Apocalypse: King of Zombies

"Hmm?"

Nightmare turned his head, looking a bit surprised.

Beside him, Scissorhands was equally stunned. He genuinely hadn't expected this guy to come back alive...

"Wreckhead, you're still breathing?" Scissorhands mocked sarcastically.

"Hey, little scissors, watch your tone when you're talking to your big bro!" Wreckhead shot back arrogantly.

"Oh, you little—!" Scissorhands' eyes flashed dangerously. He was already pissed off enough after losing Giant Boulder Zombie King, and now he was just seconds away from lunging forward and snipping this guy into pieces.

Nightmare quickly intervened, "Scissorhands, stop it! We can't afford to fight among ourselves!"

"Hmph!" Scissorhands snorted coldly, reluctantly backing down, though clearly still annoyed.

Wreckhead raised his hands, trying to calm the tension. "Relax, everyone. Trust me, you'll all be thanking me in a minute."

"What's going on? Spit it out already," Nightmare demanded impatiently.

"Boss, I've found us some serious backup—real heavy hitters!" Wreckhead declared dramatically, practically spitting with excitement. "With their help, we can crush any obstacle. Forget just San Bernardino—hell, even Los Angeles wouldn't stand a chance!"

"Really? You serious?" Nightmare frowned skeptically, clearly doubtful.

Even Scissorhands, who had been furious moments ago, now quieted down. Revenge was more important than petty squabbles, and he was tired of swallowing his anger.

"Wreckhead, where the hell have you been? Who exactly is this 'heavy hitter' you've found?" Scissorhands asked, curiosity overtaking his anger.

"The Zombie King from San Diego," Wreckhead announced clearly.

Everyone in the room looked shocked. No one had expected Wreckhead to have wandered all the way down to San Diego during his absence.

This guy... really went on quite the road trip...

They'd all heard of San Diego's Zombie King. He was notoriously powerful, having once destroyed the local Genesis Biotech branch. Definitely a regional powerhouse.

Nightmare quickly asked, "Did their Zombie King himself come?"

"One of his representatives did. I left him waiting outside," Wreckhead replied.

"Then hurry up and bring him in!" Nightmare urged.

Moments later, a massive figure appeared at the entrance, nearly filling the entire doorway. It was an extremely obese zombie, his bloated belly stretching his grayish-white skin so tight that veins bulged visibly across it.

But the most unsettling thing was the extra arm dangling limply from his side, protruding grotesquely from his abdomen. From a distance, it looked like he had three arms.

His eyes were squeezed into narrow slits by layers of fat, and his nearly bald head had only a few sparse strands of hair left. Altogether, he was a truly disturbing sight.

"Damn..." murmurs echoed through the hall as everyone stared at the bizarre extra limb.

According to some Japanese research they'd seen, this kind of zombie was called a "Freaker," a result of absorbing and merging with other zombies. Thankfully, this one wasn't too far gone yet.

"I'm from San Diego. You can call me Butcher," the fat zombie rumbled in a deep, gravelly voice.

"Oh..." Nightmare sized him up carefully. Clearly, this wasn't San Diego's top boss himself, but rather someone like Wreckhead, responsible for diplomatic relations.

Still, judging by his aura, even this diplomatic representative was already an A-level Zombie King—far stronger than Wreckhead. It spoke volumes about San Diego's overall strength.

"Our boss says he's willing to cooperate with you to take down San Bernardino," Butcher got straight to the point.

Nightmare narrowed his eyes suspiciously. There was no such thing as a free lunch. These veteran Zombie Kings were all cunning bastards. He didn't want a repeat of what happened with the Los Angeles Zombie King—stealing his crystal core and killing Giant Boulder in the process.

That had been beyond shameless!

"So, what's your plan exactly?" Nightmare asked cautiously.

"We'll storm San Bernardino together. We'll send a large number of elite zombies to support your attack," Butcher explained simply.

"That's it?"

Nightmare wasn't buying it. He knew better than to trust these old-school Zombie Kings blindly. There had to be a catch.

Butcher cracked a wide, unsettling grin.

"There's something you probably don't know yet. A while back, a group of human Awakeners showed up in our territory causing trouble. Our boss injured them, but they managed to escape. Now, they're most likely hiding out in San Bernardino."

"What?" Nightmare's brow furrowed deeply, realizing the seriousness of the situation.

Any humans bold enough to attack San Diego had to be incredibly powerful. And now they were in San Bernardino.

Thank god I didn't rush in blindly...

Butcher continued, "Their leader is an S+ ranked psychic Awakener, and his teammates aren't pushovers either. They're elite hunters hired by Genesis Biotech headquarters, specialists in taking down Zombie Kings listed in their official records."

"Wait, seriously...?" Nightmare opened his mouth slightly, stunned. Because he often invaded human dreams, he'd glimpsed plenty of secrets—including the Zombie King files. According to those records, he himself wasn't even strong enough to make the list.

Thinking about this, Nightmare felt a pang of self-doubt and frustration.

Now it all made sense—why San Bernardino had suddenly become so aggressive lately, launching counterattacks one after another. They had powerful reinforcements backing them up.

But this realization only made Nightmare feel even more trapped. He couldn't beat the Zombie King in Los Angeles, and now San Bernardino was off-limits too.

"So, your goal is to storm San Bernardino and kill those human elites?" Nightmare asked cautiously.

"Exactly," Butcher nodded firmly. "They dared to mess around in our territory. We can't let that slide."

Nightmare silently weighed his options. Clearly, Wreckhead hadn't convinced San Diego's Zombie King through any diplomatic skill—San Diego already had their own agenda.

Still, this seemed far more reliable than the Los Angeles Zombie King's betrayal...

"I'll need some time to think it over," Nightmare said hesitantly.

"Hah! You think you actually have a choice?" Butcher chuckled darkly.

"Uh..." Nightmare froze, hearing the subtle threat beneath Butcher's words. It was clear—if he refused, he'd likely be crushed anyway. But if he cooperated, at least he'd have a fighting chance.

Nightmare knew he was cornered. Surrounded by powerful factions, he had no room left to maneuver. With both San Bernardino and Los Angeles against him, his only option was to join forces with San Diego.

This was it—the decisive moment. On the path to power, risks were inevitable. Go big or go home...

Maybe during the battle, he'd manage to collect enough high-level crystal cores. If he could evolve to S+ rank, everything would change.

"Alright, we're in. Let's cooperate," Nightmare finally agreed.

"Good choice. You're smarter than you look," Butcher praised genuinely. "Get your forces ready. Once our reinforcements arrive, we'll launch an all-out attack."

"No problem," Nightmare nodded firmly.

Once the decision was made, there was no turning back.

Immediately, he gave the order, rallying every zombie in Rancho Cucamonga.

The Zombie Kings around him grew visibly excited—especially Scissorhands. First, his crystal core had been stolen, then he'd been injured by those modified humans, and now his close friend Giant Boulder had been killed.

It was finally time to settle all these scores, once and for all...

...