Dragon Transformation in the Apocalypse

Chapter 90 Resisting the Zombie Tide

Over the next few days, Li Chenglong, Zhao Liying, and the others focused on training the soldiers, teaching them various combat techniques against zombies. Meanwhile, the repair work on Jinlan City's walls and the recruitment drive were also progressing steadily. After these days of frantic recruitment, the number of soldiers in Jinlan City had increased from 2 to 7.

Early on August 9th, Wang Hai rushed to Li Chenglong's place. As soon as he entered, he said, "According to the scouts, the vanguard of the zombie horde is 130km away, and the scouts have begun to retreat. Meanwhile, Zhao Rui, who went to support Dezhou, also contacted us; they expect to encounter the zombie horde at the same time. At the speed of the zombies, they'll probably arrive here by noon." Li Chenglong finished washing up and said, "Immediately sound the city-wide alarm and proceed according to the original plan." Wang Hai accepted the order and left.

A short while later, the Jin sisters, Zhao Liying, and Han Xiaoling arrived. Before they could speak, Li Chenglong instructed everyone to go to the main hall, assuming that all the personnel had arrived by now. The group followed Li Chenglong to the main hall, which was indeed already crowded. Seeing the Jin sisters and Li Chenglong approach, the crowd quickly greeted them, "Greetings, City Lords, Captain Li." After everyone was seated, Jin Linfei spoke first: "As you all know, the zombie horde will arrive at noon today, and a city-wide alert has just been issued. This is the time for you to demonstrate the results of your efforts over the past few days. The Logistics Department must ensure the supply of provisions for the city's defenders, the Security Department must maintain order within the city, and as for the Military Department, this time it all depends on you."

Jin Hai, representing the military, spoke up: "We will certainly do our duty without hesitation. All the military equipment and siege weaponry were in place the day before yesterday. The soldiers defending the city are all veterans of past battles, and with Captain Li in charge, there certainly won't be any major problems." After discussions the day before yesterday, Li Chenglong also dispatched Zhao Rui to Dezhou and Wang Bing to another allied state, Lanzhou, to help them resist the zombie horde. These three states are basically located at the same latitude and are adjacent to each other.

Jin Linfei listened to reports from various departments and felt reassured: "I hope all departments will work together to overcome this difficulty." Li Chenglong concluded, "The South Gate will definitely be the first to be hit. Zhao Liying, Han Xiaoling, and I will lead the most elite troops to guard this place. I will hold off most of the zombies here, which will greatly reduce the pressure on your various gates. According to you, the zombie horde will gradually disappear in three days. As long as you cooperate properly, I will make it disappear in one day this time. Alright, notify the military headquarters to ensure all soldiers have a full meal before going to their combat posts. However, anyone who deserts will be executed without mercy."

After a series of orders were issued, everyone withdrew to attend to their own affairs. Li Chenglong then said to the Jin sisters, "Now that external enemies are attacking, internal problems are likely to arise. I'm afraid that Wu Xiaoyi's remnants might take advantage of the chaos. I'll have Jin Hai send two trusted squads to strengthen the security of the City Lord's Mansion." Jin Mengfei nodded, "That's good." Li Chenglong then took his leave. Now that Zhao Rui and Wang Bing were not around, he needed to show his true abilities. He first activated the True Dragon Eye and carefully examined himself: Li Chenglong, Level 6 SS-rank Dragon-Phoenix Body Awakener, Constitution 292, Strength 281, Agility 279, Spirit 290. Dragon Emperor Sword Level 6, Sky-Splitting Dragon-Phoenix Slash Level 4, All Weapon Mastery, True Dragon Eye, Galaxy Starburst Level 6 (Max Level 10), Dragon-Phoenix Body, 12 Main Meridians Opened 6, Teleportation, Dragon-Phoenix Heaven-Shaking Fist, Storage Space Level 5 (Max Level 10), Experience Points 70%.

Seeing the series of attributes and skills, Li Chenglong was filled with emotion. Reflecting on the past five months, he had transformed from a disabled veteran into the lord of a city spanning over 160 square kilometers. He had made many comrades and vanquished countless zombies, monsters, and various human enemies. However, as his level increased, leveling up became increasingly slow. New Dawn City had been established for so long, and he had slain so many monsters in the final battle, yet he only had 70% of his experience points. Awakened beings indeed leveled up much slower than those with superpowers. Li Chenglong had previously researched this; if the experience required for a superpowered being to level up was 100, then an Awakened being would need 160 to 170. However, Awakened beings also possessed strength unmatched by superpowered beings. For example, he, Yun Lan, and Zhao Liying had all killed or defeated opponents of higher levels.

As soon as Li Chenglong and his companions left the city lord's mansion, Wang Hai was already waiting there. Seeing them come out, he immediately went to greet them: "Are we going straight to the front lines, or what?" Li Chenglong said, "Let's eat first. If the battle starts at noon, we probably won't have time to eat. Battle is very physically demanding." Wang Hai agreed: "That's fine. Let's eat at the military headquarters then. It's closer." As he spoke, Wang Hai opened the car door, and after Li Chenglong and the others got in, he drove off.

At 10 a.m., Li Chenglong and his men, having finished their breakfast, arrived at the city wall. The wall was densely packed with machine gun emplacements and firing positions. Since the area in front of Jinlan City was flat, setting up positions there was unwise; even if they were, hundreds of thousands of zombies would overrun them within minutes. The South Gate housed Jinlan City's most elite force, the First Army, numbering 13,000 men. Li Chenglong divided them into two echelons. The first echelon defended against the zombies at the machine gun emplacements on and within the city walls. Once they were exhausted, the second echelon would immediately take over, ensuring continuous and intense firepower.

At 11 o'clock, Wang Hai shouted through binoculars, "They're here! Lots of zombies!" Li Chenglong took the binoculars and observed carefully. This should only be the first wave, numbering around ten thousand. The First Army could easily wipe out these zombies alone. Li Chenglong walked along the city wall, shouting as he went, "Don't panic! Wait until they're within range before firing. Don't waste bullets. This is just their vanguard, not many in number. Try to finish the battle quickly." The soldiers of the Sanggu Kingdom were standardly equipped with the SGW441, a fully automatic rifle that used 7.77mm full-power or medium-power bullets. The rifle was 1000mm long without a bayonet, with an effective range of 800 meters. It could be fitted with various accessories, such as grenade launchers, flashlights, scopes, bayonets, and so on.

The first battle did not require Li Chenglong to command, or even participate in the battle. The commander of the First Army and several key leaders were Jin Zhan'ao's capable subordinates, with rich combat experience. Taking down more than 10,000 zombies was not a problem at all.