Chapter 279

The Second Hundred Sixty-Three: Ambush

“Because they migrated out of fear? Does that mean there’s some particularly powerful dream realm beings over there?” In the forest, the Gregor mimicking a black dog asked Thomas beside him with puzzlement in his voice. Thomas, also mimicking a black dog, answered.

“Maybe. After all, the perception ability of dream realm beings in dreams is stronger than ours, able to sense many things we can’t. Perhaps they fled here because they sensed something terrifying. That’s the most reasonable guess.”

In a mysterious tone, Thomas whispered. Gregor nodded understandingly and then said with a sigh.

“What kind of dream realm being could drive so many dream beings to flee? The largest dream realm being I’ve ever seen was just a wild boar.”

“Who knows what that thing is, but thanks to it, the density of dream realm beings in this area has greatly increased, which benefits us. This is my second time hunting here; the harvest last time was indeed substantial.”

“But you need to be a bit careful. When hunting, remember to follow orders. Some of these beings are very strong, and one mistake could cost you your life. Also, remember to stay close to the team and don’t run into any unknown territories.”

Thomas continued to tell Gregor. After hearing his words, Gregor more or less understood the situation in this area.

Gregor continued talking with Thomas for a while longer, learning about the current situation. While they were chatting, several portals created by the Dream Anchor Sigils opened up, and two more black dogs emerged from them.

Immediately after, the winged black dog Flandy, who had been standing high up on alert, flew down after observing the situation below. Landing on the lawn where the black dogs rested, he solemnly announced:

“The time has come. The hunt begins. Everyone, follow me!”

Upon hearing Flandy’s words, all the black dogs on the lawn immediately stood up, gathered in front of Flandy, and followed him.

Under Flandy’s leadership, the hunting team, consisting of ten or so black dogs, set off grandly into the depths of the forest. They moved forward together.

Flandy, as an experienced dream realm hunter, quickly found prey in the air—a wild buffalo about three to four meters long. Under Flandy’s arrangement, several experienced black dog hunters worked with him to ambush the target. Soon, they successfully hunted this prey, achieving their first success.

Afterward, Flandy began distributing the spirituality obtained from the dissection of the dream realm buffalo. He mainly gave it to the black dogs that had accompanied him in the hunt. Other black dogs who hadn’t participated looked envious, and Flandy noticed their thoughts.

“Don’t rush if you haven’t received any yet. Everyone will get a share tonight. Next time, we’ll switch two people to work with me.”

Flandy arranged this, slightly calming the restless black dogs. Then he led the team forward. After discovering several dream realm wild deer, he indeed switched a few more people to work with him, successfully hunting the discovered wild deer and distributing the obtained spirituality to the new participants.

Thus, under Flandy’s leadership, the black dog team swept through the forest, hunting everything they could find. Every hunt brought rewards, and everyone received their share of spirituality. There were no exceptions in the entire team.

Soon, Gregor joined in two hunts. After a light maneuver, he dodged an attack from a dream realm giant lizard and then bit it. During the lizard’s struggle, Flandy swooped down from the sky and, along with Gregor, restrained the lizard. Following closely behind, two more black dogs attacked, tearing the lizard apart until it could no longer move.

Next, the green-striped dream realm giant lizard split into countless black dots floating in mid-air. Including Gregor, several black dogs involved in the hunt stood in order, waiting for Flandy’s distribution.

Tall Flandy scanned the few people before him and finally focused his gaze on Gregor.

“Quite agile, boy. Which bureau are you from?”

“I’m Gregor from the Igewent branch, sir,” Gregor replied seriously. Flandy nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

“Oh… Igewent, right? Now I remember. Hiss, you’re all dogs. It’s a bit hard to distinguish.”

Flandy said, making Gregor feel strange inside. What did he mean by “you’re all dogs”?

“Alright, kid from Igewent, your performance was decent. Take half of the spirituality as a reward,” Flandy told Gregor. Hearing this, Gregor was stunned and immediately said:

“Thank you, sir.”

Subsequently, amidst others’ envy, Gregor followed Flandy’s instructions and obtained most of the results from this hunt. After absorbing the spirituality, Gregor’s impression of Flandy improved significantly. Flandy had always been dedicated to leading the hunt and distributed the spirituality fairly, not keeping any for himself and giving all to the other participants.

Thus, Flandy continued to lead the black dog team in hunting throughout the forest. Indeed, the dream realm beings in this area were very dense. Usually, Gregor would encounter one large dream being like a wild boar in a night. Tonight, he had already encountered seven or eight such beings. On average, everyone participated in two to three hunts and received two to three shares of spirituality.

Due to his outstanding performance, Gregor received a considerable amount of spirituality. He felt that this trip was truly fruitful.

As the hunt continued, the number of available prey gradually decreased. Soon, Flandy, who was leading the hunt, faced this issue and stopped the team. He then declared to the following black dogs:

“Our movements have become too large. The dream realm beings in this area may have been disturbed. Maintaining such a large group might make it difficult to find prey.

“So, as usual, starting now, we will split into smaller groups. Three people per group, spread out to search for prey. If you can handle it yourself, hunt it alone. If not, howl to call me. But remember, don’t go too far, and don’t enter dangerous areas, especially not the east side. That’s the direction the dream beings fled from, and there might be great risks. Understand?”

After Flandy finished his instructions, the black dogs below started discussing among themselves, seemingly looking for teammates. Seeing this, Gregor was slightly taken aback.

‘There’s actually a grouping phase? Who should I team up with… We’re all dogs, and I don’t even know who anyone is.’ Gregor thought worriedly. The base-level illusion spells used in the An Yin Bureau were the same, making it very difficult to distinguish between the black dogs. Looking at the group of black dogs in front of him, he didn’t know how to form teams.

‘Also… Mr. Flandy said not to go east, but there’s no night in the dream realm, no reference points at all. I can’t tell directions at all. I don’t even know which way is east.’

Gregor anxiously thought to himself. He had only recently started hunting frequently in the dream realm, so he lacked experience in exploring it. Even identifying directions was challenging for him.