Chapter 168: The City

As a second-tier city in the Fierce Beast Occupied Area, being under human control was quite the miracle.

But the city before them had been snatched back from the fierce beasts, and human flags were flying over it again. This city, which held a dominant position, was also one of the largest settlements in Gui Province. Survivors from all directions tried every means to come to this human sanctuary to receive its protection.

Zhou Liming had scouted once, and he could not determine the exact number of humans inside, but there were at least several hundred thousand.

The outskirts of the city were planted with crops. During the harvesting season, the view stretched out into a sea of golden yellow. Amidst this golden hue, patches of green vegetable fields served as embellishments. It seemed that the arrival of the Fierce Beast Era had not destroyed the city at all; peace and stability still showed here.

Of course, if your eyesight was good enough, you could still see the damage to some buildings in the city, and some areas were in ruins. These were the traces of battle left behind when the fierce beasts had occupied the city. Only these represented the city’s past and the contributions and great achievements of the current leadership that ruled it.

Established in the area of the small plain, Xiyang City had all its newly reclaimed fields under unified management. Unharmed or repaired harvesters were busy in the fields, harvesting the golden rice and loading it onto nearby trucks. The trucks then transported the grain back to the city. With mechanized operations, if there were no accidents, the food here could be harvested in just one week, enough to supply the entire city’s consumption.

However, in the Fierce Beast Era, nothing was as imagined.

Some herbivorous fierce beasts could not ignore the rice with its faint fragrance, so it was common to see them appearing in groups of three or five. Ignoring the bystanders, they rushed into the rice fields, endlessly sticking out their tongues to roll the ripe rice into their mouths.

Food was the foundation of human survival. Humans could not allow this behavior to continue unchecked.

Usually at this time, “Beastmen” called by the survivors would rise from the city into the sky, engaging in fierce battles with these herbivorous fierce beasts until they drove them away.

If they encountered higher-level beasts, more Beastmen would appear. There were not only fliers but also those running fast on land. Their combat methods were like practiced drills, and their coordination was very tacit. As long as the fierce beasts’ level was not too high, they were often killed. Higher-level fierce beasts were mostly driven away.

Their work was not much different from what Zhou Liming was in when he was with the X Squadron. The core was to protect the city’s safety from fierce beast invasions.

Maybe the country had discovered this city still under human control, or maybe not? After all, the Fierce Beast Occupied Area was too vast, and such second- and third-tier cities were as numerous as cattle. In developed provinces, a Small Town was several times more prosperous and larger than a second-tier city in these poor provinces.

Zhou Liming shook his head. This Xiyang City was not simple. It had more than two hundred Super Warriors, including Level Five Super Warriors who were extremely powerful.

“If they didn’t have some ability, on what basis would they guarantee safety here against fierce beast attacks?”

In the eyes of the fierce beasts, humans were food. Various fierce beasts would always appear here, attempting to have a big meal. Inevitably, as the protectors of the city and the Super Warriors at the top of the city’s hierarchy, they played their roles, killing or driving away the attacking fierce beasts.

In any place, Super Warriors were heroes in people’s hearts, incarnations of gods.

Zhou Liming could not figure out who the rulers of Xiyang City were or how they ruled the city, but it did not matter, because not long from now, he would know everything.

It was not that Zhou Liming was domineering, but Xiyang City only had three Level Five Super Warriors. Before encountering Level Five or Level Six fierce beasts, they were invincible. But once a Level Six Fierce Beast appeared, it would be a disaster for this city. Furthermore, the impending landing of a Level Seven Fierce Beast would bring a shadow of death to all cities again. Without enough strength to counter, they would only become food for the fierce beasts in the Fierce Beast Tide.

Leaving the Bullhorn Fish and the Flame Bird in the mountain forest beside the Grade 2 highway, Zhou Liming patted the Pig Beast on the butt. The sixty-three Pig Beasts charged off again, looking magnificent.

Sixty-three Pig Beasts, each weighing eight or nine hundred kilograms, made a thunderous noise when they ran. The sound was absolutely huge. As long as one’s ears were fine, they could hear it from very far away. Standing on slightly higher ground, one could see the dark mass of Pig Beasts scattering and rolling over with a rumble.

In fact, Zhou Liming had already left the back of the Pig Beast and appeared on a building, watching the Pig Beasts continue forward.

What surprised Zhou Liming was that these Pig Beasts seemed very familiar with the area. As soon as Zhou Liming left, they were like wild horses losing restraint, running happily. They turned left and right, very familiarly exiting the area of these buildings, and then charged into the nearby fields, stepping on the already harvested fields, and rushing toward the distant golden rice fields.

“Oh no, the pigs are back.”

Amidst the rumbling of the harvesters, people screamed in shock.

When people discovered this huge horde of Pig Beasts charging over, they all became hesitant. In fact, they scattered in a panic. Even the operators on the harvesters, after a moment of stun, jumped off the machines like they were fleeing, running wildly without dignity, occasionally looking back in terror at the approaching Pig Beasts.

“These beasts haven’t appeared in half a month, and now they are back. It is truly a disaster!”

“Weren’t they said to have migrated elsewhere?”

“It’s over. I wonder how much grain will be ruined again.”

“These damn things. If they just ate, it wouldn’t be bad, but when they run wild, I don’t know how much grain they will destroy.”

People’s reactions could be described as swearing profusely. Some were using walkie-talkies to report the situation in the city, while others were shouting for people to stop the Pig Beasts. Facing the huge horde of Pig Beasts and their powerful impact, how could ordinary people like them possibly stop them?

Amidst the cries to stop them, five figures rose from the city into the sky, arriving overhead quickly.

With a loud bang, mud splashed everywhere, forcing the charging Pig Beasts to brake suddenly.

This Super Warrior, who had just used his Form Skill, whose face was originally ruddy, became somewhat pale. However, being able to successfully stop the Pig Beasts made him smile.

Seeing the Super Warriors appear, the people below who were fleeing for their lives all stopped, erupting in cheers. Excited people occasionally clenched their fists, shouting “Good job!” The appearance of Super Warriors meant the grain in the fields could be protected. The more of them, the more secure people felt.

However, the five Super Warriors in the air were not as optimistic as the people below. Having dealt with this group of Pig Beasts before, they knew how terrifying and difficult these beasts were to handle. With thick skin and meat, and being Level Three Fierce Beasts, they could use Form Skills and had strong endurance. Their wild personalities often led them to grunt and roar, spraying a pile of orange-yellow light. Those who barely dodged were in a wretched state.

Zhou Liming, hiding on a building nearby, smiled bitterly, making a joke: “These guys are not very popular.”

Although the Pig Beasts looked like obedient babies in front of Zhou Liming, once uncontrolled, their temper was very violent. Seeing someone block their way, with delicious food right there, they were not polite at all. Half of the Pig Beasts perked up their wide ears, gathered energy in them, and then sprayed beams of light upward into the sky.

The five Super Warriors cursed inwardly. Having expected this, they could only wretchedly scatter in all directions and flee.

Magnificent lights interweaved in the air, forming a curtain of light, which was very dazzling even during the day.

The Super Warriors were only at the lowest level. Originally at the same Level Three as the Pig Beasts, there were only five of them. They could only delay the Pig Beasts’ charge. How would they dare to fight them? 5 versus 63? Their brains were not squeezed by a door. Without paying attention, they would definitely be blasted by the light until not even dregs remained.

Fortunately, their original task was only to delay the Pig Beasts, preventing them from rushing into the rice fields to ruin the grain.

The Pig Beasts did not care about this. They grunted and sprayed light everywhere. Not only did the five Super Warriors in the sky dodge in a wretched state with no power to fight back, but some light also fell into the rice fields, instantly blasting large pits. At least a portion of a field’s grain was turned to nothing, making the watching people heartbroken and cursing their mothers.

“Captain, it’s the captain…”

Amidst the heartbroken people cursing, someone shouted loudly, then looked fanatically at the man flying from the city toward them in the sky.

Gray wings like an eagle’s, with large feathers on top, provided the best flight power. He was not shirtless but wore a black leather jacket. Although his frequency of flapping his wings seemed not fast, his speed was not slow. In just a few breaths, he had already appeared above the group of Pig Beasts.

People cheered again, and some even clapped, using this method to show their respect for the newcomer.

“Great, last time the captain drove them away and even killed several pigs. This time, he won’t let them go.”

Even the five Super Warriors dodging wretchedly revealed fanaticism in their eyes for the captain. In their eyes, as long as the captain was here, there were no unsolvable problems. What was this mere group of pigs?

But the omnipotent captain in their eyes lost his casual expression and frowned tightly…