Chapter 177: Into the Breach

Jaxon shifted his attention away from the hidden Variants and looked down toward the defensive line below. His expression quickly sank. There was no one left.

The soldiers who had been fighting around the breach only moments ago were either dead or already joining the horde. Their abandoned weapons and bodies were scattered across the streets, while the remaining infected continued pouring deeper into the western sector with every passing second.

’This is getting out of hand.’ Even so, he didn’t stop firing.

THUP! THUP! THUP!

Each suppressed shot dropped another infected as they rushed through the streets, but there were simply too many of them. Killing a few dozen, or even a few hundred, wasn’t enough to stop the horde from spreading.

’If they get much farther inside...’ Jaxon didn’t finish the thought. His mind immediately went to Natasha, Na-rin, and the others. ’I need to check on them.’

He had already started considering pulling back from the western front when something caught his attention from the southern side.

A faint mechanical sound reached his ears. ’Just in time.’

THWIP! THWIP! Several cables suddenly shot through the air.

Hooks slammed into the sides of nearby buildings, and a squad of soldiers equipped with Dual Cable Launchers swung across the battlefield at incredible speed. Their bodies swept over the streets as they raced toward the breached wall, using the cables to pull themselves from one building to another.

"Multiple infected below!"

"Take them out!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The soldiers opened fire while still moving through the air as several infected running through the streets suddenly dropped, their heads snapping backward as bullets tore through their skulls.

"Target cleared!"

"Keep moving!"

Another cable fired.

THWIP! One of the soldiers swung around the corner of a building before releasing the line and immediately launching another hook toward a structure farther ahead.

Below him, several infected noticed the movement and leaped upward but the soldier simply swung past them.

One infected stretched out its arms and nearly caught the cable, but the soldier released it at the last possible moment. The creature’s hands closed around nothing as it lost its balance and crashed onto the street below.

"Left side!"

BANG!

The infected attempting to leap after him dropped before it could get another chance.

The squad continued advancing without slowing down, moving from building to building while clearing a path toward the breach.

Jaxon only spared them a brief glance before returning his attention to the battlefield and continuing to fire.

Unlike the ordinary soldiers who were trapped on the ground and constantly surrounded by infected, these soldiers could move freely above the streets.

"Don’t let them gather into groups!" a large-built man shouted as he swung through the air. A five-star insignia marked his uniform, identifying him as Reynold, commander of the Special Units.

Twin shotguns rested firmly in his hands, and the moment his boots touched the edge of the next rooftop, he raised both weapons toward the streets below.

BANG! BANG!

The twin blasts thundered across the battlefield. Several infected below had their heads blown apart, their bodies collapsing onto the street as Reynold continued moving without slowing down.

"Commander!" a soldier called from behind him as he swung toward the same building. "We just received a report! Infected have reached the civilian residences!"

Reynold’s expression immediately darkened. "Damn it. We’re late."

"No, we’re not." A girl’s voice suddenly came from behind him. Before Reynold could even turn around, a figure shot past him through the air.

Her dark chestnut hair whipped wildly behind her as she swung forward, her gray-blue eyes locked on the streets ahead. Without hesitation, she fired another cable toward a distant building and released the previous line, using the momentum to accelerate towards the horde.

"Hey! Annie!" Reynold shouted. "Where are you going?"

"I’m going to slow down the breach!"

"What? Wait!"

But Annie was already gone. Her hook slammed into another building, and she swung around the corner at full speed, quickly putting more distance between herself and the rest of the squad.

Reynold stared after her for a moment before clicking his tongue. "That hot-headed girl..."

He immediately turned toward the rest of the squad. "Tch. Follow her. Don’t let her get herself killed."

Just then a woman with long auburn-blonde hair and hazel eyes swung up beside him. She landed briefly on the rooftop before glancing in the direction Annie had disappeared, a faintly apologetic smile appearing on her face. "Sorry, Commander. Annie’s just anxious right now."

"I don’t care," Reynold snorted. Despite his words, his eyes remained fixed on the distant figure moving through the streets.

After a brief pause, he muttered. "Don’t let her die."

Lina’s lips curved into a small smile. "Understood."

She immediately fired her launcher as the hook embedded itself into a nearby building, and Lina shot forward. Her twin Uzis were already raised before she even reached the next position.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

A stream of bullets tore through the infected below as she swung past, dropping several of them.

"Annie!" Lina called through the chaos. "Don’t get too far ahead!"

But Annie continued forward without looking back.

From behind, Lina sighed before firing another cable. "Honestly..."

Reynold watched the two girls disappear deeper into the battlefield before turning toward the rest of his squad. His expression hardened once again as he raised his twin shotguns.

"Move!" The soldiers immediately fired their launchers and followed. "We’re clearing this sector!"

More Special Unit squads soon entered the battlefield coming from the southern wall, spreading across the surrounding buildings and streets. They moved in small groups, with the soldiers in front engaging targets while the others covered their movements and watched for anything approaching from the sides.

TATATATATA!

Several infected dropped one after another as the squads advanced. Those that slipped past the first shooters were quickly picked off by the soldiers behind them, while others were intercepted by another squad moving in from the opposite side.

"Clear!"

"Right side has movement!"

"Got it. Keep pushing!"

The squads continued forward, clearing the streets section by section and preventing the infected from surrounding them.