the entrance's thatch, Marcus carefully pulled out a very small puppy that had not yet opened its eyes.

He carefully handed the young pup to Liszt, "My lord, this is a young Fierce Earth Dog, a priceless treasure! It hasn't opened its eyes, and when it does, it will recognize its owner." Not all Magical Beasts recognize an owner, but canine Magical Beasts do exhibit this behavior trait.

The first thing they see is what they recognize.

Most of the time, what they see is their mother—perhaps recognizing an owner is in essence identifying a mother.

Shivering in Liszt's arms, the puppy occasionally let out a fearful "awoo," evidently frightened by the unfamiliar scent on Liszt, which was not the smell of its mother's milk.

"Just hang in there; soon you'll be able to drink milk again." Liszt smoothed the fuzzy fur of the little milk dog and mounted his horse once more, "Let's return!"