Chapter 18: The Three-Dog Immortal-Slaughtering Formation

"Damn it, where the hell did that guy go?"

Xiao Jie brandished his blade and scanned his surroundings, yet he could see neither the shadow nor the corpse of "I Want to Become an Immortal."

He gazed toward the distant forest, wondering if the fellow had simply wandered too far away.

Not far off, a wild dog gnawing on a carcass suddenly caught his attention. He had already killed three of these creatures; they felt significantly weaker than the Lost Bandits—though perhaps that was just because he had grown stronger himself. A single wild dog yielded over a dozen experience points, and three of them netted more than forty. It felt much easier than hunting bandits.

He stepped forward slowly. The wild dog retreated in a panic, circled around, and then suddenly lunged. Xiao Jie remained unmoved. With a practiced swing, a flash of steel cut through the air, and the dog collapsed to the ground with a mournful howl.

Unfortunately, it didn't drop a single thing.

Huh? What’s this? Xiao Jie looked at the scattered corpses on the ground. Some bore distinct sword marks; this must have been the work of that kid, I Want to Become an Immortal. He had definitely been here and had killed quite a few monsters.

Xiao Jie observed his surroundings for a moment. He had come from the southeast, and there was a cliff wall to the west, so the kid could only have headed north. Xiao Jie looked toward the northern woods. Compared to the sparse woodland around him, this area looked much denser and far more dangerous.

Damn, that guy really knows how to be a headache.

Forget it, I’ll look for another five minutes, and if I don't see anyone, I'm pulling out.

***

At this very moment, I Want to Become an Immortal had completely ignored his surroundings. He had only one goal in sight: the Scavenger Imp.

Although he couldn't run as fast as that creature, he had a bow and arrow in his hand.

*Whoosh!* He fired an arrow, but it flew straight over the top of the Scavenger Imp’s head. The imp turned around, chattered mockingly at him, then bolted deeper into the woods.

"Damn! This accuracy is terrible!"

I Want to Become an Immortal let out a cry of frustrated rage. Without the support of weapon skills, the reticle for the bow and arrow was incredibly wide; hitting anything was purely a matter of luck.

Yet, he refused to give up. If he could just kill it, it might drop a pile of good loot. Maybe he could even learn a spell, grow stronger, and eventually rescue his brother.

The obsession in his heart made him pick up his pace. The Scavenger Imp darted through the trees, running faster and further away. I Want to Become an Immortal pursued it for a while, and the surroundings gradually grew dim, but he was completely blinded by his fixation. He only wanted to secure this "newbie starter pack" and refused to let go.

Suddenly, the view opened up as he burst out of the forest. Before him lay a ruined road, where several mangled corpses lay on the grass. A few scrawny, matted wild dogs were huddled around one of the bodies, tearing into it.

The Scavenger Imp was hiding on a large rock behind the dogs, looking in his direction with a mocking grin.

Seeing the wild dogs, I Want to Become an Immortal’s overheated brain quickly cooled. He remembered the warnings in the guides: a single wild dog wasn't much of a threat, but they were extremely dangerous in packs. Fortunately, the dogs hadn't noticed him yet. Just as he was about to turn and retreat, the Scavenger Imp let out a sinister, cackling laugh, pulled a stone from its little cloth bag, and threw it hard at the head of the largest dog.

The dog immediately lifted its head, barking. Its blood-red eyes, however, seemed to ignore the imp and instead locked onto I Want to Become an Immortal.

*Woof!* With that bark, the other two dogs looked over as well.

I Want to Become an Immortal cursed inwardly. *The Scavenger Imp plays dirty like this?*

He was a decisive person. He knew he couldn't run—two legs were no match for four. It would be better to kill one quickly, then the remaining two would be manageable.

He drew his bow and notched an arrow, but without the weapon skill bonus, the aim was too wide, and the arrow flew off into nowhere.

He didn't fire a second shot, as the three dogs were already charging at him.

He immediately switched to his sword and shield and charged at the nearest dog. The creature instantly showed fear and scrambled back, causing I Want to Become an Immortal’s swing to miss entirely. Meanwhile, the other two dogs flanked him from the left and right. In the blink of an eye, the three dogs had surrounded him in a triangle formation.

Before he could swing his sword again, both dogs behind him attacked simultaneously.

*Snap! Snap!*

-7! -8!

Fortunately, he was wearing armor, so the damage wasn't too high, but the force of the pounce made him stumble forward. Just as he regained his balance, the dog in front lunged. He hurriedly raised his shield to block the claw attack.

But the two dogs behind him immediately followed up with another strike.

He turned and swung his sword in a panic. The dog he hit retreated, but he took another bite to his side. He tried to roll out of the encirclement, but the three dogs seemed to move in perfect sync, following him effortlessly. After two rolls, he was still trapped, and as soon as he stopped, all three dogs lunged at once.

*Rip! Tear!*

A flurry of biting took away a full quarter of his health bar.

*This is bad!*

I Want to Become an Immortal watched his health bar drop and felt a wave of panic. His scalp went numb.

*Am I really going to die here?*

*I just started playing this game!*

As he thought this, he kept trying to break out, but the three dogs coordinated perfectly. Whenever he attacked one, the other two immediately launched sneak attacks, making it impossible to defend.

After a few rounds, his health was nearly depleted. If he hadn't invested 5 points into Constitution earlier, he would have been dead already.

He hurriedly pulled out a bottle of Gold Sore Ointment, intending to drink it. Just as he raised his hand, a dog lunged and bit him, interrupting the animation.

*It’s over!* Despair washed over him. Only now did he realize that drinking potions in this game wasn't instantaneous; it required a one-second animation of raising the bottle to his mouth. If he was attacked during that time, the action was canceled.

He hadn't regained any health, and he’d wasted a bottle.

Now, trapped in the center by three dogs, he was under constant assault. He feared he wouldn't be able to drink a single drop of the potions in his bag.

*Am I going to die here on the very first day?*

The Scavenger Imp cackled from the sidelines, the sound grating and harsh.

In his agitated state, the dogs lunged again. I Want to Become an Immortal, now red-eyed with desperation, swung his sword regardless of the consequences. This time, he finally landed a hit!

*Splatter!*

-19!

The dog only had sixty health; one strike dealt a third of its life, but the price was that he took two more hits in return.

He had only a dozen health points left.

The wounded dog yelped and retreated, but suddenly, a figure appeared behind it.

*One clean cut!*

A flash of cold light passed, and the dog was split in two without a sound.

Who else could it be but Xiao Jie?

Xiao Jie was speechless. This guy had run so far, and the moment they met, he was being swarmed by three dogs and was on the verge of death. This morning, he had spoken so confidently about starting with the weakest monsters and learning the ropes slowly, yet here he was, doing this on the very first day.

No wonder this game had such a high mortality rate. If everyone were this stupid, it would be a miracle if the death rate wasn't high.