The sound of horse hooves instantly became hurried and loud. The crisp "da-da" echoed through the dead silence of the steel jungle, as conspicuous as a torch in the night.
On both sides of the street, those Walkers who had been wandering aimlessly seemed to receive some kind of command. They all turned their heads in unison, hollow eye sockets looking toward the source of the sound, and then took stiff steps, converging!
But Rick couldn't care less about that now!
All his attention was focused on that patch of sky, longing to see that shadow representing hope once more.
He even wanted the sound of the hooves to be louder—loud enough for the people on the helicopter to notice them!
However, he never imagined that this reckless move would nearly send him and Louis straight to hell.
Just at the next corner, as he turned the horse—
Rick's pupils shrank! The steed beneath him let out a shrill, frightened neigh and reared up violently!
"Holy crap!" Louis cursed inwardly. If Rick hadn't been behind him to shield him, he would have almost fallen off.
Although he had anticipated this scene, actually seeing it still filled Louis with dread, a chill rising in his heart.
It was terrifying!!!
Rick was currently gripping the reins tightly, barely managing to steady the horse.
There was no road left.
On the six-lane highway ahead, which should have been incredibly wide, there wasn't an inch of empty space.
Densely packed Walkers, hundreds or even thousands of them, stretched out endlessly like a gray sea of death composed of rotting flesh and withered bones, completely filling the entire highway!
They crowded, jostled, and roared aimlessly.
The moment they heard the horse's neigh, this silent ocean came to life.
The dozens of Walkers closest to them turned their heads in unison.
Pairs of hollow, cloudy eyes, filled with endless greed for flesh, stared fixedly at the two fresh living beings on horseback.
In the next second, a deafening roar rose to the sky!
The horde of Walkers rioted!
"Damn it!"
Rick cursed. Without a moment's hesitation, he yanked the horse's head around and galloped back the way they came at full speed!
However, before they could get very far, something even more desperate happened.
The street that had been relatively empty when they arrived was now filled with a dark mass of Walkers emerging from every corner, completely sealing off their retreat!
A sea of corpses in front, a mountain of corpses behind!
They were surrounded!
At that moment, the steed beneath them also seemed stunned by the hellish sight of being flanked. It let out a long neigh full of terror and reared up again!
"Watch out!"
BANG!
Rick wasn't as lucky this time. Caught off guard, he and the gun bag hanging from the saddle were thrown off violently, slamming onto the road!
Only Louis, who had been gripping the reins for dear life, managed to steady himself on the horse's back.
"Officer!"
Seeing the surging horde of Walkers closing in, about to swallow them both, a wave of immense despair washed over Rick.
If he were alone, he might have picked up his gun without hesitation to give himself a quick end. But besides him, there was a child!
He couldn't let Louis be dragged down to his death here!
Perhaps due to the sharp spike in adrenaline, Rick's mind became clearer than ever before.
He quickly scanned his surroundings, and his gaze instantly locked onto a tank parked quietly in the middle of the street!
That was the only way out!
He made a decision on the spot and roared at Louis on the horse, "Louis! Listen! I'll find a way to draw these Walkers away. You take the chance to hide in that tank! Wait..."
"I'll draw the Walkers away!"
However, Louis quickly cut off the officer's declaration of self-sacrifice.
He glanced at Rick, then at the tank, instantly understanding the other's plan.
Without any hesitation, he yanked the reins, turned the horse, and charged toward another street.
"I'll survive! Think of your family, Rick!"
The clear voice of the child reached Rick's ears distinctly amidst the chaotic roars.
"Louis!"
Rick watched in disbelief as that small figure charged resolutely toward another group of Walkers.
The boy's actions undoubtedly drew the attention of the vast majority of the Walkers to himself!
Rick's eyes instantly reddened, but now was not the time for hesitation or refusal.
The Walkers were already wobbling closer. In order not to waste the precious opportunity the child had sacrificed himself to create, he could only grit his teeth, charge like a Lunatic toward the tank, and crawl inside through the bottom hatch.
CLANG!
The hatch closed, isolating all the roaring and bloodiness of the outside world.
It was pitch black inside the tank, with only a few faint beams of light filtering through the observation ports.
Rick slumped against the cold metal, gasping for breath, but immediately after, a wave of guilt and self-reproach, worse than death, completely swallowed him.
He had almost killed the child just now.
He had made a promise before they set out, but what had he done? He led the child into hell, and then watched helplessly as he charged into a sea of corpses to save him... "ARRGH—!"
Rick let out a painful, suppressed roar and slammed his fist hard against the inner wall of the tank.
Beside him, the corpse of a dead soldier was awakened by the noise and opened its eyes... Meanwhile, at the department store across the corner.
An Asian man wearing a baseball cap was watching everything happening on the next street in stunned silence, his jaw nearly hitting the floor.
He had originally seen an officer with a child on horseback galloping along. Seeing that they were attracting many Walkers, he wanted to see if he could help.
Who would have thought that before he could act, he would witness such a shocking scene!
After separating from the policeman, the Blond Boy rode a majestic brown horse alone, sprinting frantically through the narrow street.
Directly in front of him was a dense, impassable crowd of Walkers!
Just as the Asian man thought the child was about to be swallowed by the crowd, he heard the boy shout a slogan he didn't understand. The brown steed actually seemed to grow wings, suddenly leaping into the air!
It traced a graceful parabola, lightly flying directly over the crowded mass of Walkers!
"What?! What the hell is this?!"
The Asian man—Glenn—was shocked into incoherence by the horse's god-like jumping ability and hang time. "A real-life Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron? Pony Man?? The Michael Jordan of horses???"
However, that wasn't the end!
While in mid-air, the boy on the horse scanned the area rapidly and threw something from his waist with a backhand!
Three flashes of cold light flickered past!
Three steel spikes, at a speed difficult for the naked eye to catch, were accurately embedded into the back of the heads of three Walkers!
Then, as the horse landed and continued running, those three steel spikes were instantly retracted into his hand in a peculiar way!
The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, fast as a phantom!
"Holy crap!!! An international agent? Naruto?? Bat-horse and Robin???"
It wasn't until the figure of the boy and horse completely disappeared around the corner that Glenn regained his senses from the massive shock.
He swallowed hard, finally remembering that there was still a poor bastard in that tank waiting for him to rescue.
Just as Glenn began using the walkie-talkie to explain the escape method to Rick, who had just finished off the Walker inside the tank, Louis was still galloping.
Although most of the actions were part of his plan, the sight before him still made his scalp tingle.
There are just way too many Walkers!!!