Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Inside Fallen Star City, Miles was in his quarters, bent over the Ritual Circle Compendium.

Compared to Henry, he was way more into this kind of thing. Any time he had a spare moment, he was flipping pages, studying, cross-referencing, getting lost in it.

Right then, one of his men rushed in, breathless.

”Deputy Commander! South side—there’s a force tens of thousands strong coming straight for Fallen Star City!”

Miles frowned, the irritation showing immediately.

”…Do we look that easy to bully?”

The man’s expression turned awkward. ”Uh… maybe we’ve been too low-key?”

”Let’s go see.” Miles stood up, pocketing the Ritual Circle Compendium into his subspace. ”And call Blizzard and the others over.”

He headed out.

…

Garrett led his people to the gates in no time. He stared up at the massive entrance. The sign above it read: FALLEN STAR CITY.

His face twisted with contempt.

”So they really are that arrogant. They actually renamed Redmont City—and they even used Fallen Star Squad’s name.”

A guard stepped forward, eyeing the crowd without a hint of panic. ”Who are you? What do you want here?”

”You’re not qualified to know who I am,” Garrett said coldly. ”Tell Ethan to get the hell out here.”

”….”

One guard leaned closer to another and muttered, ”This guy… is he nuts?”

”If you bring an army to Fallen Star City to pick a fight,” the other guard whispered back, ”your brain’s probably already broken.”

Garrett heard them. His face went dark.

”You’re looking for death.”

He snapped his head back. ”Kill them.”

”Yes!”

A few Tier 8 Enhanced stepped out from behind Garrett and charged without hesitation, going straight for the guards.

Bang. Bang. Bang—

The sound of fighting burst out—

—and seconds later, the Tier 8s went flying back like they’d been kicked by a truck. Two of them didn’t even get up. They hit the ground and stayed there.

One of the guards dusted off his hands, completely unimpressed. ”That’s it? You swung first with that? What a joke.”

”!!!”

The crowd froze.

Those were Tier 8 Enhanced—walking monsters in any normal compound.

And they’d just gotten counter-killed by a few gate guards?

So what, were these guards Tier 9?

As that thought spread, shock rippled through the tens of thousands outside the gates. A lot of faces tightened. A lot of people suddenly looked less eager to be here.

If the gate guards were Tier 9… then how terrifying was Fallen Star City really?

But then they glanced at the black-robed figure standing near Garrett, and their nerves settled again.

With him here, who cared how strong the other side was?

Garrett’s expression had changed too. He hadn’t expected Fallen Star City to be this absurd—Tier 9s on gate duty?

”…Not bad,” he said, forcing a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. ”Fallen Star City really does have some bite.”

Then he pivoted, voice turning slick. ”You guys shouldn’t be wasted guarding a door. Come with me to Silverlake City. I’ll make sure you live good—eat good, drink good.”

Silverlake City had just lost its high-Tier Enhanced. Their compound was starving for power, and Garrett wasn’t about to let a handful of Tier 9s slip through his fingers.

The guards stared at him like he was a stray dog with rabies.

”This one really is brain-damaged,” one of them said, full-on pity.

Garrett’s veins jumped.

”You… courting death!”

He flicked his hand.

A golden spear of light shot out like a cannon round—thunk—piercing one guard clean through and pinning him to the wall behind the gate. The man jerked, blood spilling as he struggled, stuck there like an insect on a board.

”Matt!!!” The other guards’ faces went white. They stared at Garrett, shock and rage mixing in their eyes.

”Stage C…”

Seeing their reaction, Garrett felt a rush of pure satisfaction. He practically soaked it in.

”Well?” he sneered. ”Still think I’m crazy now?”

”Whether you’re crazy has nothing to do with strength,” a voice cut in, sharp and flat. ”You’re just a Stage C. Where’d you get the balls to come cause trouble in Fallen Star City?”

A young man stepped out from inside the city, bringing a few people with him—and a pack of mutant beasts padding alongside like they owned the place.

”Sir!”

The guards immediately clustered around him.

Miles gave them a quick nod. ”Yeah. You did good.”

Then his eyes landed on Matt, still nailed to the wall and trembling in pain.

Miles’s expression dropped into something cold.

He looked straight at Garrett.

”You did that?”

”Yeah.” Garrett smiled like he was proud of it. ”I did. What are you gonna do about it?”

Miles didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to.

”Blizzard,” he said, calm as ice, ”break five of his legs. Then hang him on the wall.”

The moment the words left his mouth, several white-furred apes behind him lit up with excitement and charged Garrett like they’d been waiting for this all day.

”Hmph. You’re overestimating yourselves.”

Garrett snorted, then flicked his arm again. Another golden spear of light tore through the air, aimed straight at the lead white-furred ape.

That spear was vicious—fast, dense, lethal.

The ape didn’t even dodge.

It just swung the long staff in its hands once—

CRACK!

The golden spear shattered like glass.

Garrett’s heart lurched.

If it could casually smash his spear apart, that white-furred ape was absolutely at least Stage C.

Fallen Star City had mutant beasts this strong, too…?

The moment the apes closed in, Garrett threw out his hand. Black energy surged, forming a massive greatsword in his grip—an ability he’d gained after his power evolved into Stage C.

He tightened his hold and slashed hard at the ape in front.

The white-furred ape’s face lit up with pure excitement. It swung its staff straight into the blow.

BOOM—

PFF!

Two sounds hit back-to-back.

Garrett’s body went flying like he’d been hit by a speeding truck. He tumbled through the air and spat a mouthful of blood when he landed.

”T-Tier 13?!” His eyes bulged, disbelief written all over his face.

The ape didn’t care.

It charged again, relentless.

Its mission was simple: break five of Garrett’s legs and hang him on the wall.

It still hadn’t figured out where the ”fifth leg” was… but it could start with the other four.

Seeing it coming again, Garrett’s expression twisted. He shouted at his men without even looking back.

”You—get in there!”

The men around him went pale.

You can’t win, and you want us to go?

But none of them dared refuse him outright. Gritting their teeth, they surged forward toward the apes.

These weren’t random nobodies, either—Garrett’s core fighters. Everyone up front was Tier 8 or higher, and there were even a few Tier 10 Enhanced mixed in.

It didn’t matter.

In front of those white-furred apes, they might as well have been normal people.

One swing.

One crushed skull.

One body dropping like a sack.

Their skills slammed into the apes’ bodies—and it was like they were scratching an itch. No real damage. Not even a flinch.

As more and more of his men died under those staffs, Garrett’s face went fully gray.

He hadn’t expected Fallen Star City to be this hard to chew through. He hadn’t even seen a single member of Fallen Star Squad yet, and he was already getting beaten into the dirt.

Left with no choice, Garrett turned toward the black-robed figure.

”Marek, sir—please, I need you to step in!”

”Trash.” Marek snorted.

Then he vanished.

In the next instant, he was right in front of the charging apes. He lifted a hand—and a massive black hand of energy materialized out of nowhere, clamping down on the leader.

Blizzard.

Blizzard thrashed wildly, muscles bunching, staff swinging, feet digging trenches in the ground.

It did nothing.

The black hand tightened.

BOOM—

Blizzard’s body exploded in Marek’s grip.

Blood sprayed in every direction.

”!!!”

”Blizzard!!”

Inside Fallen Star City, people screamed. Faces turned white. Eyes went wide with raw panic.

Even Miles’s expression changed, the color draining as he stared at the gore hanging in the air.

This time…

They were really in trouble.