After almost a day of traveling by sea, Gregorio's army finally docked on the northernmost tip of Palawan.
"I haven't been here in a long time." Gregorio muttered with a reminiscing look. He came here a few years ago with his family for a vacation.
Palawan was well known for its beautiful beaches and its pure, untouched wildlife. It was even considered one of the 7 wonders of the world a few years ago. Unfortunately, due to the influx of tourists and poor handling of the local government, the province experienced an increase in pollution. After a few years, the local government finally managed to rehabilitate the province.
Looking back, Gregorio sighed emotionally. The northernmost part of Palawan was still unaffected by the sudden growth of the plant life form and the evolution of fauna so Gregorio didn't see anything unusual.
After their Apache helicopter and battle tanks were deployed, Gregorio ordered the army to march. Their destination was El Nido, a small municipality of the province. It was known for its white sand beaches and clear water that even foreigners labeled the place as magical. However, the army wasn't here to sightsee.
El Nido has a population of more than 60 thousand people and based on their data, there were over 55 thousand infected people. Only a few managed to survive the initial outbreak of the virus. From the information they got from the drone images, the survivors made a small settlement which attracted the remaining people of El Nido.
Gregorio was riding one of the Apache helicopters so they were the first ones to arrive near this settlement.
The appearance of the assault helicopters surprised the survivors of the settlement. They all expressed joy and relief after realizing that they were from the army. They had lived in constant fear in the last few days and the presence of the army instantly removed their worries.
The moment they landed, the leader of the settlement was informed and she quickly came to greet their guests. She was the mayor of the town and because of her efforts, she managed to create this small settlement. Her name was Edna Lim, a forty-year-old woman who was born into a political family.
Edna was shocked when she saw the Apache helicopters, but this also made her relieved. Their settlement has been attacked by the zombies a couple of times in the last few days. Although they managed to eliminate them, their ammunition was slowly decreasing.
The settlement has 5 soldiers and over thirty policemen. They also had fifty militiamen who were trained to fight against the zombies. Because of their presence, the small settlement managed to survive the repeated attacks of the zombies.
Edna was escorted by five soldiers when she came to meet Gregorio. However, the five soldiers behind her didn't even let out a fart when they saw the fully geared soldiers behind Gregorio.
"Greetings, Mayor Edna." Gregorio didn't act like a high and mighty guy. He smiled at the mayor and shook hands with her. His good attitude made Edna and the five soldiers have a good impression of him.
"Hello, sir! May I know your name?" She asked politely.
Gregorio smiled in embarrassment. "Oh, sorry for the late introduction. I am Gregorio de Leone, a retired colonel of the Armed Forces of Maharlika. I recently came back to join the army because of this zombie virus situation."
After hearing his military rank, the five soldiers behind Edna immediately saluted him. "Sir!"
"It's fine. There's no need to be formal." He remarked to the soldiers. He then turned his gaze back to Edna and said. "I came here under orders from my superiors to evacuate the citizens into a much safer environment. Our leader has created a fortress city on an island, a place far from the zombie virus. The city is equipped with advanced military weapons and we also have enough food resources so that no one would go hungry."
Hearing this, the five soldiers were pleasantly surprised. However, Edna furrowed her eyebrows. Everything he said was too good to be true. She carried the burden of the entire settlement so she wouldn't recklessly trust someone no matter how amicable they seemed to be. "Are you saying that we don't need to work and the leaders of the city will provide us with food and resources?" She asked.
Gregorio's lips curved upwards. This woman was smart and she also cared for the people under her. "The government will provide the newcomers with food and water for the first month. To earn more resources, everyone has to contribute something to the city. They can do odd jobs or do manual labor. They can also do management tasks. There are a lot of jobs to choose from so there is nothing to be worried about." He patiently explained.
Edna contemplated deeply when she heard this. After a moment of silence, she looked at him and said. "Can you guarantee this?"
The soldiers behind Gregorio frowned. This woman has doubted their commander's words and it made them displeased.
Gregorio didn't seem to mind this. He smiled at her and replied. "How about this? You guys can go and check the city. If you don't want to stay, we can escort you back to this settlement."
Edna's tense expression eased upon hearing this. "In that case, we are willing to follow you back. I hope that you can prioritize the sick and the old. Some of them need immediate treatment. We were helpless because of the lack of medicine and medical experts."
Gregorio chuckled. "You don't have to worry. We can bring all of you guys at once. Our fleet will soon arrive. They will come here to pick you up."
Edna was happy to hear this. "That's great! Everyone will be happy if I announce this news!" She remarked.
"Mayor Edna, you can inform your people now. That way, everyone will be ready once the fleet arrives." Gregorio smiled at her.
"Sure! Thank you so much, Colonel Gregorio!" Edna shook his hand excitedly before bidding farewell.
Edna relayed the information to the inhabitants of the settlement. There were over eight hundred people in the settlement and most of them were ecstatic when they heard that they would be taken to a safer location. However, there was a small number of them who expressed concern. They were worried that something would happen during the journey. Some of them experienced traumatic encounters. This made them afraid to go out of the settlement. Of the eight hundred inhabitants, there were over ten people who expressed their opposition to the idea. However, Edna soon managed to persuade them after reassuring the traumatized people.
Soon, the ground fleet arrived at the settlement. The appearance of the battle tanks and the five thousand-man army put everyone's mind at rest, including those who initially opposed the idea.
The soldiers escorted the civilians to the M939 military trucks and some other transport military vehicles. There were over fifty such vehicles and only thirty were used to carry everyone in the settlement. The sick also received preliminary medical treatment from army doctors and nurses.
Five hundred soldiers and a battle tank escorted the eight hundred civilians. They encountered zombie attacks along the way, but the soldiers quickly eliminated them. The battle tank didn't even need to attack. The power of the army made everyone feel safe. Even those who were afraid to go out were no longer worried about their safety.
Meanwhile, Gregorio sent five hundred soldiers and another battle tank to search for more survivors in El Nido. After doing this, he led the remaining four thousand soldiers, eight battle tanks, and the assault helicopters towards the next municipality, Taytay.
Taytay has over 90 thousand people and the town also has a bigger land area than El Nido.
The journey was a lot faster than Gregorio had anticipated and this was because of Edna. She volunteered to come with them after hearing that they would go to Taytay. She had some families and friends in Taytay. She came in hopes that she could see them once more. The chances were slim, but she believed in miracles.
The army followed the route suggested by Edna, making the journey faster. It only took them over two hours to reach Taytay. If they didn't encounter some zombies, they would have arrived much earlier.
Unlike El Nido who had a capable leader like Edna, the local officials of Taytay failed to create a settlement for the survivors. This resulted in a large number of infected people. Of the 90 thousand inhabitants of the town, more than 88 thousand were infected. The few surviving people were scattered around the town so they had to use the Apache helicopters to rescue the trapped survivors. The army stayed for two days, but they only managed to rescue over six hundred people. As for the other survivors, they couldn't locate them. Either they were dead or they had escaped to another place.
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