Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Chris and the others turned their heads, curiosity written all over their faces.

”That sausage-lipped guy’s still alive?”

Thomas and Jenny, who had a bit of a connection with Logan, couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. Jenny’s eyes narrowed with focus, and in a flash, a soft blue energy swirled around her. With a wave of her hand, a water tornado shot forward.

As it tore through the air, the vortex howled like a dragon’s roar, fierce and powerful.

But the massive spider didn’t flinch. Its eight vertical eyes locked onto the attack, completely unfazed. It didn’t even try to dodge. Instead, its thick tail whipped around, spewing out a flood of webbing that wove itself into a massive net right in front of it.

The web was dense and tough—like steel cables strung together.

The water tornado slammed into the net, but its force dropped off sharply. In seconds, it was shredded into a thousand droplets, scattering like mist.

What had been a deadly attack now looked more like a fancy showerhead.

”Damn, it’s that strong?” Jenny thought, stunned.

No wonder Logan ran like hell. These mutated freaks were no joke.

And the spider wasn’t just tough—it was pissed. After taking the hit, it let out a deafening screech that rattled the air. It was officially enraged.

With a powerful leap, all eight legs launched it forward, chasing after Logan even faster than before.

”Oh, come on…”

Logan’s eyes went wide. Things had just gone from bad to worse.

Help? This was help?

They were making it worse!

He looked like he was about to cry. ”S-Somebody help me!!!”

Jenny scratched her head, looking a little sheepish. ”Uh… sorry, Logan.”

Chris tried to comfort her. ”Hey, Jenny, it’s not your fault. It’s that idiot Logan’s. He’s always poking monsters with a stick…”

…

Up ahead, Mia’s sharp eyes locked onto the spider. She could tell—this thing had to go.

The Lightning Blade in her hand crackled with energy, growing more intense by the second. Then, with a burst of power, she launched herself into the air like a missile. The rock beneath her feet cracked from the force of her takeoff.

She shot forward, straight at the mutated beast.

The spider fired more webs, weaving another massive net in front of it, just like it would when trapping prey. It was trying to snare her mid-air.

But Mia’s tachi sliced through the air like a razor. With a flurry of slashes, she tore through the webs like they were paper, shredding them effortlessly.

In midair, the shredded silk floated down like snowflakes.

And through that ’snowfall,’ Mia emerged.

Her blade flashed across the spider’s midsection, leaving a deep, dark green gash. The once-ferocious spider froze in place.

The light in its eyes dimmed.

Then, with a sickening crack, its body split in two. Green blood sprayed everywhere, and its guts spilled out onto the ground.

”Holy crap…” Jenny and the others stared in awe. That monster had been terrifying—and Mia had cut it down with a single strike. The scene was nothing short of jaw-dropping.

But no one was more relieved than Logan.

Crisis averted—again.

With monsters swarming the base of the mountain, he had nowhere to run. Seeing how powerful Mia was, he made up his mind to stick close to her and the others.

”Okay… maybe now I’ll live through this.”

Ethan leapt down beside the spider’s corpse, his movements smooth and effortless. With a casual wave of his hand, he stored the massive body into his spatial ring. ”A spider this big? That’s a new flavor.”

Mia shot him a look, clearly unimpressed, then turned back to the fight.

Because the monsters just kept coming.

Mosca Peak was living up to its reputation.

They weren’t just coming from the ground and the sides—mutated scorpions and snakes were dropping from above too.

It was a full 360-degree assault.

The smaller creatures weren’t that strong, but they were relentless and exhausting to deal with.

Everyone was starting to feel it.

Sean glanced around with a ”wise” look in his eyes. ”I’m starving.”

Chris gave him a look. ”Dude, your fuel consumption is insane. You barely moved and you’re already hungry again?”

Ethan looked up. As they climbed higher, the number of monsters was finally starting to thin out. Judging by the energy in the air, they were almost through this hellish zone.

”Hang in there. We’ll be able to rest soon.”

”Okay…” Sean mumbled.

No more big threats showed up in this stretch, but it still took them a solid thirty minutes of nonstop fighting before the monster numbers started to drop off.

Everyone was drenched in sweat, backs aching, legs sore—they were completely wiped.

They’d made it to the upper-mid section of Mosca Peak. The massive swarms of mutated beasts had finally disappeared, leaving only a few scattered scorpions and snakes behind—nothing they couldn’t handle anymore.

”Whew—” Everyone let out a long breath of relief.

Except for Ethan, they were all covered in mutant blood—blue, green, red—you name it. It was a messy, chaotic mix that made them look like they’d just crawled out of a blender.

”Finally, a break,” Chris sighed, slumping down onto a nearby rock.

Mia, on the other hand, looked way less worn out than the rest. Her stamina was clearly on another level. Aside from being splattered with monster juice, she was basically untouched.

Her sharp eyes flicked over to Ethan, who was still spotless, not a drop of blood on him. She couldn’t help but call him out. ”Seriously? We’ve been fighting monsters nonstop and you didn’t lift a finger.”

”Helping out is exhausting,” Ethan replied with a shrug.

Mia: ”...”

Sean piped up, rubbing his stomach. ”I’m starving. Can we eat now?”

Ethan nodded. After all, they’d helped him find the stone tablet—feeding them was the least he could do.

With a wave of his hand, he pulled out the vulture meat from earlier.

They’d already eaten about half of it, but there was still plenty left.

”This vulture meat’s not bad. I’ll grill it up for everyone,” Chris offered, stepping up like a seasoned BBQ master.

They gathered around a big flat rock for a mid-battle break, taking the chance to rest and refuel.

Chris got to work, grilling the meat until it was golden brown and crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. Before long, the rich, savory aroma filled the air.

The smell was irresistible. Everyone dug in like they hadn’t eaten in days.

Jenny and Thomas, both from Oasis, had never tasted anything like this. They tore into the meat like wild animals, practically swallowing their tongues in the process.

”Mmm! This is amazing!”

But not far behind them, Logan was still lurking.

He’d followed the group all the way here while running from the monster horde, and after all that nonstop sprinting, he was completely drained.

The worst part? He had nothing to eat.

Now, watching them feast, his stomach growled loud enough to echo. His mouth watered uncontrollably, and he kept swallowing hard, trying to ignore the hunger gnawing at him.

Eventually, he couldn’t take it anymore. The smell was too much. He stumbled forward, drawn by the scent like a moth to flame.

But there was a problem—he was still covered in blood from the Black-Skin Zombies, and the stench coming off him was absolutely foul.

Chris was mid-bite when his nose twitched. He paused, frowning.

He sniffed again.

”Sean… did you crap your pants again?” Chris asked, glancing over with a suspicious look. ”Why is it every time I grill vulture meat, you suddenly have an accident? Same thing happened back at the Underground Temple. Is my cooking cursed or something?”

”I didn’t crap anything,” Sean said indignantly.

Chris turned his head—and there was Logan, finally stepping into view.

His face was smeared with grime, like he’d taken a swim in a sewer. And that god-awful stench? Yeah, it was definitely coming from him.

Sean recoiled, covering his nose. ”Dude, that’s way worse than me crapping my pants…”

...