"Notify the soldiers on the mountain to open all the iron barrels containing mushroom powder and then conceal themselves," Shen Feng continued to issue orders.
Surrounding the swamp were numerous high mountains, and these mountains encircled the area, forming a basin. This basin served to collect rainwater, thus forming the swamp at its bottom. The presence of the mountains also blocked the strong winds blowing from all directions, preventing the temperature in the basin from dropping too low and allowing heat to be preserved. Consequently, the basin was home to a great many plants and small animals.
Upon hearing Shen Feng's commands, the soldiers on the mountain promptly opened the hidden underground shelters. During the prior battlefield preparations, people had excavated hiding spots on the mountains, where large quantities of iron barrels were stored. These iron barrels bore a yellow-black pattern depicting a mushroom icon, signifying that they contained the powder of dangerous mutated mushrooms.
The soldiers then proceeded to open the lids of the iron barrels and hid in the underground shelters. Some of the bolder ones did not seal their hiding spots completely but left some gaps, allowing them to catch a glimpse of the battle unfolding outside.
After a night of rest, the mutated birds launched a massive invasion of the swamp. These mutated birds now had two objectives. The first was revenge. For a long time, infectious diseases had plagued the mutated birds, causing them to die in large numbers. The Bird King knew that this was the work of humans, and only humans could achieve such a feat. Therefore, their primary objective was to kill the humans present in the area and exact their revenge.
The second objective of the mutated birds was simpler: to drive humans out of their homeland. Mutated birds possessed a sense of territory, and upon discovering humans in their habitat, they would act to expel them.
The mutated birds then began their frenzied assault, intent on killing the humans. However, what the mutated birds failed to notice was that the wind direction had changed. The bird population within the basin numbered around fifteen million, a significant deviation from the twenty million estimated by Gong Changfa and He Qiuan previously. Nevertheless, Shen Feng could not concern himself with such discrepancies at this moment; his sole focus was on eliminating these mutated birds.
The people in the defensive positions had donned gas masks, which naturally reduced their field of vision, making it impossible to see in all directions. Amidst the frenzied onslaught of the mutated birds, casualties were mounting. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the basin, circulating clockwise around its perimeter.
Shen Feng's decision to fight within the basin was to maximize the effectiveness of his abilities. While the basin prevented strong external winds from entering easily, it also meant that once a strong wind appeared within the basin, it could be easily concentrated, making a tornado even more powerful.
The iron barrels on the mountains had their lids opened one after another, revealing grayish-white powder. As the wind swept through, countless particles of mutated mushroom powder were carried into the air. The wind itself underwent a transformation; what was once colorless and formless suddenly turned grayish-white, as if smog had appeared in the sky.
At this moment, Shen Feng emerged from the command post and flew into the sky, soaring through the air as he rode the wind. Many mutated birds approached Shen Feng, only to be pushed away by the gale surrounding him.
The wind gradually formed a vortex within the basin. The airflow at the center of the vortex was calm, but around the edges of the basin, in the areas blocked by the mountains, the wind had formed a grayish-white barrier. To leave the basin, one had to pass through this barrier first.
The Bird King let out a cry, signaling a retreat. The Bird King possessed intelligence, and upon sensing the surrounding danger, it immediately called for the mutated birds to withdraw.
The barrier formed by the wind was not strong enough. If it were to achieve the immense wind speeds capable of forming a tornado, even the Bird King could not escape. However, Shen Feng was incapable of reaching that level, as tornadoes spanning tens of kilometers in diameter simply did not exist in this world. Therefore, the phenomenon Shen Feng had created could at best be considered a cyclonic vortex, and even that was a stretch.
The mutated birds could resist the wind's force and attempt to break out. However, as countless mutated birds approached the vortex, they inhaled the mushroom powder. Subsequently, they were immediately affected by the powder's central nervous system inhibitory effect, losing control of their bodies and falling to the ground.
"It's successful, it's successful. The encirclement is complete." Many people on the mountain witnessed this scene through the gaps in their hiding spots. Countless birds were falling like rain, clearly incapacitated by the mushroom powder.
"Is it successful? If so, the encirclement is complete, and we will surely inflict heavy damage on the mutated birds." Upon hearing the reports from others, Gong Changfa's spirits were lifted. He knew that once Shen Feng's vortex formed a barrier, the countless mutated birds within the basin would be surrounded.
The Bird King sensed all of this, realizing that Shen Feng, flying in the sky, was the cause of the trouble. Thus, a mutated oriole flapped its wings and flew directly towards Shen Feng. Its speed was incredible; ordinary birds could not keep up. If Shen Feng could be killed, victory would surely follow.
However, the mutated oriole flying towards Shen Feng presented Shen Feng with an opportunity to kill it. Shen Feng began to condense an air cannon in front of him. This technique was called "Ling Feng Cannon." When Chu Chaoyan originally named it, she had in mind a line from a Li Bai poem: "A long cry breaks into the wilderness, and a chilling wind arises." However, Shen Feng felt that the move lacked a certain dominance after using the repetition of syllables. Thus, he discussed it with Chu Chaoyan and changed the name to "Ling Feng Cannon." As it was essentially an air cannon, this new name was much simpler.
Facing the approaching Bird King, Shen Feng was fearless. After unleashing the "Ling Feng Cannon," he began to charge it with energy. As the oriole passed through the rapidly moving air currents around Shen Feng, Shen Feng suddenly fired the air cannon. A "boom" echoed, and a white mist appeared in the air as the air cannon was fired, indicating that its speed had broken the sound barrier.
The oriole, upon hearing the loud noise, sensed that something was amiss and prepared to dodge. However, in this world, there were no flying objects capable of breaking the sound barrier except for high-tech weapons. Just as the oriole was about to dodge, the powerful air cannon reached it, instantly piercing its chest.
Before the oriole could even cry out, its massive body exploded with a resounding crash. The energy of the Ling Feng Cannon was immense. If it struck the Bird King, it would tear its body apart. Therefore, the oriole's body, unable to withstand the immense energy upon being hit, simply disintegrated.
The remnants of the oriole's body fell to the ground. The surviving soldiers on the ground witnessed this scene and erupted in cheers, for the Wind God was truly powerful, having so easily slain a Bird King. This was certainly not something an ordinary person could achieve, and victory was now assured.
Gong Changfa, sitting with Yu Chenggang, looked at Shen Feng soaring through the sky and couldn't help but exclaim, "It's good to be able to fly!"
Gong Changfa recalled that after Shen Feng became a fifth-tier ability user, he could already fly using a paraglider he carried. However, at that time, many people possessed this ability, and even Zhang Jue's flying skills were superior to Shen Feng's. But Shen Feng's evolutionary speed was simply too rapid. He was now a seventh-tier ability user, a level of strength that few in the world could achieve. Furthermore, Shen Feng could fly in the sky without any external assistance, relying solely on his own abilities, which was truly remarkable.
After Shen Feng effortlessly killed one Bird King, the other dozen or so Bird Kings began to approach, seemingly intent on ganging up on Shen Feng. Among animals, there was no concept of fair one-on-one combat. If victory could be achieved through numerical superiority, why bother with a straightforward duel?
Shen Feng saw the surrounding Bird Kings targeting him and felt the pressure. He immediately used his abilities to move continuously in the air, making it easy for the Bird Kings to pursue him, but Shen Feng could always evade their attacks.
The Ling Feng Cannon required half a minute to charge, and Shen Feng continued to move using his abilities to buy time.
"Boom," another loud explosion sounded in front of Shen Feng. A falcon with a body length of over twenty meters was hit by the Ling Feng Cannon. A ring of white mist rippled outwards. This was because when the air cannon broke the sound barrier, it vibrated the surrounding water molecules, causing them to condense into small water droplets. This was the same principle as a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier.
Shen Feng continued to kill Bird Kings at a steady pace. Meanwhile, the cyclonic barrier in the basin was gradually shrinking. The vortex was filled with mushroom powder, accumulated by Ice City over several years. The sheer quantity ensured that all the mutated birds in the valley would be covered. Humans could resist the mushroom powder's invasion with gas masks, but birds breathed very frequently in the sky and could not help but inhale the powder.
The Bird Kings also sensed that something was wrong and began to emit electromagnetic waves, calling for external assistance. If the vortex contracted without hindrance, the mutated birds in this area would suffer heavy casualties, and Shen Feng in the sky seemed to be unassailable by any single Bird King.
"Boom," Shen Feng fired another Ling Feng Cannon, killing a giant black-necked crane. In the past, killing such a creature would have resulted in a prison sentence of at least five years, possibly even twenty. However, this was the apocalypse, and no one cared if Shen Feng had killed a protected animal; instead, the crowds below cheered continuously.
Wei Xinglong found Li Shanyun and said sternly, "If the situation becomes critical, we must protect the City Lord at all costs. Don't forget that!"
"Do I need you to tell me? I certainly won't fall behind," Li Shanyun replied earnestly while watching the battle in the sky.
Suddenly, an external signal entered the command post. It turned out someone was using a satellite to contact them. The command post hesitated for a moment before connecting the signal and saying, "We are in the midst of a battle. If there's anything, we can discuss it later!"
The battle had reached a critical juncture, and they had no time for interruptions. Therefore, the command post intended to cut off the signal.
However, this call was made by Jinling via satellite, and it was fortunate that the command post received it. The people from Jinling quickly relayed the message: "Please inform Shen Feng that a large number of mutated birds are heading towards your location. Please retreat immediately, please retreat immediately. If you do not retreat, your lives may be in danger."