Chapter 60: Observation

The thick, coppery scent of blood drifted on the wind. In Chen Chong’s line of sight, strange birds in the sky circled and swooped continuously over the entire Territory, dodging the random shots of the Territory guards. All of their attacks were focused on the laborers who were fleeing in panic like headless flies. In the mere blink of an eye, over a dozen laborers were snatched away like chicks taken by an eagle.

These strange birds were scattered widely, their movements fierce and swift, coming and going like the wind. Coupled with their air-to-ground advantage, the muskets in the guards’ hands were mostly useless. Aside from a few unlucky birds that were brought down by concentrated fire, their numbers hadn’t decreased much.

But then, Chen Chong’s gaze swept back and forth, and he suddenly spotted a few distinct figures bursting out of the chaos, launching sharp counterattacks against the constantly swooping birds!

The first person Chen Chong spotted was the Supervisor Squad captain, Yin Hu, dozens of meters away from him. This Awakener’s figure was as swift as a leopard, weaving through the crowd like lightning. Right in front of him, a strange bird had just swooped down and grabbed a laborer. Before the bird could flap its wings and rise into the air with an excited screech, Yin Hu’s figure had already pounced forward. He swung his arm, and his long whip coiled around the bird’s talons in a split second, entangling it in mid-air!

“Screech! Screech!”

With its talons suddenly entangled, the strange bird beat its wings fiercely. The wind howled, kicking up sand and stones. Yet Yin Hu, the instigator of this, stood his ground as if his feet were nailed to the earth, unmoving and unshaken. His face showed nothing but vicious cruelty:

“Beast, get down here!”

Boom!

Gripping the long whip, Yin Hu stepped back, twisted his waist, and hunched his body. His muscles and bones cracked loudly, and immense power erupted from his arms. The strange bird, flapping its wings and struggling desperately like a young calf, was yanked violently by Yin Hu’s whip. Powerless to resist, it slammed viciously into a nearby earthen wall, collapsing it!

With one swing of his arms, he had sent the calf-sized Wing-claw Stone Vulture crashing into the wall like a cannonball, demonstrating the astonishing strength of Yin Hu, the Awakener.

As soon as the strange bird crashed to the ground and was still struggling, the underlings around Yin Hu opened fire. At close range, the spray of iron pellets riddled the bird like a sieve. It convulsed madly a few times and then stopped moving. Yin Hu continued weaving through the crowd, his long whip poised to strike like a venomous snake. His attacks almost never missed. In just a few minutes, he found opportunities to take down two more strange birds, displaying ferocious savagery.

Watching this scene from the high vantage point of a damaged turret dozens of meters away, Chen Chong’s eyes flickered. He silently made calculations in his mind before shifting his gaze to another spot.

In another corner, Gu Jun, also an Awakener, stood guarded by a squad of underlings. A set of ghastly pale javelins, seemingly made of white bone, was strapped to his back. His eyes scanned the sky like an eagle’s. Then, when a strange bird swooped down to hunt, exposing an opening, his arm whipped forward. The bone javelin pierced the air like lightning, its shrill whistle ending as it directly impaled a diving bird!

Chen Chong’s gaze shifted again and fell upon Li Bao, the man he had clashed with before. This captain of the Hunting Squad wielded an exaggeratedly large saw over a meter long. He leaped rapidly across rooftops of the low buildings like an ape. Whenever a strange bird swooped nearby, he would stomp his foot fiercely, leaping out with the big saw in his hand. He accurately and viciously slashed the bird’s wing, severing it cleanly from the root as if cutting tofu, his aura brutally fierce!

Chen Chong narrowed his eyes, his gaze constantly shifting among the several Awakeners.

Without a doubt, these Awakeners all displayed strength, speed, stamina, reaction, and combat skills far exceeding ordinary people. Each one was extraordinarily ferocious. Judging by their displays of power, they were practically little supermen!

This was precisely the purpose of Chen Chong’s covert observation: to understand the specific combat capabilities of Awakeners in this world and compare them with his own.

Yin Hu, Gu Jun, and the others were all seasoned Awakeners. Chen Chong estimated in his mind that before he’d used Electrotherapy, he probably wouldn’t have been a match for them. However, after the Electrotherapy, his True Qi had surged, and his strength had increased dramatically as a result. Perhaps his combat skills and experience couldn’t compare to theirs, but in terms of raw strength, he might not necessarily be weaker.

After all, he had consumed Ultra Divine Water, cultivated the A-grade [Ultimate Infinite Qigong], and used the Electrotherapy method for rapid improvement. With so many unique advantages accumulated, Chen Chong was unafraid, even of seasoned Awakeners.

The only exception was the Blood General, the Transcendent that everyone feared like a tiger. Until now, Chen Chong still hadn’t witnessed this man’s true power. He only knew that Qiao Jun, also a seasoned Awakener, had been completely helpless against the Blood General, not even daring to risk his life in a desperate gamble. This indicated an immense, unbridgeable gap between the levels of Awakener and Transcendent.

Curses, explosions, and agonized screams filled the air incessantly. The scene was utter chaos. As Chen Chong observed silently, Wei De and Lu Kai climbed onto the half-collapsed turret, staying close to him. Dripping with sweat, they said:

“What are you hiding here for! These beasts are as strong as oxen and incredibly fast. If they target you as prey, it’ll be trouble!”

Without turning his head, Chen Chong asked, “What’s the deal with these strange birds?”

Wei De and Lu Kai huddled into a blind spot, looking down at the chaos on the ground below. Wei De said hatefully:

“We call these feathered beasts Wing-claw Stone Vultures. They’re also a type of Radiation Species. It’s not the first or second time they’ve attacked the Territory. They come almost every month, treating us like livestock raised for their food! These beasts are extremely troublesome; people die every time they come. And they seem to be getting smarter. They used to just dive and grab people, but a while ago, they even learned to drop stones, damn it!”

Chen Chong understood immediately. These strange birds had the advantage of flight, and their stone-dropping attacks created chaos before they even struck. Without using homemade explosives, the muskets with an effective range of only thirty to forty meters were naturally hard-pressed to deal with them.

These ferocious, calf-sized birds that moved like the wind were inherently difficult and vicious beasts to handle. Yet Yin Hu and the others dealt with them calmly, clearly having gained experience over time. Without the intervention of Awakeners like Yin Hu and Gu Jun, the Territory’s casualties would have been far worse.

He was just about to ask another question when a wave of excited, fervent shouts suddenly erupted from the most chaotic part of the fray ahead:

“That’s the General!”

“The General is here, the General is here!”

“Hahaha, you damn beasts, you’re in for it now!”

I’ve been waiting for you!

Hearing the words ‘the General’, Chen Chong abruptly turned his head, following the sound to look!