The battle had lasted for two days, and so had the discussions in the Yan Jing command center. The topic was simple: how to quickly end the battle in Yan Jing. The majority of the nation's living forces were gathered here, and spring had arrived. If the war dragged on, it would affect the national recovery efforts.
Simply put, spring was the season for planting. The existing food reserves had been largely depleted. If the war continued, even basic tasks like farming would face problems. There were still five to six hundred million zombies in the south, and the northern forces were all concentrated in Yan Jing. If the battle wasn't concluded soon, the country might be able to hold on for this year's harvest, but they would face starvation next year!
Therefore, most people in the command center believed that the battle needed to be concluded as soon as possible, and then the troops should be withdrawn. Those who could farm should farm, and those who could fight should fight.
Headquarters had a trump card: air power. As long as the fighter jet units were deployed to launch attacks from the air, mass-killing zombies, victory would surely be achieved. This was how the battle in Rong Cheng had played out; dozens of thermobaric bombs had been dropped, directly relieving Rong Cheng. Especially when some zombie kings were hiding in shallow tunnels, the thermobaric bombs were perfect for "roasting" them.
The air power had made everyone a bit overconfident. Almost everyone believed that as long as the air power was deployed, victory would come. The fighter jets hadn't been mobilized before, so it was difficult to consider. But now, tens of thousands of fighter jets were hidden underground in Yan Jing, and the pilots had been preparing for a long time. If they didn't use fighter jets in this situation, wouldn't it be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut?
In fact, a sledgehammer should be used to crack a nut; deterrence was the most important factor.
However, some people raised objections, arguing that air power absolutely could not be used at this time. The reason was simple: either don't use fighter jets, or when using fighter jets, achieve final victory in one battle!
Zombie kings could learn, and it was highly possible that there were special communication methods among them, methods that humans had not mastered. This meant that a move used once would not be effective the second time. Just like the missiles back then; after killing many zombie kings, the zombie kings learned to hide and no longer exposed themselves to satellite surveillance. Another example was the use of thermobaric bombs; the zombie kings dug tunnels tens of meters deep to ensure they wouldn't be easily killed by thermobaric bombs.
The reason for the objection was simple: "The zombies haven't all left underground. Deploying fighter jets at this time will only prolong the operation and won't achieve a decisive blow. It will give the zombie kings time to react. When all the zombies come out of the tunnels, that will be the time for the decisive battle!"
Such remarks immediately drew a tidal wave of criticism. All the accusations were directed at the objectors: "You say it's simple, to fight the decisive battle after all the zombies come out, but have you considered that there will always be some zombies that don't come out? Are we supposed to keep waiting?"
"Exactly. Spring has arrived, and the south is about to start planting. If we don't plant soon, are we supposed to eat the north wind?"
"We still have bread to eat now. If we delay planting, we won't even have bread to eat!"
...
Ultimately, the call to deploy fighter jets was too strong. After discussions, headquarters decided to end the battle quickly and complete the decisive battle as soon as possible to proceed with reconstruction.
After being criticized by many, the objectors no longer spoke up easily. The reason was simple: they had offered their opinions, only to be met with countless criticisms and labeled as cowards afraid of war. If this continued, who would dare offer suggestions?
On the third day of the zombies' renewed siege, tens of thousands of fighter jets took off from Yan Jing city. Wu Zhenyuan, as one of the pilots, also piloted a fighter jet on the expedition. He had been preparing for over a month. Due to the urgent mobilization, he hadn't even had a chance to eat the New Year's Eve dinner with his family before departing. Now that the battle was about to begin, he was very excited.
"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous. On the battlefield, follow the squad leader's actions and just drop bombs," Wu Zhenyuan muttered to himself, his palms sweating. His feelings were particularly complex at this moment. On one hand, he was looking forward to an exciting battle. On the other hand, he worried that he wouldn't perform well on the battlefield and that his family would have no descendants if he encountered danger.
Lost in thought, the fighter jet took off. Wu Zhenyuan had an in-ear headset for squad communication. The squad leader's voice came through the headset, "All new recruits follow me. Our attack location is the zombie horde in the east of the city. There are over ten million zombies here, and you can drop bombs on their heads casually. However, to achieve the maximum kill effect, you must follow my command!"
Hearing the squad leader's voice, Wu Zhenyuan felt some comfort. He started the plane and flew into the sky. Looking down from the sky, he could clearly see the ground. Yan Jing city grew smaller and smaller in Wu Zhenyuan's eyes. Fighter jets could fly up to the clouds, but to achieve the kill effect, they could only fly at altitudes of several hundred meters. Dropping bombs at this height was the most suitable.
Looking down through the glass, Wu Zhenyuan could clearly see the zombies outside the city. These zombies were rushing towards Yan Jing city like a tide. Unfortunately, the tide crashed against the reef, eventually turning into splashes and disappearing.
The gun muzzles extending from the city walls were dense, continuously spitting fire. Bullets rained down, causing heavy casualties among the zombies.
The squad leader spoke, addressing the four new recruits behind him: "The defense line will be fine. The army defending the city walls cannot be breached by zombies. Our mission is to be the deciding factor in victory. Drop the bombs, and we will be one step closer to victory. But I remind you, the battlefield is constantly changing, so don't crash!"
Wu Zhenyuan was filled with passion. The thought that the lives of Yan Jing's ten million people were in his hands gave him an infinite sense of responsibility. He believed that he could definitely defeat the enemy and lead humanity to ultimate victory.
Tens of thousands of fighter jets could not take off from the airport all at once, as there weren't enough runways. It took over two hours for the fighter jets to gradually take to the sky. The fighter jets all had predetermined attack targets and could contact the command center at any time. The only concern for the pilots was that the sky was too narrow; it would be bad if fighter jets collided with their own forces.
Shen Feng stood on the city wall and saw fighter jets constantly flying out. He couldn't help but shake his head and think, "These people in Yan Jing are really keeping secrets. They didn't inform us at all about having fighter jets, letting us fight desperately on the front lines. Now they're deploying fighter jets, probably to deliver a knockout blow."
Shen Feng also envied others for having fighter jets, but then he thought that when he returned to Yu Zhou, he could also build airplanes. Although new types of aircraft couldn't be built, old models could still be made. While they might not have much combat capability, they would be very convenient for travel.
After arriving at their designated combat zones, the fighter jets dropped their bombs, including incendiary bombs and thermobaric bombs. All sorts of bombs had immense destructive power, especially their kill radius, which was almost unbelievable.
It could be said that one thermobaric bomb dropped could obliterate an area nearly the size of two football fields. The zombies at the center of the explosion were directly vaporized, their ashes soaring into the sky with the dust, resembling mushroom clouds. Zombies in the outer areas fell in droves, either from the high temperature, the high pressure, or suffocation.
The overpressure zone created by the thermobaric bombs was also highly effective against creatures hiding in concealed corners. Even those hiding in houses, or even basements, could sometimes not escape death. Unless the basement was completely sealed and could withstand the blast without cracking, and zombies clearly couldn't build such basements.
The most fatal problem for zombies was oxygen deprivation and suffocation. Even if they survived the high temperature, the thermobaric bomb's combustion instantly consumed the surrounding air. Breathing was impossible; all the oxygen had been depleted!
Besides thermobaric bombs, incendiary bombs and poison gas bombs also performed exceptionally well. The ground was covered in flames and poisonous gas, which continued to spread. Zombies encountered flames and poisonous gas and died in droves. The casualties caused by the fighter jets quickly exceeded one million!
The most troublesome aspect of the zombie horde was their dense formation. Once a dense formation was formed, even firearms found it difficult to eliminate them quickly, as zombies did not fear or flee.
However, the denser the zombie formation, the better the effect of the bombs. While one bomb might have only killed dozens of zombies before, with densely packed zombies, one bomb could kill hundreds. If the zombie horde didn't disperse, the casualties would continue to rise.
The current zombie population was around seventy million. Their casualties from a day of attacking the city were only a few million. Now, with one round of bombing, the casualties exceeded one million. The zombie side immediately found it unbearable. With such massive casualties, if the bombing continued, let alone breaking through the city walls and entering Yan Jing, they wouldn't even be able to defend themselves.
The soldiers on the front lines felt the change in the battle the most. They had been facing an endless stream of zombies, but in a short period, the situation had reversed. The number of zombies had significantly decreased, greatly reducing the pressure.
The zombie kings hiding underground couldn't stand it anymore. They all found the organizer of the Yan Jing offensive, Ma Jing Shuang, and a dozen zombie kings began to question Ma Jing Shuang: "Didn't you say we would definitely break into Yan Jing in the spring? Why haven't you made a move yet? What are you waiting for?"
"So many of us followed you because we were attracted by your plan. We also want to obtain a space to survive. But now, over sixty percent of the zombies under our command have died, and we still haven't managed to break into the city walls. Are you deceiving us?"
"Every hour, one million ordinary zombies are killed. Tell us, when can we enter Yan Jing city?"
Facing the questioning of many zombie kings, the zombie king Ma Jing Shuang took a deep breath and said calmly, "Don't worry, tonight is our opportunity to enter Yan Jing! Continue to send troops to attack the city and continue to consume the fighter jets' ammunition! We can directly enter the city tonight!"
Ma Jing Shuang made a guarantee that they could enter Yan Jing by tonight. This explanation temporarily appeased the zombie kings, as the current casualties were too high, and the hope of entering the city had not materialized. If he couldn't provide a guarantee, the zombie kings would scatter.
...
Wu Zhenyuan piloted his fighter jet back towards Yan Jing city. He had been very nervous at the beginning of the day's combat, misdropping several bombs. However, as the combat time continued, Wu Zhenyuan gradually understood that this was how fighter pilot combat worked. He calculated that he had killed at least five thousand zombies today. It was true; the zombies were foolishly huddled together, practically living targets. If they didn't bomb them, what else were they supposed to do?
Wu Zhenyuan refueled at noon and took off again in the afternoon. The entire day's combat resulted in the killing of at least ten million zombies. Such results were fruitful. For the success of one general, ten thousand bones were bleached. The ten million zombies outside the city could be used to train a thousand generals.
Just as Wu Zhenyuan was feeling proud, red dots suddenly appeared on his radar. Wu Zhenyuan panicked and quickly asked into his headset, "Squad leader, the radar has detected unidentified flying objects!"
"Look behind you!" the squad leader said calmly. He habitually observed his surroundings and discovered an anomaly in the distance behind him.