The drone's feed returned moments later, and what Scott saw left him stunned. Where there had once been a plain, there was now a massive crater, two to three kilometers in diameter, its depths unfathomable. The force of the impact had pushed thousands of tons of earth into a ring-shaped wave of mud that radiated outward, burying countless zombies in its path. The enormous crater became an impassable obstacle, forcing the horde behind it to detour. For the first time, the unending zombie tide seemed to pause. 'It was that white light…' Scott whispered, realization dawning. But his thoughts were interrupted by the guttural roars of the Lords.
Although the crater had disrupted the main tide, hundreds of Lords and countless other zombies had already made it past the blast zone and were now closing in on the base's defenses. "Focus all firepower! Don't let the Lords get closer than one kilometer!" Scott barked. "Artillery, concentrate fire! Shoot now!"
The Washington DC base unleashed its full might. Anti-aircraft guns, usually reserved for aerial threats, were leveled at the advancing horde, firing alongside hundreds of artillery pieces adjusted to near-vertical angles. High-explosive shells arced into the sky, raining down on the approaching Lords and their followers.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Flames engulfed the battlefield, and zombies were incinerated in the fiery blasts. But the Lords, impervious to anything but direct hits, marched through the inferno unscathed. The shrapnel and shockwaves barely scratched them. "Old man! We're lowering the basket! Get your people up here now!" Scott shouted down to Andre.
Andre, still in his tiger form, roared to his team. "Vicky! Get moving! Take the basket! I'll cover you!"
But seconds passed, and the basket didn't descend. "What's going on?! Where's the basket?!" Scott yelled, panic rising.
"Commander Scott! The basket's stuck!" came the frantic reply from a soldier.
Under the high wall, Andre heard the words. He turned to look at the eight changers who remained by his side—six giant bears and two gray wolves, all battered and bleeding. Their fur was matted with blood, and two of the bears were too injured to stand. Andre lowered his massive tiger head, his voice heavy with sorrow. "Comrades… I've led you to a dead end."
At that moment, the king of beasts lowered his massive head, his piercing eyes meeting those of his followers. "ROAR!" The king's bellow echoed through the battlefield.
"ROAR!" The giant bear and the gray wolf howled in response, their cries a mix of rage and defiance.
These creatures weren't ones to cower in fear or cling desperately to life. They were ready to face the tide of death before them. "I understand what you mean," Andre muttered under his breath, his five-meter-long tiger body trembling with anticipation.
BOOM!
The tide of undead was already upon them. Leading the charge, one of the hulking "masters" threw its body into the steel barricade blocking the road, reducing it to rubble. Hearing the approaching roar of the undead, Andre turned. Muscles rippled under his fur as he gathered all his strength, preparing for the fight of his life. The giant bear snarled, revealing sharp fangs, while the gray wolf flexed its claws, each ready for the final stand. "We're not afraid!" Andre roared, his voice full of fury and determination.
"ULLA!!" Andre charged first, his claws slashing through the air. The bear and the wolf followed close behind. Nine shapeshifters against hundreds of undead masters and countless zombies. Before the inevitable clash, a deafening BOOM tore through the sky. Everyone looked up as the sonic boom of fighter jets echoed overhead.
The next moment, sleek futuristic aircraft streaked across the battlefield, their machine guns roaring to life. Streams of depleted uranium rounds ripped through the air, carving a fiery line of destruction through the undead. "What kind of planes are those?" someone gasped.
More jets appeared, over twenty of them, their sleek forms racing over the landscape. As they neared the battlefield, they opened their bomb bays. Soldiers on the high wall braced themselves for the bombing run. But what fell wasn't bombs. From the bays dropped strange, folded mechanical bodies.
The machines unfolded mid-air, their intricate designs snapping into place as they plummeted to the ground.
THUD! THUD! THUD! Mechanical beasts—spider-shaped constructs with four sturdy legs—landed with heavy impacts. Their rugged design absorbed the shock of the fall with ease.
Under the wall, a hundred mechanical spiders began to spread out. Five of them flanked Andre's group, their integrated heavy machine guns unleashing a storm of tungsten-core bullets. The incoming fire created a deadly crossfire, shredding the myth that the masters were immune to bullets. The front-line undead, no matter how massive, fell like broken puppets.
Behind the spiders, fifty mechanical dogs dropped onto the high wall with resounding metallic clangs. Soldiers scrambled out of their way as the machines took over the platform, ignoring the humans entirely. The mechanical dogs unfolded launch pods from their backs, revealing rows of micro-missiles.
WHOOSH!
Hundreds of missiles streaked through the sky, aimed at the oncoming undead horde. Explosions erupted, shaking the earth and sending fiery plumes into the air. The bombardment didn't just kill—it incinerated. Zombies, raiders, and mutated hunters were torn apart by the blasts, their remains charred to ash in the ensuing inferno. Only the strongest Zombie—survived, staggering forward with burned and blistered flesh peeling away, revealing grotesque, oozing wounds.
"ROAR!" Andre's sharp eyes caught the mechanical beasts tearing into the undead. He wasn't the only one who noticed.
The giant bear beside him growled, its gaze turning to Andre. "I know," Andre said through gritted teeth, "but this isn't the time!"
With a furious roar, he leapt at the nearest Lord, his claws slicing through its chest and ripping out its organs. Another Lord lunged at him, but before it could strike, a gray wolf jumped in, its fangs tearing into the undead's throat. The battlefield was chaotic. A giant bear found itself surrounded by four masters. Despite its strength, it fell under their relentless assault, its massive body collapsing lifelessly to the ground. "Navas!" Andre roared, his heart sinking. He tried to reach the fallen bear, but more Lords swarmed him.
The soldiers stationed on the high wall, fearing collateral damage, hesitated to aim their heavy weapons like anti-aircraft guns at the lords fighting near Andre. "Skarner!" Another giant bear fell with a pained roar.
Andre and his group were locked in a brutal struggle. Below the wall, some of the poisonous spiders redirected their fire, forming a crossfire that rained tungsten-core bullets onto the lords surrounding them.
Unlike the soldiers, the mechanical spiders showed no hesitation. BRRRT! Heavy machine guns roared, and though the shots came dangerously close to Andre and his allies, not a single one struck them. The Lords, however, were torn apart, their massive bodies riddled with holes. Andre, noticing the backup, roared, "Do you see this? We're not alone!"
"Ula!" With renewed determination, Andre's massive tiger form surged back into the fight, clawing and slashing through the enemy ranks.
The other shapeshifters glanced at one another, their initial distrust fading. No missions. No grudges. Only allies against the undead. Even if those allies were cold, unfeeling machines capable of shooting them if the situation demanded.
Buzz, buzz… The distinct hum of engines filled the air as a sleek aircraft banked sharply and dove toward the battlefield. Ava, piloting the second-generation fighter, didn't hesitate. The 20mm cannon mounted on the aircraft roared to life, cutting through the line of Lords with ruthless efficiency.