25: Chapter 25 The Siege of the Dark Horse

The wind on the North Slope had not yet dissipated when three battle flags pressed against the outer edge of Lu Jin's cave area.

The high-altitude surveillance mirror turned, slicing the entire war zone into three sections.

In the north, the Rift-Wind Falcon Squad pulled two Azure-Feather Falcons to a higher altitude, with strings of silvery-white wind needles hanging beneath their wings. The Cable Hunters were divided into four groups, specifically targeting the wind return vents and thermal vein fissures.

In the south, the Red-Armored Girl's Fire Oil Thrower team had already deployed. Six short, heavy fire carts were arranged in an arc, their bellies filled with boiling fire slurry. Thick, long copper pipes extended close to the ground, their muzzles pitch-black; one look was enough to know they were devices specifically designed to send fire into holes.

The Flame Scale battle flag in the center pressed the hardest.

Lu Jingyao stood behind the flag, with four Earth-Splitting Lizard Dragons crouching at his feet. Those creatures had terrifyingly wide front claws, with dark red glowing between the scales. As their claws scraped, large swaths of grey earth were overturned. More than thirty Scale-Spear Lizard Soldiers were lined up behind him, their spear tips wrapped in fire-patterned cloth. Once plunged into the ground, any place with heat, gaps, or living creatures would have their shadows forced out.

On Shenmen Plaza, even the laughter quieted down a bit.

"This isn't a one-on-one, this is a siege."

"Three elite teams pressing him at once?"

"Lu Jingyao is really going to bury him in there."

In the true layer underground, the wind and vibrations were transmitted down layer by layer.

Grey Pupil lay on the edge of the echo layer, its ears pressed tightly against the soil, its tail tip pulled straight.

"Four patrol groups in the north, the wind needles are searching for heat."

"Six fire oil carts in the south, burning the shallow layer first, then blocking the wind return vents."

"The center is the most ruthless; Lu Jingyao is going to lift the ground."

It raised its head, looking at Lu Jin, its voice tight.

"This is to dig us out layer by layer."

Lu Jin squatted by the sand table, his fingertips pressing on a greyish mineral point on the north side.

That place was called the North Echo Mineral Eye.

tawan iron sand, broken lamp bones, half a cart of spirit-stabilizing potion, plus two secret passages leading to the North Slope—everything was pressed there. If lost, it wouldn't just be a shortage of one warehouse of resources; even the operation of the northern line would be cut in half.

Grey Pupil stared at the position he was holding, its eyelids twitching slightly.

"That place can't be lost."

Lu Jin raised his eyes and took a look at it.

"Lose it."

A low growl rolled in Grey Pupil's throat, and its claws scratched three deep marks on the soil.

"The iron sand warehouse is there, the axle materials are there; once the northern line is cut, the trailers will be half as slow."

"I know."

Lu Jin's voice was very calm, but his hands were already raised, pointing to various places on the sand table one after another.

"Move the Breeding Cave to the bottom layer."

"White-Bellied Mother Rats, incubation nuclei, and grey fire fungus nuclei, move everything to the rear warehouse of the Return Fire Well."

"Divide the Fire Oil Throwers into three teams: leave six on the northern line, eight on the southern line, and ten in the center."

"Withdraw materials from the bone wheel carts, don't save the ore."

"Give them that mineral eye."

As the order fell, the surrounding rat swarm was clearly chaotic for a moment.

A few Transport Rats guarding the iron sand bags instinctively pressed their bodies onto the bags, their eyes full of anxiety. Lu Jin tapped the bone clacker, and the entire cave instantly went quiet.

"This is meat."

"I want them to bite the throat."

The rat swarm lowered their heads in unison.

They couldn't understand what a "throat" was, but they could understand "lose" and "bite." If the master told them to lose it, they would lose it. If the master told them to bite, they would go and bite.

That panic pressing down was forcibly suppressed.

Grey Pupil stared at him, and after a few breaths, it turned and left.

It didn't argue further; it rushed directly to the black stone fire basin in the deepest layer. Half a sacrificial flag pole, mountain rhinoceros ramming horns, Azure-Feather Falcon quill bones, and black rock shield edges—it dragged everything to the side of the basin. Its claws moved extremely fast, wrapping grey fire fungus silk around the flag pole in circles, and grinding the ramming horn to a point, fixing it backwards on the tail of the staff.

Lu Jin glanced at it but didn't ask.

Grey Pupil didn't explain either, only spitting out one sentence.

"Give me living blood, give me fire, give me a quarter of an hour."

Lu Jin nodded.

"I will give you a path."

The northern line exploded first.

Three wind needles pierced the grey earth above the North Echo Mineral Eye, the silver light at the needle tails trembling, and the thermal shadows underground were immediately pulled into a thin line. Two Azure-Feather Falcons swooped down at almost the same moment, their wingtips grazing the top of the slope, overturning two Ambush Rats hiding in the soil crevices on the spot.

"Throw!"

Six Fire Oil Throwers rushed out from the side cave of the northern line, stepping on the bone wheel cart boards and swinging their arms simultaneously.

The first round of three sacs all smashed into the high altitude.

One Azure-Feather Falcon dodged too slowly, its right wing hit squarely by the grey-red fire oil, and the whole bird crashed diagonally into the slope wall, its feathers crackling as they burned. Just as the Cable Hunter on its back jumped off, the second round of fire oil rolled across the ground, specifically burning the small patch of slope where he landed.

Once the fire spread, four Ambush Rats immediately darted out from the cracks and lunged straight at his leg bend.

The Cable Hunter backhanded a hook, piercing the belly of one rat, but his ankle was also bitten until it was a bloody mess, and he fell to one knee. The bone wheel trailer took the opportunity to push up, the half-black shield on the front of the cart hitting his chest, and he was knocked into the collapsed layer, dragged away by the grey tide in the blink of an eye.

The rat swarm on the northern line shouted fiercely, but Lu Jingyao didn't even lift an eyelid.

He just raised his hand and pressed down.

"Mark the heat, don't chase people."

The Rift-Wind Falcon Squad immediately changed formation.

The remaining Azure-Feather Falcon no longer flew low, and the Cable Hunters no longer fought for the holes, only constantly nailing wind needles into the ground from across the safety line. Thermal veins, shallow warehouses, and wind return vents were nailed bright one by one. The few fake holes Lu Jin had buried two days ago were fine, but once the real air vents were exposed, the southern line's Fire Oil Throwers immediately moved.

Boom!

The first wave of fire slurry was pressed into the shallow cave along the copper pipe.

The fire didn't spray out; the smoke filled it first.

Several litters of young rats hiding in the upper layer hadn't had time to move before they were choked into rolling around on the ground. Two Transport Rats rushed in to save the cubs, but just as they had the little things in their mouths, the second wave of fire slurry had already turned the wind return vent, and the entire shallow cave burned red in an instant.

Grey Pupil heard the short, piercing screams from above in the bottom layer, and a fierce light flashed in its eyes.

Lu Jin just raised his hand.

"Seal."

The eight rats in the front row of the Digging Squad rushed out together, using tawan iron sand and wet ash to push upwards, forcibly sealing that shallow cave from the middle. The fire was blocked, and the screaming inside was blocked along with it.

The surrounding rat swarm all lowered their heads; no one dared to look at that sealed hole.

Lu Jin's expression didn't change.

"Retreat the southern line another three zhang."

"Let her burn that cave."

As the order was pressed down, the bone wheel carts were pulled back one after another. Medicine boxes, fire oil sacs, quill bones, and black stone pieces were quickly moved away. The half-bag of iron sand, two boxes of broken armor, and three rat corpses that couldn't be moved in time were left directly by the cave side.

The surveillance mirror showed it clearly.

Everyone saw that Lu Jin was retreating.

Shenmen Plaza was suddenly in an uproar.

"He can't hold on!"

"Once the fire is poured in, the cave flow will be ruined!"

"The North Mineral Eye is full of things he snatched these past two days; is he really willing to throw it away?"

Lu Jingyao listened to the faint noise coming from outside the light curtain, but his eyes grew colder.

He knew people like Lu Jin too well.

Without seeing blood and flesh, without seeing the main fire, without seeing true panic, this retreat might not be real.

"Earth-Splitting Lizard Dragons, move forward two zhang."

"Four spears in a group, nail the middle layer for me."

The four Earth-Splitting Lizard Dragons pressed up simultaneously.

Their claws fell heavily, specifically lifting the thermal shadow areas marked by the wind needles. The Scale-Spear Lizard Soldiers in the back row inserted their spears continuously, and as the fire patterns on the spear tails lit up, the bones, black stones, and even trailer wheel marks buried underground were forced into blurry red shadows.

One red shadow was the deepest, just happening to connect to the North Echo Mineral Eye.

There were fresh bone wheel ruts, deep grooves left by dragging heavy objects, and a wisp of extremely faint but real Sacrificial Fire aura.

Lu Jingyao stared for two breaths, then suddenly laughed.

"Main cave."

The Wind-Cable Youth beside him gritted his teeth, half his face still bearing fire burn marks.

"Is it really the main cave?"

"Look at the ruts, look at the drag marks, look at the heat."

Lu Jingyao raised his foot and kicked away a piece of overturned grey soil, revealing a section of black stone ring corner that had just been dragged and broken.

"He pressed everything he could move here."

"Something is still missing."

After he finished speaking, he looked up toward the edge of that mineral eye.

A figure stepped onto the surface at that moment.

Lu Jin.

He was carrying half a black stone pillar on his shoulder, the pillar still stained with grey fire fungus slurry, and his other hand was dragging a bone wheel cart. On the cart were two oil sacs, a bag of iron sand, and a broken outer board of the incubation pool map. The wind needles and firelight illuminated that area brightly, but he acted as if he didn't see the surveillance mirrors overhead, just stuffing the black stone pillar into the cave entrance and turning back to walk into the cave.

A wind arrow pierced the air and grazed his shoulder, nailing into the soil.

He didn't even stop his feet.

This time, even the Red-Armored Girl beside Lu Jingyao narrowed her eyes.

"Main sacrificial stone."

"He is withdrawing himself."

Lu Jingyao looked at the bone wheel cart being dragged into the cave, and killing intent finally rose in his eyes.

"Press over."

"Lock the northern line, follow with southern fire, enter the cave in the center."

As the order fell, the three sides tightened simultaneously.

The Rift-Wind Falcon Squad sealed the North Slope first, nailing all side caves and wind return vents full of wind needles; the Red-Armored Girl waved her hand, and the three Fire Oil Throwers turned toward the North Echo Mineral Eye, copper pipes aimed at the cave entrance, fire slurry sent in wave after wave; Lu Jingyao led the Earth-Splitting Lizard Dragons and Scale-Spear Lizard Soldiers to force his way forward, forcibly overturning all the soil skin around the cave entrance.

The North Echo Mineral Eye was completely exposed.

The twelve Ambush Rats guarding the entrance died five in the first encounter. Two were nailed to the ground by scale spears, one was smashed into meat paste by an Earth-Splitting Lizard Dragon, and two others just wanted to drill into the side cracks when the fire slurry was poured in along the cracks, burning them until they rolled on the ground.

The remaining few didn't linger, turning and running.

They ran very urgently.

As if they were truly afraid.

A chaotic clacking of bones immediately came from the cave, as if someone was anxiously urging the cart. Half a black stone pillar rolled to one side, and the grey fire fungus slurry dragged out a long grey-red trace, pointing directly at the depths of the cave passage.

The Wind-Cable Youth stared at that trace, his breathing heavy.

"They are in chaos."

But the Red-Armored Girl didn't rush to charge, raising her hand to let the Fire Oil Throwers stop for a moment.

"It's too smooth."

Lu Jingyao squatted down, his fingertips wiping over that grey fire drag mark.

It was hot.

Further inside, the wheel ruts were getting deeper, the drag marks were getting messier, and there were even blood spots left by the White-Bellied Mother Rat and small claw marks scratched out by the cubs.

He took a look and then stood up.

"It's not smooth."

"It's painful."

"He is cutting his own flesh."

Once these words fell, even the Red-Armored Girl didn't stop them again.

Because this cave looked too real.

There was the black stone pillar left behind in the panic of withdrawing the warehouse, there were the wheel ruts of transporting fire, there were the blood spots of the Breeding Cave, there was the residual heat of the main sacrificial stone, and fresh marks scraped out by rat claws were still on the cave walls. Any cave flow master who reached this step would put their life into this place.

Lu Jingyao raised his spear, the fire patterns on the spear tip lighting up bit by bit.

"Scale-Spear team, enter the cave."

"Fire Oil Throwers follow behind, stop every two zhang."

"Rift-Wind Falcon Squad guard the cave entrance; whoever drills out, dies."

"I want to lift everything until I reach his furnace."

Inside the cave, Lu Jin had already retreated to the second layer of the echo path.

Behind him was deeper darkness, and in front was the approaching firelight and tremors. The Digging Squad was making the final repairs to the grooves, and the bone wheel carts were dragging boxes of fire oil sacs into the side wall interlayers, then sealing them with wet ash. That so-called main cave, from the outside, looked like a retreat route, but from the inside, it looked like a blood vessel that had been stretched and bulging.

Grey Pupil stood by the Return Fire Well in the deepest layer, the flag pole sacrificial staff already formed.

The staff body was wrapped with grey fire fungus silk, the staff tail was nailed with a mountain rhinoceros ramming horn, and the staff head was tilted with a circle of Azure-Feather quill bones. Outside the black stone circle at its feet, a swarm of rats knelt densely. Every Fire Oil Thrower that returned alive had scraped the charred layer of skin from its claws into the fire basin; every wheel rut of every bone wheel cart had been smeared with enemy blood by it; even those few wind needles pulled back from the northern line had been inserted into the well rim by it, one by one.

Grey Pupil looked up.

"They've come in."

Lu Jin stood in the darkness, watching the fire approaching bit by bit in the cave passage ahead.

"Let them go deeper."

At the very front, the Scale-Spear Lizard Soldiers had already stepped into that main cave.

The second row of Fire Oil Throwers pushed in with a click, the copper pipes against the cave bottom, sending fire in inch by inch. The Wind-Cable Youth led two groups of Cable Hunters to guard the upper layer of the cave entrance, specifically nailing the side cracks. The Red-Armored Girl personally pressed the third Fire Oil Thrower, her eyes cold, as if she wanted to burn through the entire cave.

Lu Jingyao entered the cave last.

He stepped over that grey fire drag mark, his long spear held level, the spear tip pointing straight at the blackness in the depths.

And in the deepest part, Grey Pupil slowly raised that sacrificial staff.