Yang Chang was immediately anxious upon learning that Yuzhou was surrounded by mutated beasts. On one hand, Shen Feng’s order was to hold Yuzhou. On the other hand, his two newlywed wives were still in Yuzhou. He had left for disaster relief shortly after their marriage, only for trouble to strike at home.
Yang Chang felt miserable. With a worried frown, he began to gather soldiers and survivors to return to Yuzhou.
"I spent two thousand jin of grain coupons to marry my beautiful wives! If they're gone, won't that be a huge loss?" Yang Chang wailed inwardly.
Thus, Yang Chang, in a frenzy, led his men to rush back. They had painstakingly accumulated a little wealth in the apocalypse, and if the mutated beasts broke into the city, wouldn't everything be lost?
During the period Yang Chang was engaged in disaster relief, survivors were continuously transported to Yuzhou. Fortunately, the rugged mountain roads caused a large number of survivors to be stranded in Wanzhou, so the number of survivors arranged for Yuzhou was not too large. Otherwise, Yuzhou would have descended into chaos first.
Yang Chang couldn’t understand why the City Lord hadn’t returned yet. After all, the City Lord’s two wives were still in Yuzhou. If something happened, wouldn’t he feel any pain?
However, Yang Chang couldn’t control Shen Feng’s decision and could only lead his soldiers back quickly. Guo Pinming, after discussing with Lu Xian, brought tens of thousands of survivors back. Many survivors now had no means of survival, and abandoning them at this time was tantamount to murder!
As dawn broke, the area below Yuzhou City was already filled with ferocious beasts from the mountains. There were wild boars as large as elephants, and cats and dogs as strong as tigers. If these beasts could climb walls, they would have already charged over.
Chang Haojie flew through the sky, gazing at the dense mass of ferocious beasts below. An indescribable excitement surged within him. He was vastly different from the timid person he was a year ago. Before, he would have been hesitant even when facing tens of thousands of zombies, but now, seeing hundreds of thousands of mutated beasts, he felt no fear, only an eagerness to fight.
Chang Haojie knew that as long as he remained in the sky, the mutated beasts below could not harm him, and he could play a much larger role from above.
Chang Jianyi said to her brother, "Go and see if there are any particularly large animals among these mutated beasts. If there are, they are likely the leaders. Throw grenades to kill them. Be careful of your own safety!"
Chang Haojie nodded, flew out of the city, and looked down at the vast expanse of ferocious beasts. On the distant Yangtze River Bridge, mutated beasts were still continuously crossing. Chang Haojie did indeed spot some colossal creatures, mostly wild boars. These creatures were not picky eaters, so they grew particularly fast, and their numbers in the mountains were large, leading to the highest mutation rate.
"How can there be so many animals in the mountains? It's truly strange!" Chang Haojie muttered to himself. He had gone hiking in the mountains before and had never seen any wild animals, not even a single rabbit. Now, looking down from above, there were all sorts of mutated animals.
Chang Haojie immediately threw a satchel of grenades from the sky, specifically targeting the larger animals. The effect was excellent. As soon as a grenade exploded, it would kill animals in a wide area.
The sharp shrapnel produced by the explosion was unbearable even for ordinary ability users. These mutated beasts, despite their massive size and thick hides, were still flesh and blood. If their blood vessels were severed by shrapnel, and they couldn't stop the bleeding, they would die from excessive blood loss. If the shrapnel penetrated their internal organs, it would cause them to die in agony.
Chang Haojie was now a second-tier ability user. His flight time had greatly increased, and he could carry more items into the sky. If he continued to evolve, he felt he could eventually carry people and fly.
"In the future, I should also find a title for myself, perhaps Sun Wukong. After all, Sun Wukong also rode on his somersault cloud, and my image is identical to Sun Wukong's, isn't it?" Chang Haojie thought to himself.
As Chang Haojie bombed the ground from the sky, Chang Jianyi was also observing the many animals below. If only they had cannons, they could have unleashed a barrage before the mutated beasts even got close. She believed that the mutated beasts wouldn't be able to withstand it. However, Yuzhou had no cannons, and it was too late to produce them now, so they could only rely on firearms to defend against the mutated beasts' attack.
Luo Qing followed Chang Jianyi, never leaving her side. She never dreamed that such a day would come. She had been merely an administrative clerk, but now she had to personally protect the Deputy City Lord. Becoming an ability user was a fortune that others could not cultivate in several lifetimes. They could only envy and be jealous.
Luo Qing could only be more grateful that Chang Jianyi was willing to let her become an ability user. She vowed in her heart to protect the Deputy City Lord well.
After Chang Haojie dropped the grenades from the sky, it seemed to signal the start of the war. Countless mutated beasts charged towards the city walls. The massive bodies of the wild boars slammed firmly against the bluestone city walls, their tusks shattering on impact. The other ferocious beasts also charged towards the twenty-meter-high walls.
"Thump... thump..." The mutated beasts, fearless of death, slammed against the city walls, causing the walls to vibrate. The militiamen on the walls turned pale. They had never imagined witnessing such a scene, with such massive beasts charging directly at the city walls. Fortunately, the city walls were seven to eight meters wide, and the interior was reinforced with steel and concrete. Once poured, they had become a solid structure, capable of withstanding the impact.
Not only were the militiamen terrified of the current situation, but even the more than a thousand soldiers had pale faces. Many of them, looking at the mutated beasts continuously battering the city walls below, began to doubt whether the walls beneath their feet could hold back these mutated beasts.
Chang Jianyi felt the pressure of countless mutated beasts crashing against the city walls and couldn't help but shout, "Open fire! Don't let these mutated beasts get any closer!"
Cao Fulié commanded the soldiers to open fire immediately. The mutated beasts were indeed tough and thick-skinned. Even when hit by bullets, they couldn't sustain fatal injuries in a short period. Compared to zombies, these mutated beasts were far more resilient and not easily killed.
However, as bullets rained down from the city walls, even the largest mutated wild boars were riddled with holes. Waves of mutated beasts were shot through and died on the spot at the foot of the city. The number of mutated beasts that died was insignificant compared to the total of over three hundred thousand.
As tens of thousands of mutated beasts were killed by bullets, the soldiers on the city walls finally felt some relief. It turned out that these ferocious mutated beasts could also die. As long as they held their guns, the mutated beasts below could only bow their heads.
Chang Jianyi looked at the scene below the city, her brow furrowed in silence. She was actually dissatisfied with the current killing power. Apart from the mutated beasts close to the city walls being killed, those further away were not threatened at all.
Chu Chaoyan, who had participated in the defense of Yanjing, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the situation below the city. She turned to Chang Jianyi and smiled, saying, "It's fine now. We can hold Yuzhou. It will be fine for two to three days, and by then Yang Chang will be back. I believe that half of the battle has already been won."
The mutated beasts below the city died one by one, whether they were wild boars or mutated cats and dogs. Their flesh and blood could not withstand bullets. No matter how many mutated beasts were outside the city, they could not threaten Yuzhou's safety at this moment.
Chu Chaoyan's foresight was also excellent. She deduced how long they could defend based on the first wave of combat, an experience that Chang Jianyi lacked. Chang Jianyi mostly stayed at home and had few opportunities to fight, whereas Chu Chaoyan was different. She had followed Shen Feng for a long time and participated in many battles, so she could immediately assess the strengths of both sides.
Upon hearing Chu Chaoyan's assessment, Chang Jianyi's face finally showed a slight smile. As long as they could hold out until Yang Chang returned, everything would be fine.
However, Chang Jianyi still felt a sense of unease, a feeling that was difficult to articulate. There were too many variables in war. If these mutated beasts had new tactics, wouldn't Yuzhou be in danger?
Cao Fulié continuously observed the mutated beasts in the distance with binoculars, hoping to find their leader. If he could find it, he could request reinforcements from headquarters. Headquarters might not have much, but they certainly had enough missiles. If they could send a few missiles to kill the beast king among the mutated beasts, then with the mutated beasts losing their leader, they would scatter.
"Let me see, where is the leader?" Cao Fulié thought to himself.
As Cao Fulié searched for the beast king among the mutated beasts, he suddenly saw a strange sight. Countless mutated rats gathered together, followed by a flurry of dust and flying stones.
Cao Fulié's heart suddenly leaped, and he said, "The mutated beasts want to dig tunnels!"
Cao Fulié hadn't expected that not only zombies had learned to dig tunnels, but mutated beasts had also learned to do so.
At this moment, Cao Fulié became nervous. If the mutated beasts entered the city, wouldn't they directly attack their interior? Damn it, they didn't have any means to deal with tunnel digging. What should they do?
Chang Jianyi, however, spoke at this moment. She said slowly, "Don't worry. Although the city walls appear to be only twenty meters high, their foundations are actually ten meters deep with concrete. Below that is gravel. It's impossible to dig tunnels."
Cao Fulié finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Deputy City Lord's planning is indeed superb, having already guarded against enemy tunnel digging. It seems the mutated beasts will ultimately return in vain."
It turned out that Chang Jianyi had already observed the defense situation of Yanjing and had even taken the time to inquire with Shen Feng and Chu Chaoyan. She had a general understanding of the defense of Yanjing and identified the two weakest points of the city's defense: the sky and underground. Thus, she had made preparations early on.
Towers were being built within the city to deal with potential attacks from mutated birds, and the foundations below the city walls were dug deeper to ensure that zombies or mutated beasts could not easily dig tunnels into the city.
Furthermore, outside Yuzhou City was the Yangtze River. If not careful, tunnels would also encounter seepage, rendering the tunnels useless. Therefore, digging tunnels was of no use to Yuzhou.
The mutated rats gathered and began to dig tunnels. It had to be said that like begets like; rats are born knowing how to dig holes. Rats seemed to instinctively know how to dig holes, perhaps digging was a skill engraved in their DNA. Soon, dozens of large holes appeared outside Yuzhou City.
The mutated rats intended to enter the city by digging tunnels. As long as they entered the city, they would eventually find food.
However, as soon as the tunnels were dug, a lot of water appeared in the passages. As they continued to dig, the water increased, and eventually, the passages collapsed, crushing many mutated rats. The most feared obstacle when digging tunnels was water, because once soaked, the passages became unstable and could collapse at any moment.
While the mutated rats were digging tunnels, the cunning mutated beasts were still continuously charging towards the city walls. The purpose of these mutated beasts was simple: to prevent people inside the city from coming out. As long as they could tie down the people on the city walls, they could wait for the mutated rats to dig tunnels.
However, the mutated rats' plan to dig tunnels ultimately failed. Even without seepage, when the tunnels reached the foot of the city walls, they encountered thick walls made of concrete mixed with a lot of stones, which were impossible to dig through.
At this point, all the mutated beasts' tactics had been exhausted.
Just then, a wild donkey arrived at the foot of the city. In a fit of rage, it let out strange cries towards the city walls. Its body was enormous, five meters tall, indicating it was no ordinary creature.
Luo Qing immediately shielded Chang Jianyi, emitting a faint blue gas from her body. This gas instantly solidified in the air, gradually forming a giant shield. With this shield in front of them, Chang Jianyi's safety was somewhat guaranteed.