Among them, an especially burly male porcupine was particularly eye-catching. The quills on its body were thicker and had a metallic sheen, clearly indicating it was the leader of the pack. The aura it emitted suggested it had advanced to a Middle-Rank Apprentice, a power to be reckoned with. Surrounding it were a dozen or so female porcupines, slightly inferior but equally capable of launching long-range attacks with their quills. A full-scale attack from them would be enough to form a dense net of death.

Tsk, even porcupines get to enjoy the bliss of having a harem. Fang Zhou thought, his face remaining calm.

These ferocious porcupines dared to occupy the campsite he had his eye on, so they had to go. Since they could attack from a distance, the only strategy was to surround them and launch a direct assault.

Fang Zhou quickly devised a battle plan. He commanded most of the Skeletons to form a perimeter around the building, using the terrain to create a frontal encirclement against the group of porcupines. Then, he selected a small number of agile Skeletons, ordering them to flank and use the complex terrain of the ruins to sneak inside the building.

In the darkness, the Skeletons silently approached the lair of the ferocious porcupines, using what little light remained. The male porcupine, indulging in the comforts of its harem, was the first to sense danger. It stood up, looked around, and quickly spotted the contiguous glow of the Skeletons' Soul Fire in the darkness.

ROAR!

The male porcupine let out a deafening roar, and the female porcupines behind it all raised the quills on their backs, ready to fight back.

The frontal battlefield instantly descended into chaos. The quills on the porcupines' backs flew like a dense rain of arrows toward the approaching Skeletons, showering sparks as they collided with their skeletal bodies. However, under Fang Zhou's command, the Skeletons nimbly dodged or blocked the incoming quills.

The hollow nature of their skeletal bodies displayed its unique advantage in this situation. As long as the quills did not hit the skulls housing the Soul Fire, many of them passed straight through the gaps in their bones without causing any real damage.

Meanwhile, the flanking Skeletons approached silently, like ghosts. They suddenly leaped from the shadows, launching a swift charge.

The pack of ferocious porcupines only managed to unleash two volleys of quills before the Skeleton Army, with its overwhelming numerical advantage, closed the distance. As soon as the melee began, a few of the Lower-Rank Apprentice female porcupines shrieked under the Skeletons' ruthless siege, and one even collapsed, grievously wounded.

Seeing this, the male porcupine burned with fury and attempted to break through the encirclement to rescue its companions. It frenziedly rammed the Skeletons' defensive line, but Fang Zhou was constantly monitoring its movements.

Seeing the male porcupine expose a weakness, Fang Zhou unleashed a Skeleton Double Strike to end the battle quickly.

Skeleton Shackles!

Skeleton Flying Spear!

Against the incredibly sharp Skeleton Flying Spear, the male porcupine's proudly glossy hide offered no protection. As the bone spear pierced its body, the male porcupine let out a final, painful howl. It finally collapsed, struggling for a few moments before falling still.

With their leader dead, the remaining dozen or so female porcupines lost their will to fight. They scattered in all directions, but none could escape the Skeleton Army's encirclement.

After a brief and easy battle, the ruins returned to tranquility, and the threat of the ferocious porcupine pack was thoroughly eliminated.

"Hunting Points +33."

"Soul Power +1."

Fang Zhou tirelessly directed the Skeletons to clean up and collect the scattered spoils from within the building's ruins while setting up tents on high ground. Using the ruins' debris to build the camp, which could be used for both offense and defense, ensured that Fang Zhou could rest securely under the cover of night.

Soon, he stood before a tent, counting the loot collected by the Skeletons. The keratinous layer from the ferocious porcupines' backs was an excellent material for making arrows and was naturally on Sea City Military Academy's materials list. Fang Zhou estimated that the materials from this group of ferocious porcupines were worth at least 10 contribution points.

...

The night wind howled through the ruins, brushing past Fang Zhou's cheeks. After setting up the camp, he should have gone into his tent to rest, but a sense of unease lingered. A short while ago, the Skeleton Army had thoroughly searched the collapsed building, but had found only a tiny amount of porcupine droppings.

This indicated that the ferocious porcupine pack Fang Zhou had eliminated were not the original inhabitants of this place. They had only recently occupied it.

Where, then, had the original Demons that occupied these Town Ruins gone?

A soft wailing echoed through every corner of the city, like countless phantoms on parade. Gazing at the gradually extinguishing Magic Energy Moss in the distance, Fang Zhou frowned, a troubling mystery taking root in his mind.

Night had fallen, which should have been the time for various Night Demons to be active, yet it seemed as if they had all vanished. Only silence and coldness remained in the vast ruins. The frigid wind howled through the broken walls, as if whispering some unknown secret.

Suddenly, the temperature plummeted, growing even colder than it had been during the day on the windswept Frozen Tundra. This was not just a physical cold, but a chill that pierced the very soul. It was as if his Skeleton Clone were in the Burial Wilderness of the Undead Realm, bathed in the ruthless, cold light of the Blood Moon.

Fang Zhou felt an unprecedented, deathly silence and a sinister presence. This bizarre phenomenon stretched his nerves to their absolute limit. He immediately took out his Hunting Recorder, attempting to review the data on the Town Ruins to find some clues.

However, just as Fang Zhou was anxiously scrolling, the recorder's signal suddenly cut off with a piercing buzz. The text on the screen vanished instantly, leaving only a blank page.

This sudden development was the last straw, pushing Fang Zhou's unease to its peak. In the face of unknown danger, caution was always the best strategy. After weighing his options, he made the decisive choice to retreat from these bizarre Town Ruins and camp in the distant Frozen Tundra instead. Although this meant he would face the siege of Night Demons and be unable to rest properly, it was the lesser of two evils compared to confronting an unknown threat in the ruins.

Fang Zhou quickly issued orders. The Skeleton Army immediately packed their things and quietly exited the ruined building. He retreated cautiously along the path he had taken, moving to a safe distance.

In the darkness, the Skeleton Army moved like a group of ghosts, doing its best to avoid any unnecessary attention. The outline of the Town Ruins gradually blurred into the night as the cold wind of the Frozen Tundra roared in his ears. The biting chill made even the physically robust Fang Zhou shiver.

Though this cold was unsettling, it felt almost welcoming compared to the soul-piercing chill of the Town Ruins. At least, the cold here was a physical one that could be felt on the skin—not the invisible, soul-piercing aura of despair and death from the ruins.

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