Forced To Adopt Retired Military Dog Orc Chapter 13
byChapter 13: Not to be trifled with Woof woof woof woof woof woof woof…
The afternoon sun slanted west, slightly lengthening Si Jiu’s shadow in front of the guardhouse. Coincidentally, in this star system, there were also a “sun” and a “moon,” and the Beastman Planet had distinct day and night and four clear seasons.
It was early autumn afternoon, and the Sanatorium’s gatekeeper, the elderly Rhino Beastman, who was always slow-moving and wore reading glasses perched on his nose, squinted his eyes, his rhino horn prominent, trying hard to recall the details.
“That’s right, I saw it clearly,” the elderly Rhino Beastman’s voice was deep and certain, carrying the characteristic calm of a herbivore. “It was about half an hour ago. The Nurse Manager went out carrying her medical kit. A brown leather case with the edges worn white—I couldn’t have mistaken it!”
Half an hour ago? She should have arrived at the hospital long ago. As expected, she must have run into some trouble on the way.
That ominous premonition quietly spread like a vine in Si Jiu’s heart, tightening its grip.
Soon, Jun Qi, carrying an insulated medical box, came jogging over, waving at him, his large white curly tail swaying back and forth. Through his Alert Band, he had already learned from Si Jiu that the Nurse Manager had left the sanatorium.
“The Nurse Manager took the medical kit; she must be going to the hospital to deliver medicine,” Jun Qi panted, out of breath. “She hasn’t met with an accident, has she?”
“Let’s start by searching along the route—” Si Jiu said, exchanging a look with Jun Qi, both their eyes filled with the same worry.
Before he could finish speaking, Si Jiu, who was always sensitive to danger, noticed a familiar figure sprinting toward them from a distance.
It was Ran Lie—Si Jiu wasn’t surprised. In fact, seeing him made Si Jiu feel slightly relieved. But considering Ran Lie might frighten Jun Qi, who was already tense—
Si Jiu’s expression subtly hardened. He raised his hand and gently waved it at the large dog who was about to charge forward, signaling him to stop.
Ran Lie immediately understood his meaning and halted his steps a short distance away.
Si Jiu quickly extended a finger and pointed to the side. Surely, this command to hide wouldn’t be too difficult to understand? Si Jiu then winked.
The large dog clearly grasped his intention. Although he reluctantly pouted, he obediently complied—Good dog, Si Jiu gave Ran Lie a thumbs-up in his mind.
So, when Jun Qi turned around, slightly confused, the large dog had vanished in the blink of an eye.
“What…” Jun Qi’s mismatched gold and blue eyes widened. He was inevitably nervous now, seeing danger everywhere.
“It’s nothing, Jun Qi. But if anything unexpected happens on the road later, remember to grab the medical box and run first,” Si Jiu whispered to the Persian Cat, whose tail was standing straight up in tension.
Jun Qi nodded instinctively. Si Jiu’s composure had a special kind of infectious power, completely different from his usual aura at the sanatorium, where he was only focused on clocking out, ignoring patient complaints and colleague isolation.
The road from the sanatorium to the hospital was quite remote, winding through the suburbs with weeds growing rampant on both sides. After walking a bit further, they could see dense woods on the left and right. The afternoon wind rustled through the leaves, making a sound that caused unease.
Even in the afternoon, this road was sparsely populated.
Jun Qi followed closely behind Si Jiu the entire way. He was familiar with this road, but given the Nurse Manager’s unknown status, his anxiety was magnified infinitely on the deserted path. His footsteps sounded exceptionally clear in the silence, and he could even hear his own slightly rapid breathing. The increasingly dark woods beside them amplified the sense of the unknown and a creeping fear.
Si Jiu could feel Ran Lie following discreetly not far away. He was surprisingly quiet, just as Si Jiu had wished, but Si Jiu’s intuition told him that Ran Lie was constantly present.
At this moment, Si Jiu found him exceptionally reliable. He really needed to cook him something delicious when they returned!
After walking for about ten minutes, the surroundings grew even quieter; even the chirping of insects seemed to have vanished.
Jun Qi suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, his nostrils twitching slightly.
“Si Jiu—” He lowered his voice, his tone grave and slightly hoarse. “Do you smell anything?”
The sense of smell for Feline Beastmen was naturally more acute than for humans.
Si Jiu also stopped and took a deep breath. The afternoon wind carried a faint, sweet, metallic scent, almost imperceptible.
Si Jiu was not unfamiliar with it—it was the smell of blood. Beastman blood was no different from human blood.
Both their hearts sank simultaneously.
Following the increasingly strong scent, the two had to cautiously veer off the main road and head into the dense woods beside the path.
Ran Lie followed behind. His movements were completely silent; his stealth was perfect. But Si Jiu sensed that he had fully entered a state of readiness for battle.
They hadn’t gone far into the woods—
“Nurse Manager!” Jun Qi gasped.
The Nurse Manager was lying unconscious against a thick tree trunk. Her large hamster ears and nurse uniform were scattered with dirt and dead leaves. Her face was pale, her eyes tightly shut, and there was a noticeable bruise on her temple, slowly oozing blood. A large area on her chest was soaked through with dark red, almost black, blood.
The brown medical kit mentioned by the elderly Rhino Beastman was nowhere to be seen. Around the Nurse Manager’s body, there were clear signs of struggle and dragging in the dirt and fallen leaves.
Jun Qi immediately knelt beside the unconscious Nurse Manager. The professional instinct of a high-level caregiver made him quickly calm down. He reached out and carefully checked the Nurse Manager’s vital signs—the carotid pulse was weak but present, and her breathing was shallow and rapid. The wound on her chest seemed to be caused by sharp claws and was still slowly bleeding.
Si Jiu quickly scanned the surroundings, every nerve taut.
His gaze sharply swept over every shadow, every tree trunk that could potentially conceal danger.
He noticed several blurred but messy animal paw prints near where the Nurse Manager had fallen. The size clearly did not belong to the Nurse Manager in her Human Form Transformation.
In the air, besides the heavy smell of blood, there seemed to linger a faint, unfamiliar scent carrying a hint of ferocity.
The paw prints were confined to the immediate area and did not extend in other directions into the woods…
Not good!
Sure enough, just then, a lion-shaped beast, unimaginably massive, suddenly sprang out from behind the tree the Nurse Manager was leaning against. Its pair of eerie green eyes emitted a chilling light.
“Roar—Roar—”
The deafening roar tore through the silence of the woods, and a bloody gust of wind rushed toward them. It opened its gaping maw, and its pair of sharp front claws lunged directly at Jun Qi, who was beside the Nurse Manager.
“Ran Lie—” Faster than Si Jiu’s voice was a black shadow, swift as lightning.
The large dog had already seized the opportunity from the side, leaping forward!
His agile and massive body was like a black flying shield, cutting a precise and decisive arc in mid-air. Without the slightest hesitation, he fiercely intercepted the charging lion-shaped beast!
“Awooo—Awooo!” The large dog bit down on the beast’s foreleg.
The immense impact forced a muffled roar of pain from the beast. Its trajectory toward Jun Qi was violently interrupted, and it was dragged and slammed onto the nearby clearing by Ran Lie’s powerful bite.
It was indeed the perpetrator who was on the run.
Si Jiu stepped forward, firmly shielding Jun Qi.
Jun Qi was momentarily stunned by the sudden attack.
Si Jiu helped him up and said softly, “It’s alright. Trust me.”
“Nurse Manager…” Jun Qi grabbed Si Jiu’s sleeve, his voice trembling as his gaze involuntarily fell upon the Nurse Manager beside them.
Si Jiu’s attention was fixed on the fierce struggle between the dog and the beast ahead. At the same time, he placed his hand on the Nurse Manager’s injured chest. A gentle green light displayed a miraculous Healing Power. Si Jiu, exerting his full strength, immediately broke out in a dense sweat, but his voice remained calm as water: “The Nurse Manager will be fine, too.”
He trusted his ability, just as he trusted Ran Lie.
Ran Lie was indeed a first-rate fighter. His ferocity and strength far exceeded Si Jiu’s expectations.
Using the advantage provided by the initial impact, the large dog had accurately sunk his canine teeth deep into the beast’s muscle on its thick foreleg. The massive lion-shaped beast roared in a mix of pain and fury on the clearing. Its other front claw frantically scratched, and its hind legs kicked violently, attempting to throw off Ran Lie who was pinning it down.
Ran Lie emitted a threatening growl from his throat. His four limbs were like iron casts, gripping the ground tightly, his entire body tense. No matter how wildly the opponent twisted, it was useless.
He held it firmly suppressed beneath him. His terrifying bite force gave the opponent no opportunity to retaliate.
It seemed he wouldn’t need Si Jiu’s help. Si Jiu focused more intently on treating the Nurse Manager’s injuries.
The bleeding stopped instantly. Not only were the external wounds healing, but the Nurse Manager’s internal injuries were also recovering rapidly. Bones were realigning, organs were repairing, and flesh was regenerating.
Jun Qi stared with his gold and blue eyes, completely transfixed. He had always known that if the sanatorium had any difficult medical cases, the Director would ask Si Jiu to assist with the nursing care, but he never expected Si Jiu to possess such miraculous Healing Power, capable of turning decay into wonder.
On the other side, against Ran Lie’s absolute strength and will, the beast’s struggles seemed futile.
Ran Lie’s erect ears flicked to the side. A crisp, terrifying tearing sound rang out: “Crack—”
Accompanied by the lion-shaped beast’s agonizing howl, its thick foreleg, which had been firmly clamped by Ran Lie, was violently ripped from its body by the large dog!
Immediately afterward, Ran Lie didn’t hesitate. Using the momentum from shaking off the severed limb, his head shot out like lightning, striking again. It accurately clamped down on the vital throat area of the lion beast, which was exposed due to its howling.
A single fatal blow—
This time, there was no roar, only a dull, cracking sound of the throat bone shattering.
All the beast’s struggles ceased at that moment.
Its body convulsed violently once, then completely went limp. Only those eerie green eyes glowed faintly on the ground.
And just then, several more faint green lights flashed in the woods.
Damn it, there was more than one!