Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The forest was in utter chaos, wild energy surging and colliding in every direction.

The two opponents were locked in a tense standoff.

But Greenman was brimming with confidence. Since its growth began, it had consumed countless creatures—small ones like insects and mice, larger ones like beasts, and even zombies and humans. It had devoured so much flesh and blood to evolve into its current form.

The energy it had absorbed far surpassed that of most living beings.

"Let's see how long you can hold out!" Ethan was surrounded by a storm of vines, endless and relentless. No matter how many he cut down, more kept coming. Yet his expression remained calm and composed.

From his assessment, Greenman's strength was definitely at an A-rank level, maybe even higher. It was troublesome, sure, but… only a little.

"Yeah, that's about it," Ethan muttered, stepping forward suddenly. His powerful physique came into play as his foot slammed into the ground. The moment his sole hit the earth, a deafening boom echoed.

Cracks spread across the ground like a spiderweb, as if an earthquake had struck. The earth began to collapse, and the corpses buried beneath the soil were shattered into pieces.

Rotting flesh and broken bones flew everywhere, along with the roots of the plants that had grown among them.

If you want to kill the weeds, you have to pull them out by the roots.

As Ethan took that step forward, his terrifying Domain of the Dead expanded with him, its oppressive aura spreading out fifty feet in all directions. It was closing in on Greenman, ready to engulf it.

The combination of Ethan's overwhelming physical strength and the power of his Domain made him unstoppable in this moment.

"Huh?"

Greenman froze, startled. It sensed something was wrong. That destructive energy radiating from Ethan gave it an ominous feeling, a sense of impending doom.

This creature was strong—far stronger than it had anticipated.

The vines that had been growing wildly began to slow down noticeably. Greenman continued to release energy, but it was clear that it was now at a disadvantage.

Meanwhile, Ethan remained unyielding, his aura surging like a raging storm.

The intense battle was draining energy rapidly, and Ethan had already used up about twenty percent of his reserves. But he could feel it—Greenman's resistance was weakening.

Ethan stepped forward again, his knees bending slightly as he lowered his body. He gripped his blade with both hands, his posture like that of a predator ready to pounce.

The Domain of the Dead continued to expand, fully enveloping Greenman. Behind them, the villa that had stood in the distance began to collapse, disintegrating into dust and scattering into the wind.

"Cut!" Ethan roared.

He tightened his grip on his tachi, channeling his energy into the blade. Flames erupted from its edge, blazing fiercely.

With a powerful push from his legs, Ethan launched himself forward like a cannonball. The force of his leap caused the ground beneath him to cave in further. His body shot through the air, carrying the terrifying momentum of the Domain of the Dead as he charged at Greenman.

The scenery blurred past him—roots, leaves, and splatters of foul blood flying in all directions.

From Greenman's perspective, it was as if a storm was hurtling toward it.

A natural disaster.

"No!"

A wave of dread surged through Greenman's consciousness. The aura of death was closing in fast.

"I don't want to die…" Greenman's thoughts were filled with unwillingness and regret.

It had started as a tiny blade of grass, growing stronger by devouring ants and other small creatures. Over time, it had evolved into its current form. Dissatisfied with its life in the mountains, it had dreamed of expanding into the cities, of one day spreading across the entire world.

But now, just as it had stepped out of the mountains, it had encountered such a powerful foe.

In the blink of an eye, the searing heat was upon it. The sharp edge of the blade was about to slice through its body. Trapped within the oppressive Domain of the Dead, Greenman had no way to escape.

Swish!

Ethan's tachi slashed through Greenman's body in a single, decisive strike.

"Ahhh—!" Greenman let out a piercing, agonized scream, its voice filled with despair.

At the same time, all the energy it had been using to resist vanished. The snake-like vines that had been attacking Ethan began to wither, rot, and crumble into dust.

In an instant, the chaos in the forest subsided. Silence fell, leaving behind only a wasteland of destruction.

Greenman's body lay on the ground, severed in two. The consciousness it had worked so hard to develop was fading rapidly.

Ethan approached, wanting to take a closer look at this strange creature.

Upon closer inspection, he realized it was, indeed, just a mass of grass. It had woven itself into a humanoid shape, but in its chest was a round, glowing crystal. It pulsed faintly, clearly the source of its energy. It resembled a crystal core, but there was something different about it.

"How… how strong are you?" A faint signal of thought emanated from Greenman's fading consciousness.

"I don't really know," Ethan replied honestly, unsure how to answer. So far, he hadn't encountered anyone who could truly match him.

Greenman's soul trembled with profound shock.

Are all creatures from beyond the mountain this terrifying?

But alas... it would never grow to encompass the entire world.

Even a blade of grass can dream of ruling the land. And in its final moments, as it faced complete annihilation, Greenman had one last thought: The city is too dangerous. I should've stayed in the mountains.

With that, its withered body began to shrink, rot, and crumble into ash, scattering into the wind.

When Greenman completely perished, it left behind a glowing crystal where it had stood.

Ethan picked it up, turning it over in his hands to examine it. The energy within was immense but chaotic. It clearly wasn't a crystal core.

The crystal wasn't entirely transparent. Inside, there were fibrous structures that made it look more like... a seed.

"Can I eat this?" Ethan wondered.

At his core, he was still a zombie, and his instincts revolved around one simple question: edible or not?

This blade of grass had consumed a wide variety of nutrients—bugs, animals, zombies, and even other plants.

"It shouldn't be poisonous... right?" Ethan wasn't particularly tempted by the seed. After all, he wasn't a herbivore.

Instead, he thought about taking it home and planting it. Maybe it would grow into something interesting. Who knows how far it could develop?

Driven by curiosity, Ethan stored the seed in his spatial storage ring.

But just as he finished dealing with the seed, his nose twitched. He caught the faint scent of humans approaching.

It wasn't unusual for humans to survive in Mount Wilson. Clearly, the commotion from his fight with Greenman had drawn them here.

Sure enough, two people were crouched behind a boulder, sneaking peeks in his direction.

"What the hell happened? Those man-eating vines... they're all dead!" one of them whispered.

"I have no idea," the other replied. "The vines are definitely gone. Look... there's someone standing over there!" He pointed at Ethan.

"Yeah, I see him," the first man nodded repeatedly. If the man-eating vines were still alive, there was no way any human—or any other creature—could be standing there. Your adventure continues at empire

"Could it be... he's the one who killed them?"

"What are you even talking about?" the first man shot back. In his mind, the man-eating vines were an unstoppable force, covering the entire mountain. There was no way a single person could take them down.

"He's probably just like us—drawn here by the noise."

"But then why did the vines suddenly die for no reason?" the second man asked, still baffled.

The first man thought for a moment. "They're plants, right? Sometimes plants just stop growing and die when they mature. Or maybe... they ate something poisonous and got wiped out."

"Ohhh, that makes sense."

These two weren't particularly sharp. They were Awakeners who had managed to form Neurocores, but their sensory abilities were limited. Before the apocalypse, they had worked as security guards for the wealthy in a gated community.

Right now, both of them were thinking the same thing: the man-eating vines had absorbed countless nutrients—blood, flesh, and energy. Surely, they must have left behind a massive crystal core.

If they could get their hands on it...

They'd hit the jackpot.

...