Ethan had already pegged Bloodveil as a cautious and calculating type—paranoid, good at hiding his true strength, and capable of commanding troops with surprising efficiency. The guy definitely had the makings of a warlord.
And just like that, their little Backstabbing Alliance was officially born.
Without another word, Ethan turned and vanished into the shadows, his figure fading like smoke.
"...Creepy-ass ability," Bloodveil muttered under his breath, then leapt upward, bouncing between the stone walls until he reached the top of the chasm.
The battle was over by now. All around, zombies were cleaning up the battlefield, scavenging what they could.
"Boss, did you catch the Lord of the Carrion Reavers?" a nearby Zombie King asked, jogging over.
"Nope."
"Huh? It got away? Want us to head down and search again?" the zombie offered.
"No need," Bloodveil replied flatly.
Ethan had said the beast escaped, but Bloodveil wasn’t buying it. That guy clearly had so kind of spatial ability—he could store anything without leaving a trace.
Chances were, the Lord of the Carrion Reavers was already tucked away in Ethan’s pocket dinsion.
Which ant Bloodveil walked away from this whole ss without a single SSS-grade crystal core.
Still, it wasn’t a total loss. At least the Xenobeasts had been driven off, and the Overmind Queen’s mountain-sized corpse was a treasure trove of flesh and blood.
"Boss," the sa Zombie King suddenly called out again.
Bloodveil raised an eyebrow. "What now?"
"That guy in the white shirt—the other Zombie King—he took the Overmind Queen’s corpse too."
"...What??" Bloodveil’s eyes widened, his expression darkening.
That bastard really didn’t leave him a damn thing.
anwhile, Ethan had already boarded a sleek aircraft with his underling, Hamrhead. The engines roared to life, and with a burst of fla, the ship shot into the sky like a cot.
"Bye-bye, Boss Umbradrake!" Snout Zombie King and a bunch of his zombie lackeys waved enthusiastically at the shrinking dot in the sky.
But then, a cold voice growled from behind.
"You seem a little too sad to see him go."
"Yeah, I really am," Snout replied without thinking, still waving.
Then he froze.
Slowly, he turned around—and ca face to face with Bloodveil’s thundercloud expression.
"..."
Up in the sky, the aircraft sliced through the desolate landscape at hypersonic speed, heading straight for the Southvale region.
Inside, Ethan had dropped his disguise and returned to his true form—sharp features, piercing eyes, and a face that could stop traffic.
Hamrhead snuck a glance at him and nodded to himself. Yeah, this is more like it. Way better than that fake look from before.
That disguise must’ve been for one thing only—landing a clean, lethal strike when it mattered most.
He turned to look out the window. The scenery outside blurred past at insane speed, the ground streaking by like a sar of color.
One word: exhilarating.
"Boss, this kind of high-end aircraft... even in human civilization, it’s gotta be rare, right?" Hamrhead asked, eyes wide.
"Yeah," Ethan nodded.
Hamrhead was seriously impressed. His boss could get his hands on tech this advanced? That was next-level. It also made him even more curious about human civilization.
"So... what other kinds of high-tech stuff do humans have?"
"You’ll see when we get back to my zombie nest," Ethan said, not bothering to explain.
"Wait, what?" Hamrhead blinked.
See for myself? What the hell did that an?
Even with his decent brainpower, it took him a second to process.
That could only an... there was a lot more to see.
Just what kind of zombie nest was this?
"..."
Fueled by burning curiosity, they finally reached the Southvale region. The aircraft dropped altitude, skimming low across the terrain at breakneck speed.
As they passed over several zombie nests, the ground below erupted with deafening roars.
The undead were going wild.
Because their king had returned.
In the heart of the zombie nest, the party was already in full swing—an all-out undead rave to celebrate their king’s return.
"Alright, everybody—let’s rock this place!" Elegy shouted from atop a raised platform, guitar slung across her shoulder, her voice electric with energy.
Thanks to the newly built lab, PhD had rigged up a full sound system—massive speakers wired throughout the entire Zombie Horde territory, creating a full 3D surround sound experience that made Elegy’s voice pulse through the air like a living thing.
"Who runs the beat? I run the beat!"
Zombies by the thousands twisted and grooved to the rhythm, their grotesque bodies moving in sync with the pounding bass.
Above them, several aircraft hovered with spotlights sweeping across the crowd, beams of light dancing in ti with the music. Petals rained down from the sky, catching the light as they fell, while thick black mist rolled in and vines swayed like they were alive.
The vibe? Pure chaos. Pure undead ecstasy.
"Holy shit..."
From a distance, one approaching aircraft slowed as it neared the nest. Inside, Hamrhead stared out the window, completely stunned by the scene below.
He’d expected Ethan’s zombie nest to be sothing special—but this? This was next-level.
As the aircraft descended, the Zombie Kings began to gather—Bulldozer, Laura, PhD, and others all made their way to the landing zone.
The ship’s thrusters cut off with a hiss, and it touched down smoothly.
Click—shhhk.
The hatch slid open.
Ethan stepped out.
"Boss! You’re finally back!" Bulldozer called out, practically bouncing with excitent. "How’d the hunt go in Eastreach?"
"Not bad," Ethan said casually, then with a flick of his wrist, tossed out a massive corpse—the Overmind Queen of the parasitic monsters. Severed tentacles, chunks of flesh, and a mountain of at hit the ground with a wet thud.
The stench of blood and rot exploded into the air, instantly triggering the zombies’ senses.
"Holy hell... that’s huge..."
All eyes turned upward, jaws slack. It was a literal mountain of at.
Then, like a switch had been flipped, the horde surged forward in a frenzy. Zombies dove onto the corpse, tearing into it with wild abandon.
The air filled with the sounds of chewing, ripping, and snarling—an orchestra of carnage under the night sky.
Big Ears and his crew were, of course, right in the thick of it. Ever since they’d started raising pigs, they hadn’t been short on at—but this was sothing else.
"Mmm (chomp chomp)... This at’s got way more bite than pork," Big Ears said between mouthfuls.
"Eh, it’s alright. I give it a 6 outta 10. Not as good as lobster," Shrimpy replied, though he didn’t stop eating for a second.
The rest of the crew was too busy devouring to comnt.
Hank glanced around, then nudged Big Ears. "Hey, check it out—looks like Boss brought back a new zombie."
"Huh?" Big Ears paused mid-bite and turned to look. His eyes locked onto Hamrhead, who was still standing near the aircraft, taking it all in.
"What’s his power level?" Big Ears asked.
"Hmm... doesn’t feel like he’s even S-rank," Hank said thoughtfully.
Big Ears grinned, confidence radiating off him. "Then this’ll be easy. Co on, let’s go say hi."
"Right behind you," Hank nodded.
The group of zombies swaggered over, each one with their own weird look—tall, short, fat, thin, grotesque, or just plain bizarre. Leading them was Big Ears, his oversized ears adorned with two shiny earrings that bounced as he walked.
"Hey! You—new guy!" Big Ears called out from a distance.
Hamrhead turned, spotting the oddball crew heading his way. He straightened up instinctively.
"Yeah, hey. Nice to et you all—I’m new here."
"Good, good," Big Ears said, nodding approvingly. The kid was polite. He liked that. "What’s your na?"
"I’m Hamrhead," he replied honestly.
Big Ears’ grin widened. That na? That was family.
"Alright, Hamrhead. From now on, you roll with . I got your back."
...
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