Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Moments later, the massive form of Golden Eagle Nugget landed on the rooftop with a heavy gust of wind.

Ethan gave Nugget a quick pat on the head, then turned to the others. ”I’ll fly down first and see if I can take it out with a surprise attack. If I can kill it clean, great. If not, you guys move in and keep the others off me while I finish the job.”

”Got it,” the team nodded in unison.

Ethan waited a few minutes, giving the scouts time to clear out. Once he figured they were safely downstairs, he leapt onto Nugget’s back.

”Let’s go, Nugget. Head for that mansion.”

”Chirp!” Nugget let out a sharp cry and launched into the air, wings slicing through the wind as they soared toward the Tier 9 zombie’s location.

As they closed in, the zombies below quickly noticed them. The horde stirred like a kicked anthill.

”Raaaghhh…”

The undead howled and leapt, clawing at the air, trying to reach the rider above.

But Ethan was flying high—well out of their reach.

The noise outside quickly disrupted the Tier 9 zombie’s meal.

”Raaaghhh!”

Despite its refined table manners, the Tier 9 had a nasty temper. With a furious roar, it flipped the table in one violent motion and stormed out of the mansion, its elite guards following close behind.

But the moment it stepped through the doorway, a black blur dove straight at it.

The zombie reacted instantly, rolling to the side and narrowly dodging Ethan’s ambush strike.

Nugget pulled up hard, banking in a tight arc and soaring back into the sky.

”Raaaghhh!!”

The Tier 9 zombie roared up at them, furious.

Ethan didn’t give it a break. He urged Nugget into another dive, aiming for a second strike.

But by now, the surrounding zombies had fully reacted.

They leapt up in waves, trying to intercept them mid-air.

Ethan switched his poleaxe from a thrust to a sweeping strike, smashing away the lunging undead. Bodies flew, limbs snapped—but there were too many.

This was the heart of the Tier 9’s territory. Most of the zombies here were Tier 6, and they were relentless.

After taking down dozens, Ethan had no choice but to pull back and let Nugget climb again.

These things didn’t care about dying. If even one managed to grab Nugget, they’d be dragged down in seconds.

”Yeah… Tier 9’s not gonna be easy,” Ethan muttered.

When he’d taken out Tier 8 zombies before, Nugget’s speed gave him the edge—he could strike before they even realized what was happening. One clean hit to the throat, and it was over.

But this one? It dodged him.

Every Tier up didn’t just mean more power—it meant sharper reflexes, tougher bodies, and a whole new level of threat. The gap was real.

Ethan looked down at the horde, eyes cold.

Then, without warning, a dagger appeared in his hand and shot toward the Tier 9 zombie’s head like a bolt of lightning.

The zombie jerked its head aside, narrowly avoiding the strike—

But the dagger curved mid-air and came at it again from a new angle.

Ethan sat atop Golden Eagle Nugget, eyes locked on the Tier 9 zombie below as he unleashed a flurry of dagger strikes using his [Telekinesis] ability. The blade darted through the air like a viper, stabbing again and again at the zombie’s head, forcing it into a constant roar of frustration.

But then, the Tier 9 zombie suddenly yanked a nearby lesser zombie into its path, using the body as a meat shield. The dagger buried itself deep in the decoy’s skull—and before Ethan could pull it back, the Tier 9 reached out and grabbed the blade mid-air, locking it in place.

”What the hell? It’s that smart?!” Ethan’s eyes widened.

”Alright then, let’s see how many of your little minions you’re willing to sacrifice.”

He pulled out another dagger, but after glancing at the sea of undead swarming below, he awkwardly slid it back into his belt.

”Yeah, okay. You’ve got numbers. You win,” he muttered. ”Guess it’s time to go all in.”

He leaned down and whispered to Nugget, ”Go get the others.”

With a flap of its massive wings, Nugget took off, soaring back toward the team.

Meanwhile, Ethan teleported straight onto the mansion’s rooftop balcony.

The Tier 9 zombie let out a furious roar the moment it saw him land and immediately leapt up to meet him. The rest of its elite undead followed close behind.

Ethan gripped his poleaxe and swung hard at the charging monster.

The Tier 9 twisted aside, dodging the blow, then snatched up the dagger Ethan had used earlier and lunged at him with it.

”Oh, come on! You’re gonna stab me with my own weapon?!”

Annoyed, Ethan swept his poleaxe in a wide arc. The longer reach easily knocked the dagger aside before it could get close.

He was about to press the attack when the Tier 7 and Tier 8 zombies swarmed in. Ethan had no choice but to shift focus and deal with them first.

The Tier 9 zombie seized the opening and lunged again, dagger aimed straight for Ethan’s back.

At the last second, Ethan vanished in a flash of light—[Teleportation] saving him from a fatal hit.

”Ganging up on me, huh?”

Chris’s voice rang out from above.

Golden Eagle Nugget swooped in, one claw gripping Sean, the other holding Chris, with Garrick riding on its back. The eagle dropped all three onto the rooftop before banking away again.

As soon as they landed, Garrick activated his Earthen Armor, Sean’s arms transformed into gleaming metal, and all three charged straight into the horde of Tier 7 and Tier 8 zombies.

”Perfect timing,” Ethan grinned, then teleported behind the Tier 9 zombie and brought his poleaxe down in a brutal overhead strike.

The zombie reacted fast, raising the dagger to block.

CLANG!

The impact rang out like a bell, and both of them staggered back a few steps.

”Damn, that dagger’s tough,” Ethan muttered, eyeing the weapon—his weapon—still intact in the zombie’s hand. ”Figures.”

Frustration turned to fuel. He gritted his teeth and launched into a relentless assault.

Slash. Thrust. Smash. Swing.

The poleaxe tore through the air with savage force, every strike wide and heavy, designed to overwhelm.

The Tier 9 zombie was forced onto the defensive, barely managing to parry with the dagger. It couldn’t counterattack—Ethan’s pressure was too intense.

The sheer power behind each blow stunned it. How could a Tier 8 human hit this hard?

”Raaaghhh!!”

The zombie roared, trying to summon reinforcements.

But Chris and the others were already holding the line, cutting off the rest of the horde before they could reach the rooftop.

Moments later, Nugget returned with Mia and the rest of the team, dropping them off one by one. They immediately jumped into the fray, clearing out the surrounding undead and giving Ethan the space he needed to focus on the Tier 9.

When Nugget brought over the last member—Big Mike—he didn’t even bother landing.

Instead, Mike stayed on Nugget’s back, laughing like a maniac as he hurled down one [Rain of Flames] after another.

”HAHA! This is insane! I could do this all day!”

And why not? The zombies couldn’t touch him up there, but he could rain hell on them without a care.

The streets below were packed with undead. Every time he cast [Rain of Flames], dozens—sometimes hundreds—of zombies were incinerated on the spot.

With his Tier 8 power, anything below Tier 7 died instantly. Even Tier 7s couldn’t take more than one or two hits.

Watching the horde burn to ash in waves was pure satisfaction.

Only downside? His mental energy was draining fast. Even with crystal cores, he couldn’t keep up the pace forever.

Fun or not, he was gonna need a breather soon.