“Comnce firing!”
The putrid stench of corpses and the acrid sll of gunpowder mixed together, creating a nauseating odor perating the western defense line.
Gunshots erupted once again from that area.
“Kraaaa!”
The sound of shattering windows echoed through the ruined high-rise buildings.
Among the already collapsed roads, living corpses were trampling over the remains of their comrades, their unpleasant footsteps creating a surging tide of discomfort.
However, amidst the waves of these zombies, there was a particularly noticeable monster.
“—–!”
A distorted howl erupted from its jaws.
A mutant Beast in the form of a wolf.
It bared its nacing fangs, exuding an unmistakable hostility in all directions.
Against such a wolf, gunfire rained down like a storm.
Unlike a Brutal, the wolf had no ans to protect its head while running.
That’s why the junk dealers at the defense line thought the Beast was more manageable than a Brutal, even upon seeing it. They believed that if they could sohow pierce through its skull, they could easily bring it down.
However, that judgnt turned out to be a miscalculation.
Thunk!
A launched grenade aid at the creature only excavated chunks of concrete.
Unlike a Brutal, the Beast didn’t charge straightforwardly.
It knew how to evade the gunfire directed at it.
Moreover, its speed was incomparable to regular zombies.
It was too fast.
Even the seasoned junk dealers with experience in shooting couldn’t keep up with the gun barrels following the creature.
In such a situation, they couldn’t expect tank support either.
How could they hit a Beast moving at a speed even faster than the aiming of rifles in human hands with a tank’s main cannon?
It was then that the wolf freely road from the road and the building walls to the rooftop.
Thud!
Among the many bullets chasing its tail, only one bullet managed to catch up with the creature.
It hit the wolf’s face, puncturing one of its eyes.
A bizarre wail escaped from the creature.
The wolf, running along the walls, swayed in the air like a loose rope before plumting to the ground.
Unfortunately, whether it reached the brain or not, the creature imdiately got up, but the bullet had cleanly pierced its right eye.
And the only remaining left eyeball, without exception, was focused on the owner of that gunshot.
Aiden.
The wolf glared fiercely at his black helt, then slamd back onto the ground.
It was at that mont.
“Bow your heads!”
Nathan’s shout rang out.
Following his lead, Aiden hid behind the shield.
Imdiately after, a deafening explosion shook the ground, as if an earthquake had occurred.
A lethal blast radius of over 25 ters.
Several of these shells had fallen onto the road where zombies were rushing.
So fragnts embedded themselves in the sandbags piled up like a popping sound.
“...”
Once the shelling ended, Aiden quickly raised his head and surveyed the surroundings.
All the zombies that had filled the field of view had turned into rotten flesh.
And that wasn’t all.
The road had turned into fragnts of broken asphalt, and even the nearby buildings were no longer intact.
However, despite the intense artillery support, the mutant Beast, without falling, proudly stood atop the crumbling three-story building.
Whether it was just bad luck or the creature sensed danger? The mutant Beast seemingly avoided direct hits from the lethal blast radius just before the shelling.
Of course, even so, the creature’s hide wasn’t completely unscathed.
So fragnts were stuck all over its body.
The belly had been penetrated by shards of tal, and its tail, which had been healthy until a while ago, now had completely disappeared.
However, even with that level of artillery support.
The mutant Beast didn’t retreat.
Rather, it seed to sense that the bombardnt had ended and imdiately leaped from the building rooftop towards Aiden without hesitation.
A dense shadow covered the defense line as if covering the sky.
“It’s coming!”
Upon this, chaos erupted around Aiden.
The shouts of rcenaries scattering in all directions and Nathan’s cries trying to restrain them overlapped.
In the midst of it all, Aiden, standing alone, remained unshaken. He simply aid his gun at the wolf.
And-
Bang!
Aiden’s gun muzzle spewed fire.
This ti, his bullet pierced through the wolf’s remaining eye along with the rest of its brain.
Imdiately after, Aiden leaped to the side of the defense line.
Grrra! Thud!
With a mournful cry, the wolf’s massive body crashed onto the defense line.
Sandbag fortifications and various weapons, painstakingly assembled, were swept away by the waves.
Only Arian, holding a mounted machine gun, managed to escape to safety without harm.
However, the rcenaries had no ti to repair the damage. Various mutants and zombies began to swarm the area where the shells had fallen.
“They’re coming again, focus!”
Although there were no mutant Beasts this ti, the numbers were much larger than before.
A Vomiter’s sludge bombs rained down in succession.
A massive Bigfoot, showcasing its large stature, swallowed zombies that were nearby, obscuring the view.
A Wielder, wielding a broken concrete column like a club, threatened the rcenaries.
Another Brutal let out a roar.
“There!”
Arian’s machine gun mowed down the Stingers charging along the wall.
anwhile, Aiden’s bullets pierced through the head of a mutant, and grenades rained down from all directions.
Nurous gunshots and explosions overlapped.
The ground, previously covered with rotten flesh, was once again concealed under putrid at.
Aiden’s rifle, unable to endure, finally malfunctioned. However, instead of fixing it, Aiden imdiately grabbed another rifle he had prepared.
How long had they been fighting?
The ammunition, thought to be sufficient, was gradually running out.
It ant they had fought for a considerable ti, and that many zombies had gathered here.
Not even concrete was visible on the ground anymore.
Was this what hell looked like?
Zombie bodies piled up, creating a path of decay.
“Ahh!”
anwhile, the casualties kept increasing.
The rcenary unit, originally over 50 strong, now had only around 30 mbers left.
But there was a glimr of hope.
Finally, the number of zombies was decreasing.
If they held on a little longer, they could repel the wave.
Everyone in the defense line was thinking the sa when suddenly Nathan’s order ca.
“8th Battalion! Retreat! Retreat!”
The rcenaries, who had barely held the defense line, looked at Nathan with confusion. But soon they understood the reason for the retreat.
Behind Nathan.
Inside the inner area of the defense line they were supposed to protect.
There were already nurous intruders.
“What’s that...?”
Soone murmured in astonishnt.
No wonder artillery support seed lacking.
The central street, where tanks and howitzers were originally stationed, was now filled with zombies.
A giant bear, the size of a house, was literally flipping tanks.
Next to it, a Brutal had smashed the barrel of an armored vehicle, and another wolf was devouring soldiers.
Unfortunately, the mutant Beast wasn’t just one.
“The defenses in other areas have collapsed,” Nathan said.
It wasn’t strange.
If Aiden hadn’t eliminated the mutant Beast, the sa fate would have befallen them.
“All other forces are retreating as well. If we linger here, we could be surrounded. So, retreat imdiately.”
The rcenaries’ expressions hardened.
“Is the mission a failure?”
Aiden also muttered, feeling bitter.
But to him, Arian spoke with an even graver expression.
“It’s not the fault of the mission.”
“What do you an...?”
Aiden observed the movents of the zombies.
They weren’t heading towards the western defense line but were focused on another direction.
The south.
In other words, the direction where the headquarters of the 62nd Division was.
Upon this, Aiden went to Nathan, who was commanding the retreat, and asked.
“Is the residential area under attack?”
“It seems like they’ve bitten the tail of the retreating unit. I’m sure they reached the Wall.”
Nathan replied with a devastated expression.
Then there was only one thing Aiden had to do.
“Hurry.”
Nathan nodded solemnly.
The rcenary unit imdiately moved towards the stronghold.
* * *
A while later, when the rcenaries reached the north gate, they were left speechless.
The situation was much worse than they had expected.
“What happened here?”
The towering wall of the 62nd Division, which should have been secure, was now ablaze and echoing with explosions.
Moreover, the north gate, supposed to be closed, was shattered by sothing, leaving it wide open.
And zombies were freely crawling in.
“Did an accident happen while withdrawing the troops?”
Several military vehicles were scattered chaotically.
But more noticeable than that was the giant mutated Beast leaning against the wall.
A colossal bear with a body length of over 5 ters.
Fortunately, its head was smashed, but it was evident that the beast had wreaked havoc before its demise.
It had caught up with the retreating troops and destroyed the wall.
“Then...!”
Arian’s face, who had thought they would at least defend the wall, beca contemplative.
The junk dealers who had co as rcenaries were also shaken.
It wasn’t the ti to discuss the contract when things had turned out like this. In the worst case, the organization known as the 62nd Division itself might face ruin.
While the junk dealers hesitated, a voice ca from Nathan’s radio.
“...”
A voice that wasn’t audible to Aiden.
However, Arian heard the content, and her expression beca cold.
After ending the radio communication, Nathan turned to the rcenary unit.
“Is this okay?”
One of the junk dealers asked him.
Nathan briefly explained the current situation to the hesitating rcenaries.
According to him, only the north gate and the adjacent northern area were in danger among the four divided zones of the base.
“All areas are separated by internal barriers. So, if we block only this place, the disturbance will end soon.”
In other words, he was saying that the 62nd Division wouldn’t be completely ruined because of this incident.
The rcenaries were skeptical, but they were already aware that the base’s interior was divided into different sections.
In short, it wasn’t an unbelievable story.
Nathan continued to desperately persuade the rcenaries and issued orders for the operation.
“Stay here.”
So were to stay at the north gate to support the defense force.
They were to block the entrance to prevent any more zombies from entering.
“And 1st and 2nd Squads, follow .”
Nathan led the remaining personnel to cross the north gate.
Arian, who had only observed the wall for a while, asked:
“Where are we going?”
“To the armory in the northern section.”
The armory.
It was undoubtedly an important strategic point.
But for Aiden, there was a more critical place.
“What about the facility where the kids are?”
“...Well, I don’t know. The current orders given to the troops are to block the north gate and guard the armory.”
In response to Nathan’s hesitant answer, Aiden smirked.
According to him, there was no ntion of rescuing the kids in this situation.
“So, is that okay?”
“What do you an?”
“Those kids... they are likely your children.”
The facility housed not only Sadie but also many other children, mostly children of the soldiers living here.
Yet there was no instruction to rescue the children in this situation.
“I believe it’s the best... choice. Without weapons, we’ll all die.”
But Nathan replied with a bitter expression.
If the armory were destroyed by zombies, the military would undoubtedly lose a significant amount of firepower.
In comparison, children had no value as military assets.
So, was he going to abandon that side?
Aiden clicked his tongue lightly.
Whether he confused ans and ends or simply didn’t know anything beyond his own life, it was a foolish statent in the end.
“... Foolish.”
“What did you say?”
“Using weapons guarded by abandoning even your own children, what are you trying to protect?”
Aiden’s words left Nathan speechless.
Aiden turned his head.
There was no ti to argue with him here.
“That’s enough. We’re getting out of here.”
Aiden and Arian said so and left the group.
Behind them, Nathan shouted.
“This is a breach of contract!”
“We’re canceling the contract. No need for compensation.”
“You’ll never be allowed back in Fort Wayne.”
“That’s not necessary either. Apparently, this place... doesn’t seem to be a suitable place for a child to stay..”
Aiden threw the access card to the trade area he received on his first day here under Nathan’s feet.
Nathan’s eyes shook at his resolute attitude.
Aiden turned to Arian.
“Do you know the direction?”
Arian nodded and ran into the fiery northern area.
Aiden followed silently.
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