Apocalypse: King of Zombies

While the rest of the squad held their defensive formation, Sophia led over fifty Tier 6 Enhanced into the thick of the horde, cutting down zombies left and right. Her goal was clear—draw out the high-tier zombies they’d spotted earlier.

Sure enough, it didn’t take long before a group of powerful-looking undead broke from the crowd and charged straight at them.

Sophia’s eyes lit up. So impatient, huh?

Usually, in these kinds of hordes, it was one Tier 7 zombie leading a pack of Tier 6s. With their current lineup, they had nothing to fear.

The high-tier zombies closed in fast. As they approached, Sophia gave a sharp hand signal—and instantly, the Tier 6 Enhanced around her unleashed their skills.

Over thirty of them were elemental users, all with ranged abilities. Fire, ice, lightning, wind—dozens of colorful attacks lit up the battlefield like a fireworks show.

The blast was deafening. When the dust cleared, everyone turned to look—expecting to see at least half the enemy force wiped out.

Instead, their eyes went wide.

Not a single one of the high-tier zombies had fallen.

All the attacks had been blocked—by just three zombies at the front.

The two on the sides were visibly injured, but the one in the center? Barely a scratch.

”Tier 8…” Sophia’s voice was tight, her eyes locked on the monster.

The others were just as stunned.

There was only one explanation: a Tier 8 zombie in the lead, flanked by two Tier 7s, with the rest being Tier 6s.

”What do we do, Captain?!”

Panic rippled through the group.

Sophia didn’t flinch. ”Mark and I will take the Tier 8. The rest of you handle the others!”

She didn’t earn her position by freezing under pressure. Orders came fast and clear.

Then she and Mark charged straight at the Tier 8 zombie.

The rest of the squad split off, engaging the remaining high-tier undead.

Their only real advantage now was that they had more high-tier fighters than the zombies did.

Fifty-plus Tier 6 Enhanced against two Tier 7s and a dozen Tier 6s? That was manageable.

But two Tier 7s against a Tier 8? That was a whole different beast.

Sophia and Mark’s attacks barely scratched the thing. Meanwhile, its counterattacks were brutal—every blow forced them back, every swing threatened to break through their defenses.

The others couldn’t help even if they wanted to. Tier 6 skills barely tickled a Tier 8. Jumping in would just get them killed.

Thankfully, Sophia’s Nature-type ability, Entangling Vines, wasn’t about damage. It constantly disrupted the zombie’s movements, slowing it down just enough to buy them time.

The battle below was raging, chaos everywhere.

Then, a massive shadow swept across the sky.

A giant Golden Eagle soared overhead.

”Hmm?”

A soft voice echoed from above.

”Nugget, turn around.”

The eagle banked sharply, circling back and hovering in place high above the battlefield.

Ethan’s eyes locked onto the Tier 8 zombie. ”There you are.”

”Nugget, take it down.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Nugget tucked its wings and dove—like a missile streaking toward the ground.

Down below, the fighters suddenly felt a powerful gust tear through the battlefield. A massive shadow swept overhead, blotting out the sun for a moment.

As the wind died down, Sophia and Mark looked up—eyes wide in disbelief.

The Tier 8 zombie they’d been fighting… was gone.

They scanned the area, spinning in place, but there was no sign of it.

”Look! The Golden Eagle!” Sophia suddenly pointed skyward, her voice sharp with shock.

”No way… don’t tell me that thing grabbed the Tier 8 zombie?” Mark’s jaw dropped.

”Looks like it did!”

”...”

”So… what Tier is that eagle? Tier 9…?” Mark swallowed hard.

”Probably. Nothing else could just snatch a Tier 8 like that.” Sophia’s face was a mix of lingering fear and stunned relief.

What kind of luck is this? she thought. We actually ran into something like that and lived?

Meanwhile, high above the battlefield…

Ethan sat calmly on Nugget’s back, one hand gripping his poleaxe. The other end of the weapon was skewering the Tier 8 zombie like a trophy.

”Heh. Another one down. That was easy,” he said with a grin.

He glanced at the chaos below but didn’t move to help. He hadn’t killed the Tier 8 to save anyone or to steal their crystal core. He did it because he needed to. That was enough.

When you were Tier 9, you didn’t need a reason.

But just as he was about to turn Nugget around and fly off, something caught his eye. His expression shifted.

He activated [True Sight]and locked onto a woman below, her body glowing faintly as she continuously released her ability.

”A Recovery-type Awakened… and not just healing—she’s restoring stamina and mental energy?”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed, interest sparking.

That was rare. Really rare.

Fallen Star Squad hadn’t recruited anyone new in a long time. Honestly, he hadn’t planned to. His ideal team size was under ten, and they were already at nine.

Chris handled lethal single-target kills. Big Mike brought the heavy firepower. Garrick was the immovable frontline. Sean smashed through anything in his path. Mia controlled the battlefield. Henry kept everyone alive. Skinny Pete commanded mutant beasts. The team was tight, balanced, and deadly.

At this point, most Awakened weren’t worth the trouble.

But this woman’s ability?

It was on par with Henry’s in terms of importance.

They often fought hordes in the tens of thousands. Sometimes more. There were battles where everyone was drained—mental energy gone, arms too heavy to lift a weapon.

He still remembered the fight with the Bengal Tiger, Goldie. Nearly everyone had been seriously injured.

If they’d had someone like her back then…

A glint flashed in Ethan’s eyes.

Once the zombie on his poleaxe stopped twitching, he yanked it free and tossed the corpse into his spatial storage ring. Then he leaned forward and guided Nugget into a dive.

As they neared the battlefield, Ethan gave Nugget a signal.

The Golden Eagle let out a piercing screech.

The sound alone sent a ripple of panic through the zombie horde. Already shaken by the loss of their Tier 8 leader, the remaining undead broke ranks and scattered in every direction.

On the ground, Silverfox Squad froze in place, stunned.

Then Ethan leapt from Nugget’s back.

In midair, he activated [Teleportation]—vanishing and reappearing instantly at the front of the squad’s formation.

The transition was so smooth it looked like he’d just jumped straight down from a hundred feet up and landed without a scratch.

Eyes went wide.

”Guh—was that a human? He just dropped from the sky like it was nothing!”

”Forget that—why the hell was he riding a Tier 9 mutant beast?!”

”!!!”

”Wait… why does he look familiar?”

”No, seriously, I’ve seen him before. I swear I have.”

”Holy shit! Isn’t that the guy from the photo this morning? The one who leads that squad?”

”!!!”