212: Zombie Horde Defense (2)

Inside the frontline Commander-in-Chief headquarters, Yang Zhen stared at the suffocating expanse of red light on the sand table representing the Zombie Tide, his brows tightly locked.

"Request approved! Bomber formation, take off immediately! Brigade Commander Xia, hold the position and minimize casualties!" He put down the phone and immediately issued the attack order to the Air Force Command Center.

...

"Attention all crews! Take off in three minutes according to the scheduled plan. Target: Phoenix City Zombie Tide, National Highway G323 mountain section! Acknowledge!"

"H-9 Aircraft 1, understood!"

"Aircraft 2, understood!"

...

Three minutes later, at a military airport in Rongcheng, a massive roar echoed through the sky. More than twenty enormous H-9 strategic bombers, like awakened giant birds, taxied and accelerated one by one, finally breaking free from gravity and charging into the dim sky, forming a massive formation that swooped toward the northwest like a flock of wild geese.

"H-9 First Formation has arrived over the target, requesting permission to drop bombs!"

"Permission to drop bombs granted! Repeat, permission to drop bombs granted!"

The bomb bays of dozens of H-9s slowly opened, and the tens of tons of special thermobaric bombs fell like meteors.

A few seconds later— "BOOM!!!!!!!"

It seemed as if only one color remained between heaven and earth—blinding white! Following that was a huge, rolling, expanding orange-red fireball that connected heaven and earth! The terrifying first explosion scattered the special fuel, covering several square kilometers, and the subsequent secondary deflagration instantly drained the oxygen in the area, generating temperatures exceeding several thousand degrees! Flames swallowed everything, trees on the mountains instantly carbonized and burned, and the National Highway G323 mountain area seemed to have turned into a terrifying purgatory of fire, with hundreds of thousands of zombies directly vaporized and carbonized in the extreme heat!

"First Formation mission complete, requesting return!"

"Return permitted!"

After completing their mission, the H-9s of the First Formation turned around and began their journey home.

Dozens of minutes passed, the mountain fire was still raging, and rolling rocks blocked the already narrow national highway. However, this still could not stop the madness of the Zombie Horde! They roared, stepping on the charred remains of their kind and scorching gravel, like an army from hell, continuing to surge forward!

"Second Formation has arrived over the target, requesting permission to drop bombs!"

"Execute bombing mission!"

The H-9s of the Second Formation lowered their altitude, and along the national highway line, poured down tens of tons of high-explosive aerial bombs like raindrops! Huge explosions rose one after another, and the shockwaves tore apart and threw away the burning remains and surviving zombies again! Firelight and smoke became the main theme of this death corridor.

The saturated bombing that lasted for dozens of minutes wiped out more than 80% of the second wave of 400,000 zombies. The remains piled up on the national highway were almost level with the broken mountains on both sides, and the smell of burnt stench permeated for tens of kilometers.

Watching the hellish scene transmitted back by the drones, a cheer of survival erupted from the 3rd Brigade's position.

The soldiers' morale reached its peak. In the face of humanity's ultimate war weapons, individual bravery seemed so insignificant; no matter how terrifying the monster, it would eventually be reduced to ashes under the baptism of steel and fire!

Before the battle had completely ended, Brigade Commander Xia decisively ordered helicopters to carry Evolver squads to the bombing area to quickly collect crystal cores.

However, the feedback received made Brigade Commander Xia's just-relaxed mood instantly sink to the bottom, and a chill shot straight from his spine to his head—this second wave of over 400,000 Zombie Tides was still composed of ordinary zombies and First-Tier Zombies; not even the shadow of a Second-Tier Zombie could be found!

Brigade Commander Xia put down his communicator, walked outside the command vehicle, and looked at the national highway still billowing with thick smoke in the distance, his fists clenched unconsciously, his nails digging deep into his palms. This Corpse King hidden behind the scenes could not only command a terrifying eight million Zombie Horde but also understood how to attack in stages, using massive amounts of low-level cannon fodder to consume humanity's ammunition, physical strength, and spirit, while preserving real high-end combat power.

This time, what humanity was facing was probably not just bloodthirsty beasts, but a terrifying opponent that possessed intelligence and understood war.

Could humanity really win? This heavy question hung like a dark cloud over the hearts of Brigade Commander Xia and all the senior officers who knew the inside story.

...

The third wave of the Zombie Horde, carrying a thick aura of death, rolled in like a black torrent that had burst its banks before the 2nd Brigade reinforcements arrived!

This time, the structure of the Zombie Horde had changed significantly. In the middle of the dense zombie crowd, there were a large number of Acid Throat zombies with green mucus flowing on their skin! These disgusting creatures cunningly hid under the armpits, crotches, or behind tall Fatty Zombies, like carried lethal weapons, waiting only to approach the human position to spray lethal acid.

"Finally couldn't help it, decided to use high-tier units, huh... Damn monster!" Brigade Commander Xia saw the composition of the Zombie Horde through the drone footage, his eyes cold, and his tone carried a hint of expected gravity. After hours of fierce fighting and hundreds of thousands of zombies slain, the Corpse King behind the scenes had obviously lost patience and started trying to launch attacks with more threatening combinations. But it probably couldn't understand the precision strike and long-range sniping capabilities that humanity possessed.

"Pass the order! All Snipers, immediately find high ground and establish Sniper positions! Wood Element Ability Brigade, all take off, prioritize sniping the Acid Throats in the Zombie Horde! Never let them get close to the position!" Brigade Commander Xia's order was clear and steady, like a rock.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz—!" Twelve Z-15 armed helicopters quickly lifted off, their rotors churning the airflow, carrying an aura of killing, swooping down like hunting falcons toward the surging Zombie Tide.

"Attention everyone, prioritize identifying and sniping the Acid Throats! Save rockets, use autocannons primarily!" The voice of the Wood Element Ability Brigade Commander echoed in the pilots' headsets.

"Understood!"

The roar of the autocannons rang out instantly! 30mm caliber shells seemed to have grown eyes, shooting precisely at those Acid Throats hiding in the Zombie Horde. One by one, the Acid Throats, along with the Fatty Zombies they were hiding behind, were blasted apart, green corrosive acid splashing everywhere, actually causing the surrounding zombies to hiss as they were corroded.

Intermittently, several 70mm rockets whistled into the dense parts of the Zombie Horde, exploding into fireballs mixed with severed limbs.

The ammunition of the armed helicopter formation was soon exhausted, and they began to return for resupply. At this moment, the remaining Acid Throats, mixed with the vanguard of the Zombie Horde, had already approached within three kilometers of the position!

"Snipers in position! Mortar teams, calibrate firing coordinates—Fire!" The 2nd Battalion Commander roared hoarsely.

In an instant, the dull and lethal gunfire characteristic of Sniper rifles echoed over the position! Snipers from the ridges, rooftops, and temporary Sniper towers calmly pulled their triggers, precisely headshotting the Acid Throats that tried to poke their heads out to spray acid! At the same time, mortar shells of different calibers carved out beautiful parabolas, falling into the Zombie Horde like hail, and the explosions and shockwaves cleared large areas once again.

"Tank company! Prepare to move out and clear the remaining enemies approaching the position!" The 2nd Battalion Commander was just about to issue the final cleanup order.

Just at this moment, a huge engine roar came from the sky!