Chapter 41: Encircle and Reinforce?
The appearance of the Abscess Spitters made Yan Fangxu feel quite troubled.
The pus sprayed from these monsters formed puddles of corrosive fluid on the ground, which sizzled upon contact, making the area unsuitable for standing.
If one were unlucky enough to be hit, the splashing pus would corrode through personal armor, and if it reached the arms or legs, it would quickly penetrate clothing and cause large areas of corrosive burns, soon incapacitating the soldier.
The most unfortunate would be those sprayed head-to-toe, who would die in agony.
What kind of biochemical artillery is this?
If these monsters were allowed to spray freely, they might wipe out the entire unit here.
Fortunately, there were not many Abscess Spitters, and their spray range was only fifty meters, not as far as real artillery.
Within fifty meters, even with many other pus monsters covering them, it was still fairly easy to hit them.
After recognizing the threat posed by the Abscess Spitters, the soldiers prioritized targeting these monsters.
The 3rd Infantry Battalion was a newly formed unit but was the first to be equipped with the locally produced G9 Rifle Series.
These powerful and stable rifles became the soldiers’ best companions.
Especially the machine gun variant of the G9, with greater power, faster firing rate, larger ammunition capacity, and more sustained firepower.
When facing these monsters, it was like a mowing machine.
Bullets were sprayed out like water, mowing down the monsters shielding the Abscess Spitters, their bodies shattered into pieces.
Subsequently, the bullets shredded the Abscess Spitters to pieces as well.
After paying a certain price, they repelled the monster’s attack once again.
The surroundings of the woodland became quiet.
After two rounds of attacks, the monsters had left at least a thousand corpses.
Before this, Yan Fangxu had never seen such a large concentration of monsters in this dense forest.
This event itself was very unusual, and what happened next made him sense a strong scent of conspiracy.
The monsters seemed to understand that maintaining their previous fierce offensive was pointless and merely a waste of lives.
They stopped their massive attacks but did not completely withdraw.
From their current position, the soldiers could see ghostly figures far within the dense forest.
The monsters had not left but were lurking behind the trees, their deep malice still palpable from a distance.
The soldiers, including Yan Fangxu, attempted to fire into the dense forest.
Their efforts were futile.
The area they were in had originally been a monster hatchery.
To clear the nest, they had cut down and burned many trees that were parasitized by hatchling eggs, creating a small clearing.
When the monsters attacked, there was no cover within a hundred meters of the soldiers’ defensive positions.
However, beyond the hundred-meter mark, the power of their bullets significantly decreased.
These soldiers, after a brief period of training, had indeed become qualified warriors. But even qualified warriors are not necessarily sharpshooters who can hit every target.
At a hundred meters distance, with the enemy hiding in the dimly lit forest and obscured by large areas of trees, it was indeed difficult to hit them.
Yan Fangxu, with his exceptional military skills and the powerful performance of his electromagnetic rifle, could guarantee a hundred percent accuracy, eliminating any target he saw.
However, after firing two shots and killing two suspected Abscess Spitters, he stopped shooting.
Not only did he stop, but he also ordered his soldiers to cease fire.
He realized that the enemy’s numbers were too overwhelming. Even if they used up all their bullets, they might not be able to kill all the monsters.
Ammunition was limited.
Initially, they thought they were merely entering the forest to destroy the hatchery, not engaging in a full-scale battle, so they didn’t bring a large supply of ammunition.
Even if they were going to battle, the ammunition supply would still need to be brought up by the logistics units. How much can one carry in a field operation anyway?
Despite Yan Fangxu’s caution, when he led the team out on this mission, he had called for a Bull Cart to tow a load of food and ammunition supplies.
But that was still not unlimited.
Holding their ground would eventually lead to running out of bullets and supplies.
He attempted to break through with his team but failed.
Once they entered the dense forest, their firepower advantage was greatly reduced, and the threats they faced increased.
Not only did the Abscess Spitters become harder to eliminate and more lethal to the soldiers, but even the ordinary pus monsters became threatening.
After all, who could tell from which tree a monster might suddenly spring out?
The bigger issue was that no one knew how many monsters were hidden in the surrounding forest.
If they insisted on breaking through, what would the casualty rate be?
After realizing the difficulties and before significant casualties occurred, Yan Fangxu ordered his troops to retreat and continue to hold their position. He then requested reinforcements from headquarters.
Soon, he received a reassuring reply.
“Hold your ground and stay strong. The Governor will lead the 2nd Infantry Battalion and the Marine Squad to rescue you.”
Receiving such a reply was indeed reassuring.
The Governor would not abandon them.
However, as time passed, Yan Fangxu’s sense of unease gradually grew.
He sensed intelligence in the behavior of these monsters.
The first two attacks were quite mindless, typical of these monsters.
They would charge brainlessly at any other species they encountered, showing a complete disregard for death.
But now, the way these monsters used the terrain of the dense forest to trap them in place was not a decision made by brainless creatures.
Either these monsters had developed intelligence, or there was a human influence behind their actions.
Yan Fangxu leaned towards the latter.
So why did these monsters choose to encircle without attacking?
To starve them to death here?
That seemed unlikely.
Then their objective must be…
Did they anticipate reinforcements?
Was this an entrapment strategy to ambush the reinforcements?
Were they targeting the Governor?
A series of thoughts flooded his mind, causing Yan Fangxu’s thoughts to become chaotic.
The route for the reinforcements was mostly through dense forest terrain. If the Governor’s team encountered a large group of monsters during their march, the outcome would be disastrous!
He immediately reactivated the communication device.
This time, he successfully contacted Gu Hang and reported his suspicions to the Governor.
But after hearing his report, Gu Hang simply said:
“Don’t worry, I have a plan. Take your time.”