Chapter 60: Victory
The defense line was burning.
The sparks of the had long since died out. Charred corpses were piled up like a mountain, paving a blackened path for those behind them.
Before the second defense line, the steel ranks of Robots poured out firepower with abandon, crimson chains of tracer fire weaving into a net of death that tore swaths of zombies to shreds.
But the tide still surged forward like a boundless black flood—numb, relentless, advancing.
"Mortars! Blast them!" roared at the top of his lungs, his eyes bloodshot. He was personally manning a Type 98A 120mm anti-tank rocket launcher, aiming at a trying to ram the barricade.
Exhaust flame burst out. The rocket plunged into the tide trailing white smoke.
Boom!
The 's upper body was blown to pieces outright, and the shockwave flipped dozens of surrounding zombies into the air.
Behind them, survivors who had just picked up guns from their production posts mechanically repeated the motions of aiming, firing, and reloading under the command of veterans like . Fear had long been numbed by the deafening roar of gunfire and the stench of blood washing over their faces.
On the other flank, the drone swarm racing in from finally reached the battlefield.
A shrill howl came from the sky. A torrent of thousands of points of light descended upon the battlefield like a metal storm.
The vast drone formation split apart in midair.
One contingent of drones dove straight down, laser emitters beneath their bellies flaring to life. Slender but lethal beams reaped lives in precise batches, instantly carving out several vacuum zones on the front line and greatly easing the defensive pressure.
Another contingent of drones, coordinating with bombing drones, dove like a flock of bloodthirsty vultures straight at the mobile little buildings behind the tide—the mutants.
Dense laser beams and micro-bombs blanketed one of the in an instant. Its colossal mass of flesh convulsed violently in the explosions, countless eyeballs on its surface bursting one after another, green fluid splattering in every direction.
[Concentrating fire to eliminate high-value targets.]
's voice rang out from every , calm and resolute.
The UAV under 's control continued to open fire. Micro-missiles struck the fleshy surface of the nearest with pinpoint accuracy, dozens of eyeballs bursting on impact and oozing foul pus.
The let out a piercing shriek. Hundreds of eyeballs across its body contracted at once as it tried to gather a blood-red beam to counterattack.
But the swarm had already arrived.
Micro-missiles poured down like rain, drowning the in a continuous chain of explosions.
Two of its segmented limbs were blown clean off. Its colossal body lost its balance and crashed to the ground, crushing a patch of zombies beneath it.
Within three minutes, with the as core firepower and the swarm as supporting damage, had killed three and two larger types he had never seen before.
The front line was temporarily stabilized, but didn't relax in the slightest.
The word " " from the mission prompt lingered constantly in the depths of his consciousness.
He knew the most dangerous, most troublesome enemy had yet to take the field.
" , don't you think something's off?" 's urgent voice came through the comm channel.
As she killed a climbing over the barricade, she said: "This attack is too sudden, and too organized."
"The zombies know to use the dense forest and the hills to evade our perimeter surveillance, and they're almost unaffected by the sonic deterrent devices... It's like..."
[Like someone is commanding them.] finished her thought.
"Right!" paused, then a flash of insight struck. "You also have the ability to simultaneously command large numbers of units in coordinated operations."
"If it were you, with the ability to command this many units at once, how would you attack this place?"
's consciousness jolted to a halt.
The west high ground.
It was the highest terrain on the 's perimeter, commanding a view of the entire plant area. Because the tide was mainly surging from the north and east, only two Sentinels were watching the west—all deployable personnel and firepower had been drawn to the main front.
[Not good!]
immediately redirected the circling at high altitude, ordering it to search outward from the west high ground at maximum speed.
Thirty seconds later, the images the UAV captured sent a chill to the very core of 's consciousness.
Between the jagged rocks and sparse woodland, two bone-white figures were skimming low over the ground at an inconceivable speed. The folded wing structures on their backs fluttered occasionally, the air currents they stirred blowing gravel across the ground.
Like two perfectly synchronized dancers, they crossed and circled through the air. Every change of direction was coordinated and graceful, their course aimed squarely at the .
Two Pilgrims!
Fortunately, he had caught them early. If he had waited until they came into view, everything would have been over.
There was no time to hesitate. immediately ordered the entire swarm of drones to turn and race west to intercept.
[Two Pilgrims detected to the west! They are approaching at high speed! All units beware!] 's alarm burst through the comm channel.
[I'll stop them with the swarm. The main front is up to you—hold the line!]
"Roger that!" shouted.
Nearly eight thousand drones changed course at once, like a sky-obscuring metal cloud sweeping over the toward the west high ground.
Fire support on the main front abruptly cut out.
As if sensing its prey's weakness, the tide let out even more frenzied roars, and the assault suddenly intensified.
The second defense line was breached within three minutes.
"Fall back! Retreat to the third defense line!" shouted hoarsely.
Some members who had pre-injected inhibitors were already firing point-blank at zombies and fighting them hand-to-hand. Filthy blood splattered across their faces, but no one had the energy to care about such things anymore.
Flesh and blood flew everywhere. Screams and roars mingled into a single indistinguishable din.
Even more despairing, at that very moment, a colossal figure burst out from behind the tide at terrifying speed!
It was a giant spider-shaped monster. Every landing of its eight segmented limbs punched a shallow crater into the ground, its speed so great it left afterimages in its wake.
The several rounds of mortar bombardment organized landed behind it without exception, and rifle bullets that struck its pale gray carapace only kicked off a string of feeble sparks.
It had picked its timing perfectly! All the drones had been diverted, and there was no time to split off forces and rush back.
In the blink of an eye, it had charged to within less than eight hundred meters of the third defense line!
Then it halted. In the mouthparts of its spider-shaped body, a blindingly incandescent ball of plasma began to condense, radiating an energy fluctuation that made every heart shudder.
"Retreat—!" Behind the line, stared at that ball of annihilation and let out a despairing scream.
But clearly, it was already too late.
Yet at the very instant the incandescent plasma was about to erupt, three silver-gray figures shot out from the direction of the power station buildings like arrows!
Three brand-new UAVs!
In the battle just now, the several new types had killed had provided him with an emergency influx of —just enough for him to manifest three more UAVs.
This was the real confidence behind his decision to divert the swarm—and the final trump card he had saved to kill the big fish the battle had lured out.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Two micro air-to-surface missiles dropped from their pylons, trailing exhaust, and struck the spider monster's mouthparts with pinpoint accuracy at a speed the naked eye could barely track.
Boom—!!!
The violent explosion engulfed the spider monster's entire front half in flames. The plasma that was about to take shape was forcibly dispersed, the backlash of energy detonating inside its own maw.
The monster let out a pained shriek as its colossal body was shoved backward more than ten meters by the shockwave, crushing a patch of zombies behind it.
Roar!
The spider monster bellowed in agony, its mouthparts blasted into a bloody ruin.
And yet, even so, it still wasn't dead!
What was even more horrifying was that the terrible wounds on its body were writhing and knitting shut at a speed visible to the naked eye!
New pale gray hard tissue rapidly grew at the edges of the shattered carapace—everything playing out like a video on fast-forward.
But just as it tried to rise again, a streak of white fire rose from behind the tide and arced across the sky.
Boom!
An air-defense missile trailing white exhaust struck the spider monster's humanoid upper torso with pinpoint accuracy. The blast knocked that smooth head askew, pale muscle fibers snapping and scattering through the air.
and the others were back!
On the distant horizon, five ZBL-08 wheeled infantry fighting vehicles were the first to smash through the remaining barrier on the highway, their 30mm autocannons plowing a broad bloody lane through the corpse horde.
Right behind them came three ZTL-11 assault vehicles and more than ten Mengshi assault vehicles, driving into the horde like knives and forcibly tearing a gap open from its rear.
's voice came over the comm channel, steady as ever: "All units, the armored column has reached the battlefield. We are now entering the counterattack phase. Objective—annihilate them all!"
At this moment, these witless once again felt the erupting might of old human civilization's dying light!
The battle turned in almost an instant!
***
West high ground.
More than three thousand drones, through suicide-style attacks, had brought the two white figures crashing down.
[Ding! 7 " " completion increased. Current progress: 3/10.]
By the time the notification sounded in 's consciousness, more than a third of the drones had already lost signal.
But now was not the time to grieve the losses. He immediately directed the remaining drones back to the main front.
Meanwhile, on the main front, with and the others joining the fight, the situation had already reversed.
"Open fire—!" 's excited roar echoed through the comm channel.
Shells rained down onto the corpse horde. This time, the horde's reinforcements could no longer keep up, and gaps opened in it.
What's more, , , and , wearing armor, charged straight into the horde for point-blank slaughter.
The hydraulic assist system let every punch from them shatter a 's skull, every kick send a hundred-kilogram body flying.
The short-range burst mobility provided by the vectoring nozzles let them move through the horde as if it were empty ground.
hoisted a Type 98A onto his shoulder, aiming directly at the last in the distance, its eyeballs spinning wildly.
and each hefted a rotary-barreled machine gun, hosing the area with gunfire to suppress the surrounding horde.
The next second, a high-explosive warhead screamed out and struck dead center in the ' enormous mass of flesh.
KA-BOOM!
The colossal mass of flesh was blasted to pieces, countless eyeballs reduced to char in the blaze.
At the other end of the battlefield, the wounded spider monster, the instant it saw the tide turn, chose to flee without a moment's hesitation.
All eight segmented limbs pushed off the ground with full force as its colossal body sprinted toward the northern woods at extraordinary speed.
It wanted to run, but had no intention of letting it get away.
Nearly four thousand drones destroyed, defense lines ruined, the nearly wiped out in one blow!
Since his rebirth, he had never suffered such a heavy loss!
Instinct told him that this monster was most likely the mastermind, so there was absolutely no way he would let it go.
And so, the remaining four thousand-plus drones, along with the three Sky Blades just added, gave chase like mad.
Lasers, missiles, autocannon fire... Endless firepower, like maggots clinging to bone, held the colossal spider monster in a death grip.
It tried several times to gather plasma for a counterattack, but every attempt was forcibly interrupted by micro-missiles fired from the Sky Blades.
Yet the thing's body toughness and regenerative ability were genuinely terrifying—despite everything, it actually managed to escape the fire coverage.
But still had no intention of giving up. Even if the drones couldn't fly back afterward, he wouldn't let this monster go.
And so its fearsome regenerative ability, under 's reckless, sustained damage-dumping tactics, for the first time proved utterly powerless.
The speed of healing gradually fell behind the speed of destruction.
Five kilometers.
Ten kilometers.
Fifteen kilometers.
After being hunted down for a full thirty kilometers, this bizarre finally exhausted its last shred of vitality amid the unending explosions.
[Ding! 's first kill of a " " (incomplete form) x1 detected. gained: 3000.]
[Ding! Special drop obtained: " " close-range air-defense plasma cannon x1, blueprint x1.]
[Current : 3050.]
Only when he saw this notification did truly breathe a sigh of relief.
On the other side, under the leadership of and the others, the remnants of the tide were swiftly mopped up.
Fortunately, this sudden catastrophe had not caused any deaths.
Though the wounded were many, thanks to the inhibitors and a barely sufficient supply of , everyone had survived.
[Ding! 2: —completed.]
[Mission rating: Excellent.]
[Calculating rewards... rating upgraded... hidden blueprint...]
[ gained: 10000.]
[Unlocked: blueprint x1. Unlocked: " " heavy sentry rapid-fire turret blueprint x1.]
[Current : 13050.]
***
In the shadow of the hillside, the neatly dressed woman watched the figure fall in the distance. The composure on her face was completely replaced by shock and wariness.
"I must report this to the higher-ups..."
She took a thoughtful step back, then turned and vanished into the night.
***
At the same time, at the edge of some city strewn with ruins, a soldier in uniform burst urgently into a temporary command post: "Report, Colonel! In the direction of City... massive explosions observed!"
Inside the tent, a middle-aged officer set down the map in his hands and was silent for a moment.
"Is it infighting among the monsters, or is someone fighting back?"
No one could answer.
***
On a wilderness highway, a long convoy of modified vehicles stretching out of sight also came to a stop.
A young man looked at the city's silhouette in the distance, listening to the sounds, and asked the melancholy man on the vehicle roof: "Brother... do you think there are people over there?"
The man was silent for a moment, then said slowly: "Whether there are or not, we have to go to to resupply."
***
Near the , several half-grown children huddled inside a culvert, their grimy faces full of terror.
They had all heard those explosions, one after another. Every pair of eyes turned toward the direction of the .
In eyes filled with despair, a spark of desperate resolve ignited.
***
Deep within the building.
In the profound darkness, amid the sound of viscous flesh writhing.
It seemed something opened its eyes.
Then slowly closed them again.
***
.
The battle was over.
In the sky, sunlight finally broke through the pale gray clouds.
Outside the , the defense lines were battered, the ground pockmarked, spent shell casings lying everywhere.
The survivors gasped for breath. Some sat on the ground, some leaned against walls, in a daze, as if they couldn't believe they were still alive.
Just then, the sound of an engine came from the distance.
On the road, a battered white van was approaching, weaving unsteadily.
Everyone tensely raised their weapons. More than a dozen muzzles pointed at the van at once.
The van screeched to a halt. The door was shoved open, and a tough-faced old man was the first to jump out, both hands raised high above his head.
"Don't shoot! We mean no harm!"
Then, two young people climbed out one after another—a couple by the look of them—each holding a child in their arms, while three slightly older children shrank behind them.
[Body temperature normal. They should be human.] 's voice rang out at just the right moment.
"We saw those labels in the city, and just now we heard the gunfire from here, so we followed the sound over."
Then the old man swept his gaze across the terrible scene here, drew in a sharp breath, and marveled: "Hey! You folks... you're really something!"
Then he straightened his back, swept his gaze over and the others, and said with a smile: "I served in the military too. Can you... count me in?"
After a brief silence, was the first to laugh out loud.
Then the others laughed too. Everyone was laughing.
The laughter spread across the battered defense line.
This of ours had finally gained someone who came to join on their own!
Sunlight spread across the scarred and devastated ground, illuminating every person still breathing.
Thankfully, everyone was still here.