At the messenger’s report, the expressions of both the outpost officer, Yang Jiansheng, and his adjutant, Li Quan, changed in an instant.

Their stress levels skyrocketed with every new Mutated Zombie, but that alone wouldn’t have caused such a drastic reaction.

After all, not all Mutated Zombies were the same. The threat of their personal missiles was enough to deter the vast majority of them from getting close.

Some Mutated Zombies, however, could spell disaster for them, and the Spitter was one such case.

A Spitter wasn’t particularly powerful on its own. In fact, if one appeared by itself, it would pose virtually no threat to the outpost.

But when it appeared alongside other Mutated Zombies, it was a completely different story.

Its venom could send other Zombies into a berserk state. This effect, which was essentially an enhancing buff, was amplified to its terrifying full potential in the middle of a Zombie horde.

Facing such a critical situation, Yang Jiansheng dared not hesitate for a moment, immediately leading the others to the outpost’s high observation deck.

Just then, the Spitter converged with the other three Mutated Zombies and began its assault on the outpost.

Of course, deterred by the threat of personal missiles, the Mutated Zombies themselves didn’t dare to approach. But they didn’t need to.

The Blood Worm opened its mouth, spewing out large globs of red mucus teeming with countless Blood-colored Beetles.

Simultaneously, the Spitter began to spray green venom onto these Blood-colored Beetles, instantly sending them into a frenzy.

And that wasn’t all. A deep, guttural roar erupted from the Spitter’s mouth. Soon, High Level Zombies began to gather, each becoming doused in the venom and entering a berserk state.

In no time, over a hundred berserk High Level Zombies, along with tens of thousands of Blood-colored Beetles, surged toward Outpost 32.

Yang Jiansheng went pale with horror at the sight. One moment, he had felt they could weather this crisis; the next, he was facing the threat of annihilation.

"Immediately report our situation to the other support teams! See if they have any solutions! Also, prepare a large number of Burning Bullets, Grenade Cannons, and... Purgatory Bombs." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Once fired, a Purgatory Bomb would split into countless smaller projectiles, unleashing an indiscriminate saturation attack over the target area.

It was undoubtedly the most suitable weapon for the current situation, but they didn’t have many of these valuable munitions in their arsenal.

Moreover, a weapon with such a large area of effect was one of the few things capable of threatening a Hunter. Under normal circumstances, Yang Jiansheng would never have dreamed of using one.

But in this life-or-death situation, he couldn’t afford to be frugal. Worse still, even if they used this trump card, they had no idea how long they could hold on.

...

Meanwhile, Lin Xinghai quickly received the transmitted information from Wu Yan.

"Just as I feared," Lin Xinghai sighed.

’Why had he deliberately chosen to push deeper into the horde, when he could have just drawn its attention from the periphery?’

’It was precisely to prevent a situation like this.’

’After all, the scale of a Zombie horde was easy to estimate, but whether more Mutated Zombies would appear—and what type they might be—was purely a matter of luck.’

’Now, one of the worst-case scenarios had come to pass. A Spitter had appeared, and its impact was even more terrifying than that of a Death Claw.’

’Fortunately, because he had anticipated this possibility, he had already ordered the troops to move out ahead of schedule.’

’They were already approaching the core of the horde. As long as they could force their way through, they could still arrive in time to provide aid.’

As these thoughts ran through his mind, Lin Xinghai’s gaze shifted to the intersection a hundred meters ahead.

There, they would have to leave the main thoroughfare and enter a relatively narrow side street, which would require a change in formation.

It was, without a doubt, the most dangerous moment they had faced since entering the horde.

Lin Xinghai wasn’t the only one who knew this; the other Mercenary Corps Leaders were well aware of it too. The closer they got to the intersection, the more the tension mounted.

But the column pushed forward relentlessly. Since they weren’t stopping to collect Elemental Crystals, they covered the hundred-meter distance quickly by simply blasting their way through.

At Lin Xinghai’s command, the column began to shift formation.

To fit the width of the side street, the sides of the circular Defense Array contracted, gradually forming an oval.

All the Mercenary Corps Leaders anxiously watched their units, issuing a constant stream of commands.

But unlike usual, they constantly punctuated their orders with reminders to be slow and steady.

As long as the formation could transition smoothly, it wouldn’t be a problem even if it took two or three times longer than usual.

In fact, it wasn’t just the Mercenary Corps Leaders; even the ordinary Mercenaries understood this was a critical moment. Every one of them was on high alert, not daring to relax in the slightest.

But some things are simply unavoidable, no matter how much you wish otherwise.

At the crucial moment of the formation change, over 30 High Level Zombies suddenly burst out from the horde on the column’s right flank.

Normally, they could have held off such a large wave of High Level Zombies, but with every Mercenary Corps in the process of repositioning, the sudden assault threw them into disarray.

One Mercenary Corps, failing to coordinate properly with its neighbor, buckled under the High Level Zombies’ charge, and a temporary gap opened in the formation.

Normally, such a gap would be of no concern and could be closed quickly.

But now, deep within the Zombie horde, the moment the gap appeared, Zombies began to pour through.

If it wasn’t sealed in time, the breach would jeopardize the rest of the formation change, widening until the entire defensive line collapsed.

Seeing this, the Mercenary Corps Leader of that unit went pale and immediately piloted his Mecha to charge forward, trying to kill the Zombies that had broken through.

However, this leader’s Genetic Optimization Level was under 90%, meaning he couldn’t even utilize his Mecha’s full potential. Furthermore, inside the Defense Array, area-of-effect weapons couldn’t be used for fear of friendly fire. Even as his Mecha charged in, he couldn’t possibly plug the gap in time.

This development was completely unexpected, and the other leaders paled at the sight.

Some immediately piloted their Mechas to help, but most remained where they were.

A blind rush to assist could easily leave their own positions vulnerable. If they moved and another breach occurred where they had been, the situation would only become worse.

In their eyes, a situation like this required a central commander to coordinate everyone’s actions if they were to have any hope of overcoming the crisis.

And that person was, without a doubt, Lin Xinghai. Right now, everyone was waiting for him to give the order.