After hearing the steam whistle of Holy Sword U2 once again, Li Ye nodded slightly and spoke into the voice tube.
「Tang Fang, prepare to accelerate. We're about to break through the Decayed Bone Bastion.」
His nerves involuntarily tensed up.
At full acceleration, it would only take a few minutes for the Southern Front to reach the Decayed Bone Bastion.
And these few minutes would become extremely brutal and decisive.
With a roar, Holy Shield V9 moved to the front of the formation.
This defensive-type city not only needed to absorb the vast majority of the enemy's firepower but also act as a cannon shell to blast through the Decayed Bone Bastion.
Li Ye's gaze fell upon the battlefield ahead.
Previously, to bomb the Zombie Swarm and Zombie Mobile Cities, Holy Vessel H3 had poured a massive number of Incendiary Bombs and Aerial Bombs upon them.
At this moment, the area was still ablaze.Yet through the flames, several massive figures emerged.
They were, unmistakably, the Zombie Mobile Cities!
The bombardment from Holy Vessel H3 was nothing short of fierce. The vast majority of zombies were annihilated, and the Level 1 Zombie Cities were almost entirely destroyed. Only Level 2 Zombie Cities had survived and endured.
Li Ye silently counted the number of these Level 2 Mobile Cities.
There were ten in total.
All had suffered some damage during the bombardment.
But what astonished him was that the armor plates, side panels, and heavy machine guns of these Level 2 Zombie Cities were rapidly self-repairing.
Unlike Level 1 Cities, these Level 2 Cities actually possessed self-healing capabilities!
Assault-type, Defensive-type, Fire Support-type
Just like the human Mobile Cities, these Level 2 Zombie Cities came in the same varieties.
At this moment, the Defensive-type Zombie Cities were already accelerating to ram forward, the Assault-types were flanking from both sides,
and the Fire Support-type Zombie Cities had already opened fire.
「Full speed ahead! Full speed ahead!」Wilson shouted.「Everyone, give it your all!」
The kindly, elder-like man had now lost all his usual calm and composure.
Because he knew very well that now was the best time for the Southern Front to launch an assault.
As time passed, these Level 2 Zombie Cities would quickly repair themselves, returning to their peak combat state.
They didn’t need to destroy the human Mobile Cities outright—just tying them down would be enough to slowly wear them out.
And the Heavy Cannons atop the Decayed Bone Bastion would continue bombarding.
Holy Lance Z4 completed a new round of cannon loading and subsequently fired.
A dense barrage of firepower swept across the enemy in an instant. The foremost Defensive-type Zombie City was blown to pieces, and the two Assault-type Zombie Cities on either side were also destroyed.
However, the situation remained grim. A Zombie City suddenly accelerated, charging straight toward Holy Lance Z4 under heavy fire!
Though it was torn apart during the charge, it still managed to crash into Holy Lance Z4 with its momentum,
destroying its left treaded wheels.
Holy Lance Z4 lost balance and gradually slowed down. The remaining Zombie Swarm surged toward it.
「Holy Lance Z4’s mobility has been crippled! Your Grace, Bishop!」a Combat Deacon urgently called.「It needs immediate cover from us!」
However, Wilson simply shook his head and said gloomily,
「It’s already dead.」
A few seconds later, a shell from a Giant Flesh Cannon struck Holy Lance Z4, reducing it to ruins in an instant.
The Mobile Cities of the Southern Front had no time to mourn and continued accelerating forward.
The Zombie Mobile Cities grew more frenzied. Ignoring incoming firepower, they charged straight in!
Fortunately, Holy Shield V9 held firm under the pressure. This Defensive-type city of the Apocalypse Sect plowed through two Zombie Cities in succession, enduring heavy fire as it continued to clear a path for its allies.
During this time, the Heavy Cannons atop the Decayed Bone Bastion fired in rapid succession, causing the entire battlefield to quake!
Fortunately, the Southern Front had now broken through to within five kilometers of the Decayed Bone Bastion—the hope of breaking through lay just ahead.
Seeing another Zombie City approaching, Li Ye ordered the Level 2 Frost Cannons to open fire.
Upon impact, the shells spread into sheets of ice, freezing over half of the Level 2 Zombie City instantly.
「Such powerful effect!」Li Ye was delighted.
He then ordered a strike on the Heavy Cannons atop the Decayed Bone Bastion to reduce the pressure on their side as much as possible.
With the Frost Cannons firing repeatedly, several Heavy Cannons atop the Decayed Bone Bastion, along with surrounding zombies, heavy machine guns, cannons, and the walls beneath them, were frozen solid.
Under a round of Regular Cannon bombardment from Tomorrow, they shattered into jagged blocks of frozen debris and collapsed.
The zombies immediately sensed the threat from Tomorrow and concentrated their firepower on it.
A barrage of Living Corpse shells came flying, Zombie Swarms surged in from both flanks, accompanied by bombing from Zombie Mobile Cities.
Tomorrow activated its Energy Shield to resist the bombardment. Meanwhile, three Black Hawk Helicopters guarded its perimeter, strafing the zombies swarming toward its treads.
On the side panels, the Bloodtear Ripper unleashed a furious barrage, spraying firepower wildly at the invading zombies. In the upper deck area, Storm Infantry Vehicles were also firing ferociously.
Combat Personnel wielding flamethrowers and shotguns fired in coordination, clearing wave after wave of zombies.
Whenever a straggler broke through, someone would draw the Bloodletter Military Dagger to meet them head-on.
This Level 2 melee weapon was unimaginably powerful—zombies struck by it would suffer massive lacerations.
Thanks to seamless coordination, Tomorrow withstood the zombie onslaught.
Just then, Holy Shield V9, advancing with unstoppable momentum, suddenly let out a steam whistle and began to slow down.
The reason was simple.
When the view shifted to its treaded wheels, there were—dense clusters of zombies!
To halt the advance of Holy Shield V9, the zombies fired a large number of Living Corpse Shells at its treaded wheels and drove the remaining Zombie Swarm to charge at the wheels.
As more and more zombies were caught in the treaded wheels, Holy Shield V9’s speed gradually slowed until it finally came to a stop. Li Ye then looked at Holy Shield V9 with a sorrowful gaze.
He had already foreseen the fate of this companion—it would be torn apart by Heavy Cannons and then overwhelmed by the surging Zombie Swarm, leaving no survivors.
「Farewell, comrade.」
He said softly, then waved his hand.
「Go, Fang Yong!」
With a roar, Iron Whale replaced Holy Shield V9, abruptly accelerating and charging at the Decayed Bone Bastion.
Under everyone’s hopeful gazes, Iron Whale rammed straight into the Decayed Bone Bastion, blasting open a massive gap!
「Yes!」
Li Ye clenched his fist in excitement.
Iron Whale thus pierced through the Decayed Bone Bastion, followed closely by Tomorrow and Engineer.
【Tomorrow: Report! We have successfully broken through the Decayed Bone Bastion!】
【Saint: Well done!】
Though others in the channel didn’t type, their excitement could be easily imagined.
Although they had successfully broken through the Decayed Bone Bastion, the remaining Zombie Swarm and Zombie Mobile Cities were already charging through the breach.
They clearly had no intention of letting Tomorrow Alliance go.
「No problem, we just need to accelerate to shake them off...」
Li Ye said slowly, suddenly sensing something was wrong.
「Where is Holy Sword U2?」
He turned his head and saw that Holy Sword U2, where Bishop Wilson was located, hadn’t followed.
Instead, this Mobile City was moving resolutely through the breach of the Decayed Bone Bastion like a martyr!
Realizing something, Li Ye grabbed his binoculars.
He saw that Holy Sword U2’s deck was already swarming with zombies! Its treaded wheels were also entangled with an uncountable number of zombies!
This Mobile City, positioned at the front of the formation, had borne the brunt of the pressure from the very beginning.
Just as the old man had promised, he and his companions had always charged at the forefront.
Li Ye slowly looked at the screen, where a new message appeared.
【Holy Sword U2: Go without worry. I will block all pursuers for you.】
【Holy Sword U2: Lord Heath, our Southern Front has successfully fulfilled its mission, enabling several companions to break through the Decayed Bone Bastion!】
【Saint: Understood. You have performed admirably.】
【Saint: Wilson, your and your companions’ deeds will be recorded, and your souls will be eternally remembered.】
【Holy Sword U2: It is my greatest honor, Lord Heath.】
In the cockpit, Wilson slowly looked away from the screen.
At this moment, Holy Sword U2 had already fallen completely.
He was the only one still conscious and the only one still piloting Holy Sword U2.
The cockpit was filled with zombies, and former comrades had already transformed into the undead.
Soon, Wilson was completely surrounded by zombies, who bit him furiously.
Yet the old man, expression firm, gripped the control stick and drove his flagship straight at the enemy.
「To the revered, immortal gods...」
He spoke through immense pain.
「Your gaze shines like the stars.」
「Your hands uphold the heavens.」
「Guide my path, that I may walk in Your will.」
「Strengthen my faith, and be my strength in weakness.」
「Cleanse my heart, and rid me of all unrighteousness.」
Saying this, he stepped fully on the accelerator and pressed a warning button on the cockpit panel.
「Forgive our stuttering souls, lubricate our rusted spirits. May our faith burn like a boiler, and may our will be unyielding like steel!」
「Amen!」
Under Li Ye’s gaze, Holy Sword U2 charged headlong into the Zombie Swarm and Zombie Mobile Cities. An intense light then flared, erupting into an explosion.
The core of the blast first contracted into a blazing white dot, then tore open four golden-red fire streaks along vertical and horizontal directions, like a divine cross of judgment descending from the heavens.
After confirming the enemies weren’t following, Li Ye found a quiet place to rest.
The three Mobile Cities parked and came to a stop.
Thanks to the Apocalypse Sect’s city shielding them at the front, the casualties on the side of the Tomorrow Alliance were minimal.
「Good!」Li Ye nodded in genuine approval.
The situation had turned out far better than he had imagined.
By his original estimate, the best outcome would have been for Tomorrow to break through the Decayed Bone Bastion, Iron Whale barely escaping with severe damage, and Engineer likely being destroyed.
【Engineer: So what do we do next?】
Zhou Xing’s message didn’t come from the Tomorrow Alliance’s communication channel, but from the Eternal Night Zone’s channel.
Since there was this free, region-wide City Radio, there was no reason not to use it.
As a member of the Southern Front, the Apocalypse Sect permitted Li Ye and the others to communicate through the Eternal Night Zone channel.
Li Ye then looked toward the System Panel.
The sixth piece of Epic Intelligence had already refreshed—this time, it was about terrain.
At the same time, the system cooldown had completed.
【Time until next Intelligence Refresh: 11 days 19 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds】
【Intelligence Count: 8】
He exhaled deeply.
「This time it took a full 12 days—the value of this intelligence must be substantial, and there will surely be Legendary Intelligence included!」
According to Li Ye’s plan, Tomorrow needed to undergo maintenance, then slowly proceed with Exploration, and only then decide what to do next based on the refreshed Intelligence.
Just as he was about to examine the terrain map in detail, a message appeared in the communication channel.
【Saint: Tomorrow, are you there? This is Bishop Heath.】
【Tomorrow: Present. May I ask what’s the matter?】
【Saint: You’ve demonstrated great courage, breaking through the Decayed Bone Bastion alongside our people. You should know—no one had ever succeeded before.】
【Saint: Now, a difficult mission must be entrusted to you—originally, this was meant for Bishop Wilson and his group, but they have now fallen.】
【Saint: This mission is extremely difficult. We do not demand it of you—whether to proceed is your decision.】
【Tomorrow: Understood. Please go on.】
【Saint: If you choose to accept, you and your companions must continue deeper into the Eternal Night Zone and reach the true heartland of the zombies—the Flesh Furnace. Find a way to uncover the situation there.】
「Flesh Furnace?」
Li Ye’s expression changed slightly.
Just hearing the name felt ominous.
【Saint: In fact, based on our analysis, the Flesh Furnace is likely the war factory of the Zombie Civilization. Zombies continually forge Mobile Cities and vehicles there.】
【Saint: If the Flesh Furnace can be destroyed, the zombies will lose the advantage they rely on, and our frontlines will be able to hold out longer.】
【Saint: And for every day we hold the line, it grants our human kin in other regions one more day to flee. Rest assured—regardless of success, the Apocalypse Sect will reward you handsomely.】
Before making a decision, Li Ye considered for a moment and then typed a line on the screen.
【Tomorrow: Bishop Heath, may I ask—do you know what regions lie to the north, west, and east of the Eternal Night Zone?】
As he typed that line, his heart pounded wildly.
With the resources and power of the Apocalypse Sect, they must know! This time, he could learn valuable Intelligence without lifting a finger!
Sure enough, a reply soon came.
【Saint: The northern part of the Eternal Night Zone is the Level 1 Region Field Zone—currently ranked among the top ten in scale. To the west, it borders the Level 1 Region “Basin Region” and Level 1 Region “Gobi Zone.”】
【Saint: As for the east... it borders the Level 2 Region “Cretaceous Zone.”】
「Cretaceous Zone?」
This time, not just Li Ye—even Tang Fang and Old Zhou were all stunned.
「Cretaceous?」Li Ye was puzzled.「Why does the name of this Level 2 Region sound so much like Jurassic? Something feels off...」
As he thought, a few drops of sweat fell from his forehead.
If that’s the case, then the Cretaceous Zone might be...
As if guessing Li Ye’s thoughts, the other party quickly typed another message.
【Saint: Yes, just as you suspect—it’s a paradise of dinosaurs.】
【Tomorrow: Understood. Thank you for the Intelligence.】
【Saint: Then, regarding my proposal—what is your decision?】
Li Ye thought for a moment, then finally made his decision.
【Tomorrow: I accept.】