Apocalypse: King of Zombies

After the meal, Ethan had Damien arrange for the Rimekin women to rest. Then he led Goldcrest City’s top brass down into the basement.

Having the Rimekin around meant Goldcrest City finally had a layer of security, sure.

But the Rimekin were still outsiders.

If Goldcrest wanted to survive in the long run, they needed their own trump card—something that belonged to them.

And that trump card was obvious:

Creating soulless thralls.

No one could’ve imagined that the Hale family’s ”accidental” discovery—an evil method for converting living people into soulless thralls—would end up becoming the key to humanity’s survival.

Without that method, forget saving other compounds. Ethan himself would’ve been dead a long time ago.

Dopey had been the first thrall.

Without Dopey, there wouldn’t be an ”Ethan” standing here today.

They reached the basement.

Just like in the previous two compounds, the two peak Tier 35 captives would be handled by the Fallen Star Squad, while the other Stage S captives would be left to Goldcrest City’s senior officials.

Mia would create a soulless thrall from Elder Isolde of the Frostborn.

Henry would handle Elder Tharok of the Stormkin.

Originally, Big Mike had wanted Isolde.

Ethan shut that down immediately, claiming ice and fire abilities didn’t mix.

Of course, Ethan knew exactly what that brat was really thinking.

For Big Mike’s health—and, more importantly, for everyone’s sanity—Ethan decided Mia was the safer choice.

Soulless thralls obeyed their masters completely. That made them terrifying in battle… and it also made certain thoughts terrifyingly dangerous.

Even Ethan himself occasionally had thoughts he shouldn’t whenever he released Aerisara.

Thankfully, his self-control was good enough that nothing ever happened.

Big Mike?

Big Mike didn’t have self-control. Not even a little.

Letting him ”own” a beautiful female thrall would be begging for disaster.

Strictly speaking, even if someone crossed that line, there wouldn’t be an immediate practical consequence.

But soulless thralls were, in the end, closer to the dead than the living.

Some lines were better left uncrossed.

After several brutal days, the two peak Tier 35 soulless thralls were finally created successfully.

Meanwhile, under Chris and the others’ guidance, Damien’s people converted the rest of the captured Stage S Void Realm elites into soulless thralls. They even dug out some Stage A enemies who hadn’t died all the way and converted them too.

For them, Stage A was already high-tier combat power.

Wasting it wasn’t an option.

By then, Goldcrest City’s side of things was basically settled.

With the Rimekin and their growing stockpile of thralls, Goldcrest City could finally survive in this chaotic world.

And as far as the Atlas Federation was concerned, there still hadn’t been any news of Stage SS Void Realm creatures showing up—so this level of strength was enough for self-defense.

Next, only Atlas City compound remained.

Once Atlas City was handled, Ethan planned to take everyone back into the Outland Beasts gathering grounds in Rivermark State.

They’d killed an absurd number of Void Realm enemies lately. The quality of their thralls had risen fast, but their own strength had barely moved.

The Fallen Star Squad was still stuck around Tier 29.

It was time to push them into Stage S.

After giving Damien and his officials the final instructions, Ethan tore open the void again.

With the people of Fallen Star City following behind him, they stepped into the rift and vanished.

Atlas City compound, residential district…

”Which compound are Ethan and the others at now?” Maxwell asked Gabriel.

”They’re in Goldcrest City,” Gabriel replied. ”The crisis there has already been resolved. Right now Ethan’s group is teaching them how to create soulless thralls.”

”Good.” Maxwell nodded, relief showing on his face. ”Then once they wrap things up, they’ll probably come to Atlas City next.”

”If it weren’t for Ethan and the others, humanity would have been finished one way or another,” Maxwell said quietly.

”Maybe not extinct, but enslaved. Forced to live under those Void Realm races forever.”

”And it’s not just that they saved people. They taught the compounds how to create soulless thralls and gave everyone a way to protect themselves.”

”That isn’t a small favor. That’s the kind of thing history remembers.”

Charles let out a long sigh.

”General Kane… you were right about them from the beginning. If you hadn’t insisted on backing them back then, we might’ve already pushed Fallen Star City into becoming our enemy.”

Maxwell shook his head.

”They don’t need me protecting them. And we don’t have the qualifications to oppose them.”

”With their style, if we stood against them, they’d kill us outright, put someone else in charge of this country, and wipe out anyone who didn’t submit.”

He paused, eyes darkening.

”Sometimes even I think their methods go too far… but I can’t deny it. In an apocalypse, what they do is the most correct approach.”

”After the end began, human nature got selfish and ugly. People fight over food and crystal cores. Betrayals and revenge plays happen every day. The kind ones… a lot of them didn’t get good endings.”

”Fallen Star Squad has made enemies everywhere they’ve gone, but anyone who crosses them, they cut down completely. No loose ends.”

”And because of that, now when people hear the name Fallen Star Squad, they’re scared. They don’t even dare think about provoking them. Fallen Star City does what it wants, and nobody dares complain.”

”That’s partly because of their strength,” Maxwell said slowly, ”but more than that… it’s because their reputation is vicious.”

”When we speak, people obey because of our position. But position has limits.”

”There will always be people who nod to your face while working against you behind your back. They know we hesitate. They know we weigh consequences. They know we won’t spill blood easily.”

”But Fallen Star City doesn’t have that problem.”

”When Ethan speaks, people obey because they know exactly what happens if they don’t.”

He looked up, as if seeing the whole federation laid out in front of him.

”The compound merger is the clearest example. At first, every compound had its own calculations. Nobody wanted to cooperate.”

”But once Fallen Star City expressed support, all of them complied.”

”That wasn’t only because Fallen Star City was powerful.”

”It was because everyone knew they were willing to use that power.”

Gabriel nodded hard. ”When you put it like that… yeah. I almost think their way is completely fine.”

Then he hesitated, half-joking, half-serious.

”If we had methods that ruthless before the apocalypse, maybe crime would’ve dropped a lot too.”

”It’s not the same,” Charles said, shaking his head. ”You can’t manage peace the same way you manage doomsday.”

”Their methods only work in the apocalypse. In peacetime, it would just create panic.”

”Charles is right.” Maxwell nodded.

”They might be ruthless,” Maxwell said, ”but deep down, they still have lines they won’t cross.”

”Most people, if they had the kind of power Fallen Star Squad has, would’ve been swallowed by greed and desire a long time ago.”

”They wouldn’t run from compound to compound, burning themselves out just to save people.”

”The Atlas Federation is lucky to have them.”

Gabriel gave a low hum. ”Hard times make heroes. Maybe they really are what this era needed.”

”Alright.” Maxwell straightened. ”If they’re arriving within the next couple of days, we need to be ready. Those Void Realm creatures have been getting restless again lately.”

”They have,” Charles agreed. ”A lie only holds for so long. Ever since the Glacial Bear left, there’s been no news of it. It’s natural they’d get suspicious.”

”Recently, they’ve been testing us more and more. I think they’ve already sensed something.”

”That’s fine,” Maxwell said calmly. ”Tell our people to stay steady. We’ve endured this long. A couple more days won’t matter.”

”Once Ethan and the others arrive… everything changes.”

”I’ve already passed the order down,” Gabriel said.

”Good.”

Gabriel let out a breath, then grinned like he couldn’t help himself.

”Honestly, I can’t wait to see those arrogant bastards’ faces when Ethan shows up.”

”When I talked to Edmund earlier, that old man wouldn’t stop bragging. He made it sound so damn satisfying I’m dying to see it for myself.”

Maxwell laughed. ”Same.”

”The last time I called Adrian, he didn’t even sound half-dead anymore. He sounded like he’d come back to life.”

”I heard he’s even been personally taking soulless thralls out to hunt Outland Beasts.”

A trace of longing surfaced in Maxwell’s eyes.

”I’d like to have a day like that too.”

”Yeah,” one of the other Atlas Federation seniors said, eyes bright. ”We’re all looking forward to it.”