Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”He’s not human at all!” Mad Dog thought, panic surging through him along with a terrible sense of dread.

Just then, a tentacle suddenly shot out from the man’s neck, whipping through the air like a steel cable and slamming hard into Mad Dog.

CRACK!

Mad Dog flew backward, crashing heavily onto the ground and rolling several times before finally coming to a stop.

His flesh was torn open, exposing white bones beneath. If his bones hadn’t been so tough, he’d probably be dead already.

”Damn, that was close...” Mad Dog muttered, shaken by the unexpected blow.

One of his zombie followers glanced at him. ”Boss, didn’t you say you could handle him easily?”

”Uh... That guy isn’t human at all. He’s extremely dangerous. Be careful!” Mad Dog quickly warned.

”Oh...” the zombie follower nodded slowly. ”Good thing you told us not to get involved earlier, huh?”

”...” Mad Dog’s face darkened. He was speechless, but more importantly, he wondered—what the hell was this thing, and why was it so strong?

He looked up again and saw clearly now—a tentacle was waving menacingly from the man’s neck.

”Wait a second... Isn’t that one of those parasite monsters?” Mad Dog immediately recognized it from the recent lessons Ethan had given them. The creature matched the description perfectly.

Indeed, this monster was part of the parasite leader’s scouting force, sent ahead to investigate the town.

”ROARRR—”

The parasite let out a piercing shriek, signaling its companions outside.

The ground trembled violently, and clouds of dust rose from the outskirts of town as thousands of parasite monsters surged forward.

Mad Dog stared in horror at the massive swarm of creatures rapidly approaching. ”It’s an invasion! Run for your lives!” he shouted, scrambling to his feet and fleeing alongside his zombie followers. Moments ago, he’d been chasing the monster—now the roles had reversed, and he was the one running for his life.

At the rear of the parasite army, their leader calmly surveyed the scene.

”There’s a small town ahead?” he asked.

”Yes, sir,” a subordinate replied. ”It’s a poor, isolated town on the edge of the wasteland. Not many zombies there.”

”Then why would Radiant Crystals suddenly appear in a place like this?” The parasite leader frowned, puzzled.

The subordinate thought for a moment. ”Isn’t this perfect, though? With our strength, we can easily crush this place. Once we get inside, we’ll find out what’s going on.”

”Hmm, you’re right,” the parasite leader nodded.

Eager to claim the Radiant Crystals, he ordered his army forward, intending to swiftly overwhelm the town with overwhelming force.

So far, everything was going smoothly. The parasite vanguard had already stormed into the town, meeting almost no resistance. It seemed like an easy victory.

But suddenly, from deep within the town, a chorus of zombie roars erupted, echoing like thunder and shaking the earth itself.

Clearly, the Zombie Horde was gathering—ready for war!

”Interesting...” the parasite leader murmured, still supremely confident. After all, he’d recently evolved to S-level thanks to the Radiant Crystals. Taking over a small, isolated town would be child’s play for him now.

Inside the town, chaos erupted.

On the desolate, apocalyptic streets, two monstrous forces were about to clash. From a human perspective, both sides were equally terrifying predators.

Mad Dog, who had been fleeing in panic moments ago, suddenly stopped in his tracks when he heard the familiar roars. His eyes lit up fiercely.

He recognized that sound—it was the signal to attack!

”They’re here... My brothers are here!” Mad Dog felt his blood boil with excitement.

From street corners and narrow alleys, zombies poured out in droves, quickly forming a massive horde. Elite zombies climbed down from rooftops, their eyes filled with murderous intent, ready to tear their enemies apart.

”Kill them all!”

Mad Dog spun around, his bones mutating again into two sharp blades. Unfortunately, his current level wasn’t high enough, so the blades were short and unimpressive—looking more like a pirate captain’s hooks than deadly weapons.

Just then, a shadow flashed past him at lightning speed, diving straight into the swarm of parasite monsters.

It was Samara, the female Zombie King.

As an agility-type zombie, she was practically an assassin on the battlefield—a head-hunting machine.

Samara’s A-level strength was no joke. She moved with blinding speed, her claws slicing through the air in a blur, sending several parasite heads flying in quick succession.

But strangely, those severed heads quickly sprouted tentacles, crawling back onto their headless bodies, twisting around with a sickening crunch, and reconnecting as if nothing had happened.

”Huh? They won’t die?” Samara tilted her head, puzzled.

Mad Dog quickly shouted from behind, ”Didn’t you pay attention in class? Ethan clearly said their weak spot is in their chest!”

”Oh, right...” Samara suddenly remembered. Ethan had indeed mentioned something like that.

Immediately, she adjusted her attacks, aiming straight for the parasites’ chests. Sure enough, once struck there, the monsters collapsed, shriveling up and stayed down for good.

Clearly, zombies weren’t scary—educated zombies were.

Meanwhile, Ethan stood atop a crumbling building, calmly observing the chaos below. To him, this was still just a minor skirmish.

Japan’s population had been small to begin with, and most had died off early in the apocalypse. As a result, the parasites had very limited hosts to infect, severely restricting their growth. The humanoid parasites below numbered only around five or six thousand.

Aside from them, there were a few mutated beasts and birds, but parasites using these creatures as hosts greatly weakened their combat effectiveness. Against humans, they might have had the advantage of stealth and surprise, but now their opponents were zombies—fellow monsters.

Parasites couldn’t infect zombies, forcing them into direct physical combat. Compared to the parasites Ethan had faced back in Santa Clarita, these Japanese parasites were far weaker—not even a tenth as strong.

Ethan felt like a high-level player bullying newbies in a starter village.

Soon enough, he spotted his target. Amidst the swarm of monsters, a massive tentacle—thick as an oak barrel—lashed out wildly, sweeping away hordes of zombies like a giant octopus. Zombies flew in all directions, some tossed high into the air before crashing down into bloody pulp.

Even Samara was knocked far away by the powerful strike.

Clearly, the parasite leader had finally arrived.

”Tell me now—where are the Radiant Crystals?” the parasite leader roared impatiently. He was desperate, unable to sense the crystals’ presence anymore, which confused and frustrated him.

Samara slowly climbed to her feet, a flicker of fear crossing her fierce eyes. She could feel the overwhelming pressure radiating from this monster—this was an S-level parasite!

”Can’t you speak? Haven’t you evolved intelligence yet?” Seeing her silence, the parasite leader grew even more irritated. His massive tentacle, over a hundred feet long, swung down from the sky like a falling meteor, aiming to crush her instantly.

But suddenly, a blade flashed through the air.

Swish—

The enormous tentacle was cleanly severed, falling heavily to the ground alongside Ethan, who landed gracefully from above...