Bloody Battle

The giant dog's strength was far more terrifying than he had imagined, beyond anything an ordinary human body could withstand.

Even though Zhou Ze reacted quickly, repeatedly blocking and deflecting its attacks with the Longsword, he was still forced steadily backward. Fortunately, the passage was spacious enough that the enormous beast couldn't corner him.

Zhou Ze dodged its claws again and swept his sword sideways, using the recoil to put some distance between them and finally buy himself a moment to breathe. Gritting his teeth, he roared without looking back, "Do something, for fuck's sake!"

The Golden Retriever's eyes darted after the man and beast fighting a short distance away as he warned in a low voice, "Zhou Ze, don't trade blows with it! Big bodies mean big openings! Circle around and hit it from behind!"

Hearing that, Zhou Ze felt his blood pressure shoot up.

This wasn't a fucking video game. What turn-speed limits or recovery frames was he talking about?

The giant dog's attacks grew fiercer, its tremendous strength almost making it impossible for Zhou Ze to block its claws with the Longsword.

Just then, the Golden Retriever behind him shouted at the top of his lungs:

"I'm coming to help!!!"

Both the man and the dog fighting in the corridor flinched.

The demonic giant dog clearly understood human speech. Its scarlet eyes immediately turned toward Kane, brimming with murderous intent.

But that son of a bitch Kane merely hopped up and down menacingly without taking a single step forward.

Still, Zhou Ze seized the instant when the giant dog's attention slipped.

He twisted aside again to dodge the claws sweeping toward him on a reeking gust, drawing the triangular Military Dagger from his waist as he dove to the right. Holding it in a reverse grip, he drove it into the giant dog's foreleg with all his strength. The sharp blade easily tore through muscle tissue, and blood poured along its fuller, tracing a dark red trail across the floor.

The giant dog's roar reverberated throughout the corridor. Its muscles spasmed violently around the wound, and blood kept pouring from the gash in its foreleg, deep enough to expose bone. Yet its ferocity hadn't diminished in the slightest.

Its massive body unleashed astonishing strength in an instant, lunging at Zhou Ze like an armored vehicle out of control.

This time, even Zhou Ze's reflexes weren't enough to evade the savage blow completely. Sharp claws sliced through the air and easily shredded his thin Class-D Personnel uniform.

Agony shot through his shoulder. Three claw marks, deep enough to expose bone, had nearly torn his entire left shoulder apart.

Blood splattered onto the floor and the giant dog's fur, unexpectedly producing a piercing hiss. A strong corrosive odor filled the air-the burnt stench of proteins dissolving in strong acid.

The giant dog shook the parts of its body splashed with blood in pain. Wisps of white smoke rose from its thick muscles as they corroded, and the flesh beneath its fur rapidly rotted away.

His vision darkened by the blow, Zhou Ze saw this happen and, even through his shock, quickly made the best possible decision.

Without hesitation, he dropped the dagger and endured the agony as he wiped a handful of blood from his wounded shoulder. While the giant dog thrashed in pain, he flung the corrosive blood in his hand at its scarlet eyes.

"Awooo-!"

The giant dog let out an agonized howl. Its enormous body convulsed violently as its forepaws frantically scratched at its corroding eyes. Disoriented by the excruciating pain, it instinctively shook its head, trying to escape the burning agony.

Zhou Ze seized the fleeting opportunity and snatched the fallen Longsword off the floor. Guided by instinct, he found the vulnerable spot in the giant dog's abdomen with precision. The Longsword thrust forward like lightning, plunging deep into its abdominal cavity. Immediately after striking, he pulled back, avoiding its frenzied dying counterattack.

Blinded, the giant dog rolled wildly across the floor, its claws gouging deep furrows into the ground and walls.

After a while, its roars gradually weakened. Following one final violent spasm, its enormous body finally lay still, with only dark red blood slowly seeping from the wound in its abdomen.

Zhou Ze leaned against the corner of the wall, panting hard as cold sweat streamed down his forehead.

Only after confirming that the giant dog had breathed its last did he let out a long breath and close his eyes. His taut nerves and muscles relaxed, followed by an overwhelming wave of exhaustion and weakness.

"Nice work, Zhou Ze! You're fucking incredible!" Kane the Golden Retriever bounded over, marveling nonstop. "I'd forgotten you had a trick like that-hurting the enemy almost as much as yourself..."

Zhou Ze opened his eyes and glared at the Golden Retriever, but then his gaze grew complicated.

My blood...

How did it become like this...

Do I even count as human anymore...

"What's with that look..." Kane scratched his head with a hind leg. "I'm just a dog. It's perfectly normal for me not to be much help..."

"That was a dog too..." Zhou Ze leaned his head back and said weakly, "You're the one who said it..."

"Not all dogs are equal. Didn't I try to come up with something?" Kane looked utterly innocent.

Blood was still seeping from the wound on Zhou Ze's left shoulder. The dark red liquid ran down his arm and dripped onto the floor with a corrosive hiss, while his own blood had eaten large holes in his clothes.

Seeing this, Kane frowned. "Your condition is a bit tricky. Looks like we can't bandage you normally, either."

As he spoke, Kane clamped his teeth around Zhou Ze's orange-red uniform, most of which had already been corroded, and tore it off with a hard tug, exposing his lean, muscular torso. Even in the dim light, his sharply defined chest and abs remained clearly visible.

"Wouldn't have guessed..."

The Golden Retriever raised his eyebrows and continued:

"Give me a hand. You'll have to do this yourself... Use the pads of your index finger and thumb to press the radial artery pressure point three inches in front of your left shoulder, and the subclavian artery, two finger-widths above the first rib... You need to press both points at once to control the bleeding effectively."

Zhou Ze forced himself to focus and followed Kane's instructions, maintaining steady pressure with his right hand. Though the dizziness from blood loss left him dazed, he gritted his teeth and held on.

"Right, just like that. Stay in that position and don't move. Wait for the blood to clot... Though I seriously doubt your platelets can still work normally in this state..."

Pale-faced, Zhou Ze said nothing, closing his eyes to recover his strength.

Only after a long while did the blood gradually stop seeping out, and a dark red scab began to form over the wound.

At that moment, a figure appeared around the corner of the corridor and slowly approached them.

It was a security guard in combat fatigues. His uniform was in tatters, and he looked rather bedraggled.

"Hey! Perfect timing! Come over and give us a hand!"

Kane hurriedly called out to the distant security guard.

Zhou Ze also lifted his eyelids to glance at him. After making sure the triangular Military Dagger was beside his leg within easy reach, he closed his eyes again.

But the approaching security guard gave no response. Only after drawing closer did he seem to notice the man and dog, and he stopped short.

Then he raised both arms and came charging toward them in a stumbling run.

Already sensing that something was wrong, Kane bristled, his golden fur standing on end. He lowered his forequarters into an attack stance and roared:

"Zhou Ze! Watch out!"