Chapter 453: Fierce and Determined

No matter what else happens, the watch duty can never be skipped—Zhang Ya and Yang Wenjie did not join the battle in Beidong Town, but held their post, eyes locked on the vast area stretching from the north to the southwest.

With no patrol assigned today, the importance of the watch post became even more evident.

Shuffling zombies emerged from between the houses of a distant village—first a few, then dozens in the blink of an eye, then a dense, sprawling horde slowly advancing across the open field, their target unmistakable: Tianma Yu.

Zhang Su's gaze sharpened; he pulled down his walkie-talkie from his waist and asked, "How many?"

"It's the same horde we lured away earlier—there are at least seven thousand zombies!"

Zhang Ya's reply came quickly.

"Seven thousand… that's a lot."

"It's because so many of us gathered at Tianma Yu—drew them here, right…"

"Probably. But with so many of us here, seven thousand zombies aren't anything to worry about."

After hearing Zhang Ya's report, the group began murmuring among themselves; no one cared anymore about each other's affiliations, because barring accidents, they would all soon become allies within the same faction.

"Brother Su, what do we do?"

Lu Yubo always voiced his questions openly—it was one of his strengths…

Zhang Su did not answer Lu Yubo, but exchanged a glance with Yu Wen—both understood what needed to be done without speaking.

"Friends, there are no other survivor factions left on this land—this is as good as our own territory. Dragging the horde back and forth is just circling our own yard. Let's kill them all—perfect fuel for winter heating. What do you think?"

Zhang Su's eyes blazed with battle lust as he asked the crowd, his spirit soaring.

"Fighting among ourselves is pointless—we should save our strength to kill zombies. Let's fucking do it!"

Zhang Xin was the first to raise his hand in agreement.

"Destroying the horde is humanity's inescapable duty!"

Li Zongkai nodded slightly, slipping into official tone, yet added cautiously: "Seven thousand is no small number—even if all of us move out, each person must kill over fifty zombies. We must be extra careful!"

Immediately after, Cai Zhichao, Zhou Le, Liu Yao, and Yang Xinqi all voiced their support for Zhang Su's proposal.

In the past, hearing of seven or eight thousand zombies heading for camp would have sent even the Survivor Alliance into panic—but now, no one on the field showed fear; instead, they were eager, hungry for a battle to release the pent-up combat fervor.

"OK, since everyone agrees we should fight—then this horde is out of luck!" Zhang Su declared decisively.

"Kill them all!"

"I'll go alert the men!"

"Ha! Kill those damn things!"

One by one, the other faction leaders and captains departed—each needed to rally their own troops.

Zhang Su pressed the transmit button: "Yanluo Legion, all reserve units—cease all work, prepare for battle against the horde!"

Seven thousand zombies could be easily lured out of sight with just four to six vehicles—but Zhang Su had no intention of doing that. Right now, a battle was needed—Tianma Yu needed a battle; more precisely, the Yanluo Legion needed a battle. This was a show—a display of strength to the others!

To recruit talent and expand our population, we must demonstrate power. Resources and individual ability are strength—but in this hellish zombie apocalypse, the ability to annihilate zombies is the true foundation of any camp's survival.

With so many people and so many factions involved, gathering took a little longer than expected.

Everyone extinguished their cigarettes, set down their disposable warm cups, regrouped, and after five or six minutes, the crowd assembled in the parking lot.

The spacious parking lot could easily hold over a thousand people—but too many vehicles had been parked, leaving little room; only a hundred or so could spread out in loose formation.

A minor incident occurred: when Liu Yao reappeared, everyone was curious about his condition—how had he recovered so quickly? But with battle imminent, there was no time to investigate.

Five factions stood clearly divided: Tianma Yu's Yanluo Legion and its reserves totaled sixty—more than any other group. Next came the remaining forty-odd from the Survivor Alliance. Civilian Guardians, Little Eagle Society, and Tianqi Group each had around twenty.

The leaders of each faction stood at the front of their lines, giving pre-battle speeches, explaining details. Their members stood tall and proud—this was not just a zombie extermination, but a silent contest.

When an alien enemy appears, humans picking up weapons to fight back is natural—but wherever there are groups, there is competition, especially now. Everyone wanted to prove themselves. *Whirr! A drone shot into the sky, speeding westward, quickly gathering intel—the horde was now 1. kilometers from camp, passing right by the watch post. The magnetic field of Tianma Yu was too strong—the zombies paid no attention to Zhang Ya, who remained at her post.

"We cannot let the zombies reach the mountain—Yanluo Legion, reserve units—listen up! Set up barricades and roadblocks on the highway! Use the wasteland as our strategic depth—move out!"

Zhang Su gave the order and personally drove the cargo van loaded with flame zombies down the mountain—he had no intention of using them, mainly because he feared someone would steal them… a simple password wouldn't stop anyone.

"Lue, immediately use the drone to distract the horde—buy us time to set up the roadblocks!"

"Received! Mission guaranteed!"

Wu Lue immediately recalled the drone, attached a loudspeaker, and launched again.

"Old Pan, check the tank's fuel—be ready to crush the horde!"

"Enough fuel for fifty kilometers of high-speed travel!"

"Da Kun, without drone support, if you need Zero-Zero-Three, you and Xiao Liu drive and spray pheromones!"

"No problem!"

"Received!"

"Everyone, check your weapons and armor—no mistakes allowed!"

As he walked down the mountain, Zhang Su issued one order after another.

By the time the convoy raced down, the horde was less than a kilometer from the highway in a straight line. Without distraction, they'd cross the road in under ten minutes—possibly less.

As the loudspeaker blared from the sky, the horde instantly erupted into chaos—the front row turned upward, zombies behind shoved forward, and the entire horde ground to a halt!

Everyone knew time was precious—not just Tianma Yu's people, but all factions joined in building the barricades.

Following Zhang Su's plan, two rows of barricades would be laid across the horde's front width—if supplies ran short, reduce to one row. Combat would rely primarily on melee weapons, with firearms as support. The five factions lined up side by side, facing the approaching horde.

"I feel… we're kind of bullying the zombies."

Zhang Xin stared at the hundred-plus combat-ready fighters—this was the first time he'd felt his heart surge while facing a horde.

All preparations proceeded smoothly; commanders gathered to exchange final words.

"This will be an inspiring battle!"

Li Zongkai stood with one hand on his hip, gazing at the grand battle line, his face alight with excitement.

Before, fear ruled—worrying about injury, worrying about losses. Every fight with zombies was a gamble with death. But now, the roles were reversed—we were the ones holding the line!

Liu Yao, fully recovered and brimming with energy, gripped a uniquely shaped spear—clearly designed for killing zombies—and grinned: "This setup? For seven or eight thousand zombies? Overkill. I don't even think they'll last a few passes. We should bring in a few more hordes!"

"Don't jinx us!"

Yang Xinqi didn't argue with Liu Yao out of respect for Zhang Su—but he still hated what he said.

"Hmph…"

Liu Yao, unusually, did not retort.

"Looks like everyone's ready—I'll notify…"

Zhang Su was about to order Wu Lue to slowly guide the horde toward the highway—when a chilling message arrived!

"Tianma Yu, attention—north… north has a new horde! Three to four kilometers from camp—estimated strength: eight to ten thousand!"

Yang Wenjie's voice was stiff—her northern watch post was farthest from camp; her main duty wasn't zombie defense, but monitoring people coming from the Shanhai Zone. After hearing Zhang Ya's report, she'd been watching the horde through binoculars—only to turn and find her own side under threat!

(End of Chapter)