Two days later, the zombies' general offensive began, and a black tide of corpses charged towards the city walls.
Shen Feng stood on the city wall, looking at the scene before him. He took a deep breath, and a hint of panic flashed across his face. Clearly, he had never encountered such a situation before. Even though he considered himself battle-hardened and accustomed to venturing deep into zombie territory, the sight before him left him speechless with shock.
Looking out from the city wall into the distance, all he could see was a vast expanse of black. One zombie after another, in a daze, shuffled towards Yanjing. Their movements were slow, but their footsteps never ceased. Beside each zombie was a second, then a third, and then countless more! An endless horde of zombies was advancing towards Yanjing. In their advance, there was no pushing or shoving, only silent progress. Apart from the sound of their footsteps, no other sounds could be heard.
Looking down from the wall, no matter how tall a human was, they appeared as small as an ant. The zombies were no different. Even a five-meter-tall tank-like zombie was no match for the towering city walls. Thus, the boundless zombie tide seemed like mere ants.
However, when tens of thousands of ants surrounded a python, even a python could not ignore them. To ignore them would be to be devoured by the tiny ants, leaving only white bones behind. "Many ants can kill an elephant" was not just a saying; it was a stark reality.
Shen Feng let out a long sigh and said, "The real battle has begun. This is no longer child's play! From now on, it's a fight to the death!"
Chu Zhaoyan was also startled by the scene before him. He finally understood the ancient descriptions: "chariots like flowing water, horses like dragons." These were not exaggerations; they were clearly realistic!
Taking advantage of a brief lull, Chu Zhaoyan took out a notebook and wrote: "Today, participating in the battle for Yanjing, I witnessed a shocking scene. Millions of zombies advanced, uprooting mountains and felling trees. Dust billowed wherever they passed, obscuring the sky. The heads of people flowed like water, and zombies jostled shoulder to shoulder. This must be an unprecedented scene. For now, we can only fight them with all our might; there is no other way."
Shen Feng could still maintain his composure, but the soldiers below were different. Shen Feng had previously obtained two thousand evolved soldiers through the evolution base, but only five thousand soldiers had set out this time, most of whom were ordinary people. As they saw the tide of zombies surrounding them, their fear grew with each passing moment.
In the half-month leading up to today's decisive battle, the zombies had only launched routine attacks on Yanjing each day, attacking and then retreating, showing no intention of fighting to the end. Even headquarters could not understand the zombies' intentions. Now, as the weather continued to cool and the third wave of cold air was rapidly moving south, the zombie kings seemed to have recognized the impact of the weather and were finally preparing to make a desperate push.
At this moment of unrest, the higher authorities announced something: "From today onwards, everyone on the battlefield will receive increased rations, and everyone will have meat to eat. Each person will receive two cigarettes daily, but drinking alcohol is forbidden among the soldiers."
Shen Feng understood. It seemed that those in charge were also concerned about the collapse of morale, so they had specifically improved the soldiers' combat treatment. Both headquarters soldiers and civilian soldiers would receive excellent treatment. It was clear that rewards were being used to boost morale, as the ancient saying goes, "Great rewards breed brave men."
Shen Feng himself was not much of a smoker, but after the apocalypse descended, he occasionally smoked to relieve stress. Chang Jianyi did not mind this, as long as Shen Feng did not become addicted, she would not interfere too much, after all, Shen Feng also needed his own freedom.
At the same time, the zombies began their assault on the city. Countless zombies charged towards the city walls, kicking up dust that swirled onto the walls. Shen Feng ordered his men to open fire, and the soldiers, with bloodshot eyes, began to shoot at the zombies. The zombies were densely packed, and any shot fired was bound to hit a zombie.
The cannons on the city walls were also aimed at the zombie horde below, firing one shell after another. Once a shell landed, it would instantly explode, killing zombies within a radius of several meters. Within a ten-meter radius, zombies would be maimed even if they weren't killed. The shrapnel from the explosions was still quite powerful, easily capable of breaking bones.
When a zombie was hit by a bullet or shrapnel, it was fortunate if it died instantly, as it was a quick release from suffering. However, if a zombie was only injured, its fate was different. Once it fell, it would be trampled by the zombies behind it as they advanced. Countless zombies stepped on their fallen comrades, leading to the injured zombies dying under the trampling.
Injured zombies would begin to wail the moment they fell, as if begging their companions to treat them gently. Unfortunately, such pleas were destined to go unheard. Their companions would simply step on them and continue their charge towards the city walls. It seemed they had only one thought in their minds: to charge forward. As long as they could get behind the city walls, their victory would be at hand!
Therefore, injured zombies had only one fate: to die under the feet of their own kind. Perhaps, after the charge ended, the fallen zombies would even become food for their companions, at which point they would have lost all their value.
There were small windows on the city walls through which soldiers continuously fired. The machine guns were the most effective, as they could keep firing as long as there was a sufficient supply of ammunition, only stopping when the barrels overheated. Once the bullets were fired, the zombies in the direction of the machine gun would fall instantly. As the gun barrel swept in an arc through the air, the zombies outside the city would fall row by row, like wheat being harvested.
Shen Feng also joined the battle. Before this, he had at most fired the first shot from the wall, as his role was more about command than direct combat. Even in combat, there was no opportunity for him to shine, as the main force of the battle was now firearms and artillery, not individual strength.
Shen Feng held his own Barrett rifle and aimed at the mutated zombies below. Many of these mutated zombies were holding stone slabs as cover. Ordinary bullets could not penetrate the stone slabs to kill the mutated zombies behind them, and it was also a waste of artillery shells to kill these mutated zombies. Therefore, dealing with mutated zombies was the snipers' job.
Shen Feng steadied his Barrett and aimed at a strong zombie hiding behind a stone slab. This type of zombie possessed the greatest strength. If allowed to approach the city walls, it could potentially throw other zombies onto the walls from below. If a self-detonating zombie were thrown onto the city walls, it would be a disaster for the soldiers on the walls.
"Bang," a flash of light appeared at the muzzle of the Barrett, and Shen Feng's shoulder jolted. The bullet instantly pierced the strong zombie's head, and its head exploded like a watermelon, scattering red and white matter everywhere. The strong zombie fell to the ground, its stone slab falling upright in front of it.
"That saves trouble; it even comes with a tombstone!" Shen Feng said with a half-joking tone.
Chu Zhaoyan was also carefully aiming with her sniper rifle. Her physical fitness now far surpassed that of ordinary people, with both stamina and eyesight enhanced, making her a fully qualified sniper. After aiming at a mutated zombie, she fired a shot, and in nine out of ten cases, she could kill the zombie.
"Bang," Chu Zhaoyan saw through her high-powered scope that the mutated zombie had died from her shot, and she felt a surge of excitement.
The zombie horde did not stop their charge despite their casualties; instead, they attacked with even greater ferocity, as if they had cast aside all fear of death. Initially, no zombie within fifty meters survived. However, the zombie front line was constantly advancing. As time passed, the front line moved closer to the city walls: fifty meters, forty meters, thirty meters, until finally, twenty meters! At this point, the zombies could no longer advance even a single step.
Time ticked by, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a day had passed. The zombies were still attacking the city madly, as if they intended to flatten the city walls with their corpses.
But ideals are often grand, while reality is harsh. The zombies attacked the city walls from all directions, as if all sections of the wall were their targets. However, this dispersed their strength, allowing the soldiers to kill them continuously.
In the past half-day, the zombies had lost at least two million. A large zombie horde typically numbered around this many. This meant that a single day's battle in Yanjing had resolved one zombie horde. If this continued, it would only be a matter of time before over a hundred million zombies were eliminated!
Shen Feng's defense was limited to a five-hundred-meter stretch of the city wall; areas further away were not his responsibility.
Suddenly, Shu Dapeng gently patted Shen Feng's shoulder and whispered, "Mr. Shen Feng, it's time. We need to hand over."
Reminded by Shu Dapeng, Shen Feng snapped back to reality and realized that the soldiers preparing to take over the defensive duties had arrived at the wall. He seemed to have lost track of time. During the defense, everyone's mind was focused solely on killing zombies, and they had forgotten the passage of time. They hadn't even noticed when it was time to change shifts. This was a phenomenon that occurred only under extreme tension, similar to how during an exam, the more focused one is, the harder it is to perceive time passing, only realizing the exam is almost over when one finally comes back to their senses.
Shen Feng took a deep breath and said to his subordinates on the city wall, "Yang Chang, take your men and throw white phosphorus grenades. Prepare for a swift handover. Complete the handover within three minutes!"
Yang Chang nodded in understanding and went to the launcher, carefully placed the stored white phosphorus grenades, and then quickly threw them. To achieve a smooth handover during combat was not an easy task; one had to create obstacles to block the zombies' advance to gain time for the handover, and white phosphorus grenades were the most suitable weapon for this.
One by one, the white phosphorus grenades were thrown. The moment they landed, they exploded, scattering everywhere, and then blue-white flames ignited, burning all the zombies within the area. This was not the end; the white phosphorus grenades continued to burn the zombies to ashes, and as long as there was fuel, the white phosphorus grenades would not extinguish easily.
The wall of fire created by the white phosphorus grenades was difficult for the zombies to break through. Even if some zombies managed to push through, their clothes would catch fire, and they would run like fiery figures on the ground, collapsing after only a few steps, unable to stand up again.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shen Feng quickly led his men to hand over. However, he discovered another dangerous situation: his soldiers' eyes were bloodshot, their eyeballs filled with red capillaries. This was not the kind of scene that appeared from staying up late; it was a sign of extreme emotional tension. Reflecting on the day's battle, Shen Feng understood. Such prolonged and intense combat had caused the soldiers to experience mental strain. They were now highly agitated, and a single misstep could lead to problems.
At this moment, Shen Feng understood why the higher authorities had distributed cigarettes. It was all for the soldiers' well-being. If they didn't smoke to relieve the pressure, they would truly develop psychological issues.
"Everyone go back to eat, then everyone smoke and sleep. No unauthorized movement. Just lie down in your tents," Shen Feng immediately instructed his subordinate soldiers.
Shen Feng did not want his men to turn into madmen after the battle ended, so sleep was very important. He hoped that everyone could adjust themselves during sleep. If any problems arose, it would be bad.
Seeing everyone in this state, Shu Dapeng couldn't help but whisper to Shen Feng, "Mr. Shen Feng, they are not professional soldiers. Their current behavior is understandable. Please don't be too hard on them."
Shen Feng nodded, rubbed his eyes. He seemed to have been in a similar state before. After killing too many zombies, his eyes would also become bloodshot. However, after gaining his abilities, this situation had become less frequent. Unless he was fighting desperately, his emotions would not fluctuate significantly.