[NR] Runners And Advanced Skeletons - Chapter 680

Siegfried was right. Even from the start, this night was different. Instead of some new freak pulling itself out of the ground, there were simply a bunch of advanced zombies. Green-haired, warrior, and even a few runners. Well, the runners aren’t technically advanced zombies by themselves, but rather zombie variants.

Anyway, the runners were more of a screening wave. Not that they weren’t a threat in and of themselves. It would have been disastrous to let them reach the wall. Except now there was a meat wall before the wooden one.

The melee defenders being on the ground allow for the ranged fighters to focus on the much tougher zombies to the back. This trust in the melee is proven well-placed as the runners smash into them, their charge broken. Jason at the front is particularly effective.

Sweeping leg kicks would normally not be too effective. Runners tend to have more developed legs and these aren’t any different. In fact, some of them appear to have had extra muscles grafted on. It isn’t too obvious, but after seeing the previous abominations, Jason had been looking for it.

Good thing he isn’t depending on only muscle strength. His Energy hums as it explodes at each point of contact. Bam, bam, bam. Legs fold and zombies fall all around him. They aren’t defeated, but the primary advantage of runners is in the name itself.

However, his assistant isn’t required. As the rest of the runners charge past, they slam into a wall of shields. Behind the tanks a man shouts, “Ready, Steady, Push!” And on the word push, the entire shield wall surged forward.

This synchronized shove sends the zombies flying back. Not quite to where Jason is, but not because they couldn’t. “And Step, And Step, And Step!”, the man shouts, causing the shield wall to advance.

“Spears out! Spears ready! And Strike!” Cathunk The runners on the ground now have spears thrust into their legs.

“Spears back! Reverse And Step, And Step, And Step!” The spears retract and the shield wall returns to their starting point.

Jason pauses in his slaughtering to look around. “Huh”, and with a shrug he goes back to fighting his own zombies. Unlike the stabbed zombies, his are getting back on their feet. Not that he plans to let them.

A quick kick keeps them down and allows Jason to focus on them one at a time. Though he doesn’t get through them all before the advanced zombies reach him. Those both upped the difficulty and solved his runner problem.

At the front of the horde were warrior zombies, stomping over their fallen allies with spiked metal boots. Their advance seems unstoppable, crushing all that falls below them with weapons swinging back and forth mechanically. The boots were rusty and the weapons needed maintenance badly, but that didn’t matter.

Jason frowns, he could probably stand his ground, but that wouldn’t be the best choice. Decision made, Jason retreats to the shield wall and vaults over the front line.

Behind him, the warrior zombies approach the shield wall when, “Spears out! Hold back!” And the spears make their return, except instead of extending out towards the zombies, they are kept about even to shields.

“Boar stops, Deploy!” Kachink and about a foot back from the spearhead, the spear shaft pops out a metal plate. Jason only barely managed to turn around and did not catch how it worked.

Then there was a tense silence except for the sound of the zombies footsteps and metal equipment. The shield wall holds and the zombies approach. Closer and closer.

“Spears, Thrust!” The front line of the zombies are only a pace or two away when this happens. Spears thrust through the weak rusty armor and out the back, stopping only when the zombies reach the plate. Not that the spear line stopped trying to pierce further through the zombies.

“Second spear line, spears out! Deploy boar stops! Brace!” And suddenly there are twice as many spears poking through the shield wall. Though the new spears are angled up, having been braced on the ground.

This is for a good reason as the first line of spears soon gets pushed back. “First spear line, Retract!” Thwuck And the spears are pulled back.

Not all of the spears are dislodged from the zombies, but this isn’t a problem. The spears are still pulled back, even if the zombies come with them. After all, there is the second line of spears to catch them.

“First spear line, retract spear heads and boar stops!” And Jason can see on the spears that did retract have the metal head and plate retract into the spear shaft. “First spear line, Retract!” and the spears that were stuck now withdraw.

“First spear line, deploy Halberd!”

“First spear line, begin cutting!”

And the zombies stuck on the second line of spears are struck down one after another as the spears, now halberds, begin cutting off limbs and heads.

Jason, seeing this, has a sour face. Seems he won’t be getting much more combat during this wave.

And this pattern continues for the first half of the night.

Then the runner zombies were replaced with skeletons. This actually changed things and Jason became a lot more important. After all, spears and halberds aren’t the best at dealing with skeletons. Though the most important factor was that the boar stops don’t do so well at stopping them.

The shield wall can still hold them off, but their bones are also pretty good at reaching between the shields.

Jason, on the other hand, does a phenomenal job at smashing bones. Fists smash through skulls, feet kick out the shins, and the occasional elbow is thrown if they get too close to him. While he can’t anchor the entire line, he can move up and down the line to where the most help is needed. All the while smashing skeletons in passing.

Right until the first advanced skeletons begin to pop up. Black bones, copper bones, crystal bones, as well as a few other odd balls. He can still smack them around and some still shatter, but more often than not, at best he ends up denying them.