Qin Shilei, wielding Blood Soul, carved a bloody path towards where the two Tyrants had fallen.
He picked up the treasure chests, extracted the crystal cores, and then leaped onto Xiaoqiang's back to return to the defense line.
As Qin Shilei rejoined the defense line, thunderous applause erupted.
Everyone looked at him with admiration, envy, and gratitude.
If it hadn't been for Qin Shilei's intervention, once those three Tyrants reached the defense line, no one would have been able to stop them.
The defense line would have been breached in less than three minutes, and everyone on it would have either been crushed to death by the Tyrants or overwhelmed by the ensuing zombie horde.
The subsequent three defense lines would have met the same fate.
The commander of the Fifth Company walked over and exclaimed, "Regiment Commander, you are too amazing. As long as you are here, those zombies won't be able to cross Luyang Bridge even half a step."
Qin Shilei shook his head, sighing, "The mutated zombies are becoming more numerous and intelligent. No one can guarantee that we can hold the bridge."
Even with the three Tyrants earlier, if Xiaoqiang hadn't helped, he wouldn't have been able to kill them so easily.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Just then, a deafening roar echoed from afar.
The commander of the Fifth Company muttered in shock, "That's Nantong Bridge. The military is bombing it with artillery."
Qin Shilei looked into the distance. The sky was ablaze with fire, and he couldn't see anything clearly.
"You all stay safe, I'll go and see."
He summoned Xiaoqiang and sped towards the location of the explosion.
As he approached the explosion site, Qin Shilei saw that a bridge had indeed been destroyed.
The bridge had been blown in half by artillery shells. The zombies surging from the left, unable to stop, plunged into the Chi Yuan River below from the broken bridge.
"Dada, dada!"
From a military camp not far from the right side of the bridge, sounds of battle cries and artillery fire could be heard.
"Xiaoqiang, fly that way."
Qin Shilei soon spotted five Tyrants slaughtering people in that military camp.
Silver Dragon!
Qin Shilei had named this archery technique.
The arrow, enveloped in lightning, struck one of the Tyrants instantly.
After unleashing Silver Dragon, Xiaoqiang had already flown to a few meters above the camp.
Qin Shilei leaped lightly, landing on the camp below.
One Punch Man!
In truth, Qin Shilei could have ridden on Xiaoqiang's back and killed all the Tyrants with arrows.
However, Silver Dragon took too long to prepare, and the Tyrants were incessantly slaughtering the soldiers in the camp.
Every second of delay meant the deaths of dozens of soldiers.
Therefore, Qin Shilei chose to activate One Punch Man and face the five Tyrants in his strongest state.
Seven Stars Fall Through the Sky!
In less than a second, he unleashed the seventh sword strike, severing the head of one of the Tyrants.
The soldiers in the camp, who had been fleeing and hiding from the Tyrants, suddenly heard the sounds of large objects falling behind them.
Then, the heavy footsteps and roars ceased.
The feeling of despair and suffocation seemed to have vanished.
A few brave souls stole a glance back.
They saw that the terrifying Tyrants had fallen in pools of blood, their headless corpses still spewing thick blood.
A young man in golden armor stood proudly on the spot, wielding a blood-red treasure sword.
The Tyrants were dead.
All the Tyrants were dead!
They had been killed by the handsome young man with sword-like eyebrows in less than ten seconds.
Then, they saw the young man push off the ground, leap onto the back of a terrifying giant eagle, and soar into the sky.
The Condor Hero?
Before they could even thank their savior, he had already disappeared into the horizon.
Qin Shilei returned to Luyang Bridge once more.
Although no more mutated zombies appeared, the regular zombies continued to charge forward fearlessly under the artillery fire.
"Regiment Commander, was that bridge really blown up?" asked the commander of the Fifth Company.
"Yes, it was blown up. Five Tyrants appeared and almost massacred the military camp behind the bridge," Qin Shilei replied with a frown.
"This is only the first day, and the bridge is already destroyed. Can we really hold the bridge?" the commander of the Fifth Company muttered distractedly.
Qin Shilei couldn't answer. If five more Tyrants appeared now, could he hold them off?
Perhaps even more mutated zombies, and he might have to flee in disarray.
Over the next few hours, occasional mutated zombies rushed out from the other side of the bridge, but they were all killed by the combined efforts of everyone.
On the first defense line, neither Qin Shilei's team nor the military personnel suffered a single casualty.
Everyone looked at Qin Shilei with grateful eyes.
It was all thanks to Qin Shilei's divine archery skills.
He had repeatedly saved them from peril with his pinpoint accuracy, accurate to the centimeter.
The sun had risen from the Chi Yuan River.
The night had passed.
The 027th Corps of the Vermillion Bird Legion had arrived to take over the defense of the first line.
Qin Shilei's corps would retreat to the second and third defense lines to hold their positions.
When Qin Shilei saw An Qian, who had returned to the second defense line, Mu Ziping also brought military instructions.
"Regiment Commander, the military requests your presence at headquarters," Mu Ziping said, giving a military salute.
Zhang Xiaoli voiced Qin Shilei's question, "Brother Qin fought all night and is very tired. Why are they calling him to headquarters so urgently?"
Mu Ziping shook his head, "I don't know."
Qin Shilei glanced at the two women, then turned to Mu Ziping and said, "Wait a moment, I need to give some instructions."
He then led An Qian and Zhang Xiaoli down the defense line to the middle of the bridge.
"For your safety, I have decided to awaken your potential and make you stronger."
"Awaken potential? I've never heard you mention that before."
"Is it here?"
"Because awakening potential carries some risks, I was reluctant to try it on you."
"The situation is critical now, and I think it's worth taking the risk."
Qin Shilei had been considering whether to refresh the attributes of An Qian and the others for the past two days.
Firstly, he was afraid of arousing their suspicion, and secondly, the daily refresh limit was not very generous.
Now, the situation was dire. If they encountered zombies of the Tyrant's level, their current strength would be too dangerous.
Therefore, Qin Shilei intended to significantly increase their combat power.
Zhang Xiaoli spoke first, "I'll go first."
An Qian opened her mouth, but hesitated to argue with Zhang Xiaoli.
Qin Shilei held Zhang Xiaoli's right hand, pretending to channel energy.
【Do you wish to refresh attributes?】
【Refresh.】
Slim (White): Always maintain a slender figure, no matter how much you eat, you won't gain weight.
Enhanced Immunity (Blue): Immunity is greatly enhanced, not only can it resist various diseases, but also most zombie viruses.
Mental Power Doubled (Green): One's own mental power is doubled, and its recovery speed is accelerated.
As Qin Shilei chose to fix the "Mental Power Doubled" attribute, Zhang Xiaoli immediately exclaimed joyfully, "I feel like I have more mental power, and it's also become purer."
Qin Shilei nodded and made up a story, "It seems the potential awakening was successful. Don't move for now, I'll see if there are any other potentials to awaken."
【Do you wish to refresh attributes?】
【Refresh.】
Photosynthesis (Blue): Can perform photosynthesis like a large tree and absorb energy.
Wood Sprite (Green): Possesses ordinary wood sprite talents, is more connected to nature, and will find it easier to cast wood-attribute abilities. Archery talent will also be improved.
Oak Shield (Red): Can cast an energy shield on oneself or others, lasting for three minutes.