Chapter 719: Little Wolf Cub and Little Leopard Cub

The Level-6 visual evolver in charge of reconnaissance, Liangzi, reported, "Boss, the wild Firmiana simplex fruits on the branches are growing!"

When wild Firmiana simplex fruits ripen, they emit a unique fragrance that attracts birds to peck at them, helping the tree spread its seeds far and wide. The fruits of this high-risk wild Firmiana simplex would certainly give off an extremely strong scent, and once they ripened, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Tan Junjie immediately gave the order, "Yuan Rui, Peng Jian, fire shells and break its main trunk."

Catastrophe-evolved plants rely on their roots to draw nutrients from the soil. Severing the connection between its roots and crown cuts off the nutrient supply, and the crown can no longer keep growing.

Originally, Tan Junjie and Hu Zifeng's main goal today was to use this big tree to train their team members. After discovering that this big tree could actually grow explosively outside of a catastrophe-rain period, their main goal now was to completely eliminate the big tree and prevent it from spreading its seeds outward.

"Copy." Yuan Rui, the Level-4 olfactory evolver of the Inspection Team, and Peng Jian, the Level-5 visual evolver sniper of the Azure Dragon Squad, replied simultaneously, raised their shoulder-mounted cannons, and aimed at the main trunk of the big tree—over three meters in diameter—in the valley.

"Boom—"

"Boom—"

No matter how sturdy a big tree is, it cannot withstand the bombardment of two shells; the main trunk and the crown were completely severed. But the enormous crown of the wild Firmiana simplex did not fall or hit the ground—it was still held up by several hundred aerial roots thrust into the soil. Its fruits were still growing, and the vines that had not yet pierced the soil kept lengthening, slapping the surrounding trees and snapping the ordinary ones around it.

This eerie sight made the team members, who lacked experience fighting in evolved forests, terrified, and their morale plummeted.

The relatively experienced Tan Junjie calmly gave the order, "Yuan Rui, Peng Jian, start shooting the thick aerial roots supporting the crown. Fire every shell you have. Hu Zifeng, call in helicopter fire support immediately."

"Boom—"

"Boom—"

Shell after shell landed in the valley; branches and leaves flew everywhere, rocks and debris splashed, and the birds and beasts in the surroundings scattered in all directions.

In a crevice on a nearby peak, the head wolf, missing a piece of its left ear, stared solemnly at the humans and the big tree fighting down in the valley. A wolf pup a little over a month old in a basket yipped and whined, trying to climb out of the basket to hide under its mother's belly. Another wolf pup stared with glistening golden eyes and let out a tender roar toward the valley below.

Broken-Waist Wolf lowered its head to sniff the calling pup, telling it to stay quiet, then used a paw to pin down the other pup that was trying to scramble out, making it keep watching the battle between the humans and the big tree down below—this was a rare learning opportunity.

Under the attack of ten shells, more than half of the aerial roots thrust into the soil snapped. The remaining aerial roots could not provide enough support, and the crown finally fell to the ground. But some flower buds could still draw nutrients from the unbroken aerial roots, and amid the gunpowder smoke, the wild Firmiana simplex fruits turned a vivid, eye-catching red—they had ripened!

Tan Junjie immediately ordered the helicopter to spray odor-blocking agents to keep the fruits' scent from spreading and attracting flocks of birds. The entire task force entered the valley; they had to cut off the connection between the aerial roots and the crown as quickly as possible.

The humans moved fast enough, but animals with even sharper senses of smell still caught the scent of the catastrophe-evolved wild Firmiana simplex fruits ripening.

This scent could attract birds, but made evolved wolves feel danger. The pups' safety was more important than letting them clearly see how humans fought.

The head wolf on the peak immediately stood up and positioned itself in front of the pups. After Broken-Waist Wolf picked up the basket in its mouth and carried the pups into the mountain crevice, the head wolf then retreated, and together—one in front, one behind—they protected the pups as they withdrew.

Three hundred meters northwest of the valley, on a tall Chinese yew, a mother leopard leaped high and caught a flying magpie in her mouth. Her two cubs tried to imitate her, jumping up to snap at the passing birds, but without exception, they failed and tumbled to the ground beneath the tree.

Inside Territory Eight, Xin Yu, who was using trained birds to observe the battle at Mountain Fifty-One from a distance, reported the situation to Xia Qing, "The fruits of that big tree in the valley are starting to ripen. The birds on Mountain Fifty-One are gathering toward the valley."

Inside Territory Three, Xia Qing gazed toward the valley of Mountain Fifty-One where smoke was rising, her tone solemn, "We'll have to set the tree on fire. Luckily the wind isn't strong today."

Fire attack is the most thorough and also the last resort against catastrophe-evolved plants, because once the fire gets out of control, it will lead to an even greater disaster.

"We must stop the birds from pecking at the wild Firmiana simplex fruits, otherwise the consequences will be unthinkable." Xin Yu's tone was grave.

Xin Yu had barely finished speaking when Xia Qing's phone rang.

Even with the urgent situation, Tan Junjie's voice remained stern and calm, "Xia Qing, I'm leading the team to clear the high-risk wild Firmiana simplex on Mountain Fifty-One. The situation has changed. Can you immediately bring wood-cutting tools and a sniper rifle over to reinforce us?"

Level-6 strength sniper Xia Qing was the fastest and most powerful support personnel Tan Junjie could call on. Because she had a personal flight device, her reinforcement speed was faster than any other squad inside Mountain Fifty-One.

"I can. I'll be there within six minutes. Have Captain Hu send someone over to stand guard for my territory." Xia Qing ran while answering the phone. After hanging up, she rushed into the house, took out her personal flight device, took off directly from the yard, and flew toward the place in the southwest where smoke was billowing.

Today, when Mountain Fifty-One was clearing the wild Firmiana simplex, Xia Qing had not applied to take part, but she had prepared to provide support at any moment, so she was wearing special protective clothing and had topped up the personal flight device's fuel—ready to fly at a moment's notice.

"Baa—"

Old Goat heard the commotion, looked up and saw its underling fly off, and began to bray at the top of its lungs, its voice tinged with unease.

Tang Huai asked over the lord channel, "Xia Qing's heading out to provide support, right? Inspection Team, what's the situation?"

"Something big must have happened, otherwise Xia Qing wouldn't be in such a rush to get there." Seeing the powerful neighbor fly off, Zhao Ze was extremely uneasy.

"Shit!" Seeing Xia Qing flying high and fast, Yan Meng inside Territory Fourteen, who was holding a gun, cursed viciously.

Tan Qi excitedly clapped her hands, "Sister Qing is so cool!"

Jiang Ying, who was stacking a stone slab wall, straightened up, her heart and eyes filled with the desire to grow stronger.

The loudspeaker hanging on the signal tower and the lords' walkie-talkies began broadcasting the notice at the same time:

"Attention all lords: A large number of flying birds may pass over the territories on their way to Mountain Fifty-One. Please take cover and do not walk in open areas. Attention all lords…"

Is a beast tide coming?!

"Sister Qiqi, get back inside the house and shut the windows." Jiang Ying was terrified. She put down the trowel, took off her gloves, and ran toward the clothesline in the yard.

The people working in the various territories immediately began to act, looking for cover. Qi Fu pressed a button to request, "Can we skip the ultrasonic bird deterrent this time? The harm from ultrasonic waves is too great."

The five chicks brought back to Territory Five and the newly hatched fry in the fish pond could not withstand the attack of ultrasonic waves.

Inside Territory Four, Mother Shi was loudly calling for her son, telling him to hurry home and put the rabbit hutch and chicken coop down in the basement. Not a single one of these animals could be lost.