Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Fallen Star City…

After ten straight days, Ethan and the others finally ended their training.

For those ten days, they’d practically stopped eating and drinking. Every waking moment went into absorbing energy.

They’d fought too many Void Realm creatures to ever feel relaxed again. That kind of pressure didn’t fade—it dug in. So when an opportunity like this showed up, there was no way they were letting it slip.

Ethan felt the surge of power inside him and smiled.

In ten days, he’d gone from Tier 19 to Tier 22—a full three Tiers.

And the higher your Tier got, the harder it was to climb. Under normal circumstances, even if Tier 19 Ethan used the ritual circle every single day to absorb energy, it would still take at least a month to rise by one Tier.

This time, it took ten days to jump three.

It was almost on the level of the energy force-feed they’d gotten while climbing the Celestial Stairway. That alone said how terrifying this mysterious energy surge had been.

If even he had gained this much, the lower-level people must’ve seen even more ridiculous jumps.

That said, gains like this were heavily tied to talent.

And on that front, the people who’d climbed the Celestial Stairway—Fallen Star Squad and Fallen Star Guard—had a massive advantage.

The Stairway improved a person’s talent. Normally it wasn’t obvious day to day, but during a surge like this, the difference was brutal.

Within the Fallen Star Squad, everyone had started at Tier 19.

Ethan, who’d reached the very top of the Celestial Stairway, was now Tier 22.

Chris came in second at Tier 21 peak.

Everyone else landed around Tier 21 mid-stage.

Just from that spread alone, it was obvious—Celestial Stairway’s talent boost was no joke.

In Fallen Star City’s Fallen Star Guard, the changes were just as dramatic.

The ten thousand members who’d already been at Stage B mostly rose by two Tiers.

And the ten thousand who’d been around Tier 15 basically jumped three Tiers, pushing into Stage B.

They’d all climbed the Celestial Stairway too, so their bodies had been improved. Their gains were naturally better than ordinary people’s—though they still couldn’t quite match the Fallen Star Squad.

On paper it looked like everyone was gaining about two Tiers, but the Guard started lower, so climbing was easier for them.

And the real problem was this: while the gains looked similar, the gap hadn’t closed—it had widened.

Fallen Star Squad’s weakest members were now Tier 21 mid-stage, while most of the Fallen Star Guard had only just reached Tier 20.

Outside of the Squad and Guard, Fallen Star City’s overall strength also went through a complete transformation.

And it wasn’t just Fallen Star City. Every other compound was the same.

People who used to be Tier 12 were now at least Tier 15 or Tier 16.

The bottom-tier Enhanced—those who’d been Tier 8 or Tier 9—rose even more absurdly, likely jumping four to five Tiers.

Talent mattered, sure… but with mysterious energy this thick, even a pig could brute-force its way upward.

When the mysterious energy finally sank back down again, everyone stopped training.

Feeling that explosive new strength in their bodies, people were practically shaking with excitement.

On the morning of the eleventh day, countless Enhanced strode out of their compounds, confidence through the roof.

A power spike like this came with an itch.

You wanted to go out and carve up some zombies, just to feel it.

Sure, some of them had briefly wondered whether the zombies’ strength had jumped too.

But they still believed, deep down, that humans must’ve gained more—because humans had Energy Absorption Technique, and zombies didn’t.

What they didn’t know was—

Compared to humans, the zombies and mutant beasts had improved in a way that was genuinely terrifying.

If it was only about absorbing mysterious energy, then yeah—zombies might not beat humans who had the Energy Absorption Technique.

But zombies had something else.

They could absorb the crimson energy that humans couldn’t.

That energy was a higher grade altogether. It didn’t just boost their strength—it reinforced their bodies, pushing their physical toughness even further.

But absorbing crimson energy came with a price.

Just like Ethan had sensed, crimson energy wasn’t pure.

It could make them surge in power… but at the same time, it would erode and destroy their consciousness—

Turning them back into nothing more than mindless walking corpses.

The first squad of Enhanced to leave the compound finally ran into a pack of zombies.

But the moment they got a good look at them, the whole team started frowning.

”Something feels off,” a young guy muttered, squinting.

”Yeah… it’s off,” someone else agreed. ”I just can’t put my finger on it.”

”I’ve got it.” A third person spoke up. ”They look… slow. Dull. Like actual walking corpses.”

”Yeah, yeah—exactly!”

”Isn’t that what zombies are supposed to look like?” the young guy said, honestly confused.

”Smack—”

The squad leader slapped him on the back of the head.

”Are you an idiot?” he snapped. ”What year do you think it is? The apocalypse has been going for a full year. The weakest zombies out here are Tier 8 or Tier 9 now. Their IQ isn’t any worse than ours. When’s the last time you saw zombies looking like this?”

He narrowed his eyes at the distant group.

”They look like the kind that just turned.”

”Oh… right.” The young guy scratched his head, embarrassed.

”So… what, they’re Tier 1 zombies?” he blurted. ”Or like… newborn zombies or something?”

”How the hell would that be possible?” someone shot back. ”Where would you even find Tier 1 zombies now?”

”Then what’s going on?”

”Don’t ask me. If you’ve got questions, go ask the zombies.”

”Could they be pretending?” another person said, voice dropping. ”Trying to lure us in?”

”That’s not impossible,” someone said grimly. ”Zombies are sneaky as hell now.”

”So what, boss—do we hit them?”

”Of course we hit them,” the leader said, like the question was insulting. ”We’re all at least Tier 13 now. You think we’re still supposed to be scared of a few hundred zombies?”

His mouth curled.

”If they want to bait us, fine. We’ll use them for target practice.”

He turned his head. ”Shorty—check the area. Any big packs nearby? If not, we go in.”

”Got it!”

A short guy peeled away, climbed to a higher spot, and scanned with binoculars for a minute before jogging back.

”Boss, it’s just these few hundred. Nothing much within three miles.”

”Perfect.” The leader’s grin turned savage. ”Let’s go show them what a real gap in strength looks like.”

With that, he led several hundred Enhanced charging straight at the zombie pack.

”Time to clean up the trash!”

They shouted as they ran, hands already moving—skill after skill streaking out, slamming into the zombies.

”Raaah—!”

The zombies roared when they spotted the humans, then surged forward with an ugly kind of excitement.

Skills detonated across zombie bodies.

And did almost nothing.

The pack pushed through the barrage like it was rain, closing the distance in seconds.

”Pff—!”

The first few Enhanced in front didn’t even get time to scream. Zombie claws ripped them open and split them apart, torsos peeling like paper.

”What the—how is that possible?!”

Eyes went wide all across the line.

”Didn’t we just get stronger?” someone shouted, panicking. ”Why do we feel more fragile than before?”

”Stop standing there!” the leader barked, snapping into action even as shock punched through him. ”Controllers—lock them down! Everyone else, focus fire! Now!”

Vines whipped up. Swamps spread underfoot. Ice snapped across ankles—control skills layered one after another, trying to pin the zombies in place.

It didn’t matter.

The zombies tore free almost instantly, like the restraints were made of string.

Then they crashed into the crowd.

Every lunge, every swipe, every tackle took a life.

”Dammit!” the leader roared, voice cracking with fury. ”What level are these things?! Why are they this strong?!”

He didn’t hesitate another second.

”Fall back! Run!”

The squad broke, turning and sprinting for open ground.

But the zombies had no intention of letting them go.

They burst after them in a relentless wave—closing fast, claws flashing—turning the retreat into a hunt.