Chapter 16

“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.

Also, the weakened dog survived and attacked Marcus because no monsters were a threat, or it would’ve been killed a long time ago.

Nobody could disobey Liszt.

Marcus touched his chest with one hand, expressing his respect for Liszt’s courage in the manner of knights.

Carter bowed. “My lord, may glory be with you!”

“It will.”

Liszt put on leather armor and got on the horse. “Let’s go!”

…

Two earth knights, followed by four squires, rode into Thorn Hill soon and reached the place where Marcus sensed the Rampant Earth Dog for the first time.

“My lord, it was in this place that I sensed the scent. Then, the dog tailed me for a mile before it ambushed me.”

“Its lair must be around here. Let’s search.”

The woods here were a mess.

The six of them searched for half an hour but found nothing. They were inevitably agitated.

“My lord, maybe the dog was a wanderer and its lair is not here, if there is a lair at all,” said Carl.

Liszt, however, was firm. “I believe that its lair is right here.”

The reward of the misty mission couldn’t be nothing. That was the source of his confidence.

After thinking for a moment, he asked, “Does any of you know how the Rampant Earth Dog barks?”

“The Rampant Earth Dog is just a dog. It barks the same as other dogs.” Marcus gave an answer.

“Then, Carl, Rom, Gray and Auden, you will imitate dog barks. If there are cubs around, they will respond quickly. They probably will think that their mom is calling.”

“That’s a good idea,” Marcus agreed.

Of course, his squires and he searched the area while pretending to bark.

A quarter later, Marcus raised his hand. “Quiet!”

After everyone fell quiet, he cocked an ear and said softly, “Lord Baron, listen.”

Liszt listened quietly. A few seconds later, he heard a feeble bark behind the bird songs. It was definitely a bark.

“It’s right there.”

“Yes, it’s there.” Marcus indicated. “Your barking is most similar to the original. Now, continue your imitation.”

Carl did as he was bidden.

He barked and was responded to now and then. Tracing the source of the sound, Liszt finally found the den of a dog behind a bush.

Waving away the grass at the entrance of the den, Marcus brought out a tiny cub that hadn’t even opened its eyes yet.

He delivered the cub to Liszt carefully. “Lord Baron, it’s a young Rampant Earth Dog, a priceless treasure! It hasn’t opened its eyes yet! It will acknowledge the first person it sees as its own master!” Not all monsters were tamable, but dog-like monsters retained the habit.

Most of the time, it was their mother that they saw, so acknowledging a master was the same as acknowledging a mother.

The cub shivered in Liszt’s arms. It appeared scared. It probably smelled the strange scent from Liszt that was different from what it knew.

“Hang in there. You will have new milk to drink soon.” Liszt combed its fur and got on his horse.

“Let’s go back!”