Apocalypse: King of Zombies

As the lobster scuttled to the base of the towering building at Ethan’s feet, a crimson glint flickered in his eyes. Without hesitation, he unleashed the Domain of the Dead. It was over in an instant.

CRACK!

The lobster’s shell shattered like brittle glass, and it collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

Behind him, the horde of zombies continued their relentless pursuit. Among them, the squad leader—a particularly fast and aggressive one—was leading the charge. From a distance, he spotted the motionless lobster.

”Ha! Worn out already?” he sneered, his face lighting up with glee. Without wasting a second, he surged forward, closing the gap in no time. When he was just 30 feet away, he leapt into the air like a predator pouncing on its prey, both hands outstretched, ready to snatch the lobster.

Victory was within his grasp. Or so he thought.

Just as he was about to land on the lobster, it vanished into thin air.

THUD!

The zombie crashed face-first into the ground, eating dirt in a spectacularly undignified fashion.

Dazed, he shook his head, utterly confused. He stared at his empty hands, then glanced back at the spot where the lobster had been. Nothing. It was gone. Completely gone.

”Where’s the lobster? It’s… gone?!” he muttered, his voice tinged with disbelief.

At that moment, a tall, lean figure descended from above, landing gracefully beside him. It was Ethan. In the blink of an eye, he had stored the lobster in his spatial storage ring.

”Huh?” The squad leader’s sharp eyes immediately locked onto Ethan. His expression darkened, and a flicker of wariness crossed his face. ”Who are you? Did you take my lobster?”

Ethan didn’t respond. His gaze was calm, almost indifferent, as he sized up the zombie.

Behind the squad leader, the rest of the elite zombies had caught up. When they saw Ethan, their guttural growls filled the air, their faces twisted with hostility.

”Boss, it’s him! He took the lobster!”

”How dare he steal from us!”

”Grrr… hand over the lobster!”

The group of zombies voiced their outrage, their aggression palpable.

The squad leader glanced back at his underlings. Despite a strange sense of unease gnawing at him, he couldn’t afford to lose face in front of his crew. If he didn’t get the lobster back, it’d be humiliating.

”RAAAARGH!” he roared, charging straight at Ethan. His massive frame radiated menace, and his sheer size gave him an intimidating presence.

Ethan, however, remained silent. With a mere thought, he activated the Domain of the Dead once more. A crushing wave of pressure erupted like a tidal surge, engulfing the area.

The squad leader froze mid-charge. It was as if an invisible mountain had slammed down on him, pinning him in place. The overwhelming force bore down on him, stealing the strength from his limbs.

THUD!

His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground, the impact leaving a crater beneath him. Cracks spiderwebbed outward from where he knelt.

The world seemed to hold its breath.

Even the zombies in the distance felt the suffocating weight of Ethan’s power. It was as if they were staring into an abyss of carnage and death. The slender figure before them now loomed like the ruler of this desolate world.

The Zombie King.

This was no ordinary being. This was a king among the undead.

Ethan’s aura alone was enough to instill primal fear in the zombies. Their very souls quaked under his presence.

As for the squad leader, trapped within the Domain of the Dead, he was utterly paralyzed with terror. The oppressive aura of the Zombie King crushed any semblance of defiance he might have had. His body trembled uncontrollably, his earlier bravado reduced to nothing.

The once-ferocious zombie now looked like a frightened chick caught in a winter storm.

”What was it you wanted just now?” Ethan finally spoke, his voice calm but carrying an edge that cut through the silence.

”N-nothing…” the squad leader stammered, his voice shaking. ”P-please… don’t kill me.”

Ethan regarded him with cold detachment. A B-class zombie like this one was no more significant to him than an ant. Killing him would be effortless, but it wouldn’t serve much purpose. Instead, Ethan decided to extract some information—perhaps something useful about Santa Monica.

With a flick of his will, Ethan withdrew the Domain of the Dead. The suffocating pressure dissipated, and his aura returned to its usual composed state.

”I’ve got some questions for you,” Ethan said, his tone even.

”Sure, anything you want to know,” the squad leader replied hastily, relief washing over him as the crushing force lifted. He dared to glance up at Ethan, but the memory of that overwhelming power kept him rooted to the ground, still kneeling. He didn’t dare rise.

Ethan spoke slowly, his tone calm but commanding. ”Who’s the most powerful Zombie King in this city?”

”Of course, it’s the Azure Scaled Zombie King!” the squad leader blurted out without hesitation. ”Azure Scaled is the absolute ruler of this area. He’s deep in the heart of the city, where everything’s submerged in seawater. It’s a deadly place—no other zombies dare to go near it. It’s basically a no-go zone now. No one knows what’s really going on in there.”

”Oh…” Ethan nodded thoughtfully. To dominate an entire city, Azure Scaled must be formidable.

”And what about the other Zombie Kings under him?” Ethan pressed.

”Well… I don’t know about all of them, but the strongest one has to be Zombie Fetus. That thing is insanely brutal. It slaughters other zombies in the area just for fun and doesn’t accept anyone trying to surrender.” The squad leader shuddered slightly as he spoke, clearly uneasy even mentioning the name.

The fear in his voice was telling—Zombie Fetus had a reputation that struck terror even among its own kind.

”Zombie Fetus?” Ethan murmured, the name tugging at something in his memory. Why did it sound so familiar?

Then it clicked.

No wonder… The zombies from Santa Monica had been so relentless in their pursuit of the survivors, chasing them from the food depot all the way back to their base. Their hatred ran deep—this wasn’t just a random attack.

”Anything else?” Ethan asked, his tone still measured.

”There’s more… On the outskirts of the city, there are two other Zombie Kings—Dreadkelp and Bonefin. They’re both incredibly strong and bloodthirsty. Killing is their favorite pastime.”

The squad leader paused, as if debating whether to continue. He didn’t know much about the others, like the half-zombie, half-mermaid hybrid known as Zombie Siren, or the half-zombie, half-snake creature called Naga. Those fusion-type Zombie Kings were shrouded in mystery. Anyone who had seen them up close was likely dead, leaving only fragmented rumors behind.

Ethan listened without much reaction. Dreadkelp? Bonefin? He couldn’t help but think that Azure Scaled had a terrible sense of naming. Compared to his own creativity, these names were downright uninspired.

”By the way, what’s your name?” Ethan asked, shifting his gaze back to the squad leader.

”Me? I… I don’t have a name,” the squad leader replied, shaking his head. ”Ever since I gained intelligence, I never thought about naming myself. As for my name before I turned into a zombie… I’ve forgotten it.”

Ethan nodded. ”Then I’ll give you one.”

”Really? Sure, sure!” The squad leader’s face lit up with a mix of surprise and relief. If Ethan was giving him a name, that probably meant he wasn’t planning to kill him. After all, who would bother naming someone just to kill them right after? That’d be… weird. Right?

Ethan studied him for a moment, his sharp eyes scanning him from head to toe. There wasn’t much to note—he was just an ordinary zombie with no particularly unique features. But then Ethan recalled the squad leader’s earlier antics, and an idea popped into his head.

”From now on, your name is… Shrimpy.”

”Uh…” The squad leader—now Shrimpy—froze, his expression blank. The name was… unique, to say the least. But wait a second… He’d been chasing a lobster earlier. Shouldn’t it be something cooler, like Lobster Hunter? Why Shrimpy?

Still, he didn’t dare argue. He forced a smile and nodded quickly. ”Heh, sure. Shrimpy it is.”

”Good.” Ethan seemed satisfied with the reaction, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. ”Shrimpy, I’ve got a small favor to ask of you.”

”Of course! Anything you need, just say the word. I’ll do my best!” Shrimpy replied eagerly, though deep down, he was on edge. He knew Zombie Kings could be unpredictable. If he refused, Ethan might kill him on the spot. And since Ethan called it a ”small favor,” it couldn’t be that bad… right?

But then Ethan spoke, his voice calm and deliberate. ”I need you to head into Azure Scaled’s territory and track down Bonefin and Dreadkelp for me.”

”Pfft!” Shrimpy nearly spat out a mouthful of foul zombie blood.

Go into Azure Scaled’s territory?

And find two other Zombie Kings?

Was Ethan serious?

That wasn’t a ”small favor”—that was a death sentence!

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