Right around the 24th hour.
The Mages that have been fighting since the 16th hour had to regenerate mana and rest again.
Some soldiers slipped up within this time and some of the ETZs managed to break through and wreak havoc for a short time. Thankfully Luna reacted in time and eliminated it, proceeding to defend while the rest reformed their lines.
Just as this wave was done, they didn't seem to notice more spawning. Was it over? Skeptical, they all looked towards Luna for answers.
"It's not over yet. Not until we get the notice. Stay alert!" Luna replied to their silent question.
Just as everybody was observing their surroundings, a loud wailing suddenly echoed throughout the area, sending chills down everyone's spines.
"I've never heard any of them sounding like that before. Prepare for a much tougher fight than before! This is probably the final wave!" Luna knew that this could possibly be newer variants. If it was, along with the fact that they just now came out, there was a high possibility of them being stronger as well. Adding on to the previous command, the Mages that had been resting received a new command from him. "Mages, set those Fire Cyclones heading forward! Earth spikes on the ready! I want the ground frozen ASAP! Everyone, brace yourselves!"
Some people were still confused, even though this was the final wave, they had level 30 or higher members, right? They just needed to expend a little extra effort for this final push. Or so they thought. What followed next caught everyone by surprise.
Around a hundred zombies, with looks similar to the initial evolved zombies, with striking differences. These ones seemed way more resilient, albeit not as much as the ETZs, but they were more than three times as fast, with long claws instead of regular hands. These things were definitely made to be hunters, as opposed to the ETZs who were more for sieges and front lining. He would have to find ways to counter this variant when his soldiers go out to train in the future. He opted to call these things HVZ from now on, which stood for Hunter Variant Zombies.
They actually managed to break free from the cyclone's pull before they took enough damage to die. Despite them actually taking some damage, they managed kept running towards the soldiers.
"
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The moment they reached the front line, the HVZs actually leaped over the front line. It was apparent their target were the Mages. If these monsters got to them, they would be annihilated. Good thing was that Luna, Sura, and Max were in the inner area with the Mages, and so were the Elementals. Even then, is too close for comfort.
The HVZs, as if sensing the three absolute monsters in front of them defending the Mages, opted to turn back and swipe the soldiers they jumped over. Immediately, the level 30 ones that couldn't react in time were wounded, due to their high VIT, they didn't die from it right away, but unfortunately, there were still at least 30 people who were unlucky and got infected when they were scratched somewhere their armor wasn't protecting.
Luna was filled with rage after seeing this. These were men with families and friends after all, not to mention they were level 30 or higher as well. Sura and Max, feeling the unbridled fury from Luna, dashed forward and massacred the HVZs before they could do more damage.
The Mages who were initially shocked fought back as well. These were their comrades as well, people they've shared life and death with. Some of these men were even the ones who guarded them when they were weak and power leveled them. How could they be anything less than shaking in anger? With tears running down their faces, they exacted vengeance on these monsters.
When they finally killed every last one, they immediately went to their friends who were already in the process of zombification. These soldiers knew their fate was sealed. They were not prepared to die at all. After all, it hasn't even been a week since they seriously trained. They were all happy to be a part of this defense since they were able to gain levels fast, but who knew it would end this way for them? Even though they could only blame themselves for not defending fast enough, mainly due to their inexperience in battle and exhaustion, it was still hard to accept. They weren't like the Rangers who were honed in mind, body, and spirit through the inhuman training they went through prior to the new world.
The soldiers gave their last goodbyes and parting messages for their comrades and their family. The Mages who had the
As the soldiers were grieving, Luna managed to regain his composure, noticing a very important detail: There was still no notice!
Morale was definitely not high anymore, if they had to endure another wave, they would definitely incur more losses.
Just as he was waiting, a giant rift suddenly appeared from a distance, but it was so big that they saw it clearly from where they were. A gigantic monster with some similarities to the ETZ, except it had hair covering every inch of it's body, it was much taller, and the most ridiculous thing was that this thing was actually smoking a huge cigar, not to mention it had a peculiar smell that was quite nauseating.
Luna remembered stories about something similar to this creature: The Kapre!*
Sure enough, as soon as he used
But that wasn't the part that shocked him, right next to it's name was: Level ???