Chapter 210: Death From Above

Chapter 210: Chapter 210: Death From Above

Back in the city, one of the flying infected suddenly stopped in midair.

Its strange ears twitched as its head slowly turned from side to side. Then, as if it had caught a distant sound, it turned toward the direction of Jaxon’s group.

Its grotesque jaws slowly opened.

A roar erupted from its throat, a distorted mixture of several voices screaming at once.

"GRUAAAAAAAH!"

Instead of following the fleeing convoy, the creature suddenly changed direction.

Its massive wings beat against the air as it accelerated toward the distant vehicles.

Inside the Hilux, Bong-gu glanced nervously toward the rear window before looking back at the road.

"What the hell is happening to this world?" he muttered, his face still pale. "First that colossal infected, and now these flying things. Is this world really doomed?"

"Get a grip, Bong-gu," Haris said, keeping both hands firmly on the steering wheel. "Worrying about that won’t keep us alive. Just watch the road."

Bong-gu opened his mouth to respond but eventually sighed and kept quiet.

Jaxon ignored their exchange and turned toward Na-rin, who was sitting beside him in the open truck bed. He pulled the map from his Storage Space and spread it across his lap.

"Na-rin, help me find another route. We need somewhere we can take cover."

Na-rin leaned closer and studied the map for several seconds. Her finger eventually stopped at a marked location.

"Here. Oakridge City is the closest settlement from our current position." She frowned slightly. "There could still be infected inside, but it’s our best option. If we can find a secure building, we can hide there until those flying infected move on."

She traced her finger along the road. "From Oakridge, we can continue toward Asterra safe zone."

Jaxon studied the map before glancing at the sky behind them. "We don’t have many options. Let’s go."

He raised his voice toward the cab. "Haris, take us to Oakridge City."

"Got it!"

Haris immediately turned the wheel, guiding the Hilux onto the eastern road. The military truck followed closely behind.

For the next several minutes, nobody spoke much. Everyone kept glancing toward the sky, watching the gaps between the clouds and treetops for any sign of movement.

Inside the city, a group of soldiers had gathered behind the remaining armored vehicles, desperately trying to hold their position.

"Concentrate fire! Pick one target and bring it down!"

The commander’s order was immediately followed by a storm of gunfire.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Soldiers fired from behind the armored vehicles while others prepared grenade launchers. Their bullets filled the streets as one of the flying infected suddenly swooped low, giving them only a brief opening.

"Fire!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Three grenades struck the creature almost at the same time. Explosions tore through its body, sending it crashing into the street with a deafening impact. It twitched violently for several seconds before finally going still.

"We got one!"

A few soldiers shouted in relief, but their celebration lasted only a moment.

High above the city, something much larger was watching them.

One of the flying infected was nearly three times the size of the others. Its massive wings stretched across the sky as it stared down at the soldiers and the fallen creature.

Then it opened its jaws.

"GRUAAAAAH!" The terrifying roar shook the streets.

The creature folded its wings and suddenly dove. Three smaller flying infected followed closely behind.

"What’s that...?"

BOOM!

The massive creature crashed into the street, its claws slamming directly onto an armored vehicle. The metal roof crumpled beneath its weight before the entire vehicle was thrown aside like it was nothing.

"My God..."

A soldier stared through the smoke, frozen in place as the enormous infected slowly emerged from the wreckage.

"Fire! All units, fire!"

The commander’s voice snapped everyone back to reality.

Grenade launchers fired one after another while soldiers emptied their magazines into the creature.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Explosions swallowed the infected in smoke and flames.

Then something moved inside through the smoke.

Two enormous wings suddenly swept outward.

WHOOOM! The powerful gust sent soldiers and debris flying across the street. One of the wings slammed into a nearby military truck, tearing through its side and sending the vehicle rolling across the road.

"Fall back!"

The soldiers scrambled to their feet, desperately trying to regroup, but before they could do so, heavy footsteps shook the ground.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Inside another military truck, the commander stared through the windshield.

A massive shadow slowly emerged from the smoke.

The creature’s dark eyes locked directly onto him.

"Drive! Drive!"

The driver slammed his foot onto the accelerator.

The truck barely had time to move before the creature lunged forward.

Its enormous jaws opened wide.

CRUNCH! The entire military truck disappeared into its mouth.

Metal twisted and snapped between its teeth as the screams from inside were abruptly cut short.

The remaining soldiers finally broke formation.

"Fall back!"

Gunfire continued to echo through the streets as the smaller flying infected descended upon the scattered soldiers. Some tried to hide inside buildings, while others desperately fired upward, but the creatures moved too quickly for them to keep up.

Above them, the massive infected raised its head.

"GRUAAAAAH!" Another deafening roar spread across the city.

Not far away, all three drones suddenly began shaking in midair.

The feed distorted as static covered the screen.

Then, the signal disappeared completely.

"Jaxon, that large infected..." Claire’s voice came through the radio with fear.

"I saw it." Jaxon kept his eyes on the distant battlefield. "It took direct hits from grenade launchers and barely slowed down. We can’t fight something like that."

His gaze dropped to the DMR in his hands. ’Even with all the Damage Stacks I’ve accumulated, I might not be able to kill it. Everyone has fully upgraded weapons now, but even their exclusive skills might not be enough against something like that.’

Before he could think any further, Natasha suddenly called his name.

"Jaxon." He turned toward her and immediately noticed the fear in her eyes.

Jaxon’s expression changed as he followed her gaze upward.

A small shape was falling from the sky above them, growing larger by the second. His enhanced vision quickly revealed what it was.

One of the flying infected. And it was coming straight toward them.