139: Chapter 139 Battle

Tang Yao and Xiao Niao watched the battle between the man and the dog before them. They saw Hu Gualing's fist, clad in a steel knuckle duster, collide with the Wild Dog's wide-open maw.

-17!

-14!

Two similar damage numbers popped up almost simultaneously above the Wild Dog's and Hu Gualing's heads.

Hu Gualing had landed a hit of Farmers Three Punches on the dog's mouth, dealing decent damage. Although it couldn't compare to the twenty-plus damage Tang Yao's longsword had dealt with a casual thrust earlier, this Bloodthirsty Wild Dog was clearly more ferocious than a Hungry Wild Dog, and perhaps even had higher defense. Thus, the damage Hu Gualing dealt with his fists was already quite good; moreover, the advantage of fist techniques never lay in single-hit damage.

With a sharp crack, a long, thin tooth snapped and went flying. Hu Gualing's fist, equipped with a steel knuckle duster, had slammed into the Bloodthirsty Wild Dog's canine. The fierce power in his fist, combined with the bonus from the [tough steel knuckle duster], shattered the Wild Dog's canine tooth right at the bottom third of the root!

But it didn't end there. After breaking the tooth, the remaining force of the punch rippled through the dog's mouth, nose, and face. The entire face distorted under the impact, and the dog's head was even forced back toward its chest, causing its body to reel backward. A dog's nose is its softest part; after taking such a powerful blow, it split open instantly, sending blood gushing from its nose and mouth. The pain was likely even more intense than that of the broken tooth.

The [Bloodthirsty Wild Dog] seemed dazed by the punch. It stumbled back on its hind legs for a moment before managing to steady itself. After a few blinks, it finally put its front paws back on the ground. From its mouth, missing a large portion of a canine tooth, came a series of rapid, piercing howls. The continuous cries sounded heart-wrenching and filled with agony. Even so, its bloodthirsty eyes never blinked, staring intently at the tall young man across from it without wavering for a second—it clearly hated this human to the extreme.

Hearing the dog's sharp, short howls, Xiao Niao couldn't help but feel nervous. He feared the dog might go berserk from the pain and charge at him, and he also worried that such shrill howling might summon its pack.

Fortunately, after looking around, he saw no other unusual movement within his field of vision, aside from a few vultures startled by the howling. Estimating that there were no packs of Wild Dogs nearby, Xiao Niao felt a bit more at ease.

On the other hand, Hu Gualing wasn't feeling great either.

Although his previous punch had landed on the dog's mouth—protecting his own abdomen while using the hardness of the steel knuckle duster to snap a canine—and had instantly depleted nearly a quarter of the dog's health bar while partially disabling it, the hardness and sharpness of a canine tooth were not to be underestimated. While inferior to steel, they were undoubtedly razor-sharp against flesh. Combined with the dog's powerful jaw muscles, a solid bite would easily leave a bloody hole. Although Hu Gualing wore a steel knuckle duster, the protection it offered was extremely limited, covering at most the knuckles. Most of the skin on his hand remained exposed, so his flesh was inevitably bitten by the canine when he struck the dog's mouth.

As the Wild Dog retreated, Hu Gualing pulled back his fist in pain and took a quick look: Not bad, not bad. Just a bit of missing skin. It hurts, but as long as there's no broken bone or a Bleeding status effect, it's acceptable.

Hu Gualing spat twice on his hand and blew on it. Enduring the pain for the moment, he suddenly moved while the dog was still howling. Propping himself up with his hands, he performed two and a half quick rolls on the ground, then leaped up and mounted the dog's back.

Although the dog had the "Bloodthirsty" prefix and an exceptionally fierce temperament, its size was still that of an average Wild Dog, just with more defined muscle lines. Being suddenly pounced upon by Hu Gualing was more than it could handle, both mentally and physically. It was pinned to the ground before it could resist. By the time it tried to break free, it could only flail its limbs in a futile struggle.

Leveraging his unexpected movement and clear weight advantage, Hu Gualing pinned the dog down and mounted it, immediately raining blows down on its head with both fists.

-15, -9. Two damage numbers popped up in succession above the dog's head, and its health bar dropped another notch, falling below half.

This was the advantage of fist techniques. While a single hit might not be as significant as that of a sharp weapon, the attack rhythm was much faster. Striking continuously with both fists could disrupt an enemy's rhythm and deal two hits in a short time. As for the sharp decrease in the second damage value, it was because Hu Gualing's right hand had just been injured; even while fighting through the pain, he couldn't put his full strength into it.

Hu Gualing finished the two punches in an instant. The pain from the wound on the back of his right hand made his face twitch, and he couldn't help but shake his hand twice. Then, he immediately resumed raining blows on the dog's head with both fists.

-14.

-8.

-20 (Piercing Damage).

-8.

Although the Wild Dog tried to resist, its advantages lay in its sharp teeth and claws. Not only had its tooth been broken by Hu Gualing, but even if it were intact, being pinned down by Hu Gualing's low center of gravity made effective resistance impossible. It could only kick its legs wildly in an attempt to roll over. Its mouth, now covered in blood, hung wide open as it tried to twist its head back toward its neck, hoping to sink its remaining intact canine into the damned human on its back. However, every time it turned its head, it was punched back...

A string of damage numbers popped up over the dog's head. Soon, this [Bloodthirsty Wild Dog] that had initiated the attack on the trio died under Hu Gualing's unadorned double-fist assault. Its health bar was depleted, and its head lolled to the ground with a small bounce, never to move again.