Chapter 118: The Onset of War

The entire Jiangbei City is now seething with undercurrents as various factions converge, setting the stage for an imminent, massive battle.

At the riverside, a horde of tens of thousands of zombies has gathered. Each twisted face is filled with frantic excitement, and their constant, guttural roaring creates a scene of overwhelming chaos.

Yet, standing on a massive boulder in the distance are a few humans. They are the reinforcements invited by Lin Dong: Cheng Luoyi, Sun Xiaoqiang, and several "construction workers" like Liu Yun and Zhao Meiling, all of whom are ice-type awakened ones. Chen Ming and Sun Yuhang have also come along. Witnessing the dense, teeming horde of zombies before them, they cannot help but sigh in awe.

"Uncle Chen, there are so many zombies!"
"Indeed. Nearly every combat-capable zombie from two urban districts is here," Chen Ming says, his gaze fixed ahead.

On the opposite bank of the river, countless more zombies are moving. They have already reached the cross-river bridge, clearly poised to "cross the line." Leading the vanguard is White Bone. With steady steps, he commands the tens of thousands of zombies, standing at the bridgehead. On the other side of the bridge stand Tank, Xiao Ba, the Doctor, and a host of elite zombies.

The two zombie armies face off across the bridge. A murderous tension hangs in the air, thick as a powder keg, ready to ignite into a full-scale war at the slightest provocation. White Bone scans the crowd, failing to spot Lin Dong. The humiliation from last night fills him with seething hatred; he wants nothing more than to kill him.

"Kill!" White Bone bellows. He breaks into a sprint, charging toward the opposite side.

"Roar—!" The zombies behind him howl, as if instantly activated. They follow suit, sprinting forward in a frenzy. Some of the elite zombies even scale the bridge's steel cables, moving with the agility of giant apes as they scramble toward the other side. The dense mass of zombies descends like a storm. Below, the river surges; above, the zombie tide churns.

Seeing the aggressive advance, Tank remains unfazed. He turns to the Doctor and asks, "What level is that bony zombie?"
"Level A," the Doctor replies.

Tank sneers with disdain. *Is that all? As expected, not as high-level as me...*
"Then let's go!" Tank lets out a roar. His massive frame charges forward like a wild bull; the bridge deck trembles under his footsteps.
"Hehehehe..." Xiao Ba lets out a sinister laugh, his form flickering as he vanishes from his spot.

Behind them, the rest of the zombies turn equally feral. The two tides clash.

*Boom!*

Tank and White Bone are the first to collide. Their bodies slam together like two small mountains, emitting a dull thud. Although White Bone is lean, he stands firm as if spiked into the ground, while Tank is actually knocked back ten meters.

"So tough?" Tank, with his thick hide, is unhurt. He swings his massive fists and attacks again.

The other zombies collide as well. Like starving wolves, they pounce on their opponents, pinning them to the ground to claw and bite. Severed limbs fly and filthy blood sprays everywhere. Some zombies even pile up seven or eight deep in their ferocity.

Xiao Ba, acting as a battlefield harvester, reappears repeatedly to decapitate a zombie or disembowel another with every strike, the scene turning gruesome and bloody. The corpses of the fallen zombies tumble off the bridge like dumplings into the river, their dark blood splashing into the water. Soon, mutant fish gather to feast on the remains.

Standing not far away, the Scarlet Rock Zombie King observes the situation on the bridge.
"Doesn't look too bad. The other side isn't as strong as I imagined."
"Indeed, we have the numerical advantage," the Ghost Infant Zombie King says with a sinister tone.

"Roar—!"

Just then, a tiger’s roar, earth-shaking and thunderous, drowns out all the noise. The roar ripples through the forest, startling all beasts. Even the river water below trembles, scaring off many of the feeding mutant fish. A massive, majestic white tiger appears. With a single swipe of its paw, it crushes a zombie; with one bite of its blood-red maw, it shatters a skull. The zombie tiger, Xiao Bai, acts as if it is at a buffet, moving through the horde as if there were no resistance at all. A vacuum of space forms around it the moment it appears.

"This..." Scarlet Rock narrows his eyes. Where did this ferocious tiger come from?

Meanwhile, countless vines crawl onto the bridge's steel cables. Like long, writhing snakes, they quickly wrap around the necks of the zombies, hoisting them up one by one as if pulling radishes. The entire cross-river bridge instantly turns into a massive scene of mass hanging. Clearly, Flower Pot has made his move!

"Something isn't right here..." Scarlet Rock frowns deeper. With these "plants" and "animals" attacking, White Bone’s forces are being pushed back step by step, and it looks like they are about to be forced onto his own territory.

"Let’s move!" The three zombie kings join the fray.

As the slaughter continues, the entire bridge is littered with corpses, shredded meat, and entrails. The pooling blood flows together, staining the river red. Lin Dong’s subordinates, however, are clearly stronger; they are sweeping through the opposition, having already pushed two-thirds of the way across the bridge.

The "freelancer" Flappy-Ears is among them. Though he lacks combat attributes, as a Level B Zombie King, he is stronger than the standard elites—a "super soldier." Seeing the enemy being pushed back, he feels quite pleased with himself.
"Hehehe, as expected of me. I didn't misjudge them. Brother Ke, keep it up!!!"

However, the fierce Tank suddenly stands perfectly still, his massive frame rooted to the spot like a mountain.
"Eh? Brother Ke, what’s wrong? Did you fall asleep?" Flappy-Ears walks behind him and asks.

"Meow~~~"

A chilling cat’s meow emits from Tank's mouth. Flappy-Ears frowns, a sense of foreboding washing over him. *Why is he meowing in the middle of a battle?*

When he looks again, he finds Tank turning his head to stare straight at him. The tiny eyes have transformed into a pair of cat pupils!

"Hiss..." Flappy-Ears is terrified.

The next moment, Tank raises a fist the size of a sandbag and swings it at him.
"Holy cow!" Flappy-Ears exclaims in horror, scrambling backward. "Brother Ke, don't!"

Just then, the Doctor appears nearby, watching Tank carefully. The boss had warned him that this might happen, so he had instructed him to keep an eye out. The Doctor immediately projects his mental energy, delivering a [Mental Penetration] that strikes Tank’s brain like a steel awl.

"Aooo~~~~" Tank clutches his head, letting out a cat-like wail. His feline pupils dilate and fade, returning to their original "wise" gaze.
"Huh? What just happened?"
"Nothing. Keep fighting." The Doctor sees no need to explain; he wouldn't understand anyway.
"Oh, alright then." Tank nods blankly and turns to charge back into the fray.

Flappy-Ears, standing to the side, is still trembling, shaken to his core. He thinks the scene he just witnessed was absolutely terrifying.
"I'm not alright..."