Chapter 124: Planting Trees, Planting Trees, Planting Trees

At dawn, Su Miao opened the gates and released the golden-winged eagle into the wild. After circling the villa twice to express its gratitude, the eagle flew off into the distance.

Su Miao returned to the villa to eat breakfast, fed fresh greens and tomatoes to the field mice and the little white rabbit, recorded her experimental data, and then checked on the tree seeds and the toxic growth serum. With the myna bird in tow, she set out.

The myna flew high, reaching the vicinity of the Fire God Base in moments. It circled the area extensively but found no trace of cannibals.

"Your Highness, there are no cannibals here today."
"Understood."

Su Miao stopped her snowmobile and looked at the ruins of the Fire God Base, now blanketed in snow.

"Perhaps I should just plant the trees around here? If I'm lucky, these cannibals might discover the ruins and hide inside to seek warmth. Then, I could use my necromancy to revive them."

The thought of the cannibals preparing their evening meal, only for the ingredients to suddenly spring to life, turn on them, and start biting and stabbing, seemed rather thrilling.

"Myna, continue your reconnaissance. Report back if you find anything."

After giving the bird its instructions, Su Miao drove her snowmobile near the Fire God Base and began digging holes in the snow using her fireball spell. Once the snow melted into the muddy ground, she dropped in a tree seed and poured a bit of the toxic growth serum. Just as she had done on the mountain, she planted the trees at six-meter intervals in an equilateral triangle pattern.

Fireball, dig hole, sow seed, pour serum.
Repeat, repeat, repeat.

After covering a few hundred meters, Su Miao changed her method, deciding to plant one row first and then work her way back with staggered rows, as constantly moving back and forth felt too tedious.

***

Over at the Four Seas Base, Yu Yuangui had taken his men out on another mission. Unlike the previous two times, he and his team were ambushed shortly after leaving the base. Heaven knows how these cannibals had managed to lie in wait amidst such bitter cold.

Looking at the dense, dark crowd of people surrounding them, Yu Yuangui’s expression shifted rapidly.

"Spread out! Take cover in the terrain and open fire!"

Yu Yuangui immediately killed the engine of his snowmobile and ordered his men.

"Mili, stay close to me!" He gave Mili a look, regardless of whether she understood his intention.
"Captain Yu, there are at least two or three thousand cannibals surrounding us," Mili noted after observing the perimeter.
"I see!" Yu Yuangui nodded.

Although both sides had "Awakened" individuals, the battle was still primarily fought with guns and artillery. Once the fighting broke out, the sound of gunfire filled the air, and cannibals fell one after another. Unlike in the movies, very few people on a real battlefield would stand up and catch bullets with their heads.

Yu Yuangui glanced left and right, then pointed in a direction. "Attack that way! Make them think we’re trying to break through, and send a distress signal to the base! Fire a few rocket rounds first!"

Boom, boom, boom!

A few explosions erupted, wiping out a large group of clustered cannibals. Yu Yuangui frowned as he watched how quickly the cannibals filled the gaps. There were simply too many of them. Furthermore, he noticed several areas where the snow had collapsed—tunnels the cannibals had dug before the battle began. If he hadn't ordered the rocket fire, these underground passages would never have been exposed. This was a premeditated ambush; the cannibals were well-prepared.

Yet, that wasn't what truly terrified him. About a thousand meters to the northwest, he sensed an incredibly powerful presence that made him feel an instinctive, primal fear.

Yu Yuangui recalled a project once researched at the Fire God Base. Since the apocalypse began, why had humans, animals, and plants awakened special abilities? Was the energy required for these abilities based on blood, spirit, stamina, or something else? And beyond basic training, what special methods could an Awakened person use to become stronger?

After months of research, they had found a possible answer from powerful mutated trees and animals: by consuming other beings that possessed abilities, an Awakened individual could grow stronger. This led to a grim derivation: human Awakened could become stronger by eating other Awakened. In Yu Yuangui's experience, Zheng Kaichen of the Fire God Base was already a monster, yet even he hadn't stooped to that level. But these cannibals? They wouldn't care at all.

The cannibal emitting that dangerous aura must be a terrifying existence that had consumed countless Awakened. Facing such an enemy, Yu Yuangui could easily foresee how "delicious" the Four Seas Base must look in their eyes. Their previous two smooth outings were likely just bait. Now, it was time for the net to close.

As this realization dawned on him, his heart sank. Suddenly, a cannibal lunged from beneath the snow, wielding a steel fork directly at him. He had become the target; they were taking him seriously enough to send such a powerful combatant for their first probe.

"Captain Yu!" Mili cried out in alarm, preparing to fire.

Yu Yuangui remained calm. He raised his hand, unleashing a burst of flame that scorched the attacker's eyes.

"Argh!" The cannibal screamed, but the thrust of the steel fork didn't slow down. Yu Yuangui raised his gun and shot the attacker through the heart, killing him instantly.

"Teams 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9, throw your grenades! Blow up the snow in the area!"

After killing the attacker, Yu Yuangui shouted his orders. Over a hundred grenades were tossed out, creating a chain of explosions that blasted large craters into the front line. The flying snow obscured everyone's vision. When it finally settled, several underground tunnels were exposed, and cannibals caught in the blast were reduced to a bloody, unrecognizable mess. Many others were buried in the collapsing tunnels. Though the snow wasn't thick enough to trap them all, those who crawled out were met with gunfire from Yu Yuangui’s men.

"Captain Yu, look at them..." Mili trembled as she pointed toward the cannibal lines.

Yu Yuangui looked. Several cannibals were severely wounded, and before they could even die, the others dragged them to the back, stripped them, and began devouring them on the spot.

"Aaaah!" The shrill, piercing screams were horrifying. Yet, the other cannibals continued their assault as if nothing were wrong; when they grew hungry, they simply turned back to take a bite. No one seemed to think this was abnormal. The "King of the Great West" had declared that the wounded and the dead were all rations.

More and more members of the Four Seas Base defense team noticed this gruesome scene. Even though they had witnessed countless atrocities in the apocalypse, seeing this still pushed many to the brink of a mental breakdown.

"What are you panicking for?!" Yu Yuangui roared. "Do you want to be eaten too? Keep firing! Kill them all!"

Death was the best motivator. Spurred by Yu Yuangui, most of the defense team regained their fighting spirit, with only a few failing to recover. That was enough—as long as they held out until the reinforcements arrived, they would be fine.

"Captain Yu, our signal has received no response," Mili said.

Yu Yuangui took the signal device, glanced at it, and handed it back. "You’re mistaken. We’ve made contact. Reinforcements from the base will be here soon."

Mili looked at the device, her expression shifting. The device clearly hadn't connected. Why was the captain...

A second later, she let out a cry of surprise: "Captain Yu! We’ve connected! It’s connected!"

Yu Yuangui gave her a look. "When the time comes, get away from me immediately."
"Captain Yu..."
Yu Yuangui smiled. "I’ve been targeted. It’s going to be a bit tricky."

***

A thousand meters to the northwest, the King of the Great West and his strongest subordinates stood watching the battlefield surrounding Yu Yuangui with smug smiles. Who said you needed to lose battles to lure an enemy deep? Losing battles and digging a hole for them to jump into was far better.

The first cannibal retreat was purely to have the Four Seas Base help them slaughter their food. The second was the same, intended to reinforce the impression that the cannibals were easily broken. People generally viewed cannibals like zombies in games or movies—mindless creatures that only lunged when hungry. In reality, that was only true for starving cannibals. Real cannibals were no different from normal people in daily life; the only difference was their addiction to eating humans and the strength they gained from consuming the flesh of the Awakened.

"King of the Great West, we can attack now!" Shamo said, standing to the side. "Let me go first to atone for my failures."

The King of the Great West placed a hand on Shamo’s shoulder. "Don't be in such a rush."
"But King, the timing is perfect," Shamo insisted.
The King asked, "Shamo, how many guns do you think they have?"
"Three hundred men, about 120 guns," Shamo replied.
The King asked again, "And how much ammunition does each person have?"

Shamo paused, having never really thought about it. "I don't know."

A bespectacled young man named He Chao spoke up. "Based on standard military configurations, a regular soldier carries about 150 rounds. But ammunition is scarce; the larger the base, the less each individual receives. This elite team from the Four Seas Base is lucky if they have 60 to 80 rounds each. That’s why they carry melee weapons. Based on the current intensity of the battle, in about 50 minutes, they'll be out of ammo."

Shamo looked at He Chao. Usually, he looked down on this thin, errand-running youth, but hearing this, he felt a strange, chilling sensation. People who could calculate like this had dark hearts.

"Major bases have signal devices," Shamo said. "What if the Four Seas Base sends reinforcements?"

He Chao adjusted his glasses and smiled. "They won't be able to send a signal. We placed jammers in the ambush zone long ago. Once they run out of ammo, our men will tear them apart alive. Now, be quiet and wait."

"The one from the Four Seas Base, this Yu Yuangui, is a cunning old fox," the King of the Great West remarked. "I only exposed a sliver of my aura just now, and he sensed it."

The others were shocked, especially Shamo. He hadn't expected Yu Yuangui to be so strong as to be recognized by the King. If he had rushed in blindly, he would have been tricked to death by that old fox.

Planting trees, planting trees, planting trees...

Su Miao paused, looking at the endless line of pits with mixed feelings. If only she could use magic to grow a forest in an instant. But if she could do that, she wouldn't need to worry about the cannibals at all. She checked the time; over two hours had passed.

She continued planting.

"Your Highness, Your Highness! They’re fighting over there!" The myna bird flew back to report.
Su Miao tilted her head. "Where?"
"The Four Seas Base! I see cannibals everywhere, covering the mountains and plains. The cannibal boss who almost blew up the golden eagle is there too. It's too terrifying; I didn't dare get close."

"Not daring to look" meant it had seen enough. Su Miao didn't know what to say. "Fine, stay further back and keep watching."
"Yes, Your Highness!"

Cannibals covering the mountains and plains—that was too frightening. She had to speed up. Su Miao thought for a moment, then condensed a massive fireball. She flew it low over the ground to melt the snow, which would make sowing the seeds much faster.

***

"Captain, I’m out of ammo."
"Me too."
"Logistics! Any ammo left?"
"Someone’s hurt! Medic, medic, get over here!"
"Support! We need support, the cannibals are closing in!"
"Captain Yu, are we going to die?"

When they had plenty of ammo, the defense team hadn't panicked even when surrounded, believing Yu Yuangui would lead them to safety once reinforcements arrived. But after fighting for nearly an hour with no sign of help, the situation had become dire.

Yu Yuangui gave Mili a look, and she understood, quickly moving away from the captain.

"Awakened, prepare yourselves!" Yu Yuangui shouted. "Everyone else, follow my lead! Follow Mili, break through!"

Before they could even attempt the breakout, the cannibals charged on all fours. Simultaneously, a terrifying, blood-red aura descended from a thousand meters away.

"Awakened, with me!" Yu Yuangui roared, channeling the combined power of the other Awakened and blasting it forward.

In an instant, a massive explosion rocked the area, and the wind and snow shrieked. The surrounding cannibals and the members of the defense team behind him were blown away. Those who were too close were instantly shattered into bloody mist.

"King of the Great West..." Yu Yuangui gritted his teeth, feeling an unprecedented, terrifying pressure.

*Damn it!* He just wanted to find a place to survive—why was it so hard?

"You are strong," the King of the Great West said, pressing down with his aura, "but it is far from enough!"