Apocalypse: King of Zombies

After learning what the human race had suffered on the continent of Eldoria, Ethan’s mood had stayed heavy.

He was terrified of history repeating itself.

Back then, humanity had been strong—so strong—and they’d still been wiped out.

The humans of today didn’t even belong in the same conversation. What were they supposed to use to stand against those terrifying races?

But if his guess was right… then modern humanity still had one thing that might actually surpass the humans of the past.

Awakened.

There weren’t many of them, sure. But not long ago, Ethan had captured a lot of Awakened from different countries and transferred their abilities onto members of the Fallen Star Guard.

Now, across Fallen Star City, the total number of Awakened had already climbed past three hundred.

Once those three hundred grew up—once their strength caught up—they should be able to contend with the top powerhouses of the other races.

Looks like all three hundred Awakened need to be trained as the Fallen Star Squad’s second echelon, Ethan thought.

He shook his head, forcing himself to set those thoughts aside for now, and turned his attention back to the void space—studying the floating points of light as he searched for the skill he wanted.

If he had to name what made humanity ”stronger than before,” though… the biggest variable wasn’t the Awakened.

It was him.

With True Sight, he could choose abilities at will—stacking the strongest skills onto himself until he became a walking pile of unfair advantages. Forget crushing opponents at the same Tier. Even killing across Tiers could become as easy as breathing.

At Stage S, the number of light-points he could choose from had shrunk again compared to before.

Ethan spent three minutes examining every single one.

Then he hesitated, a frown tugging at his brow.

There was no question about it—every skill in the Stage S void space was powerful. He’d seen several that made his heart pound.

But he could only pick one.

That was the problem.

In the end, Ethan weighed the situation he was in right now…and made his decision quickly.

The instant the light-point he’d chosen fused into his body, Ethan’s eyes snapped open.

He checked his innate abilities.

Then his expression cracked into raw surprise.

After two disappointing innate-ability upgrades in a row, he’d finally hit the jackpot.

Dominion Gaze.

With it, he could seize another being’s mind and force them to move according to his will.

For example—make them slit their own throat.

Or make them turn and stab the person standing next to them.

And this wasn’t some cheap trick that only worked on weaker targets. Even someone stronger than him could get caught if they let their guard down for even a moment.

The only difference was duration.

The weaker the target, the longer the control lasted.

Ethan was more than satisfied.

Now he wouldn’t always have to rely on Absolute Stasis. Sometimes, a single look would be enough to rip control away—if only for a split second.

And a split second was all he needed to land a killing blow.

After reaching Stage S, Ethan still didn’t leave the room.

Instead, he kept absorbing the crystal core.

The energy contained inside that core was absurdly dense. There was no way it would be ”used up” just by pushing him into Stage S.

By his estimate, this one crystal core should be enough to raise him to Tier 32—maybe even Tier 33.

So Ethan decided to finish absorbing it before he stepped outside again.

When that time came…

Below Stage SS, he wouldn’t need to fear anyone.

On the other side, Chris and the group picked out ten thousand Stage A Flamebirds, then set off with the roc and ten thousand Stage A Fallen Star Guard members. Before long, they’d reached the location Miles had mentioned.

Staring at the stretch of buildings ahead, everyone looked a little surprised. They hadn’t expected the other side to have put up so much, so fast.

”Flamebirds and the Fallen Star Guard stay here,” Chris said. ”We’ll take the roc over and have a look.”

”Got it.” Everyone nodded, then hopped onto the roc’s back.

The roc beat its wings once and surged forward, quickly reaching the airspace above the settlement.

And then a furious shout rose from below.

”Who dares trespass on Windkin territory?!”

The moment the voice fell, countless figures shot up from the buildings like a swarm, instantly surrounding them from all sides.

”Holy crap,” someone blurted. ”They can fly!”

Every one of them had a pair of wings like Big Mike’s—Gale Wings—that let them hang in the air and maneuver like it was second nature.

”It’s humans!” The Windkin leader at the front froze for half a second, then his face split into a thrilled grin. ”Hah! Humans actually dare deliver themselves to our doorstep!”

”Uh… Captain,” a Windkin behind him said cautiously, tugging his sleeve. ”Maybe… look at the big bird first?”

”Hm?” The Windkin captain finally turned his gaze to the roc—and his expression changed on the spot.

”Tier 35 feral beast!”

But the shock only lasted a heartbeat before greed replaced it.

”Hahaha! A Tier 35 crystal core delivered straight to us. Looks like this place really is blessed!”

”Go—call the elder!”

”No need,” a calm voice cut in. ”I already know.”

An older Windkin rose from below, flying up with unhurried confidence. His eyes locked onto the roc like it was already dead meat.

”We chose this location to make it easier to hunt Outland Beasts,” the elder said, voice thick with satisfaction. ”Didn’t expect a bonus to fall into our lap.”

”A Tier 35 crystal core…” He licked his lips with his eyes. ”Perfect. I was just in need of one.”

Chris and the others’ faces sank.

”Looks like we walked into something ugly.”

”SKRAAA—!”

The roc cried out, feathers bristling.

Skinny Pete listened, then translated fast. ”It says the elder’s at peak Tier 34. That captain’s Tier 33. And there are eight more at Tier 30. This is… messy.”

”Yeah.” Chris’s jaw tightened as he looked at the Windkin elder. ”Old man, we’re just passing through. There’s no need to fight. We go our way, you go yours. How about it?”

The elder blinked—then threw his head back and laughed.

”Hahahaha! You’re trying to amuse me? ’Go our separate ways?’ Since you’ve come, you’ll leave that crystal core behind. And you humans…” His smile sharpened. ”You’ll stay too.”

Chris let out a long breath. ”Man. Why does it always have to be like this? Fighting doesn’t do anyone any good.”

”Hmph.” The Windkin elder’s patience clearly didn’t exist. ”Do it. Take them.”

A storm of wind-type abilities tore toward them at once.

The roc snapped its wings open and slammed the air.

A massive cyclone formed instantly, swallowing the incoming attacks and whipping into a roaring funnel. It surged forward like a battering ram, ripping toward the Windkin encirclement—

Only to be shredded apart a moment later as the surrounding Windkin powerhouses struck together, tearing the cyclone down piece by piece.

Chris’s temper finally flared.

”Yeah? You think you’re the only ones with numbers?”

He lifted a hand.

In the distance, ten thousand Flamebirds rose like a living tide—each carrying a Stage A Fallen Star Guard member—and came screaming toward the fight.

When the Windkin saw that, their expressions darkened. They clearly hadn’t expected the humans to have that many bodies on standby.

In a blink, Chris’s people arrived, flipping the formation and surrounding the Windkin instead.

Chris shook his head, irritation creeping into his voice.

”I told you. We could’ve all walked away. Why make this harder than it needs to be?”

He didn’t want a fight.

But if they insisted? He wasn’t scared of one.

”A bunch of Stage A fighters?” the Windkin elder sneered. ”Numbers won’t save you. Since you came here, none of you are leaving.”

With that, the elder led the captain and the Stage S powerhouses straight at the roc. The rest of the Windkin turned and dove toward the Fallen Star Guard.

”Roc—hold them off for a while!” Chris shouted. ”Leave the rest to us!”

As he spoke, Chris and the others sprang off the roc’s back, landing onto a Flamebird in one smooth motion.

”SKRAAA—!”

The roc screamed again and surged forward, meeting the onrushing Windkin Stage S experts head-on.