Chapter 1327
Chapter 1327: Surprise Attack
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
While Zhang Zian treated the stray cats’ wounds, Vladimir went ahead and shared how he’d found Big Orange. After all, he was unable to help with the treatment.
He’d gotten the other cats to help bring Big Orange from the beach to the pet store and continued to look for other stray cat commanders along the way.
The journey to the pet store was not a short one. Although cats could jump onto walls and make detours, unlike humans, Big Orange had been unable to do so. Even when he was healthy, this was not possible, much less now, when he is severely injured. Thus, they could only faithfully walk by roads. Occasionally, when they came across a tricycle, they would hop on for a free ride. Most of the time, the owner didn’t notice. Sometimes the owner did discover the presence of several cats on his vehicle. However, he did not chase them off as he found it rather amusing. A good Samaritan even tried to ask where they were going. Big Orange replied by pointing in the direction of the pet shop.
Vladimir had been concerned about whether Big Orange could reach the pet shop safely. However, he was also concerned about the safety of his other stray cat commanders. They were all capable cats and occupied similar positions in his heart.
They had not traveled far before a strange stray cat had suddenly appeared on the dark corner of the roadside. It looked at them a few times, then raised a front paw. “Meow meow meow!”
Vladimir raised a front paw and replied, “The demon kitten of Pagoda Town!”
He was excited and, at the same time, grateful. His tense self could momentarily give in to the wave of relief he was experiencing. This was because this cat was able to communicate to him via secret code. This meant that his army had not been completely lost. There was, at least, still a handful of them who had survived as an underground resistance organization.
The stray cat was very young—less than one year old. This was probably the first time it had had to perform the task of standing guard. It seemed very nervous. However, after Vladimir’s reply with secret code, it immediately relaxed.
“Which division are you from?” Vladimir asked.
Big Orange was in charge of the eastern theater. Softy, the gray, soft-eared cat, was in charge of the southern theater. Little White, the short-haired white cat, was in charge of the western theater. Finally, A Que and Scald Head, the black-haired cats, were in charge of the northern theater. Vladimir was eager to know Softy’s situation. This was because Big Orange had told him that the stray dogs had come from the southeastern parts of Binhai City. Thus, the first areas to experience conflict were the eastern and southern theaters.
Originally, in order to prevent the stray dogs’ counterattack, Vladimir had assigned the largest number of troops in the eastern and southern theaters. He hadn’t expected that they’d be unable to defend against the attacks of the stray dogs. This further cemented the idea that the attack was an extraordinary show of force by the stray dogs.
As for the northern and western theaters, based on the current situation, the fledgling stray dogs would not dare to attack the downtown area where humans resided. That would be purely suicidal. Thus, the north and west theaters should be temporarily safe. However, the risk could not be completely eliminated, as the dogs could travel long distances from the outer suburbs.
The stray cat hesitated for a long time. it was not sure how to express what it wanted to say. Finally, it lifted a paw and covered one of its ears.
“Lost one ear… Is it A Que the black-haired cat?” Vladimir guessed.
The stray cat nodded vigorously.
“Take me to find it.”
Vladimir heaved a sigh of relief. Although it was not Softy, whose safety he was most concerned about, meeting A Que was better than nothing. This would be better than searching for a needle in a haystack if A Que knew where Softy was.
It followed the stray cat and moved east and west, passing through several lanes and winding around a dilapidated building.
If Zhang Zian were here, he would definitely recognize that this was the unfinished building that he’d used to visit with Famous, Old Time Tea, and Galaxy to trace the Holy Cat statue.
There were a lot of stray cats around the unfinished building. Every cat’s mood was somewhat dampened. Some of them were also injured. However, many of them knew Vladimir. Upon seeing him, they immediately came forward and surrounded him. They were excited to see him. This was much like an army finally meeting their commander.
Vladimir wondered why every cat gathered here. The environment was not ideal. Even humans tended to avoid the area. Only those who wanted to do bad things came here.
“Has everyone been good? Has anyone seen Softy, Little White, A Que, and Scald Head?” he asked loudly.
The group was a mess. Every cat had something to say. In the end, with every cat saying something, ironically, nothing was said.
At this time, several shadows jumped from the second floor of the unfinished building. Vladimir looked at them. It was indeed those that he was looking for: Softy, Little White, A Que, and Scald Head.
There were a few minor injuries on Softy, but they had begun to heal. It did not seem to be a huge issue. As for the other three, they were uninjured.
It turned out that after the stray dogs launched the attack, the damage done at Big Orange’s theater had been the most serious. His entire team had been broken up after the dogs’ first wave of attacks. However, Softy’s southern theater had the most troops and thus was able to hold on much longer and put up greater resistance.
The first time that Softy’s theater had been attacked, three cats had been dispatched to alert the other three theaters and ask for backup.
Big Orange had been unable to defend his own area and hadn’t responded. Little White’s reinforcements had arrived at the fastest speed from the western end. Ultimately, they had still been unable to defend the southern theater. Nevertheless, their presence provided cover for the retreat of their friendly forces so they could preserve as many lives as possible.
The northern theater, guarded by A Que and Scald Head, had received the news the latest. Although they had immediately sent reinforcements to support Big Orange, it was too late. The eastern theater was overrun by stray dogs. In the end, they had to beat a slow retreat to their own line of defense to preserve their own lives.
Vladimir gathered with the commanders and got them to repeat to him the entire story of the stray dog counterattack.
They were surprised to find that the attacks had been remarkable in terms of planning, the timing of the action, execution intensity, etc. In addition, the high degree of organization and discipline of the dogs was highly commendable. If they hadn’t been the enemies of the dogs, they would have certainly given them a thumbs-up for a job well done.
The stray dogs had not chosen to break their numbers up and attack all four zones at once. Rather, they had chosen to concentrate their numbers and attacked via a gap from the southeast. Most of the stray dogs had stayed in the zone to wage war against the stray cats, while a few carried out kamikaze warfare across the zones. This was an attempt to smoke out the command center of the cats and bring down the leader for an easy victory. Their scouts had been so eager in their mission that they’d gone close to the pet shop.
Fortunately, Vladimir had not been in Binhai City at the time, and the other commanders had been scattered everywhere. Thus, the stray dogs hadn’t been successful in smoking them out.
The stray dog elite hadn’t found the command center of the stray cats from this attack. They’d had to beat a retreat when the humans were alarmed to see so many strays on the street and someone had called the stray animal management center.
The tactics used had been refined and deliberate. This was not ordinary behavior expected of stray dogs.
Vladimir knew in his heart that a fearsome and powerful opponent, greater than the Holy Cat statue, had already arrived in Binhai.
The Holy Cat statue may have been powerful, but ultimately, it had done things that could not be said to be upright and moral. However, this time around, the opponent was equally tactical in its approach. This was much like how Vladimir chose to run things.
Zhang Zian heard this and understood what it meant.
“You mean… Behind the scenes, the stray dogs’ counterattack on the coastal city was directed by…another elfin?”
Vladimir nodded with a heavy heart.