The ten battalions advanced like great steel dragons, rolling unstoppably toward Guanghan City. However, as they neared the city, the individual vehicle convoys began to split off.

According to the routes planned by the Military Department, each convoy was to enter Guanghan City from a different point. Of course, the destination for all routes was the Industrial Park.

The route assigned to the first battalion was the one on the far right.

Without a doubt, this was another one of Jin Canlan’s deliberate arrangements.

This was because the outermost route was more dangerous than the ones in the middle.

The teams in the center had other units advancing in parallel on both sides. Even if a Mutated Zombie triggered a horde, the area from which it could summon Zombies would be greatly diminished if it overlapped with the routes of other teams.

But for a team like Lin Xinghai’s on the far right flank, the area further to their right was an uncleared zone. Anything could happen there.

’Sigh, once I break through to the Blood Qi Realm, I’m definitely going to have a word with Fatty Jin,’ Lin Xinghai thought, rubbing his forehead.

Of course, this was merely an annoyance for him, not something he couldn’t handle. After a slight mental adjustment, he began to ponder how they would clear out the Zombies later.

The convoy advanced quickly and soon closed to within one kilometer of Guanghan City’s outskirts.

"All units, attention. Begin deceleration and switch to a triangular formation," Lin Xinghai ordered over the internal communications channel.

As the various corps leaders received the command, the convoy began to shift. The Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps naturally took the vanguard at the formation’s tip, with the Mountain and Sea Mercenary Corps following close behind.

The other Mercenary Corps, however, descended into chaos. The speed of their formation change was abysmal—twice as slow as Lin Xinghai had anticipated—and the resulting formation was ragged and sparse.

Lin Xinghai was rendered speechless. The Blood Carving Mercenary Corps, in particular, a dignified Second Level Mercenary Corps, had actually fallen to the rear of the formation. They seemed more afraid of death than the First Level Mercenary Corps.

Lin Xinghai noted all of this but said nothing, simply observing with a calm demeanor.

Soon, as the convoy neared the edge of the city proper, a horde of Zombies from within Guanghan City was the first to charge out. Lured by the large number of vehicles, a significant number of Zombies emerged—over 300 of them in a single wave.

The sudden appearance of such a massive zombie horde sent the First Level Mercenary Corps into an instant panic.

After all, with their level of strength, they already had difficulty dealing with hordes of over 50 Zombies. If a horde exceeded 100, they would typically retreat immediately.

Now, over 300 Zombies had appeared at once. Even though they knew their side had over a dozen Mercenary Corps, the sight still sent a chill down the spines of the members of the First Level Mercenary Corps.

It wasn’t just the First Level Mercenary Corps; even in the Second Level Blood Carving Mercenary Corps, everyone’s expression turned grim.

"Guanghan City is far more dangerous than we anticipated! We haven’t even entered the city yet and we’re already facing such a massive horde. It’s hard to imagine what it will be like once we’re inside," said Chen Tianlei, the corps leader, his brow deeply furrowed.

"Indeed!" His vice-leader, Gou Sen, couldn’t help but add, "And it’s not just the numbers. The overall strength of these Zombies is terrifyingly high. According to the radar scans, over half of them are Intermediate Zombies, and there are even more than 30 High Level Zombies."

"If our Mercenary Corps had to face this alone, we’d suffer casualties even if we deployed all three of our Mechas."

At this point, a smile crept onto Gou Sen’s face. "Speaking of which, it was brilliant of you, Leader, to quietly move to the rear during the formation change. This wave of Zombies might be a threat, but it certainly won’t reach us."

Hearing this, Chen Tianlei nodded with a deliberately profound air, a small, inexplicable sense of pride swelling in his heart.

Just then, the charging horde entered the 100-meter range of the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps.

In that instant, gunfire erupted.

RAT-TAT-TAT!

Almost all the Mercenary Corps were stunned by the sudden burst of gunfire. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Normally, one would wait until the horde was within 50 meters before opening fire to ensure maximum accuracy.

As for why they didn’t wait until the horde was even closer—that was, of course, for fear of not having enough time to kill all the Zombies.

Therefore, they were baffled by the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps’ actions, considering it a complete waste of ammunition.

But in the next moment, a scene unfolded that left all the Mercenaries dumbfounded.

The surging horde was cut down in droves, falling like fields of wheat being reaped.

The first to fall were, naturally, the most common Zombies. They were gunned down with almost no ability to resist.

As for the Intermediate Zombies, with their sharp danger Perception and a Physique equivalent to having broken two Genetic Locks, most of them managed to dodge the first wave of attacks.

But that was only because of the distance. As these Intermediate Zombies continued to charge forward, they began to fall one after another.

Especially as they neared the 50-meter mark, not a single Intermediate Zombie could cross it, as if an invisible line of death had been drawn there.

Even for the High Level Zombies, whose strength was equivalent to having broken Three Genetic Locks, closing to within 30 meters of the convoy was their absolute limit.

Within the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps, not to mention those with exceptionally outstanding Gun Technique, even a random member’s marksmanship, after multiple sessions of guidance from Lin Xinghai, was far beyond what a typical veteran Mercenary could match.

At a range of 30 meters, they had at least a 30% certainty of hitting a High Level Zombie’s head with a single shot.

And how many people were in the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps? A full 100 members.

Each High Level Zombie had at least three guns aimed at its head.

Consequently, not only did these High Level Zombies fail to break the 30-meter invisible line of defense, but when they realized something was wrong, they couldn’t even retreat before being wiped out in one fell swoop.

From the first shot to the last, it took less than 30 seconds. Over 300 Zombie corpses lay strewn across the ground.

By the time the other Mercenary Corps snapped out of their shock, the members of the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps had already jumped out of their vehicles and begun collecting Elemental Crystals.

"My God!"

"Am I seeing things? Over 300 Zombies... gone just like that?"

"The main thing is the High Level Zombies! There were over 30 of them! All killed in the blink of an eye! Our Mercenary Corps has to deploy a Mecha just to handle one of them!"

When the members of these First Level Mercenary Corps came to their senses again, the communications channel instantly exploded with chatter.

No one could quite believe what they had just seen was real.

They had all heard rumors about how incredible the Heaven-Sundering Mercenary Corps was, but no rumor could ever compare to the shock of witnessing it firsthand.