Chapter Thirty-Seven: Another Round of Fire-Roasted Spare Ribs

"Watch out!" Just as Jia Zhengjin was caught off guard, a skeleton burst from beneath his feet, reaching directly for his ankle. Fortunately, the werewolf Wolf appeared in time, his sharp claws instantly severing the skeleton's arm.

However, the armless skeleton continued to crawl out of the earth, and its fallen hand bones, defying all logic, flew back to reattach themselves, as if nothing had happened.

"This is nuts! How is this even possible?" Jia Zhengjin stared in disbelief. "They didn't do that last time!"

"Now isn't the time to freeze up!" Wolf dashed over, attacking with both hands and feet, shattering several skeletons in a blink. Yet the broken bones quickly gathered, restoring the skeletons as good as new.

"Kill them and they revive—how are we supposed to fight this?" Jia Zhengjin directed the Kobold Chieftain and fifty Kobold Crossbowmen to unleash a barrage upon the advancing skeletons. "Is there any way to stop them from coming back?"

"The resurrection of undead relies on a mysterious force. Eliminate the force's bearer and it breaks the spell!" Wolf replied, nimbly weaving through the skeleton horde. "But this time, the power of the Blood Moon awakened them. Unless you destroy the moon itself, they'll keep reviving!"

"Insane!" Jia Zhengjin couldn't help but curse. "If I had the strength to destroy the moon, I'd be a god already! Wait—if our technology advances enough, could we get missiles? If we had super missiles, maybe there's a tiny chance... But now's not the time for fantasy! Last time, these skeletons definitely didn't come back to life..."

"Kean!" Tina ran out from the house.

"Why are you abbreviating my name again?" Jia Zhengjin turned and took Tina's hand. "At least before it was Kean Jin! Though, Kean has a nice ring to it. I've decided: my English name will be Kean! That way Tina won't have to worry about mispronouncing it. Wait, this is dangerous, Tina! Get back inside and hide!"

"Hide?" This time Tina understood, and questioned him.

"I'm retreating inside the walls too!" Jia Zhengjin called out loudly, "Everyone, fall back within the walls! We'll make our stand here!"

At his command, all the kobolds retreated behind the housing compound's walls, clambering atop with makeshift ladders to rain crossbow bolts down on the approaching skeletons.

Jia Zhengjin brought Tina inside the walls as well, instructing her and the Kobold Chieftain to attack with fireballs. He grabbed a crossbow himself, joining the fierce battle.

Boom! Boom... The massive body of a triceratops skeleton advanced with the horde, lumbering toward the housing complex. Seeing the monstrous beast approach, Jia Zhengjin felt a chill run through him. Its size and strength could crush the walls, even flatten the entire building! Absolutely must not let it get near!

With this thought, he shouted to Wolf, who was wreaking havoc among the skeletons: "Try to lure the triceratops skeleton away! It mustn't attack the buildings!"

"No problem! But can you hold off the skeleton army?" Wolf shouted back.

"Have to, even if we can't!" Watching more and more skeletons—both human and animal—charge toward the housing, Jia Zhengjin hurried to nock an arrow. Shouting as he fired to halt their advance, "This is a real monster siege! Shouldn't have buried so many animal bones nearby... Attack! Attack! There are more skeletons every second!"

Wolf glanced back, then charged straight for the triceratops skeleton.

Swish! His razor-sharp claws slashed across the triceratops's skull, leaving deep grooves.

Roar~~! Somehow, the triceratops skeleton let out an enraged howl, turning to face the creature daring to challenge it.

Seeing Wolf had managed to draw away the most terrifying enemy, Jia Zhengjin breathed a sigh of relief. But as the dense skeleton army swarmed the base of the wall, his mind raced.

The wall was tall, but with sheer numbers, the skeletons could pile up and breach it. Facing monsters that die only to revive, their side could be wiped out! That must not happen!

But how could he prevent the skeletons from reviving?

He glanced at the fireballs launched by the Kobold Chieftain and Tina, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "How did I not think of this? Last time, the skeletons couldn't come back because we cremated them—burned them to ash! If that's the case, we just need to burn this undead army too, and they'll be finished!"

But then he wondered, how could he do it? He didn't have gasoline or anything highly flammable. The wood and plant fibers on hand wouldn't be enough to burn all the skeletons...

Should he lure them into the forest and set it ablaze?

But arson would land him in prison for life...

This was another world—not Earth!

He couldn't worry about the consequences now—better than total annihilation!

As the situation grew ever more perilous, Jia Zhengjin realized he had no other choice.

"Tina!" he called to the brave blonde girl fighting atop the wall. "Hold your ground here with the kobolds!"

"Kean?" Tina was half-confused.

"No matter what happens, do not leave, understand?" Jia Zhengjin stowed his crossbow, grabbed his iron shield in his left hand, torch in his right, and ran along the wall toward the area not yet surrounded by skeletons.

"Kean—!" Tina shouted anxiously as Jia Zhengjin leaped down, landing at the skeleton army's flank.

"Don't worry! I'll be back soon!" Jia Zhengjin called, then unleashed his howl skill at the skeletons pressing against the wall.

Click click click... Every skeleton instantly turned to face him, advancing in his direction.

"Pulled their aggro!" Jia Zhengjin used his giant shield to shove aside the nearest skeleton, then sprinted toward a dense forest, torch held high. "Wolf! Bring the triceratops skeleton with you!"

Though unsure what his master intended, Wolf immediately turned and led the triceratops skeleton after the undead horde.

"Come on! Come on!" Jia Zhengjin ran, igniting dry grass and dead trees with his torch as he went. "This is the sacred fire of the FFF brigade! Even if I've graduated, the power of the flame won't fade! Let my fire consume everything!"

"Master, you're such a drama king," Wolf couldn't help but remark.

"Shut up! The atmosphere was just getting intense, and you ruined it!" Jia Zhengjin replied in frustration.