A look of recognition showed itself on the face of the large dog, and the Incarnate knew it was far from being a good sign. Even if the dog didn’t have eyes, it took more than flesh organs to express loyalty, and the Demonling recognized the creature’s subtle emotions. Its master lay dead on the ground, and it… grieved.

The Hollow Demonling held his shield tight, feeling the growing tenseness in the atmosphere as the large dog’s focus returned to his figure… and then pounced. Its companion did the same.

The Incarnate also sped forward, as fast he could.

It wasn’t exactly bravery that inspired this motion.

His esteem and confidence had seen a significant rise after his relatively quick exchange with Tenyen, yes, but the main reason was far more solemn.

When facing a large target, it was better to attack first or to at least make sure you weren’t the one caught without momentum or a steady stance. As warfare using large, trained beasts was common in his old world, the Incarnate had a few experiences to reference.

His shield was before him as he charged, but his speed was severely lacking. Running full tilt with broken ribs and a sore thigh wasn’t exactly ideal, but it would have to do.

‘Here we go. I have to use every bit of strength I have or else I will be crushed!’ the Demonling thought as the first dog approached from just a few meters away. The second was galloping from his right, lagging slightly behind the first.

Finally, the first dog leaped towards the Incarnate, an action that the man-demon thanked his lucky stars for. He tensed his muscles, hunched low, and bashed his shield in the dog’s face before heaving its full weight upwards.

Crack.

The ideal situation the Incarnate had envisioned didn’t happen as he had wished.

The dog… was much heavier than he had thought, even when accounting for the amplification from the Valiant Subject’s Ward.

His feet sank into the wet ground as he executed the awkward lift, but thankfully, in the end, he managed to fling the dog away successfully after a determined, “Raaaah!”

In the next second, however, a great maw full of sharp, yellow teeth clamped down hard on his shoulder; the second enemy had arrived!

“Arghhhh!”

The Incarnate had known there was nothing he could do about this other monstrosity. He had already accepted the fact that he was going to have to take some damage. He did his best to stop the momentum from the dog’s charge as a start. Then, with a face contorted in pain and rage, the Incarnate swung his newly earned mace at the dog’s head.

A harsh, blunt force undulated through his arm and the air.

The Incarnate suddenly felt savage glee. He never thought he could have appreciated how heavy Tenyen’s mace was.

The dog he struck didn’t voice its pain, but it staggered. Unfortunately, it maintained its grip on his shoulder.

“Let go of me!” the Incarnate screamed as he smacked it again and again and again with all his might. He watched as the creature’s head dug inward, its skull cracking, yet it refused to release him.

The Demonling sweated.

‘This bastard!’

Behind him, he suddenly heard growls and hurried, heavy steps. Before he knew it, the other dog rammed into him violently, causing him and the one biting his shoulder to tumble on the ground.

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The Incarnate’s situation worsened.

Now, he was pinned to the ground and the second dog maintained its vicious bite despite lying in an awkward pose in the dirt. And to make matters worse, the other canine was rushing towards them.

‘Ah! If only I had that Spirit Essence! I could make myself stronger! Why is this so hard? Isn’t this supposed to be the First Floor!’

But still, he couldn’t fall here.

These rotten teeth merchants didn’t have Spirit Essence like Tenyen. He couldn’t die to them. Not now! His chance to die in this crevice had already fallen with Tenyen!

The Incarnate raised his shield… and jammed it into the persistent dog’s neck!

The creature shook violently. He felt the sharp edge of the Valiant Subject’s Ward sever something.

Good!

The Incarnate hit the dog again and again and again!

As rotten blood sluiced out of the creature’s neck, he finally felt its teeth loosen on his flesh.

‘Finally!’

However, the other dog was lunging at him again, seemingly intent on biting his head off. Unfortunately for the Incarnate, because of its size, it could probably do so, easily, in fact. But he would not allow it.

Fighting against the agony, he rose and swung his mace at the creature’s jaw!

A loud crack resounded!

While the canine was still mid-air, it spun, and crashed into the Incarnate and they tumbled into the crevice wall.

The Demonling hurried to stand, panting and proud. He had gotten good hits on both dogs.

However…

‘What… what are these things?!’ he thought in horror when the creatures stood up without minding their ghastly injuries. The second dog in particular looked rather horrifying. Its head, loosely attached to its neck, was swaying this way and that, yet it still bared its teeth at the Incarnate.

The Incarnate backed away. This wasn’t good.

A normal beast would have been whimpering or dead right about now.

As he backtracked, his foot stepped on something brittle; something that started to break under his weight.

Momentarily distracted, the Demonling looked down, and what he saw sapped a little of his previously earned confidence.

An old skull loosely attached to a skeleton adorned in a tunic similar to his had been broken into fragments.

The Incarnate’s skin tingled in fright.

Before he could even digest what this could possibly mean, he heard the racing of the dogs towards him.

He swallowed hard, steadied his grip on his Equipment, and ran!

He wasn’t quite fast enough to outrun the enemies, but unlike last time, the Incarnate was too rattled mentally to bravely charge against them once again. What’s more, he was probably going to have to sustain another injury if he used that same tactic.

He sped forward as fast as he could.

To his dismay, he saw several more skeletons like the one whose skull he had casually shattered, all of them adorned in eroded tunics.

The Incarnate knew what this meant, but he didn’t dare start to reflect on it. Not now.

‘Stay focused!’ he told himself.

Unless he had forgotten all about the last twenty years, he couldn’t allow himself to act like he hadn’t been on the battlefield before – like he hadn’t been surrounded by the freshly dead bodies of his fellow soldiers.

This was no different!

The Incarnate’s skin shook lightly. He felt one of the dogs approach. It was just shy of a meter behind him. He guessed that it was the first one – the one he had smitten in the jaw.

Good.

The two dogs didn’t attack at the same time!

All he had to do now was…

The Incarnate suddenly turned, fully ready to block and strike.

He had guessed right. The first dog, with its dismantled, loose jaw was the one to reach him first.

He propped up his shield and the furry bastard bashed against it, its weight and momentum causing the Incarnate’s feet to slide against the ground.

However, the moment the Incarnate’s body stabilized, ferocious killing intent sparked in his eyes and he slammed down his mace on the dog, crushing its head into something with less dignity than a pancake!

The creature stopped moving and dropped to the ground – dead – but the Incarnate didn’t celebrate the victory.

His eyes quickly shifted to the other shaggy canine. He was ready for it.

The dog didn’t pounce right away, however.

With its swinging head, it leaped to the right, then to the left, and then it charged at full speed, lowering its frame as though to nail the Incarnate with its horns like a bull!

The Incarnate was recoiled.

By the time he decided to lower his centre of gravity in order to receive the dog’s charge, he realized that he wasn’t positioned very well. Unlike the last dog, this one didn’t charge from right in front of him. It came from the left.

Its full weight hammered into the unprepared Incarnate and the two flew towards the crevice wall!

‘Not the wall!’ the Incarnate agonized.

This was just what he needed with a set of broken ribs, wasn’t it? A horrible tackle against a hard, flat surface!

To the Demonling’s surprise, however, his body never slammed against the familiar integrity of the crevice wall. Instead, he only recalled the dark, stone block devouring him and his enemy, dragging them elsewhere.