Of course, at first, these transformed individuals were in a state of confusion, but they were all well-trained warriors. Especially when they heard the heart-wrenching screams of their companions being devoured, these alien warriors instantly sobered up.
Although they were now facing their former comrades, there was no time for them to ponder. It was either resist or be eaten alive by these brainless zombies. Faced with such a choice, anyone with a semblance of intellect would choose the former.
It was precisely because of this that these recovered alien warriors, knowing full well that they had no chance of survival against such a massive horde of zombies, still picked up their weapons and fought back, driven by their desire to live.
Furthermore, being bitten by a zombie did not immediately turn them into one; it took anywhere from a minute to twenty minutes, or even longer.
Bai Qi precisely exploited this yearning for life and the zombies' inability to resist living beings, pitting them against each other in a brutal battle that significantly slowed down the zombie horde's advance.
Of course, relying solely on this would not have been enough to hold them off for an hour. Bai Qi's actions were merely a show for Su Rui, demonstrating his ability to stall the horde and ensuring she would uphold her end of the bargain.
A ton of Vibranium might sound like a lot, but when you saw it, it was just a single cubic meter metal block, one meter by one meter by one meter.
Just as Bai Qi reached out to touch the Vibranium cube, Su Rui intervened, stopping him. "You've seen the item, and it's here. Now you need to fulfill your promise and help us hold off the zombie horde for one hour."
"Certainly."
Bai Qi's lips curled up as he began to chant an incantation.
As Bai Qi uttered the final syllable, the ground began to tremble, and a bottomless chasm split open. Scalding magma erupted into the sky, converging at the center above Wakanda's city, forming a colossal magma shield that enveloped the entire nation.
While placing the Vibranium cube into his personal space, Bai Qi stated, "This magma shield will last for one hour. During this time, you can rally your forces, establish defensive lines, or find a good spot to sit and await your doom – it's all up to you."
Without giving Su Rui a chance to react, Bai Qi swiftly departed with the Vibranium.
The large number of reanimated alien warriors, combined with the sudden emergence of the magma barrier, would undoubtedly be able to halt the zombie horde's advance. Su Rui had no doubt about this, yet she couldn't muster any joy.
Her original plan was to use this precious hour to organize her forces, construct defenses, and evacuate Wakanda's elderly and children first. This way, the remaining troops would not be burdened by the safety of their loved ones. However, this magma barrier not only blocked the zombies outside but also extinguished any hope of escape for the Wakandans during this crucial hour.
Bai Qi was well aware of this, and the magma barrier was constructed intentionally.
There were many ways to stop the zombie horde without necessarily destroying them. The reason for choosing magma was to crush any thoughts of escape from Wakanda, trapping the elderly, the weak, the women, and children along with the fighting soldiers. This would greatly ignite the warriors' will to fight.
After all, behind them lay not just a city, but their parents, wives, and children. For them, they would fight the zombie horde to their last drop of blood.
Though this might seem cruel, it was the method that best served Bai Qi's interests.
This time, the Zombie Thanos did not use the Power Stone to violently break through the magma barrier before him, nor did he unleash the power of any of the Infinity Stones.
There was no choice.
The aftereffects of using the Power Stone had been too severe. Even though his zombie physique allowed him to disregard the pain of using Infinity Stones, the physical burden on his body was very real. If he ignored this and used the stones without restraint, his body would likely collapse from the strain before long.
However, it was impossible for Zombie Thanos to do nothing.
At this moment, Bai Qi hovered in the air not far away, observing the unfolding battle from above.
Bai Qi noticed that after failing to breach the barrier with some minor efforts, the zombie horde began to retreat.
Initially, Bai Qi assumed Thanos was giving up, but then he realized something was wrong. Both the energy fluctuations of the Infinity Stones emanating from Wakanda and the living beings within held an irresistible allure for Zombie Thanos. They had advanced this far; there was no reason for him to withdraw because of a magma barrier.
As Bai Qi had predicted, the retreat of the zombie horde did not signify Thanos's abandonment of the assault on Wakanda.
Under the escort of the zombie horde, numerous scrapped alien spacecraft were brought to the front lines.
Bai Qi immediately understood their plan. Since brute force couldn't break through the magma barrier, and Zombie Thanos didn't want to damage his body by using the Infinity Stones for such a minor matter, they were bringing a large number of scrapped ships to be thrown into the chasm, intending to block the spewing magma.
They didn't even need to completely seal the rift. They just needed to block a portion of it, creating a gap in the magma barrier that they could pass through.
Do not underestimate the strength of zombies, especially a disciplined and organized horde.
Even with Bai Qi's interference, significantly slowing down the overall operation of the zombie horde, as time ticked by, a vast number of scrapped spacecraft were still being thrown into the chasm by the zombies. The magma barrier had already begun to thin in one area.
As the last scrapped spacecraft was dropped into the rift, a twenty-meter-wide gap appeared in the magma barrier.
With the gap opened, at Zombie Thanos's command, the vanguard of the zombie horde surged through the opening. The rest continued to transport scrapped ships, filling the gap and expanding it.
The opening of the gap was twenty minutes short of the hour Bai Qi had promised. Nevertheless, in the past forty minutes, Wakanda's warriors had largely completed their mobilization and had already detected the zombie horde's actions, forming battle formations and preparing themselves.
As soon as the gap opened, the long-prepared Wakandan warriors immediately launched their attack, their guns spitting fire.
Even though their marksmanship with firearms was poor, they couldn't match the sheer numbers. With both sides engaging, even a blind, random spray of bullets could hit and kill.
Coupled with the pre-positioned turrets, the combined assault delivered a head-on blow to the vanguard of the zombie horde.