The demon dogs were very cunning as they fought their enemies. Instead of going all-out from the
outset, they preferred to round up their foes in small groups.
And when their enemies were finally exhausted, they would finish them off.
Like a cat that would always torture a mouse before eating it, demon dogs enjoyed watching their
enemies struggling while helpless and desperate until they died.
It was particularly enjoyable for these two demon dogs to see their prey in such a vulnerable position. It
was a lot of fun for them to play the game before devouring the prey.
They knew the young man had been running for a long time and was now worn out. At this point, he
was yearning to sit down and rest.
However, like two ghosts, the demon dogs relentlessly hunted him down.
The man was aware of the demon dogs' notorious habit. The thought of being tortured before his
hunters finally devoured him made him sigh loudly. 'How could I have been so unlucky to run into these
two devils?' he thought to himself.
The dogs were getting closer, yet no one had still shown up to rescue him. It looked as if he would end
up as their meal.
With nothing to lose, he called out, "Hey, buddies! Don't you think it's better to make friends than
enemies? Since fate brought us together, how about we become friends?"
Trying to be friendly, he offered the bag of magic herbs he collected from the mountain. "It includes
several Ganoderma lucidum that took a thousand years to grow. There's also dragon-shaped dates
produced every five hundred years. All are incredible natural gems, and I spent a great deal of effort to
pick them. If you let me go, I will give all of them to you..." he trailed off.
"Hey, are you listening? Why are you still chasing me?" he hollered.
With no one coming to his rescue, the young man had to negotiate with the demon dogs to survive.
It surprised Austin to hear the young man rambling even as he was stumbling forward to escape.
"Whoops!" the young man cried out.
He fell on the ground and rolled over several feet. Austin saw that he had tripped over the root of a tree
due to sheer exhaustion which caused him to fall.
Assuming their prey was finally worn out, the demon dogs moved faster. They jumped a few times at
extremely high speeds and blocked the young man's way, with one in front of him, the other behind.
They bared their white fangs while their ferocious eyes gleamed in mockery. It seemed they were near
the end of this game.
The young man knew things were really bad, so no longer concerned if the dogs were going to pick up
the treasure bag he laid on the ground, he immediately stood up and brought out a dagger from his
pocket. Horrified, he stammered, "Don't come near me!"
Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he could feel his heart thudding.
He turned pale at the sickening smell of demon dogs.
The dogs gave a guttural growl as the hairs at the back of their neck rose before they jumped towards
the young man, like two beams of light.
The young man closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. 'If not for the magic herbs, I wouldn't die here, ' he
rued.
He had just reached level four of the Energy Gathering Realm, so his vital energy at this level was not
stable yet. And currently, the skills he was practicing were all grade one.
It was out of greed that he came to Beast Mountain to pick the magic herbs, putting his life at risk, in
the hopes of making a small fortune.
Since he lacked the competence for this undertaking, no one wanted to join him, so he came alone.
In contrast, the demon dogs were already tier one, so he was no match for them at all.
"Bang! Ahhh-woooh!"
The sounds were terrifying and it sounded ominous.
But instead of feeling searing pain, the young man heard abnormal noises nearby.
When he opened his eyes again, he found the demon dogs never touched him at all. A young man
garbed in gray with a long sword in one hand stood before one of the demon dogs. Blood dripped from
his sword.
The other demon dog lay on the ground not far away, with blood pouring out of a hole in its throat. Its
limbs twitched as it breathed heavily. It could no longer make any sound, and from the looks of things, it
was going to die soon.
The young man in gray was actually Austin. He saw the demon dogs as they were about to tear the
other guy into pieces.
He quickly jumped off the tree and kicked one of the demon dogs on the head before thrusting his
sword into the other demon dog using a move in the Cloud Swordsmanship dubbed Eagle Flying.
With the Wind-commanding Skill, Austin moved flexibly and swiftly. As a result, the demon dogs were
not able to prepare for the attack and ended with one dog on the ground and the other one's throat
slashed by his sword.
"Hi, buddy! You are not only agile, but also a fantastic hero. I am so lucky to have your help!"
The demon dogs' nearest victim was so excited about his rescue that he began to praise Austin loudly.
The demon dog that Austin had kicked bared its sharp teeth then roared, staring at his assailant with
bloodshot eyes.
Meanwhile, Austin was still reflecting on the tremendous feeling after using the Cloud Swordsmanship.
He was surprised by its incredible power when combined with the Wind-commanding Skill.
He hadn't expected a diabolic beast at first level could be killed by an attack using that combination of
skill and movement.
Although it was a sneak attack, without the perfect combination of the Cloud Swordsmanship and
Wind-commanding Skill, Austin still wouldn't have been successful.
The other demon dog roared like a wolf, opening its big mouth as it rushed towards Austin like a streak
of lightning.
Looking at the furious demon dog, Austin smiled slightly. As if floating with the wind, he hovered to the
right of the animal.
Then he waved his long sword and stabbed the demon dog in the belly.
Blood splattered as a section of the demon dog's intestines fell out of its body.
The injured dog looked so miserable as it groaned in agony. Then it ran away with its tail between the
legs.
The guy Austin rescued laughed in relief. "Ha, ha! You beasts! I didn't expect what happened to you.
Now, who's running away?"
He was shouting when he saw the demon dog run away with its injury. He wanted so badly to rush up
to it and beat it himself, seeming to have forgotten that he had almost died a while ago.
But Austin was not about to let the dog escape, or he would lose a beast core of a diabolic beast at
level one.
In a blink of an eye, he appeared in front of the demon dog.
After several rounds of lopsided fighting, Austin stabbed the demon dog in the middle of its head with
the long sword.
When he pulled out the sword, a beast core rolled out from the hole in the demon dog's head. He
picked it up with the metal blade and it jumped into his hand.
Then Austin proceeded to the dead demon dog, hit its head and got another beast core.
The young man's eyes gleamed in envy as he watched Austin take the beast cores into his hands.
Still jovial after his near-fatal experience, he called out, "Hey, buddy! Nice to meet you. My name is
Herbert, and I'm an outer disciple. Thank you very much for saving my life! I really don't know how to
express my gratitude."
His gratitude was said sincerely.
Austin acknowledged this and nodded lightly.
"You're welcome! It's not a big deal," he said.
Bending down, Herbert picked up the big stuffed bag, opened it, and grabbed a handful of herbs.
"Buddy, please take these. It took me several days to pick these magic herbs."
The young man's eyes beamed a smile, his generosity genuine.
As his lips twitched, Austin tried to hold back laughter while looking at the bag.
It was full of low-cost magic herbs like ground bone grass, violet grass, and magic flowers, among
others.
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