Chapter 336: Adapting to the Battlefield - I

The Golden Eagle Army’s northern formations were gradually advancing toward the central Hive, although the earlier Broodmother encounter had left several vehicles damaged and soldiers wounded.

The roads ahead were becoming increasingly difficult to navigate. Numerous abandoned vehicles and collapsed structures blocked portions of the streets, while the surrounding buildings were filled with infected that had either remained inside since the Event or gathered there from the nearby underground passages.

Several Guardian APCs moved along the road, accompanied by Army Soldiers and Riflemen covering the surrounding intersections.

Their Advanced Radar showed numerous infected scattered across the buildings, including several hundred occupying the upper floors of the taller structures.

"Lots of contacts in those buildings," one of the Army Soldiers reported.

The squad leader checked the Radar picture before looking toward the buildings ahead.

"Keep your distance from the entrances. We don’t need those bastards coming out behind us."

"Roger!"

The soldiers maintained their spacing while the Guardian APCs covered the streets and intersections. Some infected could be seen moving behind the broken windows, although most remained inside the buildings.

"Southern Command, this is Vanguard Twelve-Six. Infected are swarming the buildings. We need air support to gun them down!"

"Copy, Vanguard Twelve-Six. Assigning available air units to your location, over."

A few Riflemen fired at infected approaching the lower entrances, killing them before they could reach the road.

For several minutes, the advance proceeded without much difficulty—until something suddenly crashed onto the pavement.

BANG!

An infected struck the road several meters ahead of the formation, its body breaking apart from the impact.

"What the fuck?!"

"Stop staring. Watch out!"

The nearest soldiers looked toward the remains, and one of them raised his rifle toward the building above.

"Something just fell from up there!"

Before the squad leader could respond, several more infected appeared along the upper windows.

Then dozens of them suddenly threw themselves out.

"CONTACT ABOVE!"

The warning came just as the first group reached the street.

Several infected struck the pavement, their bodies breaking apart against the concrete, but others landed directly among the advancing soldiers.

One Rifleman was struck across his upper body, throwing him onto the road beneath the falling infected. Another soldier barely managed to jump aside before a second infected crashed beside him, sending blood and fragments of bone across his uniform.

"FUCK! GET AWAY FROM THE BUILDINGS!"

A heavier impact struck the roof of a Guardian APC, denting part of its upper armor while another infected smashed into the windshield of an MDC transport following farther behind.

The glass shattered, and the transport suddenly stopped.

"Driver’s hit! We got wounded!"

Several Army Soldiers immediately moved toward the affected positions while the Machine Gunners shifted their weapons toward the upper floors.

"WINDOWS! SHOOT THOSE FUCKERS BEFORE THEY JUMP!"

Gunfire erupted across the street.

Riflemen and Army Soldiers fired into the exposed windows, killing several infected gathering near the openings, while a Guardian APC turned its 30mm autocannon toward the building farther ahead.

A burst tore through several upper rooms, scattering debris and infected bodies from the damaged structure.

But the falling infected were not limited to that building.

Across the adjoining street, another group began throwing themselves from the upper floors, with several striking the road between two armored vehicles.

One of the Army Soldiers attempting to pull a wounded Rifleman toward cover was knocked down by the impact. His companion managed to drag him away, but the Army Soldier’s leg was badly twisted underneath him.

"MEDIC! WE NEED A MEDIC HERE!"

The squad leader looked toward the surrounding buildings as more contacts shifted toward the windows.

"Southern Command, this is Vanguard Twelve-Six! Infected are jumping from the upper floors onto our formations! We have casualties and damaged vehicles!"

He changed channels before receiving a reply.

"All squads, watch your overhead! Get those wounded under cover, and keep firing at the windows!"

Another infected fell from the building above, striking the road beside a Guardian APC.

The soldiers nearest the vehicle scattered away from the impact while two Riflemen concentrated their fire on the upper windows.

And farther along the street, hundreds of infected that had previously remained inside the buildings were now moving toward the windows and rooftops.

The squad leader saw the movement spreading across several buildings and swore.

"Fuck! They’re doing it everywhere!"

Several Guardian APCs pulled away from the taller buildings while the infantry concentrated their fire on the infected gathering around the upper windows.

Machine Gunners fired repeated bursts into the exposed floors, killing dozens of infected before they could jump, while several Guardian GIs began preparing their deployed grenade launchers to attack the larger concentrations.

But before they could finish repositioning, another infected suddenly flew across the street.

Unlike the others, this one did not fall directly from above.

Its body travelled horizontally from the third floor of a nearby building before striking the side of an MDC transport.

BANG!

"What the fuck was that?!"

Another infected followed, crashing onto the road behind a Guardian APC.

The squad leader checked the Radar picture and noticed a larger infected marker moving near one of the broken windows.

"Hold on. There’s something in that building!"

Through the damaged windows, a mutated creature extended a long, whip-like tongue toward several infected gathered around the opening.

The tongue wrapped around one of them and pulled it violently toward the creature, but instead of dragging the infected into its mouth, the appendage swung outward and released it toward the soldiers below.

"Lasher! Third floor!"

The launched infected struck the pavement beside an Army Soldier, who narrowly escaped being hit.

"Those fuckers are throwing zombies now?!"

"Machine Gunner! Kill that Lasher!"

A Machine Gunner shifted his GPMG toward the window and opened fire, sending several rounds through the exposed tongue before the creature could launch another infected.

The appendage tore apart, and the Lasher quickly withdrew from the opening.

"Got its tongue!"

"There’s another one across the street!"

Another Lasher appeared several floors above the opposite side of the road, swinging an infected outward before releasing it toward the advancing formation.

The infected crashed against the front of a Guardian APC, damaging part of its external equipment before falling onto the road.

But as the soldiers concentrated their attention on the Lashers, several other infected markers began moving toward the windows of an adjoining office building.

A thick mass of green liquid suddenly emerged from one of the upper floors.

"SPITTER!"

The projectile travelled across the street before crashing into the pavement behind the infantry formation.

Green liquid splashed across the road, and smoke began rising as the corrosive substance attacked the exposed metal and debris.

"Shit! Acid behind us!"

Another projectile followed from a different window, striking the side of an abandoned vehicle that the soldiers were using as cover.

The metal began deteriorating, forcing two Army Soldiers to pull a wounded Rifleman farther away.

"Get him behind the Guardian! Don’t cross that acid!"

The squad leader looked toward the opposite building as another Spitter prepared to launch.

"Guardian, upper floors! Take out those windows!"

A Guardian APC turned its thirty-millimeter autocannon toward the building and opened fire.

Several explosive rounds struck the upper section, tearing through the windows and interior walls while the Spitter attempting to launch another projectile disappeared beneath the gunfire.

More contacts were appearing inside the surrounding buildings, with the Spitters firing whenever the soldiers concentrated on the falling infected, while the Lashers launched more zombies whenever they tried moving away from the acid.

"Southern Command, Vanguard Twelve-Six! We have multiple special infected coordinating their attacks! Lashers are launching infected from the buildings, and Spitters are firing on our withdrawal routes!"

"We’ve been receiving similar reports, Twelve-Six. Additional reinforcements are on their way. Retreat when necessary."

The squad leader watched another group of infected gathering around the windows.

"All squads, slowly move back to the previous street! Don’t let those fucking Lashers get another shot!"

Several Army Soldiers continued firing into the upper floors while the Medics struggled to evacuate the wounded from the affected section.

The northern advance was now being delayed, with several damaged vehicles blocking the road and more infected gathering across the buildings ahead.

And farther along the street, the larger infected markers were beginning to move into position.