Forced To Adopt Retired Military Dog Orc Chapter 14
byChapter 14 A Good Hand
Woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof…
“Roar—roar—” A low growl, accompanied by the foul, bloody panting of a beast.
The sky had already darkened. The eerie green lights deep in the forest, like phantoms, rapidly closed in.
The surrounding area suddenly echoed with the crunching sound of branches and dry leaves being snapped—they were surrounded.
Si Jiu watched the terrifying, ghostly green lights, shielding Jun Qi and the Nurse Manager. One, two, three… six green clusters flashed, meaning there were three beasts.
The attack was instantaneous; the predators in the darkness would not give Ran Lie any chance to catch his breath.
Two black shadows, one from the left and one from the right of the woods, simultaneously lunged at the large dog who had just finished a fight.
The tiger-shaped beast above leaped through the air, its massive body casting a terrifying shadow of mortal danger. Its sharp claws gleamed with a chilling light, carrying a savagery that seemed intent on tearing everything apart. The other leopard-shaped beast below crouched low, like a malevolent spirit skimming the ground, charging straight for Ran Lie’s lower body, intending to knock him over. Its gaping maw was aimed precisely at the wound on the large dog’s abdomen.
The pincer attack sealed off all angles of evasion.
“Awoo—” Ran Lie raised his head, letting out a low roar in the twilight. The muscles in his hind legs instantly tensed. He sharply twisted his body, attempting to use his relatively sturdy shoulder blade to withstand the pounce from above. Simultaneously, his hind legs pushed off the ground, preparing to absorb the fierce impact from below.
In that instant, there was no fear in his eyes, only a near-instinctive offensive defense honed through countless bloody battles.
Just then—
“Swish—” An extremely light, fast sound, almost drowned out by the beasts’ roars and the wind.
It wasn’t the sharp whistle of an arrow, but more like the inaudible hum of the night wind brushing against skin, yet it carried a cold precision.
A faint silver flash shot out at a speed difficult for the naked eye to track.
The angle and trajectory were extremely tricky, arriving precisely at the green eye of the airborne tiger-shaped beast at the moment it could no longer change direction, and then piercing accurately into it.
A slight sound of penetration, without the slightest deviation—precise and vicious.
The next second, the fierce beast let out an earth-shattering shriek: “Roar roar—roar—!”
A burst of blood suddenly exploded from the beast’s right eye. Something had deeply embedded itself in its eyeball.
The intense pain instantly caused it to lose balance and aim, accompanied by a mournful cry.
Its massive body twisted uncontrollably in the air, then slammed onto the ground less than a foot away from Ran Lie with a loud thud. It rolled painfully on the ground, blood dripping from its mouth, frantically clawing at its injured eye, letting out even more agonizing roars.
But soon it couldn’t scream anymore. Another flash of silver flew past, hitting its neck dead center, piercing straight through.
At the same time, Ran Lie dodged with a side step, then swiftly twisted his head, biting down hard on the other leopard-shaped beast. This time, he aimed directly for the vital spot in the throat. His sharp canine teeth sank into flesh and blood. With a crunching sound, the beast’s head was twisted to an unnatural angle in the blink of an eye. Its green eyes dimmed, becoming a stagnant, dead black.
And the moment Ran Lie bit the leopard-shaped beast, the third spotted hyena lurking in the darkness had already seized its chance and rushed out!
But its target was not Ran Lie, but—
“Si—” Ran Lie eliminated the leopard-shaped beast as quickly as possible and immediately turned around, but it was still too late. His eyes widened, and his breath seemed to stop at that moment.
“Ah ah ah ah—” Jun Qi, behind him, hugged the Nurse Manager, whose body was recovering but hadn’t regained consciousness. He tightly closed his eyes and screamed in fear. He didn’t want to see Si Jiu get hurt.
But Si Jiu didn’t move. He was waiting for this moment.
With a light flick of his right hand, the third silver flash instantly shot out—
The scalpel hit the spotted hyena’s brow bone squarely.
This kind of blade was suitable for close combat.
Si Jiu took a step back. The spotted hyena missed its pounce and struggled in its death throes. Si Jiu knelt down, grasped the scalpel embedded in its forehead, and pulled it out forcefully. Then, holding the severely injured head of the beast with one hand and the scalpel handle firmly with the other, he drew an incredibly precise and elegant silver arc across the vital spot on the neck of the fallen hyena.
The speed was so fast that by the time Jun Qi opened his eyes, the spotted hyena had already breathed its last.
It was right to stop by the sanatorium’s storage room before heading to the gatehouse. He had brought a total of five scalpels and used three.
It basically met expectations.
Si Jiu retracted the blade into his palm. When he turned to smile at Jun Qi and the slightly stirring Nurse Manager, the knife was already back in the pocket of his nursing uniform.
“Don’t be afraid, we are safe. Those assailants have all been subdued by Mr. Ran,” Si Jiu said, putting his bloody hand behind his back. His voice was gentle and particularly reassuring to hear.
“Ah, ah, Si Jiu, you weren’t hurt?!” Jun Qi opened his eyes and saw Si Jiu standing in front of him completely unharmed. His voice was choked with emotion.
“No, thanks to Mr. Ran,” Si Jiu smiled tiredly, as if he, like Jun Qi, had been greatly startled.
He wanted to pat Jun Qi’s shoulder to comfort him, but his hand was still stained with blood.
Scalpels were like that; when used for throwing, they were a one-way trip, but in close combat, it was easy to get covered in blood. This had been a problem back on Yalan Star…
Ran Lie patrolled the woods again. After confirming there was no danger, he walked over. He shook off the blood splattered on him and the leaves stuck during the fight. His black pointed ears twitched slightly. He held his head high, walked with a confident stride, and wagged his tail lightly.
He seemed to be waiting for Si Jiu’s praise for his performance, yet he also seemed satisfied and proud of Si Jiu’s abnormally calm, skilled, and agile movements, which resembled those of an assassin.
Satisfied that Si Jiu was unharmed.
And perhaps proud that such a powerful human belonged to him!
Why are you getting excited now?! Si Jiu couldn’t help but glare at Ran Lie. Although he was grateful for his effort, it was better not to get too close right now, lest he frighten Jun Qi and the newly conscious Nurse Manager.
“Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof woof!”
—”Why are you glaring at me again! They should be thanking me!” The large dog’s tail stood up, and he still barked out his protest unwillingly. The sentiment was sound, even if the delivery was a bit thick-skinned. The phone in the other pocket of his nursing uniform silently translated.
The dog’s barking confirmed that all the heroism belonged to him.
If the Beastmen at the sanatorium became aware of his fighting skills… that wouldn’t be a good thing. Those painful memories of the past on Yalan Star shouldn’t be recalled.
He didn’t like fighting, nor did he like causing unnecessary trouble.
What he did was purely instinctual, just like chopping vegetables, cooking, or falling asleep quickly. After living on a dilapidated, post-apocalyptic planet for ten years, some things were just muscle memory.
So, Beastmen would hate humans from Yalan Star…
Terrifying skills, terrifying mutations, bringing disaster, decay, and misfortune.
Would Ran Lie think that too? Ha, he probably wouldn’t!
Why did he feel this way? Did he really regard him as his own dog?
Si Jiu lightly bit his lip. He timely pulled out his phone, preparing to call the police nervously, just like any Beastman citizen encountering danger, glossing over Ran Lie’s “woof woof woof” protests.
“Nurse Manager, you’re awake! Are you okay?” Jun Qi, recovering from the danger, immediately checked on the Nurse Manager. “Does your chest still hurt?”
“My chest… No, it doesn’t hurt. Where is this—Jun Qi, why are you here? And Si Jiu.” The Nurse Manager was fully awake. She seemed to have no specific memory of the attack, but the claw marks on her body had basically healed, and even a slight scrape on her arm was completely gone.
Si Jiu nodded in greeting to the Nurse Manager while making the phone call.
Watching the Nurse Manager dust herself off and stand up, Jun Qi couldn’t help but secretly marvel at Si Jiu’s miraculous Healing Power. He slightly turned his head to look at Si Jiu, who was calling the police, blinking curiously—what exactly was this ability? Si Jiu was sometimes quite mysterious!
“What exactly—happened to you?” The Hamster Nurse Manager’s large ears twitched when she saw the corpses of the wild beasts around them, and she was inevitably startled.
“Nurse Manager, you wouldn’t believe it! The journey here was too dangerous!” Jun Qi, finally relaxed, curled his tail, rushed into the Nurse Manager’s arms, and began tearfully recounting their ordeal.
Nearby, Ran Lie stood a short distance away, still obediently keeping his distance from Jun Qi and the Nurse Manager. He was like an indestructible guardian in the early twilight, constantly watching Si Jiu’s every move.
Si Jiu finished the emergency call. While Jun Qi was excitedly talking to the Nurse Manager, Si Jiu gestured for Ran Lie to drag the spotted hyena’s body over and place it with the other three. At the same time, Si Jiu quietly walked through the shadows of the nearby trees to the side of the dead tiger-shaped beast to retrieve his scalpel…
But something was wrong!
Yes, how could he have missed it—
The Nurse Manager’s brown nursing kit was gone, and it contained medication!
Si Jiu abruptly turned his head, looking toward the depths of the woods nearby.
“Si Jiu—” Almost at the same instant he turned, the ever-vigilant Ran Lie leaped up, landing agilely beside Si Jiu, firmly shielding him in the relatively safe space behind him. He then locked onto the direction Si Jiu was looking, letting out a series of warning growls toward the depths of the woods—a silent declaration of possessiveness.
The deep woods stirred, then returned to silence.
“What’s wrong?” Hearing the commotion, Jun Qi and the Nurse Manager also looked over nervously.
Si Jiu narrowed his eyes. The sky was now completely dark.
Just then, the sound of police sirens also came from not far away. The arrival of the police made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
But it wasn’t a hallucination.
Si Jiu could sense that in the deepest darkness of the woods behind him, something had moved.
No, not something, but an eye!
A solitary, faintly burning green eye—a beast’s eye. And on that beast was the outline of a human.
Following that, a voice, ethereal as an illusion, rode the cool night wind and precisely drilled into his eardrum. The voice was low, yet carried a human familiarity—
“Si Jiu, long time no see.”
The tone revealed a chilling intimacy.
“We will come for you.”