Bringing Back the Dead

Caught off guard by the sudden monster attack, the members of the "Mountain Antelope Squad" frantically pulled the triggers, riddling the two Dog-headed Man had solidified from black smoke with bullets.

The tunnel was filled with flickering flames, and the intense gunfire continued for quite some time before finally ceasing.

However, the crisis was not over.

Just as everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, seeing the Dog-headed Man lying motionless in a pool of blood,

Suddenly, wisps of black smoke once again seeped out from the cracks in the brickwork of the passageway, and then silently coalesced into two ferocious Kobold Monster!

Commander Bart turned his head and shouted, "Brother Nicholas, watch out!"

When Rein looked up, he saw that everyone's eyes were on him, just like they had looked at Donnie earlier.

"Not good!"

He had a bad feeling and immediately realized that there was a monster behind him.

This instantly gave him a chilling sensation, as if a venomous snake were crawling up his back, making his hair stand on end. A thought flashed through his mind, "Besides my 'sixth sense' of danger, I didn't sense anything at all with my 'five senses'. Such powerful stealth ability."

At that moment, Rein recalled the words carved in the rock face, "The Emissary of Death, Osiris, guards this tomb; they will drink the blood of the intruders."

The more critical the moment, the calmer he remained.

Recalling the previous incident where the musket hadn't harmed him, Rein immediately came to a conclusion. "Before sucking blood, he was a pure Elemental Body, immune to physical damage. However, to bite someone, he must solidify into a physical form!"

Thinking about this, his mind became three degrees calmer.

While others might die from being sucked blood, this "Battle Doctor" has enough means to save himself!

Just then, he felt a sharp pain as if something hard had pierced his neck. At that moment, he finally sensed the monster's presence!

It's materialized!

"They actually ignored the Bodyguard Battle Qi?!"

A sense of surprise and doubt washed over Rein.

He hadn't expected that the monster's teeth could so easily break through his skin.

With his current muscle resilience, further enhanced by his Bodyguard Battle Qi, he was arguably a hundred times more resilient than Donnie, who had been bitten to death earlier. Yet, unexpectedly, he was just as easily torn through by the sharp teeth, like a piece of paper.

Clearly, the Kobold Monster's sharp teeth ignored his Bodyguard Battle Qi.

Moreover, the bizarre situation is not over yet!

Just as the monster's sharp teeth pierced the skin of his neck, Rein was about to retaliate.

Suddenly, he felt a strong stiffness all over his body, as if his body had been paralyzed, and even his heartbeat slowed down.

"Huh, they also injected Paralyzing Toxin? No wonder."

Rein clearly felt the strange sensation in his body, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

He finally understood why the person who was bitten did not resist at all and was bitten to death.

The Paralyzing Toxin was so potent that even he, with his High-tier Extraordinary Voodoo Master body and extremely high poison resistance, felt a strong paralyzing sensation, let alone others.

Rein roughly estimated that his current "toxin resistance" was much higher than that of a typical fifth-tier Transcendent.

This means that almost any Transcendent being injected with this toxin will experience a severe feeling of numbness.

For low-level Transcendent, the toxins alone can be fatal (resulting in death from respiratory paralysis); for High-tier Extraordinary, they will immediately fall into a state of rigidity, losing their ability to resist subsequent blood-sucking.

Moreover, the monster's teeth ignored the Bodyguard Battle Qi and appeared without any warning.

With all these abilities combined, this "Dog-headed Man" is a monster that poses a deadly threat to both low-level and High-tier Extraordinary!

Rein thought to himself, "So troublesome, no wonder he's called 'the Emissary of Death'."

However, although the numbing sensation was intense, it was not enough to completely render the highly toxic poison-resistant individual incapable of reacting.

The moment the monster materialized, just when everyone thought that Rein would follow in Donnie's footsteps and be bitten to death by the monster,...

Instead of the expected blood-splattered scene, they witnessed something completely different.

The fangs did indeed pierce Rein's skin, injecting Paralyzing Toxin.

Just as the monster was about to devour Rein's blood, he calmly threw a punch at it.

Although the poison made his movements slightly stiff, dealing with a dog-headed monster with a combat power of only the First Tier of the Transcendent was a piece of cake.

"Bang!"

It sounded like a sand sculpture being smashed. Before the Dog-headed Man was smashed by a punch from Rein.

The muskets that Bart Commander and his men had just raised, but before they could pull the trigger, froze in place.

"This"

They were stunned for a moment, and a strange thought popped into their minds at the same time: Why was Dr. Nicholas able to kill the monster so easily without being drained of blood? Could this monster be different?

But reality didn't give them much time to think, because at almost the same time, another scream came from not far behind them.

"Ah!"

That was another dog-headed monster, and it killed another member of the group!

"Slap," "Slap," "Slap."

Then, in the chaos, another burst of gunfire rang out, and the fourth kobold was also shot dead.

The crisis has been temporarily averted.

Commander Bart's face turned extremely grim as he looked at the three dead members.

At the same time, they also turned their suspicious and shocked gazes to the unharmed Rein.

Only then did everyone realize that the four monsters were all the same.

What's strange is this Dr. Nicholas!

Rein knew that everyone had doubts, but he didn't have time to explain.

He frowned as he looked at the three corpses in the third group, and without delay, he walked straight to the last corpse that had been "bitten to death".

"It can still be saved."

He examined it briefly, said something, then took out a vial of medicine and injected it into the "corpse," before immediately beginning to suture the nerves and blood vessels in its neck.

While stitching, Rein said, "Ms. Pasha, could you please inject Adams with 1500 ml of 'Primary Life Potion'?"

"Ah?"

Sister Pasha was stunned when she heard this. Could someone with such a severe injury really be saved?

But she quickly realized what was going on and went over. "Okay!"

In order not to reveal too much of his healing abilities, Rein used Gang Line to suture the more important blood vessels and nerves, and then used surgical needles and sutures to suture the less important epidermal tissues.

Meanwhile, Pasha was injecting Adams, whose heart seemed to have stopped beating, with Life Potion to replenish his lost fluids.

While Rein was busy rescuing the wounded, the rest of the "Mountain Antelope Squad" stood guard, wary of any monsters suddenly emerging from the darkness.

Although they were grieving, they judged from experience that their companion Adams was surely dead.

A large chunk of flesh was bitten off his neck; there was no way he could have survived such an injury.

At the same time, they were also very puzzled.

Dr. Nicholas's calm expression and fluid, professional suturing technique gave one the illusion that he could definitely save Adams.

But while I was puzzled, I was also quite surprised.

Isn't a surgeon one of the weakest support professions in terms of combat power?

But why did all three combat Transcendent in the group die just now, while Dr. Nicholas survived?

Not only did he not die, he also killed that terrifying monster with a single punch. How did he manage to do that?

When Bart saw the injection that Rein had given Adams, he seemed to have guessed something, and his expression became somewhat complicated.

After an Antidote Potion was injected and external pressure was applied, Adams' heart, which had stopped beating, started beating again.

Sister Pasha felt a pulse, her eyes wide with disbelief, and exclaimed, "He's alive!"

"Real?"

"Oh my God, that's great! Adams survived!"

"."

Bart and his combat-type Transcendent don't understand medicine, nor do they comprehend the intricacies of this surgery, which would absolutely leave any medical-type Transcendent speechless.

All they knew was that their companion had survived.

That's good news, at least.

A collective sigh of relief could be heard from inside the passageway.

At this moment, everyone's eyes fell once again on the doctor who was focused on the surgery, their eyes filled with deep gratitude and relief.

They never imagined that a doctor they randomly invited would have such a "life-saving" ability.

No one dared to disturb Rein; they simply watched quietly from the sidelines.

The suturing operation lasted for nearly fifteen minutes, and Adams, whose neck had been bitten off in half, finally had his vital signs completely stabilized.

After finishing the last stitch, Rein breathed a sigh of relief. This level of surgery wasn't too much of a problem for him now; as long as he wasn't completely dead immediately, he could still be saved.

Unfortunately, the two who were killed by the "Dog-headed Man" earlier had been dead for too long and could not be revived.

After another dose of "Sobering Potion" was injected, Adams opened his eyes.

He looked weakly at the expectant faces staring at him, still somewhat dazed. "I... I'm not dead yet?"

Bart breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes! You should thank Dr. Nicholas. Without his superb medical skills, you would have died long ago."

Sister Pasha, who was the only one present who understood the brilliance of Rein's surgery, said in a complicated tone, "Even Senior Doctor couldn't save you from injuries like yours. You should Mr. Nicholas properly."

Adams seemed to understand something when he heard his captain say that.

He immediately turned to look at Rein and sincerely thanked him, "Thank you for your generous help, Dr. Nicholas."

A smile appeared on Rein's face as he said nonchalantly, "It was nothing."

The team member was saved, and that's no small favor.

Others might pretend not to know, but Battalion Commander Bart couldn't. He recognized the potion that Rein had just injected Adams with, and immediately asked, "Mr. Nicholas, was the potion you just injected Adams with the [Potent Life-Extending Potion]?"

He stopped calling him "brother" and started using honorifics instead.

Even the slowest Bart could tell at this moment that this "old friend" was definitely not simple.

Rein didn't seem to mind and simply said, "Hmm."

Without that life-saving medication, even the most skilled suturer would die.

"Oh, this."

Upon hearing this, Bart wore an expression that said, "I knew it," yet was also one of shock.

[Potent Life-Extending Potion] One dose costs over 100,000 Wan Lisuo, a luxury that ordinary hunters simply cannot afford.

Such high-level potions are practically unheard of in small Scavenger Gang. A mid-level doctor might keep one or two for emergencies, but they would never use them so easily.

He never expected that the doctor in front of him would so easily give the opportunity to his ordinary team member.

Hearing that, Bart looked apologetic and said to Rein, "I'm sorry to have used such a precious potion. The cost of the potion will be covered by our 'Mountain Antelope Squad'."

Before he could finish speaking, Rein waved his hand and said, "It's just a potion, no need to worry about it so much."

Indeed, that kind of potion is a significant expense for an ordinary Scavenger Gang.

But for him

The package contained a lot of stock; this level of medicine could only be considered a standard supply.

Hearing Rein's casual tone, Bart didn't say much, only politely asking, "Mr. Nicholas, were you a doctor in the senior regiment before?"

As he packed up the surgical instruments, Rein smiled and said, "Pretty much."

He also knew that neither his punch that killed the "Dog-headed Man" nor his act of saving people was simple, and others could naturally guess that he was not an ordinary doctor.

But it was only a matter of time before it was discovered, so it didn't really have any impact.

He noticed everyone staring at him like they were looking at a "big shot," and feeling a bit strange under their gazes, he explained, "You don't need to look at me like that. I'm just interested in these ruins, that's why I came to take a look. Just treat me like an ordinary doctor."

"."

Seeing that Rein didn't seem inclined to reveal more about his identity, Bart didn't press the matter further.

After all, whatever "Dr. Nicholas's" purpose may be, it no longer matters.

If someone is willing to spend over 100,000 yuan on a single dose of medicine to save a life, what could they possibly want from a small group like the "Mountain Antelope Squad"?

Moreover, it seems that with such a powerful "big shot" in the team, their chances of survival are much higher.

A general practitioner?

Of course not!

For a moment, everyone looked at Rein with deep respect.

The strong are respected everywhere.

The quiet "temporary team member" next to me suddenly became a hidden master, and the atmosphere in the team became a little awkward for a moment.

At that moment, Rein remembered something, picked up the syringe, and tried to extract the paralyzing venom from the Kobold Monster's venom glands on the ground.

As he worked, he noticed the somewhat bewildered members of the Scavenger Gang and spoke up, "I think we should all stop standing there and think about how we should deal with this predicament."

Yes, monsters, a maze!

Upon hearing this, a tremendous sense of crisis immediately gripped my heart again.

The person has been saved, but who knows if there will be more monsters?

Venturing deep into the ruins, they found no treasures and already suffered casualties—a terrible start.

What's worse, they now seem to be trapped in a maze.

At this moment, Rein, gazing into the darkness of the passageway, added, "I think there are probably quite a few of those Kobold Monsters in this ruin, so we'd better not make too much noise."

Seeing these monsters, he finally understood why the Rosas Family was so "kind" as to recruit so many hunters to excavate the ruins together.

It turns out, they just wanted people to come and die.

This dog-headed monster is virtually unkillable before it materializes and bites people.

Its abilities are deadly; whether it's poison, bite, or bloodsucking, it can easily kill a Transcendent.

Even High-tier Extraordinary pose a great threat.

With these "dog-headed monsters" in the Underground Palace, it's simply impossible for nobles and official Scavenger Gang to monopolize the ruins. They don't have enough lives to fill this "giant pit."

Rein guessed that the noble lords must have also discovered that these dog-headed monsters became very vulnerable after drinking blood and could be killed easily.

In the Underground Palace, as long as you are not a lone hunter, it means that for every person who dies, you can kill a dog-headed monster.

So they came up with the idea of recruiting idle hunters to their deaths.

The lives of tens of thousands of people are needed to make up for it, which is equivalent to losing tens of thousands of dog-headed monsters.

It would be better to kill all the monsters, but even if you can't kill them all, the threat level will drop significantly.

Moreover, the tens of thousands of people wandering around the maze triggered all the traps and monsters. This way, when the noble lords entered, they could avoid 99% of the dangers.

Heh, that's quite a scheme.

Tens of thousands of lives were lost just like that.

The hunters aren't stupid.

After a few words, the members of the "Mountain Antelope Squad" immediately came to the same conclusion as Rein.

They also realized that the true nature of this collective hunt was to lure them into their deaths, and they all became indignant.

"Damn it! We've been tricked by those nobles."

"Heh, they've been plotting against us from the very beginning. No wonder those people said there was a labyrinth and monsters inside before we entered the ruins. Even if they said that, they could justify it, and others would only say we were blinded by greed."

"Those filthy nobles, they're fucking bastards! They must have known this monster was so powerful, but they didn't say so sooner. If they had known how powerful this monster was, who the hell would have dared to come in!"

"Those noble lords probably don't even expect us to get out alive. The bounty and commission are just a deceptive gimmick. They'd much rather we consume more monsters for them."

"."

The more the group members talked, the more agitated they became, and the stronger their pessimistic mood grew.

Being trapped in the maze now means they could be attacked by monsters again at any time.

Battalion Commander Bart's face also turned very ugly.

If he could retreat now, he would not hesitate to lead his team out of the Underground Palace. Because this monster was simply no match for their low-level Transcendent abilities!

But now he understood that there was no turning back.

This maze left them trapped, unable to move forward or backward.

Every step you take could be a step toward death.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Bart turned his gaze to Rein, who had remained silent, and a glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes.

He asked, "Mr. Nicholas, do you know what this monster is all about? And you seemed to have killed it quite easily just now?"

In such a perilous situation, it seems certain that the "Mountain Antelope Squad" would be wiped out if they relied solely on themselves.

They were almost helpless against the dog-headed monster, and had no choice but to watch it kill its companions.

If a few more waves of monsters attack, these ten people will definitely be wiped out.

But now, there is an exception.

This "Dr. Nicholas" single-handedly took down one of those dog-headed monsters!

This inevitably gives people hope; perhaps he has some special method for killing monsters.

Bart's words immediately drew everyone's attention to Rein.

"This monster is extremely troublesome; even High-tier Extraordinary can't stop it from killing."

Rein sighed and shook his head, pouring cold water on the situation.

He guessed what the hopeful looks in everyone's eyes meant, but the method to kill the monster was something only he could use.

As expected, upon hearing this, Bart and the others' faces darkened, their expressions filled with despair.

At this point, Rein continued to share the clues he had analyzed, saying, "These Dog-headed Man should be monsters formed from something like 'necromantic energy.' They only materialize when they attack. Their teeth ignore the Bodyguard Battle Qi of Transcendent and inject a powerful Paralyzing Toxin the moment they bite through the skin, rapidly sucking human blood—this is the most important reason for their lethality. Their only weakness is probably that once they materialize, they are easily killed."

"Paralyzing Toxin?"

Bart wasn't surprising that it could bite through Bodyguard Battle Qi and suck blood, but the "Paralyzing Toxin" was something I hadn't expected.

But upon closer reflection, it makes sense. Otherwise, why didn't the three members who died earlier struggle when they were bitten? It turns out it was poison.

But then another problem arose.

Given the presence of a powerful Paralyzing Toxin, why does this "Dr. Nicholas" seem completely unaffected?

Not only did he smash the monster's head with a single punch, but he also clearly stated the "aftereffects of poisoning"?

Although he had doubts, Bart didn't press the matter.

Turning their attention to Adams, who had just been saved, the members of the "Mountain Antelope Squad" turned their gaze to him.

The young mage looked completely bewildered. He waved his hand and stammered, "I... I don't know anything. I was bitten just now, and then I lost consciousness."

"."

Upon hearing this, Bart's face twitched involuntarily.

That's the difference.

When someone else gets bitten, they can analyze everything; when you get bitten, you know nothing at all.

But this also proves that this mysterious Dr. Nicholas is ridiculously powerful.

Bart didn't dwell on the monster issue; he figured he couldn't beat it anyway.

He then asked, "Mr. Nicholas, what do you think we should do now?"

Rein voiced his guess, saying, "If I'm not mistaken, even if we go back the way we came, it's useless. This is a 'moving maze,' where some passageways and chambers can shift and change positions. So, we're trapped in the maze."

Upon hearing this, Bart was startled, but a look of realization dawned on him.

Only this explanation can clarify why they encountered several stone chambers they had passed by earlier.

But this also indicates that the situation is worse.

He was completely at a loss, but seeing the calm and composed demeanor of "Dr. Nicholas" before him, a hint of expectation flashed across Bart's face, and he asked again, "Mr. Nicholas, do you already know how to get out of this maze?"

Rein nodded, but his tone remained grave. "I've got some ideas on how to solve the maze, but we still need to try them out. Right now, the maze is full of monsters, and wandering around aimlessly isn't a good idea. I think we should find a place to wait."

Although he was confident he could handle the dog-headed monster, it was hard to say what would happen if there were too many of them.

Moreover, if we were to attempt to solve it now, there might be other dangers within this maze.

So, we can only wait.

"Wait?"

The others were taken aback at first, but quickly understood.

The best time to attempt this is after other hunters have cleared the way for them and killed the monsters.

Although I've heard it's not very ethical, it's the only way to protect myself right now.

Bart looked at the corpse on the ground and hesitated slightly before saying, "But... if we wait here now, won't those monsters come?"

No. Of course not here.

Upon hearing this, Rein pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "If I'm not mistaken, some of the stone chambers in this maze should be 'safe houses'!"

I owe 1 chapter for the 10,000 reward and 5 monthly tickets; I was planning to resume normal updates in the next couple of days, but I just received a message from the power company saying that there will be a power outage in my neighborhood tomorrow, from morning till night. If the power outage really happens, I can only promise to try my best to keep updating tomorrow.