102: Assisting in defense

Although the soldiers on the first line of defense quickly set up another batch of machine guns, the Mutated Zombies were already closing in within four or five meters.

By the time they used machine guns to kill three or four of them, those Mutated Zombies had already jumped inside the defense line.

Seeing that the machine gunners were about to lose their lives to the Mutated Zombies, the military Evolutionists, who were standing by in full battle array, immediately drew their swords and charged forward.

Instantly, on the defense line primarily built with trucks, sword lights and shadows danced, and zombie roars echoed continuously.

Machine gun fire and artillery shell explosions sounded again, shooting dead the rushing zombies in front.

Although the military had the advantage on the defense line, casualties were still unavoidable.

There were machine gunners, rocket launchers, and Evolutionists.

Qin Shilei patted Little Strong, "Let's go down!"

"Whoosh!" Little Strong chirped and swooped down towards the side of the Luyang Bridge.

"Company Commander, it's a giant bird." A soldier shouted in panic.

"There's someone on the giant bird, it should be a human pet." A soldier with good eyesight responded.

When Little Strong was about to land at the same height as the Luyang Bridge, Qin Shilei stomped hard and jumped onto the Luyang Bridge.

He drew Blood Soul and rushed towards the Mutated Zombies on the defense line.

With a sweep of his sword, a zombie's head fell to the ground.

A small warm current flowed from Blood Soul, and Qin Shilei felt a slight recovery of his physical strength.

Blood Reversal!

Qin Shilei activated the skill on Blood Soul.

The Mutated Zombies within ten meters immediately became two-tenths slower in their movements.

The military Evolutionists immediately seized the opportunity and hacked all those Mutated Zombies to death on the ground.

Although Mutated Zombies do not rely on the blood in their bodies for energy, Blood Reversal still had a good effect on these low-level Mutated Zombies.

Qin Shilei swayed, transforming into an afterimage, and rushed towards another Mutated Zombie.

A cold light flashed, and that Mutated Zombie's head fell with the sword.

Qin Shilei continuously moved along the defense line, and with every sword strike, a zombie's head was chopped off.

Soon, the dozens of Mutated Zombies that had rushed into the defense line were all killed by Qin Shilei and the military Evolutionists working together.

Occasionally, a few Mutated Zombies that crossed the first line of defense and rushed towards the second line of defense were also easily cut down by the soldiers of the second line of defense.

The company commander on the defense line walked up to Qin Shilei and sincerely said, "Thank you for helping us hold the defense line!"

"It's nothing," Qin Shilei replied indifferently, "I'm going to check on the other bridges. Farewell."

Qin Shilei casually picked up the qingtong treasure chest that dropped from the Mutated Zombie he killed, turned, ran out of the Luyang Bridge, and jumped onto Little Strong's back.

As expected, the other bridges also experienced sudden attacks by Mutated Zombies.

Some annihilated the Mutated Zombies without losing a single soldier, while others managed to defend the line with only a few casualties.

The most tragic situation was the battle on Ma Pu Bridge.

The first line of defense had been breached, and ordinary zombies had even crossed the first line of defense and were approaching the second line of defense.

Although the first line of defense was recaptured later under the leadership of the military experts.

However, hundreds of soldiers had been gnawed beyond recognition by the bloodthirsty zombies.

Perhaps the military also realized the ferocity and certain intelligence of the zombies, and urgently dispatched a large group of additional soldiers to participate in the defense.

Qin Shilei patrolled in the sky for over an hour, and after seeing that the defense line was temporarily safe, he returned to Five Villa.

As soon as he returned to the villa, Mu Ziping brought the military's conscription order.

"To better defend the bridge lines on the Chi Yuan River, each Corps must send ten or more high-level Evolutionists to participate in the defense."

There are a total of seven bridges connecting other districts on the Chi Yuan River in He Shan District.

Therefore, a total of seven defense lines were constructed.

The military's more than 100,000 soldiers were fully capable of defending a mere seven defense lines.

It's unclear what the military was thinking, but as soon as the war started, they hastily conscripted civilian Evolutionists.

An Qian turned her head and asked, "Qin Shilei, our two Corps need to send at least twenty Evolutionists. How do you think we should arrange it?"

Qin Shilei pondered for a moment and replied, "First, gather the members of the Corps. Try to select eight-star or nine-star Evolutionists, or Evolutionists with special abilities."

Soon, their two Corps gathered again in that square.

Deputy Officer Mu shouted loudly through a loudspeaker, "To assist the military in defending Luyang Bridge, our Corps needs to send ten or more high-level combatants. Please, Evolutionists above seven stars, step forward."

Immediately, whispers broke out among the crowd below.

"It hasn't even been a day since the zombie counterattack, why are they asking us to help defend?"

"Has the military already lost control?"

"Should we escape from Nanzhuang City in another direction in advance?"

"I heard that three to four million zombies have attacked. If we go to help defend, won't we be certain to die?"

"Forget it, although it's hard to leave our homeland, our lives are more important. Let's escape."

After a while, only thirteen company commanders stepped forward.

The 007 Corps certainly had more than thirteen company commanders whose cultivation had reached seven stars or above.

But those people, for various reasons, chose to hide in the crowd.

Even some of those thirteen company commanders didn't want to step forward.

But they had previously revealed their cultivation, so even if they wanted to hide, they couldn't, and had to brace themselves and step forward.

Qin Shilei scanned the group of soldiers, who nominally belonged to him, below.

He said in a deep voice, "This military conscription is not sending us to our deaths; on the contrary, it's giving us a great gift."

"Just now, I participated in a defense battle at Luyang Bridge and gained more than ten qingtong treasure chests."

"On Luyang Bridge, the defense is mainly carried out by military artillery fire. Ordinary zombies cannot even get close to the defense line before being killed."

"And once those Mutated Zombies get close to the defense line, they will be surrounded and killed by many Evolutionists."

"Isn't this opportunity to acquire qingtong treasure chests easier than rushing into the zombie horde in the city?"

"We escaped from Ningan City, from the zombie siege that surrounded the city from all directions."

"In this terrible apocalypse, there is no absolutely safe place."

"If you run away every time you encounter danger, one day you will have nowhere to run."

"Only by seizing every opportunity to make yourselves stronger can you survive better."

"We have the natural barrier of the Chi Yuan River to defend against zombies. He Shan District will not be easily breached."

"Do you choose to participate in the defense or leave Nanzhuang City immediately and never be allowed to set foot in Nanzhuang City again? Please tell me."

Qin Shilei did not use Mu Ziping's loudspeaker, but his deep voice spread throughout the entire square.

Not long after he finished speaking, three to forty Evolutionists gradually stepped out.

In fact, Qin Shilei had a roster from Mu Ziping.

It listed fifty-six Evolutionists who were above seven stars.

Compared to the people who stepped forward now, there were still two missing.

Qin Shilei spoke again, "I'll say it again, please, those whose cultivation has reached seven stars or above, actively step forward."

"You can choose to obey my orders and participate in the defense, or you can leave the 007 Corps, hide somewhere in He Shan District, or leave Nanzhuang City directly."

A moment later, a thin man walked out and said, "Commander, I'm sorry, I choose to leave Nanzhuang City."

"Alright." Qin Shilei replied with a single word, indifferently.

The man turned and left the square.

Then, the last person never stepped forward.

Qin Shilei coldly shouted, "Liu Min, step forward!"

After a while, a middle-aged man in his thirties reluctantly stepped out.

Qin Shilei questioned, "Has your cultivation reached seven stars?"

Liu Min flatly denied, "I haven't reached it."

Qin Shilei took out a piece of paper and read, "Liu Min, Seven-star Swordsman, ability: Fire, overall evaluation: Grade B-minus."

Liu Min argued, "That was a made-up cultivation level so I could gain the military's attention."

"Hmph!"

After Qin Shilei let out a soft snort, he suddenly disappeared from the high platform.

Then his figure reappeared in front of Liu Min.

Amidst the other party's astonishment, he sliced off the other party's head with a single sword stroke.