Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Next, General Cross and the others followed Ethan’s instructions—building out an underground chamber while mobilizing the city to gather the required materials.

The soulless thrall creation process couldn’t be exposed to sunlight, so it had to be done underground.

As for the materials, they weren’t that hard to find. Once Clearford City threw its full weight behind it, everything was gathered quickly.

When survival was on the line, Clearford City’s execution was frighteningly efficient.

Down in the basement…

Chris and the others taught General Cross’s core team how to create soulless thralls, step by step, hands-on.

The idea had been Ethan’s.

The labor, as usual, somehow became Chris and the others’.

They complained nonstop in their heads.

Out loud, they just did the job.

Because this was serious.

Because this was the kind of secret that could get a city wiped out if it leaked.

So the people General Cross brought in were all Clearford City’s most trusted inner-circle officials. With the city’s safety on the line, everyone learned like their lives depended on it—because they did.

After more than a day, more than a dozen Stage S soulless thralls were finally created.

For the first time, Clearford City had true Stage S combat power of its own.

General Cross and the others stared at the thralls lined up in front of them. Even though those bodies had once belonged to enemies they’d hated down to the bone… right now, they almost looked precious.

Because they weren’t enemies anymore.

They were hope.

Unfortunately, Clearford City didn’t have spatial storage rings or pocket-dimension abilities. Which meant the thralls couldn’t be ”put away.”

They had to follow their new masters everywhere.

Even when those officials went to sleep, the thralls would have to stand next to their beds like silent guards.

Whether anyone would wake up in the middle of the night and scare themselves half to death…

Well.

That wasn’t Chris’s problem.

Using the same window, Chris and the others moved to create new thralls from the Flamekin elder and the two Tier 33 captains.

The two captains went smoothly.

The Flamekin elder, on the other hand, nearly tortured Sean to death.

When Chris had turned Elder Corvin into a soulless thrall, he’d still passed out from sheer exhaustion—even with Ethan helping him.

This Flamekin elder was even stronger than Elder Corvin.

So the difficulty jumped by several levels.

Luckily, they weren’t going in blind this time.

While Sean worked, Emily kept him linked through Energy Link, feeding him support. The others stayed right beside him, eyes locked on his face.

The moment Sean looked like he was about to black out, someone slapped him awake without hesitation.

If he fainted, everything would be wasted.

In the end, after four days and four nights, Sean finally succeeded.

By then his hair was a wreck, his face was swollen like he’d taken a beating, and his eyes were so bloodshot he looked half possessed.

The instant the process completed, Sean’s eyes rolled back and he folded straight to the floor.

”Tsk, tsk.” Chris clicked his tongue, clearly having the time of his life. ”And you were making fun of me for passing out when I made my first thrall. Look at you now. You’re way worse than I ever was. Even that ’special chicken soup’ from last time probably wouldn’t save you.”

”Damn…” someone muttered, still spooked. ”Creating a Tier 35 thrall is that brutal? Yeah, I’m good. I don’t even want to try.”

”It should get easier once everyone hits Stage S,” Chris said, half comfort, half wishful thinking.

”Yeah…” another person breathed. ”Hopefully.”

Chris clapped his hands once. ”Alright. Let’s go find Ethan.”

They left the basement—only to find people outside sprinting like crazy toward the city gates.

”What’s going on?” Chris grabbed a man by the arm.

The guy had been about to snap, annoyed at being yanked, but the second he saw it was Chris and the others, his whole attitude flipped. Respect, almost worship.

”Mr. Chris! There’s another group of Void Realm creatures outside the compound! We’re rushing over to watch Mr. Ethan’s unbeatable style!”

”….”

Chris rubbed his face. ”Are they strong?”

”Strong or not, I don’t know,” the man said rapidly. ”All I know is their leader was arrogant as hell, and then Ethan showed up and slapped him to death in one hit. So damn cool. But I missed it—if I don’t hurry, I won’t see Ethan move at all!”

He bolted before Chris could ask anything else.

Chris watched him go, then shook his head. ”Let’s move.”

They ran with the crowd toward the city gate.

By the time they arrived, the fight was already nearing its end.

A pack of Void Realm creatures was being butchered by a mix of thralls and Fallen Star Squad’s second-echelon Awakened, while Clearford City’s Enhanced sealed off every escape route from the outside—forming a living net the monsters couldn’t break through.

Just then, Ethan was sitting up on the city wall, totally at ease, sipping tea like he had all the time in the world.

Everyone jogged over and dropped down beside him. Nobody even asked—hands went straight to the cups, and they started drinking too.

Ethan glanced at them, puzzled. ”Huh. You guys are out already? Creating just three thralls and it took you that long?”

”Oh, now you’re saying that?” Big Mike complained, jerking his thumb toward the limp guy slung over his shoulder. ”Boss, you’re living the good life. We went through hell making that thrall. Look at Sean—he still hasn’t woken up.”

”Oh, right.” Ethan slapped his forehead. ”I forgot there was a peak Tier 35 in the batch.”

Then he leaned in, staring at Sean like he’d just noticed something.

”Wait… why is his face swollen?”

”….”

Big Mike cleared his throat awkwardly.

”Well… Sean started blacking out near the end, so we had to use some special methods to keep him awake.”

Ethan held his gaze for a second, then smiled.

”Special methods, huh? Sounds like there might’ve been a little… personal revenge mixed in.”

”How could there be?” Big Mike said righteously. ”We were purely helping him.”

”Sure.” Ethan nodded solemnly. ”I believe you.”

Then his smile widened a fraction.

”Let’s see if Sean believes you when he wakes up.”

”….”

Chris pointed down toward the battlefield. ”Ethan, what’s the deal with this wave of Void Realm creatures?”

”Just showed up,” Ethan said casually. ”One Stage S with a bunch of Stage A. I slapped the Stage S to death. The rest can’t make any real trouble.”

”Slapped to death?” Chris stared at him. ”Why didn’t you keep it for a thrall?”

Ethan spread his hands. ”Uh… didn’t watch my strength. Who knew the guy was that weak?”

”….”

Ethan took another sip, eyes half-lidded. ”Anyway, we didn’t kill a lot of the Stage A ones down there. Those can stay with Clearford City. Let them refine them into thralls slowly.”

He set his cup down and looked at the team.

”Since you’re all out, we’re getting ready to move. We’ve been held up here a little too long.”

Chris’s tone sharpened immediately. ”Where’s next?”

”Heartland City compound.”

”Good,” Chris said, standing. ”Let’s go.”

Down below, the fight wrapped up fast. Under the second echelon’s pressure—and with the thralls ripping through anything that tried to resist—the remaining Void Realm creatures either died on the spot or dropped to their knees and surrendered.

Normally, Ethan’s group killed Void Realm creatures without exception.

This time, accepting surrender had only one reason:

Clearford City needed raw material.

Ethan and his people didn’t care about Stage A thralls anymore. But for Clearford City, Stage A was priceless. Their high-tier fighters were too few, and turning these Void Realm creatures into soulless thralls would plug a huge gap in their combat power.

After the battle ended, Ethan led everyone to General Cross to say goodbye.

General Cross clearly didn’t want them to leave—but he understood. Ethan’s group still had other compounds to save, and he didn’t try to hold them back.

He’d lived through it.

So he knew other compounds were probably praying for Ethan to show up, the same way Clearford City had.

Because at this point, Ethan and Fallen Star City weren’t just reinforcements—

They were the faith keeping the compounds standing.

After one last round of thanks, everyone in Clearford City watched from the walls and streets as Ethan and his group tore open a dimensional rift…

…and vanished from sight.