The instant the savage figures appeared, Meng Hao’s mastiff let out a howl. It leapt forward, turning into a ferocious blur as it raced in circles around Meng Hao.
Blood flew out so violently it created a foam, and the bodies of barbarians tumbled down the mountain.
Their deaths did not frighten the barbarians behind them; instead, it incited further savagery as they charged forward. The mastiff’s ferocity billowed to the heavens as it protected the area around Meng Hao. Any approaching enemy met its attack; it clearly would not allow anyone to harm Meng Hao.
Meng Hao’s body shook, but he forced his eyes to remain open. He could hear the mastiff’s attacks, and could see the seemingly endless sea of people, but he could do nothing.
Time passed by, and blood flowed down the mountain. The mastiff’s frenzy had created a no man’s land which surrounded Meng Hao thirty meters in each direction. Countless barbarians had died, forming a bloody mountain at its edge.
One day, two days…. the mastiff had no rest whatsoever. The barbarians seemed to never end. They charged relentlessly. On the second day, Core Formation Cultivators appeared in their midst, wearing barbarian suits of armor.
The bloody battle continued within the fifth matrix, with canine howls and miserable human shrieks filling the air. Late in the night of the second day, the mastiff killed the three Core Formation barbarians, although it was wounded in the process. After that, there was quiet. The barbarians retreated. Everything was still.
In a daze, Meng Hao looked at the mastiff. One of its legs was broken, and it looked exhausted. It hadn’t rested in two days, and had no medicinal pills to consume. Each fight had been a fight to the death, and it had prevented any of the people from harming Meng Hao. In fact, thanks to its frenzy, no one had even stepped within thirty meters of him.
As of now, it was overcome with fatigue. It lay down next to Meng Hao, panting. It licked his hand as if it wanted him to pet its head.
Everything was still; on the mountain peak, only a dog and a man could be seen. One couldn’t move, the other lay prone, ready to stand guard for an eternity.
Meng Hao looked at the mastiff, and a warmth rose up from the bottom of his heart that he had never felt before. It filled his entire body. This creature was just a puppy, a Blood Divinity with little spiritual understanding. And yet… it would not forsake him. Even under these circumstances, it wouldn’t leave, but instead fought to defend him.
Considering the accumulated injuries and exhaustion, if it continued to fight in this way, it would die eventually.
But it stayed by Meng Hao’s side to protect him. Soon dawn broke, and a clamor from the bottom of the mountain broke the stillness. The air seemed to fill with the Qi of Core Formation, and was followed by the furious shouting of barbarians charging up the mountain.
The mastiff… looked at Meng Hao, then licked his hand. It turned, and with a ferocious howl, charged into battle.
Meng Hao couldn’t move. He could only watch the mastiff charge into action. He couldn’t even turn his head. The only thing he could see was the half of the world which lay directly in front of him. Even what was down below on the mountain was not visible to him.
Barking and blood-curdling screams filled his ears for the entire day. He didn’t know exactly how fierce the fighting was, but he could sense that throughout the entire day, no one could step foot within a thirty meter radius of him.
When night fell, everything grew quiet again. Enough time passed for an incense stick to burn before the mastiff finally returned to Meng Hao and lay down next to him. Its back was broken, and it had trouble walking. Another leg was broken, and one of its long, sharp teeth had been snapped off.