Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Chapter 64 - 64: Wanna bet?

"W-What the hell is that thing?"

Ryan and Jason were utterly horrified.

The shadowy figure tossed the corpse aside, then extended a dark purple tongue to lick the crimson blood off its claws. Its bloodlust was palpable.

It was a B+ class Zombie King, with the awakened ability [Shadow Veil], which allowed it to hide in shadows and move through tiny gaps like window cracks, door crevices, or even fissures in walls.

While in its Shadow Veil state, it could also evade detection, making its ability particularly eerie and unpredictable.

"Not bad..."

Ethan silently mused to himself. Killing it to harvest its crystal core seemed like a waste. It might be better to recruit it as a subordinate—after all, manpower was in short supply these days.

With that thought, Ethan stepped out from the wall, his figure slowly materializing.

"Huh?"

The moment Ethan appeared, the shadowy figure immediately sensed his presence. It whipped its head around, its fierce eyes locking onto him.

Although its face was as black as charred coal, making its expression unreadable, the shock it felt was unmistakable.

Ryan and Jason, on the other hand, were completely dumbfounded. They had just witnessed Ethan materialize out of thin air, and their minds were reeling.

"What the hell is going on today? First monsters, now this guy just pops out of nowhere!"

The shadowy figure grew visibly wary. Ignoring Ryan and Jason entirely, it focused all its attention on Ethan. A deep sense of unease crept into its mind, a primal instinct warning it that this man was dangerous.

"Who... are you?"

"I'm the Zombie King of this building. You have two choices: submit to me or face the consequences," Ethan said bluntly.

The shadow shook its head.

"I know you're strong, but I will never submit to anyone!"

"Oh?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow, intrigued by this little shadow's defiance. It seemed like this one had some backbone.

In truth, the shadow was also a Zombie King, ruling over a territory on the far side of Serpent-Eye's domain. It had once commanded over ten thousand subordinates, but after several clashes with Serpent-Eye, its forces had dwindled to just five thousand.

Serpent-Eye had also tried to recruit the shadow, but it had refused to yield, leading to a bitter conflict between the two.

The shadow was no match for Serpent-Eye and had suffered defeat after defeat. At one point, it was even driven out of its territory entirely. However, through guerrilla tactics and sheer determination, it managed to reclaim half of its land with its remaining forces.

Its [Shadow Veil] ability made it incredibly hard to kill, and Serpent-Eye eventually gave up trying.

But life in its diminished territory was tough. Other zombies could at least scavenge rats or insects for food when supplies ran low.

The shadow's territory, however, was so small that even rats and bugs were scarce. Catching three flies was considered a feast.

So, it had no choice but to rely on its [Shadow Veil] ability to roam far and wide in