Chapter 56: A Desperate Stand

“Announce your abilities—I’ll assign your combat positions.”

“Work together, and you might just make it out alive.”

With not a hint of emotion in his order, the Blood Wolf Commander eyed the entire group as if they were nothing more than swine.

No mercy would be shown, but that statement was enough to quash any remaining thoughts of resistance.

No one dared protest.

Everyone exchanged glances and offered a bitter smile.

Although they outnumbered their foes, a single Tier-3 fighter could take down any one of them in an instant. Perhaps the two peak Tier-2 members might still put up a fight, but even they wouldn’t risk their lives.

Sighing, everyone resignedly accepted the situation and began listing their abilities from the left:

“Jiang Tao, Tier-2 Intermediate, Strength Type. Specializes in close combat.”

“Huang Xiaobo, Tier-2 Junior, Agility Type. Excels in long-range attacks.”

“Peng Fei, Peak Tier-2, Constitution Type. Specializes in close combat…”

…

After everyone had taken their turn, it soon came to Yenir on the far right.

During a brief pause, a woman turned her head slightly to look at Yenir. In the entire team, aside from the two peak Tier-2 fighters who caught her eye, he was the only one who stood out.

Meeting that scrutinizing gaze, Yenir calmly spoke without betraying any emotion:

“Ye Lin, Tier-2 Junior, Willpower Type. Specializes in long-range combat.”

He casually used an alias.

Yenir knew full well that if he wanted to break the deadlock, he had to conserve his strength. Claiming a long-range specialty would at least save his stamina. After all, his true talent lay in Mental Type, so controlling objects with his mental power and imitating a long-range fighter wasn’t a big issue.

“Oh? So you’re just a waste of a Willpower Type.”

The Blood Wolf Leader sneered before dismissing him. With high standalone Willpower, it wasn’t surprising if one jolted awake early.

But in combat, he was a real liability.

Meanwhile, the other Awakeners cast surprised glances at Yenir, a hint of pity flickering in their eyes.

A Tier-2 Willpower Type was as rare as a giant panda.

Thanks to a higher reserve of spiritual power than other Awakeners, they could barely offer rear fire support; such individuals were typically cultivated in small numbers by the Military.

But in this environment, unprotected Yenir was likely to be among the first casualties.

……..

“Round One: Attack! Estimated enemy count: 1000 Zombies, 10 Tier-1 Mutants!”

On the makeshift factory wall, 18 Awakeners assigned to defense reluctantly took their positions.

As the system alert ended, a massive horde of zombies surged out from around the factory.

“Roar!!”

“Roar!!”

Several enormous Lickers, their twin claws scraping the ground, scurried over in a flash, followed by Butcher monsters wielding massive hammers.

The ground trembled slightly.

Instinctively, everyone glanced back at the Blood Wolf Squad, who weren’t actively engaging in battle, their eyes filled with a mix of sorrow and indignation.

Their stance made it clear that they intended to save their strength for the final blow.

“Everyone, go all out! If I catch anyone purposely holding back their spiritual power, I’ll crush their bones myself!”

Standing behind the group, a Blood Wolf member clad in a Combat Uniform threatened them in a harsh tone.

Though all were human survivors, in his eyes they were nothing more than expendable cannon fodder.

Especially the two peak Tier-2 fighters—whose entire reserve of spiritual power had to be drained as part of the plan to avoid mishaps.

With a sigh, one of the peak Tier-2 Awakeners acknowledged what was expected of him.

He cast a glance over the demoralized group and said in a low voice:

“I’m Constitution Type—come join me for close combat.”

“Mutants must be taken out first. If they get too close and break our formation, we’ll die quickly.”

Within the group, nine close-combat Awakeners exchanged wry smiles before stepping forward together.

While their chances of survival were slim, without cooperation they likely wouldn’t last beyond the fourth round.

Every extra round counted.

The battle commenced.

Under the leadership of a shield-bearing peak Tier-2 fighter, the ten-man squad charged like a sharp lance into the zombie horde, unleashing their attack on the mutants.

Meanwhile, long-range Awakeners on the City Wall drew their weapons, ready to support the front lines.

Within seconds, the shield-wielding brute at the vanguard roared and fearlessly charged toward the nearest Licker.

“Kill!!”

….

“Bang!”

When the final Licker had its brain smashed, Round One officially came to an end.

A few close-combat Awakeners glanced at the gore staining their clothes as they panted softly.

While their strength made surviving the first round manageable, things were only going to get tougher.

Silently, during a lull between attacks, the leading peak Tier-2 fighter walked over to another Tier-2 member and shook his head slightly.

“Save your skills.”

“You’ll have to handle the mutants coming from behind.”

He murmured quietly.

As the rounds progressed, the mutants’ strength would swiftly escalate to Tier-2, even reaching peak Tier-2 levels.

Facing both the zombie horde and mutants at once, close-combat fighters would struggle; if surrounded without a quick kill, they would be the first to fall.

Likewise, once mutants got close, even long-range Awakeners would have trouble fighting back.

Their only hope lay in the remaining long-range fighters concentrating their firepower to unleash their full combat potential as quickly as possible.

“I understand.”

Wiping the grime off his dark blue bow, the Tier-2 youth nodded steadily as he received the instruction.

But as he glanced at his fellow Tier-2 long-range fighter, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

Six Agility Types, also armed with bows, maintained a steady output, while two half-hearted, death-phobic Strength Types relied on their skills to serve as casters.

The few remaining Strength Types wielding spears hardly counted as long-range support.

The entire team’s fire support was worryingly inadequate.

Especially…

His eyes darted toward Yenir on the far right.

During the previous battle, Yenir even pulled out a hand crossbow to shoot zombies—a tactic usually reserved for the lowest-ranked Awakeners, causing him to frown deeply.

Had it not been for Yenir being a Willpower Type, he’d have suspected that the guy was simply slacking off.

In short, Yenir was regarded as the most ‘useless’ member of the team.

All clear.

Wiping the blood off his hand, the Constitution Type brute glanced at Yenir and murmured:

“That kid must be saving a powerful skill in reserve.”

“Otherwise, he wouldn’t have managed to reach Tier-2.”

“But he’s too low level; he’ll probably only manage to use it twice.”

After the two peak Tier-2 fighters finished speaking, they suppressed their pessimism, exchanged nods, and then split up.

Round Two of the battle was about to commence.