Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Deep in the forest…

As the last Outland Beast collapsed, Chris and the others finally let out the breaths they’d been holding.

This herd had included hundreds of Stage A Outland Beasts. Luckily, they’d arrived in time—no casualties.

In this forest, the Outland Beasts ranged from Stage B to Stage A. The weakest were Stage B, and the strongest were Stage A at Tier 29. There were no Stage S among them. They likely came from the same Void Realm—same ”batch,” same ecosystem.

For them, this power range was basically perfect.

They’d been hunting here for three or four straight days, and the haul was massive. Any crystal cores they could use, they absorbed on the spot. Anything they couldn’t use yet went straight into backpacks.

By now, nearly all ten thousand Fallen Star Guard were sitting around Tier 26. A lot of the Enhanced had even reached Tier 27.

And Chris’s group had pushed up to Tier 29.

On top of that, every one of them had a backpack stuffed with Stage B to Stage A crystal cores across different Tiers—cores meant for the other ten thousand Fallen Star Guard, and for members of the Fallen Star Corps.

”Clean up the battlefield,” Chris told Tyler. ”Call the other teams back. We’re heading home.”

”Understood.” Tyler nodded, started assigning people to strip cores and collect remains, then pulled out a signal flare gun and fired a bright shot into the sky.

Sean frowned at Chris. ”There are still plenty of Outland Beasts deeper in. Why are we leaving now?”

”Miles just messaged me,” Chris said. ”Ethan finished absorbing that Tier 35 crystal core. He wants us back.”

”The boss is out?!” Sean’s eyes lit up, and the same spark ran through the others. It was like their backbone had snapped back into place.

Mia’s face brightened. ”Then what are we waiting for? Let’s help dig out the cores. We’ve been gone long enough—and the others still need these.”

She walked over immediately and started helping.

Emily chuckled. ”The others… or just one person?”

Mia’s cheeks went pink. ”Shut up and dig.”

Before long, everyone joined in, hands slick with blood and sap as they worked through skulls and plated bone to pry out crystal cores.

Not long after, squads of Fallen Star Guard started returning one after another.

The deeper they’d gone, the denser the Outland Beasts got—so the Guard’s formation had shifted over the days, from teams of a hundred to teams of a thousand.

In short order, the crystal cores had been harvested.

By then, nine squads had arrived.

One was still missing.

Tyler’s brow knotted. ”What’s going on? They’re supposed to regroup the moment they see the flare. Why aren’t they back yet?”

”Not sure,” one of the captains answered. ”We already sent people to check.”

Right then, two scouts came sprinting in, faces tight with panic.

”Captain! There’s a big group of Void Realm creatures over there—they’re fighting Hawk’s squad!”

”Void Realm creatures?” Chris’s expression hardened. ”How the hell are Void Realm creatures in here?”

”It looks like… the Windkin. The same ones we fought before.”

”Them?” Tyler’s eyes widened.

Chris’s voice went flat and cold. ”Last time we let them run. And they still dare come back.”

He took a step forward, killing intent bleeding out of him.

”Fine. Then this time, none of them leave.”

”Wait.” Mia grabbed his arm. ”Don’t be reckless. They know what we can do. If they still came, they’re prepared—maybe they brought help.”

”Even if they brought help, we still have to go,” Sean snapped, anxious. ”We can’t abandon a thousand people.”

”We’re going,” Mia said immediately, forcing her tone back under control. ”Just—everyone stay sharp. Chris, message Ethan.”

”Already on it.” Chris nodded, sent Ethan a quick message, then waved the group forward.

They tore through the trees toward the fighting.

When they arrived, the scene was already ugly.

Bodies were down—Fallen Star Guard members scattered across the forest floor. The survivors had pulled into a tight defensive knot, gritting their teeth as they held the line.

And above them, floating in the air like a judge about to pass sentence, was the Windkin elder.

The moment he saw Chris and the others, his mouth curled into a thin, poisonous smile.

”Haha. You finally showed up,” the elder said, voice dripping with malice. ”Another minute later, and I would’ve had to wipe these little ants out myself.”

Chris’s eyes narrowed. His voice came out like ice.

”Old man. Last time you ran like a beaten dog.” He took one more step forward. ”And now you’re back in front of us? What—got a death wish?”

The Windkin elder snorted. ”Hmph. I told you. This debt will be repaid a hundredfold.”

Then he turned his head, looking off to one side of the battlefield, and his tone shifted—suddenly respectful.

”Elder Corvin… I’ll leave this to you.”

As soon as his words fell, a huge group of figures in black robes burst out from another part of the forest, flooding in like a tide and boxing Chris and the others in.

There were seven to eight thousand of them.

With the Windkin added in, their numbers now clearly surpassed Fallen Star Guard’s side.

But the real pressure wasn’t the headcount.

It was their strength.

Their aura was heavy—disciplined, vicious—and the one leading them felt even stronger than the Windkin elder. Strong enough that Chris’s stomach sank.

Tier 35…?

Seeing that, Chris’s heart tightened.

Mia had been right. The Windkin had come prepared.

The black-robed man at the front tilted his head and laughed, voice full of mockery. ”Elder Gale. The Windkin are considered a major clan on Northveil Continent, aren’t they? And you got chased off by a bunch of humans like scared dogs? That’s embarrassing.”

Elder Gale’s face went dark. ”If it weren’t for that Tier 35 big bird, I would’ve already slaughtered these humans.”

The black-robed man’s gaze snapped to the roc, and delight flickered across his face.

”Haha—so Elder Gale wasn’t lying. There really is a wild Tier 35 feral beast.”

Then his smile sharpened, greedy and sure of itself.

”We agreed. I help you get revenge, and you help me take that Tier 35 crystal core.”

”Relax,” Elder Gale said, voice low. ”I keep my word.”

”Good.” The black-robed leader—Elder Corvin—looked back at Chris and the others, then slowly shook his head like they were pitiful.

”The humans of this world really are frogs at the bottom of a well,” he said lightly. ”With this little strength, you dared to lay hands on a race from Northveil Continent?”

His tone hardened.

”Even if we’re only the vanguard… we’re not something you can afford to provoke.”

He raised his arm.

”Kill them. Wipe them out.”

The black-robed figures behind him surged forward instantly, lunging at the Fallen Star Guard like a wave of blades.

And then—

The sky tore open.

A crack split the air itself, like someone had taken a knife to the world. A figure stepped out from that rift with casual, terrifying ease.

A cold snort rolled across the battlefield.

”Northveil Continent? What is that supposed to be?” the newcomer said, voice dripping with contempt. ”And who gave you the guts to lay a hand on my people?”

In a blur, the figure flashed down and landed directly in front of Chris’s group, standing between them and the incoming black-robed wave.

”Ethan!”

”Boss!”

”Commander!”

The entire Fallen Star side lit up like a fuse had been touched. Relief, excitement, and a sudden savage confidence surged through the line.

Across from them, both Elder Corvin and Elder Gale visibly stiffened—Ethan’s entrance had shaken them.

But when they sensed his aura clearly, the tension eased from their faces. If anything, they looked amused again.

”Tier 32?” Elder Corvin sneered. ”With an entrance like that, I thought a real powerhouse had shown up.”

Ethan smiled—cold and razor-thin.

”Yeah?”

He vanished.

One heartbeat, he was standing in front of his people. The next, he was at Corvin’s side, his poleaxe blazing with black light as it came down like a guillotine.

”Spatial-type ability!” Corvin’s expression shifted slightly, but he didn’t panic. The corner of his mouth even curled—like he was laughing at Ethan for overestimating himself.

A surge of dense black light erupted around Corvin’s fist as he punched up to meet the axe head-on.

And then Ethan’s eyes flashed.

For an instant, Corvin’s pupils went blank.

His punching arm… stopped. Just for a fraction of a second.

But a fraction was enough.

BOOM!

A heavy, brutal impact shook the air.

Ethan’s poleaxe smashed cleanly into Corvin’s head.

Blood burst outward.

The ground cratered with a deafening crack, dirt and shattered roots blasting up as Corvin’s body was driven straight down into the pit, slammed face-first into the bottom like a broken doll.