Apocalypse: King of Zombies-Chapter 296: Kill the humans first!？

That zombie, of course, was Wreckhead. After the brutal fight, he figured he'd better find a safe spot to lay low for a while.

But just as he was about to move, he felt a menacing presence rushing toward him. Turning his head, he saw exactly who it was—Big Ears and his two zombie lackeys.

"Hey! What the hell do you guys want?"

"What do you think? We're here to beat your ass!" Big Ears snarled.

Wreckhead's face twisted in fear. Three against one? That was just bullying.

"If you've got the guts, fight me one-on-one!"

"Sure! The three of us against you alone!" Big Ears wasn't in the mood for more talk. He saw this as his chance to make a name for himself. Without warning, he lunged forward, tackling Wreckhead to the ground and pinning him down.

Shrimpy and Locomotive jumped in immediately—one grabbed his head, the other twisted his neck.

"Come on, this is dirty fighting!" Wreckhead groaned in agony, feeling like his skull was about to be crushed under their combined assault…

From a distance, Nightmare watched the battlefield, his expression growing darker. The tide was turning against them. Not only were their top fighters outmatched, but even the lower-tier zombies were getting slaughtered.

But then—

A sudden commotion erupted on the horizon. Dust clouds billowed into the sky, accompanied by a chorus of guttural roars.

Nightmare's head snapped toward the source of the noise.

Silhouettes of zombies began to emerge, sprinting toward the battlefield in a frenzied charge. Their numbers swelled rapidly, forming a massive, unstoppable wave.

And leading them was a grotesquely obese zombie with an extra arm sprouting from his bloated belly—a bizarre and unmistakable figure.

The Zombie King of San Diego.

Butcher.

Nightmare's eyes lit up.

"Reinforcements are finally here!"

Ethan, standing at a distance, also sensed the shift in the battlefield. He lifted his gaze, scanning the approaching horde. Another zombie faction had arrived—and in significant numbers. Many of them were elites, their strength far from ordinary.

So that's why Nightmare had dared to attack San Bernardino. He had backup.

Ethan narrowed his eyes, piecing it together.

That "fat bastard" must've been the reason for Nightmare's confidence.

Despite his massive size, Butcher moved with surprising speed. In mere moments, he reached Nightmare's side.

"How's the fight going?"

"The L.A. zombies are too damn strong. I've been waiting for your support."

"Relax. I brought five thousand elite zombies and ten thousand regulars. That should be more than enough to steamroll them." Butcher's tone was casual, but his words carried weight.

Five thousand elite zombies—that was no small number.

Rancho Cucamonga had a total of fifty thousand zombies, and by the usual ratio, only about five thousand of them would be considered elite. But now, that number had effectively doubled.

And the ten thousand regular zombies? They weren't just cannon fodder. They could serve as a vanguard, wearing down the enemy's strength.

Nightmare silently acknowledged San Diego's power.

"Then get in there already!"

"Hold on…"

Butcher suddenly cut him off, his gaze shifting toward the San Bernardino side. Among the human forces, he spotted Elias's squad locked in combat with the zombies.

An S+ grade psychic crystal core…

Butcher's mind worked quickly. That high-level core was a priority. And besides, Elias and his team had caused trouble in San Diego before. There was a deep grudge between them.

"We should take out that human squad first."

"No way. We need to focus everything on taking down L.A.'s strongest Zombie King." Nightmare frowned. To him, Ethan was the bigger threat.

"What the hell do you know?"

Butcher wasn't interested in listening. After all, he had no idea who Ethan even was.

"Brothers! Get in there! Kill the humans first!"

"ROOOAAARRR—"

A deafening chorus of zombie howls erupted behind Butcher. Compared to fighting other zombies, they were far more interested in human flesh. Without hesitation, they surged forward like a tidal wave, swarming toward their new target.

The zombie horde shifted, sweeping around the battlefield's flank and launching a direct assault on the human camp.

"Huh?"

Elias immediately sensed something was off. A fresh wave of zombies had appeared, and they weren't just random stragglers—they were coming straight for him.

Up until now, Nightmare had been more focused on Ethan, which meant Elias and his team hadn't been under overwhelming pressure.

But now?

Now they were in serious danger.

"A massive wave of zombies incoming! Everyone, get ready to defend!" Elias shouted.

"Got it!" his teammates responded, springing into action.

The ice-element Awakened woman dropped to her knees, pressing both hands against the ground. A surge of freezing energy spread outward, and in an instant, jagged ice spikes erupted from the earth, forming a chaotic, deadly barricade.

Zombies charged straight into the frozen spikes, their bodies impaled, blackened blood spilling out and staining the ice. Their deaths were gruesome, their corpses piling up in a grotesque display.

But large-scale attacks like this burned through energy fast.

She was already running on fumes before this, and now she was completely drained. Her face turned pale, cold sweat dripping down her temples. Her hands trembled from exhaustion.

Beside her, the young man with the powerful right leg was in no better shape. He had just taken two brutal punches from Bulldozer, his body still reeling from the impact. If not for his teammates pulling him away, he would've been crushed.

Now, there was no way he could hold off the zombie horde.

"Captain! I can't keep this up!"

"Damn it…"

Elias gritted his teeth. He had barely recovered some of his psychic energy, but now he had no choice but to unleash it again. His S+ rank power was still formidable—zombies caught in his psychic field collapsed one after another, their bodies going limp.

But this couldn't last forever.

And then—

The ground trembled.

A massive, bloated figure was charging straight at him.

A grotesque zombie with an extra arm sprouting from his belly.

Eyes gleaming with murderous intent.

Butcher.

"Kehehehe! Time to die!"

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"Shit!" Elias's stomach dropped. He recognized him instantly—the Zombie King from San Diego. This wasn't just a random attack. Butcher was here for revenge.

His mind raced. He needed backup. Fast.

He turned toward Jacob, hoping the Genesis Biotech Awakened could help hold the line.

"Hey! Get over here and help!"

But Jacob's face was grim, his brows furrowed in deep concern. The battlefield had already been a disaster, and now, with another ten thousand zombies pouring in, the situation had gone from bad to catastrophic.

"Fall back to defense!" Jacob barked.

"…" Elias was speechless.

Jacob had his own calculations.

Los Angeles had already gathered tens of thousands of zombies, and more were still pouring in from Mount San Antonio. Rancho Cucamonga alone had over fifty thousand zombies. And now, with Butcher's reinforcements…

The total number of zombies surrounding San Bernardino had hit one hundred thousand.

And among them were multiple Zombie Kings—each one powerful, each one unpredictable.

Jacob did the math.

There was no way they were winning this.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he grabbed his radio.

"Sophia, we might not be able to hold out. Start packing up—we need to get ready to evacuate."

"…Understood."

Sophia's voice was steady, but her emotions were anything but.

She was in her office, fists clenched, teeth grinding together. A vein pulsed on her forehead as she stared at the massive screen in front of her, which displayed a live feed of the battlefield.

The entire screen was filled with zombies.

A never-ending sea of them.

"Where the hell did all these zombies come from?"

She couldn't wrap her head around it.

Originally, they had expected to face Rancho Cucamonga's fifty thousand zombies. A brutal fight, but one they could at least attempt to win.

But now?

Los Angeles and San Diego's zombie hordes had arrived in full force. The total number had nearly doubled to one hundred thousand.

Sure, the different zombie factions weren't exactly united, but the sheer numbers alone made resistance seem impossible.

Sophia didn't want to accept it.

But the reality was undeniable.

The zombies were right outside the city.

At any moment, they could break through.

A deep, primal fear clawed at her chest, smothering the frustration and anger she felt.

"…But if we run, where the hell do we even go?"

...