Apocalypse: King of Zombies

A moment later, Big Ears and the rest of the zombies crawled out of the underground tunnel, only to find the two zombies still locked in a tense standoff on the snowy ground.

"Damn, that guy can really run…"

Big Chompers shot a glance at the newcomers. Seeing that Big Ears and the others had caught up to the surface, he clearly had no interest in dragging this out with Bulldozer any longer. He turned, ready to dig his way back underground—back to his turf.

Without another word, he ducked into the snow again, disappearing from sight. His claws plunged into the frozen earth, and he started digging like a machine.

"Wait—where'd that little mole go?" Bulldozer scanned the area, confused. "He's not coming back up?"

He was just getting into the groove of this whack-a-mole game…

Suddenly, a patch of snow nearby started tossing up dirt like a geyser.

"He's digging! Stop him!" Big Ears shouted, alarmed.

"Damn it, not this sneaky bastard again!" one of the zombies in the back cursed. A few of them immediately rushed forward, and more elite troops came charging in behind them, all with bloodlust in their eyes.

But Big Chompers was fast—crazy fast. In the span of a single breath, he'd already tunneled over ten feet away, his entire body vanishing into the soil.

He was just about to slip back into the underground tunnels and make his escape when—

"Vine Domain!"

A calm but commanding voice rang out from the distance. The ground began to writhe, and thick vines burst from the earth, growing at a terrifying speed. In seconds, they covered the entire area like a living net.

"Shit!" Big Chompers realized something was wrong. In the dead of winter, green vines shouldn't be sprouting like this. But here they were—snaking toward him like a swarm of serpents, aiming to wrap him up tight.

Panic surged through him. He tried to dodge, but even with his top-tier escape skills, it was useless against the overwhelming power of an Absolute Domain.

A vine coiled around his waist, yanking him mid-dig. He tried to bite through it with his razor-sharp teeth, but another vine whipped around his neck, choking off the attempt.

Then came more—dozens, hundreds—crawling up his body, wrapping him tighter and tighter until he looked like a damn mummy.

Finally, one last vine looped around his ankle and yanked hard, hoisting him upside down into the air like a caught animal.

Big Chompers dangled helplessly, suspended above the ground, completely bound.

"Let me go! Let me the hell go!" he thrashed and kicked, but it was no use.

"Finally caught this bastard!" Big Ears and the others swarmed in, surrounding him.

Shrimpy nodded furiously. "Dude's slippery as hell. Took Sprout busting out his Absolute Domain to finally pin him down!"

"No kidding. When the Vine King Sprout makes a move, it's game over," Big Ears said, throwing a flattering glance toward Sprout in the distance.

Truth be told, Big Ears had never gotten along too well with Sprout—aside from being terrified of Laura, of course—so he wasn't about to miss a chance to suck up now.

Still hanging upside down, Big Chompers looked around at the circle of fierce, battle-hardened zombies closing in. He knew there was no way out now. With a resigned sigh, he stopped struggling.

"Welp… guess the mole's caught now…"

...

A massive procession of zombies—easily over ten thousand strong—marched across the snowy landscape, escorting the bound and dangling Big Chompers straight toward the zombie nest.

The sheer scale of the force was enough to flatten a small country. And all this… for one zombie.

Big Chompers was baffled. "I'm just a damn digger. What the hell did I do to deserve this? Who the hell did I piss off?!"

Before long, they reached the woods just outside a small town. Ethan and Redgaze were already waiting there.

"Boss, we found the zombie you were looking for. Take a look—this the guy?"

Ethan turned to Redgaze Zombie King Logan. "This him?"

Logan stepped forward, studying Big Chompers closely. His eyes lit up in surprise. "Huh? No way… That's actually him! You guys really found him!"

"Told you," Big Ears said smugly. "Still think I was just sweeping snow with these ears?"

Logan gave him a nod of respect. Just like Ethan said—when it came to tracking things down, Big Ears was the real deal.

Big Chompers was still wrapped up tight in vines, curled on the snowy ground like a fat caterpillar. All around him, a wall of fierce, battle-hardened zombies stood watch, their eyes cold and sharp.

But it was the one standing right in front of him—the one with glowing red eyes—that made his blood run cold.

That had to be the Zombie King of the North. The top dog. The apex predator.

Big Chompers trembled like a leaf, not daring to make a sound.

Ethan scanned the scene with a calm, commanding gaze.

"Let him go."

"Got it," Sprout replied. With a casual wave of his hand, the vines binding Big Chompers unraveled and dissolved into glowing green energy, drifting away like mist.

Big Chompers slowly uncurled himself and scrambled to his feet, brushing off snow and dirt. He looked up at Ethan, his beady little eyes darting around nervously, like a rat caught in a trap.

Ethan studied him in return.

Just as he'd suspected—this guy was a fusion-type Zombie King, part mole, part something else. A digger. A tunneler.

No time to waste. Ethan flipped his hand, and a glowing stone slab appeared in his palm—the Star Map.

"You ever seen this before?"

Big Chompers froze. His eyes went wide, round as marbles, locked on the shimmering slab. The thing pulsed with strange energy, casting a soft, otherworldly glow. It was mesmerizing.

"That thing… I used to have one just like it!" Big Chompers said, voice full of grievance. "But another Zombie King stole it from me!"

Ethan raised an eyebrow. Just like Redgaze had said—this guy really had seen the Star Map before. So far, everything checked out.

"Where'd you find it?"

"I was digging," Big Chompers said, his voice picking up as he got into the story. "Deep inside this huge mountain. I was just doing my thing—digging and digging—and bam! I hit something weird. Pulled it out, and it was that slab. Looked valuable, so I kept it. But then… some damn Zombie King found my stash and took everything."

He looked genuinely upset.

Digging was his thing. His passion. Whenever he found something cool underground, he'd stash it in a special hideout he called the "Treasure Cave."

But one day, another Zombie King stumbled across it—and wiped it clean. The Star Map slab had been in there too.

Ethan nodded slowly. It all made sense.

The Star Map slabs had fallen from space. Most of them were buried deep underground, hidden beneath layers of dirt, snow, and debris. A mole-type zombie like Big Chompers would've had the perfect chance to find one.

"And the Zombie King who took it—where is he now?"

"Still in that mountain, probably. That's where his nest is," Big Chompers said honestly.

"Alright," Ethan said with a nod. "You'll take me there soon."

"Uh… about that…" Big Chompers hesitated, glancing up nervously. "That mountain's in Canada. It's not exactly close."

He looked genuinely confused. The guy in front of him was clearly an American Zombie King. Crossing into Canadian territory? That was dangerous as hell.

But Ethan didn't even blink. "Doesn't matter."

In his mind, the idea of "borders" was already outdated. Canada, America—what difference did it make anymore?

Sure, Logan could read memories, but Ethan preferred not to take chances. Having Big Chompers guide them directly was safer. Besides, Logan needed to stay behind and guard the town. He couldn't just up and leave.

"You're really going to Canada?" Logan asked, frowning. "Isn't that a bit sudden?"

Ethan nodded. "Yeah. We'll need to prepare first."

"Prepare what?" Logan asked, curious.

Ethan's gaze drifted toward the distant horizon, where the snowy plains stretched endlessly toward the towering mountains that marked the U.S.-Canada border.

"First," he said calmly, "we wipe out the Zombie King over there."

...