"I'm finally back, six years have passed! Now, I can finally fulfill my wishes from these years." After crossing Shanhaiguan Pass, He Qiu'an's mood became incredibly excited. When Yanjing was destroyed, he carried his dying great-grandfather on his back and rushed out of Yanjing in a daze. In the end, he couldn't protect him. Now, he was finally back.
Thinking of the scenes of displacement back then, He Qiu'an felt like crying. He was incredibly weak back then, so after encountering great disaster, he had no way to solve it. But now, he could finally bid farewell to his cowardly self of the past. Now he had enough strength to say righteously, "I'm back!"
Afterward, He Qiu'an found a sandalwood box from the car. There was also a black and white photo on the box, which was his great-grandfather's ashes.
"Old Ancestor, I will let you watch me retake Yanjing. If your spirit in heaven can see this, please bless me with smooth progress," He Qiu'an thought silently in his heart.
He Qiu'an also knew that if he stayed in the Northeast, he would have no prospects. Only by entering the pass could he obtain a legitimate status. After all, Yanjing was the old capital. Restoring the old capital would grant him the banner of righteousness, and it would also facilitate the gathering of survivors from surrounding areas.
However, as soon as they passed Shanhaiguan Pass, someone immediately came to report: "The mutated beasts in Yanshan have made a move. It seems they are gathering under the leadership of the Beast King."
"Excellent! I was just thinking that the soldiers needed some combat experience, and now the opportunity for battle has arrived!" He Qiu'an was very happy upon hearing this news, as if he couldn't wait for the mutated beasts to attack him.
Subsequently, He Qiu'an ordered them to set up camp on the spot and sent people to investigate the situation of the mutated beasts.
The personnel in front immediately found a drone and controlled it to fly into the distance. Fortunately, the number of mutated birds in China had been controlled, and they would not easily encounter mutated birds. Otherwise, once this drone flew out, it would be shot down by mutated birds on the spot.
With the drone flying in the sky, the Bingcheng side could clearly know the situation of the mutated beasts. There were several Beast Kings in Yanshan, all of them enormous in size, and even artillery shells might not be able to kill them. The mutated beasts in the mountains had all gathered.
"According to our investigation, it can be found that these mutated beasts are likely hungry and want to fill their stomachs. Since we appeared here, these mutated beasts have had the idea of attacking," the person who went to gather information said earnestly at this time. These mutated beasts did not gather for no reason; it was due to a lack of food that they took the initiative to attack.
"These beasts are truly blind. The beasts in the primeval forests of the Northeast all avoid us, yet these beasts want to gather and attack us at this time. Do they really think we are easy targets?" He Qiu'an was immediately angered after hearing the report from his subordinates. He felt underestimated.
"I infer that these mutated beasts are not unaware of our strength. After all, the intelligence of many mutated beasts has increased significantly. The fundamental reason is that the ecosystem in Yanshan has collapsed. If you look closely at the videos brought back by the drones, you will find that almost all the gathered mutated beasts are carnivorous. The remaining herbivores or omnivores have decreased. These mutated beasts have nothing to eat even if they stay in the mountains, so they can only fight for it," Lu Kaiyang, with his keen observation, discovered the root of the problem and said.
"What was Mr. Lu's job in Yuzhou?" He Qiu'an suddenly asked.
Lu Kaiyang was surprised by the question and replied, "In the army, I was mainly responsible for staff decision-making and had commanded troops to attack mutated beasts, but they were all small-scale battles. I was not as brave as the city lord's thousand-mile reinforcement."
He Qiu'an understood. Although Lu Kaiyang's abilities were not very strong, his command ability was excellent. He himself said that he had commanded battles, and now he could analyze the state of various mutated beasts in Yanshan through a video. This person was definitely not a simple task and should not be underestimated.
Therefore, He Qiu'an immediately inquired, "Mr. Lu, could I trouble you with something?"
Lu Kaiyang immediately said, "As long as it is something within my capabilities, I am naturally willing to do it. After all, Mr. He gave Yuzhou twenty thousand tons of grain before, and Yuzhou happened to be suffering from a locust plague. Your actions solved our urgent need. Now, if you have any commands, I will not shrink from death."
He Qiu'an then said earnestly, "If possible, I would like to invite Mr. Lu to command this battle against the mutated beasts, and let my subordinates learn something."
Lu Kaiyang had initially thought that the other party was asking him to participate in the battle, so he agreed directly. But now it seemed that things were not like that. Commanding the battle was a good thing. At this moment, he had actually received the task of commanding the battle.
"No, no, no, these troops are all operating under your leadership, Mr. He. It would be too much for me to command the battle. You should command the battle yourself, and I will offer advice from the side." Lu Kaiyang was very clear about his identity. He was just an outsider. If he, an outsider, were to command the Bingcheng army at this time, it would be too much.
But He Qiu'an adhered to the principle of trusting his subordinates and continued to say to Lu Kaiyang, "Mr. Lu, please don't refuse. I know my own abilities. Although I am from a military family, I have not been exposed to military knowledge since childhood. In previous battles, Gong Changfa led the soldiers into battle. Therefore, our team is severely lacking in commanders. Now, only you can help me command."
Seeing that the other party had already said so much, Lu Kaiyang felt that it would be too much if he did not agree.
So Lu Kaiyang quickly said, "Then I will respectfully accept your offer. Actually, the strategy for dealing with mutated beasts is very simple: frontal assault and flanking maneuver. The front will use crossfire to suppress the mutated beasts' offensive, and then the elite troops on the flanks will circle around to the rear of the beast tide. A pincer attack will cause the beast tide to collapse, and finally, a decapitation strike will be carried out by directly killing the Beast King, and all other mutated beasts will scatter."
Next, Lu Kaiyang began to understand the composition of the army and led people to build defenses. Under his instructions, the army only set up one defensive line. According to Lu Kaiyang's words: "One defensive line is enough to stop these mutated beasts; more defensive lines are not needed."
Unexpectedly, He Qiu'an took five thousand men and began to flank and maneuver, actually handing over the entire army's command to Lu Kaiyang. Lu Kaiyang had never seen such a leader. Who wouldn't firmly grasp military power, fearing that it would be snatched away by others? But He Qiu'an was different; he abandoned the main force here and went on a dangerous mission himself.
"I wonder what he's thinking, to trust my command so much." Lu Kaiyang couldn't help but shake his head after hearing about He Qiu'an's actions.
Then, as the sky darkened and night approached, the beast tide appeared. These mutated beasts were not stupid; they knew that they were easily attacked during the day, so they specifically waited until night to attack.
Wild beasts have much stronger eyesight at night than ordinary people. For example, animals like cats and dogs have eyes that glow at night, appearing terrifyingly green.
But Lu Kaiyang had already anticipated this, so he directly issued the order: "Turn on all the searchlights."
Soon, the people on the front line all turned on the searchlights. The bright lights shone on the front of the position, and the open space in front became as bright as day. All the beasts were illuminated by the searchlights.
Lu Kaiyang had already concluded that mutated beasts were very fond of sneak attacks, but as long as this point was defended, they could deal with all kinds of attacks. If it came to positional warfare, mutated beasts were no match for humans.
Although there was only one defensive line in front of the entire position, if this defensive line was breached, then everyone would be finished. However, this defensive line was impregnable. Under the command of the commander on the front line, crossfire was formed on the position, and continuous firepower was maintained.
Generally speaking, many young soldiers would make mistakes during combat. Upon seeing the endless mutated beasts in front of them, they would start to panic and shoot wildly without regard for anything else. However, the number of magazines they carried was limited, and once their ammunition ran out, they could not be supplied in a short time.
Therefore, experienced soldiers would ensure that they had sufficient ammunition. While firing wildly was exhilarating, if the ammunition ran out and could not be resupplied in a short time, it would be troublesome.
Many mutated beasts charging towards the defensive line had shriveled bellies. These mutated beasts had not eaten their fill for a long time. In the minds of mutated beasts, humans were troublesome, but they were also within their diet. At this moment, countless humans appeared on the ground, and the mutated beasts immediately pounced on the food without hesitation.
But as the mutated beasts charged forward, they were all blocked by bullets. Lights shone from the high watchtowers in the distance. The areas illuminated by the lights were immediately subjected to fierce bombardment, and countless mutated beasts fell to the ground, making "huffing and puffing" sounds.
These mutated beasts had very strong physical qualities. Even after being hit by bullets, they did not die immediately. Instead, they struggled on the ground, as if trying to stand up. Unfortunately, their blood soon flowed out.
Bullets fired from the barrel had strong velocity, and when they hit a human body, they would form a cavity effect. Simply put, when a bullet hit a target, a vacuum zone would form in the surrounding area. Within this range, all flesh and blood would be torn apart, and it would be impossible to stop the bleeding.
The Beast King, while commanding the mutated beasts to attack, discovered that something was wrong, because these humans reminded them of past fears. Humans of the past were also invincible. Although they appeared small, they could always kill powerful beasts. It was the same now. They didn't know where these people came from, but their combat effectiveness was so strong.
In the middle of the night, intense gunfire suddenly came from a distance. After this gunfire appeared, all the mutated beasts were caught off guard, because they suddenly discovered that gunfire was also coming from behind them.
Mutated beasts did not have good brains, so they only noticed enemies in front of them but did not expect enemies to suddenly appear behind them. At this moment, the mutated beasts were all stunned, not knowing what to do when they were attacked from both sides.
Chaos broke out in the beast tide, and a large number of beasts fled in all directions. Because these surviving mutated beasts understood that they could not break through the human defensive positions, if they didn't run now, they would have no chance later.
"Mr. He and the others have succeeded. We should charge out now and catch these mutated beasts off guard!" Lu Kaiyang directly issued the order to charge when he saw the beast tide in chaos. Since the beast tide was about to collapse, he would add fuel to the fire.
After this order was issued, soldiers with helmets took out small horns from their bodies and blew the charge horn. This horn sound was understood by everyone, and all the soldiers rushed out at once. Even the ten esper users from Yuzhou were in the charging ranks.