The appearance of the Tiger Spine Zergs quickly made Lin Feng realize the Zerg Raceâs desperate resolve to push forward.
Every day they were delayed here allowed the evacuation of Jin City to progress, until the entire city was empty.
That way, even if the Zerg Race managed to conquer two cities in a few days, all that would await them were two vast, useless concrete jungles.
Therefore, Lin Feng didnât find the appearance of the Tiger Spine Zergs surprising.
He figured that after discovering the Low Tier Black Spine Zerg army couldnât breach the human fortress, the Mother Empress had no choice but to dispatch her scarce Tier Two Zerg forces to seek a breakthrough.
Right now, three Tiger Spine Zergs were poking their heads out from a huge cavern two kilometers away.
They moved with extreme caution.
They didnât get too close.
They lingered at the very edge of human visual range.
It was difficult to spot them with the naked eye; after all, even their massive ten-meter-tall bodies would be reduced to tiny dots at a distance of two kilometers.
However, when viewed through a high-powered scope or binoculars, the bright yellow figures of the Tiger Spine Zergs were extremely conspicuous.
Although Lin Feng had guessed the Zerg Raceâs intentions, he found their current behavior somewhat difficult to understand.
âWhy do they keep appearing so far from the defense line?â
âIs it to intimidate the defenders in the fortifications?â
âOr to lure us humans out of the city to fight?â
Lin Feng was more inclined to believe the former.
After all, out on the wasteland, without the advantage of protective terrain, humans were still extremely vulnerable before Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs, even when hiding inside armored vehicles.
Under a bite force of over ten tons, even the thickest Alloy Defense would be crushed and deformed.
Lin Feng even worried if the large iron gate behind the outpost pillbox, only seven centimeters thick, could withstand three rounds of biting and ramming from a Tiger Spine Zergâs Giant Mandible.
If yesterdayâs night raid had been led by Tiger Spine Zergs, Company 201 in the fortress would have surely suffered heavy casualties. If it had happened on the main defense line, at least several large main fortresses would have fallen, with casualties potentially exceeding a thousand.
Unfortunately, the Zerg Race had missed its best opportunity for an all-or-nothing gamble.
Tonight, the human defenders would be more experienced.
But Lin Feng couldnât wait until nightfall.
As the figures of the Tiger Spine Zergs flickered in and out of sight in the distance, the urgency in his heart surged, especially as he gripped the Level 19 Grenade Cannon, its Upgrade long overdue.
It urged him to act as soon as possible.
However, before that, Lin Feng wasnât stupid enough to fight a life-or-death battle with Tiger Spine Zergs after a whole night of exhausting combat.
He wasnât a machine; he needed to rest.
Just like the soldiers on rotation, if he didnât get enough rest during the day, the defensive battle at night would be even more grueling.
He instructed Li Ran, Shen Jie, and the others to arrange a watch. If any large Tier Two Zerg Race appeared within sight and charged the outpost, they were to wake him immediately.
"See that? Theyâve already appeared two kilometers out, just itching for a fight, waiting for the Zerg Race Mother Empressâs command."
"The moment they cross the one-kilometer markâthe limit of what an Awakener can see with the naked eyeâget me immediately."
"We absolutely cannot allow the Tiger Spine Zergs to get near the pillbox."
"They can destroy the walls, tear apart the outpostâs middle firing tier, and even leap up and jump directly inside."
Li Ran and Shen Jie lowered their binoculars, their faces filled with worry as they nodded grimly.
Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs were not something they could handle.
Even powerful Machine Cannons could barely inflict effective Damage; only large Grenade Cannons of a hundred millimeters or more, or rocket launchers, could seriously injure them.
And the only one in the outpost who could do that...
...was the Sergeant Major with the Superpower Bullet Superpower.
The joy of their victory didnât last long...
With the appearance of the Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs, a heavy stone once again weighed on the hearts of the defenders, whether in the outpost pillbox or on the main front line.
While everyone else wore grave expressions, unable to crack a smile, Lin Feng slept straight through until two in the afternoon.
And during that time, he wasnât woken up even once.
After he woke up and washed his face in the Tankâs bathroom, he learned from Chen Yanyan that the Tiger Spine Zergs seemed to have settled down two kilometers away.
They hadnât made any other moves.
Nor was there any sign of the Red-Armored Beetle Swarm five hundred meters in front of the outpost, widening a Wormhole into a large cavern for the Tiger Spine Zergs to use for a surprise underground attack.
Lin Feng frowned slightly as he ate his stir-fried military rations, pondering the Tiger Spine Zergsâ strange behavior.
âCould it really be as I guessed? Theyâre just showing themselves during the day to intimidate the defenders on the line, making it hard for us humans to rest so theyâll have the advantage at night?â
âBut thatâs completely ineffective against me.â
Because with the Lv20 Flying Tiger Armor, Lin Feng wasnât the least bit afraid of a few low-level Tiger Spine Zergs.
Judging by their size, they were about as large as the ones he had encountered during the last chase.
Lin Fengâs Identification Skill required him to be closer to scan objects that werenât too large.
Therefore, he could only estimate from their relative size that these three Tiger Spine Zergs were probably all in the Tier Two Early Stage.
âIn that case, Iâll go pay them a visit.â
âAt this distance, with the Flying Tiger Armorâs Flight Mode activated, I can reach a speed of 400 kilometers per hour. It would only take thirty seconds to fly there and back.â
If he was fast enough, Lin Feng might even have a chance to use Eye of Death beforehand to pre-aim at a lone Tiger Spine Zerg and land a brutal headshot.
points of Basic Damage, doubled by a Critical Strike, would result in a massive 380 points of Damage.
A Tier Two Early Stage Tiger Spine Zerg couldnât possibly withstand that.
After careful consideration, Lin Feng decided to take the risk before nightfall.
After all, the dead of night would not only affect the soldiersâ combat effectiveness but also hinder his pre-aiming, reducing his own combat power and preventing him from landing precise headshots on the Tiger Spine Zergs.
He would only be able to suppress their attacks with Basic Damage.
He would seize this golden opportunity during the day to eliminate these reckless Tiger Spine Zergs and complete his weapon and personal Upgrades. By nightfall, his Tier-Jump-Upgraded Lv20 Grenade Cannon could easily handle the Tiger Spine Zerg threat.
Lin Feng told Chen Yanyan his plan.
After a moment of worry, she agreed to cooperate with Lin Fengâs plan.
Because this was an external operation, he also had to guard against threats from the sky.
Lin Feng needed Chen Yanyan to pilot the Lv19 Flying Wing Tank and use its Life Radar for early warnings.
The greatest direct threat to his safety in the wild wasnât the powerful Tiger Spine Zergs, but the Tier Two flying Zerg Race that had yet to show itselfâthe advanced version of the Cyan-winged Zergs...
The Wind-winged Zergs, whose power was comparable to fighter jets!
According to the information sent by Ding Chenghai, the minimum speed of a Wind-winged Zerg was 800 kilometers per hour. High Tier Wind-winged Zergs even possessed supersonic Flying Ability!
Once they targeted Lin Feng, escape would be difficult unless he found cover, such as by diving into a Wormhole.
Therefore, Lin Feng needed Chen Yanyan to give him advance warning, notifying him in time via the walkie-talkie so he could take evasive action.
However, Ding Chenghai had also mentioned that because of their extreme speed, Wind-winged Zergs only targeted high-altitude objectives to suppress aerial strikes from humans.
They generally didnât fly at low altitudes due to the risk of stalling, crashing, or colliding with obstacles.
After all, at such speeds, even colliding with a small bird would cause catastrophic damage, just like with a human aircraft.
But Lin Feng couldnât bet his life on that possibility; it was best to be fully prepared in advance.
Once everything was ready, Lin Feng activated the full-body form of his Flying Tiger Armor from the center of the outpost, then activated the Might of the Tiger Zerg attribute, and finally, engaged Flight Mode.
A pair of grayish-cyan, folded Membrane Wings slowly unfolded.
Beating at an extremely high frequency, they kicked up dust from the ground, and the powerful updraft lifted Lin Fengâs feet off the ground.
The next second, a streak of black and yellow light flashed over the outpost, flying straight towards the main battlefield.
At a speed of over a hundred meters per second, Lin Fengâs figure appeared in front of the cavern where the Tiger Spine Zergs had emerged in just fifteen seconds.
He was only five or six hundred meters away from the cavern.
At this distance, Lin Feng could already raise his muzzle and precisely lock onto the vulnerable head behind a Tiger Spine Zergâs Giant Mandible.
As Lin Feng descended, hiding behind an earthen mound raised by a Wormhole, the Level 19 Grenade Cannon in his hands was ready to fire.
Holding his breath, he activated the Eye of the Death God attribute.
Pre-aim lock in progress...
From the hole beneath Lin Feng, countless Red-Armored Beetles and a Black Spine Zerg Swarm smelled the human scent, wanting to crawl out and attack this sudden prey.
But as the Might of the Tiger Zerg was released, they were so terrified that they instantly pulled their heads back and retreated deep into the hole.
Before long, a Tiger Spine Zerg, attracted by the flapping of a Cyan-winged Zergâs wings, poked half its body out of the cavern to investigate.
[Tiger Spine Zerg, Lv23/29]
[Life Value: 350, Physique: 350, Spirit: 35]
[A Middle Tier unit of the Zerg Race, an advanced, upgraded version of the Tier One Soldier Zerg, the Black Spine Zerg. It possesses formidable physical capabilities and is extremely aggressive. Its pair of Giant Mandibles can exert force ranging from over ten to several tens of tons, and its movement speed approaches 100 km/h. A siege-breaking weapon of the Zerg Race.]
[Note: The Giant Mandible can be used as an Orange Quality material for fusion Upgrades.]
Lin Feng only glanced at its Life Value...
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he locked onto the zergâs eye and decisively pulled the trigger!
In an instant, a flash of fire erupted!
The shell left a straight trail of fire that dissipated in mid-air.
But it was immediately followed by a violent explosion from the distant cavern entrance, where a fireball several meters wide soared into the sky!
The next moment, a message flashed before Lin Fengâs eyes:
[Successfully killed a Lv23 Tier Two Zerg]
[Level 19 Grenade Cannon, Tier Jumping Upgrade Conditions have been met]
[Initiate Tier Jumping Upgrade!]
A smile spread across Lin Fengâs face, but before he could confirm the Upgrade option, the look of joy vanished in an instant...
He immediately shot up and retreated violently!
The next second, the hole beneath Lin Feng suddenly collapsed!
A pair of open, bright-yellow, ten-meter-long Giant Mandibles,
shot out from within!