Apocalypse: King of Zombies Chapter 1226: The Day the Mansion Disappeared
Previously on Apocalypse: King of Zombies...
Capítulo 1226: The Day the Mansion Disappeared
“Holy shit!!”
As soon as the corpse stirred, it scared Ethan so much that he leaped right into the air.
He had been wishing desperately for it to twitch—yet when it finally happened, right there up close? Utterly horrifying.
The instant it jerked, Ethan sensed the mental link with this thrall suddenly clench tight, like a slack string pulling into a firm knot.
A grin spread across his face.
“At last… did it succeed?”
“All that blood I spilled wasn’t wasted.”
Usually, a single bloodletting plus one application of the secret technique sufficed to dominate a thrall.
But this particular one demanded Ethan drain himself for five full days, repeating the technique countless times.
Without his ironclad determination, anyone else would have given up long before.
He fixed his gaze on the thrall and issued a mental command.
Stand up.
The command hit, and the corpse bolted upright—rigid and unnatural, straight out of a nightmare flick.
A shiver raced down Ethan’s back. Beads of icy sweat formed on his brow.
“Open your eyes!”
The thrall’s eyes popped open. Empty voids stared back… though, irritatingly, they were quite striking.
Ethan extended a hand and prodded the thrall’s flesh, inspecting it like fresh equipment. He nodded in approval.
“Impressive. Very impressive. You’re Dopey from now on.”
Thralls lacked any awareness, thankfully. Otherwise, such a name might drive it to slaughter its master outright.
“Okay, Dopey,” Ethan said, excitement bubbling over. “Let’s see your power!”
Dopey acted without delay. It balled its fist and slammed downward at the ground underfoot.
Ethan caught on too late, his face twisting in horror.
“Hold on—”
No use.
“BOOM—!”
A deafening explosion echoed. The whole compound trembled violently.
Where Ethan’s mansion once stood, a huge pit yawned open. Nearby structures toppled in succession, the ground collapsing like flimsy cardboard.
Chris and the rest had been chilling in the living room with cards and games.
In a flash, they vanished under rubble, clueless to the disaster.
Folks in adjacent homes got entombed alive just as abruptly.
“Who am I? Where am I?”
Shock gripped everyone.
From beneath the soil, Big Mike’s stunned shout burst out. “Holy shit! We’re under attack!”
“Garrick, quick—get us free!” the others hollered, eyes bulging in panic.
Garrick moved swiftly, parting the compacted dirt above with his power. Moments later, the group clambered out, covered in grime and looking wrecked, emerging like risen corpses.
Out in the open, they gaped at the gaping hole where the mansion had been, disbelief etched on their faces.
“What kind of monstrous strength is that?!”
“Jesus… you don’t think the government unleashed some doomsday device on us as guinea pigs again!”
“FUCK—saying it like that makes it sound plausible. Damn it, did Maxwell really order our deaths?!”
“Let’s go confront the bastard.”
“Uh… cough… no need.” Ethan’s sheepish voice interrupted.
All heads snapped toward him.
“Ethan,” they pressed, “what caused this?”
“Yep. It was him,” Ethan replied, gesturing to Dopey lurking nearby.
“The underground thrall!” Eyes widened all around. “Captain—you really did it?!”
“Damn right,” Ethan said, grin splitting his face with thrill. “Success.”
“So how’d he wreck everything?”
“He just… smashed the floor.”
“Holy shit!! That’s nuts!”
“Doesn’t that make us untouchable?!”
They ogled Dopey as if it were a living hack.
“For the moment, yeah,” Ethan grinned. “This beast will be our ultimate ace moving forward.”
“Heads up. Company’s arriving. Mum’s the word.”
With those words, Ethan stashed Dopey into his spatial storage ring.
Seconds later, Maxwell barreled in with a massive entourage. Spotting the colossal crater, they froze, jaws dropping.
“E-Ethan…” Maxwell stuttered. “What in the world went down?”
“No biggie.” Ethan rubbed his cheek, guilt flickering. “Tested the laser cannon. Didn’t realize its punch.”
“Laser cannon?” Maxwell’s brow furrowed. “We’ve fired it before. It’s not supposed to pack this wallop.”
“Ah.” Ethan nodded sagely. “You lot probably shot at distant targets. I… blasted straight down.”
“…”
Maxwell and crew’s faces twitched in agony.
Each laser cannon blast guzzled insane energy. They’d hoarded it carefully—while Ethan toyed with it?
Good thing he’d crush us in combat.
“All good, all good,” Ethan dismissed with a wave. “Dismissed, everyone.”
“Uh, General Kane…” a voice pleaded, “folks are still trapped below. Rescue needed.”
Maxwell’s look screamed What disaster have you unleashed?
“That? Trivial.” Ethan pivoted. “Garrick—extract them.”
“On it.”
Garrick assented, slamming palms to the earth. Soil surged in waves, overturning section by section. One by one, dirt-caked survivors got hauled to safety.
Some mid-meal at home. Some sipping tea. Some mid-bathroom break. Upon emergence, curses flew.
Especially toilet victims—interrupted pre-wipe. Misery incarnate.
With all rescued, Maxwell scrambled to rehouse the displaced. Ethan’s crew relocated too.
The following days brought Ethan true leisure—save Henry, grinding away at ritual circles, sleep a forgotten luxury.
Ethan had eyed a Fallen Star Squad hunt for more Void Realms. But Maxwell mentioned Atlas City’s grand summit for all compound heads, so Ethan opted to linger and observe.
Void Realm scouting felt too elusive, like grasping mist. Solo searches could drag forever. Yet gathered leaders might drop intel.
Bonus: scout top warriors from each compound.
As Atlas City prepped invitations, other Atlas Federation bases devoured rivals.
Like Fallen Star City, remote outposts—zombie-cleared—pushed into neighbor territories.
Mid-tier and big compounds gobbled small ones, bulking up relentlessly.
Zombie power escalated, horde sizes swelled. Greater might bred cunning.
Tier 10 zombies ditched single-city lairs, herding armies to raid human bases.
All grasped the truth: isolation and defense wouldn’t save you. Expand or perish against mega-hordes.
Growth meant mergers.
Compound founders brimmed with drive; none yielded meekly. Clashes erupted, mostly neighborly for now.
Daily, bases vanished—human conquest or zombie doom.
Darwinian survival era dawned.
Simultaneously, Void Realms popped up globally.
Some explorers returned loaded, multiplying their compound’s might.
Others ventured in… and stayed forever.