Webnovel Author In The Apocalypse World-Chapter 402: Betrayal in the Horde

As for Haneulsae Safe Zone?

Moon Baein no longer cared that Haneulsae Safe Zone's people were conserving their strength as much as possible during this battle.

As long as they didn't go so far as to use others' lives as shields, he was willing to ignore them.

By noon, the number of zombies in this wave had finally dwindled.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

Apart from some mutated insects and ants that were still attacking, the battlefield had mostly quieted down.

These insects and ants, each as big as a soccer ball, weren't too difficult to deal with.

While the ability users took the chance to recover their strength and energy, the ordinary people were left to handle these creatures.

They burned them with fire, stabbed them with sharp weapons, and worked together from behind the safe zone walls.

So far, there were no major issues.

At this moment, the human side's specially formed the "Zombie King Hunting Squad" quietly set out.

This squad consisted of only eight people, each the absolute elite of their respective safe zones.

However, even for them, infiltrating a horde of tens of thousands of zombies, locating the highest-level zombie, and eliminating it was an extremely challenging mission.

But there was no choice.

Eight people was the limit.

Even with the strongest concentration of odor neutralizers, it was impossible to completely mask the scent of the living among so many zombies.

If they brought any more people, they wouldn't even be able to safely approach the horde, let alone find the high-level zombie.

The eight members, all experienced fighters, carefully maneuvered through the eerily silent zombie horde.

As the highest-level zombie, its appearance wouldn't necessarily be unique, but its location would always be at the very center.

As long as they kept moving toward the core of the horde, they would eventually find it.

Along the way, they inevitably encountered more and more Level 2 zombies, and even some Level 3 ones.

These high-level zombies were far more agile than Level 1 zombies, with an incredibly sharp sense of smell.

A fight was unavoidable.

After taking down three Level 3 zombies that had been suspicious of them, the squad suddenly felt a commotion ahead.

They exchanged glances, holding their breath and minimizing their presence.

Had their movements alarmed the high-level zombie?

However, judging by the sounds, that didn't seem to be the case.

Led by Chung Hwangeun, the eight of them continued stealthily advancing toward the center.

The closer they got, the more intense the commotion became.

At first, they thought the disturbance was caused by their presence, alerting the nearby high-level zombies.

But now, they were beginning to doubt their assumption.

Just moments ago, a Level 3 zombie had brushed past them.

Like the others before it, it had given them a suspicious glance but didn't come forward to investigate.

Instead, it hurried toward the source of the disturbance.

Zombies didn't have any concept of hesitation, nor did they worry about mistakenly killing their own kind.

If a zombie suspected another of being an enemy, it would attack without hesitation and devour its crystal core for its own evolution.

So, something must have happened at the center!

And judging by the way the zombies were reacting, it was something bad for them.

If it was bad for the zombies, then it was good for humans.

The squad members perked up, quickening their pace.

They had no idea what was happening inside, but the principle of "strike while the enemy is weak" had always been regarded as an ironclad rule.

If their mission to locate and eliminate the highest-tier zombie had seemed difficult before, their chances of success had now skyrocketed thanks to this unknown stroke of luck.

As they drew closer to the source of the disturbance, their eyes scanned their surroundings, all eager to find this mysterious "ally."

To their surprise, there was no need to search—this "ally" stood out so blatantly that they spotted it at a glance.

It was... a few zombies?!

What was going on?

Eight people simultaneously halted their steps.

They had considered the possibility of a mutated plant, a mutated animal, or some kind of object or trap affecting the zombies.

But they had never expected that the ones helping the humans—were zombies?

Zombies within the zombie horde attacking the Zombie King???

Were these zombies out of their minds, or were they themselves losing their sanity?

Damn, could this be some kind of illusion attack from a psychic-type zombie?!

Was it taking advantage of their momentary emotional disturbance to break down their mental defenses?

All eight elite human combatants, highly experienced in battle, immediately considered this possibility.

Their expressions changed drastically, and without hesitation, they activated their abilities against themselves.

"Argh!"

The pain from their own ruthless attacks made them silently scream, their mouths wide open in agony.

Yet, not daring to make a sound for fear of attracting the countless zombies around them, their faces twisted in silent suffering.

However, this confirmed one thing—this was not an illusion.

The scene before them was real!

What the hell was going on with these zombies?!

In front of them, the zombies had split into two distinct groups.

One side was, naturally, composed of the high-level zombies leading this zombie horde: mostly Level 2 zombies, some Level 3 zombies, and a handful of Level 4 zombies that could be counted on one hand.

As for the Level 1 zombies?

They were completely excluded from the main fight, standing by as obedient spectators, simply waiting for the battle to end before mechanically following the orders of the higher-level zombies.

On the other side, the numbers looked pitifully small.

No matter how many times they counted, this group had only eight zombies.

For a moment, one of the human ability users began to suspect that these eight zombies were actually their future selves.

There were exactly eight of them, and they had come to hunt the Zombie King leading this horde.

What if they failed, got killed by the zombies, and turned into zombies themselves?