by Giles on Sat Nov 26, 2022 8:50 am
How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
So many variables. But first a few assumptions, more or less in line with the standards of the genre...
-The defender is fighting solo and using some form of cold steel, as opposed to being comfortably ensconced in a fully fuelled and ammo'd Leopard II tank together with a few colleagues.
- The 10-year-old zombies are of the classic Romero shuffling variety, not those dubious sprinting zombie-come-latelys.
- The defender is on open, firm and unencumbered terrain, therefore able to move around at will and in no danger of being trapped in a corner, falling into a pit etc.
With those givens, we can equip the defender with a hand-and-a-half sword, the corresponding well-trained skills of the Liechtenauer school and a generally fit, athletic physique. The sword of modern high-grade steel and very well sharpened. Plus a pair of sturdy boots with a good, deep profile on the soles, to avoid slipping on all the blood. Okay, and something like a kukri as a back-up.
I think that the defender, as long as he is able to keep moving/relocating as he fights and hence avoid a build-up of small-sized corpses that will ultimately trap him on one spot, should be able to kill an unlimited number of 10-year-old zombies.* Until, of course, simple fatigue starts to overwhelm him (or existential despair), and also the sword edges become increasingly blunted. Then the game will be up.
* Adult zombies will be slightly faster because their legs are longer and above all they have greater mass, hence requiring more time and effort to disable/kill each individual. Cumulatively this might well make a difference to the time the defender can keep going.
Do not make the mistake of giving up the near in order to seek the far.