Chapter 209 The Western Wall

Chapter 209: Chapter 209 The Western Wall

~~Western Wall ~~

few minutes ago

Stefan stumbled forward as the soldiers shoved him down the stone steps leading from the tower. The restraint around his neck dug painfully into his skin with every step, while his wrists, tied tightly behind his back, had long since gone numb.

"Move," one of the soldiers barked, jabbing the back of his shoulder with the barrel of his rifle.

Stefan nearly lost his footing before catching himself. He turned back with an angry glare.

"I’ve told you already," he snapped through clenched teeth. "Take this damn thing off my neck. I can help you."

"You’ve helped enough," the soldier replied coldly, shoving him forward again.

Enzo walked beside him with his hands tied behind his back as well. His expression remained calm, but his eyes never stopped moving. They swept over the soldiers around them, the fortress walls, the battlements above, and the battlefield ahead. Strangely, he had a feeling that something was wrong.

A few moments later, they reached the western barricade.

The smell of burning flesh, gunpowder, and fresh blood filled the air as the cold wind carried it across the battlefield.

Above the walls, the laser machines continued sweeping across the darkness, their bluish-white beams flashing every few seconds before cutting down another charging monster and leaving burning corpses scattered across the open ground. Behind the barricades, the soldiers continued firing in controlled bursts.

For a moment, the monsters were becoming fewer, and most of the soldiers along the western barricade had lowered their rifles slightly, using the brief lull to reload, drag away the bodies of fallen monsters, and catch their breath before the next attack.

One of the guards shoved Enzo and Stefan onto their knees behind the barricade. "Kneel."

Stefan glared at him. "If commander Laurel comes back, she will have your head for how you are treating us."

The guard hesitated, hearing Laurel’s name. "You mean yours, considering how you betrayed them and ran back to the fortress like a coward."

Stefan’s knees slammed against the cold concrete, and pain shot through both legs. He sucked in a sharp breath before raising his head toward the battlefield again.

"If you’re not going to let me fight, I haven’t betrayed anyone..." he said, struggling to keep the anger out of his voice, his voice lowered. ’Maybe I did, I failed to protect the kids.’ He thought inwardly.

"...Then at least move me somewhere safe." He said.

The soldier let out a short laugh without even looking at him. "You didn’t think we brought you here to be a little spectator of the day, did you? According to the acting Commander, you will remain on the battlefield, traitors."

"I’m not a traitor!"

Several nearby soldiers glanced over, but no one said a word.

Stefan’s breathing became heavier.

"Tina is out there," he said, his voice cracking despite himself. "They are still outside the fortress. Every second you keep me tied up here is another second they could be dying."

The guard remained nonchalant. "Not my problem."

Stefan stared at him for several seconds before lowering his head, his fists tightening until his fingernails dug into his palms. "That is the commander’s niece, and you are saying it is not your problem? Do any of you still have conscience?!"

Beside him, Enzo finally spoke. "Save your breath."

Stefan turned sharply. "You expect me to stay quiet?"

"No."

"Then what?"

Enzo kept his eyes on the battlefield. "I expect you to survive."

Stefan let out a bitter laugh. "How? Take a look at our situation, there is no hope for us, either we get hit by a bullet, trampled upon by the soldiers or torn apart by the monsters."

Neither of them had weapons, and with their hands tied behind their backs, they wouldn’t even be able to stand properly if the barricade fell.

Enzo didn’t answer. His eyes remained fixed on the western hills, his brows slowly drawing together. Something felt wrong and it was growing stronger by every passing second.

The gunfire hadn’t stopped, and laser machines were still firing. Yet the monsters had almost disappeared.

This isn’t victory, he thought. Something’s wrong.

A young soldier walked past carrying a fresh crate of ammunition and placed it beside one of the heavy machine guns. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and grinned. "I think we’ve managed to defeat them."

Another soldier chuckled as he reloaded his rifle. "Looks like Commander Margaret made the right call."

A few nearby soldiers nodded in agreement, and the tension around the barricade slowly eased. Some of the men relaxed, believing the worst was over. One soldier removed his helmet long enough to wipe the blood from his face, while another leaned against the barricade and took a long drink from his canteen.

Enzo looked back toward the ridge. There was no moment or any sign of monsters left.

The hills remained silent, and the only sounds were distant gunfire and the hum of the laser machines sweeping across the battlefield.

Too quiet, he thought, unable to shake the uneasy feeling in his chest.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when every laser machine above the western wall suddenly stopped rotating. Their steady mechanical hum changed as every barrel turned toward the western hills at the same time instead of sweeping across the battlefield.

Several soldiers frowned. "What are they doing?"

"I don’t know."

One of the engineers hurried toward the control panel mounted beside the wall, but before anyone could ask another question, the warning siren screamed across the western defenses, causing every soldier to tighten their grip on their weapon.

"What happened?"

"Report!"

A panicked voice burst through the radio. "There are movements beyond the ridge, every hold your position and get ready to defend the fortress!"

Every head turned toward the western hills.

Stefan stared into the darkness, his heart pounding as the battlefield seemed to fall strangely quiet. Just as he began wondering what everyone was looking at, a figure moved through the dark.

His stomach dropped. His heart raced in his chest like a beating drum.

The hillside itself came alive as countless black bodies blurred over the ridge all at once. They rushed down the slope so quickly that the monsters in front were pushed forward by the ones behind them, while more and more creatures flooded over the hill until Stefan could no longer see where the horde ended.

At first, he thought there were hundreds, but as more monsters continued pouring over the ridge, he realized there were thousands. Their growls merged into one deafening roar that drowned out every other sound on the battlefield.

"Oh my God..."

The laser batteries fired immediately, sending bluish-white beams tearing through the charging horde. Rows of monsters were ripped apart, black blood spraying into the air, but every gap closed almost instantly as more creatures surged forward to take their place without slowing down.