The black bear rose, standing upright like a man. It held its two massive paws at its chest, glaring menacingly at Little Bear.
Ordinarily, the black bear would have left. But now, wounded, it only wanted to tear apart any enemy that dared to approach.
Ordinarily, Little Bear would have started barking long ago. But now, in the water, it couldn't make a sound and could only continue swimming toward the black bear.
As it neared the bank, the water was shallow. Little Bear's front paws touched the submerged sand, and it pushed the upper half of its body out of the river.
Then, Little Bear emerged from the water. Where it stood, the river only came up to its paws.
Little Bear glanced at the black bear, then gave its body a violent shake, sending a dense spray of water droplets flying from its fur.
After shaking itself dry, Little Bear faced the black bear and let out a series of barks.
At the sound of Little Bear's barks, the Dog Gang, still in the river, picked up speed and swam in unison toward it.
「At that moment, a kilometer away.」
Zhao Jun faintly heard barking. He quickly urged Li Baoyu and Wang Dalong, who had just finished dressing, "Let's go! And be careful!"
The two commands were somewhat contradictory, but neither Li Baoyu nor Wang Dalong wasted words, simply following Zhao Jun as he pushed through the grass.
"GRRR..."
The furious roar of the bear drowned out the barking of the dogs.
SPLASH...
The black bear charged at Little Bear. As Little Bear scrambled onto the bank, the bear plunged into the river. Water exploded outwards. The approaching San Pang couldn't dodge in time and was swatted away by the bear's paw.
KERPLUNK!
San Pang hit the water. The river's surface churned, and ripples of blood spread out with the current.
San Pang's head broke the surface. Choking on water, it made a wheezing sound.
The scattered Dog Gang broke in different directions. Some swam further away, while others seized the opportunity to get ashore. White Dragon, Da Huang, Flower Cat, and Hua Lang all scrambled onto the bank. Following their instincts, the first thing they did was shake the water from their coats, then they immediately let out a chorus of roars at the black bear.
Meanwhile, the dogs still in the river swam in every direction to evade the black bear's attacks.
Seeing the dogs scatter, the black bear turned and charged for the bank. Five dogs dodged left and right, but they couldn't run far before hitting a wall of shoulder-high weeds.
"YELP..." A pained cry rang out. Unable to get away, Hua Lang was sent flying by a swipe from the bear.
Hua Lang crashed into the tall grass. The thick vegetation cushioned the fall, so it wasn't badly injured. However, the bear's claws had torn three bloody gouges, each a handspan long, across its rump.
Just then, Little Bear and the other dogs regrouped by the riverbank, barking at the black bear.
The dogs in the water all converged on Little Bear's position.
Soon, twelve dogs had gathered along the river's edge. The absentee, Hua Lang, was hiding deep in the tall grass.
The Dog Gang watched the black bear warily. The tall grass was a poor battlefield for them, but fighting in the water offered no advantage either.
The black bear, in contrast, could plow straight through the grass. And if it entered the river, the force of the current would have a negligible effect on it.
The standing black bear bent over, placing its two front paws on the ground. It gave the pack of hounds a flat, indifferent glance, then started walking east.
Wherever it passed, the tall grass was trampled and flattened.
The moment the black bear started to leave, White Dragon shot forward first. Little Bear and Da Huang followed close behind, with Xiaohua sticking close to Little Bear.
White Dragon caught up to the black bear, but before it could bite, the bear had already turned around.
Face to face with the bear, White Dragon quickly tried to dodge aside. But it was surrounded by grass. The instant its paws pushed down one patch, the tall stalks leaned against the adjacent grass, slowing their fall.
Unable to trample the grass flat, White Dragon couldn't move forward. By then, the black bear had reached it, its paw lashing out to grab.
White Dragon wanted to escape, but there was nowhere to go. Fortunately, Da Huang bit the black bear's rear from behind. The bear retracted its paw and swiped backward. As Da Huang dodged, White Dragon seized the chance to slip away.
The thirteen dogs gathered together again, their barking growing louder. San Pang and Hua Lang had suffered minor injuries, but nothing serious enough to take them out of the fight.
But in this tall grass, the Dog Gang couldn't spread out, couldn't surround the bear, and couldn't hold it back.
Suddenly, Big Fatty charged out, caught up to the black bear, and sank its teeth in. Ever since following Zhao Jun, Big Fatty had become much braver. Besides, after eating bear meat a few times, it had developed a taste for the rich, fatty flesh.
But since their last big hunt, aside from Black Tiger sneaking a chicken, Big Fatty and the others hadn't tasted any meat at all.
Now, with a black bear right in front of it, Big Fatty saw its chance and charged.
Big Fatty viciously bit down on the black bear's hind leg, then turned and ran.
The black bear, however, spun around and gave chase.
Although the black bear flattened the grass underfoot, the dogs' paws sank unevenly into the trampled stalks, making their footing unsteady.
The black bear, normally much slower than the dogs, was now catching up to Big Fatty. Just as Big Fatty was about to be overtaken, the rest of the Dog Gang, which had just scattered to the sides, instantly swarmed the black bear!
The sight was truly spectacular!
Of the thirteen dogs, besides Big Fatty, who was being chased, and Black Tiger, who was still observing the enemy from a distance, the other eleven hounds all pounced on the black bear, tearing and biting.
"ROAR! ROAR..."
The bear's roars exploded from within the pack of hounds, immediately followed by the pained yelps of dogs. Xiaohua, White Dragon, Little Bear, and Wang Dalong's two black dogs were all scratched by the bear and left wounded.
Just then, Da Huang latched onto the black bear's rear, shaking its body as it tore desperately at the flesh.
Attacked in its soft spot, the black bear ignored the other dogs. It swiped a paw backward, grabbing Da Huang, who couldn't dodge in time. Then the bear shoved Da Huang under its rump.
As the black bear sat on it, Da Huang let out a horrific yelp, and its bowels and bladder gave way.
Seeing Da Huang in peril, White Dragon, its longest-serving comrade-in-arms in the Dog Gang, charged forward without a thought for its own safety. But as soon as it got near the black bear, it was forced back by a swat of the bear's paw.
But as the black bear swung its paw at White Dragon, its body inevitably leaned forward. In doing so, much of the pressure on Da Huang was relieved.