The people at the command post never expected to receive such news. Just as their battle reached a critical juncture, more mutated birds were heading their way. Were even more difficult situations awaiting them?
"Don't lie to us at this moment. This is a very important juncture, and lying now will lead to extremely serious consequences," someone from the command post in the swamp said urgently.
Jinling, however, replied sternly, "How could we possibly speak nonsense about such an important matter? This is absolutely true. This is data detected by satellites. At least fifty million mutated birds are advancing towards your location, as if summoned."
The people at the command post suddenly realized that the Bird King had been calling out earlier. It must have sent out a distress signal just then. Jinling informing them now was the least they could do. However, this matter was of great importance, and they couldn't make a decision. They immediately contacted Gong Changfa and recounted what had happened. Gong Changfa was also taken aback by this turn of events and fell silent.
"Should we retreat first? The number of mutated birds is simply too large!" someone suggested.
Gong Changfa responded, "No, we absolutely cannot retreat at this moment. We cannot escape from the mutated birds' habitat. Don't forget how arduous our journey to the plateau was. Mutated birds can fly, and we cannot outpace them."
"Since we can't leave, what else can we do? Our brothers can no longer fight," someone immediately asked for a solution. Shen Feng was still fighting, but the people on the ground could no longer resist. Staying put was useless.
After a moment of thought, Gong Changfa finally spoke, "Connect the shipping containers together, and everyone hide inside. The subsequent battle will no longer concern you."
No one had expected the mutated birds to gather like this. They had all thought that Shen Feng's true strength, once unleashed, would surely drive away all the surrounding mutated birds. However, the mutated birds did not flee; instead, they converged towards the battlefield.
Gong Changfa continued his command, "Also, quickly contact Shen Feng and have him prepare for the next battle."
Gong Changfa knew that victory at this moment depended on Shen Feng. The command post quickly notified Shen Feng of the latest situation. Shen Feng was in the sky, and it was impossible to inform him by shouting. Fortunately, Shen Feng carried a walkie-talkie, which allowed them to contact him.
Shen Feng was focused on dodging the Bird King's attacks. He could fire a Gale Cannon every half a minute, but he had to withstand the Bird King's onslaught during that time. The vortex barrier had already begun to contract. Once the barrier contracted to the center, the mutated birds would be heavily wounded.
Just then, Shen Feng's walkie-talkie rang. Shen Feng pressed the receive button and heard the words from the command post: "Mr. Shen, a large number of mutated birds are approaching us. Please be aware of this. We will all be hiding in the shipping containers later. Please be careful."
Upon hearing this news, Shen Feng felt extremely surprised. He then said, "It's fine. If mutated birds dare to come here, unafraid of death, then even better. You hide. A giant tornado will appear in the sky later. You'd best all hide in the shipping containers and connect them together."
When Shen Feng learned that more mutated birds were on their way, he immediately realized that the Bird King here must have issued a distress signal, thus attracting other mutated birds for support. However, Shen Feng was not worried. He was almost invincible on land, being a seventh-tier esper. If he were in the sea, he might be threatened by sea beasts, but now, on land, the mutated birds had also encountered an evolutionary bottleneck. No mutated bird could reach the seventh tier. Shen Feng only needed to use his esper abilities to deal with them.
Normally, tornadoes do not appear in Siberia due to the complex mountainous terrain. They are more common in the vast plains of North America, which are hit by tornadoes annually because the large, flat areas do not impede their movement.
Shen Feng could now create tornadoes and was capable of doing so in the Siberian highlands.
"Mr. Shen, please end the battle as soon as possible. Our Vice City Lord has a plan he wishes to discuss with you," the command post continued.
Shen Feng then turned off the walkie-talkie and focused on dealing with the Bird King in the sky. There were many chaotic air currents around Shen Feng's body. These currents could disrupt the flight paths of the mutated birds. As the mutated birds approached Shen Feng, they were immediately blown away by the strong winds, completely losing control of their movements.
Only the Bird King was an exception. Its massive body, with a wingspan of twenty to thirty meters, blotted out the sky, resembling commercial aircraft flying overhead. The air currents could not blow it away, and these Bird Kings posed the greatest threat to Shen Feng in the sky.
In his haste, Shen Feng could not kill the Bird King quickly. He could only dodge the Bird King's attacks while gathering energy for the air cannon. Only after compressing the air to a certain extent could he fire it, otherwise, its power would not be enough to achieve a kill.
The reason Jinling was reminding Shen Feng and others in Siberia at this time was actually due to their own ulterior motives. Jinling feared that Shen Feng's prestige would soar after completing this great mission, allowing him to command other forces. Therefore, they wanted Shen Feng to retreat quickly so that he would not be considered a hero for failing to achieve his objectives.
However, Shen Feng and Gong Changfa were instead invigorated and prepared to expand their gains. They had initially only aimed to kill twenty million mutated birds, but now that more were willingly coming to their deaths, they could only seize the opportunity to increase their achievements.
The mutated birds in Siberia were approaching the Lena River, but they would not arrive immediately. Shen Feng had enough time to deal with the Bird King's attacks.
"Boom," Shen Feng condensed another Gale Cannon and fired it directly. This invisible and intangible air cannon was terrifying. A giant eagle was hit in the body, and half of its body was blown apart.
By this point, Shen Feng had killed five mutated Bird Kings with his powerful esper abilities. The Bird Kings, sensing danger, immediately flew into the sky, attempting to escape from high altitude.
The vortex barrier was two thousand meters high. Few birds could easily cross such a height, but the mutated Bird Kings were not among them. Seeing their companions being killed one by one, the remaining Bird Kings dared not continue to engage Shen Feng, fearing that Shen Feng's next attack would kill them. The Bird Kings began to ascend, preparing to leave.
Seeing the mutated Bird Kings attempting to escape, Shen Feng immediately used his esper abilities. The vortex barrier also continued to rise and pursued them. He could not stand by and watch these ferocious Bird Kings escape. A major reason why mutated birds attacked humans was that many of them were controlled by the Bird Kings.
After controlling the mutated birds, the Bird Kings frantically attacked humans. Ordinary mutated birds were mere cannon fodder. The Bird Kings knew that humans were not to be trifled with, but they never charged to the front lines. Instead, they controlled the mutated birds to sacrifice themselves, depleting human ammunition. Only when human ammunition was nearly exhausted would the Bird Kings emerge to finish them off.
During the pursuit, Shen Feng summoned wind blades and attacked continuously. The wind blades were not very effective against the mutated Bird Kings because their bodies were covered in thick, hard feathers that could resist the wind blade attacks.
Although the wind blades could not inflict significant damage, they could impede the Bird Kings' progress. Seizing this opportunity, Shen Feng continued to condense the air cannon. Once the massive air cannon in front of him was ready, he fired it rapidly. Any Bird King hit by the air cannon would explode immediately. Birds had the ability to fly, but their defense was correspondingly low, not comparable to mutated beasts in water or on land.
Shen Feng pursued for a long time and finally killed all the Bird Kings. At this time, the vortex, carrying mushroom powder, was gradually closing in. The mutated birds had nowhere to hide. After inhaling the powder, they lost their ability to move and fell to the ground, awaiting only death.
Finally, the vortex closed, and all the mutated birds in the basin's sky were cleared. The ground was densely covered with the corpses of mutated birds. Some birds were not yet dead and seemed to be struggling, but the poisoned birds could no longer fly. Fortunately, the people on the ground had prepared gas masks and would not inhale the mushroom powder at this time.
Although all the mutated birds in the basin had been killed, Shen Feng still dared not stop the vortex's rotation. He condensed the vortex into a tornado that continued to spin in the distance, kicking up countless dust particles. This was because more mutated birds were expected to arrive, and if the mushroom powder were dispersed now, they would have no means to deal with the incoming birds.
Shen Feng slowly descended from the sky. The people on the ground cheered when they saw him land. Although they were all injured, they were overjoyed to see the Wind God kill all the mutated birds. The moment Shen Feng landed, many people rushed forward, throwing him into the air and catching him, then throwing him up again.
Shen Feng quickly said to everyone, "This is not the time for celebration. More dangers are coming. While more mutated birds have not yet arrived, you should rest quickly and not waste your strength unnecessarily."
Hearing Shen Feng's words, the crowd put him down and walked towards the shipping containers in the distance.
Shen Feng found Gong Changfa and asked, "A large number of mutated birds are about to attack. What should we do then? I observed that the mushroom powder is running low and cannot deal with too many mutated birds. Why don't you take your people and escape first? I can buy you some time."
"You didn't say that earlier. Didn't you say you could kill more mutated birds? Why have you changed your mind?" Gong Changfa asked with a smile.
Shen Feng replied, "I can create a giant tornado. As long as I am within the tornado, I am invincible, and no bird can harm me. But you cannot. I am thinking of your safety. If you all die, I will be alone. This war would not be considered a victory, would it?"
Shen Feng's explanation made Gong Changfa understand. At this moment, Shen Feng did not want to increase their casualties. In the battles of the previous two days, Shen Feng's more than four thousand men had been reduced to just over two thousand. Such severe losses made Shen Feng unable to stand by idly.
"I have already instructed my men to prepare. They will assemble the shipping containers, and all ordinary people will hide inside. I will fight alongside you! I plan to eat the Agave seed," Gong Changfa said seriously.
"Are you serious? If you eat the seed, you might reach the level of a seventh-tier esper within half an hour, but afterward, you will be extremely weak! You might even die. I gave you the seed hoping you would protect yourself, not to risk your life," Shen Feng said earnestly.