Chapter 765: Then go
The battlefield frozeâlike someone had hit pause on the entire war.
Tension crackled in the air as everyone locked eyes on the figure in white.
âThe hell⊠Itâs him again!â
âThatâs the Zombie King!â
Howardâs face went pale. His gut twisted with dread.
âShit! Heâs going for the Starbreaker Cannon!â he shouted, finally snapping out of it. But it was too late. Way too late. There was no stopping it now.
Ethan stood calmly atop the Guard Mech, eyes scanning the massive weapon before him. He looked almost⊠impressed.
âSo this is humanityâs big gun, huh?â he murmured. âGotta admitâitâs a beast.â
Then he raised his fist.
A surge of blood-red energy exploded around him, roaring to life like a wildfire. The pressure that followed was suffocatingâan overwhelming force that made the air itself feel heavier.
This was the power of a Zombie King.
And after absorbing three SSS-grade crystal cores, Ethan wasnât just strongâhe was a monster.
He threw a punch.
It wasnât just a strikeâit was like a titan had been unleashed. The air tore apart in front of him, black rifts splitting the sky as space itself seemed to scream in protest. Everything in the path of that fist felt like it was about to be erased.
BOOOOOOM!
The entire Dreadnought-class Starcruiser shuddered violently. Metal groaned and buckled under the force, the sound like nails on a chalkboardâif the chalkboard was made of steel.
The energy shield flared wildly, runes flickering like dying stars. Thenâsnapâit collapsed. The shield blinked out, and the intricate runes shattered like glass.
It was like watching The Skywall fall all over again.
The shockwave blasted outward, tearing through the sky. Clouds scattered like theyâd been punched by a god.
Ethanâs single punch had driven the entire Starcruiser down over a hundred feet.
And the main cannon? Crushed. The alloy was crumpled like a soda can, the barrel caved in and twisted beyond recognition.
Ethan tilted his head, eyeing the damage.
âEh⊠probably still fixable. Might need it later,â he muttered to himself.
But before he could admire his handiwork any longer, a flash of lightning lit up the sky.
A powerful aura surged toward himâfast.
âMonster! Die!â Harrenâs voice roared through the air as his lean figure streaked toward Ethan, wrapped in crackling arcs of electricity.
A lightning-type Awakener. And a strong one, judging by the speed.
He was on Ethan in a blink, lightning splitting the sky behind him.
But Ethan didnât meet him head-on.
Heâd already done what he came to do.
With a smooth motion, he dropped back, letting gravity pull him down. He landed effortlessly on the ground below, right in front of Bloodveil and the other Zombie Kings.
THUD THUD THUD THUD!
Several Guard Mechs slammed into the earth behind him, landing like titanic beasts.
Ethan stood tall in his white shirt, calm and composed, surrounded by hulking machines of war.
Laura leapt down from one of the mechs, landing gracefully at his left.
On his right, a shadow roseâLittle Shadow, silent and menacing.
Three Zombie Kings now stood together on the desolate battlefield.
The sight was nothing short of epic.
Bloodveil, watching from the side, couldnât help but feel a chill crawl down his spine.
âThis guyâŠâ he muttered, eyes wide with awe.
The sheer presence Ethan commanded was terrifying. Even his zombie underlings radiated power.
Thisâthis was what a true overlord looked like.
He glanced over at Umbradrake, who stood awkwardly with just a single Howler behind him.
Yeah⊠maybe he shouldâve seen this coming.
But the ones feeling the most pressure were the human elitesâHoward and the others. Their faces were grim, their bodies tense, like they were staring down death itself.
Even the wind seemed to carry a weight now.
Then Ethan spoke, breaking the silence with that same calm, almost casual tone.
âWell, if it isnât my old friend. Howâs life treating you?â
Howardâs jaw clenched. His fists tightened. Rage boiled in his chest.
The shame of what happened at The Skywall still burned like acid in his throat.
âCut the crap!â he snapped.
But Ethan didnât flinch. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, voice still smooth.
âHowâs your son doing? Any progress with the cure?â
That hit like a punch to the gut.
Howardâs eyes went bloodshot. His heart twisted.
Trent.
Back in the Inner City, Ethan had infected his sonâturned him into a zombie and left him in a lab like some kind of sick experiment.
Months had passed. The Hawke family hadnât given up. Theyâd been feeding him fresh meat every day, trying to keep him stable. But he was evolvingâgetting stronger. Closer to becoming a full-fledged elite zombie.
And still⊠no cure.
âYouâve got some nerve even bringing that up,â Howard growled, voice shaking with fury.
Ethan gave a soft, almost regretful sigh.
âAh⊠thatâs a shame.â
Howardâs forehead pulsed with rage. He was ready to explode.
To him, Ethanâs words were pure mockeryâtwisting the knife.
But in truth, Ethan wasnât mocking. He was genuinely⊠curious. Maybe even concerned, in his own twisted way.
Now, the two sides stood locked in a deadly standoff.
The air was thick with killing intent.
Thirty years.
It had been thirty long years since the last great war between humans and zombies.
And now, the flames of that war were about to be reignited.
âToday,â Howard growled, his voice low and burning with fury, âIâm ending thisâwith you.â
Heat rippled off his body in waves. Flames licked up from his skin, growing hotter, wilder, more intense with every breath. The ground beneath him began to crackle and scorch.
High above, on the deck of the Dreadnought-class Starcruiser, Harren stood with his hands clasped behind his back, calm and composed. As the man who had once led the charge in the last war, this scene felt almost quaint to him.
Back then, theyâd deployed three Dreadnought-class Starcruisers and launched a full-scale assault on Heartland.
Now? Just a few of The Voidborn Undying had shown up. A far cry from the war of old. Even with the Starbreaker Cannon damaged, Harren didnât seem the least bit concerned.
âPrepare to hunt the Zombie King,â he ordered, voice cold and steady.
âYes, sir!â came the unified response from the human forces behind him.
Without hesitation, Harren leapt from the Starcruiser, his coat billowing behind him like a banner.
The other human Awakeners followed, diving from the ship in waves.
Thousands of aircraft launched from the Dreadnoughtâs hangars, swarming into the sky like a living cloud of steel and fire.
More Awakeners dropped from the ship, some riding mechs, others free-falling with energy flaring around them.
BOOM!
Heavy Guard Mechs slammed into the ground, cracking the earth beneath them, sending up clouds of dust and debris.
The human army surged forward, their momentum unstoppable.
The Dreadnought-class Starcruiser above looked like a massive hive, with wave after wave of warriors pouring out of it.
Each Awakener radiated power, their energy pulsing visibly around them. These werenât rookiesâthey were elite, handpicked for this mission. They moved in tight squads, advancing with deadly precision.
The whole scene felt like a siegeâan overwhelming force bearing down on the battlefield.
Bloodveilâs eyes darted across the sky, scanning the incoming forces. His expression grew tense.
There were S-rank Awakeners among them. More than a few.
Even with his Absolute Domain, he knew he couldnât hold out if they came at him one after another.
He leaned toward Ethan, sending a mental signal laced with unease.
âHey, uh⊠you sure you can handle this? âCause if not, Iâm out. No offense, but Iâm not looking to die just âcause I picked the wrong side.â
Their so-called âBackstabbing Allianceâ was shaky at best. One wrong move, and itâd fall apart like wet paper.
Ethan didnât even glance at him. âThen go.â
ââŠHuh?â Bloodveil blinked, caught off guard.
No protest? No bargaining? No guilt-tripping?
Heâd half-expected Ethan to try and sweet-talk him into stayingâor at least offer something in return.
But nothing.
That⊠was unsettling.
Did Ethan really think he could take on all of humanity by himself?
Before Bloodveil could dwell on it, a deep, guttural roar echoed from behind themârising like a tidal wave of death.
The ground trembled.
The air thickened with killing intent.
From the black fog behind them came the sound of a thousand undead voices screaming in unison, a monstrous chorus of rage and hunger.
âThe Southvale Zombie Horde is here!â Bloodveil spun around, eyes wide.
Above, red-eyed crows shrieked as they circled the sky, their cries sharp and piercing.
From the depths of the fog, countless dark shapes surged forwardâfast, relentless.
Then came the sound of an electric guitarâraw, distorted, and loud as hell. The riff screamed through the battlefield like a war cry, rising higher and higher, until it became a full-blown anthem of slaughter.
The Zombie Horde charged.
A black tide of death, pouring over the hills and valleys like a living tsunami.
Their faces were twisted in manic glee, eyes glowing with bloodlust. In the swirling fog, they looked like demons crawling out of hell itself.
Bloodveilâs jaw dropped.
These werenât your average zombies.
They were evolvedâfaster, stronger, smarter. And there were so many of them.
An endless sea of death, ready to drown everything in its path.
âHoly hell⊠Thatâs one hell of a Zombie HordeâŠâ
âŠ
Hereâs a redemption code for everyone: