Chapter 158: Evolved Monkey-Eating Eagle

Tan Junjie's calm voice came through the lord channel. "All lords, the first defensive line of Hui-Three Base has shot down over three hundred evolved birds. The flock has been scattered, and a flock of over two hundred birds is heading our way. These evolved raptors are extremely powerful. Anyone without combat experience against evolved birds should take cover immediately. Those with experience, after taking proper personal protection, prepare to join the battle to defend the territory."

Tang Huai reminded over the lord channel, "The evolved bird leading this flock is the evolved Monkey-Eating Eagle, hailed as the number one raptor. One swipe of its claws can tear through a truck; one peck can pierce a rooftop. Everyone hide quickly—nothing matters more than your life."

"Oh my, Buddha bless, Bodhisattva bless, Allah bless, Jesus bless…" Kuang Qingwei was so scared his voice was trembling.

"This is a special period. The lord channel prohibits idle chatter and the release of unverified information. Those who spread panic will be held accountable." Tan Junjie pressed the walkie-talkie and began announcing the battle plan. "At present, it's unclear whether the flock will fly over this territory or attack it. Territories One, Two, Three, Seven, and Nine, which have surface-to-air defensive weapons, must not blindly open fire, to avoid angering the passing flock."

"Territory One, received." The voice replying on the walkie-talkie from Territory One was one Xia Qing had never heard before.

"Territory Two has no anti-air defensive weapons." Tang Huai corrected.

"Territory Three, received." Xia Qing replied.

"Territory Seven, received." Xia Qing recognized this voice—it belonged to the person who had come to the northern buffer zone of Territory Three to pick up supplies and exchanged coded signals with her.

"Territory Nine, received." Assistant Xiao Liu's voice was unusually low and solemn, very imposing.

After that, the lord channel and the broadcast fell silent. Xia Qing could only hear chirping and quacking, the wind, and…the sound of Ram Boss chewing its cud.

In a moment so tense that even breathing was difficult, having a carefree companion by her side was actually quite stress-relieving. Xia Qing smiled, turned and sat down beside Ram Boss, leaned against it, hugged her rifle, and stared at the blue sky outside the window with large white clouds drifting by.

When Xia Qing leaned over, Ram Boss kept its eyes half-closed, still staring at the tin cabinet holding food in the kitchen, its cud-chewing rhythm unchanged. The two wolves lying on Ram Boss's other side both stared at Xia Qing's back—one seemed to be considering where to take a bite, the other looked thoughtful.

Right now, Xia Qing didn't take the two wolves, drugged by anesthetic, seriously at all. She closed her eyes and adjusted her breathing and mindset according to the method Luo Pei had taught her.

As a sniper, one's mindset must remain steady. At any moment, even if gravely wounded, the hand holding the gun must absolutely not tremble, and the eyes aiming at the battlefield must absolutely not close.

Dark clouds gradually thickened in the sky, blocking the sunlight.

Twenty minutes later, Tan Junjie's voice came through the lord channel. "Territory One, Territory Nine, please respond."

"Territory One, received."

"Territory Nine, received."

"In fifteen minutes, the evolved flock will arrive over Territories One through Twenty-Eight. If the evolved flock attacks the territories, you may fire guns, but not cannons. The current air humidity is extremely high, which can easily trigger a rain of blades."

"Territory One, understood."

"Territory Nine, understood."

Tan Junjie continued his inquiry. "Territory Seven, please respond."

"Territory Seven, received."

"Can Territory Seven report the laser cannon's power?"

"Territory Seven's laser cannon has an output of 30 kilowatts, maximum range of 4,000 meters. It can burn through 10-millimeter steel plate at 800 meters, and 5-millimeter steel plate at 1,000 meters. However, after each shot, it requires three seconds to cool and recharge before firing again."

Xia Qing…

Awesome!

Is it even legal for a territory to have something this destructive? Didn't Yang Jin say the most powerful weapon the combat team was currently allowed to possess was the shoulder-fired grenade launcher?

Could the laser cannon's power really be less than a shoulder-fired grenade launcher?

Although Xia Qing was full of doubts, Tan Junjie had no objection at all to Territory Seven possessing a laser cannon. "Received. The evolved flock is led by a high-level evolved Monkey-Eating Eagle with a wingspan exceeding seven meters and extremely high speed. Territory Seven, please stand by for orders and be ready to provide laser cannon support at any time."

"Territory Seven, received. Ready."

Fifteen minutes…

Xia Qing took a deep breath and leaned back. Her black short hair formed a sharp contrast with Ram Boss's white fur, drawing the gaze of the brain-evolved wolf.

"All territories, please note. The flock will arrive over the territories in five minutes."

Xia Qing opened her eyes, turned her head, and spoke softly to the three on the tatami. "Boss, and you two. The evolved flock is coming. I'm going to the attic to guard the house. You all stay put. Don't worry, nothing will happen."

After speaking, Xia Qing stood up, put on her protective mask, turned on the small night-light in the living room, drew the blackout curtains, went upstairs and pushed open the attic's only window, and aimed her sniper rifle at the sky. At the same time, inside Territory Seven, the tin box on the tallest building silently retracted, revealing a silver-white cannon barrel two hundred and twenty millimeters thick.

When Tan Junjie said the flock was one minute from arriving over the territories, the silver-white cannon barrel inside Territory Seven slightly rose, pointing southeast.

Soon, Xia Qing, a Level Nine visual evolver, observed the flock without any auxiliary equipment. Over two hundred birds were just a patch of tiny black dots high in the sky, but those dots quickly grew larger, larger, and larger still.

Xia Qing clearly saw the giant bird at the head—the hooked eagle beak and the jet-black, gleaming talons. The evolved birds following behind it had varied plumage, but every single one had a sharp beak and sharp talons.

During the Ten Years of Catastrophe, Xia Qing had personally seen such talons tear through vehicles and rooftops, snatch humans into the sky, and leave trails of blood and wailing.

Just as the evolved Monkey-Eating Eagle was about to arrive over Territories One through Twenty-Eight, Xia Qing clearly saw it lower its head to look down at the earth. Xia Qing immediately prayed silently: There's nothing to see here, fly away, fly away quickly…

Things went against her wishes. The evolved Monkey-Eating Eagle's three-meter-long wings gathered upward, its talons retracted, and its head tilted down as it began to dive.

Here it comes!

Tan Junjie's voice immediately rang out. "Laser cannon, ready. Snipers, ready."

Before the battle began, Xia Qing was very nervous, but after hearing Tan Junjie's command, she became incomparably calm. Her rifle's muzzle aimed at the evolved Sea Eagle following closely behind the evolved Monkey-Eating Eagle, because the direction of this Sea Eagle's gaze was Territory Three!

The evolved Monkey-Eating Eagle's dive was directed at Territory Seven.

Tan Junjie calmly gave the order. "Territory Seven, shoot the lead bird."

"Territory Seven, received."

The moment Territory Seven's reply fell, Xia Qing saw from her peripheral vision a white dot appear on the right wing of the diving evolved Monkey-Eating Eagle, instantly burning a hole through it—but the eagle's wing was actually not severed by the laser cannon.

"Holy shit!"

Tang Huai's exclamation burst from the lord channel, representing everyone's thoughts. The estimated distance to the evolved Monkey-Eating Eagle was one thousand meters—a distance where even 5-millimeter steel plate would be burned through—yet its wing wasn't cut off.

Was that a miss, or are its bones harder than steel plate?

During the three seconds it took for the laser cannon to cool after firing, Xia Qing watched helplessly as the evolved Monkey-Eating Eagle completed an aerial emergency stop, turned, and rapidly climbed.

Damn it—how can such a massive body be so agile?

The second laser cannon shot hit an evolved Sea Eagle with a wingspan exceeding three meters that was blocking the evolved Monkey-Eating Eagle, burning straight through the Sea Eagle's body. The raptor plummeted straight down from the sky.

Another three seconds passed, and the evolved Monkey-Eating Eagle had actually escaped the laser cannon's range! Xia Qing, a Level Nine visual evolver, could no longer track its position.

A chill ran through Xia Qing's heart. Judging from this thing's evasive speed and method, it might be a brain-evolver.

Damn it!

Isn't brain evolution an extremely rare ability? When did it become so commonplace?