Chapter 531: Blade

Chapter 531: Blade

Realizing he was no match, the dark-skinned Zombie King quickly backed down and begged for mercy.

“Oh…” Ethan nodded, then withdrew the Domain of the Dead.

Honestly, he figured those low-level zombies weren’t worth much anyway—might as well help them shed some of their “impurities.”

The terrifying power of the Domain of the Dead finally receded like a tide pulling back into the sea.

The dark-skinned Zombie King’s knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud. Just resisting for a moment had drained most of his strength.

The other zombies weren’t doing much better. They looked like wilted eggplants after a frost, completely deflated. Their eyes were locked on Ethan, filled with fear and awe.

Ethan stood tall, looking down at the Zombie King. The sight reminded him a bit of when he first met Little Shadow.

Same pitch-black skin, same ragtag crew running guerrilla-style with no real territory—barely scraping by.

“What’s your name?” Ethan asked.

“I… I’m Blade!” the dark-skinned Zombie King answered honestly, lifting his eyes.

“Blade?” Ethan mulled it over. The name didn’t sit right with him—didn’t really match the vibe of his undead hive.

“Let me give you a new one.”

“Yes! Of course!” The Zombie King nodded eagerly. A name change meant recognition—it meant he wasn’t going to be killed.

Suddenly, this new boss didn’t seem so bad. Actually… kinda chill. He even felt a little moved.

Ethan rubbed his chin, thinking. “From now on, you’re Lil’ D.”

“Uh…” The Zombie King froze. That warm, fuzzy feeling? Gone. Replaced by a face full of question marks.

Lil’ D? What the hell?

“What? You don’t like it?” Ethan asked.

“No… I love it,” the Zombie King replied stiffly, nodding like a broken bobblehead.

“Good. That’s what I like to hear,” Ethan said, satisfied.

And just like that, after arriving on this island, Ethan gained his first underling—Lil’ D, formerly known as Blade.

…

But man, these zombie underlings were dirt poor.

Some of the elite ones were even starting to rot—that’s what happens when you go too long without fresh meat and blood.

Ethan stuck to his usual playbook: pressure first, then reward.

With a casual wave, he tossed out a mountain of flesh and blood—human corpses, mutated spiders, jars of thick crimson blood, and even a bunch of B-grade crystal cores.

“Holy shit!”

Lil’ D had never seen a feast like this. His mouth instantly started watering, and he couldn’t hold back the bloodlust. With a roar, he and his crew dove in.

They tore into the meat, slurping blood, the sounds of ripping and chewing echoing through the forest. It was a full-on zombie feeding frenzy.

Chris and the others winced at the sight.

They’d seen some gnarly stuff before, but this still made their skin crawl.

Elara stared, eyes wide. “So this is how a zombie uprising begins?”

In the mist-shrouded forest, a new undead force was rising.

No longer were they the hunted—cowering in the shadows, hiding from vampires.

Now, they were becoming something else entirely.

A war machine, ready to tear this island apart.

Once Lil’ D had eaten his fill, Ethan cut straight to the point.

“How many Zombie Hordes are in Monroe’s territory?”

Lil’ D, now completely deferential, answered without hesitation. “Boss, their city hive’s got around a hundred thousand vampires.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “That’s… a lot,” he muttered under his breath. Pure-blooded zombies were rare on this island now—most had already been infected by the mutated vampire virus. Going head-to-head with Monroe might be riskier than he’d thought.

Nearby, Chris and Oliver were whispering among themselves.

“Man, if we could just bring the Zombie Horde from L.A. over here, we’d wipe the floor with these guys in no time.”

“No shit. But what, you think tens of thousands of zombies just show up when you call?”

“Yeah, well, the real problem is… doesn’t matter how strong you are—he’s got home-field advantage.”

“…”

Lil’ D continued, lowering his voice. “And Monroe… he’s not the end of the line. He’s got someone above him.”

“What?!” Oliver and the others were stunned, their faces full of disbelief.

“Monroe’s an SS-class overlord! How the hell does he have a boss?!”

“Yeah, he does,” Lil’ D nodded seriously. “That guy came to the island once. Just him alone flipped the whole balance of power—turned the place into a vampire breeding ground.”

“So the mutated virus… he brought it here?” Oliver’s eyes narrowed as the pieces started to click.

“Exactly,” Lil’ D confirmed. “Before he showed up, there was no mutated virus on the island.”

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances, the weight of that revelation sinking in. Monroe ruled over a hundred thousand vampires—he was already the undisputed king of the island.

And yet… he answered to someone even more terrifying.

“So who is Monroe’s superior?” Ethan asked, his tone calm but sharp.

Lil’ D exhaled slowly. “The Crimson Count.”

The name dropped like a bomb.

Silence fell instantly.

The Crimson Count—just hearing it sent a chill through the air. That title carried a crushing weight. According to the Zombie King archives, he was the first and most powerful of their kind.

Even Genesis Biotech referred to him as the King of all Zombie Kings.

An unstoppable force.

“What’s he saying?” Chris asked, confused.

“Zombie King. The Crimson Count. Supposedly the strongest one ever. His influence spans the entire planet,” Oliver explained. He’d worked for Genesis Biotech before ending up in a shelter, so he knew more than most. “The Crimson Count is on a whole different level. He’s the kind of threat that could go toe-to-toe with Genesis Biotech’s global HQ.”

Chris frowned. “If he’s that powerful, how come we’ve never heard of him in the States?”

“Maybe it’s not time yet,” Oliver said, thoughtful. “As the apocalypse progresses, he’ll make his move eventually. Hell, maybe he already has. Could be hiding in the shadows, and we just haven’t noticed.”

Chris shivered at the thought. Sure, the shelters in the U.S. were doing okay—life was relatively stable—but this was still the end of the world. Survival was a luxury.

Compared to a top-tier Zombie King, those shelters were nothing. Ants.

If someone like that decided to strike the U.S., even a sneak attack could spell total annihilation for humanity.

Ethan stood quietly, deep in thought. The more he learned about the vampire hierarchy, the more he realized he was brushing up against something massive.

He’d read the Zombie King archives before, but there wasn’t much on the Crimson Count—just a name and a vague warning about his overwhelming power. No real details.

But now, with his own undead hive growing, a clash between them felt inevitable.

Ethan knew it was only a matter of time before they faced off.

“First things first,” he said. “Let’s deal with Monroe. Taking him out will shake the foundation of their whole operation.”

“And how exactly are we supposed to do that?” Mia asked. “You really think we can take on a hundred thousand vampires head-on?”

Ethan smirked. “Let’s check out the city first. See what we’re working with.”

Even for a scheming bastard like him, intel came first.

The biggest advantage they had right now? The enemy was out in the open, and Ethan was still in the shadows.

And with the kind of dirty tricks he had up his sleeve… taking out an SS-class vampire might not be that hard after all.

…