Weapon System in Zombie Apocalypse
Chapter 242 - 242: Nuke It

January 16, 2026 — 10:12 AM

South Luzon, West of Los Baños

The earth trembled with each step.

From a distance, it sounded like distant thunder—dull, rhythmic, unrelenting. But as it drew closer, the sound evolved into something primal. The cracking of tree trunks, the squelch of moist earth under colossal weight, and the occasional bone-deep roar that made even the bravest soldiers flinch. Birds had long fled this forest. Even the usual infected stragglers had vanished—cleared out by the Goliath's mere presence.

The monster was moving north.

The Goliath towered over the treeline, its hulking mass covered in sinew, vine, and a bark-like layer of hardened flesh. The remnants of nests it had absorbed pulsed beneath its skin like malignant veins. Glowing pustules littered its spine and shoulders, some still dripping acidic sap that hissed against the leaves. With each step, it crushed boulders, uprooted decades-old trees, and sent shockwaves rippling outward.

Reaper Two-One hovered far above, trailing the Goliath with long-range cameras and LIDAR.

"Command, Goliath is maintaining heading—vector due north. Speed: ten kilometers per hour and increasing. Estimated time to Tagaytay Ridge: four hours," reported the drone operator inside the MOA Complex.

Thomas Estaris stood beside the main strategy table, arms crossed, eyes locked on the tactical screen. He hadn't spoken since entering the room.

Phillip adjusted the satellite overlay. "It's not just heading north—it's avoiding the highways. That thing's using forest cover and terrain. It's... aware."

"Which means we can't just carpet bomb it," Marcus said from across the room. "We'd vaporize half the countryside and still might not stop it."

"We could try to ambush it at the ridgeline," offered one junior officer. "Lay charges along the old bridge near the crater trail, slow it down."

Phillip shook his head. "It would shrug off explosives. We'd need armor-piercing payloads the size of shipping containers to breach its central core."

Thomas finally spoke. "We're not trying to slow it down. We're going to reroute it."

Heads turned.

Thomas pointed to the digital elevation overlay. "Here. The old geothermal reservoir east of Silang. If we can detonate the pressure chambers at the right time—"

"—we can trigger a collapse," Phillip finished. "Turn the terrain into a sinkhole and bury it alive."

"Exactly."

Marcus leaned in. "That's risky. You'd have to lure it there, time the detonation down to the second, and hope it doesn't just climb out of the pit."

Thomas nodded. "Which is why we're not going to rely on just one plan."

11:07 AM — Highway 1, South of Tagaytay Ridge

Rapid Deployment Convoy: Overwatch Fireteam Echo

The JLTVs kicked up plumes of dust as they rumbled up the broken road toward the forward ambush site. In the lead vehicle, Lieutenant Rosales squinted through dust-streaked goggles, his gloved hands gripping the wheel tightly. Next to him, Corporal Mendez adjusted the fuse timers on two seismic disruptor charges—an Overwatch invention cobbled together from mining equipment and artillery cores.

"I can't believe we're doing this," Mendez muttered. "We're fighting a mountain made of meat."

Rosales chuckled grimly. "And we're about to dig it a grave."

Behind them, flatbeds carried stacked canisters of thermobaric fuel, remote-controlled turrets, and five pallet-mounted heavy mortars—every bit of firepower the MOA Complex could scrape together on short notice. Overwatch wasn't just going to sit back and watch the Goliath roll through Luzon.

11:29 AM — Forest Outskirts, Near Sta. Rosa

Reaper Two-One zoomed in again. The Goliath's advance had not slowed.

But something had changed.

It had begun to howl.

Every twenty minutes, like clockwork, the creature paused—raised its arms to the sky—and let out a cry so loud it distorted nearby radios and caused leaves to shudder.

Phillip furrowed his brow. "It's calling for something."

"Reinforcements?" Marcus asked.

"Maybe," Thomas replied. "Or maybe it's just broadcasting dominance. Like a predator."

"Either way," Phillip said, "whatever hears it won't want to fight back."

12:02 PM — Ambush Ridge Alpha, Tagaytay Sector

Fireteam Echo was halfway through preparing their fallback trench when Rosales's radio crackled.

"Echo Lead, this is Command. Goliath is redirecting course. Estimated path now leads directly through your sector."

Rosales froze. "Say again?"

"Goliath changed heading. It's climbing the southern slope."

From the treetops a kilometer away, the creature's head crested the rise—glowing eyes burning like furnace coals beneath a jagged crown of bark and bone.

Rosales turned to his men. "You heard the man. Defensive lines now! Get those mortars up!"

A chorus of "yes, sir!" echoed across the ridge as soldiers scrambled.

The plan had been to trap it.

Now it was about surviving the next hour.

12:27 PM — Ambush Ridge Alpha, Tagaytay Sector

The Goliath thundered into the clearing.

The ground shook as its feet landed, one after another, like war drums from hell.

"Range: 800 meters," the mortar operator reported.

"Fire!"

The ridge lit up.

Five heavy mortars belched fire as 120mm shells screamed through the air. They exploded in a staggered pattern—impacting near the Goliath's legs and chest. Smoke and fire billowed.

Rosales saw the creature stumble—but not fall.

"Reload!"

From the brush, turrets sprang to life—automated .50 cals firing in synchronized bursts.

Then the Bloomspawn arrived.

Scores of them—dozens of malformed, sinewy beasts screeching as they spilled from the Goliath's flanks like parasites clinging to a titan.

"Contact left!" one soldier yelled.

Rosales swung his rifle and dropped three in quick succession.

"Don't let them breach the mortars!" he barked.

Explosions continued to thunder as the creature pressed forward, roaring so loud the air trembled.

Behind the ridge, Corporal Mendez crouched near the seismic disruptor rig. The gauge blinked red.

"Sir!" he shouted into the radio. "Disruptor's set, but we need thirty more seconds!"

Rosales ducked as a Bloomspawn leapt past him, tackled a turret, and shredded it in a spray of sparks.

"You have twenty!" he roared back.

12:41 PM — MOA Complex, Command Center

Thomas watched the ridge's drone feed intently. Fire, smoke, and blood. Soldiers fighting for every inch.

Then a blinking icon on the map.

Disruptor Ready.

"Trigger it," he said.

Phillip nodded. "Command to Echo. Detonate now."

12:42 PM — Ambush Ridge

Mendez slammed the activation switch.

The earth groaned.

Then, like a dying lung, the entire ridge gave way—imploding as if pulled from beneath. The terrain fell inward in a cascading collapse, a sinkhole swallowing trees, mud, mortars, and the Goliath's leading foot.

It tried to pull back—but momentum carried it forward.

The beast roared and tumbled, slamming into the pit as half its body vanished into the earth.

A massive column of dust and debris erupted skyward.

"Target in the hole!" Rosales yelled.

For a moment... silence.

Then—movement.

The Goliath's arm burst from the sinkhole's edge, claws slamming into the rocks as it dragged its upper body out, piece by piece.

"It's climbing out!" someone screamed.

Thomas clenched his fists.

"Fall back," he ordered. "Echo Team, disengage."

Rosales didn't argue.

"Move, move, move!"

The ridge was no longer a battlefield. It was a deathtrap.

1:02 PM — MOA Complex, Executive Wing

Thomas stood by the glass window of the war room, watching the dark smoke rise on the horizon.

He didn't need confirmation from the drone.

The Goliath had survived.

Injured. Slowed.

But still marching.

Marcus entered quietly. "Sir… we hit it with everything. It's still coming."

Thomas didn't reply for a moment. Then:

"Then we find something bigger."

He turned to Phillip.

"I am going to drop a nuke at it."

Phillip blinked. "A nuke sir?"

"Small yield, should take care of that thing. I can buy it from my weapon system. It will cost 500,000 blood coins, and it won't even hurt my balance."

"Very well sir, but how are we going to deliver the payload?"

"Through missile," Thomas replied.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.