"Pour the oil! Quickly pour the oil for me!"

"Don't worry about the reserves, if we can't hold out today, there will be no tomorrow. Burn it as fiercely as possible!"

On the wall of Ice City, barrels of gasoline were being poured over the top.

The area below the wall was filled with large amounts of gasoline and diesel, the smell was suffocating, just a spark would ignite it all.

In these few minutes, the soldiers of Ice City defended against the zombies with bayonets, suffering heavy casualties.

"Ignite it!"

Seeing that they couldn't hold out much longer, Guo Zhun raised his handgun and fired.

A single spark set off a raging fire, the flames soared tens of meters high, instantly engulfing the outside of the entire wall.

The wall was no longer a place for anyone to stand, and all the soldiers retreated quickly.

The scorching flames painted the sky red over the riverfront, consuming the mass of zombies, giving the people of Ice City a chance to breathe.

But Guo Zhun felt no relief; this fire could give them about two hours of respite, but this tactic was initially meant for the night; they hadn't expected they couldn't last through the day.

"How many more times can we create such flames with our fuel reserves?"

"Twice, Count, our fuel reserves can do this at most two more times, if we want a third time, we'll have to siphon fuel from our vehicles."

Guo Zhun gritted his teeth: "Then twice, once tonight, tomorrow we must hold out, and another time tomorrow night. Siphoning from vehicles is absolutely not allowed, that's the limit."

"Understood, even if tomorrow requires sacrificing lives, we must hold out."

Guo Zhun sighed softly, thinking how difficult this would be.

Today, they've already sacrificed lives; the zombies have become increasingly ferocious, attacking wave after wave, with no pause.

The pile of corpses below the wall was growing, posing a huge safety hazard. If they didn't use the fire tactic, the zombies would probably reach the top of the wall.

At this moment, Guo Zhun deeply regretted not building the riverfront wall higher.

Even if it had been ten meters high with rounded protrusions like Dawn City, the situation would be much better now.

If it had been built like other walls at twelve meters, this four-meter difference could have blocked most zombies.

But now, it's too late for any changes. He's already mobilized the city's residents to hastily construct a second wall defense line, hoping it could be of some help.

Guo Zhun also knew this was just a desperate measure; it wouldn't have a decisive impact.

But he had no other options left, he'd thought of everything except pleading for help from Grand Duke Zheng Jinnan of Jiangzhou.

He also understood he couldn't ask Jiangzhou for help; it was too far, and they couldn't provide assistance.

Even if they did assist, sending a few fighter jets wouldn't help much in the current situation.

Moreover, he had just been appointed a Count, boasting about his prowess excessively, and now turning around to ask for help would be disgraceful.

So he could only grit his teeth and persist; with more than five million people in Ice City, they should manage to trade one for one with the zombies.

The scorching flames burned for over two hours; under such high temperatures, even zombies didn't dare approach.

They retreated to a distance of several hundred meters from the wall, silently watching the flames burn.

After more than two hours, the flames gradually died out.

This fire not only eased the dire situation of the Liberation Army but also reduced the pile of corpses below the wall to ashes, ensuring they could hold out at least until the evening.

Just as the fire receded, the horde returned.

Mutated birds, mutant rats, mutated zombies.

Endless black lines pressed forward, making it hard to even breathe.

Soldiers who had barely slept were called up again, forced to the front line by the supervisory teams.

They braced themselves reluctantly; many had been ordinary survivors yesterday, conscripted today, having never fired a shot, now forced to fight zombies.

Their morale was very low fighting these fearless creatures, and their casualties were high during battles.

Guo Zhun was at his wit's end; now survivors refused to enlist or help build the second line of defense, with many even wanting to flee.

He couldn't care about that anymore, ordered the troops to capture suitable people, and blocked the city gates, preventing escape.

Previously, as a Count and the Empire's legitimate authority, many had eagerly sought protection under him.

Now, seeing Ice City in danger, they all wanted to run. How could such a thing be allowed?

In this life and death moment for Ice City, no one could stay out of it!

At this point, Guo Zhun had given up on everything.

......

The leaders' emotions directly affected those below and spread among the survivors.

Guo Zhun had already gathered a large workforce to begin constructing the second wall. This second wall was about a kilometer from the first, with the people in between evacuated. The elderly, women, and children were sent into the city to find shelter on their own, while the able-bodied were conscripted or sent to build the wall.

They had been rounding up people since yesterday; the Liberation Army forcibly sent a full hundred thousand people to the front line, and news from the front couldn't be hidden.

The people of Ice City felt like the sky was falling, those lured here by Guo Zhun's Count title now regretted it deeply.

If they had known Ice City would end up like this, wouldn't Dawn City have been a better choice?

If they had known, staying at their own base would have been better.

But now, it's too late to say anything; the Liberation Army not only seized people but also commandeered vehicles for lighting along the wall.

Many clashed with the recruiting officers, and those attempting to leave by force were directly suppressed by the Liberation Army.

More than a thousand people didn't die at the hands of zombies but rather at the hands of the Liberation Army.

However, these survivors are not easy prey, especially some Adventurer Squads, who have guns in their hands. They rose up to fight back, even creating chaos. From a high altitude, flames and thick smoke can be faintly seen within Ice City.

Moreover, some people who know they cannot escape have gone insane, moving in groups through the streets. They seize food and weapons and even pull women aside for acts of violence. There's no control over them at all.

Various signs indicate that Ice City is on the brink of collapse; this city is doomed.

......

The armored train traversed the plain, moving along the railway.

"Sir, Huang Jie has completed the restoration of two train sets, and they have embarked towards us, approximately one hundred and twenty kilometers away."

Ye Fan nodded: "The action is indeed fast. We need to speed up too. Even if we transport with full capacity, it will take us about five or six days to carry these more than five million people. Everything must be quick."

"Almost there, sir, about ten minutes to Ice City East Gate."

"What is the enemy's defensive situation?"

"Ice City has its City Guard Army. Although most are currently fighting at the South Gate, there's also a battalion of guards stationed at each of the other three gates."

"Turn on the loudspeaker for me."

The train conductor of Dawn Giant Dragon invited Ye Fan to the front of the train, where there was a huge loudspeaker for making announcements.

At eleven thirty in the morning, Dawn Army's armored train arrived at Ice City East Gate.

At the same time, the newly produced aircraft by Ye Fan also arrived, starting their journey from Dawn City to Ice City Airport.

Vehicles on the highway will arrive at Ice City North Gate in forty minutes.

On the city gate of Ice City, the defending soldiers stared in shock at the huge armored train nearing the railway gate.

This railway gate had been abandoned for a long time. When building the base, they left the gate, but it had been locked ever since.

But unexpectedly, a train comes today.

In broad daylight, the guards could clearly see the Dawn Army symbols on the train.

"Is it the Dawn Army?"

"The Dawn Army is here! What are they up to?"

"Such a bold move, are they here to loot?"

The Company Commander guarding the gate climbed up to the city wall and shouted into a loudspeaker.

"Who are you?"

Ye Fan sat in the front of the train, looking at the smoke and sound of gunfire in the distance, he knew the situation in Ice City was very urgent.

He didn't bother with this soldier: "I am Ye Fan of Dawn Army. Open the city gate; we are here to rescue the survivors inside the city."

The soldier heard this but dared not make decisions. Since they were rivals, he responded sternly: "I need to report this to Count. Your train has illegally entered our controlled area. Please retreat five kilometers immediately and wait for our news..."

"Get lost! Or I'll fire the cannon!"

Ye Fan had no patience for nonsense and roared in anger.

The soldier was trembling in fright, momentarily at a loss.

"Fire the cannon! Blast open this damn gate!"

"Ye Fan, how dare you! You are provoking war without authorization. You will be responsible for all consequences!"

Ye Fan ignored the soldier's threats; the main cannon of the armored train adjusted, the 155mm caliber cannon aimed at the city gate, and fired a shot!

Boom~~~!

The ground shook like an earthquake. The gate, which hadn't been opened since the base was built, was blown down with one shot!

Dust and snow flew everywhere, the soldiers on the city wall were stupefied.

They held their guns but didn't dare fire.

Firstly, the armored train was clearly invincible to gunfire. Secondly, Ye Fan's audacity already intimidated them.

Ye Fan ignored these soldiers; the armored train thundered forward, barging into Ice City.

In a city with a population of five million, its defense was rendered null in front of Ye Fan.

After entering Ice City, the train roared along the railroad, quickly reaching East Station.

A platoon of Liberation Army was guarding the station. They were here because Guo Zhun also wanted to restore railway transportation. Currently, four train sets and two green trains had been repaired and left unused at the station.

Upon learning Ye Fan had arrived, this platoon of soldiers fled before the armored train reached the station.

As soon as the train stopped, the Dragon Teeth Special Operations Team and Guard Company soldiers swarmed out.

Moreover, the armored train itself carried two hundred soldiers, who all disembarked and swiftly occupied key locations and vantage points of the station.

Engineers discovered six ready-to-use trains and were overjoyed. This would greatly enhance railway transportation capacity.

Engineers, along with the engineers, quickly inspected circuits and troubleshoot faults, aiming to make the trains operational immediately.

Ye Fan himself came to the former plaza outside the station.

Standing in front of the Ice City East Station sign, his sister Ye Luo, who came with him, immediately asked the cameraman to start filming Ye Fan.

Ye Luo handed the microphone to Ye Fan, preparing for him to speak.

Once spoken, the signal would be transmitted back, and Dawn TV Station would broadcast live.

This was Ye Fan's first time, as the leader of Dawn City, boldly invading Ice City, strictly challenging the Empire's orthodoxy!

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