Chapter 286: A Tense Stand-Off at the Northern Barrier

The Jiang Xiong Squad had always relied on their dogs and swagger, never giving the Inspection Team a second thought, much less caring about territory safety. Their only goal now was to rile up the Azure Dragon Squad with dog barks, hoping to draw them out and sneak into the mountains to look for wolves.

But the moment the Inspection Team really moved to deal with his prized evolved dogs, he was left with no choice but to give the order, though you could tell he wasn’t swallowing his pride easily.

Tan Junjie paid no attention to Jiang Xiong’s attitude. Once he had the situation under control, he turned to Blind Jiang and asked about the earlier warning, “Where exactly did you smell wolves?”

When Tan Junjie asked, Xia Qing didn’t worry at all that Blind Jiang might have picked up wolf scent within Section Three.

After the wolves left, Xia Qing had Chang Li thoroughly clean out all traces of wolf scent from their territory using a special deodorizer she’d traded for with Zhang San. It had already been a day since the cleaning, and any remaining wolf odor was barely noticeable.

Even if the scent-evolved dogs managed to sniff out a faint trace, Xia Qing could just claim it drifted over from Hill Forty-Nine. And if they didn’t buy it, what—insist the evolved dogs go inside Section Three for a search?

Yeah, right.

She was the lord of Section Three. As long as she hadn’t broken any rules, anyone entering her territory without her consent could be considered a threat—and dealt with accordingly.

Down by the creek, the burly Blind Jiang was quick to point toward the mountain valley where the stream flowed, his big hand waving. “Over there in the valley—the scent’s really strong!”

No kidding, Su Ming from the Inspection Team rolled his eyes.

Tan Junjie replied seriously, “Hill Forty-Nine, north of the Barrier, falls under the Azure Dragon Squad’s jurisdiction. The Azure Dragon Squad has already notified higher-ups they have a trained wolf beast in their training grounds.”

Blind Jiang insisted, “The Azure Dragon Squad only reported a single evolved wolf, but my evolved dogs picked up the scent of several wolves. Their cover-up could put neighboring territories at risk. You’re the captain of the Inspection Team covering Territories One through Ten—shouldn’t you get to the bottom of this and eliminate the danger?”

Tan Junjie nodded, pressed his walkie-talkie, and called out, “Territory One, do you read me? Please respond.”

“Territory One here. Go ahead, Teacher Tan.” Tang Zhou’s respectful voice came through.

“The Jiang Xiong Squad’s scent-evolved dogs are picking up multiple wolf scents on Hill Forty-Nine. For the safety of all territories, please report the exact number of trained wolves and other beasts currently there.”

Tang Zhou immediately replied, “There’s only one trained wolf beast on Hill Forty-Nine, and it got spooked yesterday morning. It ran into the Evolved Forest and still hasn’t been found. There are no other large beasts on the mountain right now.”

Jiang Xiong used Tan Junjie’s walkie-talkie to politely ask, “Brother Tang, it’s me, Yan Yuanjiang. My scent-evolved dogs are picking up—there’s more than one evolved wolf’s scent on your hill. Could it be some wolves snuck in while no one was watching?”

Even though Blind Jiang was the captain of the fifth-ranked squad, facing Tang Zhou—the Azure Dragon Squad’s fourth-ranked powerhouse—he didn’t dare act rude. When it came to raw strength, Tang Zhou had him beat.

Conversations on the Lords’ Channel could be overheard by many, so Tang Zhou saved Blind Jiang some face—even though they’d come all this way just to fish for trouble. “Thank you, Captain Jiang, for the reminder. To help the trained wolf feel at home, we spread some gathered evolved wolf dung throughout the training field and over the northern mountains. That might explain the lingering scent.”

“Oh, uh, right.” Blind Jiang responded, but his gaze burned with disbelief. He wasn’t buying Tang Zhou’s excuse for a second.

And it wasn’t just Blind Jiang—most people weren’t convinced. Wolves are territorial by nature. Dumping collected dung around a wolf’s territory wouldn’t make it feel at home; it’d think it was being challenged.

The Azure Dragon Squad would never make such a rookie mistake. Xia Qing figured Tang Zhou was pulling a fast one on Jiang Xiong’s group. Still, whatever game the Azure Dragon Squad was playing, as long as it kept Jiang Xiong’s attention on Hill Forty-Nine, her own wolf pack would stay safe.

And judging by the look on Blind Jiang’s face, he was now blaming the mess of wolf dung on Hills Fifty and Fifty-Two on the Azure Dragon Squad, too. Xia Qing couldn’t tell if Tang Zhou really had spread dung everywhere—she’d have to check up on that later.

Once the call with Tang Zhou ended, Jiang Xiong’s squad had no excuse to keep hanging around at the mouth of the valley. They had no choice but to follow Tan Junjie’s team forward, heading into the northern barrier zone of Section Three. Xia Qing slipped down from her tree, keeping hidden among the green-lit orchard at the top of the hill, barely breathing.

“Woof! Woof! Woof woof!”

As soon as they climbed the northern barrier ridge, the evolved dog suddenly let out a series of powerful barks—nothing like before. This was pure excitement, the kind that only came when they found prey. The Jiang Xiong Squad immediately perked up, peering eagerly into Xia Qing’s territory.

Su Ming from the Inspection Team drew his gun and warned them, “Make your beast shut up.”

Before the Jiang Xiong Squad could answer, Zhang San’s voice came over the Lords’ Channel: “Captain Tan, are you still hanging out with the mutts? Tell them to keep quiet. If their barking scares my cows again, I’ll be eating dog meat hotpot tonight.”

Tan Junjie was about to reply, but one of Jiang Xiong’s squad members cursed over the channel, “Who the hell is that? If anyone so much as lays a finger on my dog, I’ll break their damn leg!”

Everyone paused—

Zhang San responded coolly, “That would be Zhang San of Territory Seven. You want to break my leg? Come try it.”

Territory Seven blacklist: +1.

The crowd: Well, well.

Xia Qing: Damn, I love how petty my idol is.

The moment he heard it was Territory Seven, Blind Jiang kicked a teammate to the ground, then barked at his own evolved dog to shut up. He lowered his voice and pleaded with Tan Junjie, “Captain Tan, could I please use your walkie-talkie to apologize to Lord Zhang?”

Tan Junjie handed him the walkie-talkie. Blind Jiang cleared his throat, then pressed the button and, all the way in the north of Section Three, bowed and scraped, “Brother Zhang, this is Yan from the Jiang Xiong Squad. It was my fault for not keeping my dog in check and letting it scare your cows. I’ll take care of the dog right away—chop it up into pieces and send it to you as a gift.”

The Lords’ Channel fell silent. Through a gap in the trees, Xia Qing could see Blind Jiang’s face twisted with frustration.

Tan Junjie took the walkie-talkie back. “Lord Zhang’s got a bad temper. Even if you killed the dog right now and dumped it at the Territory Seven signpost, no one would show up for it.”

Blind Jiang hurried to beg, “Captain Tan, could you please put in a good word for me with Lord Zhang? We just didn’t know the rules…”

It wasn’t until the Jiang Xiong Squad followed the Inspection Team away that Xia Qing finally stood up.

Strength means power—Zhang San could act cocky because he had the skills to back it up. Someday, once she was powerful enough, Xia Qing would be just as bold!

Xia Qing had never teamed up with Jiang Xiong’s squad before, only heard rumors about their amazing evolved dogs. Now, she’d really seen what they could do.

Dogs hunt with their senses—hearing and smell. Xia Qing had sprayed herself with the deodorizer she’d gotten from Zhang San and crouched motionless where the dogs would never think to look. So how on earth did they manage to find her?