The Lost Tomb : Sea Of Sands 2

Chapter 199: Strategy

Continuation of Chapter 198: Black Dog (Sea Of Sands)

"You're really going to be the death of me. If that one didn't die, then we were wrong. I didn't see the king just now." Che Zhong looked around the grass and valley, but it was too difficult to see things at a distance in the dark, "That terrible thing is probably lying in wait."

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"Let's put it this way." Che Zhong said. "Now we have to divide the work. If we don't have a strategy when we step into the grass or forest, then the two of us could die at any time in the next few hours. The Longzhi king often attacks only once. Although Brother Xiao Man is a strong deterrent, the Longzhi king has more mobility than dogs. He can lurk in the soil, climb trees, and glide in the air briefly. Brother Xiao Man can defend us here in such an open space, but he can't save our lives."

Brother Xiao Man must be the name of this big German Shepherd. When Che Zhong called it by its name, Brother Xiao Man looked up at him and yawned. I just kept wondering why he looked so stupid when he wasn't showing his teeth. Didn't German Shepherds have wolf faces? This dog looked like Fatty when he was drunk.

I had never worked together with dogs before, but I trusted Che Zhong by this point, so I asked him what to do.

Che Zhong held his son, "Young Che", in his arms and examined its wounds. The dog was badly injured, but it seemed that it could still move. Small animals had to be flexible because their bodies weren't thick enough, and one bite could be enough to be fatal. The puppy had gone through such a battle, and had only been bitten on the back, which showed that its actual combat experience couldn't be enriched any more. Its combat effectiveness had reached the limit for a dog of its size.

Che Zhong pocketed Young Che and said: "First, we have to build up our fighting strength. I don't know what's going on with the other dogs, but we'll take how many we can get. We need to rest tonight, but we have to have at least four dogs before we can sleep. We can't just rely on Brother Xiao Man by himself." He pointed to the top of the hillside: "The Longzhi king must be lying in ambush in the ravine where we'll have to come out, so we need to go in the opposite direction to the top of the mountain. We'll treat our wounds there, and bring the dogs back."

Che Zhong figured that the Longzhi king must have separated the dogs. Brother Xiao Man was the most stable dog, and would die in the place where his master put him on guard, even if a lion came. The other dogs, however, were easily fooled by slightly smarter animals.

It turns out that there are also Mr. Perfect dogs. I said to myself. I went to help Che Zhong up, and the two of us supported each other as we went to the top of the mountain.

After resting for a while, we realized how badly we had been injured. My back was a complete mess, but fortunately, the foxes' teeth were fine and didn't cause regional trauma. If this kind of thing hunted large prey, it would have to use this method to make its prey lose too much blood, and then launch a fatal blow when it was weak.

Fortunately, it wasn't far to the top of the mountain, and we managed to stumble all the way up. The top looked like a bald gourd ladle, and there were a few trees scattered in the stone seams. Brother Xiao Man rushed over to smell, but there didn't seem to be anything there. We merely walked past him, and sat down in a gap under a huge stone. As Che Zhong started calling for the dogs with his whistle, we tore our clothes into strips and tied up the more serious wounds. By the time we had handled everything properly, not a single dog had come back.

Che Zhong's face was already pale, and he was speechless for a long time. I could guess the result—all the dogs were probably dead.

By using this method, it was obvious the Longzhi king knew about Che Zhong's preparations long ago. When I had met the female Longzhi here before, there was only one small male Longzhi on her, which indicated that the Longzhi king had already been deployed at that time. A litter of nine heads could kill four people and twenty dogs. This kind of record was already on par with Sparta's 300.

The first step was already a failure, so Che Zhong was depressed. With so many shrubs in the valley below, and a forest of trees outside the valley, we were practically helpless. I asked Che Zhong what the Longzhi king's main means of attack were, so that we could try to put up a good defense. There were grass and trees here, so worst came to worst, I could display my ability as a young craftsman emperor and make a set of wooden armor. No matter how strong the Longzhi king was, it would hardly have any effect under the heavy infantry's defense system.

Che Zhong said leisurely: "Didn't I tell you that the Longzhi king's fur and teeth are extremely poisonous? It'll be over as soon as you touch it. Your grandfather's dogs have taken a traditional Chinese medicine since they were young in order to deal with the king, so they'll be fine. But people are different from dogs. They wouldn't be able to live until now if they took that kind of traditional Chinese medicine. Now, there's only one way." He looked at his watch and said, "Maybe this isn't the right time, but I'll give this dog to you now. It's been smelling your scent since it was a pup, but it's not in the habit of obeying your orders, and doesn't know that you're its master. You need to get along with it well." He handed me a special dog whistle. "Take this whistle and it will follow you. The both of you will go to the back of the mountain, and circle back to the main road. Remember to be fast. My son and I will be here waiting for the king."

"You act like I'm the kind of person who isn't loyal." I said. "Let me tell you, I still have basic morals, not to mention the fact that you're an acquaintance of my grandfather. I won't leave you behind."

"We're not in a TV drama, so go. No one will blame you. The two of us have an equal chance, so maybe the king will kill you first." Che Zhong said. "The Longzhi king is very smart, so if he sees me sitting here motionless when you leave, he might think there are traps and hesitate. Maybe he'll even go deal with you first."

I knew that Che Zhong was in far greater danger than me, but what he said wasn't without reason. This wasn't the first time I had encountered this kind of choice, but Fatty, Pan Zi, and Poker-face used to always be there. Even if I willfully chose the most uneconomical way, they always had a way to help me put things right. But now it was impossible to force this kind of unreasonable scene even if I wanted to.

Of course, I wasn't the same as before. I knew that instead of acting in an American blockbuster here, I'd better think of something to do; otherwise, the most economical thing to do would be to honestly follow Che Zhong's wishes.

Foxes weren't as clever as people, especially people like me. I could find the true key point, while others might not even be able to find the connections. I looked at the valley below, and noticed that the sun seemed to be rising on one side, for there was a faint glimmer of light in the sky. I suddenly remembered that one thing I had experienced before, and had a moment of inspiration.

"This is too suffocating. We're human beings, so we should act like it." I said. "Let's set a trap."

"It's no use. The king is better than people, and extremely patient."

"In other words, it's paranoid. But this thing isn't human, after all, so it can't tell what part of the story is real or fake." I continued, "But we can't stay here. We have to go back to that iron door. I know you're also a little tired, but help me dig out the female. I need to borrow some parts from it."

I picked Che Zhong up, and went back down the mountain. We had to be quick, because things would be much more difficult when the sun came up. This gray light was the best time to act.