Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”Ethan, be careful!” Maxwell’s face was tight with tension, like he was afraid Ethan would say one more word and set Alexander off. ”That laser cannon is insanely powerful. Based on our estimates, even a Tier 12 Enhanced might not be able to tank it!”

”Oh?” Ethan raised a brow.

Curious now, he activated [True Sight] and looked at the laser cannon in the distance.

A second later, even he was a little shaken by what he saw—the internal structure was complicated as hell, and it was packed with energy sources: over a hundred Tier 8 and Tier 9 crystal cores.

If that thing could draw and output that much energy in an instant…

Yeah. He might actually not be able to take it.

So even in the apocalypse, tech still mattered. With a weapon like that, Atlas City really was secure. Even a Stage C (Tier 12) zombie wouldn’t be enough to make them panic.

Only problem?

I can Teleport.

Trying to shell him from this distance? What were they thinking?

”Dominic! Fall back!” Alexander shouted to his son.

”Got it, Dad!” Dominic answered and immediately tried to sprint toward the rooftop.

A razor-thin [Wind Cutter] flashed.

Dominic’s legs were cleanly severed at the knees.

”I didn’t hear my captain say you could leave,” Skinny Pete said coldly. ”So stay put.”

”AAAAH—!”

Dominic’s scream tore through the street.

”Dad—kill them!” he howled, writhing on the ground.

”You’re asking to die!” Alexander’s face twisted. ”Lock on to them—fire!”

”Too late,” a voice said softly at his side.

Alexander’s pupils shrank.

In the next instant, the people operating the laser cannon were all blasted away like dolls—sent flying off the rooftop in a mess of broken formation.

Ethan stood there, one hand resting on the cannon’s casing, stroking it like he’d just found a prize.

His eyes gleamed with undisguised appreciation.

”This thing’s nice,” he said. ”I’m taking it.”

He lifted a hand.

With a single motion, the entire laser cannon vanished—stored straight into his spatial storage ring.

”…..”

The rooftop went dead silent.

Below, the battlefield went dead silent too.

Thousands of people stared, blank-faced, like their brains couldn’t process what they’d just seen.

Ethan grabbed the still-stunned Alexander by the collar and casually tossed him off the roof.

Boom!

Alexander smashed into the ground.

If he hadn’t already been Tier 9, that fall alone would’ve turned him into paste.

A heartbeat later, Ethan appeared on the street—another Teleport—dragged Alexander by the collar like luggage, and hauled him back to the center of the standoff.

Then he threw him down beside Dominic.

”Dad!” Dominic, legs gone and blood everywhere, still managed to sound frantic. ”Are you okay?!”

For once, the guy actually looked like a son.

Everything had happened too fast. The crowd was still reeling, faces pale with shock.

”Ethan.” Charles’s face was stiff, anger and embarrassment mixing together. ”Treating Alexander like that… isn’t this going too far—”

”Say one more word,” Ethan said, cutting him off without even looking, ”and you can join him.”

”…” Charles shut his mouth instantly.

Ethan crouched, patted Alexander’s shoulder like they were old friends, and smiled. ”Alright, old man. Tell me—where’s the Hale Family’s method for creating thralls?”

”I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Alexander snarled, refusing to bend. ”The winner decides everything. If you want to kill me, then kill me. Don’t smear me with your filthy accusations!”

He glared up at Ethan, breathing hard. ”And if you kill me, you won’t have an easy time in the Atlas Federation either!”

Ethan chuckled. ”Still talking tough?”

He straightened. ”Bring him over.”

A moment later, Chris and Sean hauled the young man Ethan had beaten down earlier back into view.

Ethan nodded toward him, looking at Charles and the others. ”Does this guy seem strange to you?”

”He does,” Maxwell said, frowning. ”Empty eyes. Stiff expression. Doesn’t look normal.”

Gabriel’s face tightened with confusion. ”That guy… I think he’s Alexander’s distant relative. I’ve seen him a few times. He used to be pretty upbeat. How did he end up like this?”

”Because he’s not really a person anymore,” Ethan said lightly. ”The Hale Family turned him into a thrall.”

”Thrall?!” Several people blurted it at once.

Charles’s eyes widened. ”Then the rumors were true? The Hale Family really was using living people for experiments to create thralls?!”

”What do you think?” Ethan rolled his eyes like it should’ve been obvious.

”Ethan, don’t you spit that kind of poison!” Alexander roared, face twisted with rage.

”Hah.” Ethan’s smile didn’t move, but his eyes went cold. ”Still denying it?”

He turned his head slightly. ”Skinny Pete. Show them what you can do.”

”Gladly.” Skinny Pete walked right up to Alexander and activated [Enthrallment].

Maybe Alexander had taken too many hits today, maybe he was just old—but Skinny Pete barely had to push. Alexander’s resistance collapsed almost immediately.

Ethan smiled. ”Alright. Tell everyone—how does the Hale Family create thralls?”

He wasn’t doing all this for fun.

The Hale Family held serious weight in Atlas City—hell, in the entire Atlas Federation. If Ethan wiped them out without justification, people would talk. There’d be a stain on his name.

He didn’t particularly care, but if he could earn a clean reputation, why take the dirty one?

If he exposed the Hale Family’s thrall-making to the public, then destroying them wouldn’t be ”massacre.”

It would be justice.

Under Skinny Pete’s control, Alexander answered Ethan’s question without holding anything back.

”Not long ago, the Hale Family found a box made of a special material in a Void Realm. Inside was a manual. It described how to create thralls… and how to control them.”

”It said that once a thrall is successfully created, its strength increases dramatically, and it will obey completely.”

”So the Hale Family wanted to make one thrall and test it.”

”But creating thralls requires living humans… so we had no choice but to keep finding people for experiments. Again and again. We had to feel our way through it.”

”Dad, stop talking!” Dominic screamed, face twisted.

Smack—!

Big Mike backhanded him so hard his head snapped to the side.

”Shut up,” Big Mike said, disgusted.

By now, Charles and the others had gone livid.

”How many people did you use for experiments?” Charles forced the words out through clenched teeth.

”I don’t know,” Alexander said blankly. ”Close to two hundred. Men, women, old people, children—we tried all of them.”

Boom.

Charles slammed his fist into the ground.

”You’re no different from demons.”

Ethan’s voice went low. ”I heard from Leonard Hale that the process of creating thralls is extremely painful. That it’s basically torturing someone to death. True?”

”True,” Alexander said.

”Animal.” Charles finally snapped, grabbing a machete and stepping in like he was about to take Alexander’s head off.

Ethan raised a hand and stopped him. ”Hold on. I’m not done.”

He leaned closer to Alexander, dropping his voice so only Alexander could hear. ”Last question. Where’s that thrall manual? Just tell me quietly.”

”Under my bed,” Alexander whispered. ”There’s a hidden compartment in the floor.”

”Perfect.”

Ethan straightened and stepped aside, gesturing at Alexander. ”Alright, old man. If you still want to kill him, go ahead.”

Charles stared at Alexander for a long moment, breathing hard.

Then his shoulders sagged. ”Forget it. The Hale Family’s business… I’m done. Ethan, do whatever you want.”

Ethan snorted. ”Yeah, like your ’involvement’ would stop me.”

”...”

Ethan looked at Big Mike. ”Big Mike. Kill these two. Then we head straight to the Hale Family’s compound district and take over their territory.”

”Got it.”

He added casually, like he was ordering lunch. ”Oh—and kill Benjamin Caldwell too.”

”Wait—no!” Benjamin’s face drained white instantly. ”I really didn’t know any of this!”

”I don’t care if you knew.” Ethan’s eyes were flat. ”You’ve been standing with the Hales this whole time. That’s enough. Kill him.”

”...”

Charles opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, then just let out a long breath and looked away.

Ethan’s gaze slid to Gabriel Mercer.

Gabriel visibly flinched.

”Uh—Ethan, I’m not with the Hales. I only fought just now because I didn’t have a choice!”

”I know,” Ethan said, sounding almost amused. ”I’m just looking at you. Putting a face to the name.”

He paused, then added, ”Besides, out of the Five Families, you’ve got the least presence. Had to make sure you actually existed.”

”…..”

A few seconds later, screams tore through the air.

Alexander Hale. Dominic Hale. Benjamin Caldwell.

All three were executed on the spot.

The remaining Enhanced from the Hale and Caldwell sides didn’t dare lift a finger to stop it.

Big Mike wiped his hands like he was brushing off dust.

Ethan turned, eyes sweeping the shaken crowd and the silent leaders.

”Let’s go claim their territory.”