Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Weird stuff happens every year, but on this planet called Originis? It’s practically a daily occurrence.

Even for Ethan, this was a first—he’d never seen trees that could run away.

But sure enough, every single tree was doing its damnedest to get the hell out of there.

Not that they were fast or anything.

To Ethan, they were crawling at a snail’s pace. So he didn’t hesitate—he charged after them, blade in hand, hacking away without mercy.

”Stop chopping me up already!”

A desperate, raspy voice cried out from somewhere in the moving forest.

Ethan didn’t even flinch. If anything, he picked up speed. His figure flickered through the trees like a shadow, and the Domain of the Dead surged around him like a storm.

Wherever he passed, dozens of trees toppled.

The entire forest probably had just over a thousand trees to begin with, and now they were falling in droves, vanishing fast.

Still, the remaining trees kept inching forward.

The ground they left behind was a mess—broken branches, shredded leaves, and the mangled corpses of zombies. In the muddy ravines, bones and skulls poked through the dirt.

This forest had clearly seen its share of bloodshed.

It kept running. Ethan kept chasing. The desolate land trembled beneath them, the earth groaning with every step.

The chaos didn’t go unnoticed. The noise stirred nearby zombie hordes.

Groups of undead paused mid-shamble, staring blankly, confused.

”Dude, you’re not gonna believe this—I just saw a forest running!”

”No way. Seriously? What the hell’s going on?”

”I don’t know, man. We should go tell the boss!”

”Yeah, let’s move!”

”...”

The moving forest was way too big to miss.

As it passed by, it rolled right past a zombie nest.

Zombies, with their sharp hearing, immediately picked up on the commotion.

”Boss! There’s a forest running outside!”

”Bullshit. You’ve lost your damn mind. What kind of nonsense is that? Trees don’t run.”

”I swear it’s true! Come see for yourself!” the zombie underling insisted.

The Zombie King didn’t buy it, but he stepped outside anyway—and froze.

Sure enough, a whole damn forest was on the move.

And as it moved, trees kept collapsing behind it, leaving a trail of destruction.

”It’s actually running?”

”Told you I wasn’t lying!” the underling said, throwing up his hands.

”This must be a mutated plant...” the Zombie King muttered, quickly piecing it together. On Necroterra—the zombie continent—mutated plants were rare and valuable. If one fused with a Coreseed, it could even evolve into a Mutant Zombie King.

Zombie Kings who fused with plant Coreseeds were notoriously powerful.

”Let’s go. I want a closer look.” The Zombie King waved his hand, and the entire nest responded. Zombies poured out like a flood, swarming after the forest.

Meanwhile, Ethan was still hacking away, and the forest was nearly gone.

But he could sense more zombies nearby. He glanced up—and spotted a massive fortress in the distance, even grander than Solaris Citadel. No doubt, another zombie nest.

Dust clouds billowed below, like an army on the march.

Dozens of grotesque zombie faces flickered in and out of view, surging forward like a tidal wave.

”Looks like I’ve wandered into someone else’s turf...” Ethan muttered, but he didn’t slow down. His blade kept swinging.

The mutated tree, realizing it couldn’t escape and its end was near, suddenly veered off—charging straight toward the oncoming horde of zombies.

”If I’m going down, I’m taking you all with me!”

”Well, look who’s grown a spine...” Ethan smirked, unfazed, still hot on its heels.

There were fewer than a hundred trees left now. With another sweep of the Domain of the Dead, dozens more shattered into splinters.

Soon, there’d be nothing left but stumps.

”Stop right there!”

The roar from the Zombie King up ahead thundered across the wasteland, backed by the deafening howls of the zombie horde behind him.

More undead were pouring out of the citadel, wave after wave, flooding the hills and valleys. There had to be hundreds of thousands of them, a sea of rotting flesh and gnashing teeth.

And right at that moment, Ethan shattered the last tree.

What had once been a full-blown forest was now nothing but splinters and stumps.

To Ethan, it didn’t really matter—trees, people, zombies... chopping them down felt pretty much the same.

”Where’s the Coreseed?” he muttered, scanning the wreckage.

Then he spotted it—beneath the broken trunks, a few thick roots had detached themselves, coiling protectively around a glowing green sprout. They slithered through the dirt like snakes, trying to escape.

”I said stop!” the Zombie King bellowed again, furious that Ethan was ignoring him.

But the roots didn’t stop. They tunneled around behind the Zombie King, then burst from the ground and began twisting upward, forming a humanoid shape.

The little tree creature was barely holding itself together—Ethan had nearly hacked it to death. Now it cowered behind the Zombie King, sending out a pitiful, trembling signal like a kicked puppy.

The Zombie King glanced back, and his eyes lit up with greedy recognition.

Jackpot.

A Coreseed, delivered right to his doorstep. He didn’t even have to lift a finger.

His gaze snapped back to Ethan, eyes glowing with menace.

”This mutated plant? It belongs to our citadel. Back off.”

”Huh?” Ethan raised an eyebrow.

And just then, he caught sight of the little tree-thing peeking out from behind the Zombie King. Its pitiful expression vanished, replaced by a smug little grin.

”Figures,” Ethan muttered. ”Manipulative little twig. Should’ve known it was a drama queen.”

”Get lost!” the Zombie King snarled. ”This isn’t a place you’re welcome!”

The zombies behind him snarled in unison, heads tilted, jaws snapping with loud cracks. They looked like a pack of rabid dogs, just waiting for the order to tear Ethan apart.

But Ethan’s eyes drifted past them, toward the towering fortress behind.

Etched into the stone above the gates was a massive dragon, wings spread wide, glaring down at the world below.

So this was Draconis Citadel.

”I kinda like this place...” Ethan thought to himself.

Back on Earth, he’d always had a soft spot for dragons. Something about them stirred a sense of nostalgia.

As for the Zombie King standing in front of him—judging by his aura, he wasn’t all that strong. Maybe on par with Hank. Barely S-rank.

Definitely not the top dog here. Probably just a mid-tier enforcer.

”You’re saying you grew that plant?” Ethan asked, voice flat.

”Damn right,” the Zombie King sneered. ”It’s on our land, so it’s ours. What, you think it’s yours now?”

He puffed up, clearly trying to flex. ”Name’s Howler. First lieutenant of Draconis Citadel. Our boss is the mighty Voidborn Undying. You’d better watch your step.”

Ethan gave him a once-over and immediately downgraded his earlier assessment. This guy was probably on the same level as Big Ears—loud, but not much bite.

He glanced back at the citadel. Yeah, it was definitely bigger than Solaris Citadel. Which meant the Zombie King ruling it was probably stronger than Dreadpaw.

”Bet no one’s ever stolen your pigs before...” Ethan mused silently.

Lately, he’d been thinking about getting back into his old trade—raising livestock. Maybe even setting up a proper farm again.

Problem was, his storage ring could only hold dead things. If he wanted live specimens, he’d have to take Draconis Citadel the old-fashioned way.

Ethan stood alone, facing down a horde of hundreds of thousands of snarling undead. His expression didn’t change. No fear. No hesitation.

”You all... better get out of my way.”

...