Chapter 208 It’s Coming Fast

Chapter 208: Chapter 208 It’s Coming Fast

"Western command reporting. Still no large-scale contact. Requesting permission to send a scouting pair closer to the ridge."

Rowan reached for the radio before the operator could answer. "Denied. Nobody leaves the barricade."

Margaret frowned at him. "Why deny them if you’re so determined to find out what’s behind those hills?"

"Because it is better to hold on for now and watch what happens. If anything is coming, it wouldn’t take long," Rowan replied calmly.

Margaret looked at him, her irritation returning, but before she could argue again, a faint mechanical whine drifted through the command station.

One of the engineers looked up at the western wall. "Captain... Battery Six just changed direction."

Rowan immediately looked up.

The western laser battery had stopped scanning the battlefield. Instead, it slowly turned toward the hills before shifting again, as though it had detected something beyond the ridge. A second battery stopped only moments later, and its sensor swept across the same area before locking onto almost the exact same spot.

Margaret noticed the change in Rowan’s expression. "What is it?"

Instead of answering, Rowan turned toward the radio operator. "Get me the western laser operators."

The operator quickly switched frequencies. "Western laser control."

"This is Captain Rowan. Why did Battery Six stop scanning?"

The reply came back after a burst of static. "Captain, Battery Six picked up movement for a moment, then lost it."

Margaret frowned. "A monster?"

"Maybe," the operator answered, though he didn’t sound convinced. "It could also be smoke or heat from the battlefield."

Rowan stepped closer. "What about Battery Seven?"

A short silence followed before the operator answered again. "It picked up the same thing."

The command station gradually became quieter. Outside, the battle continued as before, but inside the shelter every officer waited for the next report.

Margaret looked toward the western ridge, but she couldn’t see any movement on the surveillance footage. Deep down, she felt they were all overreacting.

"Captain," she said calmly, "don’t make everyone nervous over something uncertain."

Rowan ignored the remark. "Tell the western line to tighten formation."

Margaret turned toward him. "No. The north and east have only just stabilized, and you’re not tightening the western line every time a sensor reacts."

"I’m not changing the formation," Rowan replied. "I’m telling the men already there to be ready."

"And what message do you think that sends?" Margaret asked. "The soldiers will think you believe the western wall is about to fall."

"There is nothing wrong in being cautious, and besides, if it is about to fall, they deserve to know." Rowan could hardly keep his cool.

"And if it isn’t?" she countered. "Then you’ll destroy the morale they only just regained."

Rowan met her eyes. "This is exactly what morale is for; it is to protect the fortress."

"You know what, I don’t want to argue with you. I’m the commander here, and you should listen to every single word I say." Margaret’s chest heaved up and down as if she had run an extra mile.

The officers around them exchanged uneasy glances, but no one interrupted.

Just then the radio crackled, intensifying the tension in the room.

"Western watchtower to central command."

The voice sounded more anxious than before.

Rowan picked up the receiver. "Report."

"Captain, we’re seeing dust behind the ridge."

Margaret’s expression changed slightly.

"How much?" Rowan asked immediately.

"Hard to tell. It could just be smoke blowing in from the south."

"Keep watching," Rowan ordered, his eyes cold, yet they fixated on the screen.

Several seconds passed while everyone in the command station waited for the sensors to pick up movement again.

One of the soldiers spoke again, the tension in his voice was unmistakable. "Captain... the dust is moving against the wind."

Rowan closed his eyes briefly before opening them again. "Western soldiers, tighten formation. Move every remaining reserve squad to the barricade. Machine gun teams prepare for sustained fire."

Margaret stepped forward. "Captain Rowan."

He didn’t look at her. "Western laser control, sweep the entire ridge. I want every battery watching that area."

"Captain," Margaret said again, louder this time.

Only then did Rowan turn toward her.

"Commander, if I’m wrong, you can remove me after the battle. But if I’m right and we keep standing here arguing, there won’t be a fortress left for you to command."

Margaret’s face darkened, but before she could respond, every laser on the western wall suddenly stopped rotating at once. Their low mechanical hum deepened as each barrel slowly turned toward the western ridge, and a second later alarms screamed across the western wall, one after another, until the sound spread through the fortress.

One of the radio operators looked up from his console, his face changing. "Captain... the laser operators are reporting multiple heat signatures beyond the ridge."

Rowan reached for the radio immediately. "Put them through."

The operator switched frequencies. "Western laser control."

"This is Captain Rowan," he said. "Report."

The reply came back through bursts of static. "Captain, the lasers just picked up movement beyond the ridge. There are too many heat signatures for the system to track individually."

Margaret frowned. "What does that mean?"

The operator swallowed before answering. "It means... whatever is out there, it’s coming so fast and... many."

Silence stretched across the room, so thick that it was hard to breathe.

Every officer in the command station had already turned toward the screen showing the western ridge.

At first, it looked as though the darkness was moving. A slow black wave rolled across the top of the hill before a monster climbed over the ridge, followed by another, then dozens more, until countless creatures came running down the slope together.

They trampled over one another in their rush toward the fortress, their claws tearing through the earth as they charged forward with a speed that made every earlier attack seem insignificant.

The command station erupted in panic.

"Western wall! Full fire!"

"Recall the reserve platoons!"

"Tell the northern and eastern walls to hold on without them!"

Rowan grabbed the radio. "All units, western ridge attack confirmed. Recall the redeployed platoons immediately. Western line, do not break formation. Repeat, do not break formation!"

The reply came back through bursts of gunfire and shouting.

"They’re coming too fast!"

"Laser machines engaging!"

"Machine guns opening fire!"

Outside, every laser machine fired at once, sending bluish-white beams tearing through the charging horde and cutting down entire rows of monsters, but every creature that fell was immediately replaced by more dashing over the ridge behind it.

The remaining platoons opened fire without hesitation, rifles flashing in rapid bursts while the machine guns roared from behind the barricades, yet the gaps left by the withdrawn reserves were now impossible to ignore.

The western defenses had become dangerously thin.

Margaret stood beside the map table, the certainty she had shown only moments earlier slowly disappearing as officers rushed around the command station, trying to repair the mistake that had left the western defenses exposed.

Rowan’s attention remained fixed on the radio as he continued issuing one order after another.

Margaret unconsciously took a step back, her hands folding into a ball beside her. Her gaze narrowed as she couldn’t understand where she went wrong.