Inside the command center, the thermal feed sharpened further.

The swarm remained chaotic at first glance, just an endless sea of bodies smashing against the southern defenses. But once the software isolated the faster movement patterns inside the mass—

The Hunters became visible.

Dozens of them.

They moved differently from the infected around them.

They weren’t blindly charging the barricades.

They were weaving through the swarm itself, using the bodies as cover while rapidly closing the distance toward the defensive line.

Adrian’s expression hardened immediately.

"Warn the front sectors," he ordered. "Priority targets are the Hunters. Do not let them breach the armor line."

"Yes, sir!"

Across the southern perimeter, every radio channel crackled alive.

"All frontline units, Hunter contacts confirmed inside the swarm! Repeat, Hunter contacts confirmed! Prioritize fast movers!"

Outside the base, the battle intensified immediately.

The infected were already slamming against the outer barricades in massive numbers now. Bodies piled several feet high against the razor wire while machine gun fire continued tearing through them nonstop.

But now, something moved above the dead.

Fast.

One Bradley gunner spotted it first.

"Hunter!" he shouted.

The creature burst out from inside the swarm in a violent sprint, clearing wrecked bodies and debris in massive leaps as it charged directly toward the IFV line.

The Bradley’s 25mm Bushmaster rotated instantly.

The gunner fired.

The cannon roared violently, explosive rounds hammering into the charging Hunter. Dirt and flesh exploded around it as the impacts ripped through the ground.

But the creature kept moving.

"Jesus Christ!"

The Hunter slammed into the forward barricade seconds later, smashing through weakened concrete blocks before lunging toward the trench line.

Infantry rifles opened fire instantly.

Tracer rounds ripped across its body.

M240 machine guns hammered it continuously.

Still—

It reached the trench.

One soldier barely raised his rifle before the Hunter crashed into him full force, throwing both men backward into the mud and blood-soaked trench floor.

"CONTACT IN THE TRENCH!"

Chaos erupted instantly.

The Hunter tore through the confined position violently, slamming one soldier against the sandbags hard enough to break his neck before another infantryman shoved his rifle directly against the creature’s torso and fired an entire magazine point blank.

The impacts staggered it.

Then a shotgun blast exploded against its head from the side.

Another soldier charged forward screaming and buried a combat knife into the creature’s neck repeatedly.

Finally, the Hunter collapsed.

But there was no time to celebrate.

More were coming.

"More contacts!" someone shouted.

The swarm suddenly surged harder against the southern sectors.

Hundreds of infected climbed over their own dead while Hunters burst through gaps inside the mass like predators emerging from floodwater.

The Abrams tanks immediately shifted priority targets.

Inside one Abrams, the commander tracked a Hunter sprinting directly toward the armored line.

"Canister loaded!"

"Fire!"

The 120mm cannon detonated.

The canister round transformed into a massive shotgun blast of steel projectiles that obliterated the Hunter and dozens of nearby infected instantly. The blast carved a bloody corridor straight through the charging wave.

But even as one died, three more appeared behind it.

"Keep firing!" the commander shouted.

The coaxial machine gun erupted immediately afterward, mowing down infected piling toward the tank’s hull.

Further west along the perimeter, a Bradley IFV became swarmed.

Infected climbed directly onto the vehicle while the gunner continued firing the Bushmaster cannon at near point-blank range into the densest sections of the horde.

The turret shook violently from sustained fire.

"Reloading!"

"Don’t stop!"

One Hunter suddenly leapt onto the side of the IFV.

Its claws slammed against the armor plating while infantry nearby immediately redirected fire toward it.

M4 carbines cracked nonstop.

M249 SAWs joined in.

The Hunter ignored the impacts and crawled toward the turret.

Then the Bradley commander swung open the hatch partially and fired his sidearm directly into the creature’s face.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

The Hunter recoiled slightly.

That was enough.

An infantryman rushed forward carrying an AT4 launcher.

"MOVE!"

Everyone nearby ducked instinctively.

The rocket fired.

The blast engulfed the side of the Bradley and the Hunter simultaneously, the explosion throwing burning infected across the road while the shockwave slammed into nearby trenches.

When the smoke cleared, the Bradley still stood, it was scarred and blackened. Still, it’s operational.

The Hunter was gone.

Back inside the command center, the tactical map flickered continuously as units reported contact across nearly every southern defensive sector.

"Sector Alpha holding!"

"Bravo line taking heavy pressure!"

"Hunter breach contained!"

"Ammo consumption critical in western trench!"

Adrian stared silently at the battlefield feeds.

The southern perimeter had become hell itself.

The infected no longer advanced in organized waves now.

They crashed against the defenses continuously from every direction, climbing over mountains of dead bodies while artillery continued detonating behind them.

The battlefield glowed orange from fire and tracer rounds.

The noise never stopped.

Machine guns.

Tank cannons.

Explosions.

Screaming infected.

Shouted commands.

Everything merged together into one endless roar of combat.

Outside the base, one infantry squad fought desperately inside a partially collapsed trench section after infected breached the wire.

"Reloading!"

"Cover left!"

"Hunter!"

A creature burst through the smoke directly toward them.

The squad opened fire instantly.

Rounds tore into it from multiple angles while one soldier hurled a fragmentation grenade almost point blank.

The explosion tore apart half the trench wall and sent infected flying across the mud.

Still more kept coming.

One soldier switched to his sidearm after his rifle ran dry.

Another grabbed a fallen M240 and continued firing from the hip directly into the charging infected only meters away.

Bodies collapsed everywhere around them.

But the pressure never eased.

Further down the line, Abrams tanks continued firing almost nonstop into the horde.

The barrels recoiled repeatedly while loaders inside the tanks worked frantically feeding fresh rounds into the breach.

"Sabot!"

"Loaded!"

"Fire!"

Boom.

Entire sections of the swarm vanished beneath direct tank fire.

The coaxial machine guns glowed from sustained bursts while infantry used the tanks themselves as partial cover during reloads.

The infected reached the outer hulls repeatedly now.

Some climbed directly onto the tanks before being torn apart by supporting machine gun fire.

Others exploded beneath tracks as the Abrams repositioned slightly to avoid being completely surrounded.