Apocalypse: King of Zombies

At the Whitaker Family residence…

”Mr. Whitaker, there’s a problem. That group really isn’t harmless.”

”What is it?” Charles set the documents in his hands down and looked up.

”Just now, they got into a conflict with another group and killed dozens of people on the spot.”

”What?” Charles’s brows drew together. ”Where was the Compound Security Force?”

”They rushed over, but that group didn’t take them seriously at all. They even attacked Security Force personnel.”

Charles stood up abruptly, anger flashing across his face. ”Outrageous. They’ve crossed the line.”

”So Alexander was right,” the messenger said grimly. ”They really might endanger the compound’s safety.”

”Contact the other family leaders,” Charles ordered, already moving. ”We’re going to the scene together.”

”Yes, sir!”

At the Hale Family residence…

”Dad, that was beautiful.” Dominic Hale was practically glowing. ”They really are arrogant enough to kill inside the compound. I had a bunch of backup plans ready, but it looks like we won’t even need them!”

”It’s just young hotheads riding their little bit of strength,” Alexander said with a cold smile. ”People like that—what does it matter if they’re strong? They’ll still bring disaster.”

Dominic’s eyes gleamed. ”Charles is probably furious by now. Next, as long as we get him to agree to act, we’re set. Three families supporting it—Maxwell can oppose all he wants, it won’t matter.”

Alexander chuckled. ”With Charles’s personality, the moment he sees them killing freely inside the compound, he’ll definitely back taking them down.”

He sobered again. ”But their Tier isn’t low. If we make a move, we need full preparation.”

”Don’t worry.” Dominic’s voice turned hard. ”There are seven Tier 10 Enhanced in the compound. Add in the thralls we’ve created and control, plus some Tier 9 Enhanced and Tier 9 laser weapons… there’s no way we can’t take them.”

Alexander nodded slowly. ”Good. If you’re confident, fine. Remember—cripple them if necessary. But don’t kill them.”

His smile returned, thin and sharp. ”They’re more valuable alive.”

”Understood, Dad.”

At the confrontation site…

”You’re surrounded!” Security Deputy Commander Daniel Carter shouted, holding a Tier 9 laser weapon trained on Ethan’s group. ”Drop your weapons and surrender! Don’t make pointless resistance!”

Big Mike squinted. ”Why does that line sound so familiar?”

”How could it not?” someone muttered. ”Used to hear it on TV all the time.”

”…”

”Holy shit.” Big Mike’s temper flared. ”So now we’re criminals, huh?”

He glared at the wall of Compound Security Force surrounding them.

”You want me to wipe you out?” he snapped. ”Believe it or not, a couple [Rain of Flames] and you’re all done!”

”Arrogant!” Daniel barked. ”This is Atlas City, not some place you can run wild. Come with us to Security Command—now. Otherwise, we’ll execute you on the spot!”

”Come on,” Big Mike growled, stepping forward. ”Execute one. I wanna see you try.”

Daniel’s jaw tightened. He hesitated, weighing whether to fire.

Just then, a Military Police officer sprinted up and whispered something into Daniel’s ear.

Daniel’s eyes widened. He shot a wary, assessing look at Ethan’s group.

”You’re sure?” Daniel asked sharply.

”Yes,” the officer replied. ”People nearby all saw it.”

Daniel frowned.

Someone in that group was suspected Tier 10.

That made things messy.

But this was inside the compound. As a senior leader of the Compound Security Force, he couldn’t show weakness—especially not in front of this many eyes.

And the weapon in his hand… could threaten even a Tier 10 Enhanced.

With that thought, Daniel looked back at Ethan’s group and raised his voice again.

”I don’t care who you are, or how strong you think you are! You killed people inside Atlas City’s compound and attacked the Compound Security Force. You’ve seriously violated compound law. I advise you to stop resisting and come with us now. Otherwise, no matter how powerful you are, you won’t escape death!”

”When did we ever attack the Security Force?” Ethan asked, genuinely puzzled.

He turned his head and looked at Bennett. ”Did we attack you?”

”You… you stole my weapon!” Bennett snapped, trying to sound tough, but it came out tight.

”That doesn’t count as attacking.” Ethan shook his head—then calmly pulled the trigger.

A beam of light shot from the laser weapon in Ethan’s hand and punched straight into Bennett’s skull, blowing through his head in a clean, brutal line.

Ethan tilted the gun slightly and blew across the muzzle like it was still hot.

”That,” he said evenly, ”counts as attacking.”

For a split second, the world went silent.

Bennett’s eyes were wide, stunned right up until the moment he went slack. He’d never imagined Ethan would dare shoot him at a time like this—surrounded by so many Security Force troops.

The crowd and the Security Force alike jolted in shock.

Killing someone in front of this many uniforms was already insane.

Killing a Security Captain?

Daniel raised a shaking finger at Ethan, his face drained. ”Y-you…!”

His hand trembled so hard he couldn’t even get the words out.

Ethan didn’t spare him another glance. He looked coldly at the ring of Security Force around them.

”Move,” he said, voice flat. ”Or die.”

A chill ran through the formation. Even the most aggressive soldiers unconsciously swallowed, taking a half-step back before they realized they’d done it.

”Too arrogant!” someone snarled.

”Engage!” Daniel roared, fury snapping him back into motion.

At his order, the Security Captains fired their weapons, while the rest of the Security Force launched abilities immediately.

A flood of light and skill effects tore through the air toward Ethan’s team.

”Hmph.” Garrick swept a hand up.

Earth surged. Walls of packed soil rose in a circle, snapping into place like a fortress being assembled in seconds.

The incoming attacks crashed into the earthen barriers and died there.

”You want a fight?” Big Mike’s eyes went cold. ”I’ll give you one.”

He flicked his hand.

[Rain of Flames] dropped from the sky like judgment.

”AAAH!”

”S-stop—!”

”Gah—!”

Screams ripped through the street.

In the area the flames covered, more than a hundred Security Force members were incinerated on the spot—reduced to ash before they could even finish a thought.

The sheer horror of it froze everyone else mid-motion. Attacks sputtered out. People stared at Big Mike like they were looking at a monster.

”A wide-area crowd attack…” Daniel’s pupils shrank. ”Tier 10 Awakened!”

Based on what the compound knew, Enhanced who hit Tier 6 usually only got single-target skills. Tens of thousands—hundreds of thousands—of Tier 6 Enhanced worked that way.

Only Awakened with innate abilities had a chance for their powers to evolve into large-scale AoE skills after Tier 6.

And this guy wasn’t just an Awakened—he was Tier 10 with a wide-area skill.

How the hell were they supposed to fight that?

Worse—Daniel’s mind raced—there wasn’t just one.

The one who raised the earth walls had to be Tier 10 too. Nobody below that was blocking this many attacks with a single layer of earth like it was nothing.

Daniel felt his thoughts go fuzzy.

Since when did Tier 10 Awakened become something you could run into on the street?

None of them had even seriously considered Tier 11 or higher. For them, Tier 10 was already an unreachable ceiling. The compound had burned through unimaginable resources just to raise a few.

A ”normal” person reaching Tier 10 was already hard to accept—so who would even dare assume someone was above that?

Besides, from the perspective of the people on the ground, Tier 10 and Tier 11 looked the same.

Either way, you died to one skill.

”Cease fire!” Daniel suddenly shouted.

He understood now—this group wasn’t something they could handle. This had to be kicked upstairs.

Hearing the order, the Security Force around them stopped attacking, relief flickering across many faces.

After witnessing that Rain of Flames, fear had already taken root.

But the Security Force stopping didn’t mean Big Mike was done.

He lifted a hand again—

Another [Rain of Flames] slammed down, stealing another hundred lives in seconds.

If Ethan hadn’t told him to take it easy, Big Mike could’ve wiped them all out in a minute.

”Stop!” Daniel shouted himself hoarse. ”Are you really trying to make an enemy of the entire Atlas City compound?!”

”If Atlas City’s compound is this pathetic,” Ethan said coldly, ”then what’s wrong with making an enemy of it?”

”Big words!”

A furious shout boomed from the distance.