237 Mark Joining The Fight, The Strange Group of Infected Among the Horde (1/2)
Day 36 – 12:34 PM – First Defense Line, Barangay Ungos, Real, Quezon
The battle between the soldiers started to get more and more intense. The main forces of the infected finally arrived putting more pressure on the soldiers and Mutators that were participating on the defense.
In terms of quantity, the forces of the settlement were totally outnumbered against the horde of infected. In the settlement, the total population was around seven thousand people. Among that large number, only around two thousand were the soldiers and the Mutators and Evolvers numbered around five hundred. The remaining population however and the majority were the non-combatants. Although this part of the population was mostly composed of the normal populace, it also included a portion of the government officials and the scientists.
In the true sense, this attack right now was a very threatening one. A single slip up could end up severely endangering the whole settlement. Due to that, eighty percent of the settlement's forces were deployed while the remaining percentage was sent to prepare for emergency measures.
A plethora of deafening sounds echoed in the battlefield as the forces of the settlement tried their best to resist the incoming infected. On the background, explosions could be seen as grenades, rockets, land mines and even vehicles exploded in the middle of the horde. Unfortunately, although those explosions damaged and killed a lot of infected, the number was still negligible. Not to mention that unlike injured humans that would stop after being wounded, the infected would not even if their wounds were supposed to be fatal. Despite their injuries and those who even had their intestines dangling out of their abdomen, the infected would still press forward as long as their heads and necks were intact.
At the area of the experiment, the battle also intensified. Although Karla was still able to hold her ground, the soldiers that were assisting the experiment no longer had any choice but to join the defense line.
”Sir Mark, please take this.”
A soldier from the top of the wall came out of the gates and handed a wireless lapel and earphone to Mark.
”You guys should have given me this earlier.”
Mark said with a side glance.
”Please, inquire the details after wearing it. I have to return to my post.”
The soldier saluted to Mark and retreated back into the gate. While Mark finished wearing the lapel, he saw the same soldier on top of the wall behind a mounted gun firing at the infected at the distance.
”Mark, Mark. Can you hear me?”
As Mark turned on the lapel, he heard a voice. Without mistake, the voice belonged to General Faustino.
”I can hear you clearly. You guys should have given me this earlier.”
”I apologize but we planned to do the test in a short period and there should have been no need for this. However, maybe, you can't see the situation in your position but the frontline is in a bad situation.”
”And what do you want me to do. Don't expect me to be able to kill all these infected. In any case, won't work for free either.”
Mark could hear a groan on the other side. The general should be rubbing his temples right now.
”General, please let me.” Another voice could be heard. ”Mark, this is Professor Suzuki. Can we do the negotiations later? As we can see here, you're just watching behind. Can you please join the defense? In any case, we will calculate the compensation depending on your contribution. It is the same with the other non-military forces.”
Hearing that, Mark shrugged his shoulder.
”Just say it frankly. You just want to see me fight, right? Also, telling me that information at this point, you people just want me to contribute to the battle as much as possible. I'll tell you, you guys won't be able to pay me if I contribute as much as I can.”
The other side became silent. It seemed that they were discussing something since Mark could hear faint murmurs away from the microphone. Soon, General Faustino spoke once more.
”Well, then. Please do what you can. In any case, if the situation continues, we might be able to defend the settlement but the sacrifices will be massive. We used a drone to observe the horde and we saw a group of strange infected among the horde. If those infected arrive, we expect the front lines to crumble. Unfortunately, we can't shrink the defense towards the wall.”
”And the experiment? I'm sure you can't handle Karla at all.”
”It shouldn't be a problem right now. Although we are also surprised, Karlene can handle her ground. Also compared to other positions, the infected in running towards the area is minimal. With our soldiers assisting her, she should be fine. In any case, her father and friend together with our other soldiers will come to assist her.”
”All right. I'll handle the group you are talking about.”
Mark decided to help. In any case, he would milk this settlement as much as he could.
Due to Mark's decision, the people on top of the wall sighed because of various reasons. First, they had been anticipating Mark to participate from the start and see his strength since among the people here, only Jones had seen it. Although a lot had been stated on papers, there was still skepticism with their minds. It would only be cleared if they witnessed it before their eyes or they would not be able to rest. Another reason was how Mark voiced his decision. Even though it was just through the lapel, his reply lacked the hesitation and fear of jumping in the middle of the horde. Normal and unconfident people would not be able to do that at all.