Apocalypse: King of Zombies Chapter 1199: This Should Be Enough

Chapter 1199: This Should Be Enough

Throughout the journey, Jaxon and his entire unit trailed behind Ethan’s party in absolute silence. They dared not utter a single syllable. In truth, they barely even felt comfortable breathing.

The sheer presence radiating from Ethan’s group was overwhelming. Jaxon lived in constant fear that a single slip-up would result in his entire troupe being wiped out where they stood.

The transit was brief, yet it felt like an interminable march along a path of peril.

Up in front, however, Ethan and his comrades seemed oblivious to them. They walked with lighthearted chatter and laughter, occasionally gesturing toward the surrounding architecture and making casual remarks.

They frequently encountered city residents along the path. Upon spotting Ethan's group, every individual offered a respectful salute. Those seeing them for the first time exchanged excited, hushed tones.

Noticing the reverence of these strangers, Ethan surmised that Miles had been quite busy managing the city’s perception. Relying solely on the original inhabitants’ enthusiasm likely wouldn't have stoked this level of devotion.

Regardless, the order and management of Fallen Star City put Ethan in excellent spirits. He knew he hadn’t chosen the wrong man for the job.

After traversing the area for over ten minutes—and a brief pause where Ethan inquired about the route—they reached a grand structure near the heart of the compound.

This served as the headquarters, the place where Miles typically handled his affairs.

Miles had seemingly been alerted to their arrival. He waited right at the threshold.

“Captain!”

The moment his eyes locked onto Ethan, Miles approached with a broad, jubilant grin.

“Haha, Miles—we have returned!” Ethan stepped forward, pulling him into a firm embrace.

“You have put in a great deal of effort.”

“Captain, please, do not say such things,” Miles replied quickly. “I am simply fulfilling my duty.”

“Haha—Miles, I have missed you dearly!” Chris laughed, moving in for a hug as well.

Following him, the rest of the men took turns embracing Miles. As for the women in the party, a polite nod and a warm smile sufficed.

Miles looked past them toward Jaxon’s group, a bewildered expression on his face. “And who might they be?”

“New arrivals,” Ethan answered. “They claimed they were searching for you, so we brought them along.”

“I see.” Miles nodded as if it were of no consequence. With a casual wave of his hand, he added, “Have them wait outside.”

He turned his attention back to Ethan, his demeanor energized. “Come in, Captain. Let us proceed inside to talk.”

“Of course.”

Ethan and his group filed into the Command Center, leaving Jaxon’s party standing outside, feeling rather abandoned.

Their morale was in shambles, yet none possessed the audacity to display signs of discontent. They chose to remain in quiet, orderly formation.

Inside the Command Center…

Ethan’s group recounted their experiences in the outside world, while Miles provided a comprehensive update on Fallen Star City’s development, operational status, and prospective strategies.

The discussion lasted for several hours without interruption.

Consequently, they completely neglected the fact that Jaxon and his men were still waiting outside for an audience.

“Oh, right,” Ethan finally remarked, as if a thought had just struck him. “Miles, you have remained at peak Tier 9, have you not? Perfect. This crystal core is for you.”

He reached into his spatial storage ring and retrieved the crystal core obtained from the Infant Zombie King.

When they had last departed, Miles was merely Tier 8. Now standing at peak Tier 9, his progression had been remarkably swift.

Of course, this growth couldn't fully match Ethan’s team, who had consumed an abundance of high-Tier crystal cores within the Void Realm.

“A Tier 10 crystal core…” Miles stared at the item, clearly exhilarated, yet he was quick to shake his head. “Captain, these high-Tier cores should be prioritized for you. I spend my days behind a desk at the compound. I am not out there in the heat of battle—I do not require such rapid cultivation.”

“That will not suffice,” Ethan stated with a laugh. “As of right now, you are the only member of the Fallen Star Squad lingering at Tier 9. Do not hinder the team’s progress.”

Then, his tone became firmer, maintaining a friendly edge but allowing no room for negotiation. “Besides, we are frequently absent. If you are not sufficiently powerful, how will you maintain order here?”

“Understood…” Miles hesitated before giving a submissive nod. “Very well. I will accept it.”

Under the watchful eyes of his comrades, Miles consumed the crystal core.

Shortly thereafter, his Qi surged violently.

Miles ascended into Tier 10.

From that moment, among the ten members of the Fallen Star Squad, the captain held Tier 11 status, while everyone else leveled up to Tier 10.

What’s more, half of them were already looming at peak Tier 10. If they continued to cultivate under the stars and absorb that mysterious energy, they would likely reach Tier 11 soon as well.

“Oh, that reminds me—Miles,” Ethan said. “How strong are our Enhanced overall now? I swear, out there, I barely saw anything below Tier 7. Are there truly no low-Tier people remaining?”

“They exist,” Miles assured him. “But anyone beneath Tier 7 is currently assigned to agricultural labor. Others are positioned in the northern factory zones. In this sector, you generally only encounter Tier 7 and above.”

“Wait—you have people at Tier 6 working the fields?” Big Mike’s eyes bulged in disbelief.

“What else are they meant to do?” Miles answered matter-of-factly. “It is incredibly rare to even locate individuals at Tier 6 or below anymore.”

“…”

Chris stroked his chin, clearly perplexed. “Is that Energy Absorption Technique from the book truly that broken? I recall that when we departed, this base had countless normal people. Even with the Tier 1 crystal cores the Captain forwarded, there is no logical way they could have reached Tier 6 in this timeframe.”

“Relying solely on the manual’s technique would indeed have been insufficient,” Miles explained.

He spoke with the casual tone of one describing the climate.

“Our people possess far greater combat efficacy than the typical zombie. In recent times, we have culled—if not five hundred thousand—then at least three hundred thousand zombies. We have a relatively small population, so we ended up with a surplus of cores. We essentially had no choice but to force-feed them to our people.”

“…”

Big Mike furrowed his brows. “That still does not account for everything. Back then, there were scarcely any low-level zombies remaining. How did you manage to source enough Tier 2 and Tier 3 cores?”

“We would have faced a shortage,” Miles admitted, “had we not cleared out several major rat nests.”

The room went silent.

Miles continued, “Those mutant rat beasts do not possess the same accelerated evolution as zombies. The majority remained trapped in the Tier 2, 3, and 4 range.”

“…”

Ethan stared at him for a long moment before letting out an amused huff. “Miles, you truly are a tactical genius.”

“Please, no need to flatter me,” Miles said, looking slightly abashed. “I only conceived the plan after a swarm of rats decimated our crop supplies.”

“Fair enough,” Ethan grinned. “So, what is the total count of Tier 7 and above?”

“I have kept our primary Enhanced units at twenty thousand,” Miles detailed. “Approximately eighteen thousand are Tier 7. And I have given… special focus… to over two thousand, pushing them to Tier 8 status.”

“Incredible,” Ethan acknowledged sincerely.

After spending so much time near Clearford City, the disparity was brutal. Fallen Star City lacked in population, yet the caliber of its soldiers was on an entirely different plane.

Nevertheless, raw quality would not bridge the gap in sheer numbers. They needed to maximize their lead—because at some stage, they would inevitably clash with Atlas City’s compound.

Ethan gestured, and a massive supply of crystal cores poured out of his spatial ring. They clattered across the floor, forming a glittering, hill-like mound.

“I have brought back a fresh cache of high-Tier crystal cores,” Ethan announced. “Find the time to distribute these. This bounty should be sufficient to elevate all twenty thousand of those Enhanced to Tier 9—without exception.”

These were the spoils from their culling of mutant beasts in the Void Realm—ranging from Tier 7 through Tier 9.

Almost three hundred thousand cores in total.

Even Miles, usually composed and rigid, could not suppress his awe.

“Captain…” he exhaled. “You all… you basically decimated the entire Void Realm, did you not?”

“Hardly,” Ethan replied, shaking his head. “That domain is expansive beyond measure. It wasn't simple.”

He paused, his expression growing somewhat grim.

“However, there is an entity within that place. We won't return for now. If not for that threat, we would have returned with significantly more.”

“…”

Miles gazed down at the mountain of potential, his face alight with fervor.

“This is more than sufficient,” he said, his voice brimming with intensity. “With this allocation, the strength of our compound will skyrocket to an unprecedented degree.”

In the outside world, Tier 9 creatures remained exceptionally scarce.

If Fallen Star City could field twenty thousand Tier 9 Enhanced units…

They would do more than merely survive.

They would conquer anything in their path.