Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The Zombie King in the slouchy beanie looked like he'd just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world—his face twisted in utter disbelief.

Around him, his elite zombie crew erupted into chaos, voices overlapping in a noisy uproar.

"Redgaze evolved... love? Pfft! That's insane!"

"Maybe having deep emotions is actually a sign of high-level evolution!"

"No wonder... I always thought he was just keeping humans around like livestock."

"..."

The idea that Redgaze had fallen for a human? That was the kind of bombshell that could shake the entire undead world—no matter where or when it dropped.

And once Lil' Shroom spilled the tea, the news spread like wildfire. Across borders, across factions—every zombie was talking about it.

The Zombie King in the slouchy beanie still couldn't wrap his head around it. "You're sure about this?"

"Dead sure," Lil' Shroom replied, not even blinking. She was disguised as the Chrome Dome Zombie King, and she played the part flawlessly. "I just came from Redgaze's territory. The intel's solid."

The beanie-wearing Zombie King fell silent, lost in thought. After a long pause, he finally muttered, "If that's true... then love might be Redgaze's armor—but it's also his biggest weakness."

"Exactly. I just came to report. What you do with it is up to you," Lil' Shroom said coolly, then turned and walked away.

Her figure grew smaller as she disappeared down the snowy street.

The Zombie King stood there for a while, still chewing on the news. Something about it didn't sit right. It felt... off.

But he couldn't deny that Chrome Dome had definitely been to Redgaze's turf. And judging by the smug look on his face, he hadn't come back empty-handed.

One of his zombie lieutenants stepped forward. "Boss, are we really gonna go to war with Redgaze?"

"Yeah... it's about time," the Zombie King said, his tone heavy with meaning. "Not fighting might actually be more dangerous than fighting."

"Why's that?" the underling asked, confused.

The Zombie King didn't bother sugarcoating it. "Because The Crimson Count is breathing down our necks. If we don't make a move soon, he might just rip out our crystal cores himself."

"Shit..."

The mood among the zombies darkened instantly. The Crimson Count was no joke. Even the strongest Zombie Kings were just trying to survive in the cracks between his fingers.

In this apocalyptic world, no Zombie King was truly safe.

Only through battle could they hope to survive.

Still, the beanie-wearing Zombie King wasn't about to charge in blindly. He gave a calculated order: "Let the other Zombie Kings test the waters first. If the intel checks out, then we go all in."

"Smart move," one of the lieutenants nodded. The others murmured in agreement. No doubt, the rest of the alliance's Zombie Kings were already itching to make a move.

But that was the problem—if they struck first, they might wipe out Redgaze's forces and the humans, and come out stronger than him.

He couldn't let that happen.

"Shadowscale," he called out, turning to a wiry, sharp-eyed Zombie King nearby. "Head to the border and lie low. If we go to war with Redgaze, I want you to flank around and hit the humans from behind. Don't let the others snatch all the spoils."

"Got it," Shadowscale replied without hesitation. He was one of the beanie-wearing Zombie King's most trusted operatives.

Behind him crouched a massive lizard, nearly seven feet long, its fangs bared and gleaming. The thing looked like it could tear through steel.

As soon as the Zombie King gave the order, the lizard opened its jaws wide—almost a perfect ninety degrees.

Without missing a beat, Shadowscale twisted his body like an eel and slid straight into the creature's mouth. The movement was disturbingly smooth.

The lizard snapped its jaws shut, then leapt into the snow, vanishing beneath the surface as it tunneled away at high speed.

...

Outside a small town near the northern U.S. border, a massive horde of zombies stood in formation, their presence radiating a chilling, violent energy. It was clear—they were ready for war.

Among them, Big Chompers sat slumped at the base of a tree, trembling like a leaf. His face was pale with fear, eyes darting around like a cornered animal.

Standing right next to him was Logan, his crimson eyes locked on Big Chompers, personally keeping watch to make sure the bastard didn't make a run for it.

Nearby, the four zombies from Big Ears' crew lingered close—but oddly enough, they weren't watching Big Chompers. Instead, they kept sneaking glances at Logan, whispering among themselves and occasionally breaking into quiet snickers.

Logan noticed. He shot them a look, curiosity piqued. They'd been acting weird ever since they met.

"Hey, what's with the staring?" Logan finally asked, unable to hold back.

"Nothing, nothing," Big Ears said, shaking his head, though the grin on his face said otherwise.

"...Seriously?" Logan's brow twitched. "If you've got something to say, just spit it out."

"Well..." Big Ears nodded slowly, then asked, testing the waters, "I heard from a crow that you've got a thing for a human?"

Logan froze.

That was supposed to be a secret. He hadn't told a soul in his horde—only Ethan knew. Hell, even Awan, the human in question, was still in the dark.

"You guys already know?"

"Yup," Big Ears nodded, totally honest.

Logan glanced around, then leaned in and lowered his voice. "Shhh! Keep it quiet, alright? You know now, fine—but don't go blabbing to the others."

"No need to tell anyone," Shrimpy chimed in. "Everyone already knows."

"..." Logan was speechless. He turned to glare at Ethan.

"Big damn mouth, that guy..."

Just then, a bald figure emerged from the woods—it was Lil' Shroom, back from her mission, still disguised as the Chrome Dome Zombie King.

She walked straight up to Ethan and began her report, laying out everything: the fake intel she'd spread, the lies she'd told, and the layout of the enemy's zombie hordes. She didn't leave out a single detail.

"Nice work," Ethan said, clearly pleased.

Logan, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow. "You really think those other Zombie Kings are dumb enough to fall for that?"

"Not yet," Ethan replied, thoughtful. "That's where you come in. We need you to put on a little show."

Thanks to Lil' Shroom's rumor-mongering, the enemy was already getting antsy. But it wasn't quite enough to push them into action.

So Ethan's plan was simple: Logan would fake a defeat—make it look like his forces were collapsing. That would lure the enemy in.

Once the other Zombie Kings saw someone else's horde crossing into U.S. territory and scoring loot, they'd lose their minds trying to get in on the action. No way they'd sit back and let someone else take all the spoils.

And once they were all in one place?

Ethan would slam the door shut and wipe them out in one clean sweep—efficient, brutal, and fast.

"Damn... that's genius," Logan muttered, genuinely impressed. Ethan had a perfect read on the greed that drove the other Zombie Kings.

"Alright then," he said, cracking his neck. "Time to go play my part."

He quickly gathered his horde and moved out of the woods. Most of them were the old, the weak, the sick—zombies whose bodies were already rotting from lack of food. In the freezing cold, their limbs were stiff and sluggish.

Logan looked over them and nodded in satisfaction. Perfect for the illusion of a crumbling force.

He led them to the border and took up position.

"Honestly... I was born to act."

...

From his perch on a hilltop, Logan could see the Canadian side clearly. The zombies over there were getting restless—growls and howls echoed through the valley, bouncing off the cliffs like a storm was brewing.

And, of course, the first one to lose his patience was none other than Big Thighs Zombie King.

He and his crew had already climbed up to the ridge overlooking the border.

"Hmph! That dumbass Chrome Dome thinks he can trick me? If he's getting something out of this, why the hell shouldn't I?"

"Boss, none of the other Zombie Kings have moved yet," one of his underlings pointed out.

Big Thighs didn't care. In fact, he looked smug as hell.

"Good. First one in gets the meat. The rest of those idiots probably bought Chrome Dome's crap. But not us—we're not falling for that shit."

...