The Black Bear was now sprawled on the ground, pinning Da Huang under its groin.
With the Black Bear down, the other eleven dogs—all except Da Huang and Black Tiger—pounced onto its back once more.
But the most ferocious of them all was White Dragon!
It sank its teeth into the Black Bear's festering left cheek. A piercing roar ripped from the bear as it scrambled to its feet and charged straight for White Dragon.
As the Black Bear charged, Da Huang seized the opportunity to struggle to its feet, then staggered away.
The Black Bear caught up with White Dragon and swung a massive paw. With a pained yelp, White Dragon was sent flying, crashing into the tall grass.
Unlike Hua Lang earlier, White Dragon struggled but couldn't manage to get back to its feet.
Having sent White Dragon flying, the Black Bear spun around fiercely. At the sight, the rest of the dogs backed away!
Da Huang and White Dragon—the two toughest dogs in the Dog Gang—were both injured. The Black Bear's savagery had stunned the other hounds. Not a single one dared to advance.
These dogs, Little Bear and Big Fatty included, needed another to lead the charge in a vicious fight.
And this battle today was not just a tough one; it was a truly vicious struggle.
"HUFF… HUFF…" Seeing that the dogs dared not approach, the Black Bear let out two savage roars before turning to leave.
"AWOO… AWOO…"
Just then, a dog shot in from the side, its water-soaked black coat gleaming like satin in the sunlight.
Hearing the strange cries, the Black Bear couldn't resist turning its head to look. But as it did, Black Tiger darted low and sank its teeth into the bear's groin.
The Black Bear howled and spun around in pursuit.
The moment the Black Bear gave chase, Black Tiger bolted, sprinting back toward the river along the path it had made.
The grass on this path had been trampled flat by the Black Bear. For the other dogs, running on it meant unsteady footing, which greatly hindered their movement.
But Black Tiger already had a limp. Even its normal run was an uneven, lopsided gait.
So for Black Tiger, this was familiar territory.
And besides, it was incredibly fast!
Black Tiger ran, the Black Bear chased.
The Dog Gang scattered wherever the chase led. But as soon as the Black Bear passed, they would swarm in from behind, attacking its rump and hind legs.
The Black Bear would turn, and the Dog Gang would scatter again, like a receding tide.
The Black Bear roared, a clear warning that intimidated the pack and kept them from taking a single step closer.
But the moment it roared, Black Tiger, as if on cue, would stop and charge the Black Bear again.
This time, the Black Bear turned to attack before Black Tiger could reach it. But Black Tiger slammed on the brakes mid-charge, spun around, and bolted.
When the Black Bear chased the other dogs, it would always gain on them. But when it chased Black Tiger, the gap between them only widened.
Just then, Zhao Jun, Li Baoyu, and Wang Dalong emerged, parting the tall grass. But the scene that greeted them was of Black Tiger fleeing into the distance while the other dogs swarmed the Black Bear.
'I completely misjudged him!' Wang Dalong's heart sank. 'Good thing Zhao Jun is a man of his word. If I'd agreed to the deal earlier, I'd be in an awkward spot right now.'
With that thought, Wang Dalong took aim at the Black Bear and squeezed the trigger again and again.
"BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!"
"BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!"
Before the Black Bear hit the ground, Wang Dalong had fired five times, and Zhao Jun six. Li Baoyu, meanwhile, stood guard without firing a single shot.
"AWOO… AWOO…"
A strange, eye-catching howl rang out. Black Tiger shot forward like a blur, joining the other ten hounds in tearing mercilessly at the Black Bear.
"Brother Long!" Zhao Jun lowered his gun and asked Wang Dalong with a smile, "So, you're not interested in buying this dog anymore?"
Wang Dalong gave a wry smile. "Come on, little brother, don't make fun of me. Just pretend I never said a thing, alright?"
Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu grinned, and the three of them walked toward the Black Bear's corpse.
When they got closer, they saw the Black Bear's head had been blown open, brains spilling onto the ground. There was no need for a final shot.
Just then, the three men noticed two dogs were missing. But then a rustling came from the nearby grass, and Da Huang, drawn by the sound of the gunshots, limped out into the open.
It had been clawed across the back, but the wound wasn't deep; a proper bandage and a few days' rest would see it healed. One of its hind legs had been sat on by the bear, but it was just a severe bruise; it would likely be fine in a couple of days.
Zhao Jun whistled twice. Hearing movement in the nearby grass, he hurried over, parting the blades to find White Dragon, completely covered in blood.
But seeing that it could still walk, he knew the injuries weren't life-threatening.
"Brother Long! Baoyu!" Zhao Jun called out to them. "Quick, go bandage up all the injured dogs."
Between his dogs and the Bear Gall, Zhao Jun would always choose to tend to his dogs first. Wang Dalong might have disagreed, but Zhao Jun was the Leader. Once the Leader gave an order, any objections had to be swallowed.
And Zhao Jun had made the right call. All the dogs, except for Black Tiger, had sustained injuries of varying severity. In this heat, their wounds needed to be treated and bandaged immediately.
After Wang Dalong and Li Baoyu agreed and set to work, Zhao Jun led White Dragon to the riverbank to wash the blood from its coat. Only then did he discover that a palm-sized flap of skin had been torn away from its left shoulder.
Zhao Jun quickly retrieved some painkiller powder and a bandage to dress the wound. Once he was done, he led White Dragon back to the others.
When Zhao Jun returned, he saw eleven dogs lying in a circle around the dead bear. Only Black Tiger was still at it, tugging on one of the Black Bear's ears and shaking its head as it pulled.
"Showing off now, are we? Get out of here!" Zhao Jun shooed Black Tiger away and, with help from Li Baoyu, flipped the Black Bear onto its back. Then, Li Baoyu returned to bandaging Little Bear's wounds while Zhao Jun drew his Invasion Blade, gutted the bear, and harvested the Bear Gall, stowing it safely in his bag.
Next came carving up meat to feed the dogs. He started with Little Bear, followed by White Dragon, Big Fatty, Da Huang, San Pang…