"You guys don't get it," Bloodveil snapped, turning to glare at his underlings. "No matter how big and fancy that thing is, it still had to come pick me up, didn't it?"

One of the zombie lackeys scratched his head and muttered, "Yeah, but boss… if we had one of those, we wouldn't need anyone to pick us up."

"…"

Bloodveil's face twitched, a vein nearly popping on his forehead. He didn't bother arguing—what was the point? Still, deep down, he made a silent vow: This time, I've gotta pull off something big. If I don't make a splash, my title as Overlord of Eastreach is gonna be a joke.

As the Command Cruiser touched down, Bloodveil strode aboard with practiced swagger.

The interior was spacious and gleaming, all sleek alloy walls and high-end tech. Everything was spotless, humming with quiet energy. The place practically oozed cutting-edge design.

[Welcome aboard Command Cruiser T-097. Preparing for departure.]

A smooth, feminine AI voice echoed in his ears.

"Uh…" Bloodveil blinked, caught off guard. "Damn. Okay, this is… actually pretty high-end."

"Welcome," Ethan said, walking over.

"Oh…" Bloodveil gave him a quick once-over. It had only been a little over a month since they last met, but Ethan didn't seem all that different. Not like before, when absorbing crystal cores had caused his power to spike like crazy.

Or… maybe I just can't sense it anymore?

That thought made Bloodveil uneasy. If he couldn't even gauge Ethan's strength now, it meant the gap between them had grown even wider—and that was terrifying.

His gaze shifted behind Ethan, landing on Wraithshade, the eerie two-headed Zombie King, and Laura, now fully evolved into a Voidborn Undying.

Both of them radiated power—undeniably top-tier.

Then there was Bulldozer, built like a walking tank, and Sprout, with his signature leaf sprouting from his head.

Bloodveil remembered Sprout vividly. During the battle with the humans, he'd unleashed Sky-Piercing Vine! and turned the tide, helping breach the Dreadnought-class Starcruiser's defenses. The guy was no joke.

Damn… every Zombie King here is a monster.

But then, something caught his eye—four figures standing off to the side.

The Overlord Squad.

Compared to the others, their auras were weak. Their appearances were… unique, to say the least. And they didn't exactly scream "elite strike team." They looked completely out of place.

"These guys are…?" Bloodveil asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hi there! I'm Big Ears, Overlord of Rancho Cucamonga," Big Ears said proudly, stepping forward and offering a handshake.

"…Overlord? Big Ears?" Bloodveil repeated, confused. "Rancho… what now?"

He had no idea where that was—or if it even existed.

Still, if they were traveling with Ethan, they had to be useful somehow. Maybe they had weird abilities or hidden talents.

"Oh, right, of course! Heard a lot about you!" Bloodveil said smoothly, switching to full politician mode.

Big Ears lit up. "Ayy, now that's what I'm talking about! You've got a sharp eye, Overlord of Eastreach!"

"…"

Ethan, watching from the side, didn't bother getting involved. He turned and headed back to his private cabin. The trip to Frostmere would take several more days.

Let them mess around all they want…

With Bloodveil aboard, the Command Cruiser lifted off once more, engines rumbling as it sliced through the clouds.

The next few days passed uneventfully—until the terrain below began to shift.

Massive craters dotted the landscape, sunken in the middle and raised around the edges, like scars carved into the earth. Some were filled with deep, still water—dark blue and glassy, not a ripple in sight.

They looked like the planet's eyes, staring silently up at the sky.

Wraithshade stood near the observation deck, explaining calmly, "These basins and lakes were formed by asteroid and meteor impacts. The centers are likely saturated with radiation."

"Which means," he added, "there are probably massive irradiated beasts lurking beneath those calm waters."

"Holy crap…" Big Ears muttered, eyes wide. The others leaned in, equally stunned.

Frostmere wasn't like Southvale—barren and quiet. This place was dangerous. Alive. Every inch of it felt like it was hiding something deadly.

Maybe that was the price of abundance—more resources, more competition, more blood.

Wraithshade continued, "The Heartland Zombie Kings didn't get involved in Frostmere out of kindness. They're here to strip it for resources."

"No wonder," Big Ears said, nodding. "Southvale and Westmarch are so poor, no one else even wants to touch them."

"Eastreach borders Xenorift," Mist added. "We get the occasional Heartland visitor, but nothing like this."

"Looks like Frostmere's a whole different beast," Locomotive said, arms crossed.

The Zombie Kings all fell silent, each of them sizing up the situation.

Frostmere wasn't just another battlefield.

It was a powder keg.

At that moment, the Command Cruiser was gliding over a massive freshwater lake—so vast and deep-blue it looked like a piece of Earth's ocean had been dropped onto Originis.

But what really caught everyone's attention… was the shadow.

A pitch-black, colossal silhouette drifted silently beneath the surface. Even from this altitude, it was clearly visible—like a sleeping leviathan lurking in the depths.

"Holy crap… that's a damn lake monster," Big Ears muttered, eyes wide with awe.

Shrimpy pressed his face to the observation glass, staring intently. "Big Ears, what is that thing? You know?"

Big Ears puffed up his chest. "Pfft, what kind of question is that? Of course I know. There's nothing Big Ears doesn't know."

Even Wraithshade and Bloodveil had turned to look, their expressions serious. On Originis, most creatures had mutated—some more than once. It was nearly impossible to tell what their original forms had been.

Sensing the pressure of all eyes on him, Big Ears couldn't afford to lose face. His eyes darted, then he snapped his fingers confidently.

"That's… the Kraken."

"…"

No one said anything, but the silence was deafening.

...

Once they left the radiation zone, the Command Cruiser passed over a vast stretch of fertile land. Unlike the barren wastes of Southvale, this region was lush—rolling fields of green grass, nourished by frequent rainfall.

In some areas, the ground had turned swampy. Thick mud stretched for miles, and in the muck were deep, wide grooves—evidence of something massive crawling through.

Big Ears leaned forward, pointing. "You see that? Definitely a mutated catfish."

Bloodveil nodded along, pretending to understand. "Ah… yeah, yeah. Catfish. Totally."

What the hell is a catfish? he thought, but decided to just roll with it.

As the cruiser continued, they finally entered zombie territory. Below, scattered figures wandered the wilds—feral, aimless, and hungry.

Soon, the remains of zombie nests began to appear.

But they were empty.

Completely hollowed out.

Bones littered the ground in tangled heaps. Rotting corpses were stacked like garbage. The walls were caked in dried blood and filth. It was a massacre site—raw, brutal, and heartbreaking.

"This place was wiped out," Bloodveil said grimly, scanning the scene. "Whole nest, gone. Damn…"

"Yeah." One of Wraithshade's heads nodded slowly, his gaze darkening. "There were 300,000 zombies here. They were hit by a million-strong horde. Took out half of them—killed 500,000—but in the end… we still lost."

"…You know a lot about this," Bloodveil muttered, glancing sideways.

One of Wraithshade's heads stared down at the ruins, eyes filled with sorrow. The other turned to Bloodveil, voice sharp and cold: "What do you think?"

"Uh…" Bloodveil blinked, then quickly forced a smile. "Hey, don't worry. We're here now, right? This time, we'll make sure you get your revenge."

Just as he suspected, the destroyed nest below had once been Wraithshade's territory. And it wasn't the only one. As they flew on, they passed several more zombie nests—each one in ruins, each one a graveyard.

The few zombies who had survived had either scattered or defected. The rest? No one knew where they'd gone.

Ethan's voice came from behind, calm and steady. "First, let's find any of your surviving subordinates. Get a read on the current situation."

"Right." Wraithshade nodded immediately, though his heart was heavy.

He couldn't help but wonder—those who escaped… were they still alive?

...

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