Chapter 479: City Siege
A location eight kilometers outside of Tomorrow Base.
Countless armored vehicles and trucks were parked in an open field.
At the very front were six tanks, their cannons aimed directly at Tomorrow Base.
Anselm Hughes listened to the report from his subordinate, his expression dark.
"Tomorrow Base has been on lockdown for five days—no one in, no one out. We can’t gather any intel at the moment. The zombies our people led over have been dealt with by their traps..."
Wyatt Holden said, a little uneasy.
"That was expected. It’s a base, after all. A small one, but if it couldn’t even handle that, it would have been wiped out long ago."
Although Anselm Hughes found it regrettable, he had anticipated this outcome.
"Do we know their casualty count?" he asked.
"Their..."
Wyatt Holden glanced at Anselm Hughes, then lowered his head and said, "They’re completely unscathed."
"What do you mean, completely unscathed?"
Anselm Hughes asked.
"Tomorrow Base only used traps and mechanisms the entire time. So far, they have zero casualties..."
Wyatt Holden answered, taking a deep breath.
"How is that possible? Is this a mistake?"
Julian Sutton asked.
Just luring those zombies had cost them a good number of men. How could Tomorrow Base possibly have no casualties?
Wyatt Holden silently played the video footage from the drone that had just returned.
"I can only say their traps are quite formidable. But the base only has a little over 1,000 City Guard Soldiers. I don’t think our upcoming attack will be a problem."
Wyatt Holden said.
Today, they had assembled a total of over 6,000 base guards and had brought along their heavy weaponry as well.
"These mechanisms..."
The drone footage wasn’t very clear, but Anselm Hughes could clearly make out several wooden mechanisms.
This gave him a strange feeling, but he quickly dismissed the thought as impossible.
"So cunning. They actually managed to avoid it."
Julian Sutton said.
"Tell Edmund Walsh and Stowe Lynch to move out immediately. We must take Tomorrow Base today!"
Anselm Hughes stood up.
"The casualties will likely be high if we do that."
Wyatt Holden said with a frown.
The zombies hadn’t depleted any of Tomorrow Base’s weapons or personnel. He suggested sending in an advance force first to probe their defenses before launching an all-out assault.
"This is a do-or-die battle. Sacrifices are inevitable," Anselm Hughes said, ignoring his suggestion.
"That’s right, Wyatt Holden, why ask so many questions? We’ve trained these soldiers for this very moment. General Hughes certainly hasn’t been mistreating them lately."
Julian Sutton said.
"I understand."
Wyatt Holden frowned. ’Why does Julian Sutton always seem to be gloating over others’ misfortune?’
But it was true that Lornwood Base had lifted all restrictions recently. Not only had they fully released the Water Element Superpower Users, but Anselm Hughes had also allocated special provisions to reward the base’s soldiers daily.
’This must all be in preparation for this battle.’
Wyatt Holden quickly summoned Stowe Lynch and Edmund Walsh.
"Do you understand? That Tomorrow Base assassinated Commander Langdon and stole our Lornwood Base’s supplies! Today, no matter the cost, we must breach this city!"
Anselm Hughes shouted, standing before several thousand soldiers.
"Lynch, looks like it’s our turn."
Edmund Walsh stubbed out a cigarette, grinding it into the ground with his boot.
"Hmph. Walsh, don’t you get stage fright on me."
Stowe Lynch laughed. Everyone had gotten used to calling him by his nickname, Grim.
"Hahaha, stage fright? Me? I’m gonna get a taste of what it’s like to be a general!"
Edmund Walsh walked up to General Hughes and shouted to the crowd:
"Did you all hear that?"
"We heard it!"
The soldiers finally responded in unison.
Valerius Lucas and Hartley were also among the thousands of men, and they responded with their heads lowered.
At the same time, Valerius Lucas was worried about the situation at Tomorrow Base.
After all, Anselm Hughes hadn’t told them the result of the zombie attack from earlier.
"The fact that he didn’t say anything is actually a good thing."
Hartley said in a low voice.
If the zombie horde had succeeded, Anselm Hughes would definitely not have kept quiet about it.
"You’re right."
Valerius Lucas boarded a truck along with the others.
Originally, he had wanted to lead a rebellion right there at Lornwood Base, but Grim, Stowe Lynch, had disagreed.
They knew that Grim and Nina Jacobs had already joined forces, which was why this full-scale military mobilization was happening today.
The massive convoy soon set off for Tomorrow Base in a grand procession, the dust kicked up by the vehicles carrying the grim, bloody scent of impending slaughter.
"General, are those two really reliable? I’ve been hearing some rumors around the base lately."
Julian Sutton said from inside the last vehicle.
Edmund Walsh, in particular, had been forming his own clique, and there were faint signs he wanted to replace Anselm Hughes.
"It doesn’t matter. They’re already on board; it’s impossible for them to get off now."
Anselm Hughes said.
The very reason he had put Edmund Walsh and Stowe Lynch in the vanguard was because they were both restless types.
Although Stowe Lynch wasn’t one to show off or seek credit, his relationship with the base guards was too good. Keeping him around was a liability.
Cecily Wells, who was at his side, let out a laugh. "That’s why we used 60,000 zombies as bait. The other side must have guessed we were the ones who sent them. With our army at their gates, they have to fight, whether they want to or not."
"That’s true."
Julian Sutton relaxed again.
Soon, from the watchtowers of Tomorrow Base, the several tanks leading the vanguard came into view.
Alarms blared instantly, and the thousand-plus City Guard Soldiers stood in grim formation before the base’s main gate.
"This is unheard of! Our own people fighting each other!"
It was only at this moment that Audrey Crowley learned Lornwood Base was attacking Tomorrow Base.
"The situation doesn’t look good."
Lyra Thorne said.
The enemy outnumbered them several times over, and their weapons were well-prepared.
"Yeah, and Tomorrow Base has only been established for a month."
Gemma Lucas searched everywhere for Silas Crowley, but she couldn’t find him.
Meanwhile, a large crowd had gathered behind the base’s main gate, packing the area completely.
"Let me out! I volunteer to fight!"
"I’ll fight too!"
"..."
Many people shouted one after another.
Thaddeus Wren emerged from the back, cupped his fist to the crowd, and said:
"Everyone, don’t worry. The base won’t act recklessly. If it becomes necessary, we will certainly let you all join the fight."
The implication was that the base did not yet need help from the survivors.
"But they have so many weapons. Is the base really going to be okay?"
Someone asked.
Just then, the sound of an explosion thundered from outside the gate. The battle for the base had begun.
"Felix Finch, Commander of Tomorrow Base! You plotted the assassination of Commander Langdon and stole our base’s supplies! Today, I, Edmund Walsh, have led six thousand elite soldiers to bring you, a treacherous villain, to justice!"
Edmund Walsh yelled through a pre-prepared megaphone.
However, the people of Tomorrow Base showed no reaction.
"Let’s give them a big one! Vehicles 1 through 6, fire, fire!"
Edmund Walsh commanded excitedly.
But the tanks simply remained stationary up ahead, not moving at all.
"What’s going on?"
Edmund Walsh frowned, suspecting the walkie-talkie in his hand might be broken.
"Mortars 8 through 14, fire!" he shouted again.
This time, the mortar crews nearby heard him and immediately launched several shells forward.
Thick smoke exploded in mid-air.
However, when the smoke cleared, the crowd discovered that their shells seemed to have been blocked by something.
"That looks so much like..."
Cecily Wells murmured, staring at the wall of sand in the air.
"It can’t be her."
Anselm Hughes stated definitively. Nina Jacobs had been left behind in Whittaker Town; there was absolutely no way she could be here.