"Yikes..."
Everyone gasped, chilled to the bone—yup, creepy critters confirmed!
But just then, a Zombie leaped from a skyscraper, landing smack on a soldier's shoulders. This wasn't just any zombie; it was the red-faced lieutenant, a nimble Zombie Overlord nicknamed "Monkey"!
Monkey was buff, covered in pustules, and with a swift twist of his arms, he snapped the dude's head clean off.
"Hit 'em hard!"
Just as the folks around tried to retaliate, Monkey, quick as a whip, leaped again, landing on the neck of another hunter.
The hunter shook violently, messing up his aim with the Gatling gun.
Oops, it misfired!
'Da-da-da-da-da-da-da!'
As the gun spit fire, bullets rained down on the armed crew.
"Duck for cover!"
With a collective shriek, everyone hit the deck behind an armored vehicle.
Sparks flew as bullets pelted the vehicle, and yeah, a few unlucky souls got blasted to bits.
With the Zombie Overlord joining the fray, humans started losing ground.
Then, the red-faced Zombie Overlord made his move, his arms swelling grotesquely as veins burst forth.
Those veins, alive like serpents, wrapped around several soldiers, piercing their bodies.
"Argh—"
The soldiers screamed as they were rapidly drained of blood, turning into mummies.
"Man, that's brutal!"
Silas squinted, reminded of a movie, 'Venom', by the attack style.
But hey, this power wasn't too weird, still within the norm, not quite 'Ghost Corpses'.
Watching the red-faced Zombie Overlord's veins dance, harvesting lives,
Silas stomped his foot.
Several oval-shaped walls of earth rose, blocking the attack.
"Dave! The zombie horde's breaking through!"
A teammate reported.
With their heavy firepower suppressed, the massive zombie horde surged forward.
"I see it!"
Silas glanced around, feeling overwhelmed by the relentless zombie assault.
But then, a big guy in their team stepped up.
His name was Robert, a Thunder attribute awakener with formidable power. Standing alone before the zombie horde,
electricity swirled around him, his hair standing on end.
The energy grew more intense.
"Die!"
He roared, slamming his fist into the ground.
'Boom!'
The ground cracked like a spider web, and arcs of electricity leaped out, covering a twenty-meter radius.
Any zombie touching it twitched violently, smoked, and turned to charcoal.
"Captain, we can't keep this up, we'll get drained!"
Robert looked back and said.
Awakeners are strong, but they tire, and now, the main fighters looked weary, their energy nearly spent.
"Yeah, these Zombies, they're from somewhere else, as tough as a three-star necropolis!"
Silas had realized what was happening.
"What? This..."
The female awakener looked ashen.
She hadn't expected her first mission to be this intense.
"Why are they even here?"
"How should I know, the one-star necropolis zombies haven't even shown up yet!"
Silas was visibly frustrated.
"..."
Everyone just clammed up, weirdly caught in a crisis, but hey, the mission target was untouched, not even a hair out of place.
"But hey, it's all good. If the one-star necropolis zombies don't show up, we've got an easier shot at breaking out," Silas analyzed.
"Mmm..."
Everyone nodded. They were busy enough already—no need for those zombies to join the party!
"Don't sweat it," Harper reassured them. "Those zombies are dumb as bricks. They haven't made a peep even with the fight at their doorstep. Probably won't show up at all."
...
Up on the rooftop, Zane stood, looking pretty chill.
Around him, a bunch of crows landed, all underlings of 'Bro Crow', just hanging around waiting for a free meal.
"Sorry to keep everyone waiting..."
"Is it chow time yet?"
The crows' eyes gleamed red, getting more excited.
"Yeah."
Zane nodded.
Down on the battlefield, the armed forces were nearly out of ammo, and the awakeners were beat, energy almost spent.
That massive zombie horde from before? Now just a ragtag bunch of stragglers.
"It's our turn to hit the stage," Zane commanded.
Below, thousands of zombies seemed to come alive, roaring fiercely, the air thick with menace!
"Roar—!"
Jake bellowed like a wild bull, charging forward, the ground trembling with his steps.
Behind him, the elite zombies rushed like wild horses finally freed.
But the most thrilled? Definitely Zoe. The boss had finally given the order, and she was nearly in tears...
She'd been itching to join the fray, eager to 'show some love' to the humans.
"Hehehehehe~~"
Zoe's grin stretched ear to ear, a wicked smile flashing as she zipped forward like a shadow.
Atop the building, countless crows took flight.
In the middle of the swirling flock stood a stern young man.
A flash of red in his eyes.
And just like that, he vanished!
"..."
Jake was the first to storm the battlefield, his massive frame like a speeding locomotive, scattering zombies left and right down the street.
Some zombies even ended up hanging from the street lamps...
Jake ripped a gap right through the zombie horde.
The elite zombies behind him moved fast, pouncing on enemies and snapping their necks with sharp teeth before tossing the heads aside and hunting the next target.
"Wait... what's that?"
Silas and the others felt the ground shake and turned to see a massive Zombie Overlord scattering the horde and charging straight for their position!
"Dang, they're coming out!"
Everyone looked like they'd seen a ghost.
The female awakener was freaking out.
"Harper, didn't you say they wouldn't come?"
"I..."
Harper was at a loss for words, the reality slap came too fast.
Was it just bad timing???
Everyone felt like their already tough situation just got a whole lot worse.
But soon, they realized... this was no mere icing on the cake...
Jake's huge body had already reached the human camp, the ground shaking more intensely, the scene terrifying.
"We gotta stop him!"
Silas quickly said.
The armed forces all fired at Jake.
But Jake, tough as nails, didn't care. Despite the barrage of bullets, he kept his speed, even gaining momentum.
"Let me handle this!"
The female awakener furrowed her brows, her power to control metal at play. With a wave of her hand, a heavy armored vehicle blocked Jake's path.
"Boom!"
The collision sent the armored vehicle spinning through the air, flying off into the distance.
Everyone was shocked.
"He's that strong?"