Feng Yundan's expression was grave, realizing that the Mutant's strength far exceeded his expectations. However, for him to give up now was absolutely impossible! He had to capture this Mutant, even at the cost of sacrificing more squad members. As long as he had enough food, he wouldn't worry about being unable to make a comeback!
"Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Squads, listen up! Form a defensive formation and advance slowly!" Feng Yundan ordered in a deep voice, his tone firm and resolute.
Feng Yundan firmly believed that no matter how strong a three-striped Mutant was, there had to be a limit; it couldn't be invincible.
Although he had lost two squads, those were only the two weakest teams in terms of overall strength.
Since firepower attacks were ineffective, he would concentrate all his strength to break through in one fell swoop! No more dispersed attacks, lest they be slowly whittled away.
Although the squad members were fearful, they obeyed the order, advancing cautiously, step by step, vigilantly watching their surroundings.
Finally, the Sanshui Gang entered the thousand-meter range.
Feng Yundan scanned the area and noticed that the unfamiliar vegetation became denser the further inward they went. A slender vine subtly wriggled among the branches and leaves, slowly stretching as if alive.
Feng Yundan's heart tightened, and he immediately signaled the team to stop.
The ninth squad had previously warned them to 'beware of the trees.' Feng Yundan quickly recalled the ninth squad's warning, deducing that these vines might be the deadly weapons. The demise of the ninth squad might have been caused by these seemingly harmless vines.
"Swish! Swish! Swish!" A dense series of whooshing sounds rang out.
"All units, be on alert! Defensive Mutants, move to the front!"
Feng Yundan roared, and the Defensive Mutants quickly formed a protective shield.
When everyone saw what was flying towards them, their scalps tingled. Dense plant leaves, like spinning blades, whistled through the air. Feng Yundan watched with cold eyes as the plant leaves cut through the air, emitting a piercing shriek.
The defensive shield vibrated violently as the leaves struck like a torrential downpour, instantly sending sparks flying. Although the shield was tough, it was difficult to sustain.
The spinning leaves were incredibly powerful, and cracks had already appeared on the defensive shield.
Feng Yundan gritted his teeth and decisively ordered: "Full firepower! Suppress the leaves!"
The squad members fired in unison, bullets pouring out like rain. The dense firepower immediately met the spinning leaves, sparks flying, and the clang of metal against metal was incessant.
Fortunately, with the suppression of firepower, the leaves' offensive finally slowed down. The remaining leaves struck the defensive shield, and although there was still vibration, the cracks no longer expanded.
The leaf attack was only a single wave. Feng Yundan didn't dare to delay and immediately ordered: "Full advance! Head towards the central area."
Feng Yundan knew he couldn't keep slowly grinding away like this. He had to find the Mutant as soon as possible. These strange plants must have an inseparable connection with the Mutant. To catch the bandits, first catch their leader.
Feng Yundan firmly believed that as long as he could capture the Mutant, he would be able to completely control this area, and then both the vines and other threats would be easily resolved.
The Sanshui Gang slowly advanced in a defensive formation, step by step.
As Feng Yundan's gaze swept over a dense area of plants, his pupils involuntarily constricted slightly.
Those strange plants were all human-height, with bare branches devoid of leaves. The fallen leaves on the ground allowed Feng Yundan to recognize that these were the source of the leaves from the first wave of attack.
Feng Yundan took a deep breath, secretly calculating that if these plants could be controlled and planted in their faction's defensive zone, they would become a natural barrier.
However, at present, he knew that the urgent task was to resolve the current crisis. All the leaves of these plants had already been launched and should not possess a secondary attack capability.
Feng Yundan quickly directed the team to continue forward. When the Sanshui Gang had advanced less than a hundred meters, another dull "buzzing" sound of something breaking the air rang out.
Feng Yundan's face changed dramatically, and he shouted sternly: "Activate the defensive shield! Prepare for battle!"
The squad members reacted quickly, and the protective shield once again enveloped everyone.
But this time, the attack seemed less fierce than before. When everyone clearly saw the incoming objects, they were astonished to find them to be human-head-sized fruits, covered in sharp thorns. Moreover, their speed was far less rapid than the leaves, as if they had been casually thrown.
However, Feng Yundan dared not be careless and ordered everyone to be on guard. When the dense fruits crashed down, the protective shield remained completely undamaged.
This left Feng Yundan somewhat puzzled. What was this? Such force wouldn't even injure an ordinary person. Was it an insulting attack?
But then, Feng Yundan's pupils instantly constricted. The surfaces of the human-head-sized fruits scattered everywhere began to rapidly crack open.
"Be careful! ..."
Before Feng Yundan could finish speaking, the fruits on the ground successively exploded, and countless black seeds the size of sunflower seeds scattered like a rain of bullets, their sharp whooshing sounds chilling to the heart.
The black seeds were as dense as rain, and their speed was even greater than that of the leaves. The attack was truly too concentrated.
The protective shield only lasted less than 10 seconds before it shattered with a crash. The black seeds penetrated the defense like bullets. Defensive Mutants fared somewhat better, but ordinary squad members and offensive Mutants found it difficult to resist and fell in droves instantly.
Feng Yundan roared, "Defensive Mutants, quickly form a human wall and use your bodies to block!"
Feng Yundan's eyes were bloodshot, but he commanded with composure. He knew he couldn't panic at this moment and quickly mobilized the Defensive Mutants to form a human shield wall to block the dense attack.
The black seeds rained down like a storm. The Defensive Mutants gritted their teeth, and the human wall they formed tottered. The attack power of the black seeds was comparable to heavy machine gun bullets.
Under normal circumstances, these Defensive Mutants could have easily dealt with it, but these seeds were simply too dense. The number of seeds that burst from each human-head-sized fruit was definitely no less than two thousand. With such a massive quantity, even Defensive Mutants found it difficult to fully block them.
The psionic energy within their bodies was rapidly depleted by the large number of black seeds, and more and more Mutants fell instantly. Blood splattered, and the dense black seeds even shredded severed limbs into sieves.
When the last human-head-sized fruit on the ground exploded, it took the lives of dozens of Mutants, and the central area once again fell into a deathly silence.
Feng Yundan witnessed this tragic sight, his heart burning with rage.
In this wave of attack, their overall strength was weakened by at least 30%, and more than half of the Defensive Mutants were killed or injured. Although there were casualties among offensive and support Mutants and ordinary soldiers, fortunately, the Defensive Mutants stepped up in time, so the casualties were not too great, but the number of casualties still approached one-fifth.
Low moans echoed through the team. Feng Yundan clenched his fists. They had only advanced about 300 meters and had suffered such heavy losses. The road ahead might be even more perilous.
However, Feng Yundan now had no retreat. With his overall strength weakened by nearly 30%, even if he gave up now and returned to Dream City, he would inevitably be swallowed by other covetous forces.
He knew that only by continuing forward and capturing the Mutant could he turn the tide.
Especially since his subordinates were not as loyal as he imagined. Once they returned to Dream City, he had no doubt that at least half of the Mutants would betray him and defect to other forces.
A hint of ruthlessness flashed in Feng Yundan's eyes. Rather than waiting for them to betray him, he might as well let them pave the way for him now. Even if he was the only one left in the end, as long as he could capture the Mutant and had ample food, he could easily make a comeback and even make the Sanshui Gang more glorious.