24: Chapter 24 Kerosene and Bone Wheel

[High-compatibility sacrificial flag fragment detected]

[Unit type can be upgraded]

The moment the dark red characters burned into existence, the sacrificial pattern fragment in Lu Jin's palm suddenly seared hot.

Half of the earthen-yellow sacrificial flag curled with burning edges, and the black rock patterns within the flag bones emerged inch by inch, like a shell about to be fastened onto the backs of the rat pack.

The mass of dark fire deep within the Return Fire Well contracted slightly, and the black stone ring along the outer edge of the well wall emitted a faint, fine vibration.

Grey Pupil stared at the tattered flag, grey eyes gleaming.

"It can be refined."

Lu Jin pressed the sacrificial flag fragment onto the well mouth and raised a hand, pointing.

"Collect the goods, fire up the furnace."

The grey fire at the edge of the collapsed pit had not yet extinguished, but the rat pack had already scattered like the tide.

In the previous battle, twenty-seven Ambush Rats had died, nine Tunneling Rats were buried in the collapsed layer, and four Cart-pulling Rats had their spines crushed by the mountain rhinoceros.

Yet not a single surviving rat scurried about blindly; those dragging corpses dragged them, those stripping armor stripped it, and those biting ropes bit them. The red light in their eyes was suppressed extremely low, but their ferocity grew increasingly heavy.

The black rock heavy shield was too thick; it couldn't be dragged as a whole piece.

Lu Jin stepped on the center of the shield, and the bone clacker fell.

Grey Pupil led a dozen Transport Rats and pounced, gnawing frantically at the card slots on the edge of the shield.

The half-finger-thick black rock rim loosened bit by bit; the broken rock hammer handle was split in two, the mountain rhinoceros ram was whittled into dowel pins, and the semi-molten leg armor plates were pressed onto the underbelly and sides of the carts.

The originally wobbly bone-wheeled carts, pressed down by this layer of black rock rim, had their wheels stabilized instantly. When pushed over rubble, they only bumped twice, no longer having that weak instability that felt like they could tip over at any moment.

The ten strongest Cart-pulling Rats harnessed themselves to the rhinoceros tendon ropes and tried pulling forward.

The bone wheels pressed against the ground, emitting a low rolling sound.

A cart full of fire oil bladders and potion crates was dragged across the collapsed slope by them in one go.

Grey Pupil flicked the tip of its tail, tapping the layer of black rock plates on the cart's underbelly.

"We can add more."

"If we mount a shield in front, the throwers can follow the cart."

Lu Jin grunted in acknowledgment, but his gaze fell into the Return Fire Well.

The dark characters on the furnace wall had already split into two lines.

[Refining path: Bone Armor Enhancement]

[Refining path: Fire Oil Incineration]

Beneath the black text, only an empty slot floated.

Quiet and still.

Yet it was more pressing than any time before.

Grey Pupil raised a claw and tapped a piece of leg armor; the sound was dull and hard.

"Add armor, it can save lives."

"If another squad comes, they won't die as fast as before."

Lu Jin did not look at it.

Beside the main fire room basin, twenty throwing rats were surrounding the pile of unexploded fire oil bladders, motionless.

grey fire fungus paste, pack beast fat, badger marrow, fire sand, torn ignition flags, unburned lamp bones, and even the fireproof glue scraped from the inside of the black rock heavy shield were all piled together. The scent was fishy, hot, and sticky, like a Fire Well about to go mad.

"Don't install the armor yet."

Lu Jin reached out and snapped the sacrificial flag fragment into two halves.

He threw one half into the main fire room basin.

He pressed the other half back onto the Return Fire Well mouth.

"Dismantle the armor into carts, refine the fire into soldiers."

Grey Pupil's ears perked up; it understood instantly.

Bone Armor Enhancement would make the rat pack more durable.

Fire Oil Incineration would make the entire cavern more lethal.

What Lu Jin wanted now was not to stand and trade blows with people.

It was to make everyone who rushed in die while covered in fire.

Grey Pupil did not try to persuade him further and turned to pounce into the fire room.

It first pressed the grey fire fungus paste into the bottom of the black stone basin, then kneaded the badger marrow and pack beast fat bit by bit. When the fire sand was sprinkled in, a string of dark red fire bubbles immediately bubbled up in the basin.

As soon as that half of the sacrificial flag fragment fell in, the earthen-yellow sacrificial patterns cracked on the spot. The black rock armor patterns and the grey-red fire paste entwined, emitting an extremely fine, sharp screech.

Hiss!

The oil color slowly shifted from murky yellow to grey-red.

It became thicker and thicker.

It became stickier and stickier.

Grey Pupil flicked its claw tip, hooked a glob of oil paste, and flung it onto a broken shield nearby.

Splat!

The oil paste did not explode much, but it didn't fly everywhere; it first spread into a layer against the shield surface, then burned downwards along the cracks.

The fire was not fierce, nor was it very bright, but the color was deep, like a tongue wrapped in ashes, clinging tightly to the iron and bone, refusing to extinguish even when blown by the wind.

Several throwing rats watched, their breathing becoming ragged.

Lu Jin raised a hand and pressed down.

"Pick twenty."

"Steady claws, accurate eyes, dare to touch fire."

The throwing rat pack split into two tiers on the spot, and the batch in front walked out on their own.

Grey Pupil modified the bone racks, pressing triple fire slots onto their backs and locking the shoulder straps with black rock shield buckles. It pressed their front paws into a basin of lukewarm fire oil; the fur on their paws instantly curled and scorched, but underneath, a layer of blackened, hardened skin was revealed.

One throwing rat was in so much pain it wanted to recoil.

Grey Pupil pressed a claw onto its head, its voice cold.

"Endure it."

"If you cannot hold fire, you are not qualified to carry fire."

The throwing rat trembled all over, but in the end, it pressed its paw back in.

Lu Jin watched this scene, and the faith line in his Sea of Consciousness stirred slightly.

The eyes of the rats surrounding the fire room were already different from before.

When they looked at Grey Pupil, there was now awe in their eyes.

When looking at that basin of grey-red fire oil, low growls would instinctively roll from their throats.

The shadow of the priest was still very faint.

But the flavor was already there.

On the other side, the Trailer Team was also changing.

With the black rock rims fastened on, the bone wheels widened by a circle; with half a piece of leg armor pressed under the cart's underbelly and a flattened black shield erected at the front, the entire cart's form was instantly established.

The Cart-pulling Rats circled the new carts, their noses brushing against the wheel bones and shield edges, their tails held straight and taut.

Lu Jin walked over and pressed down on that front black shield.

"This is not a cargo cart."

"It is for charging in to deliver fire."

The red light in the eyes of the ten Cart-pulling Rats brightened instantly.

They pulled the new carts and ran a lap along the drainage channel; the wheels crushed over pit edges, rubble, and shallow cave entrances, and none of them tipped over.

Once the carts stopped, the three throwing rats in the back row stepped onto the cart boards, lowered their backs, raised their claws, and swung their arms. Three oil bladders traced three low, sharp arcs, simultaneously smashing against the earth wall twenty steps away.

Splat! Splat! Splat!

A large patch of grey-red fire layer was spread out.

The damp ash on the surface of the earth wall was instantly baked dry, and the fire drilled inward along the cracks, igniting the entire brittle layer until it glowed red.

Grey Pupil watched those three patches of fire, a very low laugh emitting from its throat.

"It's done."

The second line of text on the furnace wall finally sank in.

[Assembly complete: Fire Oil Incineration]

The Return Fire Well gave a slight tremor.

The twenty throwing rats looked up simultaneously, their eyes seeming to hold a bit of unquenchable grey fire.

When they went to grab the oil bladders again, their claws no longer trembled, and their movements were a step faster.

Even the breathing of the Trailer Team became heavier; as the bone wheels turned, the entire underground true layer seemed to have gained a new surge of energy.

The laughter in Shenmen Plaza cut off completely.

The three monitoring mirrors clearly captured everything.

"Yue Zhenshan just died, and Lu Jin already dismantled his shield into carts?"

"What is that hanging on the backs of those throwing rats?"

"Fire oil! Aren't those the fire oil bladders used for burying the warehouse earlier!"

"He took the spoils of one battle and refined them into troops for the next on the spot!"

Young Master Su Jiuheng stood by the edge of the high platform, watching those bone-wheeled carts roll over the collapsed slope, the smile in his eyes deepening bit by bit.

"The betting pool is going to collapse."

"This path of his has started to grow teeth."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a gust of wind suddenly pressed down on the north slope.

The wind was very low, skimming along the ground, blowing the grey dust at the pit edge into a swirl.

Two green-feathered falcons swept over the slope top, their wingtips sharp and bright. Eight light-armored Cable Hunters slid down the grey slope, all with wind cables and short hooks hanging from their waists, moving as fast as eight shadows.

The leader stood at the slope opening, scanned the collapsed pit and the underground transport line, and curled the corner of his mouth.

"The rats are busy dismembering the corpses."

"Perfect, the goods are ours, and make sure to remember the cave entrance."

Grey Pupil flattened its ears.

"Rift-Wind Falcon Squad."

"They've come to scout the path."

Lu Jin watched those eight light shadows pressing down, the bone clacker turning gently in his palm.

"Use them to test the carts."

The first bone-wheeled cart charged out along the drainage channel.

The Cable Hunters were stunned for a moment, thinking it was just Transport Rats frantically transferring goods.

It wasn't until that half-shield at the front of the cart was suddenly raised and the three throwing rats in the back row swung their arms simultaneously that their expressions changed.

The three oil bladders were not thrown at the people.

They were all aimed at the front edge of the slope opening.

A large patch of grey-red fire layer was spread out.

The entire grey slope instantly turned into a glowing path of fire-mud.

The Cable Hunters slipped; just as the wind cable was thrown out, the second bone-wheeled cart charged out from a side cave, and the throwing rat on the cart hurled a bladder right at the green-feathered falcon diving in mid-air.

Splat!

The oil bladder smashed into the wing root.

The fire did not explode but wrapped directly around it.

The green-feathered falcon let out a sharp screech, half of its wing stiffened instantly, and the whole bird crashed diagonally into the rubble at the pit edge, rolling twice before stopping.

Two Ambush Rats had long been waiting by the crevice; they pounced and bit frantically at the bird's neck.

"Retreat!"

The leading Cable Hunter reacted quickly; retracting his short hook, he wanted to jump to higher ground.

Lu Jin dropped the bone clacker.

"Ignite the second layer."

The two fire oil bladders buried under the thin layer at the slope opening were ignited simultaneously. The fire rolled upwards along the previously spread grey-red oil layer, exactly reaching the feet of those eight Cable Hunters.

Once the wind cables touched fire, they burned faster than rope. Three Cable Hunters had just wanted to use the wind force to lift themselves, but the gear at their waists had already burst into flames.

One person rolled down the slope, his legs covered in fire.

One person was forced to jump into the collapsed pit, twisting his ankle upon landing, and was met head-on by the grey tide surging out from the crevices.

Another person luckily flipped to the middle of the slope, bent his bow, and fired; the bone arrow pierced into the shoulder of a throwing rat with a puff.

That throwing rat swayed, but the oil bladder in its claw did not loosen; it backhanded and threw it, hitting him square in the chest.

The grey-red fire layer clung to the light armor and immediately drilled inward along the seams.

That Cable Hunter only managed half a scream before curling into a ball while clutching his chest.

In just a dozen breaths, the north slope was in chaos.

The bone-wheeled carts charged up the slope, pushing the black shields, the wheels rolling over fire; the throwing rats stood on the cart boards, swinging their arms repeatedly, targeting the slope opening and retreat paths; the Ambush Rats waited for the fire to force people out of position, then pounced from crevices and shallow caves to bite legs, ropes, and throats.

Three throwing rats were hit by arrows.

Two Cart-pulling Rats had their backs sliced open by feather blades.

Five more Ambush Rats were lost.

The scout hunting group of the Rift-Wind Falcon Squad had six dead, one green-feathered falcon crashed, and the remaining two, covered in fire marks, scrambled up the north slope in a panic, not even daring to look back.

Grey Pupil had already led the Transport Team and pounced up.

Wind cables, short hooks, light armor plates, and the quill bones of the green-feathered falcons were all dragged back underground one by one.

That throwing rat with the arrow in its shoulder did not fall, letting Grey Pupil pull out the arrow shaft, its eyes still staring fixedly at the bone-wheeled cart that had just rolled over the fire slope.

It was not staring at the cart.

It was the scorched mark on the edge of the cart board.

As if looking at its own designated position.

Lu Jin took this scene in, the corners of his lips pressing deeper.

The rat pack had already started finding their own positions.

Some surrounded the fire room, unwilling to leave the basin.

Some guarded the bone wheels, baring their teeth at anyone who touched the axle.

This nest of creatures finally had the flavor of a military unit.

In another battle zone in the distance, the remnant flags of the Wasteland Beast Cavalry collapsed with a roar.

In the firelight, Lu Jingyao stepped on a lizard-headed corpse and raised his head, his gaze crossing the monitoring mirror, landing right on the bone-wheeled cart of Lu Jin's that was still rolling.

Beside him stood a pale-faced youth, half of the wind cable at his waist burned off; he was the commander of the Rift-Wind Falcon Squad.

On the other side, a girl clad in red armor dragged a long, thick fire-pouring pipe, the nozzle still emitting hot smoke, her eyes equally cold.

She looked at the heat patterns of the Return Fire Well in the light screen, her fingers tightening inch by inch.

"If we let him scavenge two more battles, the underground will truly become his."

The Wind-Cable Youth spoke first, his voice hoarse.

"A single bite cannot take him down."

Lu Jingyao smiled, but there was no hint of a smile in his eyes.

"Then we bite together."

He raised his hand and lightly swiped across the floating battle zone map.

In the center lane, a Flame-Scale Lizard-Dragon flag pressed directly onto Lu Jin's cavern area.

On the north lane, the Rift-Wind Falcon flag dispersed into a hunting net, spreading out the high-altitude view.

On the south lane, the fire-pouring cart team behind the Red-Armored Girl had already dragged their long pipes up, the fire patterns trailing all the way, carving a glowing line on the surface.

Three arrows.

Pointing simultaneously at Lu Jin.

In the underground true layer, Grey Pupil suddenly looked up, its claw tips pressing into the soil.

"Wind, fire, crawling beast tremors."

"They are closing in from three sides."

Lu Jin watched the three enemy flags approaching simultaneously on the sand table, the bone clacker in his hand slowly tightening.

The bone wheels were still turning in the firelight.

Outside the cavern network, the purge had already begun.