Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”They’re here… they’re coming!” Meteorfall’s eyes locked onto the horizon, where Heartland’s Zombie Horde surged forward like a living meat grinder, ready to shred everything in its path.

Millions of undead flooded the battlefield—a spectacle so massive, even in all of Originis, it was a rare sight.

Hydrissa’s heart pounded with excitement. Her blood was on fire, her battle spirit blazing. Heartland had been quiet for too long. Now, the killing instinct buried deep in her veins was roaring back to life.

”You dare challenge Heartland’s authority? You’ll pay the price for that!”

”Oh, give me a break, Super Freak. Your boss is dead—what are you even flexing for?” Meteorfall shot back, dousing her fire with a cold splash of sarcasm.

”...” Hydrissa’s face darkened, a vein twitching on her forehead. Her eyes lit up with a piercing glow as her psychic energy surged.

A wave of eerie mental force lashed out toward Meteorfall.

But he didn’t back down. His eyes flared with blue light, crackling with destructive energy.

As the two clashed again, the rest of the undead dove headfirst into the chaos.

Westmarch’s zombies fought like demons, throwing themselves against the oncoming tide of Heartland’s horde.

They were hardened by harsh living conditions, forged in hunger and constant skirmishes with the Black-Skin Zombies. Fear wasn’t in their vocabulary.

”Westmarch stands unbroken!” the Zombie Kings roared, their will to fight unshakable.

Even against Heartland’s elite undead, they didn’t flinch. They fought with everything they had, ready to die without regret.

Meanwhile, the three Deathless Sovereigns—Endless, Nightwraith, and Lilith—had their eyes locked on one target: Ethan.

Their presence warped the air around them, radiating a terrifying pressure. They were still the most powerful beings on the continent, and now they were unleashing their full might.

Endless’s Absolute Domain surged outward, while Nightwraith’s psychic force followed like a second tidal wave, ready to swallow the world whole.

Ethan didn’t try to take them head-on. He moved fast, slipping out of the danger zone with practiced ease.

He’d already gotten a decent read on Endless and Nightwraith’s abilities. Lilith, though—she was still a mystery. She hadn’t shown her hand yet.

Seeing Ethan retreat, Nightwraith frowned.

Backing off already?

What a coward...

Endless, on the other hand, stayed calm, unfazed.

”If you’re not going to fight, then I’ll just kill your zombies instead.”

He stomped the ground, and his Absolute Domain spread like wildfire, sweeping into the ranks of Westmarch’s horde.

Any zombie it touched began to rot at an accelerated pace, their bodies breaking down in seconds.

The horde screamed in agony, collapsing in waves.

”Damn it!” Meteorfall clenched his teeth, fury burning in his eyes.

Westmarch’s undead were already outmatched by Heartland’s elite. Now with Endless in the mix, it was a slaughter.

Hydrissa smirked, seizing the perfect moment to twist the knife.

”Should’ve picked the right side. Our Deathless Sovereign, Endless, is the real top dog here. You’re backing that guy in the white shirt? Seriously? You’ve got zero chance. And let’s be real—he’s just using you. Haven’t you figured that out yet? But hey… if you surrender now and join us, maybe it’s not too late…”

Meteorfall clenched his jaw so tight it felt like his teeth might crack. He didn’t say a word.

Endure it.

He had to.

He believed—no, he knew—he’d made the right choice.

These psychic-type Zombie Kings were masters of manipulation, always trying to mess with your head. He wasn’t falling for it.

But Heartland’s Zombie Horde was relentless. Their morale was sky-high, and they were tearing through the battlefield like a tidal wave, unstoppable and merciless.

”They’ve evolved way too far!”

”We can’t hold them off! What do we do?!”

”Just hang on a little longer!”

”...”

Heartland had no shortage of flesh and blood to feed their evolution. Their zombies were practically maxed out. If it weren’t for the fact that most of them lacked the potential, they’d all be Zombie Kings by now.

This kind of overwhelming force—Westmarch’s undead had never seen anything like it.

How the hell were they supposed to win against this?

But then, just as despair began to creep in, a deep rumble echoed from the horizon. The sunlight dimmed, swallowed by a massive shadow that spread across the land like a curtain of doom.

The battlefield fell into darkness. Every zombie froze, a chill running down their spines.

”What… is that?”

Westmarch’s undead turned their eyes skyward—and saw it.

A colossal shape was slowly descending from the sky, so massive it looked like an entire planet was crashing down on them.

But then, recognition hit like a lightning bolt. Memories long buried came flooding back.

The Dreadnought-class Starcruiser.

Westmarch had been bombarded by three of them before. They knew that silhouette all too well.

It was the stuff of nightmares.

Meteorfall’s jaw dropped. His face went blank. The last time he’d seen a Dreadnought-class Starcruiser, he’d been a nobody, just another grunt in the ranks.

And now, here it was again—on the battlefield, aimed at Heartland.

And above the Starcruiser, a storm of killing intent was rising. The zombies onboard radiated a battle-hardened aura so intense it made the air vibrate.

”Wait… are those Southvale’s zombies?”

”Your job’s done,” Ethan said calmly, his white shirt fluttering in the wind. His eyes flashed with a sharp, dangerous glint.

With the arrival of the Dreadnought-class Starcruiser, the battle kicked into a whole new gear.

Even Endless, watching from afar, narrowed his eyes slightly. That ship… it felt familiar.

”He actually has one of those?”

”Yeah,” Lilith replied, her voice cool. ”That’s a Dreadnought-class Starcruiser from the old human civilization. One of them came to Heartland before. You sank it.”

”That’s right,” Endless nodded, not denying it. In fact, he thought that bit of history deserved more attention. It made for a good story.

But even from a distance, the Starcruiser’s crystal cores began to glow, pulsing with energy.

A wave of annihilation was quietly building.

The massive silver cannon on the ship’s front began to rotate, its barrel lighting up layer by layer, growing brighter and more intense with each passing second.

Inside, raw energy surged like a living thing.

”Get out of the way!” Nightwraith barked, sending out a psychic command.

No matter how evolved Heartland’s zombies were, they were still made of flesh. And flesh couldn’t survive a hit from the Starbreaker Cannon.

Heartland’s undead howled in panic, scrambling to retreat, their faces twisted in fear.

BOOM!

The Starbreaker Cannon fired.

A blinding sphere of energy erupted from the barrel, blazing like a newborn sun, and slammed into the heart of Heartland’s horde.

In an instant, the world exploded.

A shockwave of pure destruction tore through the battlefield. Light swallowed everything, bleaching the world white.

The ground shook violently. Fire and force blasted outward in every direction.

Any zombie too slow to run was vaporized on the spot.

At the center of the blast, a massive mushroom cloud rose into the sky.

A full-blown apocalypse had just been unleashed.

”Holy shit…”

The roaring wind ripped through Meteorfall’s thinning hair as he stared, stunned. He never thought he’d live to see a Dreadnought-class Starcruiser in action again—let alone on this battlefield, against Heartland.

The mushroom cloud kept rising. Smoke and dust began to settle. The howling wind slowly died down.

The Starcruiser’s single shot had obliterated a huge swath of Heartland’s forces, leaving behind a gaping vacuum in the battlefield.

But Endless just watched, his expression calm, unshaken.

To him, this wasn’t a game-changer.

A Dreadnought-class Starcruiser might look impressive, but in a battle of this scale, it was just a pebble tossed into a lake—enough to make a few ripples, nothing more.

What really mattered now… was how strong Southvale’s zombies were.

After that devastating shot, the Starcruiser fell silent again. It would take time to recharge.

But on the deck at the front of the ship, several zombie figures appeared.

Leading them was one with oversized ears, a pair of pendants swinging from each lobe. His eyes sparkled with wild excitement.

”Boss! We’re here!”

...