Chapter 175: The Next Wave

From the rooftop, Jaxon watched the battlefield through his scope. Below, the remaining soldiers were still struggling to recover from the Behemoths’ roar, but Sergeant Henry was doing everything he could to reorganize them into a proper firing line.

Meanwhile, Jaxon continued pulling the trigger, each suppressed shot dropping another infected before it could push farther into the streets.

THUP! THUP! THUP! One after another, the infected fell.

’This won’t last long unless more reinforcements arrive.’

His eyes narrowed as he scanned the breach again. The situation was already becoming difficult to control, and if the horde continued pouring in at this rate, the soldiers wouldn’t be able to hold the line for much longer.

Then Jaxon’s enhanced hearing picked up something beneath the countless roars, gunshots, and screams.

’...Tch.’ He slowly lifted his head from the scope. "No..."

His expression hardened. "They’re already here."

A deep, heavy sound suddenly came from beyond the breach.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

It wasn’t nearly as powerful as the footsteps of the Behemoths, but the impacts were heavy enough to send faint vibrations through the ground. Jaxon immediately brought his eye back to the scope and shifted his aim toward the source.

Then... BOOOM!

A violent explosion erupted at the breach.

The blast sent infected flying through the air as bodies and chunks of flesh were scattered across the battlefield. A thick cloud of smoke immediately swallowed the area, forcing the soldiers closest to the opening to stumble backward.

"What was that?!"

"Everyone, stay alert!"

Before anyone could see through the thick cloud, something massive moved inside it.

A large foot stepped onto the enormous corpse of the fallen Behemoth. Then another.

The first Variant emerged from the smoke and climbed onto the giant’s body.

It stood well over three meters tall, towering over the ordinary infected surrounding it. Its body was covered in thick, unnatural muscle, with every part of its massive frame built for raw strength. Dark veins spread across its enormous arms and chest, while its skin had taken on a deep, almost black color.

Several more Variants emerged from the breach, forcing their way as the ordinary infected scattered around them.

The soldiers below slowly raised their weapons.

"What the hell...?"

Jaxon remained completely silent, his eye pressed against the scope as he carefully studied the growing group. Then one figure caught his attention.

It stood at the very front of the Variants and unlike the others, it was even larger.

Its body looked almost entirely made of dense muscle, with thick shoulders, massive arms, and a chest that seemed unnaturally broad even for a Variant of its size. Its dark flesh looked harder than ordinary skin, almost as if the creature’s entire body had been reinforced from within.

"GRUAAAAH!"

Another monstrous roar erupted from the breach. The Variants weren’t the only creatures emerging from the darkness.

Five enormous figures suddenly climbed onto the corpse of the fallen Behemoth. They were even larger than the Variants, each one stood nearly four meters tall, their bodies covered in grotesquely thick, dark muscles. Their arms were unnaturally large, hanging almost to their knees, with massive fists that looked capable of crushing anything in a single blow.

"Gorefists..." one of the soldiers muttered as his face went pale. Before anyone could react, the five creatures leaped down from the Behemoth’s corpse.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The ground shook beneath their combined weight.

Then they charged. Their massive bodies barreled straight toward the armored vehicles defending the breach, moving far faster than something that size should have been able to.

"STOP THEM!"

"Gunners, fire!"

The mounted Gatling guns immediately swung toward the charging Gorefists.

TATATATATATATA!

Hundreds of rounds tore into the first creature. Dark flesh exploded from its chest and arms as bullets ripped through its massive body, forcing it to stagger sideways.

"Keep firing!"

The Gorefist stumbled but somehow remained on its feet. Only after several more steps did its enormous body finally give out and crash heavily onto the ground.

"Got one!"

The soldiers barely had time to react before a silent shot suddenly rang out from somewhere behind them.

BANG! The second Gorefist’s head exploded. Its massive body continued forward for another step before its legs gave way, sending it crashing face-first into the concrete.

The machine-gunners stared at the fallen creature in confusion.

"What just...?"

They hadn’t even fired.

"Don’t worry about it!" the gunner shouted, snapping back to reality. "Keep firing!"

There was no time to figure out who had taken the shot. The remaining Gorefists had already reached the defensive line.

BOOOOM!

One slammed into the front of an armored vehicle and the entire vehicle lurched backward as its reinforced armor buckled inward under the impact.

BOOM! A second Gorefist struck another vehicle with both fists, sending the armored truck sliding several meters across the concrete.

"Get out! Get out of the vehicle!"

"Move! Move!"

The doors were forced open as the soldiers scrambled out, but they barely made it a few steps before the Gorefist charged.

Its massive body crashed into the overturned vehicle, crushing the already damaged armor beneath its weight. Then its fists came down.

THUNG! THUNG! THUNG! Again and again, the creature hammered the vehicle.

Metal screamed beneath the blows and the armored plating bent inward with every strike until the vehicle was little more than a twisted heap of steel.

Nearby, another Gorefist slammed both fists into a second armored vehicle, crushing the engine compartment before grabbing the wreck and flipping it onto its side.

"Fall back!"

"Get away from the vehicles!"

The soldiers abandoned their positions and scattered, desperately trying to create some distance from the rampaging Gorefists.

But before they could regroup, a sudden scream cut through the chaos. "AHHHH!" Everyone nearby turned toward the sound. Something moved between the infected.

A pale arm suddenly shot out from the darkness. It was unnaturally long, almost completely unlike a human limb, and it snapped through the air with terrifying speed. The arm wrapped tightly around a soldier’s torso before violently yanking him backward.

"Help me!" The soldier clawed desperately at the ground, but his boots only scraped uselessly against the concrete as he was dragged toward the horde.

"What the hell?!" Another pale arm suddenly shot out from between the infected.

"BEHIND YOU!" A soldier turned just in time to see the elongated limb wrapping around his torso as it pulled the soldier.

"What the hell are those things?!"

More elongated arms began snapping out from between the infected, striking from unexpected angles and dragging soldiers away one after another.