Apocalypse: King of Zombies

"I'll go take a look," Ethan said.

"Oh... okay..."

Bulldozer nodded dumbly. He wanted to say something to show concern, maybe remind the boss to be careful. But when he turned his head, Ethan's figure had already vanished.

Ethan had activated his stealth ability and was silently making his way into the forest, step by step, like a ghost.

The woods were dark and damp, eerily quiet except for the occasional rustling of leaves and the strange cries of unknown birds. Ethan avoided touching the climbing vines, instead following the trail they left as he moved deeper into the forest, searching for clues along the way.

He couldn't help but feel curious—what could possibly lie at the heart of these vines?

The journey was smooth at first. Along the way, he came across numerous corpses—small animals, humans, and even zombies. The bodies reeked of decay, each in varying stages of decomposition. Some were crawling with maggots, while thumb-sized flies buzzed around them in swarms.

As he ventured further, the vines grew denser. It was clear that this forest had been completely overtaken by them—it was their domain now.

About ten minutes later, Ethan emerged from the woods onto an abandoned mountain road. This road led to the summit, where the wealthy used to live in luxurious hilltop villas. Now, the road was overrun with vegetation, completely reclaimed by nature.

On the roadside, a few overturned, rusted-out vehicles could still be seen—remnants of the chaos when people had fled into the mountains during the apocalypse. Ethan approached one of the cars and found a corpse inside, long since decayed into a skeleton. A few spiders had spun webs across the bones, crawling back and forth.

The car's glove compartment, trunk, and even the gas tank had been pried open—clear signs that it had been looted.

"Humans have been here," Ethan muttered to himself.

When the apocalypse broke out, many city dwellers fled to the mountains to escape the zombies, trying to survive in the wilderness. Though the deep forest was full of dangers—mutant beasts, mutated plants—some human Awakeners still managed to carve out a slim chance of survival.

Ethan turned his gaze back to the vines. Their tendrils stretched along the road, winding forward endlessly. He decided to follow them.

As he walked, the number of corpses increased. The bodies were entangled in the vines, completely drained of life, leaving behind nothing but dried husks.

After a while, a villa came into view.

Once a luxurious building, it was now in ruins. The fences around the yard and the villa's walls were completely overgrown with vines. The leaves were large, fan-like, and a dark purplish-black color. The plant's roots and stems had grown unnaturally thick, with streams of foul, dark liquid coursing through them.

"Is it in there?" Ethan muttered, sensing an ominous presence lurking within the villa.

He glanced at the yard and couldn't help but notice how... unique the scene was.

Corpses were buried in the soil, with only their heads exposed. The roots of the vines grew directly out of their skulls. Some of the heads had rotted into bare skeletons, while others were disturbingly fresh—recent victims, likely dragged here by the vines.

"Well, this is... an interesting take on landscaping," Ethan thought to himself, his inner voice dripping with sarcasm. He couldn't help but admire the vines' twisted sense of artistry.

He stepped into the courtyard.

The air was thick with the stench of death. The oppressive atmosphere was cold and suffocating, the smell of rot so strong it stung his nose. Anyone else would have immediately sensed the danger and fled without a second thought. No one in their right mind would dare approach this place.

But Ethan wasn't just anyone. He walked in alone.

The once-luxurious villa's floor-to-ceiling windows were shattered, leaving the interior exposed. Peering inside, Ethan was greeted by a horrifying sight.

Dozens of corpses hung from the ceiling, packed so tightly together they resembled rows of sausages. Humans, animals—it didn't matter. They dangled lifelessly, swaying slightly in the cold breeze that drifted through the broken windows.

"What is this, an art exhibit for corpses?" Ethan thought.

Just as Ethan was about to move forward, the grass around him suddenly began to rustle, like the warning rattle of a snake. The sound carried a sinister, venomous undertone that sent a chill down his spine.

The climbing vines on the ground started writhing, slithering like snakes. One of them rose behind Ethan, coiling upward as if preparing to strike.

"I've been spotted..." Ethan thought, his instincts kicking in. In an instant, his Domain of the Dead expanded outward. The vine poised to attack him shattered with a series of sharp bangs.

As the domain spread, an oppressive force rippled in all directions. The surrounding vines reacted violently, like eels tossed into boiling oil. They shot upright, twisting and writhing in agony, before exploding one after another.

Ethan's surroundings were soon filled with the sight of thrashing vines and the splatter of foul, dark liquid. The once eerily silent courtyard descended into utter chaos.

Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed from within the villa. It was shrill and unearthly, like the wail of a witch, filled with hysteria and rage. The sound lasted for a full three seconds, reverberating through the dense mountain valley and startling flocks of birds into flight in the distance.

"So, you're finally coming out?" Ethan muttered. With a casual wave of his hand, a tachi materialized out of thin air. Energy surged through the blade, igniting it in roaring flames that engulfed its entire length.

Fire—the bane of all plants.

Ethan swung the flaming blade forward, reducing countless vines to ash. The remaining ones recoiled, retreating in fear. With the plants no longer obstructing his view, Ethan could see the villa clearly again. On the overgrown walls, the dense foliage began to shift, forming the outline of a humanoid figure. Slowly, it stepped out from the greenery.

"You shouldn't have come here," the Greenman said, its voice an eerie blend of male and female tones.

Ethan's gaze sharpened. The figure before him was entirely wrapped in green, as if its body were woven from leaves. It was hard to tell whether it was more plant or animal.

But one thing was certain: this creature was the mastermind controlling the ivy.

"Oh, so it's fine for you to wreak havoc in my territory, but I can't come looking for you?" Ethan shot back, his tone sharp.

"If you're so eager to die… I'll grant your wish!" the Greenman hissed.

A faint green light radiated from its body, surging outward in waves. At the same time, the ivy in the surrounding area began to grow wildly, vines exploding in every direction, filling the air like a tidal wave.

Ethan's vision was once again swallowed by the encroaching plants.

It was as if he had been plunged into a world made entirely of vegetation.

His eyes glowed with a crimson light as he unleashed the Domain of the Dead, pushing it to its absolute limit.

A suffocating pressure surged forward, like a raging sea of blood crashing through everything in its path.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion shattered the silence. Everything around him—every vine, every leaf—was obliterated in an instant, as if swept away by a violent storm.

Leaves scattered like confetti, only to disintegrate into dust under the immense pressure.

The Greenman's body trembled, clearly shaken. It hadn't expected Ethan's Absolute Domain to be this overwhelming.

But it quickly steadied itself, refusing to back down. Energy surged from its body once more.

"Infinite Growth!" it called out softly.

The vines that had just been destroyed began sprouting new buds, which rapidly thickened and grew. In the blink of an eye, the plants were back, stronger than ever.

Once again, the endless greenery surged toward Ethan, enveloping him completely.

"Hm?" Ethan raised an eyebrow, his expression darkening. This Greenman's abilities were undeniably strange. Its power was on par with that of any Zombie King he had encountered outside.

And its method of attack… it was almost as if it were forming its own version of an Absolute Domain.

... Stay connected through empire