First Horde

As the first wave of Crawler Zombies and Walker Zombies closed in on their shelter, Shane, Harper, and Anna swiftly took up their positions.

"I'll clear the Crawler Zombies! Stay here!" Shane said as he confirmed that the Crawler Zombies' movements were too slow. He jumped from the fence, swiftly navigated through the traps, and dashed toward the Crawler Zombies…

Since Cloud confirmed that there were no other zombies hiding behind the Crawler Zombies, he felt a lot more confident doing this.

Furthermore, the traps that they made would be wasted if they were only used against the pathetic Crawler Zombies. Most of the traps that they made could only be used once.

Because of that, Shane wanted these traps to be used against Runner or even Jumper Zombies rather than the Crawler Zombies.

Bam! Bam!

The sound of metal against bone reverberated through the air as the first of the Crawler Zombies slithered forward. 

Shane's hatchet became a blur as he precisely cut open the heads of the Crawler Zombies. Each strike could swiftly kill a low-tier Zombie like he was slicing tofu!

It was the power of this Exceptional Rank Hatchet!

Unlike the Zombies in the mining site, where they have helmets on, these Crawler Zombies weren't protected by anything and could be easily killed. 

Furthermore, Shane moved as quickly as possible since he planned to kill all of them before the Walker Zombies could reach Harper and Anna behind the fence.

"Haaa!"

Shane expertly dispatched the encroaching Crawlers, his movements swift and decisive, repelling the grotesque horde with practiced rhythm.

Over the past few days, Shane's fighting style using his hatchet had improved a lot. Although he doesn't have a Survivor Skill like a Hatchet Mastery, his method of using it was no longer a beginner at the very least.

Meanwhile, as the Walker Zombies close in, Harper's spear became incredibly useful. The spear was about 2.5 meters, and each of his thrusts could kill a Walker Zombie! 

Although there were many Walker Zombies, they were blocked by the metal wires and obstacles they placed in front of their fence!

"Die!" Harper shouted as he tried to get every zombie's attention to him. 

Well, it would be a problem if these zombies would actually spread out. It was better if they lined up according to the obstacles they made.

Anna watched the battle closely, and whenever there was Zombie that survived Harper's spear, she would smash them with her nail bat!

Bam!

She unleashed the full force of her nail bat upon seeing a Crawler Zombie hold the metal fence! 

Beside her, Lucky barked and lunged at any approaching threat! The dog would actually bite the feet of the Walker Zombies, and he wasn't being turned into undead for some reason!

As Shane killed all the Crawler Zombies and looted them, he still failed to level up even with the help of the 2x Exp Potion!

'So difficult?! Just how many experience points do I need to collect?' Shane thought as he rushed to help the two fend off the Walker Zombies.

As the skirmish raged on, the trio's coordinated efforts proved invaluable. The metal fence and simple yet effective arrangements of obstacles and traps served as a formidable barrier against the relentless onslaught. 

After about 15 more minutes, the last Walker Zombie died from Anna's nail bat.

Although a little tired, the trio were relieved as they stood amidst the aftermath of the battle against the first horde of zombies.

They surveyed the scene before them, the tangled remains of the defeated zombies were piled up as they formed a wall of corpses outside their fence.

"Let me loot them quickly…" Shane muttered as he swiftly looted each Walker Zombie. Luckily, it seemed that each time they cleared a horde of zombies, they would have a few minutes of break.

[ Do you want to retrieve the loot? ] 

"Yes."

[ You have earned 10 Experience Points. ] 

[ Loots obtained: 1 Item Upgrade Crystal, 1 Core 500mL water, 100mL Walker Zombie Blood, 1 Spirit Enhancement Bottle ]

[ You have earned 10 Experience Points. ] 

[ Loots obtained: 1 Item Upgrade Crystal, 1 Core 500mL water, 100mL Walker Zombie Blood, 1 Spirit Enhancement Bottle ]

[ You have earned 10 Experience Points. ] 

[ Loots obtained: 1 Item Upgrade Crystal, 1 Core 500mL water, 100mL Walker Zombie Blood, 1 Spirit Enhancement Bottle ]

In the meantime, while Shane was busy looting the Zombies, Harper and Anna finally had the time to rest.

Unlike Shane, the two of them have lower stat points. To be exact, they probably have the basic stat points, considering they weren't even combat-type residents.

So it was certainly a lot harder for them, even with the help of Special Spicy Noodle.

Nevertheless, after about 5 minutes, as Shane and the others caught their breath, Cloud, the A.I. assistant, alerted Shane to the presence of two unusual zombies. 

[ Two Zombies have been detected. ]

[ They have 75% similarities with the Crawler Zombies. It is possibly the Crawler Leader Zombie that we haven't met yet. ]

Cloud reported.

Having learned from its previous mistake, Cloud no longer guaranteed its identification of a zombie unless it matched more than 90 percent of its data. 

"Zombies are coming… There were only two of them but they're stronger…" Shane said as he informed his two companions.

Harper and Anna nodded at this. They didn't ask any more questions since it was enough to know that there were zombies coming.

Soon, the two figures suspected to be Crawler Leaders emerged from the shadows, and Shane indeed realized the striking difference. 

They were slightly bigger, and they had muscular arms that allowed them to move faster than other normal crawlers. Of course, they still had injured legs and couldn't stand, but they were certainly more intimidating.

Their eyes glowed with an ominous intensity, and their movements through the obstacles were more calculated and deliberate, showing a heightened level of intelligence compared to the mindless horde they had encountered thus far.