Trash in the Apocalypse

Chapter 229: Wings of Faith

"Go back," Rosa said while gazing at Jun. Her eyes were glowing making her appear bitter. "I know that both you and your sister hated me for what I've done, but I can't change the past. I chose to do that because it was the best solution at the time. Please go back and forget about me. You and Anna have grown strong and I'm sure that you'll always keep her safe."

A moment later, the glow in her eyes vanished.

Jun knew what was happening and didn't fall for their trickery. He said anxiously, "Mom, you're being controlled! Listen to me, I have a friend that's a bit smarter than me. We can ask him for help."

Rosa stared at Jun for a long time but her face remained stoic. Her eyes would blink and shift from side to side as if thinking. She was currently negotiating with Yetu.

Her unique title, Faith Weaver, was bestowed by Yetu to her. Then she met the Whisperer, someone who also made a deal with the devil.

Their souls were bound to Yetu when they accepted their unique titles. In return, they acquired immediate strength above everyone else. Surviving every day became worth living. As more people came to convert, their community rose up on the societal pecking order. The initial powerhouses of the town died after some time while the Halfdeads kept on resurrecting. The news of the gift of immortality spread wide among the populace together with its curse of gray skin and strange tattoo. 

Even then, the survivors flocked in groups for a few days until the army appeared. A notice was given trying to recruit them but they declined. The army then started calling them rebels for not following their orders. The town was divided into four groups; soldiers, Halfdeads, carriers, and mutated animals.

Every time a Halfdead group was out scavenging for food, it was inevitable for them to clash. Some Halfdeads would die but the army never got to beat them. The survivors just had to secure the body and wait for some time for the person to reanimate, and everything will be okay.

A battle with the Halfdeads is always a battle of attrition.

"Go back," said Rosa after a long time of silence. "I can't go back to the old me. Your uncle died trying to protect me, and even now, I can still remember the smile he sent me as he got pushed to the ground by those things. Although we have similarities, we would never become like them."

"Bang!" A loud gunshot came from the house two blocks away. Christian still had his eyes on the scope and his breathing was perfectly aligned when he pulled the trigger.

Rosa moved her head slightly to the right, causing the shot to miss. For everyone at the scene, she looked like she had high reflexes but in reality, it was her other skill playing by itself.

By consuming the gathered Faith from her 'soulbinded' individuals, she could receive a warning of incoming danger five seconds ahead of the current time. The remaining time after witnessing the future was just enough to dodge. 

Every believer immediately turned their heads towards their Queen. When they saw that she was safe, every last one of them stared at the distant house with hatred.

The personal guards sent fifteen D1's to flatten the house while two remained to keep Jun at bay. But to their surprise, Jun didn't even glance at the house and only stared at the top of the staircase right after the plaza.

"Mother!" Jun shouted.

When he tried to run forward, two D1's blocked his way. The two giants looked down on Jun and the next second, they had their heads cleaved off. Jun flicked his wrist causing the dripping blood from his War Hammer to flew to the ground.

"Please back off!"

"I know your the Queen's son but please follow her orders."

The crowd of personal guards divided themselves into two. One part stayed behind the staircase to block Jun while the other used their bodies as a shield to block the incoming shots.

The continued fire only stopped when the D1's finally arrived nearby the house. It seems like their owners were smarter than the others since they were wrecking things all over the house. Christian's four-squad team had to prevent the house from collapsing if they want to survive.

On the distant battlefield between the Halfdead community and the army, the organized army finally won. Even with Yetu's Large Bat's help, the Halfdeads were still forced back due to the precise shooting of the army.

The majority of the soldiers from the army gained aiming related skills. Only the unique and a few selected ones had strange skills but still complies with their skill set. Using their trained skills against the mob of Halfdeads, they were able to push through.

The Whisperer turned to Butch and the man instantly knew what he needs to do. He channeled energy to his guitar and glared at the incoming army.

When the guitar started to glow, he strummed hard and sent a sonic wave forward. His body flew back together with the guitar.

The small sonic wave traveled in a linear path but something happened mid-way. The unnoticeable wave of energy turned into a lifesize red horse. It galloped forward and headbutted the first soldier it crashed into. The soldier flew back several meters and collision with others.

When everyone thought it was done, the red horse suddenly raised its feet in the air and stomped down causing the surrounding ten-meter area to take damage.

The unfortunate soldiers inside the ten-meter area received confusion and hearing debuffs.

Nearby Halfdeads caught the unconscious Butch. To guarantee the effectiveness of the skill, he poured every last bit of energy he had and make the final strum. 

The Halfdeads weaknesses finally show up. If they don't have enough energy, they can't capture a higher-ranked creature. If they somehow increased their max energy, their health would instantly get depleted when their summons die. While they have summons, their energy doesn't regenerate as the energy gets consumed directly by their summons. Without enough energy, they can't cast their other skills. And the most severe among them, they permanently lose their summons when killed. This makes it harder when fighting since capturing and summoning would use another set of energy.

Although that was the case, the army did not relax. They knew that this time was the only chance that they had since these people have huge growth potential.

After helping the affected soldiers and bringing them to the back of the formation, the army continued their march, but this time, the IFV stood in front to stop any strange events from happening.

The remaining Halfdeads were forced to gather at the municipal plaza. More and more Halfdeads were falling 'asleep' as the army made quick work of their summons.

The house where Christian's team crashed down after taking a beatdown from the inexhaustible Destroyers. The owners probably ordered to flatten the house since even after the house crashed down, the Destroyers were still pounding its rubbles.

Unfortunately for them, Christian's team was seen moving around on the next block.

The situation was dire and the Halfdeads were surrounded. The remaining Halfdeads did not run away but instead guarded their friends and family. Every last one of them ready to fight to the death.

Because everyone believed in that one person they leaned to.

And she did not disappoint.

Rosa walked down the staircase then faced the army.

She stood at the forefront of the defensive line asked her people. "Do you believe in me?"

Some Halfdeads were confused but when one answered, everyone else followed. "I do."

"We do!"

Rosa smiled solemnly and said, "Keep believing because I'll need it."

She spread her hands to the side and ethereal white wing expanded sideways. The wings easily stretched three to four meters to the side, completely blocking everyone behind her. The wings feathers were made from unique individual energy and the number of feathers corresponds to the number of believers she had.

. Upon seeing the strange transformation of the possible enemy leader, Major Jaquez immediately ordered suppression fire.

The barrels of rifles continued flashing nonstop.

Jun shouted for them to stop but no one was listening to him. It was also questionable if they could even hear him.

When the army started firing, the Halfdeads were about to respond with their own summons but Rosa had other things in mind. She ordered, "Everyone! Enter the portal and take everyone with you. Leave no one behind!"

No one questioned her orders as everyone unanimously moved as if they were one body. They would take sleeping people on their way to the Red Portal.

Rosa's Wing of Faith negated every shot from the army. In return, the more than ten thousand points of faith she accumulated were quickly reducing.

The personal guards manning Jun was startled when he suddenly threw glowing pebbles towards their Queen.

A second later, dozens of boulders appeared out of nowhere and blocked the barrage of fire, slowing down the armies attack.