"Dreadnought-class Starcruiser?"

Bloodveil's underlings all gasped, eyes wide with disbelief. "For real?"

"Of course it's real," Bloodveil said, puffing out his chest with a smug grin. "Your boss here went toe-to-toe with four of humanity's top-tier elites. Barely scraped out a win, but hey—still a win."

"So… that's how you ended up with just a flight module?" one of the zombies asked, blinking innocently.

"Uh…" Bloodveil's expression stiffened for a second. He cleared his throat and quickly explained, "Well, that was Southvale territory, after all. The situation wasn't exactly in my favor. Honestly, getting a flight module out of it was already a pretty solid outcome."

"Boss, that Overlord of Southvale really did you dirty," one of the underlings muttered, clearly upset on his behalf.

They all imagined the massive Dreadnought-class Starcruiser… and then looked at the sleek but tiny flight module. It was like getting a single drop from an ocean.

"I say we go take him out right now! Wipe him off the map and take everything back!"

"Don't be stupid," Bloodveil snapped, waving a hand. "Southvale's crawling with advanced tech weapons now. Their zombies are evolving fast, and they've got a brand-new Voidborn Undying on their side. We wouldn't stand a chance."

The underlings exchanged glances, eyes gleaming with mischief. One of them leaned in and whispered, "But boss… don't we have dirt on that white-shirt Zombie King? What if we tell the Overlord of Heartland? Let those Heartland Zombie Kings take him out for us."

Bloodveil narrowed his eyes, giving the zombie a sidelong glance. "And what exactly do we get out of that?"

He was already a member of the so-called "Backstabbing Alliance," and yeah, the thought had crossed his mind more than once. But even if the Heartland Overlord managed to kill Ethan, it wouldn't benefit him at all. In fact, it'd only strengthen Heartland's grip on power—making it even harder for him to challenge them in the future.

"…Huh. Yeah, that's true," the underlings muttered, realizing the flaw in their plan. No wonder he's the boss. Always thinking ten steps ahead.

Bloodveil's gaze turned thoughtful, his voice low and meaningful. "Besides… even those Heartland Zombie Kings might not be able to take him down anymore."

...

The aftermath of the great battle was finally settling.

Inside Ethan's zombie nest, everything was running like clockwork. The Dreadnought-class Starcruiser was nearly restored, and with it… a new wave of slaughter was quietly brewing.

Exactly one month later, PhD—dressed in his signature white lab coat—arrived with Hammerhead and a few zombie assistants, standing before Ethan.

"Boss, the Dreadnought-class Starcruiser is basically repaired."

"Good," Ethan nodded. He'd always trusted PhD's efficiency.

"However," PhD continued, "the Starbreaker Cannon's rune energy shield… that's going to take more time. It's not something we can restore easily."

"Oh?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "What exactly is that thing?"

He remembered seeing it once—back beneath the Skywall. The walls had been covered in dense, glowing runes, intricate and ancient. The shield had taken a full-force punch from him and barely flinched.

PhD adjusted his glasses and explained, "I've been digging through human records and texts. Those runes—they're not native to this civilization. They originate from Xenorift. Very old. Possibly pre-Originis."

"Humans only scratched the surface. If we want to fully understand them, we'd have to go to Xenorift itself. And… I believe those runes are somehow connected to the markings on your Star Map tablet."

"…"

Ethan's eyes narrowed slightly.

He remembered now—back on Earth, the humans and the Heartland Zombie Kings had used those same runes, combined with Radiant Crystals, to tear open the dimensional barrier and descend onto the planet.

They called it a Teleportation Ritual Array.

That meant… the runes, when paired with Radiant Crystals, could mimic the function of the Star Map tablet. But the effect was crude—unstable, limited to single-person transfers, and prone to failure with even the slightest interference.

Like, say… Sean taking a piss on it.

PhD continued, "Boss, if your Star Map tablet is truly connected to those runes, then it's likely a relic from that ancient civilization."

"…I figured as much," Ethan said quietly.

He remembered what the tablet had been called—the spatial key. Its purpose wasn't just to open dimensional rifts. It was a key.

But a key to what?

On Originis, both the human territories of Terran Reach and the zombie-dominated Necroterra had suffered massive destruction. The only place that remained untouched—preserved in its original form—was Xenorift.

And in Xenorift… ancient things still slept.

"This whole thing… let's shelve it for now," Ethan muttered, eyes narrowing slightly.

With the information he had, there was no way to draw any solid conclusions. Maybe the Zombie Kings of Heartland knew more about the Star Map tablet's true purpose. If the opportunity came, he'd be sure to "ask" them—nicely or not.

As for the Dreadnought-class Starcruiser's rune shield? If it couldn't be repaired, so be it.

Ethan didn't think he'd need defense anyway.

"I'm planning to head to Frostmere first," he said, his voice calm but laced with intent. "The Overlord there's got backing from Heartland's Zombie Kings. That might just be the crack we need to force open the gates to Heartland."

PhD nodded respectfully. "Understood."

After more than a month of rest and recovery, Ethan had fully absorbed all five of the crystal cores he'd hunted. But the rate of evolution had slowed—significantly.

Only Harren's SSS+ lightning-type core had given him a real boost. The other four SSS-grade cores had mostly just stabilized and reinforced his current power.

Now, it was time to move.

Ethan's plan was simple: team up with Wraithshade, head to Frostmere, and take out the Overlord of Frostmere—along with any Heartland Zombie Kings propping him up.

He even gave the operation a name: Decapitation Strike.

Of course, he wasn't about to roll out the entire Dreadnought-class Starcruiser for this. It was just Frostmere—no need to go full apocalypse.

Besides, the energy cost of moving that beast was insane. The crystal cores they'd collected wouldn't even cover a round trip.

Instead, he'd deploy one of the large Command Cruisers docked on the Dreadnought. It was fast, efficient, and had just enough room for what he needed.

Namely: the newly formed Saber Corps—three thousand elite zombies, handpicked and trained in lightsaber combat. After weeks of drills, they'd finally started to show real coordination. This would be their first live mission. Time to see what they could really do.

Alongside them, Ethan would bring 500 Guard Mechs—no more, no less. Enough to punch through anything without overcommitting.

And of course, he'd bring a few of his top-tier Zombie Kings.

First on the list: Elegy.

If they were going to do this, they were going to do it right. With Elegy amplifying the Saber Corps' combat potential through her battlefield symphony, their power would spike even higher.

This was a top-tier loadout. Ethan could already feel the anticipation building.

As for the rest of his Zombie Kings? He'd decide based on the situation.

The news spread through the zombie nest like wildfire.

Every Zombie King was fired up, eager to prove themselves. After all, Ethan usually operated solo—he rarely brought others along, worried they'd slow him down.

Bulldozer, in particular, was practically vibrating with excitement. Last time Ethan went to Eastreach to hunt Xenobeasts, he hadn't been invited. He'd been sulking about it ever since.

"Hehehe… this time, boss has got to bring me, right?"

"Don't be so sure," Laura said with a sly smile, brushing her hair back. "If we're talking about Frostmere, then obviously the Voidborn Undying are the top picks."

She was confident—and with good reason.

Meanwhile, in a shady corner of the nest, the four members of the "Overlord Squad" were squatting by the wall, chewing on grass stems like a bunch of bored farmers.

Shrimpy's eyes were wide, practically glowing. "Guys… boss is picking Zombie Kings to go to Frostmere! Don't forget—Wraithshade said there's an ocean there. And in the ocean… there's shrimp!"

Pfft. Big Ears spat out his grass stem and turned to look at him.

"Shrimp, huh? And what the hell's that got to do with you?"

...

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