Apocalypse: King of Zombies

In the residential district, Maxwell and the others watched the surveillance feed with bloodshot eyes.

Outside the walls were tens of thousands of their own people. Behind the walls were millions more.

And between them stood a choice no leader should ever have to make.

Charles gritted his teeth. ”Those bastards. We gave them everything they wanted, and now they’re feeding our people to that beast.”

”They never saw us as people,” Maxwell said. ”Only tools. Servants. Meat.”

Ryan’s face twisted with rage. ”Then let’s stop being meat. Let’s fight them.”

”And die?” Maxwell snapped. ”All of us?”

”At least we’d die fighting!”

”No,” Maxwell said. ”You’d die angry. There’s a difference.”

Ryan went still.

Maxwell pointed at the screen.

”I hate this more than you do. But if we charge out now, Atlas City ends today. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Today.”

Ryan’s voice shook. ”Then when? When do we stop enduring?”

Maxwell didn’t look away.

”When Ethan is ready.”

”And if he isn’t?”

Maxwell’s reply came instantly, like he’d already answered that question a thousand times in his head.

”He will be.”

It hurt. It hurt like hell.

But Maxwell had to think bigger than his own heart.

A few tens of thousands versus over ten million—if he had to choose, he’d choose the ten million every time, without hesitation.

If there were truly no hope left, he’d lead everyone into a final, suicidal charge and die with their teeth in the enemy’s throat.

But there was still hope.

So they had to endure.

If they could just hold on until that hope arrived… then every second of humiliation would be worth it.

Under countless hopeless stares, the massive feral beast reached the base of the city wall and came to a stop before the crowd.

The pressure rolling off it was suffocating.

People’s eyes rolled back. Some collapsed instantly, unconscious before their bodies even hit the ground. The ones still standing shook so hard their knees knocked, lungs struggling like the air had turned thick.

Even the Verdants on the wall went cold all over.

That aura was too strong.

Right now, all they wanted was for the beast to eat, get full, and leave.

Please don’t go berserk. Please don’t go berserk…

But then something happened that nobody expected.

The terrifying beast didn’t attack.

Instead, it stood there and… searched.

Its huge head angled slowly from side to side, sniffing through the crowd like it was looking for something specific.

”Skree…!”

A ragged cry suddenly rang out.

Only then did the humans realize there was something on the monster’s shoulder.

A giant bird—wounded from beak to tail, feathers matted with blood—perched there, swaying with exhaustion.

The Glacial Bear was so enormous that everyone’s attention had been glued to it. Almost nobody had noticed the roc at all.

The roc called again, sharper this time, and stared toward the crowd.

The humans below just looked back blankly, terrified and confused. They had no idea what it wanted.

In the apartment room in the residential district, Gabriel leaned closer to the screen, frowning.

”Wait… that big bird looks familiar.”

Charles scratched his head, squinting. ”Now that you say it, yeah. I swear I’ve seen it before.”

Then someone snapped their fingers. ”I remember! That’s the one that got chased by the Winged Clan elites!”

”Oh—right, right, right. That’s it.”

”I remember Ethan saved it,” another person said quickly. ”Then it helped Ethan run those Winged Clan off.”

”Yeah, but wasn’t it supposed to be hunting the Winged Clan afterward? Why is it back here?”

Nobody had a real answer.

Gabriel’s eyes tracked the roc’s torn wings, the way it could barely keep its balance. ”I don’t know… but look at it. It’s messed up. I’m betting it came back for Ethan to heal it. Last time it was half-dead too, and Ethan’s people patched it up.”

Maxwell nodded slowly. ”Makes sense. Outland Beasts and mutant beasts are probably the same that way—simple-minded. Once Ethan saved it once, it only recognizes him.”

Charles’s voice went tight. ”So what do we do? Do we tell it where Ethan is? If we don’t… and it gets pissed… the compound’s finished.”

”That isn’t a decision we can make alone.” Maxwell’s jaw tightened. ”I’ll ask Ethan.”

He pulled out his phone and called.

It rang.

And rang.

No answer.

Maxwell called Miles next.

After listening, Miles went quiet for a few seconds. Then he made the call.

”Tell them,” he said.

Miles understood Ethan better than anyone.

If the roc and the Glacial Bear had come for treatment, then they weren’t enemies—at least not right now. They were potential bargaining chips.

In Ethan’s hands, a request for help could turn into a trade. A trade could turn into leverage. And leverage could turn into two Stage SS monsters fighting on their side.

An opportunity like that was way too valuable to waste.

With Miles’ approval, Maxwell sent someone out with a photo and a map, ordering him to approach the two feral beasts directly.

Under the stunned, disbelieving stares of the Verdants on the wall, that human walked straight up to the monsters—and held the photo up where they could see it.

The man’s heart was trying to punch its way out of his chest, but he forced his arm steady.

The photo in his hand was Ethan.

The moment the roc saw it, it lit up, nodding rapidly—almost bouncing with excitement.

It had expected communication to be a nightmare. Instead, these humans were smart. It had only screeched once and they’d immediately understood what it meant.

The man nearly collapsed from relief.

So the guess was right. They really are here looking for Ethan.

That meant his odds of staying alive just shot up.

He quickly pulled out the map next.

It was marked with their current location and Ethan’s general location, with a route drawn between the two.

Because the Verdants had occupied the city, Atlas City compound had temporarily shut down the Satellite Operations Control Center—so it wouldn’t be discovered and turned into something that served the invaders.

That meant they couldn’t give Ethan’s exact coordinates.

Only a rough area.

Even so, the two feral beasts were intelligent. They understood almost immediately.

The roc snagged the map in its beak, then—unexpectedly—dipped its head toward the man in a clear nod of thanks.

The man blinked, weirdly honored, like he’d just gotten acknowledged by a king.

The Glacial Bear, on the other hand, stayed arrogant from start to finish. It didn’t even spare the messenger a glance—only licked its lips while staring at the dense human crowd.

But it had already promised the roc it wouldn’t act recklessly.

And for the sake of getting its paw healed, the Glacial Bear held back in the end. Besides… it had a whole pile of ”food” stored back home, and those Winged Clan elites were stronger—more nutritious than these trembling humans.

With the map secured, the two monsters didn’t waste time.

They turned around and left.

The moment they were gone, the crowd—people who’d been sure they were about to die—finally exhaled. Some collapsed on the spot, dropping to the ground like their bones had been removed.

A long moment passed before it sank in that they’d been saved.

Then the murmurs started, and the murmurs turned into a wave.

They rushed toward the messenger, thanking him over and over, voices breaking.

”Don’t thank me,” the man said quickly, hands up. ”This order came from above. The Federation hasn’t abandoned us. General Kane hasn’t abandoned us. So don’t give up on yourselves either.”

”General Kane hasn’t abandoned us…” someone whispered, like they were afraid the words would vanish if they spoke too loudly.

Then it spread.

”General Kane hasn’t abandoned us!”

More and more people repeated it, and many of them broke down right there—not from grief this time, but from relief so intense it hurt.

Only they knew how close despair had come to swallowing them whole.

Up on the city wall, the Verdant experts watched with tight, suspicious expressions.

Those humans… seemed to know the feral beasts.

That was not a good sign.

A Verdant pointed at the messenger. ”You. Come with me.”

The man didn’t look surprised.

People above had predicted exactly this and already told him what to say. If he followed the script, their situation might improve—maybe a lot.

He went quietly, escorted back into the compound.

They led him all the way to the central mansion, where he was brought before the Verdant leader.

Inside, several Verdant powerhouses stared at him with icy eyes.

The Verdant leader spoke first. ”You know those two feral beasts?”

”I do.” The man nodded.

The Verdant leader’s brow creased. ”How close are you?”

”We’re… on decent terms,” the man said carefully. ”If we ever face a major disaster, we can ask them to intervene once.”

”…”

The room went dead silent.

A cold, creeping chill slid through the Verdants present.

Had they just offended a group of humans…

With two Stage SS feral beasts behind them?