Chapter 269 Just This...
Yu Lian found it difficult to describe the bizarre spectacle before him. A vast herd of beasts, initially like streams, converged from all directions across the endless green grassland, gradually forming rivers. These rivers moved faster and faster, finally pouring into a dark, overwhelming tide.
The sound of that tide was a confluence of countless pounding hooves and cries, creating a continuous, grand roar across the grassland, muffling the wind and covering the rivers.
The Great Migration of animals in Africa on Earth is already a magnificent and grand natural wonder. However, if those massive animals, stretching for thousands of kilometers, were to be so densely concentrated within one's line of sight, almost completely obscuring the green ground, it could no longer be described with positive terms. It would only evoke a sense of disaster that makes one's scalp tingle.
To put it harshly, at first glance, it really did inexplicably feel a bit like an animal version of a zombie siege.
Yu Lian quickly scanned, confirming that there were no discordant things nearby like Dragon Worms or exploding mosquitoes, nor any swarms of raptors. He then had the airship descend slightly, circling about two hundred meters above the herd for three or four laps.
After several minutes of covert observation, Yu Lian confirmed that the vast majority of the herd consisted of herbivores: rock pigs, triangular antelopes, tarsal cattle, and even a considerable number of swamp crabs. Roughly estimated, there were three to four hundred thousand of them.
Since they were herbivores, no matter how large their bodies, their aggressiveness and combativeness would not be very high. But when their numbers reached this extent, it was enough to cause a qualitative change.
Additionally, there were Dinosaur Bird flocks moving in groups. These most famous predators on Lumina Planet actually bore little resemblance to the Dinosaur Birds on Earth. Their necks were thicker, their bodies more agile, and their long beaks were sharp and hard, seemingly capable of easily piercing rock. However, purely from a physical perspective, this creature looked more like a raptor with bird feathers and winged forelimbs.
In short, this was a top predator capable of deterring prey by its appearance alone.
A preliminary assessment indicated that the total number of Dinosaur Birds should be over five thousand, belonging to more than thirty flocks. In this massive beast army, if the herbivores were mere cannon fodder, they would be the so-called elite cannon fodder.
Of course, given that they were wild animals, gathering together and charging in one general direction was already a super-god-tier operation. There was no expectation of advanced skills like strict orders or orderly formations.
In this chaotic procession, scenes of trampling each other, and even mutual attacks and tearing, were constant. As the Dinosaur Birds walked, they would occasionally turn and pounce on a nearby herbivore, tearing and devouring it on the spot, only to then fight among their own kind over the prey.
However, even with such a degree of chaos, this beast tide army was advancing steadily and rapidly towards the Red Maple Factory.
Based on their marching speed, they would reach Maple City in at most two days. At the same time, given the current level of chaos, perhaps only a third of the animals would make it to their destination. However, considering that a large number of animals were still converging from all directions, by the time they reached the vicinity of Maple City, it would still be an extremely massive army of wild beasts.
Given the current state of Maple City's armaments, it was indeed possible to suffer considerable losses.
There was nothing to be done; only two to three hundred people in the factory had guns, and there was no heavy firepower. If only he had known, he should have put some thought into at least jury-rigging a few cannons.
But the problem was, helping a group of unruly 'uncivilized people' restore production was one thing; helping a group of unruly 'uncivilized people' rebuild an Arsenal, even a crude, makeshift one, was an entirely different matter.
Fortunately, Yu Lian was relatively relieved that after the airship circled a few times in the sky, it indeed found no abnormal creatures that were half-insect, half-beast, or emitting a strong demonic aura. He also extended his perception into the beast herd, even into the ground. With his current psionic perception, he did not feel any uncomfortable distortion. All these animals on the ground radiated a natural and healthy rhythm of life, truly wild.
At this moment, real-time intelligence from the extraterrestrial probe was also transmitted, having scanned the surroundings thoroughly, even calculating the types and numbers of all animals, yet truly finding nothing special.
The only somewhat special thing was a Great Rock Tiger standing on a hill.
There were about a hundred Great Rock Tigers in this wave of the beast army, scattered throughout the herd. However, the one standing on the hill was the most special.
Its fur color, like all its kin, was an unappealing brownish-yellow—which was understandable; it proved that this fur color provided excellent camouflage in both grasslands and mountainous terrain.
Its body was enormous, even larger than the largest Great Rock Tiger discovered by mainstream biology to date, estimated to weigh at least a ton.
For a feline to have such a size and weight, its combat power was imaginable.
At this moment, the surging flood of wild animals, forming a vast army, bypassed its hill on both sides, like an army escorting its monarch.
And this dominator of the beast tide, this super large cat, was sprawled on a small hill, staring directly towards the Red Maple Factory in the distance, as if seated on its throne, appearing exceptionally majestic and remarkably composed.
...It wasn't just Yu Lian; everyone on the airship felt something was off.
Large predatory beasts were not unusual, and the biological community had never fully explored this planet; no one knew the upper limit of the Great Rock Tiger's biological size. However, a Great Rock Tiger behaving with such human-like qualities exceeded everyone's imagination.
Yu Lian looked at Xia Xiake, and this experienced old Hunter also shook his head.
“I've never seen a Great Rock Tiger like this.”
This statement could be interpreted in several ways. It could mean he had never seen one so large, or never one so human-like.
“Get closer,” Yu Lian said.
The pilot nodded and quickly steered the airship in that direction.
The Seagull-type airship quickly accelerated to its operational limit, and in just over ten seconds, everyone could already see the small hill behind the beast tide with their naked eyes, as well as the Great Rock Tiger sprawled on it.
It was a pity this was ultimately a civilian transport airship; otherwise, a volley of missiles would have been wonderful, wouldn't it?
Just as Yu Lian felt regret, the Great Rock Tiger had already spotted the approaching airship in the sky and stood up directly.
Only then did Yu Lian realize that this creature was even more massive and formidable than he had imagined; its shoulder height alone exceeded three meters. However, before he could react, this enormous creature suddenly opened its large mouth towards the airship and let out a roar like a mountain collapsing and a sea raging.
The airship was at least several hundred meters in a straight line from the giant beast, but everyone on board felt their eardrums ache—Lumina people's auditory organs do not have eardrums, but everyone understood the sentiment.
“Should we continue to approach, or pull back a little?” Xia Xiake was about to ask Yu Lian when he suddenly reached out and pulled open the airship's hatch.
“Officer!”
“Ascend immediately!” Yu Lian slapped the pilot's back and shouted loudly.
Then, he suddenly leaped, jumping directly from the airship.
With the recent change of seasons, his wife caught a cold, and today the little one at home also has a severe cough, which has been a hassle for a while. This chapter, which he rushed out during his nap, was originally intended to be a skipped day today with a larger chapter tomorrow, but he decided to publish it anyway.
From this, it's clear that he truly has no saved drafts left.
If he has time tonight, he'll try to add more; if not, please bear with him.
The change of seasons makes it very easy for health issues to arise, so everyone must take care of themselves.