Apocalypse: King of Zombies-Chapter 271 : Bone mutation

Clearly, she was the undisputed ruler of this little town.

As soon as the Zombie King appeared, hordes of zombies surged out from every street and alley. Among them were some elite ones, agile and fierce, leaping from rooftop to rooftop on all fours.

There had to be at least five or six thousand of them, their roars echoing through the air, terrifying and deafening.

Ethan glanced around casually.

Not bad at all, he thought. For a small, isolated town, she'd managed to build quite an impressive force.

And that agile Zombie King herself was definitely A-level.

Sure, compared to Laura or Scissorhands, she was a bit weaker, but still pretty decent considering the harsh environment she'd grown up in.

Life in this town must've been tough as hell.

"What's your name?" Ethan asked.

"I should be asking you that," the female Zombie King shot back defiantly. "What are you doing in my territory?"

Ethan smiled slightly, amused by her fiery attitude. "A few humans ran into your territory. I'm looking for them."

"Humans?" The Zombie King frowned slightly, surprised. It had been ages since she'd heard anyone mention those creatures. "Impossible. How could there be humans in my territory?"

"They just ran in here. I can still smell their scent," Ethan said bluntly.

She paused, silently considering this. If there really were humans here, that would actually be good news. It had been a long time since she'd tasted human flesh, and more importantly, humans meant high-level crystal cores—exactly what she needed to evolve further.

Once zombies reached A-level, ordinary flesh didn't do much anymore. To break through to S-level, they had to consume crystal cores. Eating flesh was mostly just to satisfy hunger now...

"Even if there are humans here, that's none of your business," she said arrogantly.

"You won't find them on your own," Ethan replied calmly. "Besides, you're too weak. Even if you did find them, you probably wouldn't stand a chance."

He wasn't exaggerating. The shelter's higher-ups weren't pushovers. Even that fat guy, Daigo Makino, who'd died earlier, had been A-level. The others were at least that strong, maybe even A+.

Sure, the Zombie King had plenty of minions and could overwhelm them with sheer numbers, but humans fighting desperately for their lives could cause serious damage. With her current strength, it would be extremely risky.

"I'm weak?" She scoffed, clearly offended. "Fine, let's cooperate. You find the humans, and I'll slaughter them all!"

"Alright, sounds good," Ethan said casually, not bothered at all. He hoped she'd remember this cocky attitude later...

Immediately, the zombie horde parted respectfully, clearing a path for Ethan and cooperating fully as he searched for the humans.

Ethan strolled forward leisurely.

The female Zombie King, her lieutenant Mad Dog, and thousands of zombies followed closely behind.

"Mad Dog, do you really think there are humans here?" one of the elite zombies whispered curiously.

Mad Dog snorted dismissively. "He's probably just bluffing. Saw how many of us there are and got scared, so he's making up excuses."

"Oh, that makes sense," the elite zombie nodded thoughtfully.

Even the Zombie King herself didn't fully believe there were humans hiding here.

But moments later, Ethan stopped walking. Takeshi and the others hadn't dared run far, afraid of alerting the zombies. Instead, they'd hidden inside a sturdy three-story building nearby.

The building ahead was quiet, eerily silent. But Ethan could clearly sense elemental energy fluctuations and a mental barrier inside.

"They're hiding in that building up ahead," Ethan said calmly.

"Are you sure?" The Zombie King stepped forward, staring suspiciously. Her strength lay in agility, not sensing abilities. With the humans' mental barrier, she couldn't detect anything at all.

Ethan smiled faintly. "Why don't you go in and see for yourself?"

"Fine," she said confidently, stepping forward. But after two steps, she suddenly paused, turning around to glance at her subordinate.

"Mad Dog, you go in first."

"What?" Mad Dog froze, completely stunned.

Why the hell was he the one going in first?

One of the elite zombies standing nearby chuckled mockingly, "Hey Mad Dog, boss told you to go in. What're you standing around for? Don't tell me you're scared?"

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"Scared? Ha! I don't even know the meaning of that word!" Mad Dog scoffed, puffing out his chest. "There's nothing in there anyway, what's there to be afraid of?" Despite his bravado, he cautiously approached the building, fully alert and tense.

Ethan watched quietly, amused. The female Zombie King might not have evolved much in terms of intelligence, but she wasn't stupid either—sending her subordinate ahead to test the waters first.

Mad Dog kept muttering about not being scared, but deep down he was nervous as hell, his senses on high alert as he approached the building.

As he got closer, he entered the range of the humans' mental perception.

Inside the building, Takeshi and the other shelter leaders were huddled together on the third floor.

One of them quickly moved to the window, peering cautiously through a small gap.

"Shit! There's a zombie heading straight for us!"

"What?" Takeshi frowned deeply.

"Damn it! How did they find out we're hiding here?"

"He's coming right at us. Looks like he knows exactly where we are."

"Just one?"

"Yeah, just one for now."

From their limited viewpoint, they couldn't see the massive horde waiting further back.

Takeshi quickly made a decision. "Don't let him inside. Take him out quietly from here, before he can alert the others."

"Got it!" An ice-element Awakener nodded immediately.

His ice spikes were perfect for stealth kills—silent, deadly, and precise. Everyone knew zombies communicated through some kind of brainwave signals. If this zombie spotted them, he'd alert the entire horde instantly.

The ice Awakener stood by the window, cold energy swirling in his palm. A long, razor-sharp ice spike formed silently in his hand, transparent and nearly invisible—perfect for assassination.

He raised the spike, aimed carefully at Mad Dog, and hurled it forward like a javelin.

Whoosh—

The ice spike sliced through the air with deadly precision.

"Huh?"

Mad Dog, already tense and alert, sensed the sudden danger. Without thinking, he raised his arm instinctively to block.

Thunk!

The ice spike pierced straight through his arm and embedded itself deep into his forehead.

"Ahh...I'm dead!" Mad Dog dramatically collapsed backward onto the ground, his arm pinned awkwardly to his forehead, frozen in a ridiculous pose.

"There really are humans here?!" The female Zombie King was stunned. The moment the ice spike flew out, she'd sensed the unmistakable presence of humans. Ethan hadn't been lying after all!

She quickly snapped out of her shock and roared out a command.

"Attack!"

Thousands of zombies instantly erupted into savage roars, charging madly toward the three-story building.

Ethan stood calmly in place, watching quietly. He didn't move yet—it wasn't the right moment.

He needed the Zombie King to suffer a bit first, so she'd genuinely appreciate his help later...

After the horde rushed past, Mad Dog, who had been lying motionless on the ground, suddenly sat up, cursing loudly. He yanked the ice spike out of his forehead with his other hand and threw it angrily to the ground.

"Son of a bitch! Sneak-attacking me? You're dead meat!" He clenched his injured hand into a fist, and Ethan watched in mild surprise as the shattered bones visibly shifted and healed themselves in seconds.

"Bone mutation, huh?" Ethan murmured, intrigued.

He'd initially assumed Mad Dog was just another low-level zombie like Big Ears, Shrimpy, or Locomotive.

But seeing this impressive regenerative ability, he realized Mad Dog had far greater potential.

With this kind of mutation, if he continued to evolve, he might even surpass Bone-Claw Zombie King or Scissorhands someday...