Long-term salvation

However, just as he was about to grab the edge of the cabin and the helicopter flew out, a zombie struggled out from the crevice. It didn't catch Rhode's body, but it still left a faint scratch on the left calf of the stealth suit.

This caused Rod's finger to deviate by a few centimeters.

As Rhodes' eyes widened slightly, a hand grabbed him.

"Don't scare me, Commander."

Marianne exhaled slowly, her whole body leaning out, her legs held by Little Red Riding Hood - red-haired Nikki's face was full of fear, and she only breathed a sigh of relief now - Perseus, who was standing next to her, put on a parachute and prepared to jump out of the cabin... It was really hard for this old man.

Rhodes smiled and was pulled up little by little. He stretched out his other hand and shook hands with Sablin, while Perseus grabbed the chest hanging, and then the other soldiers-

Together they pulled Rod back into the helicopter cabin.

"Did we... succeed?"

Sablin looked down at the mountain with worry. The top of the mountain was still collapsing, but the dark red cracks were spewing out zombies. They roared at the helicopter, but were then crushed to death by the rubble and driven down the mountain.

"Apparently not, my friend. The crack has not yet been fully exposed—and worse, the ghouls have not all been killed."

Rhodes gasped for a few breaths and felt that his current condition was very bad. Even raising his arms was a bit difficult.

Just a brief contact with Zikov just now caused the entire space to tremble and mutate, and the energy of the other world also affected his body and soul. Although it gave him a lot of points, they were of no use for the time being.

"Once the rubble at the summit of the mountain has completely collapsed, I'll be able to seal that damn crack, but now I need to rest for a while, just three or four hours."

"Those monsters can't be left alone... I thought you could just deal with that rift," Perseus said, his expression tinged with worry before it completely faded. "At the end of the mountains are several villages. Since the experiments decades ago, there are no more Soviet troops stationed nearby. We must handle this matter ourselves."

"Then wait until I bring out a few armed helicopters..."

"Maybe we can go back to the prison," Sablin suddenly said. He met everyone's gazes and said seriously, "Let's make these monsters—they eat fresh flesh and blood, right? Then let these monsters bang their heads against the prison walls and bleed!"

"We can arm the prisoners and guards, as well as the other soldiers Mr. Andre has called in as backup. We can buy time and eliminate the monsters. Once Mr. Rhodes has rested..."

"Just call me 'Rod,' Sablin."

Rhodes stood up, stepped forward to shake hands with Sablin, and said with a smile:

"It's a good idea, but you have to think about what would happen if you gave prisoners guns and whether they would be willing to stand on the fence."

"I'll try to convince them," Sablin nodded slightly. He glanced at the eyes that were materializing in the crevice, his words filled with determination. "At the same time, I'll lead the charge myself."

The rotors roared and dusk fell.

When the helicopter landed outside the prison, the warden Kolevatov ran out in a hurry again. He stood in front of the slowly opening gate and saw not only the two military vehicles full of soldiers coming back, but also Sablin and the two KGB men getting off the helicopter... They were definitely not KGB.

"Warden, gather everyone. The situation is extremely serious. We must mobilize all available manpower and resources."

Sablin said seriously. He saw the sentry standing at the door looking at the military vehicles driving into the prison in confusion.

"W-what?!"

"There are enemies, very vicious monsters, but you need to open the food storage now. Someone will soon take the meat inside as bait. We need to use the entire prison as a defensive fortress to resist the enemy's attack!"

Without saying anything more to the stunned Kolevatov, Sablin patted him on the shoulder, forcing the warden to do it with doubts - although he did not believe in any monster attack, he believed in Sablin - this man would never weave such a stupid lie to deceive him!

What's more, everyone in the prison saw the strange sight on the nearby mountain and heard the shrill howling of the beast.

After explaining everything, Sablin turned and walked towards the helicopter. A man called "Ling" was talking to Rhodes and Perseus, and standing next to him were a man and a woman in full armor.

It seems their names are… Nikolai Yevgenievich Malashenko and Sofia Ilinovskaya Pabrovna (Balailaika)? A captain and a lieutenant, both elite soldiers from the VDV.

The VDVs who have come from a long distance, together with the soldiers organized by Perseus, can form an entire infantry company!

Note 1: From the zombie plot of "Call of Duty: Cold War", Kazimir Zykov is a key figure in the Soviet Union's secret experiments and is deeply related to the "Dark Aether" setting.

Chapter 255: Look at the Flame! (3/4·4.5K)

Sablin walked past the VDVs lined up in a queue and headed towards where Rod and the others were.

As soon as he walked up to these people, Sablin heard the female captain's incredulous voice, her hair flying as the helicopter took off again.

"It wasn't blown up?! Even though we saw a strange phenomenon in the sky on the way here... I thought it was completely over!"

"Dealing with the other world isn't that easy, Captain Balalaika," Rhodes said wearily. He raised an eyebrow at Captain Malashenko and, meeting his helpless expression, said, "I'm sure you've all learned about the existence of the other world and our current situation from Ling."

"Are there any soldiers among you who can fly an attack helicopter?"

"If we combine forces with Perseus' men, we should be able to form two Mi-24 crews, but we'll need heavy weaponry and sustained firepower. The soldiers only have rifles and grenades, and the ammunition they carry is limited to what they carry."

Balalaika said this, shaking her hair and looking at Rhodes with a bit of suspicion and ill intent, as if waiting for him to "perform a magic trick" in front of her.

Of course, Rhodes has always been responsive to reasonable requests.

About twenty minutes later, after everyone—including the guards and prisoners—had watched the video footage shot by the Perseus soldiers in the helicopter, Rhodes walked out to meet those confused gazes. He stood at the edge of the wide area used for prisoners' activities and clapped his hands.

两辆BMP-2步兵战车旋即出现在所有人面前，但绝不止如此！随后是一辆TO-55坦克，这是基于T-55主战坦克改进而来的喷火坦克，保留着100mm的D-10T2S主炮，以及可进行20次喷射、单次喷射射程达200米的喷火器！

In front of these steel behemoths, there are six DShK heavy machine guns, six PKM machine guns, two grenade launchers and mountains of ammunition and explosives. Outside the outer wall of the prison are two Mi-24Ps... These weapons and equipment are more than enough to attack a heavily defended position!

Rhodes jumped onto the tank's turret and said to those people who were filled with fear, reverence, and surprise:

"Everyone, I'm sure you already know what you're about to face—the monsters of nightmares, the ghouls of legend! They don't care about your identity, gender, political views, or even your pleas for mercy. They just want to devour you whole—will you talk to a hungry beast?"

"We... I can't shoot!" someone shouted. "I used to be a newspaper editor!"

"These guards definitely won't let us touch guns... They won't even let us touch knives."

"If the battle is over, what will happen next?"

"if……"

"Quiet."

Rhodes spoke calmly, his scrutinizing and majestic gaze sweeping across everyone's faces, causing most people to subconsciously straighten their chests, while a few lowered their heads - the former being the soldiers and prison guards, and the latter being the majority of the prisoners.

"The warden has already communicated with the prison guards. They will let those with experience in weapon handling handle the guns. As for those who can't shoot, you can move the ammunition, use the pitchforks to push the monster's corpse out of the wall, and take care of the wounded."

"Of course, you can also run away now. No one will rebuke your actions. When danger strikes, preserving one's own life is an instinct imprinted in our biological genes. So, there's no need to feel ashamed of it."

"Then...then Sablin...you..."

A thin prisoner turned his head and looked at Sablin. Sablin smiled, climbed onto the tank, stood next to Rhodes, and said to the prisoners:

"Although my legs are shaking with fear, I will stay and fight; I will protect those who are willing to fight and those who are unwilling to fight - I will protect you - before I die, before my body is torn to pieces by monsters, I will protect you!"

Sablin roared from the steel that the future Soviet leader would have the savior of mankind as a witness to his oath:

"I will defend the people of this country until my death!"

The greatness of mankind lies in its noble attitude in the face of fear.

Rhodes pursed his lips slightly, then reached out and patted Sablin's shoulder, causing the latter to respond with a proud and sincere smile amid the cheers and roars.

This is the resistance to genetic instinct, and this is the ultimate reliance of human beings, an intelligent life form, to exist on this planet.

"Get ready, everyone."

Rod jumped off the tank and looked up at the sky. He could already smell the smell of sulfur.

"The abominable ghouls are coming."

Night fell, but the light of the searchlight completely illuminated everything around the prison——

The high concrete wall with a cold blue-gray glow is in stark contrast to the dark forest opposite, and the vertical wall splits the darkness like a cliff.

Behind the gaps in the wall and the barbed wire, sandbags were piled up to form makeshift shelters, while boxes of 5.45mm ammunition were neatly arranged, the green ammunition belts snaking out of the gaps in the wooden boxes and into the feed ports of the heavy machine guns. The twelve watchtowers were also equipped with heavy and light machine guns, and RPGs were also stored inside for emergency use.

When infantry fighting vehicles and tanks started, the air was filled with the mixed smell of diesel and rust.

"Two attack helicopters will provide aerial support, the Mi-4 will act as an observation aircraft, keeping an eye on the peak and the ghoul tide. Armored vehicles will form a hunting team outside the prison. The rest depends on whether the savior can rest up and close the Kola Superdeep Borehole-like hole."

Balalaika spoke to Captain Malashenko, who nodded slightly, saluted, and ran off. Watching the captain's retreating figure, the VDV captain raised an eyebrow at the red-haired Nikki sitting on several stacked ammunition boxes and said with a smile:

"You, there's another girl who won't stay with your man?"

"He can take care of himself, and it's only a two-hour job."

Little Red Riding Hood said this idly as she held up the large, slender sniper rifle and concentrated with bated breath. Perhaps due to their similar personalities, Red-haired Nikki became familiar with Balalaika. They were the commanders of the eastern wall.

Now, there is no time for gossip:

The armed helicopters in the distance had already opened fire. When the first rocket, trailing flames, plunged into the wave of zombies, the blast instantly lifted the flesh and blood, causing the broken organs to spin in the air. The sulfur that escaped from them burst into sparks mixed with some corrupted blood.

Burning white phosphorus fell into the forest like a swarm of fireflies, igniting the leaves in the summer mountains and causing smoke and flames to rise! The forest had now become a purgatory furnace, the burning treetops twisted into torches in the updrafts, and the soil mixed with the stinking blood of the ghouls flowed slowly through the cracks in the rocks like asphalt.

"Gun helicopters, move back and save ammunition! Everyone else, fire freely!"

The monsters moved with great agility, seemingly strengthened by the night, but the humans' counterattack was equally ferocious—

Perseus soldier Tymoshenko kept firing with his PKM. Next to him was a prisoner wearing glasses holding an ammunition belt. The latter shrank his head, not daring to look at the hellish scene outside.

"Change the ammunition belt!"

Tymoshenko shouted, but he wasn't idle either. He pulled the ring of a grenade and hurled it far away. The long-plowed ground in the distance suddenly exploded into a black flower of earth, blowing away three nearby ghouls... and two of them were still able to stand up!

"Sukabile, how come these zombies are so resilient? I wonder how Colonel Andrei defeated them back then," Tymoshenko muttered, pulling the trigger again. The muzzle of the machine gun suddenly burst into orange-yellow fire. "Come on! You damn scum!"

"...Maybe it's because the mountain was blown apart?"

The bespectacled prisoner spoke thoughtfully, but then, under the soldier's dissatisfied gaze, he patted his helmet and picked up his ammunition belt.

Perhaps this is indeed the case—just above the mountains and the prison, it is no longer the ordinary night, but a chaotic aurora that is constantly twisting.

When Tymoshenko was about to say something, they both heard Sablin shouting, his voice hoarse like metallic friction:

"Flamethrower Team, move forward!"

Two soldiers carrying LPO-50 flamethrowers crouched down and walked through the rubble thrown by the zombies. Although the power of the latter could not be compared with that of bullets, it was enough to be comparable to that of arrows shot from a strong bow - no one wanted to be hit in the head or limbs by such a blow.

When the first fire dragon shot out of the muzzle, Tymoshenko saw the darkness reflected in a beautiful amber color. The sticky incendiary agent stuck to the zombies and continued to burn, turning the area fifty meters in front of the prison into a sea of ​​​​hellfire.

"Okay, that's what we should do! Burn these damn monsters completely... ahem."

The stench of burning, accompanied by a wave of heat, hit them, causing both Tymoshenko and the bespectacled prisoner next to her to cough. Tymoshenko gritted her teeth and continued firing, unaware of the tears of blood streaming down her cheeks.

"There are a lot of these monsters. Although some of them have been intercepted along the way, they still continue to attack us... That sound is from infantry fighting vehicles and tanks!"

The BMP-2's automatic loader began to emit regular metal collision sounds. The moment the high-explosive incendiary bomb exploded in the group of monsters, it carved a bloody ravine in the group of monsters, and then - the tank opened fire!

As the high-explosive rounds burst through the rifle, carrying the characteristic blue flame of a metal storm, the three monsters in the foreground instantly collapsed inward like melting wax figures, transforming into a rapidly expanding blood mist. The ground in the distance then exploded, sending crimson bones raining down like hail amidst a shower of flesh and blood splattered with mud.

This is far from the end! The front of the TO-55 tank spewed out a hot and bright fire of destruction, with a range of 200 meters and 460 liters of incendiary agent!

The moment the wall of fire rose, everyone on the wall cheered.

Tens of thousands of bloody feet ran through the mud and the corpses of their own kind. The sound waves caused by the monsters' charge drowned out the thunder of the tanks venting their anger.

The chaotic and distorted aurora is slowly pressing down, trying to swallow the earth into its bag.

"According to the intelligence transmitted by the observation aircraft, this is the final wave rushing towards the prison!" The commanders' voices intertwined back and forth. They were running, encouraging every soldier, and occasionally taking over the heavy firepower from the wounded. "Hold on, soldiers! The monsters are not endless!"

But the soldiers guarding the wall were not endless. Many of them had been injured, and most of them were hit by rubble - the zombies were smarter than expected, but that was all. After all, even gorillas could throw stones - but there were too many of them, and even some huge species hiding in the dense woods could throw even bigger stones at the attack helicopters.

"We...we are in hell!" The bespectacled prisoner trembled with fear, but his hands did not leave the bullet belt. "Ah! I've been hit!"

"It was just a hit on the helmet, press your head down a little!"

Tymoshenko roared angrily, the blood flowing from his head flowed through his eye sockets, making it impossible for him to open his left eye.

This feeling is really bad. Thinking of this, the soldier subconsciously turned his head to look around.

The soldiers' boots trampled over the piles of bullet casings that nearly covered the ground. Prisoners who couldn't shoot were constantly clearing them, but they were far behind the bullets ejected from the gun barrels. From time to time, someone cried out in pain from being hit by the gravel. Although no one died, it was obvious that this would make the battle more difficult.

Sablin, the man with high hopes, was hiding behind the wall like a skilled soldier, firing back with short bursts of fire. He was also injured, his left arm hanging limply, and the pain made Sablin's expression a little ferocious.

So, where is the other man they have high hopes for?

Inside the main prison building, Rhodes slowly opened his eyes.

He got up from the sofa, stretched his body, and walked out the door.

Heading towards the battlefield——

Rod walked up to the wall.

He kissed his loved ones, shook hands with his friends, and patted the shoulders of soldiers who were still firing but subconsciously turned their eyes to him.

Then, Rhode jumped down in front of everyone's gaze, landing on the ground outside the high wall and in front of the abominations that were rushing towards this place.

A long sword burning with golden flames suddenly appeared in Rhodes' palm. He waved it casually at first, setting the corpses of the surrounding zombies on fire and evaporating the rotten blood.

Then, Rhodes thrust his sword into the ground that had been compacted and soaked in monster blood.

The flames are summoned like a storm!