Apocalypse: King of Zombies - Chapter 129

Chapter 129: Is this… hell?

The group’s eyes lit up at the suggestion—it was a solid plan. Without wasting any time, they headed in that direction.

Up ahead, the streets were already a battlefield. Nathan had clearly sent in a significant force: three full Awakener squads and five hundred armed personnel.

These armed fighters weren’t just random survivors. They’d been carefully selected and enhanced with the newly developed “Human Evolution Serum.” Once injected, their strength reached the Neurocore stage, making them as formidable as elite zombies in combat.

Their weapons had also evolved. Guns were no longer the go-to choice. Instead, every single one of them wielded titanium-alloy machetes. Why? Because elite zombies had bones so tough that bullets were often ineffective. A well-forged machete, however, could get the job done. In fact, with enough skill, one clean swing could decapitate a zombie, saving both time and resources.

Among them were also second-generation cyborgs, controlled by advanced AI. These units were cold, calculating, and terrifyingly efficient, with combat capabilities that rivaled the best.

To be fair, Genesis Biotech had made impressive strides in recent months. Their advancements were nothing short of remarkable. But compared to Ethan’s crew? They still felt like small fry.

In the chaos of the zombie horde, one figure stood out like a mountain—Bulldozer. His massive frame was impossible to miss as he roared and hurled wrecked cars from the street into clusters of fighters like they were toys.

Nearby, the zombie tiger Snowy let out an earth-shaking roar, its sheer presence enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine. With one swipe of its massive paw, it turned a human into nothing more than a smear on the pavement.

And then there was PhD, lurking in the shadows of an alley. His sinister gaze scanned the battlefield, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. When the time came, he unleashed devastating psychic attacks, leaving the Awakeners clutching their heads in agony.

The leader of Operation King Hunt, Captain Jack Sullivan, stood at the forefront. A rugged man with sharp features and piercing eyes, he surveyed the scene with a grim expression.

“Something’s not right. Why are there more zombies showing up?” Jack muttered, his voice heavy with suspicion.

According to their intel, the zombie king in this area was supposed to be dead. Without a leader, the horde shouldn’t have this level of coordination. Yet here they were—organized, relentless, and, worst of all, working together.

“They should be tearing each other apart by now…” Jack’s eyes narrowed as he spotted another wave of elite zombies pouring in from a street corner. Their bloodstained faces twisted into feral snarls as they charged forward.

More of them? This was getting out of hand. If this kept up, they wouldn’t last much longer.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted from a nearby high-rise. Jack turned just in time to see several figures scrambling down the building in a panic. They leapt to the ground, landing in a heap, battered and breathless. It was Jessica’s squad, clearly fleeing for their lives.

But right on their heels was a swarm of zombies, pouring out of the building like a flood. Among them was Queen Laura, her blood-soaked figure radiating a terrifying, predatory aura.

The zombies didn’t stop. They leapt from the building one after another, crashing to the ground with sickening thuds before immediately resuming their pursuit.

“Are you kidding me?!” Jack shouted, his voice filled with disbelief. He quickly barked orders to his team. “Watch out for the zombies coming from above!”

The Awakeners snapped to attention, launching attacks to hold the line. But not everyone was quick enough. A few were crushed under the falling zombies, their screams cut short as they were torn apart.

Laura’s twisted grin spread across her face as she surveyed the chaos. “Well, well, this is a nice little gathering,” she sneered. In a blur, she darted into the ranks of the armed personnel, slicing through them like a scythe through wheat. Neurocore-enhanced or not, they were no match for her.

“You brought this horde here?!” Jack demanded, glaring at Jessica.

Jessica, drenched in sweat and struggling to catch her breath, glanced back at the zombies now being held off—barely. “I came to warn you! The zombie king here isn’t dead. You need to retreat. Now!”

“What?!” Jack’s face twisted in shock. His brows furrowed deeply as frustration bubbled up. First, they were told the king was dead. Now, it wasn’t? Was this some kind of sick joke?

But looking at the horde’s behavior, it was hard to deny. This level of coordination could only mean one thing: a zombie king was pulling the strings.

Jack’s gut sank. If Jessica was right, they were in way over their heads. “Fall back! Everyone, retreat!” he shouted.

The order was a relief to the team, who had been itching to get out of there. They immediately began pulling back, fighting as they went. But the retreat was anything but smooth. Zombies pounced on stragglers, ripping them apart in a frenzy of blood and gore.

“This is insane! These zombies are way too strong!”

“Just keep moving! Don’t stop!”

The Awakeners were shaken to their core. This wasn’t like any other area they’d fought in. The zombies here were faster, stronger, and far more aggressive—likely due to their advanced evolution.

Behind them, Bulldozer, Laura, and Snowy gave chase, relentless in their pursuit.

Jessica’s squad, being the fastest, managed to pull ahead. As they neared the edge of the danger zone, they finally allowed themselves a moment of relief. They’d made it out—barely. But the fear lingered. Today had been far too close. One wrong move, and they’d have been dead.

Or maybe… surviving this at all was just dumb luck.

But just then—

Out of the corner of her eye, Jessica caught sight of something. Her gaze snapped upward, locking onto the rooftop of a towering skyscraper ahead. A tall, slender figure stood at the edge, silhouetted against the sky.

“What the—?!” Jessica froze in her tracks, her heart skipping a beat. She threw out her arm, signaling the others. “Stop! Everyone, stop!”

“What’s wrong, Captain Reed?” one of the Awakeners asked, confused by her sudden urgency.

“He’s up there!” Jessica’s voice was tight, her expression grim. Though the figure was far away, she had no doubt. That face, that sharp, handsome profile, the white dress shirt fluttering in the wind—it was burned into her memory. There was no mistaking him.

“Who?” The others exchanged puzzled glances, but their eyes followed hers. Soon enough, they too noticed the figure standing on the rooftop.

Ethan.

He stood at the edge of the skyscraper, the wind whipping around him, his white shirt billowing like a banner. From where he stood, it seemed as though one more step would send him plummeting into the abyss below. His gaze swept over the streets beneath him, taking in the chaos—the abandoned cars scattered like forgotten toys, the fleeing humans reduced to tiny, insignificant shadows.

Everything was within his sight. His domain. His kingdom. And he watched it all with the cold, unyielding gaze of a king surveying his realm.

“It’s time to close the net.”

His voice was calm, almost casual, but the moment the words left his lips, the ground below erupted. Thick, writhing vines burst forth, snaking across the street like living serpents. They wove together into a massive, impenetrable web, cutting off the humans’ escape route.

“Ahhh—!”

Screams tore through the air as the vines lashed out, grabbing several people and hoisting them into the air. The sharp tendrils pierced their flesh, draining them dry in seconds. Their bodies shriveled, collapsing into lifeless husks.

“Damn it!” Jessica’s eyes widened in horror as she took in the scene. Her heart sank like a stone. They were trapped. With the horde closing in from behind and the vines blocking their path ahead, there was nowhere left to run. The zombies had them surrounded, and it was clear this wasn’t some random ambush. No, this was a carefully laid trap. A game. And they were the mice.

Her chest tightened as the realization hit her. That zombie king—Ethan—he was far stronger than she’d imagined. And worse, he’d been toying with them the entire time.

“Captain, what do we do now?” one of her team members asked, their voice trembling with fear.

Jessica clenched her fists, her jaw tightening. “There’s no way out. We fight to the death.”

The others exchanged grim looks but nodded. “Understood.”

Behind them, the sound of the horde grew louder.

Laura, Bulldozer, and the rest of the elite zombies were closing in fast, their snarls and roars echoing like a death knell.

The slower Awakeners were already being overtaken, dragged to the ground and torn apart.

The air was filled with the sickening sounds of flesh being ripped, bones snapping, and the agonized screams of the dying.

The once five-hundred-strong force of Neurocore-enhanced fighters had been reduced to just a few dozen. The rest were either dead or worse—unrecognizable pieces of what had once been human.

Jack stood amidst the chaos, his face a mask of fury and despair.

His fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, his eyes bloodshot as he took in the carnage around him. Everywhere he looked, there were zombies—feral, monstrous creatures tearing into his comrades.

In the distance, crows circled overhead, their sharp beaks stained with blood as they picked at the scattered remains.

The scene was grotesque, surreal, like something out of a nightmare.

“Is this… hell?”

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