SSS-Class Zombie Overlord: My Undead Legion Evolves Infinitely!

Ethan stood still in the faint light emitted by Clara’s flames, his jade-green eyes moving up and down as he silently observed the woman standing before him, as well as the unconscious figure she held tightly against her body.

Strange.

The thought surfaced within his mind as he slowly brought both hands behind his back.

Seeing humans he hadn’t encountered before, Ethan was naturally vigilant.

He had ridden the zombie Ironfeather Eagle all the way here, but before the massive creature could even properly touch the ground, Ethan had already jumped off its back and approached the cavern separately. There was a reason for this—the strongest opponent should naturally be left to the strongest monster.

If the Ironfeather Eagle could deal with whoever was waiting outside, Ethan could enter the cavern and handle the humans himself, allowing him to avoid an unnecessary battle against a potentially powerful awakener.

However, as soon as he entered the tunnel, he was met with two awakeners. One of them seemed to be unconscious.

Yet Ethan couldn’t be certain—for all he knew, the woman could simply be pretending to be unconscious, waiting for him to lower his guard before launching an attack.

As for the other one, her presence was slightly overwhelming. Not by a cliff. But it was enough for Ethan to remain on guard at all times.

He wanted to frown. He didn’t. In front of this woman, Ethan needed to appear completely unbothered by anything. If she were truly an enemy, showing weakness would only invite an attack.

’Is she E-rank... or D-rank?’ Ethan wondered silently.

He had already spent a considerable amount of time thinking about this sudden attack.

How had it happened?

Why had it happened?

And most importantly, why now? The timing was simply too suspicious. So were the identities of the attackers.

Ever since he had discovered that his subordinates were being slaughtered one after another, Ethan had been attempting to connect every piece of information in his mind. At one point, he had even questioned one of his previous choices.

’Was it Jake?’

The thought had appeared naturally. After all, Jake had been the strongest awakener Ethan had encountered in Valeria City, and he had been directly involved with the blood ravine.

But Ethan quickly dismissed it. It wasn’t because he had suddenly come to trust someone like Jake—that would have been ridiculous. It was simply because it didn’t make sense.

’Jake was ready to use his skill and sacrifice himself right before my eyes. If it were him, he’d recklessly charge left and right.’

Ethan’s eyes remained fixed on Clara. ’Even though he’s shrewd, his straightforward personality makes it easier to guess his next moves.’

That was one of the things Ethan had already understood about Jake. The man could scheme. He could hide information.

He could even deceive others. But his personality was too straightforward.

Once he had decided on something, Jake would usually charge ahead without hesitating. That made him dangerous. But it also made him predictable.

And the attack against his colony didn’t feel like Jake. There was too much precision in it. Too much timing. Too many unanswered questions.

From the information Ethan had received, the strongest team within Valeria City was the Seven Radiant Stars.

Most of its members were genuine D-rank awakeners. If the woman standing before him was a member of that team, then it was very likely that she was a D-rank awakener as well.

Yet despite knowing that the opponent before him could potentially be a D-rank, did Ethan truly feel afraid? No. He didn’t need to. His potential was simply too high.

Recalling Jake’s explanations from before, Ethan had learned several details about awakeners. Just like monsters, humans awakened with a specific potential, and that potential determined how far they could grow.

With every breakthrough into a higher realm of strength, the awakener’s stat limit would increase according to their potential. For F-rank awakeners, the limit increased by five. For E-ranks, it increased by ten. And for D-ranks, it increased by twenty.

Individually, these numbers didn’t appear particularly frightening. But when stacked together across multiple breakthroughs, the difference became enormous.

Assuming that Clara was a genuine D-rank awakener, she not only possessed D-rank potential, but her current overall strength had already reached D-rank as well. From that alone, Ethan could estimate that her overall stat cap was close to sixty.

Sixty. That was already an impressive number compared to ordinary humans. A normal F-rank awakener would never be able to reach such heights.

But unfortunately for Clara, her opponent wasn’t a normal monster. He was Ethan Graves—the current sole holder of an SSS-rank class. Not to mention his unique power system.

Unlike normal awakeners, Ethan followed the power system of monsters to some extent. Monsters were different from humans.

Their major ranks were divided into three minor realms, allowing them to continuously increase their strength without immediately breaking through into the next major rank.

Because of this, monsters were generally stronger than humans of the same major rank.

And Ethan was an even greater anomaly. From the previous system windows he had seen, Ethan’s stat limits increased by fifty every time he broke through one of his minor realms.

As of now, his maximum stat limit had already reached one hundred and fifty.

One hundred and fifty. The number alone made Ethan feel a strange sense of confidence.

Most of his stats hadn’t truly been touched yet. His strength was the only attribute he had deliberately invested in. But even then, his current strength had already reached an absurd level for an E-rank monster.

Against ordinary F-ranks, Ethan could crush them. Against E-ranks, he could already put up a fight. And against a D-rank... he couldn’t guarantee victory. But he could resist. That was enough.

’If she’s truly D-rank, I should still be able to fight her.’ Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’And if she’s only E-rank...’

He didn’t finish the thought. There would be no need.

Several breaths had passed in real time. Yet both parties remained completely still. Neither Ethan nor Clara made the first move.

The atmosphere inside the narrow tunnel gradually became heavier, Clara’s flames continuing to burn quietly around her palm, illuminating the walls and revealing the strange jade-green figure standing several meters away.

She was still unsure of the zombie’s identity. Unlike the zombie blood ants, this zombie human hadn’t attacked her the moment he saw her.

That alone was strange. Most zombies she had encountered were nothing more than mindless creatures—they would rush forward upon seeing living humans, attempting to tear them apart without any hesitation.

This one hadn’t. Instead, he was observing her. Studying her. Almost as if he were another intelligent being.

Clara’s gaze slowly wandered across his body. His lean physique. His jade-green skin. His strangely handsome face. Then her eyes finally stopped at his chest.

There were dark patterns stretching across the area above his heart. They weren’t ordinary scars. They weren’t tattoos either. Something about them felt... wrong.

The moment Clara stared at them for too long, an inexplicable feeling crawled into her mind. Her heartbeat accelerated slightly.

’What is that?’ She couldn’t explain it. Her instincts were warning her again.

Not to attack. Not even to run. Rather, they were telling her that there was something hidden inside this zombie that she couldn’t understand.

Clara tightened her grip around Christine. The unconscious woman shifted slightly on her shoulder but didn’t wake. Clara immediately looked down before returning her gaze towards Ethan.

’I can’t fight while protecting her.’ That fact was painfully obvious. Her own abilities relied on flames covering her body—if she released them carelessly, Christine could be injured as well.

And this tunnel was far too narrow. There wasn’t enough space to properly maneuver. If the zombie attacked, she would be forced to choose between defending herself and protecting Christine. Neither option was favorable.

Ethan noticed her hesitation. His eyes slowly narrowed. ’She’s protecting someone.’ That was useful information.

A person willing to risk herself for another would naturally have more restrictions during battle. And restrictions meant weaknesses.

Yet Ethan didn’t immediately attack. Something continued bothering him. The woman didn’t seem like she was preparing to ambush him. Her posture was defensive.

Her eyes were cautious. And despite holding an unconscious awakener, she hadn’t attempted to escape.

Why?

Ethan silently considered the possibilities. Perhaps she was confident. Perhaps she believed she could defeat him. Or perhaps... she simply didn’t know what he was.

The thought made Ethan relax slightly. Information. That was what he needed most. Ever since he had awakened, information had been his greatest weakness. The world had changed while he slept. The monsters he knew were gone.

New monsters had appeared. New powers had emerged. Even humans had developed an entirely different system of strength. He couldn’t afford to blindly fight every opponent he encountered. Especially when his subordinates were dying.

His eyes drifted slightly towards the tunnel behind Clara. Somewhere beyond her was the rest of the colony. And somewhere deeper inside that colony, his subordinates were still being attacked. Every second he spent here meant another possible death.

’I don’t have time.’ The thought became increasingly heavy.

Ethan slowly shifted his weight. Clara immediately noticed. Her flames grew brighter. The atmosphere tightened. Both sides were ready.

One movement. One mistake. That was all it would take.

Ethan stared directly into Clara’s eyes. The strange patterns above his heart remained completely still. Yet deep within his chest, the darkness seemed to stir faintly.

That familiar sensation returned—the same instinct that had warned him against fighting the Ironfeather Eagle before. Except this time, it wasn’t telling him to retreat. It was simply... watching. Waiting.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

’Should I kill her?’

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