8: Chapter 8 Underground Counterattack

The moment the fire shadow stepped into the fissure, the dead ash was scorched into a trail of blackened footprints.

Lu Chuanze ducked inside, carrying a bone lamp in his hand, a wisp of red fire sealed within its wick, illuminating the mine walls in a crimson glow.

His nose was filled with the smell of scorched ash, and at his feet lay several Gray-tailed Burrowing Rats that had been burned to death, their fur curled into balls, their stomachs shriveled severely.

"Is this little bit of stuff really worth Young Master Lu's special instructions?"

He kicked a rat carcass into the pit and let out a grin.

Behind him followed two vassal students of the Lu family, along with three Red-Horned Fire Dogs.

Those three fire dogs stood nearly as high as a person's knees, with short horns on their heads and dark red fire patterns burning along their spines; as they pressed their noses to the ground and exhaled, the ash would smoke.

Further behind were six fire-patterned laborers, each gripping bone blades and fire liquid bladders, with wet cloths wrapped around their shoulders specifically to guard against smoke.

"This place is truly eerie," one of them said, lowering his voice. "The terrain is too fragmented, the firelight can't penetrate it, and there are so many rats; I hope we don't really get bitten."

Lu Chuanze raised his hand and slapped the back of his head.

"What are you cowering for? A bunch of Gray-tailed Burrowing Rats, they don't even dare to charge us head-on. First, burn through their nest, then throw in two bags of fire liquid; kill as many as come out."

Just as he finished speaking, the Red-Horned Fire Dog in front suddenly let out a low growl, its nose twitching several times toward the depths of the mine tunnel.

Gray fungus.

Milky scent.

And the smell of a living creature that had just run past.

Lu Chuanze's eyes lit up: "Chase them."

The three fire dogs immediately charged out.

The narrow mine tunnel thundered under their paws, the bone lamp's firelight swaying wildly against the cave walls, revealing a trail of messy rat paw prints and a few bundles of gray fungus that had just rolled past.

Two thin rats flashed in front, flicked their tails, and burrowed into the deeper darkness.

"They run pretty fast," Lu Chuanze licked his teeth. "Press inward."

He didn't see at all that deeper in the mine tunnel, a pair of glowing, crimson rat eyes were pressed against a crevice, watching them quietly.

Above the altar, Lu Jin's divine sense sank into the entire mine pit like a taut net.

The positions of the three fire dogs, the footsteps of the six laborers, and the fire temperature of the bone lamp in Lu Chuanze's hand were all transmitted back bit by bit along the vibrations of the strata.

He could even feel, with every step the other party took, which part of the mine wall would tremble slightly and which piece of broken wood would loosen beforehand.

He raised his hand and tapped the side of the altar lightly with a hard bone. Thud.

Above the main tunnel, twenty Tunneling Rats stopped their claws simultaneously.

The second sound fell. Thud.

The Transport Team pulled those few pieces of rotten wood, which had been mostly cut through, outward by an inch from the side tunnel.

When the third sound rang out, the Red-Eyed Rat lurking in the crevice suddenly pricked up its ears and let out a series of extremely short, shrill whistles.

Seventeen Ambush Rats lowered their bodies in unison.

Lu Chuanze didn't notice anything wrong at all.

He only felt that this tunnel was just the right width; the fire dogs could run in front, people could chase while hunched over, and there were fresh rat paw prints on the ground—no different from a nest of terrified rats that had just fled.

"Don't skimp on the fire liquid," he instructed, turning back. "Smoke them out first, then chase."

Two laborers pulled the stoppers from the fire liquid bladders and splashed half a bag onto the cave walls and ground.

The viscous red liquid emitted a pungent, sweet smell the moment it touched the ash.

Just as Lu Chuanze was about to light it, a short, sharp scream suddenly came from the front.

A Gray-tailed Burrowing Rat darted out from a side tunnel, a clump of gray fungus still in its mouth. When it saw the fire dog, its fur stood on end, and it turned and charged forward, so panicked that even its tail was trembling.

"Haha, catch it!"

The Red-Horned Fire Dog at the very front lunged out, its sharp claws digging four deep furrows into the ash-covered ground.

Just as it rushed past the widest part of the ground, there was a "crack" sound above its head.

A piece of half-charred support wood snapped in response.

Immediately following that, the layer of hollowed-out gray rock above collapsed suddenly! Boom!

The ceiling collapsed, and the two laborers behind didn't even have time to finish screaming before they were crushed into the ground by gray earth and rotten wood.

The fire dog roared in anger, but before its front paws could steady themselves, the ash layer beneath its feet suddenly sank, revealing a black opening two feet wide.

Squelch! The hard bone spikes buried at the bottom of the pit drove straight into the base of its front leg.

The Red-Horned Fire Dog roared wildly, opening its mouth to spew a ball of fire, the heat wave lighting up the entire mine tunnel. But as soon as the fire lit up, the Ambush Rats that had long been lurking against the side walls all moved.

Gray shadows swarmed out from the feet, the ceiling, and the crevices. First, they bit the legs. Then, they lunged for the eyes. One, two, ten, twenty.

The Red-Horned Fire Dog's size was a factor; a single swipe of its front paw crushed three Gray-tailed Burrowing Rats, and a flick of its tongue of fire turned five rats into balls of flame on the spot.

But it was pinned by the bone spikes at the bottom of the pit, and its legs were bitten so tightly that it couldn't exert any strength.

The group of Ambush Rats burrowed into the wounds like they were crazed, their incisors biting into the muscles and refusing to let go, dragging the fire dog down another notch while it was still alive.

Lu Chuanze's expression finally changed. "Retreat! Retreat to the back!"

Just as he finished shouting, two shiny black claws suddenly poked out from the fallen gray earth behind him. Not just one. A whole row.

More than twenty Tunneling Rats tunneled out from beneath the collapse, drilling directly into the leg gaps and armor plates of the two pinned laborers, biting fiercely at their knee pits, Achilles tendons, and wrists.

The mine tunnel was too narrow for bone blades to be swung, and those two could only kick wildly while screaming, burying themselves deeper the more they kicked.

Lu Chuanze raised his hand abruptly, and the Fire Dog divine pattern lit up. "Flame Surge!"

The second Red-Horned Fire Dog shuddered, its fire patterns lighting up from its shoulder blades all the way to its mouth, and it opened its jaws to spew a line of crimson flame forward.

The flames swept away the rat swarm that was lunging forward, and a dozen Gray-tailed Burrowing Rats instantly burned into black shadows, the scorched smell choking the entire mine tunnel.

Once the fire spread, Lu Chuanze finally saw clearly. He saw that those rats weren't running around in chaos at all.

That thin rat in front, the one carrying the gray fungus, was already lying behind a piece of broken wood in the distance, its crimson eyes staring fixedly at them. Beside its feet were two clearly newly dug narrow slits, filled with rat claws and gleaming teeth.

This was a trap.

A chill went through Lu Chuanze's heart, and he turned, wanting to lead his people to change paths.

Just as his foot moved half an inch, a narrow crack suddenly exploded open in the mine wall to his left.

That Red-Eyed Rat was the first to pounce out, as fast as a gray arrow, hanging directly onto a student's lower leg; with one snap of its incisors, it tore off a whole strip of flesh.

The student screamed, the bone lamp slipping from his hand, and the firelight tumbled into the fire liquid on the ground. Whoosh!

The entire mine tunnel lit up instantly.

Tongues of fire darted along the ground to both sides, burning the fire liquid that had been splashed beforehand, crackling all the way, making even the air tremble with heat.

But this fire didn't help Lu Chuanze; instead, it illuminated the retreat paths behind him even more clearly. Every single one had rat paw prints left on it. Every single one looked like a viable path. And every single one had a pit buried in it.

Lu Jin stood on the altar, watching the line of fire spread along the pre-dug gray trenches, his expression unchanging.

He couldn't manufacture fire liquid. Since others sent it in, he would naturally accept it.

He tapped the fourth sound on the bone clacker. Thud!

On the right side of the old main tunnel, that piece of support wood that had been mostly whittled away finally snapped.

Half of the side wall collapsed with a roar, burying the back half of the second Red-Horned Fire Dog directly.

It struggled desperately to push its way out, but just as it managed to free its head, three Ambush Rats jumped down from above—one bit its nose, one bit its eye, and another tore directly along the thin skin of the fire pattern behind its ear.

The fire dog shrieked so loudly that the entire mine tunnel shook.

Lu Chuanze raised his blade and hacked two to death, only to be knocked by another fire dog, nearly falling into a pit.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the third fire dog pouncing toward the inner side tunnel, following the scent of living creatures. That was the direction of the young nest.

Before he could even heave a sigh of relief, the bottom of the tunnel suddenly gave a "hum" and shuddered. The section of gray rock in the strata that had already been hollowed out collapsed entirely.

The third fire dog's forward momentum was too strong; it couldn't even turn around, its four paws lost their footing, and it fell directly into the narrower dark seam tunnel below.

The seam tunnel was less than half a zhang wide, just enough for it to get stuck. A dozen Ambush Rats that had long been guarding the bottom immediately darted out from both sides, pushing upward against the softest parts of its belly.

The screams almost tore through their eardrums. Lu Chuanze was finally afraid. He was truly afraid.

He had never imagined that a nest of Gray-tailed Burrowing Rats, which weren't even fit for classroom drills, would grow such teeth underground.

"Retreat! Everyone retreat!"

The surviving student had long since ceased to care about dignity, dragging his mangled leg and crawling back.

The two laborers threw away their bone blades, struggling desperately to squeeze into the collapse cracks, their faces distorted by the pressure of the ash.

Lu Chuanze himself also turned and retreated toward the entrance, swinging his bone blade rapidly, hacking away the Gray-tailed Burrowing Rats that lunged at him one by one.

At his feet, by his legs, behind his back—there were rats everywhere. They were small, thin, and many could be severed with a single strike of his blade.

But there were too many of them. One died, and the second bit on; the first was kicked away, and the next was already crawling up his pant leg to his knee.

Lu Chuanze kicked away a Gray-tailed Burrowing Rat that was biting his lower leg, and suddenly felt his footing give way. When he looked down, his face turned pale.

The layer of ash on the ground had been hollowed out. Beneath a thin layer of ash skin lay a rat tunnel that could only accommodate half a body.

Two shiny black front claws suddenly reached out from the ash, grabbing his ankles from left and right, and pulled downward.

Lu Chuanze fell heavily, his bone blade slipping from his hand, his forehead striking the rubble, and blood flowed down on the spot.

He opened his mouth to scream, but the Red-Eyed Rat had already pounced in front of his face, almost pressing against his eyes, and let out a sharp, ferocious, long cry.

All the rat calls in the mine tunnel exploded at that instant. The swarm of Gray-tailed Burrowing Rats seemed to have completely smelled blood, and they lunged toward Lu Chuanze like a tidal wave of madness.

One bit his hand. Two bit his feet. More burrowed inside along the seams of his armor, the sound of incisors grating against flesh so dense it made one's scalp tingle.

"Get away! Get away!" Lu Chuanze roared wildly, the fire pattern on his palm lighting up, forcibly blasting away a circle of rats.

Just as the fire pattern lit up for the second time, a cold divine sense suddenly pressed over from the direction of the altar, crashing straight into the entire mine pit.

Lu Chuanze's whole body stiffened. That wasn't a verbal threat between students. It was like a hand, pressing against the back of his neck across the entire divine domain.

Lu Jin's voice traveled along the strata. "Leave the fire liquid. I will let you crawl out."

Lu Chuanze's eyes bulged, turning blood-red, and just as he wanted to curse, the Red-Eyed Rat bit down behind his ear, the tips of its teeth brushing against his blood vessels. One inch deeper, and he would die right here.

His throat bobbed, and his whole body went cold. "G-give... give to you!"

He ripped the last two fire liquid bladders from his waist and threw them on the ground, then ripped off his bone blade and the bone armor buckles on his body as well.

The Gray-tailed Burrowing Rats did not let go immediately. Not until Lu Jin's divine sense gently retracted did the Red-Eyed Rat retreat first, and then the Ambush Rat swarm scattered back into the crevices like a receding tide, leaving behind only a dozen rat corpses and a pool of blood.

Lu Chuanze lay in the ash, his entire right leg trembling, struggling even to stand up. He looked up and ahead, seeing only that bit of gray-white daylight outside the cave entrance. The tunnel behind him looked like it was gaping open.

He didn't dare to look back again, crawling outward on hands and knees, leaving behind only the low, painful gasps of the fire dogs and the rasping sounds of rats dragging corpses.

Only when he crawled out of the fissure did he gasp for breath like a fish pulled out of water, tears and snot streaming down mixed with blood.

The mine pit went quiet. Lu Jin did not pursue.

He stood on the altar, his gaze first sweeping over the battle damage. Nineteen bait rats in the outer circle had died. Twenty-seven Ambush Rats were dead, and thirty-one were seriously injured. Nine Tunneling Rats were lost, and four Transport Rats.

The cost was not small. The harvest was greater.

Three Red-Horned Fire Dogs: two dead, one crippled. Seven bone blades, five intact fire liquid bladders, and three half-broken ones. Four pieces of fire-patterned bone armor; the hard horns, claws, teeth, and sinews on the fire dogs could all be dismantled.

The Transport Team had already swarmed up, dragging everything that could still be used back into the main tunnel.

The Ambush Rats were dragging the fire dog limbs out of the pit, their eyes glowing red. The Red-Eyed Rat outside the gray fungus zone stood on a piece of rubble, covered in blood, but completely composed; it whistled a few times, and the Ambush Rat swarm actually followed the directions it pointed to collect blades, drag bags, and refill the collapsed openings.

Lu Jin glanced at it, his gaze deepening slightly. This thing was becoming more and more capable.

The wanji ember furnace in the distance vibrated gently. The dark red lines of fire in the cracks of the furnace door had already slowly coiled around those fire liquid bladders and bone blades. It could eat them. And they tasted good.

Lu Jin suppressed the urge to open the furnace immediately. Now was not the time.

He raised his hand in a beckoning gesture, and the Transport Team immediately delivered the five intact fire liquid bladders to the side of the altar. The crimson viscous liquid sloshed slowly inside the bladder walls, casting the surroundings in a blood-red hue. Behind that, three bone blades were also laid out neatly; the blades were slender, the edges densely serrated, and the shape of fire-patterned dog teeth was carved into the blade spines. They were all good materials.

Outside, however, a heavier vibration suddenly came. Heavier than the footsteps of the fire dogs, and much steadier than when the vassal students were scrambling around. One beat after another, with a rhythmic cadence.

The temperature in Lu Jin's eyes vanished instantly, and his divine sense pressed outward along the strata.

Further out beyond the fissure, at least twenty more heat shadows were heading this way. The one at the very front was particularly tall, holding a slender object; the flag surface was coiled with fire patterns, and even through the thick mine strata, one could feel that scorching sacrificial aura. A sacrificial flag.

The outpost was just for scouting. The main team, here to truly overturn the mine pit, had arrived.