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🕑 Added 2025-06-05 11:10:04 +0000 UTCA New Beginning From the End of the World
Chapter 150 - The Walker Horde, Part 2
The meeting lasted over an hour, and the paper in Rick's hand was already filled with writing and bullet points to be considered later. He nodded as he looked at the paper, tapping his fingers moderately on the table, about to say something when loud noises came from the door.
Boom, boom, boom!
The hurried banging continued, and Tyler's panicked voice rang from outside.
“Rick! Come out, it’s an emergency!”
For some reason, the scene before Rick felt familiar, and his heart began to race.
He opened the door, and Tyler, standing next to Hershel, wore an anxious expression. He looked around the room in a panic and finally locked eyes with Rick, quickly reporting:
“Sir, the ST-1 squad outside, led by Erick, encountered a massive walker horde. We lost contact with the group, and the exact number is unknown, but there are tens of thousands among them.”
“Rick, considering we removed the wire fencing outside, the crops are now exposed to those walkers. If we don’t act, we’ll lose tons of food.”
Rick couldn't help but curse and fell silent. A walker horde was heading straight for the prison. Was it another, even larger, horde than the one that passed by a few days ago?
One thing was certain: this time they couldn’t hide from the walkers—that would mean sacrificing the outside crops. At this moment, Rick knew he couldn’t panic. He had to act quickly. He was the leader of this refuge now, and his orders carried weight no one dared question.
As construction on the second wall outside the prison progressed, hundreds of meters from the first wall, the wire fences had become unnecessary and had been removed—some of them severely damaged by the previous walker horde.
Given this, even if everyone returned to the prison now to reinstall the wire fences, it wouldn’t matter. The result would be the same. The most critical concern now was the crops—food vital to avoid depleting the military rations stored in the warehouses.
Looking at Tyler, Rick quickly turned to Hershel, who had probably intended to bring this up. He knew how important this year’s harvest was—something that could help sustain the bases and secure their food reserves.
In fact, there were plans to visit military bases and ports later. Those places wouldn’t just hold helicopters, but also cargo planes and, most importantly, all kinds of resources.
But for now, planning such expeditions would be reckless—Jason knew this—so they focused first on fortifying the bases and ensuring the survival of thousands before reconsidering the collection of those supplies.
It was precisely because of the value of this food that the second base wall was under construction. Everyone had assumed that since one horde had already passed through, another wouldn’t follow so soon. In hindsight, they’d been unlucky and misinformed.
“Sir, with all due respect, following protocol, I’ve issued the highest alert, and right now all personnel are taking combat positions. Soldiers are mobilizing resources, and the vast majority of trained civilians are about to join in.”
Tyler respected Rick as the base leader, but there was a critical protocol that bypassed the prison’s top leadership decisions.
When Rick heard this, he nodded and turned to the leaders attending the meeting:
“You heard him. It seems this walker horde can’t be ignored. Prepare your squads to wipe them out.”
Morgan stood up, thought for a moment, and then said:
“Rick, can’t we divert the horde? Jason’s reports mentioned strategies like that. Dealing with this many walkers will burn through bullets and resources.”
Rick, under pressure, shook his head and replied:
“There’s no time! This battle is inevitable—and for now, we must focus on protecting the crops!”
Hearing this, no one wasted time. They began preparations to eliminate the walkers with the full might of the base. They were aware of methods to redirect the horde, but there was no room to take that risk now.
Unrolling the map around the prison, Rick quickly arranged it, and a group of people spoke among themselves. Soon, a preliminary plan was formed, and the barricade points were established—spots where mortars and turrets would be placed.
Within just ten minutes, all the specially trained soldiers on base began guiding civilians to help load ammunition and drive Humvees equipped with heavy machine guns.
Except for the elderly and children, anyone capable of participating—regardless of gender—was mobilized. The base currently housed over 800 people due to expansion and protection plans. Around 600 personnel were deployed. Most were from the military, and others had recently completed their military training.
However, it was impossible to deploy everyone to the walls and watchtowers. Rick sent 300 people to these locations.
Among them were captains and group leaders. As per training protocol, two out of every three would be responsible for killing walkers, and the rest would carry ammo boxes and reload weapons.
Since not everyone was fully prepared, civilians familiar with firearms carried three magazines, while soldiers carried six. Even now, in the chaos, proper gear distribution was lacking, despite abundant resources.
At that moment, 300 people stood in a general plaza, facing their captain, Marco. All wore military uniforms and were fully equipped. Behind them were tanks and armored vehicles.
As Marco explained the plan, a hundred soldiers would operate the armored vehicles, another hundred the tanks, and the rest would man the front-line barricades. These soldiers could move wherever needed, depending on the situation.
“Gentlemen, you’ve trained for this, and you are now authorized to use all necessary force to eliminate the incoming walker horde!”
“Understood, sir!”
Within minutes, everyone was in place. The tanks and armored vehicles left the prison and lined up a few meters ahead of the crops. Mortars were set up hundreds of meters away, awaiting firing orders.
For now, the tanks weren’t meant to fire and waste special ammo—they were to crush walkers on the flanks, clearing a path in the center for others to eliminate them with mortars and gunfire.
Rick stood atop the central wall, eyes locked on the soldiers handling the mortars and setting up barricades for the machine guns.
The scene was breathtaking. These were soldiers ready to engage the walkers head-on, and their faces were filled with solemn determination. All eyes fixed on the distant treeline. Since the forest had expanded, there was now a long stretch between the trees and the prison.
A kilometer out, the mortars were in place. And now, the priority wasn’t to eliminate walkers—it was to keep them away from the crops behind the tanks.
Just like Rick, everyone on the city walls gripped their weapons tightly. Their hearts pounded. Adrenaline surged through their veins, making their bodies tremble without even noticing. Their eyes, too, remained fixed on the forest’s edge in the distance.
“Captain Rick! Still a thousand meters!”
“Eight hundred meters!”
“Mortars, lock target zone!”
“Five hundred meters!”
…
The first walker staggered out of the woods, and then, in full view, a dense mass of undead emerged from the forest all at once.
The horde stretched 30 to 40 meters wide and kept expanding as it moved, heading straight for the open space toward the base.
Rick didn’t give the firing order yet. The mortars could eliminate walkers, but it wasn’t time. He waited for more of them to group up. Everyone swallowed hard, watching the figures approach, while the armored vehicles remained silent, awaiting the signal.
Two hundred meters!
One hundred fifty meters!
One hundred meters!
“Fire!”
At Rick’s command, dozens of mortars opened fire. Shot after shot, without pause, echoed through the silence, and within seconds, a series of explosions erupted in the distance, wiping out hundreds of walkers.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Those in the armored vehicles opened fire first, alongside those stationed at the barricades. Now, at just 150 meters, thousands of walkers were torn apart by a storm of bullets.
Massive explosions and clouds of blood mist swept through the advancing horde.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In no time, the walker horde was stalled under the prison’s heavy assault. But shortly after, as machine guns were being reloaded, they continued to push forward.
Finally, with just over 40 meters left between the barricades and the enemy, Rick fired the first shot from the city wall!
“Now! Open fire, all of you!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With Rick’s roar, a barrage of gunfire erupted from the watchtowers and walls, raining destruction down on the walker horde.
