Chapter 174: Through the Breach

The other two Behemoths let out furious roars when they saw their companion’s lifeless body wedged in the breach. Almost immediately, both giants began pounding the wall with everything they had. BAM! One massive fist slammed into the already damaged concrete, sending another tremor through the defensive line. The second Behemoth followed with an equally powerful strike, and cracks spread farther across the weakened structure.

"Hold on!"

"Watch your footing!"

The soldiers desperately tried to move away from the damaged sections, but the constant impacts made it difficult to remain standing. Some grabbed onto barricades while others dropped to one knee, waiting for the shaking to stop.

BAM! BAM! BAM! Another series of blows struck the wall. Then, without warning, the two Behemoths suddenly stopped.

The impacts ceased, and slowly, the ground beneath the soldiers’ feet settled, leaving behind an uneasy silence.

"What are they doing?" a soldier asked, lowering his rifle slightly.

"I don’t know. Keep your weapons trained on them."

The Behemoths raised their heads as their dark eyes began moving across the battlefield, scanning the shattered wall, the soldiers scattered along its surface, and the buildings beyond it. They looked almost deliberate as their gazes swept from one rooftop to another, as though they were searching for something hidden among the chaos.

Several rooftops away, Jaxon remained in position with his DMR pressed firmly against his shoulder. Through the scope, he watched the two giants carefully, his crosshair tracking the movement of one Behemoth’s head as its eyes continued searching the area.

’They’re searching for something...’

’...Me?’

He followed the creature’s movements through the scope, waiting patiently. The moment its eye passed into the center of his crosshair, Jaxon squeezed the trigger.

The bullet tore through its eye, sending a spray of dark blood across its face. The Behemoth staggered backward and let out a furious roar. But instead of charging the wall, it turned its massive head toward the forest. Its remaining eye stayed fixed on the darkness beyond the battlefield.

’What are they doing?’ Jaxon’s eyes narrowed as the Behemoth took another step backward. The second Behemoth did the same, slowly retreating from the wall.

Both creatures continued backing away until they had created a considerable distance from the ruined wall. Then, almost simultaneously, they turned around.

For a moment, the soldiers thought the Behemoths were simply changing their target and preparing to attack another section of the safe zone. Instead, the two giants began walking toward the forest.

BAM. BAM. BAM.

Their heavy footsteps gradually carried them farther away from the battlefield. The soldiers could only stare as the creatures that had nearly destroyed the western wall began disappearing into the darkness, leaving behind the shattered defenses and a battlefield littered with corpses.

"They’re retreating?"

"What the hell is going on?"

"Don’t lower your weapons!" an officer immediately shouted. "Keep watching them!"

Several soldiers cautiously followed the retreating Behemoths with their rifles, their fingers still hovering near the triggers. None of them understood why the monsters had suddenly abandoned the attack after coming so close to breaking through.

Jaxon, however, was no longer watching the Behemoths. His gaze shifted toward the forest behind the retreating giants. Then his expression darkened as he stared into the sea of trees beyond the two giants. "They’re here," he muttered.

The howls of tens of thousands of infected echoed across the battlefield as the horde surged toward the newly opened breach.

The dead Behemoth had collapsed across part of the opening, but its enormous body was nowhere near enough to block it completely. Infected were already climbing over the giant’s corpse, scrambling across its back and shoulders as they used the massive body like a bridge to reach the shattered wall.

"They’re coming through the breach!" a soldier shouted after spotting the first wave.

The infected pushed through one after another, crawling over the Behemoth’s body and broken concrete before spilling into the streets beyond. Those behind them continued pressing forward, creating an endless wave that threatened to overwhelm the defenders before they could even establish a proper line.

"All available units, western breach! Repeat, western breach! Redirect every combat-capable unit immediately!" the command center ordered through the surviving radio channels.

The remaining functional Gatling guns mounted on the armored vehicles immediately opened fire.

TATATATATATATA!

Long streams of bullets tore through the front of the horde, ripping apart infected as they emerged from the opening. The remaining soldiers rushed toward the collapsed section of the wall, quickly forming firing lines behind whatever cover they could find.

"Hold the line!"

"Don’t let them past us!"

But there simply weren’t enough soldiers. Hundreds became thousands within moments, and the number of infected pouring through the breach continued to increase.

"Fuck! There are too many!"

"Fall back!"

"We need reinforcements!"

Then... Three suppressed shots whispered through the night. Three infected at the front of the horde suddenly jerked backward as bullets tore through their heads. The rounds punched through their bodies with enough force to continue into the infected behind them, dropping several more targets before finally losing their momentum.

THUP! THUP! THUP! Another series of shots followed as more infected collapsed. Then another, another.

The precise shots created a brief opening at the mouth of the breach, slowing the surge just enough for the exhausted soldiers to regain their footing.

"Keep firing!" Sergeant Henry shouted, immediately taking advantage of the opening. "Push them back!"

The soldiers raised their weapons and concentrated their fire into the gap. Henry fired several rounds of his own before glancing over his shoulder, trying to locate whoever was providing the unexpected support.

He scanned the rooftops surrounding the western sector, searching for the source of the suppressed gunfire. The shots were too precise to be random, and whoever was firing had somehow managed to pick off the infected at exactly the right moments.

His eyes moved from one rooftop to another. Then he spotted something.

A lone silhouette stood on the rooftop of a nearby building, almost completely concealed by the darkness. The figure remained perfectly still, barely visible against the night sky. But Henry could clearly make out the rifle resting against his shoulder.

Before he could get a better look... THUP!

Another suppressed shot sounded, and an infected near the front of the horde suddenly dropped, a hole appearing through its skull as it collapsed onto the bodies beneath it.

Henry’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the distant silhouette for a few seconds before muttering under his breath. "Who in the hell is that?"