Chapter 136: Lords Swarm
The drone's feed returned moments later, and what Scott saw left him stunned. Where there had once been a plain, there was now a massive crater, two to three kilometers in diameter, its depths unfathomable. The force of the impact had pushed thousands of tons of earth into a ring-shaped wave of mud that radiated outward, burying countless zombies in its path. The enormous crater became an impassable obstacle, forcing the horde behind it to detour. For the first time, the unending zombie tide seemed to pause. 'It was that white light...' Scott whispered, realization dawning. But his thoughts were interrupted by the guttural roars of the Lords.
Although the crater had disrupted the main tide, hundreds of Lords and countless other zombies had already made it past the blast zone and were now closing in on the base's defenses. "Focus all firepower! Don't let the Lords get closer than one kilometer!" Scott barked. "Artillery, concentrate fire! Shoot now!"
The Washington DC base unleashed its full might. Anti-aircraft guns, usually reserved for aerial threats, were leveled at the advancing horde, firing alongside hundreds of artillery pieces adjusted to near-vertical angles. High-explosive shells arced into the sky, raining down on the approaching Lords and their followers.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Flames engulfed the battlefield, and zombies were incinerated in the fiery blasts. But the Lords, impervious to anything but direct hits, marched through the inferno unscathed. The shrapnel and shockwaves barely scratched them. "Old man! We're lowering the basket! Get your people up here now!" Scott shouted down to Andre.
Andre, still in his tiger form, roared to his team. "Vicky! Get moving! Take the basket! I'll cover you!"
But seconds passed, and the basket didn't descend. "What's going on?! Where's the basket?!" Scott yelled, panic rising.
"Commander Scott! The basket's stuck!" came the frantic reply from a soldier.
Under the high wall, Andre heard the words. He turned to look at the eight changers who remained by his side—six giant bears and two gray wolves, all battered and bleeding. Their fur was matted with blood, and two of the bears were too injured to stand. Andre lowered his massive tiger head, his voice heavy with sorrow. "Comrades... I've led you to a dead end."