Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Once the two leaders went down, the rest of the Stage S elites from the Stormkin and Frostborn didn’t fare any better. Most were dead, and the ones who weren’t were crippled and bleeding on the ground.

As for the remaining Stage A fighters, their courage shattered completely. They turned and bolted for the horizon.

But at this point, trying to run was already too late.

Goldcrest City had millions of people packed in tight, sealing off the area until there wasn’t even a crack to slip through. The soulless thralls and the three hundred-plus Awakened from Fallen Star City flipped into full-on slaughter mode.

When it was finally over, the Stormkin were down to just over three thousand.

The Frostborn were down to just over three thousand too.

And the Rimekin?

They still had more than five thousand left.

From that alone, it wasn’t hard to tell the Rimekin had been holding back during the earlier battle.

Which was normal. Stormkin and Frostborn had been the real main forces. The Rimekin were ”helpers,” not the ones with their pride on the line.

And Eira, honestly, was clearly sharper than either of the other two elders.

The remaining six thousand-plus Stage A fighters were cleaned up in a little over half an hour.

Eira had assumed Ethan would make the Rimekin help.

Turns out… he didn’t need them at all.

After the Stormkin and Frostborn were dealt with, Ethan walked right up to Eira again.

”Come on,” he said. ”I’ll take you inside. Let’s look around.”

”…Okay.” Eira nodded. At this point, she didn’t really have the luxury of saying no anyway.

When Ethan brought the Rimekin over, Damien and the senior leadership of Goldcrest City immediately looked confused.

”Ethan…” Damien lowered his voice, eyeing the Rimekin warily. ”They…?”

”Oh, them?” Ethan said with a grin. ”Rimekin. I’m planning to have them live here from now on and help you guard Goldcrest City.”

Damien’s brows pulled together. He’d already been traumatized by Void Realm races. The words live here made his skin crawl.

”This…” he started.

”Relax.” Ethan waved it off. ”They won’t dare treat you the way the Stormkin did. You can coexist peacefully. Treat them like guests.”

”But…” Damien’s face stayed tense. ”They’re Void Realm creatures. Can we really trust them?”

”It’s fine.” Ethan smiled. ”If they do anything to hurt you, contact me immediately. I’ll deal with them in minutes.”

He didn’t bother keeping his voice down.

The nearby Rimekin all heard it, and several of them twitched at the corners of their mouths.

But nobody argued.

After seeing Ethan fight, none of them doubted he could do exactly what he said.

”If that’s really the case…” Damien’s eyes lit up, excitement surging through him. ”Then that’s incredible.”

He understood the reality. Ethan’s group couldn’t stay in Goldcrest City forever. If Fallen Star City left and Goldcrest had no real strength to show, they’d become prey again the moment the next Void Realm race sniffed them out.

But with a strong Rimekin force stationed here?

Goldcrest City’s safety would be secured overnight.

Damien leaned in and murmured, ”You really thought this through, Ethan.”

Ethan gave him a look. ”Say that again louder and I’ll start charging you rent.”

Damien coughed, embarrassed.

Right then, Eira stepped forward, composed and open. She held out her hand to Damien.

”Hello. I’m Eira. From now on… please take care of us.”

Damien froze for a beat, clearly not used to a Void Realm being polite to humans.

But he was a leader for a reason. He recovered quickly, reached out, and shook her hand.

”Hello. I’m Damien, commander of the Goldcrest City compound.” He forced the words out steadily. ”We’ll be relying on you. Thank you for your help.”

Eira’s smile twitched.

”Don’t mention it,” she said, then sighed. ”It’s not hard work.”

She paused, eyes deadpan.

”It’s just a hard life.”

”…”

Ethan acted like he hadn’t heard Eira’s complaint at all. He turned to Damien instead.

”Look—she’s going to be ’your people’ in Goldcrest City from now on,” he said with a grin. ”Hurry up and bring out your local specialties. Whether they end up helping Goldcrest City with their whole heart… that depends on how you treat them.”

Damien’s eyes lit up. ”Say no more. I won’t brag about much, but Goldcrest City’s food? That’s our pride. I’ll have the kitchens start right now.”

He chuckled, then added, ”Ethan, last time you came you left too fast—you didn’t even get to try anything. This time you can actually eat properly.”

”Perfect.” Ethan nodded. ”That’s exactly what I want.”

”Oh, and one more thing.” Ethan tilted his head toward the Rimekin. ”Get them housing. Give them something nice—don’t treat them like you’re doing them a favor. Otherwise later they’ll be whining again about how ’their life is suffering.’”

Damien laughed. ”Got it.”

He immediately sent a deputy to lead the Rimekin women toward a district filled with mansions, clearly the best residential area in the compound.

Once they left, Ethan told Damien to do the usual again—build a site for creating thralls and start gathering the materials needed.

Damien didn’t hesitate for even half a second. Ethan said it, and he executed it. No questions. No excuses.

With the arrangements underway, Damien led Ethan and the others toward a luxury hotel near the compound’s center.

By now, all of Goldcrest City had fallen into celebration.

With both the Frostborn and Stormkin—two Void Realm races that had enslaved them—broken and driven out, the city was finally free.

People screamed until their voices went hoarse, dumping out years of fear and rage in one massive release.

As Ethan and the others walked, the crowds on both sides shouted their names at the top of their lungs.

Some clapped until their palms were raw and red. Some reached out like they wanted to touch them, then pulled back at the last second, eyes shining with awe.

Others just cried, repeating ”thank you” over and over like it was the only sentence they could still say.

A few even sank to the ground—not worship, not performance—just because their legs finally gave out now that the nightmare was over.

Goldcrest City compound hadn’t been abused as badly as Clearford or Heartland, but tens of thousands had still died at the hands of the Frostborn and Stormkin. For many in the crowd, the dead weren’t numbers—they were parents, siblings, friends.

Even after saving multiple compounds, Ethan still couldn’t help feeling it in his chest when he saw scenes like this.

Under Damien’s arrangements, the Fallen Star Squad, several of Goldcrest City’s top officials, and the Rimekin leaders were seated in the most luxurious private dining room on the hotel’s top floor.

The rest of Fallen Star City and the remaining Rimekin were placed in nearby private rooms and the main banquet hall.

Not long after, dishes started arriving one after another.

Goldcrest City hadn’t been exaggerating about its food at all. The table quickly filled with plates that looked and smelled unreal, and none of them were repeated.

There was just one issue.

Most of them were red.

Bright red.

Red with chilies, red with chili oil—red in a way that practically warned you before your chopsticks even touched it.

Ethan and the others were fine. Golden Valley State was famous for spicy food. This kind of heat was basically home cooking.

What they were worried about was whether the Rimekin women could handle it.

To their surprise, the Rimekin only frowned slightly after the first bite.

Then, like they refused to lose to a plate of food, they took a second bite.

Then a third.

And after that… things got a little ridiculous.

”Hsss—this is so good,” Eira hissed, her lips turning bright red from the spice, but her hands never slowed. She kept stuffing food into her mouth nonstop. ”Human cuisine really lives up to the hype.”

The other Rimekin were the same—small mouths, terrifying speed, eating like they were in a competition.

By the end, Ethan and the others weren’t even focusing on their own food anymore.

They were just watching the show.

In the end, an entire table of dishes disappeared into the stomachs of the Rimekin upper ranks.

At their level, eating was mostly about taste. If they actually decided to eat for real, their appetites were anything but normal.

Now the Rimekin women—faces that had been pale and cool before—were all flushed, lips red, mouths shining with oil, looking blissed out and satisfied.

Eira leaned back, exhaled hard, then slapped the table with sudden conviction.

”No wonder they love occupying human cities,” she declared, completely serious. ”Human food is incredible.”

Her eyes sharpened, voice turning downright domineering.

”From now on, I’m protecting this city. Anyone who tries to take Goldcrest City from me is going to have to go through me first.”

And just like that, the unwillingness from earlier was gone—replaced by a fierce, possessive certainty that almost made it funny.