Chapter 93: Counterattack
In Wellington's eyes, this whole mess could've been dodged. If they had just bailed out of the liquid attack range when they first saw those zombies could hit from a distance, they could've saved a bunch of lives and dodged that zombie stampede.
But nah, the other commander either sucked at his job or got tricked by the zombies' mind games. Everyone was caught off guard by that long-range attack, totally clueless. The real screw-up was when the zombies charged, and the columns fought on their own without any game plan, letting the zombies crash into them and start a brawl.
Honestly, this screw-up was bound to happen.
From the liquid strikes to the sudden zombie rush and soldiers dropping dead from corrosion and infection, these three hits nailed the columns' weak spots. Usually, in zombie vs. human wars, humans win by staying on the move. Except for a few city fights where zombies' weirdness tripped them up, humans rarely lost in open fields.
The zombies' new long-range attack just made things worse for humans, making the outcome a big question mark.
During the chase, the zombies couldn't keep up with the running soldiers, and the gap kept growing. Even though a dozen or so special zombies kept spraying liquid, their range was limited. Once the soldiers got a mile away, they were safe.
These special zombies moved super slow, like a normal person walking, even slower than regular zombies. In the zombie horde, they looked like they were crawling in slow motion.
With the gap widening, the scattered soldiers couldn't regroup fast enough to block the chasing zombies.
But humans are smart. The unit's commander wasn't totally useless. He ordered the unscattered columns to mix in with the others, positioning them at the back to start blocking the zombies using hit-and-run tactics. He also sent messengers on motorcycles to tell the scattered columns to regroup and slowly fall back.
The plan was clear: lure the zombies away from the salt well and use this bait-and-smash tactic to wipe them out and reclaim the salt well.
Like Wellington, the spectators also pulled back with the troops. They were originally about a mile from the battlefield, and now the troops had retreated more than a mile. If they didn't move, they'd run into the troops. With morale this low, who knew if the troops would turn on them?
After pulling back again, when the pickup truck stopped, Oliver and the others looked pale and worried.
Losing nearly six thousand soldiers out of twenty thousand was a massive blow. All the big shots in the wasteland settlements knew that the twenty thousand soldiers were the Bureau's entire force, controlled by a few top dogs. The sudden losses would definitely weaken some of these top dogs' power, and with human greed for power, the wasteland settlements were probably in for another shake-up.
Even worse, the salt well was definitely trashed. Without salt, they could last ten days or maybe half a month, but any longer and things would get real ugly.
Compared to the hazy future, the immediate mess was way more urgent. The sudden pop-up of a new zombie type right now was a huge headache for humans. Without these long-range spitting zombies, the massive body count wouldn't have happened. With our firepower, we could've slowly picked off the zombies in the salt well.
Wellington glanced at Oliver and asked, "What the hell are these zombies? Never seen 'em before?"
Oliver and the crew shook their heads. "Nah, never heard of these types before. In the zombie world, we've been running for years, barely exploring. We know about a dozen special infected types. Their mutations usually evolve from their pre-death skills and instincts. There are also special factor mutations, but those are super rare. When they do show up, they're scary as hell."
Nathan spat on the ground and said, "Too bad we don't have planes and artillery. Otherwise, zombies wouldn't stand a chance. Like those zombies hiding in the salt well, a round of shelling would end it in ten minutes. If we had planes, even better. Fly over, lock onto these special zombies, and an air-to-ground missile would send 'em straight to hell."
"Who wouldn't want the gear at the Greenfield City garrison? I heard they even have a few tanks. But who dares to mess with that?"
Oliver, who'd seen a lot, said slowly, "You can't imagine the terror of military zombies. Years ago, thousands tried to raid the camp for the gear, but they didn't know about the military zombies. Less than a hundred made it out alive. They didn't even get into the camp, let alone steal the gear."
Military zombies were new to Wellington, but folks in the wasteland settlements knew them well. Called the "undying soldiers," they had strong bodies and terrifying combat skills. Their weapon skills, combined with the camp's arsenal, meant anyone targeting the camp met a grim fate.
These new long-range spitting zombies were just as scary.
While they chatted, the nearby troops finally got their act together. Three columns lined up, forming three steel walls, and started shooting at the zombie horde, keeping them at bay. Once they had them pinned down, they switched to single shots, popping the heads of the ferocious zombies one by one.
Against these zombies, there was no time to haul in heavy weapons. It was a straight-up brawl.
The zombies had caught the humans off guard earlier. Now that the humans had figured out these special zombies' weaknesses, they weren't giving them another shot. With 14,000 people firing single shots, thousands of zombies dropped every few seconds. The number of zombies in the salt well was steadily dropping, and it wouldn't be long before they were wiped out.
Dozens of military trucks with machine guns formed a makeshift armored assault team. In the heat of battle, they charged at the zombie horde like maniacs.
The long-range spitting zombies were still crawling, but with the trucks' speed, their liquid attacks were useless. Once the trucks got close, the zombies were toast, getting their heads smashed easily.
Once these special zombies were taken out, the outcome was clear: wiping out the zombie horde was just a matter of time.