Thirty minutes had passed since the fire began, and most side street buildings were on fire, billowing ominous smoke. Most zombies had died as they transferred the fire from person to person.
However, that wasn't all the soldiers could see. A massive plume of white steam blocked the flames and smoke as the massive fish in the shipping containers sizzled, making the air thick with the acrid stench of burning fish.
Everyone else faced the wall with stressed expressions, dripping with sweat and fear.
GReeeORnnN! BOOOOOM! Boom, boom, BOOM!
A shipping container melted, causing the massive fish inside to fall through the bottom, off-balancing the stack. Four shipping containers fell off the side, hitting the ground.
Mothers and fathers held their children's ears, hugging them tight. It was an emotional time.
"Gah, it's torture wondering when the fire will steal the losing Jenga piece." Chen said in vexation, gritting his teeth, "I can't stand this."
"Hold in there." Jackson replied, "General Skye will be here soon."
"I wish you'd stop sucking Immortal Skye's dick for once." The Chinese man scoffed, "General Skye is remarkable, but no matter how powerful she is, she can't help us from twenty miles away.
The collapse [will] happen in minutes, and she isn't racing to get here because we couldn't call her. Even if we did, she could've been a few hundred miles away. That's reality.
Soldiers call for reinforcements when the situation is bleak, and help shows up at the last second to save the last 25%. That's the best-case scenario.
So pray that she makes it like the rest of us, but stop acting like [cliche miracle] is one of her cultivation techniques!"
Jackson smiled wryly, joining Eric, Denzel, Layla, and Moe. Everyone wanted to have faith that she'd arrive, but the Chinese man laid it out bluntly.
Cliche miracles didn't happen in the real world—if they did, there was usually a non-miracle behind them.
-
"Why aren't you evacuating them?" Amy asked with a complex expression, "You could at least save the children or people with potential."
Unlike the soldiers, who couldn't see anything, she could see the expansive fires ripping through buildings and burning the nearby pier. The shipping containers would collapse any minute, and the few hundred cornered zombies that survived burning could make a break for the yard once it opened. It was a bleak situation.
"No." Kaze smiled mysteriously, "I'm waiting for that wall to collapse."
Amy turned to him in shock, studying the emperor's relaxed expression. "You're waiting for their ruin before helping them evacuate? Why?"
In her mind, Evalyn had [rare] water techniques, and he didn't. So he could evacuate them slowly, starting with the children, but he didn't. So she was horrified to hear his claim.
"No. I'm waiting until Evalyn's soldiers can see beyond the wall." The emperor smiled slyly, "That way, they can experience the full emotional impact of their victory—and the glory of their general when she achieves the impossible and saves them from despair at the last second.
Dues ex machina makes for excellent propaganda. Today you'll witness Immortal Skye's first legend and the deification of a general."
Just as Zeus possessed Hector's body and led the Trojans to reverse their hopeless situation, nearly crushing the Greeks in one attack, Evalyn would arrive to reverse the tides against sea creatures and fire. [The Ice General saved us when we lost all hope]: it was a simple narrative that people could repeat for generations, exaggerating and molding it until Evalyn became a myth.
Calvin and Amy's eyes widened, turning back to the field. What the emperor told them was so politically manipulative that they believed it belonged in a textbook, not their ears.
However, they didn't question him. They could feel his disclosure came with conditions, so they didn't want to dig themselves into a hole.
"Now, watch the show." Kaze smiled, his ring glowing four times while flicking his wrist, "It's about to begin."
One shipping container on the bottom right corner of the wall warped under the heat and weight of the other containers. With a little nudge—
-
SnnaCk! GRooOOnNrrrRn!
Sandra's heart pulsed, hearing a container snap under pressure. Every snap destabilized the wall, and this one was critical, causing a harrowing groan from countless containers. "No…."
She watched in slow motion as the foundation shifted on the corner, magically removing the support the entire wall required to stay up. Everyone could hear the soul of the wall screaming as it tipped, moving downward.
BOOOOOOOOOM! BOOM! Boom! Boom, boom, BOOOM! Boom-boom-Boom-boom! BOOM!
A heat wave assaulted the soldiers and civilians, burning their lungs with thick air, pungent with the acrid smell of sulfur and burning flesh. When they opened their eyes, they saw a nightmare scene with shipping containers indented into pyres for tens of thousands of corpses.
Flames licked the heating metal's top, looking similar to an ironworks forge. However, [the world] was the forge; they could not see anything but scorching flames and smoke between the pitch-black air and burning buildings in the distance. They genuinely believe they were in the Sixth Circle of Hell.
Mothers and fathers hugged their crying children and teenagers while others looked over the water, determining whether swimming was better. However, they found the waters murky and bloodied, with limbs and hair floating on the surface. There was no hope.
"I'm going to kill him." Chen chuckled murderously, "I'm seriously going to kill him."
Eric looked at the man strangely, hearing his maddened tone. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to kill Bill." The Chinese man chuckled with a humorous grin.
"This isn't a time for joking." The bald Hispanic man said, taking a sharp breath.
"Joking?" Chen laughed, waving his hand—palm side up—at the biblical carnage, "This is an absolute masterpiece. I want to ensure that Bill is honored to be the first cuck he killed."
Without further discussion, he sprinted toward the bearded man, crying in a destabilized state. He was closest to the fire, as he isolated himself from everyone else.
"HEY, BILL!" He yelled, "LOOK! YOU KILLED ALL THE FUCKING ZOMBIES!"
"I…." Bill's body trembled, and his lungs seized, seeing the Asian man approaching fast.
However, an invisible force gripped Chen, forcing him to stay still. He immediately tried back but only a second later—
VRooOooOOooOOoSH!
"The fuck!" He yelled as a wind blew into the shipping yard, torching the area. If he hadn't stopped, he would have caught fire.
Chen's eyes trembled, feeling cold sweat seep into his bones. His confused anxiety replaced his anger, so he no longer wanted to kill Bill. As a result, he walked back, grateful to be alive.
It was a good decision as the breeze moved through the area again. Ashes and fire licked the shipping yard, triggering coughs and wheezing. They were in a brutal furnace without an escape.
"I'm taking my chances with swimming!" A bold man announced, "At least there's a chance of survival!"
Without hesitation, a brunette also turned to the water. "Me too, Belford. I'm following—"
Hundreds of people turned to soldiers who tried to escape, only to find them frozen and panicked.
"Yo, what happened, Marla?" A blonde asked, feeling anxiety crashing through her.
Marla looked around, testing out her hands. "I-I don't know; I just had this strange feeling like something telling me not to do it."
"R-Right?" The bold man stuttered, "That was—"
SPLASH! SPlSH! Splash! SPLasSh! Splish!
As if to prove a divine miracle, something triggered the sharks and sea creatures, sending them into a frenzy. The water boiled, creating a gruesome reminder of why people shouldn't go swimming.
Hell's furnace stood before them. Cerberus' jaws were at their back.
The situation was bereft of hope. Devoid. Absolute.
Every civilian and soldier hit their limit at that moment. Completely giving u—
"IF I SEE ANYONE GIVING UP, I'LL PLAY THE WAR DRUMS WITH THEIR FEMURS!"
An icy chill crawled down their spines, reflexively terrorized by the voice warning them from above. Everyone snapped to attention, not wanting to face a merciless punishment.
And then it dawned on them.
Thu-dump!
The voice that struck fear into their hearts more than sharks and fire spoke to them. It made their heart pulse, stealing their breath.
Everyone turned for confirmation—and found soldiers pointing up.
Thu-dump! Thu-dump!
Every woman, child, grandparent, soldier, and Immortal looked up to find the Ice General flying, loosely held up by an attractive woman in a green frog hoodie.
Thu-dump! Thu-dump! Thu-dump! Thu-dump!
"YOU WON THIS BATTLE!" Evalyn declared boldly, raising everyone's spirits, "SO DON'T YOU DARE MESS IT UP!"
A few cackles bent the airwaves as people processed her aggressive response. Someone cheered, and a few hundred people followed, meeting her with deafening applause.
The clapping turned to tears, raining down everyone's faces.
Amid their despair, at their greatest time of need, as hell and nature raged around them, at the last minute when all else was lost—their general made it in time to save them.
Evalyn Skye had executed a flawless open to a deus ex machina. It was time to resolve the chaos and turn the story into a legend.
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