Chapter 623 Dog Gang Battles the Jackal Pack (Part 2)

This was typical behavior for hunting dogs. They wouldn’t readily attack when facing off against a wild beast, but the moment the beast ran, the hounds would give chase.

The Jackal King let out a piercing shriek, and the Jackal Pack scattered, weaving swiftly through the woods. Big Fatty, San Pang, Flower Cat, and Hua Lang—the four of them surprisingly charged to the very front in unison, launching themselves in pursuit of the Jackal Pack.

Little Bear, White Dragon, Da Huang, and Xiaohua formed the second wave, while Black Tiger brought up the rear with Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon.

The Jackal Pack scattered and picked up speed, with the Dog Gang in hot pursuit.

By now, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu had reached the spot where the Dog Gang had pinned down the wild boar. The boar, having escaped its demise, was long gone. Zhao Jun didn’t bother going after it, instead leading Li Baoyu laterally across the mountain ridge in pursuit of the Dog Gang.

Down in the gully earlier, Zhao Jun had heard the distinct cries of jackals and feared his dogs would get the worst of it.

At this moment, the Jackal Pack led the Dog Gang to the crest of the ridge and then down the other side.

This particular hillside had a relatively gentle slope. It had also been clear-cut last year, leaving large swaths of it completely bare.

However, some felled trees had not been hauled away and were simply left lying on the slope.

With no cover to speak of, the Jackal Pack chose this place to engage the Dog Gang.

With a piercing shriek from the Jackal King, the Jackal Pack scattered, forcing the Dog Gang to split up in pursuit.

Because they were on a downward slope, Black Tiger was a bit slower to arrive, with Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon sticking close to his side.

Of the other eight hounds, only Xiaohua stuck close to Little Bear; the remaining six had each singled out a jackal to chase.

Just like that, in an instant, the Dog Gang was scattered.

Black Tiger lifted his head and twitched his nose, sniffing the air. The scent of jackal was everywhere, and for a moment, he didn’t know which direction to pursue.

“YIP! YIP!” Suddenly, a jackal circled back from the left, charging directly at Black Dragon.

Seeing this, Black Tiger bravely charged forward to intercept, but the jackal nimbly twisted its body, swerved around him, and continued its pounce toward Black Dragon.

Black Dragon dodged to the side, where there was a large linden tree stump. Just as Black Dragon rounded the other side of the stump, the jackal leaped on top of it and dove straight down at him.

Just then, Da Huang emerged from the woods. He had been shaken off by this jackal earlier and had only just caught up.

But the jackal had already landed behind Black Dragon and sunk its teeth into his thigh.

Black Dragon tumbled to the ground, but the jackal refused to let go, clamping down hard on his thigh.

“ARROOO…” Black Dragon let out a pathetic cry. He was still young and hadn’t even been blooded on a hunt. Faced with such a cruel and vicious jackal, he instantly lost all will to fight.

“WOOF…” Another dog shot out from the side. Cyan Dragon snapped at the jackal’s head. The jackal hastily released its bite to dodge. Seeing Da Huang bearing down on it furiously, the jackal tucked its tail between its legs and ran downhill to team up with another jackal that was attacking Hua Lang.

The flesh of his thigh was pierced through, and blood streamed out. Black Dragon whimpered incessantly. Cyan Dragon hovered by his side while Da Huang gave chase to the jackal that had injured him.

By then, Hua Lang was in dire straits, being ganged up on by two jackals. It was only thanks to Da Huang’s timely arrival that the jackals were driven off, saving Hua Lang’s life.

But after running a short distance, these two jackals went to help their packmates attack the other dogs. These cunning, vicious creatures never fought one-on-one. When pursued by a hound, they would simply run, looking for an opportunity, looking for their kin, and then they would turn and gang up on the dog together.

Suddenly, another jackal shot out from the woods, once again making a beeline for the two young dogs, Cyan Dragon and Black Dragon.

This time, however, Black Tiger was standing guard in front of the two pups. The jackal charged forward, only to suddenly realize it had put itself in a terrible spot.

Black Tiger was in front of it, and White Dragon was behind.

White Dragon was a cross between a Mengxi and a stupid dog, and his speed was one of the best in the entire Dog Gang.

Furthermore, White Dragon was young and had much better stamina than Da Huang, so he hadn’t been left too far behind by this jackal.

Caught in a pincer attack between Black Tiger and White Dragon, the jackal frantically tried to flee to the side. But the instant it moved, so did Black Tiger.

Black Tiger lunged, clamping his jaws on the jackal’s tail.

Unable to escape, the jackal was in serious trouble. White Dragon leaped up, seized its head, and with a sharp tug backward, the thirty-plus-pound female jackal was instantly yanked to the ground.

Black Tiger released the tail, shoved his head between the jackal’s hind legs, and bit down hard.

A piercing shriek echoed. Even though it was a female jackal, with no ‘family jewels’ to speak of, the pain was so excruciating it made her wish for death.

The female jackal thrashed wildly, but just then, Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu arrived.

Seeing Black Tiger and White Dragon tearing at the jackal, Li Baoyu shouldered his rifle, only to immediately lower it again.

The jackal and the dogs were tangled together; it would be too easy to hit one of the dogs if he fired.

Zhao Jun, however, engaged the safety on his Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, flipped it around, and charged into the fray holding it by the barrel.

Seeing Zhao Jun striding toward them, White Dragon and Black Tiger were emboldened and tore at the jackal with renewed ferocity.

The jackal, however, became even more panicked at the sight of Zhao Jun, its pained cries growing frantic.

Zhao Jun drew near and swung the rifle like a club.

THWACK!

A sickening thud echoed as the rifle stock slammed onto the jackal’s spine. A sharp snap followed, and with a howl, the jackal’s hindquarters went limp.

“Go! Go!” Zhao Jun feigned a kick at White Dragon, who quickly dodged. Gripping his rifle with one hand and waving the other forward, Zhao Jun shouted, “Seek! Seek!”

At the command, White Dragon ignored the jackal, turned, and took off running.

“Go!” Zhao Jun yelled at Black Tiger. Before he could even feign a kick, Black Tiger was howling eagerly and chasing after White Dragon.

Meanwhile, the jackal with its back broken by Zhao Jun struggled back to its feet.

Its body was useless from the waist down. It propped itself up on its forepaws, its front half normal while its hindquarters remained collapsed. It could only drag itself forward laboriously with its front legs, letting out a low whimper as it moved.

Zhao Jun took a few quick steps forward and kicked the jackal, sending it flying several feet, then hurried over to Black Dragon’s side.

Seeing Zhao Jun, Black Dragon hobbled over to him, whining pitifully.

“BANG!”

Just then, a gunshot rang out. Zhao Jun looked up to see that Li Baoyu had hit a jackal.

The bullet went clean through it. The impact knocked the jackal off its feet, but it scrambled up instantly and bolted into the distance.

Zhao Jun memorized the spot where that jackal had fallen. Then he brought his rifle to his shoulder, flicked off the safety, aimed at another jackal being chased by Big Fatty, Little Bear, and Xiaohua, and pulled the trigger.

“BANG!”

A hundred-odd meters away, a male jackal dropped at the sound of the shot. It kicked its legs, twitched a few times, and then lay still, dead.

Suddenly, a flurry of jackal cries erupted. The Jackal King’s calls were shrill and desperate, and the rest of the pack answered, quickly retreating down the slope.

Zhao Jun lowered his rifle and whistled sharply a few times. Black Tiger, White Dragon, and Da Huang all turned back.

Zhao Jun put his fingers in his mouth and let out several more sharp whistles before Little Bear, Big Fatty, and the other dogs finally broke off their pursuit.

“Quick! Check on the dogs!” Zhao Jun shouted, heading forward with Li Baoyu.

The two of them gathered the Dog Gang and saw that Da Huang, Little Bear, Xiaohua, San Pang, and Hua Lang were all injured.

Da Huang had a bite on his left shoulder, Little Bear’s foreleg was injured, and both Xiaohua and San Pang had been bitten on the butt.

Hua Lang was the most seriously injured, with bite wounds on his neck, back, and belly.

Including Little Black Dragon, a total of six dogs were injured.

Zhao Jun took painkiller powder and bandages from his pocket, and together with Li Baoyu, he bandaged each of the six injured dogs.

The dogs’ wounds were all superficial. They’d be fine after a few days of rest.

After they finished bandaging the dogs, Zhao Jun went to check the trail of the jackal Li Baoyu had shot.

He followed the path the bullet had cut through the grass and soon picked up a blood trail. When he reached the spot where the jackal had tumbled, Zhao Jun squatted down. On the ground was a small pool of blood, mixed with feces.

Just then, Li Baoyu walked over, glanced down, and chuckled. “Looks like I gut-shot it.”

“Yep,” Zhao Jun nodded.

Li Baoyu’s shot had gone through the jackal’s stomach, piercing the intestines and causing its feces to mix with the blood.

In hunting, a wound like that is called a gut shot.

In the Northeast, any animal that suffers such a wound—from a tiger on down, with the sole exception of bears—won’t die on the same day, but is guaranteed to be dead by the next.

“Baoyu,” Zhao Jun said, turning to look at Li Baoyu. “You take the six injured dogs, plus Cyan Dragon, and head for home.”

Upon hearing this, Li Baoyu quickly asked, “Brother, what about you?”

“I’m taking Big Fatty and the others to chase that pack of Red Dogs,” Zhao Jun said. “In these mountains, those things hold a grudge. It’s best to wipe them out completely.”