Apocalypse: King of Zombies

While everyone else went to work on the horde, Ethan flew straight up and activated True Sight, scanning the battlefield from high altitude.

The zombies were trying to run, but their speed was a joke compared to Flamebirds.

And a tide this big didn’t exactly ”escape” cleanly. No matter how hard they scattered, there were simply too many bodies and too much chaos.

This time, Ethan had made up his mind: he was dragging that Zombie King out into the open.

Even if it ran to the ends of the earth.

Ethan held grudges like a professional.

Down below, the battle was pure slaughter.

The zombie count was terrifying, sure—but Fallen Star City’s side was just too strong.

Fallen Star Guard: all at peak Tier 22, with some squad leaders already at Tier 23

Fallen Star Corps: all at peak Tier 19, with a small portion already reaching Tier 20

Flamebirds: mostly Tier 19 to Tier 21

On the zombie side?

The highest was only Tier 19.

The gap was ridiculous—so ridiculous that numbers couldn’t make up for it.

The horde’s population dropped at an absurd rate.

Even as the zombies tried to flee, nobody was letting them go. The Guard and Corps chased them down without mercy, hammering the tide from above and cutting it apart on the ground.

After more than two hours, over half the zombies were already dead.

And that was when Ethan finally noticed something… off.

In the sea of running corpses, one zombie—small, forgettable—caught his eye.

It didn’t look different from the others. If anything, the only thing ”special” about it was that it was short enough that Ethan hadn’t even noticed it earlier.

What drew his attention wasn’t its appearance.

It was what happened around it.

A Fallen Star Guard member dropped a Rain of Flames into a dense cluster. Zombies scattered like ants.

One of the huge fireballs was about to smash down on that small figure—

And another zombie suddenly leapt up and took the hit for it.

The jumper burned to ash in an instant.

The small figure didn’t even stumble. It kept sprinting, unharmed, threading through the horde like nothing had happened.

Normally, with a battlefield this chaotic, nobody would catch a detail like that.

But Ethan did.

He locked onto the small figure immediately and pushed True Sight onto it.

psy-type ability… Absolute Dominion.

Ethan’s mouth curved.

”Found you.”

He shot downward, a red streak cutting through the air as he accelerated straight toward that spot.

Down in the tide, the small figure still hadn’t realized it had been exposed. It kept slipping between bodies, using its size like a cheat.

Because it was short, most of the aerial attacks missed it anyway—blocked by taller zombies before they could reach it.

And those taller zombies… they weren’t just ”in the way.”

They were subtly protecting it.

Not in an obvious formation. Not something a normal person would notice.

But again and again, the big ones drifted into the line of fire, taking hits that should’ve landed on the small one.

Ethan wouldn’t have noticed, either—if he hadn’t watched one of them die to save it.

Now, though, it was crystal clear.

The small figure cursed nonstop inside its own head, rage boiling as it ran.

Just wait.

Once I get out of this… I’ll gather an army so big these humans choke on it.

But right then, a figure dropped in front of it, cutting off its path.

The small zombie’s heart clenched—yet it didn’t show it. It pivoted like any other fleeing zombie, sprinting in another direction while quietly commanding the surrounding horde to swarm the man in its way.

In an instant, countless zombies lunged at Ethan from all sides.

They never reached him.

The moment they crossed into a three-foot radius around Ethan, they vanished—swallowed whole by something invisible.

It looked like empty air around Ethan had turned into a mouth that ate anything that got close.

The small figure’s mind jolted, panic flaring—but it forced its face to stay blank, pushed its legs harder, and kept running.

A low chuckle came from behind it.

”Heh. You really think you can still get away?”

Ethan blurred.

He was suddenly right beside it, and his hand snapped out—

Smack.

The small body spun through the air, flipping a few times before slamming into the ground.

”GRAAAH!”

This time, it didn’t bother pretending.

It was exposed. It knew it.

With that roar, zombies from every direction threw themselves at Ethan like lunatics—charging even though they were getting erased the moment they got close, charging anyway like the order itself was stronger than fear.

Ethan didn’t even glance at them. They couldn’t touch him.

He stepped forward—

And appeared at the Zombie King’s side again.

”You wanted to play games with me?” Ethan’s voice was ice. ”Today I’m not leaving until I’ve slapped every ounce of clever out of you.”

Smack.

His palm cracked across the Zombie King’s face again, sending it flying.

The Zombie King had an ocean of underlings, but in front of Ethan, they were worthless.

Ability attacks, physical attacks—none of it mattered. Anything that got within three feet of Ethan simply disappeared.

And the Zombie King’s own strength?

It barely registered to Ethan.

It got slapped around without the slightest chance to fight back.

Ethan didn’t kill it. Not yet.

He just kept hitting it—left, right, left—like he was venting weeks of irritation through his palm.

At first, the Zombie King thrashed in helpless fury.

Then it started looking… pitiful.

Eyes wet. Expression crumpling. Begging in broken sounds for him to stop.

Ethan ignored it completely.

He didn’t let up until it couldn’t even crawl anymore.

Only then did he finally stop.

By the time Chris and the others arrived, the Zombie King was sprawled on the ground, barely breathing.

They all swallowed hard.

This was a Zombie King.

And it had almost been slapped to death.

Killing it would’ve been one thing.

Beating it half to death with open-handed slaps like this was pure humiliation.

Ethan breathed out once and said, ”Skinny Pete. See if you can control it.”

”Got it!”

Skinny Pete hurried forward and activated Beast Control.

Just like Ethan had guessed, it worked on zombies too.

Because the Zombie King wielded a psy-type ability, its mental energy consumption was massive—but Skinny Pete was far stronger. The control settled in without much resistance.

In moments, the small Zombie King was fully under his command.

Skinny Pete immediately ordered it to stop the tide from fleeing and call everything back in.

The small figure tilted its head back and let out one sharp roar.

Across the battlefield, zombies that had been running in all directions froze—then turned and poured back toward the center, gathering in a tightening mass.

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

”It works?!” someone blurted.

”Of course it works,” Ethan said, still sounding annoyed, like he hadn’t forgiven the thing yet. ”This little bastard’s ability is the real deal.”

Skinny Pete looked like he’d just won the lottery. ”So I… I just picked up a treasure?”

”Not gonna lie,” Big Mike said, grin turning nasty, ”you really did. And this petite zombie girl—if you look close, she’s kinda cute. Might not just help you fight… might help with some other biological needs too.”

Emily’s face twisted in disgust. ”Big Mike, what the hell is wrong with you? That’s a female zombie. You’re sick.”

”Hey,” Big Mike said, suddenly righteous, ”you don’t get it. Lots of guys are into that vibe.”

”Really?” Emily turned and stared at Chris.

Chris’s soul nearly left his body. ”No! Absolutely not! Big Mike being a freak doesn’t mean other guys are freaks!”

He grabbed Emily’s hand like his life depended on it. ”I’m normal. I only like you.”

Emily’s expression eased. ”Good.”

Ethan felt Mia’s eyes flick toward him and immediately held up both hands. ”Don’t look at me. I’m not a freak either.”

That earned him a look that was half amused, half done-with-this.

And Big Mike—open mouth, zero filter—got hit with a fresh wave of contempt from the whole group.

Some thoughts were meant to stay inside your skull.