Apocalypse: King of Zombies-Chapter 292: The vanguard

Tens of thousands of zombies charged forward, shaking the earth beneath them and kicking up clouds of dust.

Elias and his team's expressions shifted instantly. They could sense the danger ahead even before looking up—when they did, all they saw was an endless, writhing mass of undead, a sea of corpses stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Shit! That's a massive zombie horde!" A swarm of this scale was almost unheard of.

The young man with the powerful right leg furrowed his brows.

"Zombies are coming!"

"Captain, what do we do?" The female team member's voice was tight with urgency.

Elias' mind raced. Fighting in the middle of a zombie horde this size was too unpredictable. Too many variables.

On top of that, his mental energy was nearly depleted, and Bison's enhancement drug was about to wear off. If he hit a weakened state in the middle of this, they'd all be swallowed by the undead tide sooner or later.

"We fall back for now," Elias communicated telepathically.

"Got it!"

The team members received the signal and instinctively began to retreat.

But Ethan's gaze swept over them, his expression calm as ever. "Did I say you could leave?"

In a flash, he moved to block their path. Without hesitation, he swung a fist straight at the female team member.

Even surrounded by the zombie horde, he was determined to drag them down with him.

The Zombie King's strength was overwhelming—she had no chance of resisting.

"Move!"

The young man with the powerful right leg roared, his entire energy surging into his mutated limb. A radiant glow burst from his right leg as he launched a devastating roundhouse kick.

The force behind it was immense, tearing through the air with a sharp sonic boom.

BANG!

Ethan's fist collided with the kick, the impact echoing like two mountains crashing together.

The shockwave blasted outward, sending several team members flying back dozens of feet.

The young man staggered, barely keeping his balance as a sharp pain shot through his leg.

"Shit…" He exhaled sharply, his right leg throbbing.

That was his strongest attack.

And it had only barely managed to block a casual punch from Ethan.

In the brief moment they were delayed, the zombie horde surged forward. The first wave—thousands strong—was already upon them.

These were the elite. Faster, deadlier. That's why they were leading the charge.

Most of them locked onto Ethan, lunging at him like starving beasts.

Ethan's gaze remained steady, his expression unreadable.

With a flick of his wrist, a tachi appeared in his hand. The fire-element crystal core embedded in the blade pulsed, radiating intense heat. In an instant, flames erupted along the sword's edge.

Ethan swung.

A blazing arc of fire slashed through the air like a dragon's tail.

Several zombies were cleaved in half on the spot, their blackened blood spraying as their bodies ignited. The flames spread rapidly, consuming everything in their path.

Within moments, the area around Ethan was engulfed in a raging inferno.

The sheer density of the horde meant there was no room to escape—zombies pressed in from all sides, and now, fire raged between them.

From a distance, Elias—who was responsible for vision-sharing—had already lost sight of Ethan.

"Where the hell did he go?"

The battlefield was pure chaos—zombies, fire, smoke. The air was thick with the stench of burning flesh, and the undead's presence was so overwhelming that Elias couldn't pinpoint Ethan's location anymore.

But his teammates were still trapped in the horde.

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Through their mental link, Elias could tell they were still alive.

Ethan, however, perceived things differently. No matter how many zombies surrounded him, he could still sense human presence. It was like spotting oil floating on water—impossible to miss.

Right now, Bison was in trouble. His face was tense as he scanned his surroundings—nothing but zombies in every direction.

Most of them were focused on Ethan, but that didn't mean they wouldn't attack humans.

Fortunately, Bison was an S-rank Strength Awakener. His body was absurdly tough, his physique nearly indestructible. And with the enhancement drug still in effect, he was even more of a tank.

Even standing still, the zombies couldn't break through his defenses.

At that moment, several zombies clung to Bison's massive frame, their rotting jaws gnawing at his flesh like they were trying to chew through rubber—completely ineffective.

"Die already!" Bison snarled, smashing the heads of the zombies latched onto him with a few brutal slaps.

But more were coming from behind.

He spun around and drove his elbow straight into a zombie's skull, shattering it instantly.

I need to break through… he thought, but there were just too many of them. No matter how many he crushed, more kept piling on.

Endless. Relentless. Annoying as hell.

Bison was getting desperate. The enhancement drug's effects were about to wear off, and he could already feel the fatigue creeping in. Then, sensing another zombie closing in from behind, his frustration boiled over.

"Get the fuck off me!"

Without thinking, he swung a fist backward.

But the second he turned his head, a chill ran down his spine. A deep, primal sense of danger flooded his mind.

Because it wasn't a zombie behind him.

It was Ethan.

"Yo, it's me—" Ethan's voice was calm, but his tachi was already in motion, flames roaring along its blade. He didn't care if it was zombies or humans in his path—he cut them all down in one sweeping arc.

Schlkk—

Heads flew. Zombie skulls, human limbs—it didn't matter.

Bison's arm was among them.

Blood sprayed from the severed limb, painting the air red.

At the same time, two zombies tackled him from behind, sinking their teeth into his exposed flesh.

An S-rank Strength Awakener was tough, sure. But even the strongest body armor wouldn't hold up forever under a relentless AK-47 barrage.

And right at that critical moment—his enhancement drug wore off.

A wave of dizziness hit him like a freight train. His muscles slackened.

Schlkk! Schlkk!

The zombies' teeth finally pierced his skin.

"AAAAAHHHH—!" Bison's scream tore through the battlefield.

Ethan didn't hesitate.

With a single, fluid slash, he cut Bison—and the zombies clinging to him—clean in half.

Bison's massive head flew through the air, his expression frozen in shock.

...

Outside the zombie horde, Elias' face darkened, his expression grim enough to drip with tension.

He could feel it.

Bison was dead.

One of their strongest fighters—gone.

And the rest of his team was still trapped in the horde. If this kept up, they were all as good as dead.

I need a plan. Fast.

Elias turned sharply, eyes locking onto the Genesis Biotech Awakener Squad.

"Hey! Get your asses in there and help me get my team out!"

"Huh?"

The group hesitated, exchanging uncertain glances. The zombie horde was a goddamn nightmare—charging in was suicide.

Elias' expression twisted into something vicious.

"These zombies are here to wipe out San Bernardino! This fight is happening whether you like it or not. Either you die, or you kill them first. Your call."

"Uh…" The hesitation lingered.

Then, suddenly, a voice crackled through a captain's radio.

Sophia.

"Listen to Mr. Elias," she said, her tone firm. "We have no way out of this. This is a fight for survival. I'm asking all of you—fight to the end. Win this battle."

The moment her words ended, a deep buzzing filled the air.

From the direction of San Bernardino, thousands of drones lifted off, swarming toward the battlefield like a mechanical storm.

They were going all in.

At the same time, modified armored vehicles rolled onto the field, followed by third-generation Cyborgs and dozens of second-generation Cyborgs.

Their movements were steady, disciplined—this was the vanguard.

Behind them came the human Awakeners and armed forces.

And at the very back, leading the entire operation—

Jacob Turner.

...