MTLNOVEL Chapter 650: Strike Battalion
As soon as they realized how much damage they sustained, Diana couldn't help but worry about the fighters and warriors she sent in front. She immediately arranged a medical unit to find the injured and quickly heal them.
The explosion of the Zombie Lord was just too much!
Still, Diana had to look at the notification that the system sent her.
[ You have eliminated a Lord-Tier Zombie: "Bal, the Blazing Tyrant" ]
[ New Title Unlocked: Tyrant's Bane – Grants +30% resistance to fire-based attacks and reduces incoming area-of-effect damage by 20%. Attacks against fire-type enemies deal 15% more damage. ]
[ Additional Rewards: Platinum-Grade Treasure Chest, 30,000 Experience Points, Territory Key Fragment, Vial of "Bal's Infernal Core" ]
[ Exclusive Item Awarded:
Cinder Gauntlets – Forged from the bones and essence of Bal. Increases Strength by +25, adds Fire Resistance +40%, and allows the user to cast 'Blazing Burst' once per hour. ]
[ Bonus Rewards:
1,000 Reputation Points, 1,500 Zombie Cores, Firebrand Token x1 (Negates fire damage completely for 10 seconds. 12-hour cooldown.) ]
Diana felt overwhelmed by the rewards she received but she had to worry about the situation of the shelter.
The western wall was nearly gone—nothing remained but rubble and fire-scorched ground. Of the twenty-four Warden Units stationed there, a total of eleven were destroyed, and four of them needed repairs…
Thankfully, the medic units found the frontline fighters still alive.
Minerva coughed blood as she stood up. "To think I survived that… This armor set is the best."
Tieria, leaning on his rifle like a cane, nodded solemnly. "I hope that's the first and last Zombie Lord."
Lysandra looked toward the horizon, where the next Zombie Horde would probably come from... "I hope so… At the very least, we should have some time to rest… Miss Diana should be sending out her special team to deal with the upcoming Zombies…"
Back at the command center, Diana's hands trembled as she took in the casualty report. Thankfully, it wasn't that terrible. Still, her heart ached at the destruction of their shelter.
This should not continue.
She then pressed the comms.
"Everyone, fortify the inner wall. Begin repairs. Treat the wounded. Do not worry about the Zombie Hordes for the next hour or two, as long as there's no Zombie Lord. A special team will handle it." Diana announced to everyone.
The weary defenders breathed a sigh of relief. Even with half the western wall obliterated, hope hadn't yet fallen.
With the damage in the shelter's barrier and wall, the morale was fragile… However, as soon as they heard Diana's confident voice, they couldn't help but trust her…
Within minutes of her order, the Special Strike Battalion was deployed.
There were 30 newly deployed Warden Units. Their plate armor and steel frames were quite different from the first batch.
Apparently, the Elven Crafters had already successfully created a device that could help them harness the power of Mana Crystals.
Because of that, these machines were now powered by upgraded cores!
As soon as Diana gave her signal, more units came out in perfect synchronicity.
Then, another 20 specialized Warden Units, equipped with flamethrower arms and grenade launchers, followed behind, making up the rear force...
And then came the leaders of this battalion... They were Kale, Vernon, and Nia!
Kale moved to the front line, with his battleaxe coated in dark green energy. His skill, Decay Strike, was already active.
[ Skill Learned: Decay Strike
Type: Offensive
Description: Imbues a melee weapon with decaying energy, causing each strike to erode the target's physical defenses over time.
Effect: Targets struck weaken their defense per hit. Their regeneration is reduced by 20% and disrupts the flow of their Spirit. ]
To his right, Vernon, clad in plague-resistant tactical robes, was also prepared for battle.
Well, he needed this robe because of his skill.
[ Skill Learned: Plague Aura
Type: Utility / Area of Effect
Description: Creates an aura around the user that releases a toxic miasma, damaging others within a radius and reducing their movement and attack speed.
Effect: Deals 3% of the user's Spirit Points power as damage per second. Reduces other's movement and attack speed by 10%, stacking up to 30%. ]
Thankfully, the Warden Units weren't affected by the plague, so later on, he would have no issue assisting the Wardens.
After all, with just a wave of a hand, a Plague Aura could be activated. It would be in the form of a miasma leaking from him like poisonous fog…
Behind them, Nia stood calmly atop a turret platform…
Unlike the other two, she had skills that worked really well from a distance. One of them was her Petrifying Sphere.
This was the reason why Diana built the Special Strike Battalion! It was all built around her ability!
[ Skill Learned: Petrifying Sphere
Type: Offensive / Crowd Control
Description: Summons a ball of energy that creates a field of Petrification at the activation area. Targets within the field will be turned into stone for a short duration.
Effect: Petrification for 10 seconds. Targets in the field take 15% additional damage from all sources for the next 5 seconds. ]
With this ability to petrify a large area for five seconds, she just needed the Warden Units and others to ensure that the petrified Zombies would die during the time they were petrified.
This was also the reason why Zephyrion's undead creations, a legion of Silver Skeletons and two more Corpse Golems—flanked the team from both sides.
These were not mindless undead; under Zephyrion's control, they were incredible warriors.
Just like that, the ground rumbled.
Another horde emerged.
"They're here… and it is not as impressive as expected..." Diana muttered as she already knew that after the Zombie Lord, the level of difficulty would die down for a bit. It was a pattern used even in the first Zombie Waves.
From afar, they saw Runner Zombies, hundreds of them, growling hungrily as they rushed towards their base.
Crawler Zombies were obviously slower, but they were still rushing over… Aside from that, Diana also noticed the presence of Jumper Zombies…
One of them leaped from trees and rubble, as they wanted to immediately eat humans..
In the center of it all—five Tyrant Zombies, each over three meters tall, moved forward…
"It's manageable…" Diana muttered with a smile. The horde doesn't even have a Zombie Leader in their lineup.
Without the leaders, she believed that the Zombie Horde wouldn't be able to last that long.
After all, just with their daily hunts or Zombies for resources, they were already eliminating dozens of Tyrant Zombies… At this stage of the Zombie Apocalypse, the Tyrant Zombies weren't that scary anymore.
***
"Engage." Kale said flatly—and launched himself to the front…
With a roar, Kale activated his Titan's Roar and charged into the mass of Runner Zombies, his Decay Strike cleaving in wide arcs. Each swing not only split rotting bodies but also corroded their flesh entirely.
Armorless zombies melted in seconds; even the tougher ones staggered as their limbs decayed mid-attack.
[ You have eliminated a Runner Zombie. ]
[ You have eliminated a Jumper Zombie. ]
…
[ You have eliminated a Jumper Zombie. ]
Similar messages were repeated as he continued to attack. There were even some times that an area would halt as the Zombies turned to stone… Without them being able to fight back, Kale easily smashed them into pieces!
Then, from another side of the battlefield, Vernon's Plague Aura was already spreading fast. Though Kale had enough defensive items, he still didn't like the Plague Aura, so he decided to fight far from it.
Just like that, the area suddenly turned heavy with the Plague Aura… The zombies faltered, their legs stiffening under the effect of the fog. Runners slowed to a crawl. Crawlers failed to go forward and even the massive Tyrants began to move sluggishly.
The Plague Aura was simply too strong!
Needless to say, to make the kill a lot easier, Nia assisted them. With a glowing orb forming in her palm, she threw it into the thick of the oncoming Jumper and Runner Zombies…
Well, she just turned them into stones, and just by smashing, the kill would be a lot easier.
[ You have eliminated a Runner Zombie. ]
[ You have eliminated a Jumper Zombie. ]
[ You have eliminated a Crawler Zombie. ]
"Die!" Nia threw more.
Several Petrifying Spheres were released and burst mid-air, releasing a field of golden dust.
The effect was immediate—ten zombies froze mid-motion as their bodies started turning into stone. However, some Tyrants had a very high resistance…
Because of that, the Wardens acted.
The Grenadier Units fired a barrage of explosive canisters into the Tyrants, throwing them off-balance.
After being weakened, the Petrifying Spheres could now turn them into stone, which made them brittle and a lot easier to destroy…
Finally, there were also the Automated Turrets that were still operational and auto-tracking the enemies…
Once the Zombies got into range, they fired—energy beams and high-caliber rounds that tore through the weakened zombies!
Just like that, the Zombie Horde was easily handled without any casualties! However, there was still more than half a day for this Zombie Wave event. They still have a lot to do and a lot of resources to drain...