What the hell?!

Li Xiang’s rage instantly maxed out. That was the sound of his dog.

Jiang Cai’Er, hiding behind the window with Grandma and the others, cried out in alarm, "The dog was thrown into the air!"

Li Xiang moved like a bolt of lightning. As he rushed out, he saw Dahuang’s body plummet from the sky and land hard in the snow, staining it a deep crimson.

Then, the massive wild boar roared. It lowered its head, its gleaming white tusks like great daggers. THUMP THUMP THUMP. With hooves churning, it charged at Dahuang again.

Er Huang didn’t hesitate for a second, barking "WOOF WOOF!" as it gave chase. It had to save Dahuang.

But even as Er Huang sprinted with all its might, it couldn’t catch the wild boar.

The wild boar was enormous, over two meters long and weighing at least five or six hundred pounds. It had a black mane and white teeth, and its coarse, bristly hair was matted in clumps. Its body was caked in something like black mud, and it moved as fast as a speeding car.

Dahuang and Er Huang normally looked plenty big, but compared to this wild boar, they seemed frail and scrawny—like complete runts.

An armored boar is a match for tigers and bears.

BOOM!

Like a tank, the great boar charged at Dahuang in the snow once more.

"Damned beast! You’re looking to die!" Li Xiang’s eyes flashed with cold fury as he hurled the Three-pronged Steel Fork with all his strength.

SWOOSH!

The fork flew like lightning. Unfortunately, it was poorly made and unbalanced in his hand. It was also Li Xiang’s first time throwing such a weapon. The boar, agile as it was, rolled on the ground and dodged a direct hit. The fork only grazed its back, tearing a diagonal gash.

Even so, the wild boar grunted in pain. The spot where the fork had passed was instantly torn open, blossoming with a spray of red blood.

The injury and the gushing blood only made the wild boar more ferocious, as if its Bloodthirsty Attribute had been activated. It abandoned Dahuang and Er Huang and charged straight for Li Xiang. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Li Xiang gripped the High-Density Blade with both hands. As the boar charged, he sidestepped, evading its momentum. At the same time, he swung the High-Density Blade down with brutal force. There was a flash of cold light like a thunderbolt, followed by a sickening SLICE. The massive boar’s head was severed clean off by Li Xiang’s single strike.

The boar’s head went flying, while its body, carried by momentum, skidded for several meters across the snow. Scalding blood melted the white ground, staining a huge patch of the backyard red.

Behind the kitchen window, Jiang Cai’Er stood with her phone raised, her mouth hanging open. She had completely forgotten to stop recording.

When Li Xiang had charged out with the steel fork and a Chopping Knife, she had, on some strange impulse, pulled out her phone and started filming. Everything that followed had happened in the blink of an eye, unbelievably fast.

"Ah!" Jiang Cai’Er snapped back to reality and quickly hit the stop button. Beside her, Grandma and Third Granny were pale with fright, but seeing that Li Xiang had killed the boar, they started to recover from the shock.

Grandma’s heart was still pounding. For a moment there, she thought she was about to lose her grandson.

At the same time, a system notification sounded in Li Xiang’s mind: "Congratulations, Host, for killing one Tier Ten Mutated Creature: Black-Maned White-Toothed Beast. Reward: 500 Achievement Points, three Tier Five Mutated Spirit Grass: Purple Profound Truffles, and one pair of White Fang Daggers."

Li Xiang dropped his blade on the ground and walked toward Dahuang.

’Poor dog.’

Even though Li Xiang had grown accustomed to life and death in his past life, he felt an overwhelming sadness.

He reached Dahuang’s side and sat down. Dahuang was no longer breathing. There were two gruesome, bloody holes in its chest. The boar’s tusks must have pierced its heart.

WHIMPER... Er Huang came to Dahuang’s side as well. The dog was highly Spiritual; its eyes were filled with endless grief as it stood there, dejected and listless.

Li Xiang closed his eyes. After a moment of silence, he opened them and reached out to pet Er Huang. "I’m sorry," he said. "This is my fault. I failed to protect your brother."

Jiang Cai’Er walked over to Li Xiang and said comfortingly, "Brother Xiang, don’t be too sad..."

She, who was usually so quick-witted, found herself at a loss for words.

"Cai’Er, help me look after Grandma and Third Granny. I’m going to bury Dahuang." Li Xiang stood up and walked to the storage shed, emerging a moment later with a shovel.

He lifted Dahuang into his arms, tucked the shovel under his arm, and headed for the mountain behind the house.

WHIMPER... Er Huang followed him.

Jiang Cai’Er...

Grandma was heartbroken too. She had raised the dogs herself. Before Li Xiang came back, they had been her only companions.

The snow on the mountain was thick; after days of accumulation, it came up to Li Xiang’s waist in some places.

Li Xiang figured the heavy snow had likely cut the mountain off for so long that the boar couldn’t find any food, forcing it to approach the human village. Then, it just so happened that they were brewing tea by the fire in the backyard. The boar must have caught the scent from a distance and snuck over.

The thought only made him blame himself more.

He chose a good spot on a slope with a view of his house. He laid Dahuang to one side and began to shovel away the snow to dig a grave.

The ground was frozen solid, making the digging difficult, but that wasn’t enough to stop Li Xiang.

Er Huang kept running back and forth nearby, occasionally pawing at Dahuang and nuzzling him with its head.

"Stop it. He’s not going to wake up." Li Xiang picked up Dahuang and gently placed him in the deep pit. Er Huang immediately jumped in after him.

"Get out. Come on, get out!"

WHIMPER... Er Huang was reluctant, but under Li Xiang’s stern gaze, it obediently leaped out.

He covered the body with dirt, tamped it down, and gathered a few small stones to place on top as a marker. Finally, he covered the grave with snow again.

...

While Li Xiang was burying his dog, the village chief, Li Jinyu, Jiang Cai’Er’s father, Jiang Jianguo, and several other village elders arrived.

They had faintly heard the dog’s yelps earlier and were about to come check when they called Li Xiang’s phone. Jiang Cai’Er answered and told them what happened.

Now, everyone was gathered around the dead boar, clicking their tongues in amazement.

"What a massive boar! It’s even bigger than the one I saw ten years ago!"

"This thing has to be six hundred pounds, easy. A real Wild Boar King."

"See this hard, black layer on its hide? That’s armor made of pine resin and mud. They say even tigers and bears won’t mess with an armored boar. And Li Xiang took its head off in one swing... a young man to be reckoned with!" a villager who had been a Hunter in his youth remarked.

Jiang Cai’Er suddenly grew worried. She remembered a teacher saying that even though wild boars weren’t a protected species, you couldn’t just hunt them whenever you wanted. Killing one without permission could lead to legal trouble, like fines, detention, or even a charge of "illegal hunting."

So, Jiang Cai’Er voiced her concern.

Everyone laughed. "The boar charged right into the house. What, we’re not supposed to kill it?"

"It’s a good thing no one was hurt. If someone had been killed, the lives of ten boars wouldn’t be enough to make up for it."

The village chief, Li Jinyu, said, "Don’t worry, your Brother Xiang won’t get in trouble. I’ll just write up a report explaining what happened. It’ll be fine."

Jiang Cai’Er’s eyes lit up. She took out her phone and waved it. "In that case, can I post this video online?"