The next day, Jiang Kai and Hu Yan set off, heading toward the area where the Dog King was located.
They had not gone very far when someone behind them shouted their names and chased after them.
After catching up, Ruan Yu said angrily, "Captain Kai, Old Hu, you two actually didn't bring me along!"
Jiang Kai frowned as he looked at Ruan Yu, who was still wrapped in bandages. "Ruan Ghost, you're in this state and you're sure you still want to come with us?"
"Of course I'm coming!" Ruan Yu said urgently. "We're the original Fire Gods. How could you leave me behind? That really hurts!"
Hu Yan looked Ruan Yu over, clearly skeptical, and asked, "Are you actually after the Dog King?"
More than once, Ruan Yu had loudly complained about wanting Dong Li to introduce him to a brother or sister.
"I'm not!" Ruan Yu said anxiously. "Old Hu, how can you think of me as someone so despicable! I haven't even been drinking!"
Jiang Kai shook his head. "Fine then. If you're really okay, let's go."
What was originally planned as a two-man trip had now turned into a three-man group again.
The area designated by the military was quite large. It was said that all the researchers who had originally been stationed near the BOSS nest had been killed by the Dog King. Because of that, the researchers did not dare approach the Dog King anymore and could only expand the search range.
Four or five hours later, Jiang Kai and the others finally entered the area under strict military control.
Given the Dog King's special nature, the military had already issued orders long ago to suspend all guild hunting operations targeting the Dog King.
At the same time, at several nearby points, the military had patrols in place, forbidding anyone from entering the sealed-off area.
However, their strength had not reached the transcendent level. If the Dog King really charged out, they probably would not be able to stop it.
It was precisely for this reason that the Dog King had previously continued to break through the boundaries of its activity range and had hunted down some small-guild players.
Lu Jun seemed to have already given instructions. When these soldiers saw Jiang Kai and the other two, and after learning Jiang Kai's identity, they directly let them pass.
"Jiang Kai, I haven't personally seen you fight, but since the higher-ups asked you to take action, we hope you can kill the Dog King," the officer said, looking at Jiang Kai expectantly. "If we let the Dog King continue to grow, it could disrupt the military's overall plans, and even affect the final direction of the BOSS battle!"
"With the threat of the Beast God hanging over us, how much longer can we hold on? This BOSS battle is absolutely crucial!"
Seeing the hopeful looks in the soldiers' eyes, Jiang Kai nodded heavily. "We will definitely do our utmost."
After entering from the warning zone, Ruan Yu looked around and frowned, feeling troubled.
"The area the military sealed off is too big. How are we supposed to find him?"
Jiang Kai let out a cold laugh. "You've seen the Heavenly Dog Jade before, right? The Rat King could smell things dozens of meters underground. The Dog King definitely has an extremely sharp sense of smell. So we don't need to look for him. He'll come looking for us."
"Let's go deeper, straight into his territory. I don't believe he won't react!"
Hu Yan and Ruan Yu stayed close to Jiang Kai as they headed deeper into the sealed area.
"Captain Kai, you repaired the Demon-Slaying Sword. Can it directly kill map-level targets now?" Hu Yan asked curiously.
Jiang Kai shook his head. "Hard to say. I think the result of the repair is more likely that it can store more energy, rather than its own power increasing."
"But with the Demon-Slaying Sword and me working together, I'm not afraid of the Dog King!"
Hu Yan hesitated for a moment, then said, "Captain Kai, if he's like Dong Li… I mean, can we…"
"Spare his life?" Jiang Kai looked at Hu Yan, trying to guess what he was about to say.
Hu Yan nodded.
Jiang Kai sighed. "Old Hu, I understand how you feel. Dong Li is your lover. That makes her my sister-in-law. If the Dog King were like Dong Li, I wouldn't be able to bring myself to kill him either."
"When the time comes, we can ask him if there's a hidden map here. If there is, we can use the skull of a king-level BOSS from the hidden map to replace his skull."
They had had similar experiences before. Only summoning skulls from hidden maps could replace the summoning skulls of other king-level bosses in the same map. But if Qingfeng Mountain had no hidden map, then things would get tricky.
Ruan Yu suddenly said, "What are you two worrying about for nothing? The Dog King is definitely not on the same side as Dong Li. Dong Li never actively killed human players, but the Dog King is actively hunting humans right now."
Even though Ruan Yu was usually unreliable, that sudden remark actually made Jiang Kai and Hu Yan feel more at ease.
The three of them walked through the sealed area, encountering some normal-grade beasts along the way, which Jiang Kai could casually kill.
Before they realized it, it was already five in the afternoon, but the Dog King still had not appeared.
So Jiang Kai and the others temporarily set up camp near a pile of scattered rocks, lighting a fire and cooking.
"By the way, Old Hu, how's the development of the gourmet class in our guild?" Jiang Kai asked curiously.
Hu Yan replied, "We have a tier-four gourmet now. His cooking skills are top-notch, but he still has basically no combat ability. There still aren't any materials on the market for super-tier-five gourmets."
"I'm curious what kind of profession a gourmet gets at the transcendent stage," Ruan Yu said.
With nothing else to do, Jiang Kai took out the statistics device to check.
Almost all the king-level bosses in Zone Sixteen had been cleared, leaving only the Dog King and the Turtle King.
The Turtle King's damage reflection would probably give everyone a headache, especially Jiang Kai, who had no desire to deal with it.
With most of the bosses cleared, the rankings in Zone Sixteen had basically stabilized.
Tianxuan was temporarily in first place with 44,000 points. Qinglong had caught up later and was now close behind with 41,000 points.
The gap between the two was not large. Once it reached the map BOSS and Guardian Lord stages, it was not impossible for Qinglong, with its numerical advantage, to overtake Tianxuan.
Third place was the Main God, with a score of over 37,000.
After dinner, there was still no sign of the Dog King, so Jiang Kai and the others could only continue waiting patiently.
It was late at night. Jiang Kai and the others sat by the campfire, watching the flickering flames sway in the darkness.
At that moment, Jiang Kai suddenly saw a dark figure appear in front of them!
Jiang Kai hurriedly looked up.
A man wearing a cloak was standing before them.
By the firelight, Jiang Kai could see the man's face.
This was an extremely ugly man. His facial features gave off an indescribable feeling. His eyes drooped downward at an angle, his nose was very large, and his skull was somewhat deformed.
To be precise, this guy had gone beyond being merely "ugly" and looked more like a deformity.
However, his physique was completely normal, tall and upright.
Hu Yan and Ruan Yu also noticed him and immediately stood up, both staring intently at the man.
Hu Yan said coldly, "Dog King?"
The man slightly lifted his eyes and spoke in human language. "You're among the few who aren't scared out of their wits when they see me."
Hu Yan narrowed his eyes slightly. "So it really is the Dog King! Tell me, why did you become like this? Is it because you're a demon race?"
The Dog King's lips curled into a strange smile as he walked step by step toward the three of them. "Only demon races can awaken? No, you've misunderstood. The primordial spirits you provide can allow any being above king-level to awaken. They just don't have the means to obtain them."
As he spoke, he was already standing in front of Jiang Kai and the others.
"I used to be your prey, but from the moment I awakened, everything changed."
"You are the prey now, and we are the hunters!"
Hu Yan hurriedly asked, "We? You mean the other dog demons?"
The Dog King snorted coldly. "Of course not. How could they be mentioned in the same breath as me! Only the strong are qualified to rule the game. This applies to you and me alike!"
Up to this point, Jiang Kai still had not activated the damage statistics function or sent out any messages. He was not yet sure whether he wanted to kill the Dog King.
Looking at him, Jiang Kai said, "You've already left your territory. Why don't you leave Qingfeng Mountain altogether?"
"Leave?" The Dog King suddenly burst into wild laughter. As he threw his head back, the hood on his head fell away, completely revealing his severely deformed skull.
"Hahahaha! I really don't know whether to call you naive or call you stupid!"
"Can you escape fate just by running away? No matter how far I run, I'm still just a homeless dog! Only resistance brings hope!"
"And besides! Why should I leave? This place is full of delicacies. Hunting you lets me grow stronger quickly. When I have enough strength, I can completely change my destiny!"
"Even though it's still far from enough, that's because the form in which you exist isn't complete yet. But still, you are my most important food!"
Jiang Kai and the other two were all confused.
Could the Dog King and Dong Li really change something by hunting humans?
If even a king-level being like the Dog King knew this, then Dong Li, a map-level BOSS, could not possibly be unaware. Yet after awakening, Dong Li had never harmed any humans.
Killing intent had already surfaced in the Dog King's eyes.
"All right, our chat is over. Next, it's time to eat."
Hu Yan sighed and said to Jiang Kai and Ruan Yu, "This is probably the difference between him and Dong Li."
Jiang Kai also shook his head regretfully. "That's fine too. Saves us from not knowing how to face Dong Li later."
With that, Jiang Kai pressed the button, sent out the message, and activated damage statistics.
"Sorry, Dog King. You're not the answer we're looking for. So your skull, I'm taking it," Jiang Kai said coldly.
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