Global Awakening: Apocalypse Ender's Chronicle

It was such a brave move, but it certainly shows how powerful he was.

Soon, his axe cleaved through one zombie mid-air, but another landed on his back, clawing at his armor. Before it could do any damage, a vine whip from Nia's staff yanked it off, slamming it into a wall.

"I owe you one!" Kale shouted. Although he could still do something about it, he appreciated any help he could get.

"Just keep them off me while I prepare something bigger!" Nia responded, channeling energy into her staff.

Kale did as he was told and held off all the Jumper Zombies… Even if they were quite far away, he would able to get their attention as he used various techniques to cover a wide range.

Of course, even with his current strength, he still had a limited amount of stamina. Thankfully, the Titan Serum he obtained from Shane had allowed him to double his current stamina and endure a lot longer.

Moments later, she unleashed a torrent of thick roots that erupted from the ground, ensnaring the Jumpers and crushing them with brutal force…

Crunch~ Crunch~

However, this battle won't seem to end just with a few waves of Zombies.

The fight actually stretched into the evening.

This time, Kale really had to retreat to recharge his energy. It was the same for Nia and Vernon.

Nonetheless, the trio relied on the Automated Turret Shane had left behind to thin out the endless waves. The turret's steady rhythm and sharp bursts of gunfire cut through the horde with ease!

Thankfully, these waves of zombies weren't similar to the Zombie Wave event. Because of that, the enemies coming at them were very weak. There weren't even any signs of Zombie Leaders coming at them.

Thankfully, however, the Zombies Waves still stopped after a few hours.

"It's a good thing that this Automated Turret only needs a few Power Cores to work." Vernon muttered as he looked at his rifle. Right now, he only had six magazines and two ammunition boxes left.

"We need to find the source of these waves. Something's driving them." He added.

The other two agreed on this since they felt that these Zombies wouldn't just act like that. Though it could be related to the disappearance of the Foreign Survivors, they believed that it was still impossible for the Zombies to just spawn out of nowhere and rush at them like a tide.

"I'll scout the perimeter," Kale offered as he carried his axe. "If there's a Necromancer or something out there, I'll find it."

He heard Shane's warnings about the Necromancer and he believed that the sudden attack against them was related to these Necromancers who could control undead beings.

There were still about two days left until Shane and Lysandra would return, so he felt that resolving the problem from its root cause would be the best idea.

However, Nia felt that this would be too dangerous.

"No way," Nia countered. "Splitting up is too dangerous. We should hold here until we're sure the barrier is stable. Sir Shane also mentioned that we just stay here and defend the area. His last command was to escape this place if the barrier and the turret could no longer protect us."

Kale thought for a moment. He considered arguing on this but in the end, Nia was right. Might as well stay here until they could no longer do so.

He then sighed but he still nodded to Nia.. "Fine. But if these bastards don't let up soon, I'm going hunting."

Thankfully, the night was quite peaceful as if the Zombies had also taken a break and decided to just wait for the morning.

However, just as they expected, the three of them fought against the zombies in the morning. These Zombies were even growing more erratic and desperate as if they knew that the Foreign Survivors were about to return.

Thankfully, these Zombies were kind enough to give them some breaks, so they could still eat their meal before their battle.

As expected, in the afternoon, the outside of the abandoned town was filled with low-tier Zombies. Crawlers, Walkers, Runners, and Jumpers could be seen everywhere.

At this time, the Guardian Node flickered but it actually held strong, its energy field was dimmed but intact.

Soon, Vernon was able to change the power core of the Automated Turret and soon, it came to life and came into action!

Energy Bullets and Incendiary Bombs were then released and obliterated the low-tier Zombies Outside! This may result in a lower experience or loot but it doesn't matter anymore.

After a few minutes of bombardment, only a few Zombies were left. This time, the Turret no longer has to act as the three of them finished the remaining ones.

Soon, everything was finally under their control.

"Do you think Shane and Lysandra are dealing with this kind of crap too?" Kale asked, wiping blood from his axe.

"Probably," Nia said, leaning on her staff. "But knowing Shane, he's thriving in it." She had seen Shane's abilities and knew very well that he was the strongest Survivor.

Vernon just smiled at their conversation and scanned the horizon one last time. He wanted to search for any lingering threats before he could relax.

"Let's hope they come back soon. I have a feeling that the intensity of the attacks would just continue to grow stronger."

***

On the evening of the second day, Nia, and Kale had only managed a few hours of rest after their grueling battle with the undead when Vernon's voice crackled through the communicator.

"We've got company," he said while he was still on his rooftop vantage point. "And it's not zombies this time."

Nia and Kale rushed to the edge of the protective barrier. Their eyes narrowed as they spotted a group of about fifty people surrounding the town.

"If they're not Foreign Survivors… They must be the Scavengers." Kale said as he looked at the outfit of these people.

Nia had the same thought after seeing their appearance.

Anyway, according to Shane, the Scavengers were true residents of this land and had survived through the Zombie Apocalypse for many years through scavenging and various methods. They carried crude weapons—clubs fashioned from metal pipes, jagged blades made from scraps, and slingshots with rusted bearings.

Most alarming, however, were the torches they lit up after getting closer to them.

"They're not attacking yet," Vernon added, his fingers hovering over the controls of the Automated Turret. "What's the plan? Do I scare them off?"

Nia shook her head. "Not yet. Let's see what they want first."

Kale stepped forward. His massive axe rested on his shoulder as he gave Vernon a nod.

"Keep the turret ready. If they make a wrong move, we'll turn this into a battlefield."

After Kale and Nia showed themselves, the scavengers stopped their approach. They remained in a safe distance where they could still hear each other.

The leader of the Scavengers, or what they believed to be, stepped forward. He was a lean man with a scar running down his cheek. He wore a patchwork leather coat and carried a machete.

"We don't want trouble," he called out as his eyes seemed to scan the invisible barrier protecting the town. "But we do want food and clothes. Hand some over, and we'll leave you in peace."

Nia stepped closer to the edge of the barrier, her green cloak fluttered slightly in the breeze.

She kept her tone calm but firm. "We don't have much to spare, and this place is under our protection. Why should we give anything to you?"

The leader smirked, holding his torch high. "Because if you don't, we'll burn this whole place to the ground. I don't think your fancy barrier will stop the smoke from choking the life out of you. So, what's it gonna be?"

As expected, the scavenger was indeed quite talented in detecting the barrier.

Anyway, they could probably kill all these Scavengers with their Automated Turret already active but these people were quite scattered and they may have the chance to burn their surroundings and they might be forced to leave this place to avoid suffocating or being melted due to heat.

The three people then considered for a moment what to do… This decision didn't take that long to make as they decided to just concede for now. However, it was mainly because they somehow felt that the leader and the two others hiding within the group of Scavengers were quite mysterious and strong. The risk was too high since they had to protect Shane and Lysandra's spawn point.

Of course, they couldn't appear weak so Kale gritted his teeth, his hand tightened around the handle of his axe, and shouted.

"You'd better think carefully about threatening us," he growled. "If you think fifty people with scrap weapons can take us, you're sorely mistaken."

The leader of the Scavengers and the others frowned as soon as they felt Kale's Aura… They felt that if they pushed him too much, many of them would die as well.