Chapter 223 The Battle for the Spring Harvest Granary
Meanwhile, Clarissa and Leah, who just got their one-star Evolving status back, were chucking meat chunks from a pickup, trying to get the zombie horde to follow. Candice and Tom were right there with them. Abigail, who just had surgery to get rid of a Deceptive Ghost Tree seedling, was still on the mend and stayed back to guard the base.
Inside the truck, another Evolving person was driving, keeping an eye on the zombie mob through the rearview mirror, all safe behind steel wire mesh on the windows.
You could barely hear gunshots up ahead.
Candice banged on the truck roof, letting the driver know, "Go forward another 1500 feet, then we bounce!"
Once they hit that mark, their job was done. The noise from the armory would pull the zombies away, making things easier at the granary.
This wasn't about messing things up or trying to screw over the armory's fight against the Demonic monsters. If they could actually wipe out those monsters, William would be all for it.
But let's be real, they were gonna fail!
William, having been through this before, knew how to use every trick in the book. When he saw where the Spring Harvest Granary was, he figured he'd use the teams fighting the Demonic monsters to his advantage.
The Cloud Peak Manor crew would drag as many zombies as they could from the granary to about a mile from the armory. In the quiet, open post-apocalyptic wasteland, that distance was enough for the zombies to be drawn by the gunfire. With how slow zombies move, it'd take them forever to cover that mile. Thanks to obstacles and rough terrain, the zombies wouldn't reach the armory before the fight there was over.
To William, that was the only thing that mattered in this battle.
Without the massive zombie horde, the granary might actually get breached.
Of course, getting the zombies to follow wasn't as easy as it sounded. They couldn't lure all of them away at once; getting a few thousand to leave was already a big win.
In one corner of the pickup, Gemma was crouched, hugging her knees and hiding her face. She was getting more and more uncomfortable in the sunlight; for her, nighttime was where it was at.
Attracting zombies? Yeah, easier said than done. With more advanced evolved zombies popping up, William had to play it smart. He couldn't send too many of the main crew, or the granary assault team would be spread too thin. But he also couldn't ignore the threat of advanced zombies going after the bait, so he sent Gemma, a two-star Evolving person, to help out.
But whether it was with the new folks like Candice or her old pals like Clarissa, Gemma had started to drift away from everyone. Even sitting in the same truck, she didn't say a word.
Candice and the others didn't mind much since they barely knew her. But for Clarissa and the old crew, it was tough seeing their former sister like this. They could only sigh and try not to dwell on it.
After driving slowly for a bit, the gunshots got louder. Everyone knew it was go-time, so they stopped tossing meat chunks and started heading back, taking a pre-scouted route to rejoin the fight at the granary.
Gemma, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly stood up and growled, "Drive faster."
Everyone was caught off guard and had no clue what was up.
Gemma jumped onto the roof of the cab, looking back at where they had just been, a hint of killing intent in her eyes.
Candice didn't sense anything, but her cop instincts kicked in, and she told the driver to speed up.
"You guys go ahead," Gemma said, then leaped off the truck and sprinted back the way they came.
"Gemma..." Clarissa called out, but Gemma was already gone. She could only give up, wanting to help Gemma but not knowing how.
Jack and Elijah jumped down from a building next to the granary, each holding one end of a thick rope. Four other Evolving persons were clearing zombies around them.
The two quickly tied the ends of the rope to streetlights on either side of the street and then hid in a nearby building, moving towards their next target.
Not far away, David was directing dozens of people pushing carts, dumping sandbags at designated spots, quickly stacking them, and then retreating even faster.
On the other side of the granary, Natalie and a few others were doing the same thing as Candice, except they were on foot and not far from William's main team. They'd lure some zombies away from the granary and then quickly bail, repeating the process in another direction. Cecil was with them; even though he was a defensive two-star Evolving person, he could still hold his own in a pinch. If they ran into high-level mutated creatures, he could cover the team's retreat to safety.
On the road between Spring Harvest Granary and Cloud Peak Manor, a bunch of laborers were digging like their lives depended on it. They had already dug several pits over 6 feet deep, but they kept going. Each pit was covered with a thick wooden plank about 3 feet wide so survivors could cross over. A bunch of strong guys sat by the pits closest to the granary, itching to jump into the fight.
On the other side of the pits, a few trucks were parked with two armed guards on each, keeping an eye on things.
For this battle, almost everyone from Cloud Peak Manor was in action, leaving just five Evolving persons and a dozen soldiers to guard the place. The rest were weak, sick, or injured laborers.
Sounds of fighting echoed from the front. Camilla and Brian were yelling at the laborers to dig faster. The deeper the pits, the better for everyone's retreat.
Meanwhile, William's team was tearing through the main street like a hot knife through butter, with William leading the charge. This was an all-out assault, not a defense maneuver, so the strongest were at the forefront. Behind William were Jack and Pill, followed by some of the manor's original Evolving persons, forming the sharpest part of the attack formation. Inside were non-Evolving folks who had been through the manor's battles, using their iron spears to fend off any mutated creatures.
Lucy was in the middle, ready to throw up an Air Shield or cast a Restoration Spell if needed.
With William at the helm, the team was almost unstoppable, slicing through zombies like it was nothing. Black blood and severed limbs flew everywhere. In no time, the road was covered with a thick layer of zombie corpses.
Even though they had plenty of Evolution Elixir, William had only rewarded two standout warriors in the past few days. He wanted to drill the idea of merit-based rewards into his new crew, rather than fostering a sense of entitlement. After this battle, he would consider increasing the number of Evolving persons in their ranks.
But William was generous with immunity potions. Anyone willing to fight for the manor got one, ensuring they didn't have to worry about infection and could fight more fearlessly.
After charging forward for a few hundred feet, William had to slow down because the folks behind couldn't keep up. William silently cursed under his breath.
The start of the battle was always the easiest part because the zombies hadn't swarmed yet. But once the fight began in earnest, even without gunshots, it would still draw in nearby mutated creatures. As the horde gathered, the pressure would ramp up.
But there was no other way around it. He couldn't expect his crew to keep up with a two-star Evolving person like himself.
Since the team's charge had slowed, William let Jack take the lead while he moved through the formation, helping out wherever the pressure was the heaviest or where high-level mutated creatures showed up. This kept the team moving steadily, even if not as fast as before.
Suddenly, a black, sharp bone spike shot through the body of an Evolving person in the rear, causing a scream. William immediately rushed over and cut off the spike. A level-two evolved zombie outside the horde screamed and retreated.
Lucy quickly arrived and activated Gentle Chain. Luckily, the spike had only hit the shoulder, not a vital area. Under this advanced healing spell, the wound healed rapidly. Within three seconds, although a scar was still visible, it was mostly healed.
"You good?" William asked the guy, who was clutching his shoulder and gritting his teeth, trying to switch his iron spear to his left hand.
"No problem!" the guy, around forty years old, shouted, stabbing the nearest zombie in the eye socket.
As he pulled out his spear, he felt himself being pushed back. When he regained his footing, he saw that William had taken his place, and a vial of potion was thrust into his hand.
"You've got one minute to complete your evolution!" William said.
The guy was momentarily stunned, then overwhelmed with joy. Tears instantly welled up in his eyes.
Having struggled to survive in the apocalypse for over a month, he knew what evolution meant. This small vial could mean his survival.
He injected the Evolution Elixir into his neck, and a surge of power immediately coursed through his previously pained body.
This improved Evolution Elixir didn't take long to work, though the process was painful. Within seconds, the team had gained a new one-star Evolving person.
Others' eyes lit up with desire, and their fighting spirit surged. The team's momentum picked up significantly, advancing another 160 feet in no time.
"Mr. Wright, I see the gate!" Jack roared from the front of the team. William looked up and saw the over 10-foot-tall black gate of the granary.
