Chapter 170: Giants of Destruction

"What the hell are those?!" one of the soldiers shouted, unable to hide the panic in his voice. The three colossal infected continued advancing from the forest, crushing everything in their path. Massive trees snapped like dry twigs beneath their feet, while the infected unfortunate enough to stand in their way were flattened into the ground, their bodies bursting apart without slowing the giants for even a second.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Every thunderous step sent another tremor through the defensive wall, making the steel railings rattle and dust fall from the concrete. It felt less like something was walking and more like an earthquake was steadily approaching.

As the towering figures finally entered the range of the searchlights, the battlefield fell eerily quiet. Many soldiers froze where they stood, their eyes widening as the creatures were fully revealed.

The monsters stood nearly ten meters tall, towering over the defensive wall like moving fortresses. Their enormous bodies were wrapped in thick layers of hardened flesh that resembled natural armor more than skin, while their grotesque muscles bulged beneath it with every heavy step. Each movement carried overwhelming weight, shaking the battlefield as if nothing in the world could possibly stop them.

One officer stared at the creatures, his expression changing instantly as the color drained from his face. "...Behemoths."

The word escaped his mouth almost as a whisper before he hurriedly grabbed his radio. "Command, this is West Command! We’ve confirmed visual on three Behemoths approaching the western wall!"

His breathing became uneven as he kept his eyes locked on the advancing giants. "They’re the same infected that destroyed the eastern safe zone in Jermon City!"

The surrounding soldiers immediately stiffened. Even those who had never seen a Behemoth before had heard the stories. The fall of Jermon City’s eastern safe zone had become one of the military’s disasters. Hundreds of soldiers had fought to defend it, yet the entire fortress had been overrun because of those monsters.

The officer lowered his radio and took a deep breath before shouting at the top of his lungs. "All heavy weapons, focus fire on the Behemoths! Bring those monsters down!"

The order echoed across the western wall. Almost instantly, mounted machine guns swung toward the approaching giants, while countless soldiers raised their rifles and opened fire without hesitation.

Thousands of bullets poured across the battlefield, streaking through the night like a storm of steel before slamming into the Behemoths all at once. The relentless barrage hammered their towering bodies from every direction, sending sparks and chunks of flesh flying with every impact.

Yet the giants never stopped. They continued walking forward as though the hail of bullets meant nothing. Their thick, armor-like flesh absorbed most of the rounds, leaving behind only shallow wounds that were quickly buried beneath the endless rain of gunfire.

"They’re not slowing down!" The sight sent a chill through everyone on the wall.

"Grenade launchers, get ready!" another officer bellowed. Several soldiers immediately rushed forward, dropping to one knee as they raised their launchers toward the advancing Behemoths.

"Fire!" THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

A volley of grenades shot into the air, tracing glowing arcs across the battlefield before crashing into the towering monsters.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! A chain of explosions erupted almost simultaneously, engulfing the Behemoths in smoke and fire. Thick shockwaves swept across the battlefield as chunks of flesh and shattered pieces of their armor-like skin were blasted away. Flames climbed over their enormous bodies, and the foul smell of burning flesh quickly spread through the air.

Every soldier held their breath, gripping their weapons tightly as every pair of eyes remained fixed on the massive cloud of smoke that swallowed the three Behemoths, silently praying that the barrage had finally brought the monsters down.

Then the three Behemoths emerged from the thick cloud of smoke.

Dark scorch marks covered their massive bodies, and thick black blood slowly dripped from dozens of wounds left by the relentless barrage. Yet the towering giants showed no sign of pain. They simply kept walking, their heavy footsteps never slowing as they continued their march toward the western wall.

BAM! BAM! BAM! Each step shook the battlefield, sending another wave of dread through the defenders.

"...Impossible!"

"...How do we kill that?"

Fear spread through the wall almost instantly. Soldiers who had been firing without hesitation now stared at the approaching monsters in disbelief.

"Hold your ground!" The officer’s roar cut through the panic.

Despite the cold sweat running down his face, he forced himself to remain calm as he pointed toward the advancing giants. "Keep firing! Don’t let up! Bring them down!"

The soldiers quickly snapped back to their senses and resumed firing while the officer grabbed his radio. "Air support, engage the Behemoths immediately!"

A voice answered almost at once. "Copy, West Command. Air support is moving in."

The remaining three helicopters that had been hunting variants farther ahead immediately turned back toward the western wall. As they closed the distance, the mounted Gatling guns beneath their noses erupted with deafening roars.

TRRRRRRRRRR! Heavy rounds rained down from above, tearing into the Behemoths and sending chunks of black flesh flying in every direction. Bright streams of tracer rounds lit up the night sky as all three helicopters concentrated their fire on the advancing giants.

But even that accomplished almost nothing. The Behemoths continued forward through the storm of bullets, as if the relentless barrage was nothing more than rain striking their bodies.

Then one of them suddenly stopped. Without a sound, the giant bent down and wrapped its enormous hand around the trunk of a towering tree.

CRAAACK! The thick trunk splintered as its roots were violently ripped from the earth. Dirt and shattered rocks burst into the air while the Behemoth effortlessly tore the entire tree free, lifting it as though it weighed no more than a wooden stick.

One of the helicopter pilots spotted the movement and immediately shouted over the radio. "It’s picking something up!"

His eyes widened a split second later. "It’s throwing it! Break off! Break off!"

The helicopters banked sharply, their engines screaming as the pilots desperately tried to gain altitude. But they were already too late.

With a violent swing of its arm, the Behemoth hurled the massive tree into the sky.

WHOOSH! The enormous trunk tore through the air with terrifying speed before slamming directly into the nearest helicopter.

BOOM! The aircraft was ripped apart almost instantly. Its fuselage crumpled under the impact before erupting into flames, spinning helplessly through the night as burning debris scattered across the battlefield.

"Hawk One is down!" "Hawk One is down!"