The Tank remained buried between the wrecked vehicles as the battle continued around it.
Its death changed nothing for the ordinary infected.
They stepped across the blood running between the parking lanes and continued toward South One, filling whatever spaces remained between the bodies and abandoned vehicles.
Big Rhino’s coaxial machine gun opened fire again.
The commander’s voice followed almost immediately.
"Back to the small ones!"
The weapon swept across the center rows, tearing through the infected that had gathered behind the Tank during its charge. Several dropped around the wreckage, while others were forced toward the narrower lanes where the infantry waited.
Bastion One covered the center.
"Infantry lanes clear."
Its autocannon remained elevated while the coaxial machine gun moved across the groups farther inside the parking lot.
Bastion Two continued firing toward the main entrance. The crowd behind the shattered doors had thinned, though more infected still appeared from the interior whenever the cannon paused.
Bastion Three handled the eastern rows.
Short bursts struck those climbing across the vehicles, preventing another group from reaching the last line of parked cars.
Anton watched the distance between both sides.
Seventy meters became eighty.
Then ninety.
The soldiers had not moved. The foremost infected were being cut down faster than the others could replace them.
"South One, maintain positions," he ordered. "Finish the surface group first."
The squads continued firing.
Mercer’s Machine Gunner had already replaced the overheated barrel. He settled the weapon against the planter again and fired into the wider lane beside the bank.
The bodies there had become too numerous to count individually.
Some remained upright for several seconds after being struck, held in place by the infected crowding behind them. Once the pressure changed, they collapsed together and blocked the lane almost completely.
Dobrev’s center received fewer targets.
His Army Soldiers shifted their fire toward the openings between the delivery vehicles, while the Conscripts watched the lower spaces and the gaps beneath the wreckage.
The third squad kept the eastern frontage from folding inward.
"Northern surface count below two thousand," Dmitri reported.
Hans checked the Radar.
The northern parking lot had once appeared almost solid red. Now the markers were breaking into smaller groups separated by wrecked vehicles, corpse piles, and the firing lanes created by the Bastions.
The commercial center was another matter.
Markers continued moving behind the entrances and along the upper floors. Others remained deeper beneath the structure, stacked so closely that the Radar could not separate them cleanly.
The surface was only the first layer.
"South Two to South One," Sabine reported over the shared channel. "Rear loading yard remains contained. War Elephant is covering the western ramp."
A second voice followed, lower and far more pleased with itself.
"War Elephant has plenty more ammunition if the underground ones decide to come out."
Big Rhino’s commander laughed.
"Tell them not to take all the good targets!"
Anton ignored both armored crews.
"South Two, hold the ramps. Do not enter underground."
"Understood."
The last organized group in the northern parking lot reached the final rows.
Bastion One shifted its coaxial machine gun away.
"Center released to infantry."
"South One," Anton called. "Advance by sections."
Mercer Squad moved first.
The Army Soldiers left the storefront frontage and crossed toward the nearest concrete island. Their Conscripts followed several meters behind, while the Machine Gunner remained in place to cover them.
Dobrev Squad advanced beside Bastion One.
The third squad matched them from the east.
They entered the parking lot slowly, stepping around bodies and watching every vehicle that could still hide movement.
Ahead of them, the main entrance remained buried beneath the dead.
Something moved behind the broken glass.
The bodies covering the entrance shifted first.
One arm pushed through the pile, followed by a head and shoulder. Another infected crawled over it, dragging itself across the dead before falling onto the walkway outside.
Then the rest began forcing their way through.
"Main entrance active," Ethan reported. "More coming from the ground floor."
Anton raised one hand.
The advancing squads stopped.
Mercer’s Army Soldiers dropped behind the nearest concrete island, while Dobrev Squad took cover beside a line of abandoned vehicles. The third squad held the eastern side, keeping enough distance between them and Bastion Three’s weapon.
Bastion Two’s autocannon turned toward the entrance.
"Clear shot."
"Hold the cannon," Anton ordered. "Coaxial only. The building remains a recovery target."
"Understood."
The coaxial machine gun opened fire.
Rounds crossed the walkway and struck the infected climbing over the bodies. Several fell back against the doors, though those behind them continued pushing until the pile shifted outward.
More glass broke from the entrance.
One infected reached the bottom of the steps before Mercer’s squad fired. Rifle rounds struck its chest and neck, forcing it sideways before another burst entered its head.
The soldiers continued from there.
Dobrev’s Army Soldiers took the center. Their fire passed between the parked vehicles and struck the infected leaving the entrance, while the Conscripts watched the lower sections where others crawled beneath the bodies.
The Guardian GI pair moved ahead of them.
Both shields remained raised as they crossed the open space between Bastion One and the next row of vehicles. One Guardian GI faced the entrance while the other angled toward the eastern walkway, covering the squad from anything that might emerge from the storefronts beside it.
"Moving," Dobrev reported.
His soldiers followed several meters behind.
The infected at the entrance lost ground slowly. Every body that fell added to the obstruction, forcing those still inside to crawl, climb, or squeeze through whatever openings remained.
Bastion Two’s gunner gave a short laugh over the channel.
"They are making their own barricade."
Big Rhino’s commander answered before Anton could stop them.
"Let them. Saves us the trouble."
Anton ignored both crews.
"Mercer, western steps. Dobrev, center. Third squad holds east."
The squads adjusted without breaking fire.
Mercer’s Machine Gunner remained farther back, covering the wide approach beside the bank. His Army Soldiers crossed the final parking lane and reached the first step, where several infected had collapsed against the railings.
Dobrev’s Guardian GIs reached the walkway next.
One infected pulled itself free from beneath the bodies and struck the nearest shield. Its hands scraped across the surface before the Guardian GI drove the shield forward and forced it back into the pile.
An Army Soldier fired past his shoulder. The infected’s head snapped backward.
Another appeared through the broken doors. Then three more.
The second Guardian GI shifted his shield inward, narrowing the opening between both of them. The soldiers behind the pair fired through the remaining gaps until the entrance stopped moving.
Silence returned to the walkway, though gunfire continued farther across the parking lot.
Dobrev watched the bodies for several seconds.
"Front entrance contained."
Anton looked toward the commercial center.
Most of the northern parking lot had already been cleared. The few remaining markers were scattered between vehicles, too separated to form another charge.
Inside the building, however, red markers still covered the ground floor and continued upward through the next two levels.
Some had begun moving toward the entrances. Others remained in place.
"Do not enter yet," Anton ordered. "Secure the exterior first."
Bastion One rolled forward several meters and stopped behind Dobrev Squad.
"Center position established."
Bastion Two remained beside the abandoned bus, its turret covering the entrance over the infantry line.
Big Rhino followed more slowly.
Its commander sounded almost disappointed.
"Big Rhino is ready whenever something from the building decides to come outside."
Hans looked beyond the broken glass.
The entrance was open but the interior was not.
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