The mutated beasts seemed to have never expected that humans, who were usually very weak, would suddenly become incredibly brave and charge towards them. At this moment, all the mutated beasts finally collapsed.
After the battle began, the mutated beasts could not get close to the human positions at all. They could only see the constant flashes of gunfire from the front positions. With each flash, their companions would fall one by one, and there were no casualties on the human side.
The mutated beasts felt immense psychological pressure at this time and dared not approach the human front lines. At this very moment, the soldiers in the front began to charge, and humans appeared in the rear. The mutated beasts finally collapsed.
After collapsing, the mutated beasts fled in all directions, but the soldiers did not let them escape smoothly. They pursued them and continuously fired their guns, killing these fleeing mutated beasts.
He Qiuan, in particular, had been flanking from the rear. He had never forgotten the hatred for the destruction of Yan Jing. The once prosperous city of millions had ultimately been killed by mutated beasts and mutated birds. It was his hometown. How could he endure the hatred in his heart when he watched his hometown being destroyed with his own eyes?
Thus, in a fit of impulse, he personally led a group of people to cut off the rear of the beast tide, preventing these mutated beasts from returning to the mountains, and then he intended to take revenge.
"You destroyed my hometown and ate many of my companions. Today, I will avenge the dead!" He Qiuan said with red eyes.
He Qiuan also saw several huge figures in the distance at this time. These figures were as huge as monsters. It was obvious that these giant monsters were the Beast Kings. Each of them was at least 30 meters tall, and their footsteps made the ground constantly tremble.
"Finally found you!" He Qiuan's eyes turned red as soon as he saw this. The mutated beasts that had surrounded Yan Jing city were controlled by the Beast Kings. It could be said that if the Beast Kings had not led the mutated beasts to appear outside the city, the situation in Yan Jing would not have deteriorated to this extent.
He Qiuan charged forward alone, and many of his personal guards were stunned because they did not expect the City Lord to personally launch a charge. If anything happened to him, everything would be over. The City Lord did not have the powerful strength of a deputy city lord, so they had to protect him well.
The rest of the people also pressed forward at this time. The beast tide was very fragile and finally collapsed completely.
He Qiuan had already rushed to the front of a Beast King. This Beast King was a mutated Siberian tiger, appearing to be extremely large. The roar it emitted resounded through the four directions, almost deafening. It was evident that this Beast King had eaten quite a few people, otherwise, it would not have been so arrogant.
When He Qiuan arrived beside the Siberian tiger, he attacked without a word. In an instant, he unleashed gamma rays from his hand. The intense rays instantly pierced the Beast King's body. The Siberian tiger's huge body swayed for a moment, but it actually managed to stand firm.
"Roar..." The fierce tiger let out a violent roar. The surrounding beasts, upon hearing this sound, all prostrated themselves on the ground.
Immediately after, the Siberian tiger located the person who had attacked it and fiercely swung its claws down. If this blow landed, even an ability user would be turned into a pulp. Thus, He Qiuan hurriedly dodged.
"City Lord, this thing is too fierce. We can't win against it now. Let's retreat first." A personal guard rushed over to protect the City Lord and spoke in a cautionary tone.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing! This Siberian tiger is huge and won't die anytime soon, but I have already severely injured its internal organs. It will fall sooner or later," He Qiuan quickly said.
His judgment was not wrong at all, because the Siberian tiger then continuously leaped and rolled, as if trying to stop the pain, but it was all in vain. The gamma rays had already pierced its body, and its internal organs had also been penetrated. The more lively it appeared now, the worse its condition was.
Not long after, the huge Siberian tiger instantly fell to the ground, no longer able to roar. Seeing this, many of the surrounding mutated beasts no longer dared to obstruct the humans and all fled in a hurry.
He Qiuan continued, "Brothers, keep it up, and let's try to finish these mutated beasts within one night!"
Everyone responded in unison and then fought bravely.
Someone in the sky fired many flares. As the flares rose, the entire ground was illuminated white. Although it was not as bright as daylight, having illumination at this time provided a way to pursue.
More than 30,000 people spent one night defeating all the mutated beasts in Yan Mountain. From then on, the mutated beasts in Yan Mountain no longer had the strength to oppose humans.
When the battle was completely over, the sky in the east was already slightly white, indicating that the sun was about to rise. Everyone had been fighting for a whole night and had achieved significant gains.
"Set up camp here, rest for a day, and then continue the journey," Lu Kaiyang gave orders unhurriedly, as if the battle that had occurred last night was all within his expectations.
While Lu Kaiyang was directing everyone to clean up the battlefield and rest, He Qiuan also returned with the flanking forces.
He Qiuan looked at the orderly arrangement of the camp and then smiled, saying, "I really didn't misjudge you. Mr. Lu, your command ability is truly strong. It's clear that everyone obeys your command."
"Mr. He, you are joking. It's just commanding an ordinary battle, nothing significant. On the contrary, Mr. He, you went to execute the flanking mission. If anything were to happen to you, I wouldn't be able to bear the responsibility!" Lu Kaiyang said with a wry smile.
"Alright, let's not talk about this. By tomorrow, we will reach Yan Jing as quickly as possible," He Qiuan quickly changed the subject.
Although this battle consumed a lot of ammunition, the soldiers also obtained a lot of meat after cleaning up the battlefield. In the apocalypse, there were very few ways to obtain protein. Generally, protein was obtained from beans. However, now, after killing hundreds of thousands of mutated beasts, everyone had killed at least 10 mutated beasts. Such a large amount of meat could not only be used by the entire army but could also be made into jerky and transported back to Ice City.
However, before everyone could be happy for too long, changes soon occurred outside the camp. This time, it was not mutated beasts that arrived outside the camp, but humans.
Hundreds of ragged people appeared outside the camp. These people looked very disheveled, and there was not a single intact piece of clothing on them; they were all patched up. These people were unkempt and exuded an aura of numbness.
"We have been hungry for many days. Can you give us something to eat?" these ragged people asked.
Since Yan Jing was breached, these people had been displaced and were barely surviving in the mountains. Even if they managed to grow crops, the mutated birds would eat them all before they could be harvested. They couldn't even achieve self-sufficiency.
"Provide food for these people. They are our compatriots, and they will work with us to rebuild Yan Jing in the future. We cannot let them starve at this time." He Qiuan immediately issued an order upon learning of this. Many rations and mutated beast meat were distributed from the military camp, and after preparing meals, they were provided to these people.
Seeing the food, these disaster victims rushed over like madmen, frantically grabbing for food. Each of them looked at the food as if they had seen a savior.
"These people must have been starving for a very long time, otherwise, why would they be so frenzied?" The people from Ice City couldn't help but sigh when they saw this scene.
However, this was not the end of it. They thought that after providing food to these few hundred people, it would be over. But somehow, this news spread. It went from one to ten, then to a hundred, and finally, tens of thousands of people flocked to the vicinity of the military camp. They did not dare to attack the camp or collide with it, but wandered around nearby, constantly wailing.
He Qiuan did not expect so many people to gather. Previously, everyone thought that there would not be too many residents near Yan Jing, but now he realized that there were still many survivors living around Yan Jing. He didn't know what to do.
As he was worrying, someone from outside the camp suddenly conveyed a request: "A person in military uniform has appeared outside the camp, and he says he wants to see you."
"Then bring him in. This should be someone chosen by the disaster victims. By listening to him, we will know the intentions of these disaster victims," He Qiuan then said.
Soon, the soldiers brought the person in military uniform from outside the camp inside. This person was in his thirties, appearing to be in his prime, but his hair was already completely white, prematurely aged.
"Young Master He, we haven't seen each other for a long time. I thought I would never see you again in this life, but I didn't expect to meet you again now," the young man who was brought in said with a smile.
He Qiuan carefully observed the person in front of him. He was wearing an old-fashioned military uniform, the kind worn before Yan Jing was destroyed. Perhaps he was a soldier before, but now he was mixed with the disaster victims.
"Please sit down. Don't call me Young Master anymore. My home is gone, so calling me Young Master is inappropriate," He Qiuan quickly invited the other person to sit.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Wu Zhenyuan. I was once a pilot, performing bombing or reconnaissance missions in the sky. Six years ago, I was attacked by mutated birds and crashed. The villagers nearby saved me, and I was fortunate to survive," the young man in military uniform who walked in said with a smile.
"So that's how it is. No wonder you're wearing an old-fashioned military uniform. So you're a survivor from six years ago. It's not easy," He Qiuan nodded, understanding the other person's identity.
Wu Zhenyuan suddenly asked, "I heard through the radio that Mr. He returned to rebuild Yan Jing. Is this true?"
"This is certainly true, and I have been working towards this goal all these years. Now I can finally achieve it," He Qiuan said earnestly.
Upon hearing this answer, Wu Zhenyuan finally let out a long sigh and said, "If that's the case, then tens of thousands of us are finally saved."
He Qiuan's heart stirred, and he quickly asked, "I have been outside the pass all these years and am not very familiar with the situation inside the pass. Please enlighten me. What is the current situation around Yan Jing?"
"Alas, if we talk about this, it's too long," Wu Zhenyuan touched the wound on his abdomen, as if he could still recall what had happened before.
"Starting from the destruction of Yan Jing six years ago, the surroundings of Yan Jing have been very miserable. First, mutated birds and mutated beasts went on a rampage, eating people. Eighty percent of the surviving survivors left. Those who remained were the old, weak, sick, and disabled. When I was injured, it was thanks to a woman's meticulous care that I recovered. Although I recovered, my body was severely weakened, and I was probably unable to go to the battlefield again. Afterward, the villagers suffered greatly. If they wanted to farm, there was no control over floods and droughts. Just as they managed to plant some crops, the mutated birds would come south again. I heard that many mutated beasts were killed recently, and their numbers were controlled, but just as spring arrived this year, a large number of locusts appeared and ate all the crops. There has never been an end to it in this area," Wu Zhenyuan said bitterly.