Several days passed. After organizing relevant personnel, Yuzhou opened its city gates and led its people across the Yangtze River into the southern region.
The tactical plan was simple, proposed by Guo Pinming: a pincer movement advancing by land and water, with forces divided into five routes. Four teams would spread out along the upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, driving the mutated beasts into the center. Shen Feng would lead thirty thousand troops in a breakthrough from the middle route to the south, ultimately forming a encirclement within the southern mountains, allowing for the elimination of all mutated beasts in the mountains at once!
Shen Feng adopted this suggestion. The objective of this expedition was to eliminate the mutated beasts in the mountains. Even if they couldn't annihilate them all, they had to kill the majority, ensuring that the mutated beasts in the mountains would not pose a threat for several years.
Before the expedition, Shen Feng notified headquarters of his decision. Although Shen Feng could make decisions regarding Yuzhou independently, the proper procedures still needed to be followed. Headquarters approved Shen Feng's actions. In reality, mutated beasts were rampant throughout the country, and Yuzhou was relatively peaceful in comparison. Other regions had far greater numbers of mutated beasts.
"Brother-in-law, I'll scout from the sky. If I discover any danger, I'll report it to you immediately!" Chang Haojie volunteered to scout the enemy, clearly wanting to perform well at this moment.
Shen Feng nodded and said, "Then be careful. If you encounter mutated birds, remember to evade them and never provoke them. Of course, if you encounter danger, use the walkie-talkie, and I'll come to save you."
Chang Haojie took the walkie-talkie and set off. The water vapor in the sky gathered, instantly forming a white cloud. Chang Haojie stepped onto the cloud and immediately flew into the sky, heading towards the front of Shen Feng's team. Everyone who witnessed this couldn't help but show envy. Being able to fly into the sky so easily was an ability everyone desired. As long as one could fly, they would not be restricted by terrain; flight also represented freedom.
Meanwhile, Shen Feng continued to lead his men. He sat in a vehicle, with a paraglider placed beside him. If Chang Haojie encountered danger, Shen Feng could immediately fly into the sky to support him.
After flying two hundred meters into the sky, Chang Haojie looked down with binoculars, searching for mutated beasts in the mountains. If he found any, he could quickly notify Shen Feng.
Shen Feng's team also brought a communication vehicle. As long as they were within the communication vehicle's radiation range, the walkie-talkies could be used at any time. The presence of the communication vehicle ensured constant contact. Guo Pinming and the others also had communication vehicles with them. This was a good piece of equipment that Shen Feng had exchanged from Rongcheng using evolution base. He wouldn't have brought it out if not for the upcoming battle.
Besides Shen Feng and Guo Pinming, the commanders of the other three routes were Yang Chang, Lu Xian, and Cao Fuli. Cao Fuli's contingent consisted of one thousand elite soldiers, with the rest being mercenaries. His role was not the main combat, but rather to clear the battlefield and transport supplies.
While sitting in the vehicle, Shen Feng couldn't help but look back at the team. With a single glance, he could distinguish between the loyal soldiers and the mercenaries. Those walking in formation were the soldiers Shen Feng had recruited, who, apart from training and combat, generally didn't need to worry about anything else. The rest were the loosely organized mercenaries, who were unwilling to venture deep into the mountains without supervision.
The mountains, silent for a year, suddenly became lively with the entry of one hundred thousand people. Although one hundred thousand people entering the mountains was a small number, the impact was extraordinary. The mutated beasts in the mountains were already starving, and the wild fruits had been eaten. They were preparing to descend the mountain to find food. Unexpectedly, Shen Feng led his men into the mountains, and immediately, ferocious mutated beasts charged towards them. These mutated beasts were no longer animals that feared humans, but hunters ready for a feast.
Before the animals mutated, they posed no threat to humans. Even tigers and elephants could only be confined in zoos for people to admire. However, after the animals began to mutate, their combat power changed. Not to mention fierce beasts like tigers and wolves, even docile sheep, after mutating, became enormous. A mere bump from a mutated sheep could instantly kill an ordinary person.
Shen Feng watched as thousands of mutated beasts charged towards them. He simply waved his hand at the people below and calmly said, "Prepare for volley fire!"
Hundreds of soldiers immediately stepped forward, half-crouching and aiming at the mutated beasts on the mountain to fire.
As soon as they entered the mountains, thousands of mutated beasts were alerted. The mutated beasts felt that so many humans appearing before them was like a buffet arriving, so why wouldn't they rush forward to eat?
In over a year, the wild beasts in the mountains had experienced a long period of free life, without facing human hunting. The beasts fighting in the mountains seemed to have awakened their wild nature and were no longer afraid of humans, charging forward to confront the soldiers.
However, the soldiers paid no heed. They aimed their rifles at the fierce beasts on the mountain and began to fire, "Bang, bang..." Hot bullets shot out, instantly piercing the bodies of the mutated beasts, creating large holes.
The ones charging at the front were mutated wild boars. These creatures were everywhere in the southern mountains, with thick hides and no natural predators. They charged forward relentlessly, their tusks sharp and appearing formidable.
However, when bullets were fired at the wild boars, they couldn't dodge. Dozens of bullets first entered the wild boars' heads. The wild boars immediately bled from all seven orifices, their heads shaking, and they instantly fell to the ground.
"Boom..." The massive bodies of the wild boars hit the ground with a dull thud.
The animals that charged at the front died the fastest.
Bullets struck the mutated animals, creating bloody holes, and blood flowed uncontrollably. No matter how they roared, they couldn't stop the loss of life.
Conversely, after being hit in the head by bullets, many animals were instantly headshot, which reduced their suffering.
Shen Feng's team had over four thousand soldiers, while the remaining more than twenty thousand were mostly mercenaries. However, the four thousand elite soldiers were enough to dominate the battles in the mountains. The soldiers cleared the path, and wherever they went, mutated beasts fell. The mutated beasts finally realized that charging was futile. No matter how many of them charged, it was a dead end!
"Alternating fire, no sweeping fire!" The frontline commander, seeing the constantly falling mutated beasts, continued to command with a poker face.
Many commanders had participated in the defense of Yanjing, and after four months of combat, they had gained new insights into warfare, especially when dealing with endless mutated beasts. The most important thing when facing mutated beasts was to maintain continuous firepower. As long as the shooting didn't stop, the mutated beasts couldn't quickly reach the formation.
Shen Feng stood on top of the vehicle and witnessed this scene. It was not unexpected. He recalled the situation when killing zombies; an endless horde of zombies would charge, only to be met by countless bullets. Ultimately, the zombie tide couldn't cross even a short distance.
However, while Shen Feng remained calm, the mercenaries could not. After entering the mountains, they cautiously scanned their surroundings, fearing that terrifying monsters might emerge from some hidden corner. They had heard that the mutated beasts in the mountains were very dangerous, and even vehicles traveling on the roads were easily targeted by mutated beasts.
Therefore, when the mercenaries saw the mutated beasts swarming the mountains, their legs trembled, and some even sat down on the ground.
Although the mercenaries had been killing mutated beasts for three months, they generally dared not enter the mountains. Most of the mutated beasts they killed were solitary. If a dozen mutated beasts gathered together, it would be very difficult to defeat them. Therefore, in such circumstances, Yu Muhe killing a nest of wild boars would be respected, because usually, it took ten mercenaries to kill one mutated wild boar, but Yu Muhe's mercenary group had completed ten times the task.
From behind the rocks, through the grass, and within the forests, in almost an instant, thousands of mutated beasts emerged from the mountains and pounced towards them.
But then, the mercenaries witnessed a scene they would never forget. Before the mutated beasts could even reach them, the silent soldiers in front formed a formation and shot down the charging mutated beasts.
The once ferocious mutated beasts were no match for the soldiers' formation!
Shen Feng did not personally command. He stayed by the communication vehicle, listening to the reports from below. The command was handed over to Lu Kaiyang. Lu Kaiyang was an expert marksman and, due to his outstanding performance, had gained Shen Feng's favor. This time, Shen Feng specifically placed Lu Kaiyang in a command position, which was essentially a promotion.
Lu Kaiyang stood inside the communication vehicle, listening to the reports from the soldiers below, and calmly commanded, "Disperse the formation, spread to the flanks, and halt the advance."
Thousands of ferocious mutated beasts charged towards Shen Feng's side, but ultimately fell before the established formation. The blood and intense gunfire awakened the remaining mutated beasts. They saw the animals on the ground, dying, and the gray ground stained red with blood. At this moment, the remaining hundreds of mutated beasts did not hesitate, turned, and fled.
Among the instincts of animals, the most important is to seek advantage and avoid harm. Even amoebas know to move towards food sources, let alone these animals that possessed intelligence. Upon discovering the threat of humans, the mutated beasts did not hesitate and fled!
Lu Kaiyang then instructed the mercenary group leader, "Go and clear the battlefield. Load all the mutated beasts onto the vehicles and transport them out of the mountains to Yuzhou!"
The leaders dared not disobey the order. After witnessing the powerful combat capability of the Yuzhou soldiers, they were all convinced and put away their petty thoughts. Since the army possessed such formidable strength, fighting alongside them would naturally be safe.
Thus, the mercenaries began to clear the battlefield. Whether it was wild boars as large as elephants or mutated rats as small as rabbits, they were all loaded onto vehicles. Drivers would transport the mutated beasts to Yuzhou for processing.
The Yuzhou laboratory, under the leadership of Professor Niu, recruited many researchers, including many specializing in food safety. For the recently emerged mutated beasts, the laboratory researched which animals were edible and which were not. Edible animals were either made into canned goods or luncheon meat, while inedible animals were directly sent to the base in the cave to feed the plant heart, allowing the plant heart to produce evolution base. In essence, everything was utilized.
Chang Haojie, riding the clouds in the sky, saw the dense swarm of mutated beasts charging towards his brother-in-law. Just as he was about to warn him, he noticed the mutated beasts on the ground falling one by one. Even the massive wild boars couldn't get close. At this moment, Chang Haojie couldn't help but marvel at the army's formidable combat power.
"My goodness, this is what war is like! As long as they advance in an orderly manner, even mutated beasts can't stop them!" Chang Haojie exclaimed as he watched everything unfold on the ground.
Chang Haojie had witnessed grand scenes before, having seen a horde of thirty million zombies and mutated beasts besieging the city. However, at that time, there were tall city walls in Jiangyang and Yuzhou for support, so he didn't feel much fear. Now, even in the open wilderness with rugged terrain, the mutated beasts were no match for the army. In just a few minutes, thousands of mutated beasts began to collapse. It could be said that such an outstanding performance shocked Chang Haojie.
Chang Haojie put himself in the perspective of a mutated beast and immediately felt terror. Even an ability user could not remain unharmed under such concentrated attacks. War could not be changed by one or two people, unless they were heroes!
"No wonder brother-in-law is called a hero. He changed the battle situation between the horde of over a hundred million zombies and Yanjing, thus laying the foundation for victory. Therefore, he can be called the great hero in people's mouths!" Chang Haojie muttered to himself, looking at the crowd below.
War is the most brutal, and the course of war directly affects the lives and safety of countless people. Therefore, if someone can change the direction of war, slightly tipping the scales, that person will inevitably become a widely known hero. For this reason, heroes do not appear casually, but once they do, they are unforgettable.