The reporters, after capturing the battle between Shen Feng and Li Keyi, immediately uploaded the footage online. In an instant, the internet was flooded with praise, as people had never witnessed such a shocking scene. The sheer power of these ability users was evident, as they moved freely amidst millions of birds, their surroundings visibly affected.
The online crowd, watching Shen Feng fly through the sky in the video, was filled with envy and jealousy. The ability to soar through the air using one's own power was already remarkable, but Shen Feng's immense strength made him even more enviable. How could such a perfect person exist in the world? Not only could he fly, but he also possessed great power, and on top of that, he was the City Lord of Yuzhou. Was there any justice in this world?
Furthermore, Li Keyi's abilities were equally captivating. The radiance emanating from her was dazzling, and the beams of light piercing through the air were proof that she was far more than she appeared. She was not only beautiful but also incredibly powerful.
As people watched the video, they marveled at the strength of ability users. Suddenly, someone noticed the video's title, which was followed by a line of text: "The Goddess of Light, Li Keyi, has married into the Wind God Palace!"
Upon seeing this title, everyone was shocked. "What? The Goddess of Light married Shen Feng? This is unforgivable! Shen Feng already has two beautiful wives, yet he continues to prey on the pure women of this world. What a scoundrel! Can't he leave a few for us?"
"Shut up. The Goddess of Light herself said she likes powerful men. You people only have strength online; you're useless at other times! Do you think the Goddess of Light would even look at you?"
...The online discussion about the video was intense. However, besides the Goddess of Light's marriage, people were also very concerned about the battle situation. Not only had Yuzhou and Rongcheng been attacked by mutated birds, but after the birds moved south, other major cities were also successively attacked.
The first to be hit was Jinmen, which was only a day's journey from Yanjing. When the mutated birds moved south, it was naturally the first to face the assault. The people of Jinmen were not foolish. Yanjing had already fallen; could Jinmen withstand such a powerful attack? With this thought, the people of Jinmen fled. Some escaped by land, while those with the means took boats, which were certainly faster.
Thus, Jinmen was breached. But this was not the end. The mutated birds continued to move south, and unprepared cities were successively overrun. Few managed to hold out. As for the villages, their fate was even more tragic. Even though the villages had built walls, the mutated birds descended from the sky, rendering the walls useless. Villages everywhere suffered heavy losses.
For a time, the entire internet was focused on the mutated birds. After all, if even Yanjing had been conquered by them, wouldn't the other cities be in an even more dire situation?
This was not only happening in China but also in other countries, which were facing the crisis of mutated birds. The number of cities destroyed by these birds was already substantial. Many foreign cities had populations smaller than even small towns in China, so they were naturally destroyed after being attacked. Currently, what people cared about most was how to resist the mutated birds.
Previously, mutated beasts would appear in autumn and winter, which was not a major concern. After all, cities had walls, and mutated beasts could not easily enter. Moreover, their mobility was not strong. Thus, the greatest threat became the mutated birds. Everyone was focused on how to resist them, both domestically and internationally.
However, it was difficult to find effective methods to resist the mutated birds online. Under normal circumstances, few people could upload videos of defeating mutated birds; instead, there were many videos of failures. Now that a stunning scene had finally appeared, the online crowd was naturally extremely interested.
But as people were discussing, someone began to pour cold water on their enthusiasm: "Stop watching; it's useless. As far as I know, both Shen Feng and Li Keyi are seventh-tier ability users, and their abilities are very potent, all of them being nature-based. In such a situation, resisting the mutated birds' attack is not difficult at all. But what about other cities? Ordinary cities have no ability users. Even if we watch these two wreak havoc in Yuzhou, we can't learn from them."
"So that's how it is. But I saw that Yuzhou also has a lot of anti-aircraft firepower. With enough anti-aircraft firepower, they can also resist the mutated birds," someone replied below.
While that might be true, how many cities had sufficient anti-aircraft firepower? Bullets cost money, so firing them was like burning money. Ordinary cities lacked even adequate anti-aircraft capabilities. The only solution people could think of was to hide underground, wait for the war to end, and wait for the mutated birds to leave.
People were in a state of constant anxiety. Even hiding underground, they had no idea how long they would have to hide, especially when their food ran out and they had to venture outside.
After resisting for a day in Yuzhou, the mutated birds suffered heavy losses. Fifty to sixty thousand mutated birds were killed. As dusk arrived, the mutated birds departed, and people emerged from their air-raid shelters and rooms, preparing to cook and rest.
In Yuzhou, notices began to be issued. Staff members stood on the streets with loudspeakers, shouting: "It's best not to eat the birds on the ground, as many of them carry viruses and bacteria. If you must eat them, it's best to cook them in a pressure cooker for half an hour. Everyone listen carefully, do not randomly eat the birds on the ground..."
Last year, Yuzhou had actively cleared the mutated birds in the Dabashan mountains. Many of the mutated birds killed at that time were eaten. However, times had changed. North America had begun poisoning its birds at the end of last year, and it was highly likely that the mutated birds now carried many viruses. Eating them might lead to illness.
However, it was not easy to prevent the hungry populace from eating the mutated birds that were within reach, as ordinary people rarely had access to meat. It was good if they could eat a little meat once a month. Usually, ordinary people ate some crushed grains, which at least provided protein, though the taste was certainly not as good as meat. Now, they could only compromise and hope that people would cook the mutated birds at high temperatures.
Although high-temperature and high-pressure cooking would destroy many of the nutrients in the meat, what did it matter about nutrients at this point? The most important thing was not to get sick. Boiling them for half an hour in a high-temperature and high-pressure environment would kill almost all viruses and bacteria. This was the safest way to eat them.
After hearing the notice from the City Lord's Mansion, the people in the city began to collect the mutated birds from the ground. Some mutated birds were not completely dead, with their wings and other parts torn. They had not died yet. At this point, people had to take action. They would work together, grab the birds by the neck, and with a swift cut of a cleaver, sever the birds' blood vessels and tracheas, killing them instantly.
The innocent children looked at their parents scrambling for the mutated birds with confusion, asking, "Didn't they say these birds are demons? Why are we still eating demons?"
Their parents explained, "When they were in the sky, these birds were demons. But once they land, they are no longer demons; they are delicious. Don't worry about that, hurry home and boil water. We're having meat tonight!"
The children then understood, realizing that whether a bird was a demon depended on whether it was in the sky. If it was in the sky, it was a demon; if it was on the ground, it was delicious.
So, the children happily went to start the fire. Yuzhou currently had liquefied petroleum gas because the oil and gas pipelines from Dian Province had been opened, allowing people to use natural gas. However, many people in the outer city could not afford gas and still used stoves. Anyway, the City Lord's Mansion did not prohibit chopping wood. If they lacked fuel, they could go to the mountains to chop wood. The surrounding mountains were full of firewood, so chopping wood was a very cost-effective thing.
While the people were eating, Shen Feng was holding a meeting, taking advantage of the current situation to quickly tally the day's combat results and estimate future operations.
Guo Pinming spoke first, "The soldiers fought very bravely today, and the mercenaries also fought very effectively on the ground. The total death toll was less than twenty. This is a great victory."
"From a military perspective, it is indeed a great victory, but please don't forget that war costs money. The amount of ammunition consumed today was astonishing. If we continue fighting for another month, our income for the entire year will be gone. Therefore, the battle must be concluded as soon as possible," Tu Xuhuai said with a grave tone.
On the surface, the action to resist the mutated birds was very successful, but this was based on ammunition consumption. If they continued to fight, Yuzhou's finances would be in trouble.
Shen Feng sat in the main seat, listening to the reports. Chang Jianyi and Chu Chaoyan sat on his sides, while Li Keyi sat below Chu Chaoyan, her status clearly indicated.
Shen Feng said helplessly, "To resist the mutated birds, we must have enough ammunition. But we cannot take the initiative to attack. It is not easy to end the battle in a short period. Anyone with a good idea can propose it now."
At this moment, everyone was at a loss, shrugging their shoulders and leaning back in their chairs. Resisting the mutated birds was already difficult enough; achieving a swift victory was even more so.
Just then, Li Keyi reminded Shen Feng, "I heard that there is a hypnotic pollen in Yuzhou, which Yuzhou has been collecting. I think now is the time to use it."
Following Li Keyi's reminder, Shen Feng suddenly realized and said, "Yes, with the existence of hypnotic pollen, it can hypnotize the mutated birds. I will try it tomorrow, with Chang Haojie's cooperation. I want to make it rain in Yuzhou. Notify everyone, all soldiers and mercenaries should rest well, as we might have to fight continuously tomorrow."