Chapter 16 (1/2)

“A Rampant Earth Dog!”

Marcus was so appalled that his spear was shaking.

However, the next moment, he realized that his spear pierced the creature, and the dog’s fierce attack was blocked. It fell on the ground heavily.

After the fall, the dog turned around and attacked again.

Marcus did not give it another chance. He threw the spear and drew the sword that was on the back of his horse, then slashed the dog.

Every earth knight had amazing strength and practiced the sword arts.

For a moment, the Rampant Earth Dog, even larger than the Wind Blade Wolf, was screaming and could barely counterattack. Also, it never cast any spells and simply fought Marcus physically.

Why is the most powerful monster of Thorn Hill as weak as a common beast? He was baffled.

But he did not stop attacking. A moment later, the dog fell, heavily wounded and bleeding hard.

It had only its last breath left.

Not daring to take it easy, Marcus picked up his spear and stabbed the dog’s throat.

The dog’s eyes lost focus; it passed away.

Marcus tied the tail of the dog with a rope skillfully and returned in the same way on his horse. He feared that the blood of the dog would attract beasts and even more monsters if he were to stay longer.

According to the law of nobles, all yields in a territory belonged to the lord.

Therefore, even though Marcus killed the dog, it was still Liszt’s property. He soon returned to the two-storied castle.

“Mr. Marcus.” Carl Hammer was on duty. As squires, they were obliged to protect the castle.

“Inform the baron that I’ve hunted a monster!”

“What? A monster?”

Everybody in the castle was shocked. The squires and the servants all followed Liszt to observe the monster. Monsters were not new to them, but they were still extremely rare in such a small place.

Besides, every part of a monster was valuable!

“Mr. Marcus, is this the king of Thorn Hill, one of the strongest low-level monsters?” Liszt was deep in thought.

“It’s indeed a Rampant Earth Dog. If it were any other occasion, I couldn’t have defeated it at all since it could release earth-natured spells. However, the one I hunted could only attack like a beast and never cast any spells.”

“It didn’t use magic? Why do you think that is?”

Marcus had obviously considered it while he was waiting. “I think that I may have run into a mother dog that just gave birth. Its abdomen is dry and loose, and it was lactating. Also, I found many bites on its body.”

“Lactating? Bites?”

“There are tooth marks here, here, and here. Do you remember the Wind Blade Wolf we encountered? I’m under the impression that they were caused by Wind Blade Wolves.”

“So to speak…” Liszt was reassured. “This dog was attacked by Wind Blade Wolves during pregnancy. It might’ve won the battle and given birth to babies, but it was exhausted after the battle. It tried to hunt with animal instincts, only to run into you, Mr. Marcus, right?”

“That’s very possible.”

Holding his excitement, Liszt said calmly, “In that case, Mr. Marcus, I think the dog’s cub is more valuable than its dead body. Are you still able to fight? Let’s search Thorn Hill for the little Rampant Earth Dog.”

“I’m always ready for battle.” Marcus held his head high and said, “However, Thorn Hill is dangerous. I should look for it alone.”

“Let’s do it together. I’m an earth knight, too.”

“Lord Baron…”

“Don’t forget that nobles have to fight. Just consider it as field training,” Liszt declared convincingly.

However, he was actually thinking about the mission reward. It would be a shame to ignore it.