Chapter 553: The Battle Begins (2/2)

As the Zergs gathered outside the city wall, the atmosphere inside the city changed as well. However, none of the ordinary citizens abandoned their homes. Instead, they joined the reserves, while the women and children helped the soldiers get ready.

The people of Maersa district had had enough of the fear and helplessness while being homeless. They figured that since the soldiers were staying to defend the city, they should too. After all, if the soldiers were defeated, the civilians wouldn't be safe outside the city wall either.

Slowly but surely, the army of Zergs closed in on the city. They ravaged the land and razed any human settlements in their way to the ground, leaving nothing behind them. The defeat at Maersa City had aggravated them, and spur them to be more violent toward the human.

The daily report from outside the city deeply worried Aamir. Although the number of Zergs were almost the same as their initial estimate, the overall level of these Zergs might be much higher than they had thought.

Aamir inquired the whereabouts of Wang Tong and his warriors every day, but all the answer he got from Hamir were the same. No one, including Hamir, knew where those warriors were gone.

After a while, no one cared about those missing warriors any longer, since they believed that the addition of a dozen soldiers would not change their situation in any dramatic way anyway.

Since the city could not rely on the elite warriors of Battle Wolf, Aamir had to look to other ways and prepare for the worst.

Right before dusk, the vanguard of the Zergs finally arrived, greeted by four thousand heavy METAL artillery units. After an hour of shelling at the Zerg vanguard, the Zerg front line finally started to show sign of faltering. As the messenger reported the temporary back down of the Zergs, soldiers and civilians inside the city hailed their initial success. However, neither Aamir nor Marcos felt relieved: the war had just begun, and it was too early to celebrate.

After about ten more minutes, a giant Zerg finally broke through the defensive line of the heavy METAL units. The soldiers behind the heavy METAL were unprepared for the sudden attack, and they were shocked by the sheer size of the beast. The Zerg was about thirty meters long, and had ten meat trunks as legs. Every step it took sent a deep thump to the ground that could be felt hundreds of meters away.

The giant Zerg tore an opening in the defensive line. Soon, it became the target of thousands of laser beams. These laser beams shot through the shell of the Zerg and into its flesh. In a blink, green acid gushed out of the holes on the Zerg's body. These acid blood splattered onto the soldiers nearby and melted their armor and flesh. The affected soldiers howled in agony, and the formation of the heavy METAL fell into disarray, creating more openings. Seizing the opportunity, more and more giant Zergs dashed through the defensive line, and as their blood corrupted more soldiers, the heavy METAL unit gradually lost the upper hand.

Sensing the tides turning, Aamir ordered the heavy METAL units to pull back. They could be better used behind the city wall later.

In order to cover the heavy METAL's retreat, the cannons on the city wall started shelling at the Zergs with mini-nukes. The bombardment was able to stop the Zerg advancement for a brief moment, giving the heavy METAL units an opportunity to retreat.

However, the Zergs didn't stop for too long. In just a few minutes, they were able to gather strength and press forward.

”Captain, the Zergs are getting closer. Let's pull the plug!”

”Not yet! Wait.”

Aamir scanned the field with a binocular and then said calmly. The Zergs were advancing at an alarming speed. In just a few minutes, they had already reached the effective range of the high power long range laser weapon located at the center of the city.

Despite the ferocious rain of steel and laser beams on them, the Zergs didn't slow down the slightest. The front line of the Zerg army didn't slow down until the METAL warriors and the mastery casters started to engage them.

Seeing that the Zergs were losing momentum, Marcos ordered all his forces to engage the invading Zergs.

Despite the progress the human had made, Aamir was still deeply troubled by their situation. He had noticed that the vanguard of the invading Zergs had no dark ones among them; so, they were nothing but cannon fodders.

After a while, the Zerg vanguard was finally eliminated. However, the human soldiers didn't even have time to celebrate as they found out that they had been surrounded by a sea of monsters, with only a thin wall separating them from danger.