"Woof, woof, woof..." The hounds' barking grew louder and louder.
Beyond the signals from the several dogs like Big Sweet Potato, the battle flags assisting also sent out signals.
Hearing this signal, Liu Tiezhu immediately became excited.
This kind of signal meant the prey had been surrounded, and they were calling for the heavy hitters to come in for the kill.
At that moment, the battle-axe on the perimeter also started barking wildly.
"Brother Tiezhu, what's going on? Why are all the dogs barking?"
Er Gouzi, who had caught up, looked completely confused, unable to pinpoint the prey's exact location.
But Liu Tiezhu laughed excitedly.
If the battle-axe was barking, it meant there was more than one prey nearby.
They must have spotted the prey trying to break out of the encirclement, hence the signal calling for the heavy hitters.
But this situation wasn't ideal; it could easily disrupt the heavy hitters' rhythm, leaving them unsure which side to assist.
At times like this, a hunter's guidance was needed, or else the heavy hitters might end up biting nothing in the end.
"Gouzi, take Dartspear 2 and 3 and head left, hurry."
"The battle-axe's signal is so strong, it must have run into something big. Be careful."
Liu Tiezhu said, gesturing, and Dartspear 2 and 3 immediately turned around.
He, on the other hand, continued charging forward with Dartspear 1, 4, and 5.
It was only then that Er Gouzi understood why Liu Tiezhu had been training his stamina.
Without enough endurance, even if the prey was right in front of you, you could only watch it run away.
Thirty meters away, a black goat was trapped in the center of the dog pack.
Big Sweet Potato and the battle flags crisscrossed, the dogs circling it and barking incessantly, wearing down the black goat's strength.
They didn't have enough power to attack.
But they cooperated well; no matter which direction the black goat tried to flee, they could always block the gap in time.
As soon as the Dartspears arrived, they didn't need Liu Tiezhu to give orders.
Three dogs pounced simultaneously.
The first bit the black goat's neck.
The second bit its horn, pressing its entire body to the ground.
The other bit the black goat's tail.
The frantic black goat was subdued by the three heavy hitters in just a breath's time.
Big Sweet Potato and the other dogs swarmed in, biting at the black goat's belly.
This black goat was huge, estimated to be around eighty jin.
Even with so many hounds biting it, it still struggled wildly.
But the three heavy hitters weren't slacking off.
Despite weighing only about twenty jin each, their strength was astonishing.
With their coordination, no matter how fiercely the black goat struggled, it couldn't get up.
Liu Tiezhu rushed over quickly, pressed down on the black goat's neck, and made a single cut.
"Let's go, help the battle-axe and the others."
After finishing off the black goat, Liu Tiezhu dispersed the dogs that were still biting.
Big Sweet Potato let out a call, and all the dogs scattered again.
On the other side, five battle flags surrounded a young wild boar.
This boar weighed over 180 jin, covered in brown fur.
Facing five hounds, it showed no fear, charging and ramming repeatedly.
The five battle flag dogs were no match for it.
When the boar charged, they quickly dodged.
Once the boar ran a distance, they chased after it, seizing opportunities to bite its hind legs.
Er Gouzi, with Dartspear 2 and 3, was chasing, panting heavily.
Hearing the boar's squeals getting closer, he quickly sent the two hounds ahead.
At that moment, seven or eight hounds rushed over, led by Big Sweet Potato.
Big Sweet Potato was incredibly fast, running as if its feet barely touched the ground.
Its yellow figure sprinted across the snowy landscape, exuding an indescribable fierceness.
Er Gouzi had just spotted it when, in the next second, it was already over ten meters away, leaving only a trail of dust.
Er Gouzi rubbed his eyes: "Holy crap, what kind of speed is that?"
"This damn thing is almost as fast as a leopard."
Before he could recover, Liu Tiezhu's scolding reached his ears.
"Er Gouzi, get up now, don't play dead."
Liu Tiezhu had marked the spot where the black goat was and then hurried over.
Er Gouzi didn't dare slack off, quickly catching up to Liu Tiezhu.
When they reached the boar's location, the dog pack had already surrounded it.
After the five heavy hitters barked at the boar for a few minutes, they immediately attacked.
Dartspear 1 made a fierce lunge, biting the boar's neck and yanking hard.
But its strength wasn't enough; the yank didn't bring the boar down.
The boar, in pain, dragged Dartspear 1 as it ran wildly.
Dartspear 2 and 3 pounced simultaneously, biting the boar's hind legs.
The charging boar fell instantly, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Dartspear 1, still biting the neck, was flung several meters by the momentum.
The remaining Dartspear 4 and 5 pounced fiercely.
One took Dartspear 1's place, while the other bit the boar's snout.
Seeing the boar pinned, the battle-axe dogs on the perimeter swarmed in.
Liu Tiezhu didn't stay idle either, rushing over to straddle the boar.
With one hand pressing the boar's body down, he stabbed his short knife into its neck.
The boar, wounded, didn't die but grew even more frantic.
Its sharp squeals echoed across the entire cassava field.
Er Gouzi quickly pounced, holding down the boar's front hooves.
Liu Tiezhu took the chance to stab the boar's neck five or six more times.
Only when the boar was completely still did they let go, lying on the ground, gasping for air.
The hounds also stopped, wagging their tails around the two men.
"This thing weighs at most 180 jin, where does it get so much strength?" Er Gouzi said, still shaken.
If he hadn't reacted in time to that kick from the boar, he'd probably be home in bed for ten days.
And this was just a young boar; if it were a full-grown one weighing three or five hundred jin, he might not have been able to hold it down.
"Now you know why I've been training your stamina?" Liu Tiezhu scolded with a laugh.
Er Gouzi said, "Looks like I still need to train. I feel like my strength isn't even as good as the Dartspears'."
After resting for over ten minutes, Liu Tiezhu sent Big Sweet Potato out again to keep hunting.
He and Er Gouzi quickly butchered the boar, then carried it to where the black goat was.
Just then, from behind the cassava field, Big Sweet Potato's signal came again.
"Found prey so fast? Looks like we chose the right cassava field."
Er Gouzi grinned, laughing heartily, not expecting such a small field to hide so much prey.
Liu Tiezhu listened carefully for a moment, then his expression changed.
"No, that doesn't sound like a signal bark."
"Do you hear it? Big Sweet Potato's bark sounds mournful?"
Er Gouzi jumped up, listened quietly for a few seconds, and his face also changed.
"Brother Tiezhu, it really does."
"What's going on?"
Liu Tiezhu shouted angrily, "Big Sweet Potato is sending a danger signal—someone's attacking it."
"Damn it to hell, which bastard is after my dogs?"
As he spoke, Liu Tiezhu grabbed his compound bow and charged out furiously.
Er Gouzi abandoned the meat, following close behind Liu Tiezhu, cursing loudly.
"Son of a bitch, you'd better not hurt my dogs."
"Or I'll make sure you regret it, you idiot."
After they ran about twenty meters, the hounds' barking grew even more frantic.
Liu Tiezhu focused his eyes and saw a huge pool of blood on the ground.
"Damn you all to hell, I'll kill every last one of you bastards."
Liu Tiezhu's eyes turned red instantly as he pulled back the spring on his compound crossbow and charged forward.