Chapter 188: Flesh Colossus

From the section where the infected were most concentrated, hundreds of soldiers struggled to hold the line. The battle was already chaotic with the Mutants rampaging through the streets, but the situation became even worse as Grasshopper Infected continued bursting from underground.

Armored vehicles moved across the streets, their mounted machine guns firing nonstop as wave after wave of infected crashed against them. Soldiers crouched behind the vehicles and barricades, firing whenever they spotted an opening.

"Left side! They’re getting through!"

"Six o’clock! Fire!"

Several soldiers immediately turned and opened fire as infected squeezed through the gaps between the vehicles. Others crouched behind cover, reloading while their comrades kept the horde at bay.

"Vehicle’s down!"

"Fall back! Form the second line!"

The soldiers quickly reorganized, firing in controlled bursts as they gave ground. But the infected kept coming, climbing over the bodies of their own kind to reach them.

Then... CRACK!

The rooftop of a nearby building suddenly shattered as a long-legged creature burst through the concrete and launched itself toward a sniper. "Grasshopper!" The sniper barely managed to roll away as the creature’s claws tore through the rooftop. Several soldiers immediately opened fire, riddling its body with bullets before finally blowing its head apart.

Another scream came through the radio. "Another one underground!"

"Where?!"

"Behind the second line!"

CRACK! BOOM! Another Grasshopper Infected burst from the street, followed by several more. They leaped between buildings and armored vehicles with terrifying speed, forcing the soldiers to split their attention between the main horde and the creatures attacking from behind.

"Cover the snipers!" Above them, the Special Units were facing the same nightmare.

Crawlers and Grasshopper Infected leaped between rooftops, throwing themselves at the soldiers whenever they found an opening.

"Keep moving!" Reynold shouted. "Don’t stay in one place!"

THWIP! Annie swung across the street and landed beside Lina, immediately raising her weapon and firing into a group of Grasshopper Infected.

"More coming from the left!"

"I see them!"

They opened fire together, dropping several creatures before another suddenly launched itself toward them.

Lina ducked just in time as the Grasshopper sailed over her and crashed onto the rooftop.

Farther below, another Grasshopper launched itself toward a helicopter. The pilot barely managed to pull away as its claws scraped against the aircraft.

"It’s getting worse!" a soldier shouted over the radio.

"Western line is falling back!"

"They are breaking through!"

"Underground breaches reported in multiple sectors!"

"Containment has failed!"

The radio channel became filled with overlapping voices.

Reynold looked toward the streets. The barricades were being pushed backward. Soldiers were retreating while still firing, and the infected were pouring into the spaces they had just abandoned.

His expression hardened. But before he could give another order, something strange happened.

The infected suddenly stopped advancing. Not all of them, but enough for the soldiers to notice as a strange silence spread through the battlefield.

"What...?" A soldier slowly lowered his rifle.

"Why did they stop?"

Reynold narrowed his eyes and looked toward the center of the horde. Among the countless infected, something dark began moving across the ground.

They writhed across the ground like living veins, forcing their way through the mass of infected before converging on the Dark Variant. One after another, the roots wrapped around its legs, waist, and torso before sinking into its flesh.

The Dark Variant slowly lifted its head as its entire body began to tremble. Its dark eyes looked almost empty, like two holes leading into the night. Beneath its skin, the roots pulsed as its fingers slowly curled into fists.

Thump. A deep vibration traveled through the ground.

Thump, another pulse followed, stronger than the first.

Then the corpses began moving. A dead infected lying beneath several bodies suddenly twitched as black roots pushed through its torn flesh. Its broken limbs were dragged across the ground, scraping against the concrete as the roots pulled it toward the center.

Dozens followed, then hundreds. Even the living infected closest to the roots began to stumble as dark tendrils wrapped around their legs and pulled them backward.

"GRRAAAH!" They clawed at the ground, desperately trying to escape, but the roots were stronger.

One infected was dragged into the mass, its body disappearing beneath layers of black flesh. Then another was pulled in, followed by another.

The screams quickly became a horrifying chorus. The roots wrapped around their bodies and began stitching them together. Arms were forced into torsos. Legs twisted around other limbs. Bones cracked and snapped as bodies were compressed together, while thick strands of black flesh grew between them like veins holding everything in place.

CRACK! CRACK! The mass continued to grow.

An infected tried to crawl away, only for a root to pierce through its chest and drag it backward. Its fingers scraped helplessly against the ground before its body disappeared beneath the growing mound.

More bodies joined as the pile began rising. Five meters, ten meters, then higher.

The entire mass of infected was slowly losing its shape, no longer resembling a horde of individual creatures. Dark flesh stretched between the corpses, covering gaps and sealing broken pieces together as hundreds of limbs protruded from the mound before being pulled inward and fused into the enormous structure.

The wet tearing of flesh, the cracking of bones, and the constant squelching of bodies being crushed together echoed across the battlefield. Even infected that were still alive screamed as they were dragged into the growing mass.

At the center, the Dark Variant slowly disappeared beneath layers of flesh, becoming the core of the monstrous mass.

Then its head tilted toward the sky, and a deep, distorted roar escaped its throat.

"GRUUUUUAAAAAAAAAH!"

Then the giant slowly lifted one enormous leg.

BOOM! One massive limb slammed into the ground, sending debris flying and shaking the nearby buildings.

Across the battlefield, soldiers slowly looked up. Their weapons lowered as they stared at the towering creature, their faces turning pale.

"...What the hell is that?"

Another slowly raised his radio, his voice trembling. "Command... we have a new threat."

He swallowed hard as the giant continued walking toward the safe zone. "It’s... it’s bigger than the Behemoths."