Nikolai was jolted awake that same night by a tremendous clash of thunder. Sitting up in his bed, he saw the lightning illuminate the dimly lit town of Woodbury. Oil torches were lit along the roadside, and the flames were heavily whipping in the wind. Nikolai rose from the mattress and swiftly strode out of his room and approached the exit leading outside. Nikolai quietly slipped through the threshold, and felt the full impact of the wind hit him. Thank Odin his chains were fastened, or they would have flew out beside him, making a ton of noise. The rain was absolutely torrential. The visibility was greatly reduced due to the intense wind that accompanied the downpour. It looked as if it were raining sideways. Up ahead, Nikolai could see a figure running through the rain towards the gate nearest Nikolai. Nikolai pondered why, and followed suit. Up ahead, he could hear several men shouting. The Governor himself was there, dressed in an old sailor raincoat. The giant quickly ascended the ladder, and The Governor looked over at him. "You're just in time for the party. The noise from the thunder drives them wild. Sometimes they clump together. They just so happen to be heading this way. No less than 40 of 'em." Nikolai looked out from the perch. There were a few more undead this time than when he had looked earlier. Nikolai spoke, "Why not snipe them from here?" The Governor said, "There's far too many to put a dent in their numbers without risking a huge waste of ammo. Best thing to do is to wait until they get within 25 yards. Then we unload on them." Nikolai knew that The Governor was right. However, The herd was coming closer by the second, , and even if everyone on the gate were to take refuge in the town, the undead would reach the gate, trying to push it down once they felt something in their path. Nikolai spoke, "Please allow me to exit the wall. I have an idea." The Governor said, "No. Nobody goes out of the gates after curfew." Nikolai expected something like this. The giant said, "Give me covering fire. This will work." The Governor said, "I said no. That's final. You're not going out there." Knowing the answer would be the same, and with the herd edging ever closer to the gate, Nikolai simply stepped past him. The Governor rose his voice, shouting orders of protest. Nikolai did not listen. Leaping down from the gate, he waited several moments, allowing the herd to steadily close the distance between them. When they were roughly no more than 20 yards away, he reached his hands over his shoulders, and brandished his torrent cannons. He had enough ammunition to spare for this. He had literally thousands of rounds. The trigger for the weapon was mounted on the outside of his hands, forming makeshift handles to aid in stabilizing the weapon. He rose his left arm until it was eye level. Grasping the trigger, he made sure the targeting reticule was properly aligned with his left eye. Nikolai could hear the shouts of protest and fear from behind, but he paid them no mind. The rain increased in intensity, as the massive combined snarling of the undead inched towards him. Nikolai was an immovable golem, the rain and wind not affecting him.

The undead were now 15 yards away. Nikolai squeezed his fist over the trigger. The all too familiar hum of the warm-up rotation of the gun emanated throughout his body. After a few seconds, a massive barrage of suppressed .50 cal rounds erupted from the weapon. The rain that touched the barrel was immediately evaporated from the intense heat. Ahead of him, Nikolai could see countless bodies literally explode apart from the sheer impact of his weapon. He made sure to aim as close to the head as possible. The undead were falling in droves. Several had begun to push the fallen bodies aside, continuing their advance. Nikolai rose the right arm, and proceeded to fire both weapons simultaneously. The cannons made his hands vibrate uncontrollably, as they continued their high rate of fire. His heart pounded with the thrill of getting into such a large confrontation. It was not often that he got to use the most powerful parts of his arsenal. Nikolai merely stood there, swerving his weapons left and right for maximum coverage. The men on the gate must have gotten the idea, because they started helping him. however, the herd still came. Nikolai had gone through hundreds of rounds by this point. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, as he dark thrill of combat overcame him. He began to edge himself towards the herd. They were being steadily worked back, as they began to trip over their fallen comrades' dead bodies. The smell of rotten flesh putrified the air, making a sick mixture of feces, urine, and flesh. Nikolai walked forward, not feeling frightened. The undead were slowly being dwindled, as the isolated shots of sniper fire joined in the chorus of bullets and smoke. Nikolai's armor was waterproof, so the rain was not bothering him that much. It was so damn hard to see however. Ecstasy and a fierce berserker-rage overtook Nikolai, as he shouldered his weapons and charged straight into the herd. Their hands and bloody fingers tried to get through his armor, but nothing worked. The thrill of battle coursed through his mind, as he unsheathed his blades, decapitating several undead. His heart pounded with excitement. He uttered an animalistic screech of war, and ruthlessly slashed his way through the herd. Blood coated the visor of his helmet, as the smell of flesh was greeted by his brain. Nikolai was a monster in combat. More undead were coming. One of them managed to grab him from behind, and they all swarmed him, biting his armor. It was futile. They were not strong enough to penetrate it. Nikolai punched through the chest of one of them, and reached his hand up into its heart cavity, making his way to the brain. He crumbled the spinal cord with a sickening crunch, and it fell, expired. Rapidly swinging his blades, he cleaved off one head, then two, then seven, making a path just large enough for him to get back to the gate. Nikolai tackled through several of them, making his way to the base of the gate and climbing it. He took one of his torrent cannons and aided the snipers on the wall. More of the undead fell, and their numbers were reduced to a few dozen.

One of the men said, "Jesus fucking Christ Governor where the hell did you find this guy?" The Governor did not answer, as he was busy aiding the gunners on the wall as well. The exhaustion from the rage began to take its toll on Nikolai, he could feel himself becoming fatigued. One of the other men said, "Only a few more left! Keep it up!" Nikolai shouldered the torrent cannon and proceeded to take aim with his Model 500. The Governor stopped him by putting a hand up. The patched man said, "No. You've done enough." Nikolai opened his mouth to say something, but one of the other men said, "We've got this under control, Governor. We appreciate the help." Nobody said anything to Nikolai. The Governor looked at the giant with a stern, serious face. He said, "Come with me please. Good job boys." The other men nodded in gratitude as The Governor led Nikolai away towards the central seat of power in town. Nikolai said nothing, as the patched man undid his sailor coat, placing it upon the cherry wood desk. The Governor asked, "What the hell was that?" Nikolai answered simply, "Solving your undead problem, sir." The Governor lowered his voice a bit, and said, "You went crazy out there, were you trying to get yourself killed?" Nikolai answered, "That is unlikely to happen from undead while I am conscious." The Governor cocked his head to the side and said, "You deliberately disobeyed me in front of my people. I told you not to go out there because it was too dangerous." Nikolai spoke, "Yet the problem has been solved?" The patched man took a deep breath, and sighed. He spoke, "I am trying to help keep you alive. That isn't a good example to set for your first full day here. You're a hero to these people. Now they're probably going to wonder if they should fear you or if they should respect you." Nikolai felt the impact of these words. Most likely, the people would try to evict him. Nikolai didn't mind. He never stayed in one place for too long anyway. The Governor spoke, "However, I am quite impressed by your abilities in combat. I guess there is no need to have a combat test. You killed no less than 25 biters. That is quite impressive. Those guns you have are quite powerful. And the blades you have seem quite handy." Nikolai spoke, "Yes, sir." The Governor, "Hopefully you've enjoyed your stay so far. I'm a bit pissed off that you disobeyed me in front of my people. However, I can overlook it this time. Don't do it again." Nikolai could not help but feel a genuine tone of anger in his voice. Nikolai, though not intimidated, knew that he would need to try to keep conflict down. As much as he loved to fight deep down, there was always a reluctance to do so, especially against humans. It was like a self-inhibitor to ensure he didn't lose control often. The Governor continued, "Now. I'm asking you to return to your room. Everyone is tired and exhausted. The storm is still going on and we have major cleanup detail tomorrow. I hope you decide to stay, but we can't have any more incidents like that. Are we clear?" Nikolai responded with, "Yes, sir." The giant promptly left, making sure to get to his room as soon as possible. He lie down on the mattress, and proceeded to fall unconscious not long after, the exhaustion from the fight consuming him entirely.