Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Everyone felt a deeper chill run down their spines. The shelter being breached and the Devourer Ants being unleashed clearly wasn’t just a coincidence.

And now, the mastermind behind all this finally decided to show himself.

What a cunning bastard!

At this point, their fighting strength wasn’t even a tenth of what it used to be. They had practically no chance of resisting.

The female Zombie King was covered in blood, looking utterly miserable. Her fierce eyes stared at Ethan, and for a brief moment, a hint of vulnerability flickered through them.

”Please...save me,” she whispered weakly.

”Oh? Not so proud anymore, huh?” Ethan smirked playfully, slowly stepping toward her.

”Stop him, quick!” Takeshi shouted, panic rising in his voice.

His subordinates clenched their teeth, knowing they had no choice. Even though they were exhausted, they had to fight. Victory or death—it all came down to this.

They grabbed their short blades and charged Ethan, desperation etched on their faces, like moths flying straight into a flame.

Honestly, whether these people were exhausted or not didn’t make much difference to Ethan. It just made things easier.

His eyes flashed crimson, and a terrifying Domain of the Dead instantly expanded around him.

An overwhelming pressure descended.

In that instant, it felt as if the entire space had frozen solid. Everything stopped—air currents, floating dust particles—everything seemed suspended in time.

The people caught within this domain froze in place, their jaws clenched tight, unable to breathe under the crushing pressure. Their fear reached its absolute peak.

But soon enough...they were freed from their suffering.

Ethan walked calmly, as if strolling through a garden. As he passed each person, he casually reached into their skulls and plucked out their crystal cores.

His movements were smooth and practiced, effortless and graceful.

The Japanese Awakeners fell one by one—one corpse, two corpses, three corpses...

Their lives were fragile before Ethan, like blades of grass easily trampled underfoot.

Takeshi stared blankly at the scene, completely paralyzed by fear.

He’d survived in Japan for a long time and had seen plenty of zombies with strange abilities, but he’d never witnessed anything this terrifying.

The prolonged tension and overwhelming fear finally broke him.

”I’ll kill you!” he roared desperately, abandoning the female Zombie King and pulling his blood-stained katana from her claws, swinging it fiercely at Ethan.

Ethan casually raised his hand, and a Tachi appeared out of thin air.

Clang!

The blades collided, ringing out sharply.

With a smooth follow-up slash, Ethan effortlessly sliced through Takeshi’s weapon and neck in one clean stroke.

The entire process was disturbingly easy.

”They’re all...dead...” The female Zombie King sank to her knees, staring wide-eyed at the blood-soaked scene, unable to believe what she’d just witnessed.

Mad Dog stood nearby, equally stunned.

Was Ethan really this powerful?

Watching Ethan kill those people was like watching someone casually slaughter sheep—completely effortless.

Mad Dog admired strength above all else, and now he was filled with awe and respect.

”Boss, what was that ability you just used?” Mad Dog asked eagerly.

”You wanna learn? I can teach you,” Ethan replied casually.

”Yes, yes!” Mad Dog nodded enthusiastically, rushing over like an excited puppy, eyes sparkling.

”Boss, please don’t leave us. Stay here! With you around, we’ll conquer all of Japan in no time!”

”Nah, I’ll pass. I’ll leave the conquering of Japan to you,” Ethan said dismissively. He had no intention of staying. Japan was way too small—tiny compared to the vast expanse of the U.S.—and its scarce resources made life tough.

Mad Dog’s eyes lit up. ”You really think I can do it?”

”Yeah,” Ethan nodded encouragingly. ”Have some faith in yourself.”

Mad Dog felt even more inspired, as if a seed of ambition had been planted deep within him. Determined to become stronger, he took Ethan’s words to heart.

From that moment on, he made it his mission to conquer Japan, and that seed quickly took root and began to grow.

”I, Mad Dog, will become the absolute ruler of Japan!” Mad Dog proudly declared, eyes blazing with ambition.

Meanwhile, Samara finally snapped out of her daze. The scene she’d just witnessed had truly shaken her to the core.

”Thank you...for saving me,” she said softly.

”No problem,” Ethan replied casually.

Gone was her previous arrogance. Samara lowered her head slightly, a gesture of submission, and introduced herself properly.

”My name is Samara.”

Ethan tilted his head thoughtfully, a playful smirk on his lips. ”With your proud attitude, are you sure your name isn’t T-Rex? Seems like it’d suit you better.”

”Huh?” Samara blinked, confused. ”If you prefer calling me T-Rex, I guess that’s fine?”

”Nah, Samara’s good enough. I’ll just call you Sam from now on.”

”Alright,” Samara nodded obediently.

”But hey, if another Zombie King pops up later, we can name him T-Rex,” Ethan joked.

”Sure, sounds good,” Ethan agreed, amused by the idea. At least now he’d have a heads-up—if someday a Zombie King named T-Rex appeared, he’d probably be friendly...

Afterward, they began cleaning up the battlefield.

Ethan collected the crystal cores from the fallen humans, leaving the bodies behind for Samara and Mad Dog. Since they’d become his subordinates, and he couldn’t stay in Japan forever, he figured he’d let them grow stronger and become a dominant force here.

It was all part of his bigger plan...

Once finished, Ethan suddenly remembered someone else was still waiting outside the shelter—the translator and driver, Oliver.

He needed Oliver to translate the research data from the shelter.

...

At that moment, Oliver was still obediently waiting outside on the rocky terrain. Sitting on a large stone, he absentmindedly played with two pebbles, lost in thought.

”It’s been an hour since that Zombie King went inside...and still no sign of him,” Oliver muttered nervously. ”Could he have been killed?”

He imagined the possibility—after all, the shelter had plenty of humans, maybe even some powerful Awakeners who could’ve taken down the Zombie King.

He glanced toward the shelter entrance, but didn’t have the courage to go down and check. Those Japanese Awakeners weren’t exactly friendly either. If he fell into their hands, he’d be in serious trouble.

Looking around again, everything was still quiet. Nothing moved.

”Maybe I shouldn’t just sit here like an idiot,” Oliver finally decided. ”I should probably get out of here.”

But he had nowhere to go. He’d lost contact with Genesis Biotech, had no aircraft, and couldn’t return to the States. Wandering around Japan aimlessly would only lead to trouble sooner or later.

”I’ll just find somewhere safe to hide for now,” Oliver resolved after a moment of hesitation.

He stood up, ready to leave.

But just as he took a step, a voice suddenly sounded behind him.

”And where do you think you’re going?”

Oliver froze mid-step, his body stiffening. Slowly, he turned around and saw Ethan standing there, expressionless.

”Uh...I was just feeling a bit uncomfortable, you know, stretching my legs a bit. Not going anywhere, haha...” Oliver stammered nervously.

”Oh, really? Want me to help you feel better?” Ethan smiled gently, sounding genuinely concerned.

Oliver shook his head frantically, terrified. ”No, no! I’m fine now! Look—I can even jog! And jump! See? Jumping!”

He hopped around awkwardly, desperate to prove he was perfectly healthy.