63: Chapter 63 In the Dense Forest...

On the outskirts of Jianghai City.

Upon entering the dense forest, where the shade was so thick it blocked out the sun and the end was nowhere in sight, the soldiers of the Assault Company finally realized just how astonishing the changes in the wilderness truly were!

The surfaces of the surrounding trees were gnarled and rugged, their trunks thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around, and looking up, one could not see the tops; they were at least thirty meters tall!

Moreover, this was just the outer edge of the dense forest; looking ahead, the further one ventured into the deep mountain forest, the taller the trees became.

Eventually, even the traces of paths left by humans in the past were obscured by the branches growing across the dense forest.

The soldiers of the Assault Company had no choice but to slow their pace and use machetes to constantly hack away branches to clear a path.

"Damn it, how did these branches grow so thick and tough? They're so hard to cut! I'm exhausted!"

"Whew... It's a good thing there are so many of us, otherwise our exploration progress would definitely be greatly reduced..."

The soldiers couldn't help but shout, and the surroundings were filled with the "snap" of branches being chopped.

Having entered the dense forest, Reporter Wang Xiaoli now felt her heart calm down, and she walked over to the Captain Company Commander, who was observing the surrounding environment.

She asked him.

"Hello, Captain..."

"May I ask why we aren't driving directly to Yangguan Village to search for the lion pride, and instead came to the dense forest on the outskirts... Are we going to eliminate that Prehistoric White-Feathered Great Eagle?"

"But this direction is not the way to Divine Phoenix Mountain, is it?"

The Captain Company Commander lowered the military binoculars in his hands, turned his head, and smiled at the puzzled Reporter Wang Xiaoli.

"I apologize, Comrade Reporter, I forgot to tell you about the plan for this operation..."

"We previously used helicopters to scout the direction the lion pride was moving in; two days ago, the pride left Yangguan Village and entered this dense forest that spans a hundred miles."

"Oh, I see."

Reporter Wang Xiaoli nodded to show she understood, but there was still confusion in her eyes.

"I know that you, Captain, are not using helicopters to pursue the lion pride to prevent attacks from the Prehistoric White-Feathered Great Eagle, but this is still a long distance from Divine Phoenix Mountain, where the White-Feathered Giant Eagle is located... Why not use helicopters to carry out this mission?"

The Captain Company Commander looked stunned and glanced at Reporter Wang Xiaoli strangely.

"Comrade Reporter, you have seen the lion pride with your own eyes; the roar of that golden Male Lion can affect the brains of people within a helicopter altitude of over two thousand meters, so the helicopter plan cannot be adopted..."

"Oh... So that's it..."

The hundred-man Assault Company continued to advance.

The density and hardness of the branches greatly exceeded their expectations, and their speed of advancing into the depths of the dense forest slowed down significantly.

Fortunately, after reaching the depths, the trees here were even more magnificent, and the dense forest was actually much sparser, with only shrubs over a meter high that did not hinder their progress.

"Everyone, be careful, watch the situation in the grass, and beware of poisonous snakes!"

"Yes!"

To guard against poisonous snakes and insects in the grass, the soldiers began to change their shoes, all wearing military mountain boots, which ensured their feet were protected; even I, Reporter Wang Xiaoli, and the photographer changed into military boots.

Just like that, the small squad advanced forward unimpeded, and a large number of wild beasts fled to avoid them.

Influenced by over a month of nourishment from spiritual energy, the intelligence and cognitive abilities of this group of wild beasts had improved significantly, and they keenly sensed that this large group of strange two-legged creatures in front of them carried a very strong scent of danger.

Even predators like tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves were lurking in the distant dense forest, observing and watching this place without moving.

The soldiers of the Assault Company, being watched by a large number of wild beasts, were somewhat alarmed—not because they were scared, but because they were shocked by the expressions in the eyes of these wild beasts!

Although they knew that the size of the wild beasts in the wilderness was growing rapidly, the confusion and intelligence contained in those pairs of eyes shocked them!

To think that animals could have such high spirituality!

They had originally expected to go through battles upon entering the dense forest, but it was unexpectedly peaceful, which made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

"That is... that is a Golden Snub-nosed Monkey!"

Reporter Wang Xiaoli looked at the few furry golden monkeys in the tree and couldn't help but exclaim.

Hearing the exclamation, the Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys moved their gaze away from the group of advancing soldiers and looked up and down at Reporter Wang Xiaoli.

With bright pupils and lively eyes, anyone could tell that these few Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys possessed high intelligence.

"Those few Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys seem to be observing us..."

"It seems this gaze is different from the other animals around; it's a bit like reconnaissance..."

The Captain Company Commander also noticed the few Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys in the tree, and relying on his keen soldier's intuition, he discovered that these few Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys were indeed different from the surrounding animals.

But he couldn't figure out where the difference lay...

"Squeak!!!"

The few Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys squeaked at the people on the ground, then turned and leaped into the depths of the forest, disappearing from everyone's sight.

The millions of citizens of Jianghai City watching in front of their screens kept posting bullet comments to discuss, as they were also shocked by the displays of intelligence from the wild animals.

"The animals are really getting smarter and smarter; I don't know if that's a good thing..."

"Yeah, if I didn't know this was about entering the dense forest to search for the traces of the lion pride, I would have thought I was watching an Animal World movie..."

"It seems we really can't go to the dense forest on the outskirts anymore; these wild animals have become too dangerous now."

"I'm really looking forward to seeing the Assault Company handle the lion pride!"

"The sun is setting now, they should be resting soon..."

In the end, the Assault Company continued to walk for a few more hours, advancing forty miles, and found an open area to begin a simple rest.

The night quieted down, and the soldiers began to rest in turns; everything seemed destined to pass in such tranquility.

...

Meanwhile, just as the sun was setting, the few Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys from earlier were leaping along the way.

The Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys had excellent stamina, and their speed in the forest was much faster than that of the Assault Company; in four or five hours, they had traveled over a hundred miles and arrived at a dense forest at the foot of Divine Phoenix Mountain.

Since these few Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys could approach Divine Phoenix Mountain, they were naturally Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys from the Monkey King's tribe.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

The Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys that returned to the monkey troop let out a burst of rapid cries toward the Monkey King, their voices sounding very urgent.

The Monkey King, who was carefully and lovingly watching the swaddled infant in its palms, had a stunned look on its furry monkey face.

Although there was no language between the monkeys, the simple meaning in the cries could still be understood.

This was a warning signal that enemies had appeared in the distant forest!

"Roar!"

The Monkey King's fur stood on end, and it let out an angry roar!

As the guardian of the mountain territory, he would never allow any creature to approach this place.

It immediately placed the infant into the arms of a female monkey who was taking care of the troop's young, then grabbed his gray long staff and dashed off into the distance with the monkey troop!

In the blink of an eye, they disappeared into the jungle...