Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Nightmare frowned, deep in thought, clearly skeptical. "You're telling me you saw multiple Zombie Kings in his territory?"

"I saw three," Wreckhead replied after a moment of recollection, thinking back to Big Ears and the others. "Those three Zombie Kings had some skills. Honestly, they're almost on my level."

The surrounding zombies couldn't help but burst into laughter at that.

Wreckhead wasn't exactly a big deal around here—just a low-ranking lieutenant, really.

Nightmare shared their doubt. "Are you sure… they're all Zombie Kings from Los Angeles?"

"Yeah, that's what they said. They even claimed to be rulers of other cities," Wreckhead answered earnestly.

"…" Nightmare was speechless for a moment, lost in thought. He knew Wreckhead wouldn't lie, but the whole thing sounded absurd.

"And what did he say about attacking San Bernardino?"

"He said you should go ahead and start the fight. He'll decide whether to join in based on how things go," Wreckhead replied.

"That's it?" A nearby power-type Zombie King couldn't hold back anymore. "Boss, isn't it obvious he's just using us? And if they're that weak, why bother working with them? Let's just declare war and wipe out both San Bernardino and Los Angeles in one go!"

"You don't get it," Nightmare said, shaking his head. "When I say 'cooperate,' I don't actually mean it. I just want to keep them in check for now. At least this way, when we attack San Bernardino, they won't mess with us. It's called buying time."

"Oh…"

The zombies around him were taken aback, silently impressed. Their boss wasn't just strong—he was smart, too.

Using strategy and all that? Genius.

"So, your plan is… to take San Bernardino first, then declare war on him?"

"Exactly. San Bernardino's Genesis Biotech branch has a ton of resources. Once we take it, our strength will skyrocket. Then we'll be in a much better position to deal with him," Nightmare explained, his tone calm but calculated.

A female Zombie King nearby raised an eyebrow. "Boss, aren't you overestimating them? Los Angeles still has Genesis Biotech and their shelters intact. If the Zombie Kings there couldn't take them down, doesn't that mean they're probably weaker than us?"

"Maybe. But it's better to be cautious," Nightmare said firmly.

All signs pointed to Los Angeles being weak—pathetically so, even. But something about it didn't sit right with him. It felt… off.

Nightmare wasn't one of the original big players. At the start of the apocalypse, he'd been a low-level nobody. It wasn't until a month in that he awakened his abilities, and his intelligence began evolving rapidly.

Since then, he'd clawed his way up, taking out the Zombie Kings of Rancho Cucamonga one by one and building his own faction. Now, with the local shelters under his control, he'd secured his position as the ruler of Rancho Cucamonga.

But the journey hadn't been easy. That's why he was always so cautious.

"We can't rush things with San Bernardino. For now, we'll focus on harassment—wear down the humans' strength. Also…" Nightmare turned to Wreckhead. "Go check the outskirts of the city. See if you can recruit any smaller factions to join us in the attack on San Bernardino."

"Got it, no problem," Wreckhead said, nodding eagerly.

Nightmare's late start in the apocalypse always left him feeling like he wasn't strong enough. That's why he was so determined to unite every possible force, to keep killing and evolving, to seize every resource he could.

If he could take San Bernardino, his position as a regional overlord would be unshakable. He wouldn't have to fear any of the older Zombie Kings anymore.

As for sending Wreckhead to negotiate? It wasn't because Wreckhead was particularly persuasive or clever. It was because dealing with other zombie territories was dangerous. If Wreckhead didn't make it back, well… no big loss.

...

Meanwhile, on the other side of things, Ethan was chilling at home. He had plenty of food, water, and crystal cores. Life was good.

Still, he figured it was worth keeping an eye on the conflict between Rancho Cucamonga and San Bernardino. Opportunities like this didn't come around every day.

If there was a chance to profit from the chaos and he didn't take it, that'd be a real waste.

As for Nightmare, the so-called rising star? Ethan thought it might be a good idea to keep him in check. Anyone who could rise to the level of a regional overlord had to have some serious skills. Letting him get his hands on San Bernardino's resources? Yeah, that wasn't happening.

Ethan decided to start by scouting out Nightmare's strength.

Unlike Nightmare, though, Ethan didn't have to go through all the trouble of sending someone out. He had "connections." The shelters in different cities were all in contact with each other. The fact that Mia had been able to track down Zane in Rancho Cucamonga meant she had access to information about the area.

Ethan shot Mia a quick message.

"How strong are the zombies in Rancho Cucamonga?"

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"Wow, you really don't know how to take a break, do you?" Mia replied almost instantly.

Ethan smirked. "They came looking for me first."

"Oh, right. The Zombie King who took over the shelters in Rancho Cucamonga is called Nightmare. He's S-rank, with an awakened ability called Dream Invasion. He can enter people's dreams—it's super creepy. He's got six Zombie Kings under him…"

Mia explained, even attaching a few files, including some aerial photos taken by drones.

Ethan scrolled through the information silently.

It was detailed—very reliable, as expected.

Nightmare had six Zombie Kings under his command. Not a small number, though Ethan's own crew, including Snowy the zombie tiger, totaled eight.

And Nightmare's subordinates weren't pushovers either. Most of them were ranked between B+ and A.

One photo caught Ethan's attention. One of the Zombie Kings had a particularly bizarre appearance.

He was thin, almost lanky, but his hands… His bones had mutated into what looked like massive scissors. The bone blades were razor-sharp and stretched nearly six feet long. The whole thing was absurdly over-the-top.

The shelter officials had labeled him Scissorhands.

"Huh, not a bad name," Ethan muttered, chuckling to himself.

Scissorhands was an A-rank speed-type zombie. Apparently, he'd been a barber before turning, someone who was exceptionally skilled with scissors. Even after becoming a zombie, he'd retained that talent, evolving it into this terrifying ability.

Ethan skimmed through the profiles of the other Zombie Kings, making mental notes about each one.

Mia chimed in again. "Right now, Nightmare's sending his people to harass San Bernardino. What's your plan?"

"Oh…" Ethan paused, thinking for a moment before replying, "I'll harass them too."

...

This time, though, Ethan wasn't planning to go himself. There wasn't a specific target, so the efficiency of hunting would be low.

Besides, he didn't need to handle everything personally. Nightmare was only sending his underlings to stir up trouble, so if Ethan showed up in person, it'd feel like he was lowering himself to their level.

Instead, he decided to send his own crew.

Bulldozer, Laura, PhD, and the others—none of them had left Los Angeles since the apocalypse began.

By now, they were all strong enough to hold their own as Zombie Kings. It was time to let them spread their wings a bit.

Ethan passed along his instructions: when they got there, they were to pretend to cooperate with Nightmare's crew. But they didn't need to actually do much. Any crystal cores they got from killing humans? Make sure Nightmare's side didn't get their hands on them.

Basically, play dirty. Be as underhanded as possible. Beyond that, they could improvise.

Knowing his crew's personalities, Ethan was confident they'd pull it off without a hitch.

"Go have some fun…"