Chapter 163 The Bloody Battle (Part 2)
Natalie's condition was far from ideal.
She'd gotten splashed with sandworm blood in yesterday's fight, and its neurotoxin had messed her up. William had treated her using his knowledge from his past life, and Lucy had even cast a Restoration spell, but Natalie was still feeling stiff.
If it weren't for the speed and agility boosts from her Windancer profession, she might not have been able to fight today.
So when the shadow attacked, she saw it and tried to dodge, but she was just a bit too slow.
A black claw slammed into her back.
The force sent her stumbling forward a few steps before she hit the ground. Blood surged up, and she couldn't help but spit out a mouthful.
The shadow didn't stop and charged at her again.
Now, some folks could see it clearly. It seemed to be a small, shriveled, pitch-black figure with no clothes and no discernible gender.
This second-level mutated zombie, darker than the darkest-skinned person, was known as Blackskin in the future. It was famous for its strength and tough defense, a common zombie mutation.
Caught off guard, Natalie was knocked down. As the Blackskin attacked again, its eyes were already red.
If it could eat this Evolving person, it might evolve to level three.
Natalie cursed and tried to roll away, but her stiffness and injuries slowed her down. She couldn't dodge the Blackskin's attack again.
"Natalie!" Jack shouted.
At the critical moment, Jack rushed over. He'd been at the second line of defense and came running when he saw Natalie in trouble. He slashed at the Blackskin's head with Edge of the Moon, forcing it to jump back. Then he helped Natalie up and retreated to the second line of defense.
The second line had more people and more Evolving persons, including Jack, making three in total. The other two had just advanced yesterday.
The trench in front of this line was deeper than the first. When the zombies reached it, many fell in. But there were so many zombies that the two-meter-deep trench quickly filled up. Zombies stepped on each other to cross and reach the barbed wire.
The zombie horde was momentarily stopped.
Humans launched their attack in that instant.
Having seen the front line's battle, the second line was somewhat prepared. In life-and-death situations, people learn fast.
Many had already figured out the best tactics for fighting. There was no need for too much force. They didn't lean forward and aimed for the zombies' soft necks or eye sockets instead of hacking at their hard skulls.
This greatly increased their killing efficiency. With the help of the Evolving persons, the second line of defense caused far more damage in a short time than the first line of defense.
This line even held up well until Jack returned after sending Natalie to the rear.
But when the zombie horde breached all obstacles, the second line of defense collapsed.
Jack immediately ordered a retreat.
Gunfire suddenly erupted on the battlefield.
The few bullets they had were all with Marcus. He was lying on a rooftop at the rear, using his precise aim to take out high-level zombies.
Without the interference of these second-level zombies or mutated creatures, the survivors' defense could hold out longer.
At the third line of defense, Candice, Donovan, and three Evolving persons were stationed. This line had the most people, a total of three hundred.
The most obstacles were set up in front.
"The front only held for a little over five minutes. Let's see how long we can last!" Donovan said, gripping a thick iron rod that matched his physique, excitement lighting up his face.
He was different from others; he craved for battle.
After hanging out with William's team these past few days, he felt they were truly formidable, killing second-level mutated creatures like it was nothing.
They were all Evolving persons, all having taken the immunity potion. But look at the people of Hope Base; they were cowardly and fragile, worrying about food every day, a stark contrast to those who ate second-level wild boar meat.
With role models, courage followed. Donovan felt that today's battle was his chance to get closer to his idols!
Hundreds of zombies were instantly swallowed by a large pit, causing chaos in the horde.
A mutated zombie had just jumped up when Marcus shot it, causing it to fall back into the horde, its fate unknown.
Human attacks began with the gunfire.
At first, it was a one-sided slaughter by humans. The zombies trapped in the trenches and those that hung on the barbed wire were at a disadvantage in the man-made terrain, and hundreds were killed in moments.
This result greatly boosted the survivors' morale, speeding up their actions.
The zombie horde was blocked by the third line of defense.
Survivors hidden in the neighborhood stretched their necks to watch, clenching their fists in excitement at the sight.
On a rooftop, Michelle, who had just returned, brought Natalie there. After Lucy's treatment, Natalie was much better and could barely continue fighting.
The three of them looked out from a high vantage point but did not rejoice at the third line's temporary victory.
They saw the vast number of enemies behind.
Too many!
Even after yesterday's battle, there were still so many zombies and mutated creatures here! Even if there were a thousand people, or even ten thousand, victory was impossible.
Usually, the zombie horde surrounding the base might not seem like much before, but now that they were all converging here. The few realized that even Evolving persons seemed insignificant against such numbers!
"William, he must have anticipated this," Lucy said, her face pale.
She saw the dire situation at the third line of defense and knew that even with the carefully set traps and obstacles in the neighborhood, and using the unfinished buildings as fortresses, it was impossible to kill so many monsters.
"Of course, he wouldn't let us die in vain. Haven't you noticed that guy is nowhere to be seen again?" Natalie replied.
She kept drinking water to expel the neurotoxin.
Michelle squinted, watching for a while before saying, "Let's go to the entrance. It looks like the five lines of defense will be breached in a few minutes. We'll provide support and then fight in the neighborhood."
At the rear of the battlefield, William stood on a rooftop, observing the battle. Beside him stood the red-haired female Iron Corpse and a golden-furred creature that had just arrived.
"It's our turn to act. They can't hold on any longer," William murmured, then patted the golden fur on the creature's head, asking, "Do you like eating bugs?"
The creature looked dazed.
