Although Gu Qingcheng had set up her defenses meticulously and appeared very confident, it was her first time facing such a high-level zombie horde! Upon arriving at the scene, Gu Qingcheng felt a flicker of worry about holding the line.
It was like when she chose universities after her college entrance exams, feeling confident that her scores would easily get her into a top-tier university, but after submitting her choices and being unable to change them, she’d still worry about not getting into her desired school and that others would snatch up the limited spots.
Fortunately, she didn't have time to dwell on it; this was not a battlefield she faced alone.
Under the effective defense established by Young Master Gu, the warriors of Phoenix Village gradually developed a tacit understanding and cooperation.
The artillery team above began to play their role, using catapults to hurl firebombs to the front lines. After exploding amidst the zombies, each firebomb often killed three to five zombies, achieving glorious results.
How many firebombs had Gu Qingcheng prepared?
A staggering three thousand.
So, when the major battle commenced, firebombs were rained down from above as if they were free.
In the blink of an eye, the arrogant zombies exploded in clusters on the ground like fireworks, turning to ash and smoke.
Before Gu Qingcheng could rejoice, she suddenly noticed a flaw in the initial defense line: the firewood in the trench was about to run out. At the time, she hadn't considered the need to prepare additional firewood on the side to sustain the flames.
Thus, as the firewood in the first defense line's trench gradually extinguished, swarms of zombies poured into the ditch, filling it. Other zombies then stepped on them to cross the first defense line.
The villagers behind the first defense line were about to charge out and fight. Gu Qingcheng urged them to retreat first. Though confused, they complied, firing rockets as they retreated towards the mountain.
They continued to fall back until they reached the second defense line. The guards lit the grass balls, cut the ropes binding them, and used wooden poles to push the balls down the mountain.
The zombies that had just crossed the second defense line were then hit by the "grass ball" fire, instantly losing half their combat effectiveness.
The zombies that narrowly escaped the grass balls, as they attempted to cross the second defensive trench line, were simultaneously shot by rockets from above and burned by the fire in the trench, enduring extreme misery.
Next, Gu Qingcheng observed that the fire had subsided, and fewer than a hundred zombies remained, no longer posing a significant threat. She then ordered everyone to charge out and engage the zombies.
It was the first time the villagers faced the monsters head-on, and they were understandably apprehensive. However, after engaging in combat, they realized the monsters were not invincible, and their fighting spirit was ignited.
Everyone knew that if these monsters were not all eliminated, Phoenix Village itself would be next.
After a night of fierce fighting, as dawn broke, the outcome of the battle could be largely determined.
All the zombies had been annihilated. The ground was littered with the headless torsos of the zombies, and more were reduced to heaps of ashes.
This battle was a glorious victory!
Even more heartening was the fact that no villagers from Phoenix Village were lost.
After the battle concluded, all participating villagers lined up to enter the pass.
As a precaution, Gu Qingcheng insisted that all villagers who participated in the battle undergo a body check before entering the village.
Doctors and assistants from the clinic, led by Zhu Liang, were responsible for the checks.
Their primary task was to examine for any wounds inflicted by the zombies.
This was because any scratch from a zombie could potentially lead to mutation.
Although the villagers were nervous, they voluntarily lined up for the examination.
The results were positive: no villagers showed any signs of being scratched by zombies.
Gu Qingcheng breathed a sigh of relief.
Ending the battle with zero casualties was the best possible outcome.
The previous night's battle, with its two defense lines and fire attack plan, had given Phoenix Village a decisive advantage. Gu Qingcheng's strategy and foresight had once again protected the villagers.
Her standing among the villagers of Phoenix Village rose to an even higher level.
Previously, people praised Gu Qingcheng; now, anyone who dared to speak ill of her would find others stepping forward to defend her, without her having to lift a finger.
Seeing the exhausted villagers after a night of fighting, Gu Qingcheng had a fresh group of people take over.
This new group was primarily tasked with training, taking advantage of the daylight, as zombies feared light and had lower combat effectiveness during the day. One team advanced from the foot of the mountain, while another moved from outside Phoenix Village. They spread out in a line, flanking from both sides, searching for any lingering zombie remnants, especially between the first and second defense lines, to prevent any escapees.
The fire attack the previous night had also caused fires to spread throughout the mountain.
However, fortunately, the rainfall was abundant, and the vegetation was rich in moisture. Without accelerants, the fires in the woods gradually extinguished on their own, negating the need for additional people to fight them.
Gu Qingcheng instructed everyone to search thoroughly, ensuring no zombie was missed.
Indeed, the search yielded results: they found over a dozen zombies sleeping in a mountain stream gully.
Because it was daytime, their movements were slow and their combat effectiveness was low, and they were quickly decapitated by the villagers.
After such frequent and thorough follow-up searches, Gu Qingcheng felt that the zombies had been largely annihilated. Even if one or two remained, they would be insignificant.
However, they would need to remain vigilant for the next few days to prevent any residual zombies from attacking.
Gu Qingcheng instructed Dai Fa to organize the villagers who had not participated in the battle to help clean up the battlefield. The primary purpose was to train the villagers' courage.
After all, sooner or later, everyone might have to face a high-level zombie encounter like last night's.
If one had never seen a zombie before, the first encounter could be terrifying.
However, if they had seen zombie corpses, they would have developed a degree of psychological immunity.
Zombies turned to ash were to be ignored. Those decapitated simply needed to be buried in pits.
As expected, the villagers, seeing the grotesque true forms of the zombies for the first time, felt goosebumps rise and experienced nausea.
They were tasked with cleaning up the zombie corpses. After two days of this work, everyone had become desensitized. They believed that if they encountered zombies again, they would at least not be frozen in shock.
Although Gu Qingcheng had won a major battle, she didn't appear particularly happy. Dai Fa noticed this and asked, "Young Master Gu, are there still any hidden worries?"
Gu Qingcheng replied, "I discovered that zombies can swim, which is how they managed to attack us.
I initially thought the water would serve as a natural barrier, but it seems that's not the case.
In the future, zombies will likely attack periodically. If that happens, the villagers won't be able to withstand continuous combat and will be exhausted."
"Is that so? Then what should we do?" Dai Fa asked, also becoming worried.
Although they had won the first major battle last night, it had been hard-won, consuming significant manpower and resources.
If the zombie attacks continued, and at such a scale, it was uncertain if they could hold out.
Fortunately, Phoenix Village had Young Master Gu's desperate investment of resources. Otherwise, an ordinary village couldn't afford the vast quantities of firebombs alone.
Whenever he thought of this, Dai Fa felt that Gu Qingcheng was the savior of the entire village, and also the savior of his own family.
Betrayal was out of the question.