Encircle the point and attack the reinforcements?

The appearance of the Abscess Sprayer made even Yan Fangxu feel a bit troubled.

The pus sprayed from these monsters would land on the defensive line, forming pools of sludge that hissed as they corroded the ground.

That area was no longer safe for anyone to stand in.

If a soldier were unlucky enough to be sprayed, the splash might be fine if it hit their personal armor, as it couldn't corrode through; however, if it hit their arms or legs, it would rapidly penetrate their clothing, causing large-scale corrosive burns that would quickly render the soldier combat-ineffective.

The worst-case scenario was being sprayed head-on, covering the soldier entirely, which would lead to them dying in agonizing screams.

What kind of biochemical artillery was this?

If these monsters were allowed to spray to their hearts' content, there was a good chance they would be wiped out right here.

But fortunately, the number of Abscess Sprayers was not high, and their spray range was very short—only fifty meters—not nearly as far as actual artillery.

Within a fifty-meter range, even with a large number of other Abscess Monsters providing cover, they were still quite easy to hit.

Once the soldiers saw the threat posed by the Abscess Sprayers, they prioritized focusing their firepower on these specific monsters.

The 3rd Battalion was a newly formed unit, but they were the first to be equipped with the G9 Gun Family produced by the battalion base. Firearms with excellent power and high stability were a soldier's best friend. The machine gun variant of the G9, in particular, offered greater power, a faster rate of fire, and a larger magazine capacity, providing more sustained firepower. When facing these monsters, it was like a lawnmower.

Bullets were poured out like splashing water, and the monsters blocking the path of the Abscess Sprayers were mowed down in droves, their bodies even being shredded to pieces. Immediately after, the bullets would tear the Abscess Sprayers to shreds as well.

After paying a certain price, they had once again repelled the monsters' attack.

The area around the woodland became quiet.

In two rounds of attacks, those monsters had left behind at least a thousand corpses.

Before this, Yan Fangxu had never discovered such a large-scale gathering of monsters in this dense forest.

This fact itself was highly unusual, and what happened next made him smell the heavy scent of a conspiracy.

Those monsters seemed to have realized that continuing their previous fierce offensive was pointless and was purely throwing their lives away. They stopped their large-scale attacks, but they did not leave entirely.

From their current position, the soldiers could see shadows moving deep within the distant forest. The monsters hadn't left; they were lurking behind the trees, and even from a distance, one could still feel their deep-seated malice.

The soldiers, including Yan Fangxu, attempted to open fire into the dense forest.

The results were poor.

The area they were currently in had originally been a monster incubation nest. To clear the nest, they had felled and burned many trees that had been parasitized by the incubation eggs, creating a small clearing. When the monsters attacked, they had no cover within one hundred meters of the soldiers' defensive line.

However, in the forest beyond one hundred meters, the power of their bullets was greatly diminished.

These soldiers had indeed become qualified warriors after a short period of training. But a qualified warrior was not necessarily a sharpshooter who never missed. At a distance of one hundred meters, with the enemy hiding in the dim, tree-obstructed forest, it was truly not easy to hit them.

Relying on his superior military skills and the powerful performance of his electromagnetic rifle, Yan Fangxu could guarantee a hit every time—see it, eliminate it. But after firing two shots and killing two monsters suspected to be Abscess Sprayers, he stopped shooting.

Not only did he stop, but he also ordered his soldiers to cease fire.

He now realized a problem: the number of enemies was too vast. They might run out of bullets and still not finish off all these monsters.

Ammunition was limited.

They had originally thought they were just entering the forest to carry out a mission to destroy an incubation nest, not to fight a war, so they hadn't brought a large reserve of ammunition.

And even if they were truly going to war, ammunition reserves still needed to be delivered by logistics units. In field operations, how much could one carry on their person?

Although Yan Fangxu had been very cautious, when he led the team out on the mission, he had brought along a Brute Ox cart, hauling a full load of food and ammunition supplies.

But even that was not infinite.

If they continued to hold their ground, the final result would only be running out of ammunition and food.

He led his team in an attempt to break out, but they failed.

Once the unit entered the dense forest, their advantage in firepower was greatly reduced, and the threats they faced were greater.

Not only did those 'biochemical artillery' units become harder to eliminate and more likely to cause casualties to the soldiers, but even the ordinary Abscess Monsters became a threat. After all, no one could say for sure from behind which tree such a monster might suddenly jump out.

And the bigger trouble was that no one knew how many monsters were hiding in the surrounding forest. If they insisted on breaking out, they would have to pay a heavy price in casualties.

After making an initial attempt and realizing the difficulties involved, before any actual casualties occurred, Yan Fangxu ordered the unit to retreat, continue holding their position, and requested reinforcements from headquarters.

Soon, he received a reassuring reply.

"Hold your position and hang on. The Governor will lead the 2nd Infantry Battalion and the Marine Assault Team to rescue you."

Receiving such a reply was indeed very reassuring.

The Governor would not abandon them.

But after more time passed, the sense of unease in Yan Fangxu's heart gradually magnified.

He sensed intelligence in the behavior of these monsters.

The first two attacks were quite mindless, which seemed to be the style of these monsters. When they encountered other types of creatures, they would mindlessly charge forward, completely fearless of death.

But now, those monsters were using the terrain of the dense forest to trap them in place, which was definitely not a decision that could be made without a brain.

Either intelligence had evolved among these monsters, or there was a human factor behind their actions.

Yan Fangxu was more inclined toward the latter.

Then, why did these monsters choose to surround them without attacking?

To starve them to death here?

Clearly unreliable.

Then their goal...

Did they anticipate reinforcements?

Is this a trap to lure and ambush reinforcements?

Are they targeting the Governor?

A series of thoughts flooded his mind, and Yan Fangxu's train of thought became somewhat chaotic all of a sudden.

The route taken for the rescue mission was mostly dense forest terrain. If the Governor's convoy were to be attacked by a large horde of monsters while on the march, the consequences would be unimaginable!

He immediately activated his communication device again.

This time, he successfully made contact with Gu Hang and reported his suspicions to the Governor.

But after hearing his report, Gu Hang merely said:

"Don't worry, I have a plan, take your time."