Mark didn't know how strong these wild dogs were, but their powerful presence was definitely superior to the Green Wolves he encountered with the hunting team back then. By his estimates, these creatures were almost at the Spider-Grade Second Level!
Fighting them was even worse than fighting against the members of the Iron Fist Gang.
Mark kept his eyes peeled.
In this kind of situation, one wrong move would get him killed.
Eik! Eik! Eik!
The wild dogs inched closer to him. Their eyes flashed with cruelty.
These mystical beasts showed extreme patience as they waited for an opportunity to catch him unprepared.
They usually hunt more powerful creatures so they developed a habit of observing their prey before taking action. They would then surround their target and attack in different directions to confuse them. This would also deplete their target's stamina and energy. Once their prey becomes exhausted, they would deal the lethal blow and devour them alive.
'Luckily, they only sent five to attack me.' Mark muttered in his heart. The rest of the pack was busy dealing with the huge wildebeest. Surprisingly, the creature was still alive and it was struggling to escape from its predators. However, because of the injuries it suffered, it could only put up a weak resistance.
Mark knew that he couldn't waste his time. Once the wildebeest was dead, more wild dogs would be sent to take care of him. That wasn't something he wanted to see.
'I have to kill these guys as soon as possible!'
While he was thinking, one of the wild dogs suddenly pounced upon him, baring its sharp claws across his neck. Its quick movements stunned Mark, but he still managed to lift his shield.
Shiing!!
The wild dog's claws left a deep mark on his shield, showing how sharp they were.
The other four wild dogs didn't remain idle. They pounced at him at the same time while producing eerie squeaking sounds from their mouths.
Mark quickly lifted his shield in front of him.
Shiing! Shiing!
Puchi!
"Ugh!" Mark groaned as one of the wild dogs managed to inflict a blow on his right arm. It wasn't deep, but the pain almost made him let go of his sword.
Eik! Eik! Eik! Eik!
The wild dogs appeared to be excited when they saw him bleeding.
Mark gritted his teeth and carefully pulled himself away. Not all parts of his body were covered with armor and the wild dogs were smart enough to attack his unprotected arm. If not for his high endurance stat, his entire arm would have been cut off.
'Losing here would mean that I have to start from the beginning!' Mark was unwilling to die in his first solo adventure. He roared with rage and frustration.
His voice intimidated the five wild dogs. Mark took this chance to attack the nearest one, striking it with his sword. The powerful blow cut the wild dog's head, killing it one move!
Seeing this, the four wild dogs emitted weird chirping sounds as they backed off.
As if alerted by the noise, the rest of the pack who were busy finishing off the wildebeest lifted their heads and turned their gazes towards Mark.
The feeling of being stared at by more than twenty hungry predators made his skin crawl.
Mark wanted to run, but he knew that these creatures would never allow him to get away.
Four more wild dogs walked in his direction, while the rest of the pack remained to prevent the wildebeest from escaping.
Seeing this, Mark's eyes turned cold.
With four additional companions, the wild dogs became more confident. They aggressively growled at Mark while moving closer to him.
Mark didn't plan to wait for them to attack. He charged towards the wild dogs while shouting at the top of his lungs.
He noticed earlier that his voice could somehow intimidate these animals.
Some of the wild dogs flinched after hearing his voice, while the others revealed their agitation.
The swordsmanship he learned was precise and simple. There were no fancy tricks or techniques involved, just pure accurate strikes.
Mark ignored his bleeding arm and brandished his sword towards the nearest wild dog.
His sword struck down and cut the body of the creature in half! It didn't immediately lose momentum and struck the ground with heavy force.
Bang!
Mark didn't stop. He swung his sword at the remaining wild dogs!
Meanwhile, the pack also became furious after seeing another one of them fall under his sword. They pounced at him with the intention to tear off his flesh!
Mark sustained numerous injuries, but he didn't stop swinging his sword.
Puchi! Puchi!
Eik! Eik! Eik! Eik!
The blood of the wild dogs splashed on his face, but he didn't bother to wipe them off.
His right arm was starting to feel heavy and his movements were beginning to slow down.
'I've lost too much blood… If this goes on, I might collapse here…' Mark didn't know how long he had been swinging his sword.
More and more wild dogs charged at him furiously. Even those who were guarding the wildebeest had turned their attention to him.
Eik! Eik! Eik! Eik! Eik!
Mark tightly held his sword as he bellowed. "Die!!"
At this moment, only twelve wild dogs were left and some of them were even injured, including the alpha of the pack. The space around Mark was filled with the corpses of their kind and this fueled the rage of the remaining wild dogs. However, they were starting to feel afraid of this dauntless human.
As if making a hard decision, the alpha of the pack raised its head and howled indignantly before leading the remaining wild dogs to retreat.
Seeing this, Mark fell to his knees and used his sword to prevent himself from collapsing. "I-I'm alive?" He muttered in a hoarse voice with an expression filled with disbelief.
His injuries were getting worse and if the wild dogs didn't retreat, he would have certainly died under their claws.
Mark dropped his shield and let go of his sword. He then retrieved some medicine paste and bandages to nurse his wounds.
He could barely lift his arms and just the slightest move would make him grimace.
"Hiss!" Mark gritted his teeth as he smeared the medicine paste on his wounds. The sense of pain wasn't reduced in the game so it felt no different than reality. Tears even started to form at the corners of his eyes.
It took him more than ten minutes to bandage his wounds. It was still painful, but he felt a lot better.
After dealing with his injuries, Mark stood up and stared at the corpses in front of him. His eyes lit up with excitement. The wild dogs he killed were all First Level Spider-Grade mystical beasts!
He didn't know how much they were worth, but he guessed that each corpse was worth around 500 Orbes. However, Mark was more excited about the wildebeest. The creature was already dead. It had lost too much blood after being devoured by the wild dogs. A huge chunk of its flesh was gone, but the whole corpse was still worth a lot of money.
Before Mark began his journey, he bought two extra storage bags. Each storage bag was worth 40 Orbes, but he didn't even hesitate to purchase them. He only had one storage bag which he got from the beginner's gift. With two more storage bags, he could carry twenty additional items!
Mark quickly went to work. He grabbed the corpses of the wild dogs and stuffed them inside his storage bag. The place was filled with the scent of blood so it would soon attract a lot of mystical beasts. He didn't have time to skin the corpses so he decided to bring the intact corpses.
After taking all the wild dog carcasses, Mark started dissecting the wildebeest corpse. The beast was too big so he had to cut the corpse into fifteen parts for it to fit in his storage bag. "
The whole process took him almost an hour.
Mark lifted his head. "I have to find a safe place."
The sky was getting darker so he immediately left. He didn't want to attract any mystical beast so he smeared more herbs into his body to hide the scent of his blood.
Half an hour later, Mark found a burrow that was wide enough for an adult male to crawl into. He inspected the place carefully.
"This should be a lair of a mystical beast." Mark said after checking the small tunnel. The lair has a strong smell which means that the owner hasn't abandoned it. Mark couldn't care less at this moment. He sealed off the entrance with some vines and sprinkled a beast-repellent powder to confuse the creatures that would come close to it.
After doing this, Mark placed a spear trap in case the owner of the lair would return.
"That should be enough." He smiled as he sat down cross-legged.