CHAPTER 739: NOT ORDINARY

Both Jake and Liam’s teams were composed of 10 people, just like Alora’s squad.

Alora and her companions believed that Jake and Liam were only mercenaries working for the New Genesis Shelter.

After all, they asked Patricia about the group a while ago, and she didn’t say too much about them aside from how they were always hunting Zombies outside the shelter.

Anyway, now that their knights had upgraded gears and obtained their tokens, talismans, and some healing salve, they were confident to fight even a horde of Zombies.

Alora looked at Jake and Liam’s team. They were equipped with blades, crossbows, pistols, and even some rifles...

They knew about the firearms as well, but because they couldn’t imbue bullets with Aura, it wasn’t popular among the Knights.

Soon, two armored military trucks arrived near the edge of the square... Their engines weren’t too loud, but they easily caught everyone’s attention...

Each vehicle could house fifteen to twenty individuals, along with gear and ammunition compartments. They were durable enough to withstand minor zombie swarms, and it was even outfitted with mounted light turrets.

Before the boarding process began, two women stepped forward from the ranks.

The first had shoulder-length dark green hair... She wore a light combat gear with a cloak draped over her body.

"I’m Lily... I’ll be helping in this raid upon Arial’s request because we new recruits coming. Is that alright, Jake and Liam?" she announced.

The two exchanged glances and smiled.

"Of course..." Jake replied.

"Don’t worry about the reward. Arial already paid the two of us for helping you guys. All the loot and rewards will be yours." Lily explained.

She then turned to Alora’s group.

"I wield a Master-Grade Wind Elementalist Talent. I specialize in scouting, long-range engagement, and mobility boosts for the team. I’ll also be assessing your skills today. After all, there could be another Zombie Wave, and we need to know where to put you all."

"That’s perfect... We will do our best, Miss Lily." Alora replied as she could tell that the two women who had just arrived were powerful Survivors.

Beside her was a woman with long, blue-silver hair. She looked quite fierce but not unkind...

"I’m Elsa, second-in-command," she said. "I have a Master-Grade Water Elementalist Talent..."

She turned and looked at the rest of the group...

"I know that most Survivors here wield Common and Uncommon Talents, but don’t underestimate them..." Elsa added. "All of us are armed with higher-grade weapons and equipment. I also heard that Jake and Liam’s team had already hunted three Tyrant Kings before... They’re professionals. Just follow orders and stay alive."

Jake and Liam felt quite happy after hearing Elsa’s praise. Although they won’t be leading this time, it doesn’t seem too bad to get assisted by these two female Survivors.

Soon enough, everyone was instructed to board the trucks, and with the hum of engines, the convoy set off toward their target zone... It would take them an hour to reach it even with the truck, but it doesn’t matter... The reward for this mission would be worth it.

As they drove, Lily began the briefing on the radio...

"Today’s target is a Tyrant King Zombie—a high-threat anomaly classified as a High-Tier Mutant Zombie. Based on our observations, they could turn a Survivor into a Zombies in less than 30 minutes, even if you’re Level 50 or so. We don’t have a lot of Virus Stabilizer, so you have to be careful not to get scratched or bitten."

Elsa then described the image of the Tyrant King Zombie for Alora and her group.

It was basically a towering humanoid beast, about four or five meters tall. Its body was muscular, and it had dark flesh like steel.

In some cases, they would have bone armor from their shoulders and ribs, forming natural plating...

"Be careful of its punching force... However, you may notice that they have mouths permanently open and it’s dripping with acidic bile... It’s one of the Tyrant King Zombie’s weaknesses. We can make use of that."

"It doesn’t rely on numbers..." Elsa explained. "It relies on brute strength, overwhelming durability, and high resistance to elemental attacks. That said... It’s slow to adapt. At most, it would only have a dozen or so Tyrant Zombies with it."

Lily then continued. "Our strategy isn’t too complicated. First, scouts and archers will pin it down from mid-range and test its patterns. Once we learn its rhythm, the vanguards and warriors will move in, tanking and keeping their focus. After that, Elsa and I will rotate between weakening it and trapping it using elemental control. Once its movements degrade, we go all in."

It was a simple plan, but against a Tyrant King. That was already enough.

After some time, the truck’s suspension groaned slightly as they crossed into rough terrain... There were dried mud, stones, and bone piles that crunched under the tires.

Everyone checked their gear one last time.

"We’re getting close..." Jan muttered as he felt the presence of strong Zombies nearby.

***

Back at the New Genesis Shelter...

The northern gates opened as a small group of five individuals approached cautiously... Because of that, a guard, together with a Super Soldier and two Warden Units, came out to stop them.

They looked like any other survivors who had been through hell. Their clothes were worn with signs or blood and dirt.

The two men were in their early forties. They were lean but muscled, clearly used to manual labor or long travels.

One of them carried a machete while the other held a revolver in a holster.

Behind them were three women in their twenties. One clutched a short sword tightly, while the other two walked with small satchels strapped to their hips.

They looked pitiful with their faces pale and sunburnt...

As soon as they saw the intimidating guards, one of the men quickly shouted.

"We’re not infected! We came from a Neutral Shelter thirty kilometers north—it’s gone now. Overrun by Zombies... We barely made it here alive. Please, we just want to help... work... anything."