Chapter 37: The Cage

By the time Li Qingsong had finalized his troop deployments and secured the perimeter, the strange birds in the small plain were still engaged in their fervent and passionate courtship rituals.

Over a million of these creatures were frolicking, playing, and mating, a scene that looked as if spring had arrived to bring everything to life.

Observing this, a cruel smile curled the corners of Li Qingsong’s mouth.

"Well then... open fire!"

At his command, a total of 1,000 artillery pieces, spread along a 50-kilometer front surrounding the small plain, fired in unison.

Amidst the silent roar, the earth trembled violently. Blinding flashes of fire erupted from the muzzles, and a moment later, massive shells slammed into the plain below at twice the speed of sound.

Several seconds passed.

A thousand fireballs suddenly bloomed across the plain, and the ground shook as if struck by an earthquake.

As the explosions detonated, at least tens of thousands of the strange birds were shredded to pieces in an instant. Amidst the spray of flesh and blood, the birds, previously lost in the joy of their mating season, were stunned into confusion.

Before they could recover, a second wave of shelling, accompanied by torrents of fire from high-speed machine guns, arrived. Massive ammunition belts fed into the heavy machine guns like conveyor lines; shells ejected and piled up beside them, while bullets screamed from the muzzles, joining the artillery barrage to pummel the flock.

Simultaneously, the infantry clones were not to be outdone. Armed with massive submachine guns, they had already spread out through the mountains surrounding the plain, occupying superior firing positions that looked down upon the slaughter.

For a time, the air was filled with the cacophony of gunfire and artillery. Endless streams of bullets and shells poured onto the small plain like a flood.

Li Qingsong noted that in just over ten minutes, he had unleashed at least 100,000 artillery shells, hundreds of millions of heavy machine gun rounds, and tens of millions of submachine gun cartridges upon the plain.

Calculating based on a logistics truck’s capacity of 100 tons, in these few minutes alone, the entire payload of 50 heavy trucks had been expended. This did not even account for the additional fuel, food, oxygen, and other supplies required just to transport those 50 truckloads to the front line.

A thought crossed Li Qingsong’s mind.

"I’d always heard that war is a matter of logistics. I didn't quite grasp it before, but now I finally do. At this rate of consumption, even if my base and population were ten times larger, I wouldn't be able to sustain this for long."

Fortunately, this battle would not take much longer.

Under the bombardment of thousands of tons of shells and bullets, the small plain was a scene of utter devastation. In those few minutes alone, at least 500,000 of the strange birds had been killed.

Their joy and excitement had long since vanished. Faced with a disaster of biblical proportions, the birds began to flee in a frantic panic. Some flew upward, some bolted outward, and others scattered in a chaotic mess.

At this point, artillery was no longer the primary weapon. The birds had dispersed, significantly reducing the effectiveness of area-of-effect shelling.

But that was fine.

Ready and waiting, armored vehicles and tanks roared to life, charging down like tigers descending from the mountains. Behind them, swarms of infantry clones in specialized space suits, clutching submachine guns and laden with heavy magazines and grenades, followed in their wake.

Whenever they spotted a cluster of birds, the tanks would fire a round. For stragglers, the infantry would unleash a burst of gunfire. If they encountered a larger group, the infantry would use the tanks as cover, pinning their backs against the steel as they poured out fire. They only needed to hold for a few minutes before reinforcements would arrive to help eradicate the remaining targets.

One thousand tanks and armored vehicles, like unstoppable beasts, tore through the battlefield. Wherever they charged, they carved a path of blood.

On the periphery, though the artillery and heavy machine guns could no longer fire indiscriminately for fear of hitting friendly forces, they continued to provide support by picking off areas clear of their own troops. A significant portion of the heavy machine guns were directed at the sky. They could fire without restraint, as the only things capable of flight were the enemy birds.

In the air, many birds trailed long streaks of flame, darting about like jet fighters. Some tried to dive and attack, while others sought only to escape. Regardless of their intent, they were met with curtains of machine-gun fire.

Li Qingsong didn't care how many bullets were spent. He had brought plenty. He wanted only one thing: to see the birds and fire until they were gone. He wanted his clones’ fingers welded to their triggers—firing, never stopping.

The barrage from the heavy machine guns created an unbreakable cage, trapping all the birds inside. The tanks, armored vehicles, and infantry were the executioners within that cage, slaughtering the birds and reaping their lives with ruthless efficiency.

Amidst the thundering cannon fire, the number of birds still capable of movement on the ground or flight in the sky dwindled rapidly.

The battle lasted only a little over an hour before drawing to a close. After a final sweep, Li Qingsong let out a sigh of relief. Every bird with any remaining combat capability had been eliminated. He didn't know if there were more in space, but on the surface of Luoshen Star, there were no combat-capable birds left.

Now, it was time to clean up the battlefield.

Li Qingsong felt a genuine sense of joy. With so many birds, there would be a massive amount of body fluid... and if collected as an additive, he could cultivate so many high-quality clones.

Although the battle had been intense and countless birds had been blown to bits, it didn't matter. The temperature on Luoshen Star was so low that their fluids would freeze solid almost immediately upon spilling. He only needed to "scrape" a layer off the surface to collect it all. The rest would simply be a matter of filtration and purification to separate the impurities.

The heavy-duty trucks, now empty, began to roll onto the field. The infantry clones transitioned into cleanup crews, scouring the grounds.

During the process, Li Qingsong gathered many birds that were wounded but not yet dead. He spared these, planning to transport them back to the base to be kept as livestock.

After three full days of work, the initial cleanup was complete. The trucks that had been emptied were now filled to the brim once more. While a vast amount of valuable material remained on the battlefield, it could be collected slowly over time.

More than 3,000 vehicles had assembled.

Time to go home.