"We’re moving upstairs."

Selene said in a casual tone, completely ignoring the corpse of the zombie she had just killed.

Gwen and Reymond quietly followed her, their expressions solemn. Witnessing the guy’s transformation reminded them of a bitter truth—if anyone of them got bitten, there was no salvation for him or her.

At least there was no means of salvation yet.

In less than fifteen minutes, they had climbed to the top floor, and finally got to the rooftop of the building.

Although it wasn’t as tall as the first skyscraper, it gave them a clearer view.

"Oh my goodness..." Gwen gasped in horror, finally having a clearer view of the zombie horde.

"More than a million. Probably two," Selene murmured as she tried to get an estimate of how many zombies were there.

The zombie horde stretched several kilometers across the border of Manhattan. They were pressed tightly against each other, moving like maggots in an enclosed space.

Suddenly, Reymond frowned, "Wait a minute."

He picked up a binoculars he had been carrying, and equipped it.

Quickly, his gaze locked onto the riverbed where an actual scuffle was ongoing.

Zombies were rushing into the waters, and soon after, they would return with large fish monsters in their hands and mouth.

Reymond’s eyes widened.

’Wait, wait, wait, wait! They’re hunting for mutated fishes?!’

He looked deeper, and that was when he noticed that the water was bubbling furiously. Sometimes, the water would even turn red, but would eventually get washed away by the current of the river.

’But not all the zombies come back alive. Looks like most of them get killed by the fish monsters too.’

He sighed, then lowered the binoculars. Selene and Gwen were looking at him curiously.

"What did you see?" The silver-haired beauty asked.

Heaving another sigh, Reymond passed the binoculars to her and pointed at the riverbed.

Selene took a look, and her expression shifted slightly. She lowered the binoculars and nodded, "I see."

Her expression was grim as she passed the binoculars to Gwen.

Then, she turned to Reymond.

"Well, I certainly don’t think it’s safe to even try crossing that river."

He nodded, "Zombies aside, I think I’ve gotten a phobia of those mutated fishes."

Gwen lowered the binoculars with trembling hands, looking shaken.

"We can’t go through that place. Absolutely not."

No one argued with her, as she was right. Even bypassing the over-a-million zombie horde with their thorned bus was impossible.

"Alright, we’ve confirmed that. Now let’s get going," Reymond said, turning around and carefully making his way towards the manhole they climbed up from.

"Wait," Selene’s voice stopped him, and he turned around to see her pointing at the distant river. "Look."

The water was bubbling furiously. Then, suddenly, the river moved.

At first, Reymond thought it was merely the wind. The water rippled unnaturally, then it swelled.

A massive bulge rose from beneath the river’s surface, displacing so much water that waves crashed violently against the riverbanks.

The zombies nearest the shore stumbled as the water surged over them.

"What the hell is that?" Reymond whispered.

No one answered him, as the two girls were just as confused as he was. The river exploded, and a deafening roar echoed across Manhattan as a colossal shape burst from the water.

For a moment, Reymond’s mind went completely blank.

The creature was impossibly large. Its serpentine body coiled upward from the river like a living skyscraper. Dark silver scales covered its entire length, each one larger than a car and glistening beneath the pale sunlight. Jagged ridges ran down its spine, resembling rows of black blades.

Its head alone was larger than a city bus.

Long whiskers resembling those of a catfish hung from its jaws, swaying through the air like giant cables. Between rows of monstrous teeth, blue-white electricity crackled violently.

The creature’s golden eyes opened, sweeping the zombie horde with a ferocious gaze.

"That’s..." Gwen’s voice quivered, her sentence unfinished.

The dragon watched the horde for a brief moment before lunging.

Its jaws crashed into the shoreline, tearing away an entire section of the riverbank and swallowing hundreds of charging zombies in a single bite.

The dragon crashed back into the river, sending a tidal wave across several city blocks. Buildings near the shore groaned beneath the impact, but the slaughter had only begun.

The zombie horde reacted immediately. They released shrill cries and low roars as countless undead rushed toward the river.

The dragon answered with a roar so powerful that Reymond felt it vibrating through the rooftop beneath his feet.

Then lightning erupted from its mouth.

A blinding beam swept across the shoreline, erasing entire sections of the horde before his eyes.

Moments later, the smell of burning flesh drifted through the air.

On the rooftop of the skyscraper, Reymond stood frozen. His eyes were wide like saucers as he witnessed the carnage.

He had fought mutated beasts, and even elite zombies. He had even believed himself to be relatively strong.

However, looking at the monster before him, he suddenly realized how insignificant he truly was.

The dragon wasn’t merely stronger than them. It existed on an entirely different level.

’There’s no way that Tier One Evolved Gorilla can be compared to this.’

This River Dragon was an absolute monstrosity. Its tail emerged from the river and swung across the shore.

Boom!

The impact flattened dozens of vehicles and reduced hundreds of zombies to crimson paste.

Still, the undead continued charging, and the dragon continued feeding. Every of its attack claimed hundreds of zombies, wiping out entire sections of the seemingly endless horde.

The horde that had seemed invincible mere moments ago was now nothing more than prey.

Selene watched silently, and for the first time since Reymond had met her, genuine caution appeared in her eyes.

"Remember this," She said quietly.

Reymond gulped nervously, finding it hard to look away from the monster.

"Remember what?"

Selene’s gaze never left the creature, "The apocalypse has only just begun."

As if responding to her words, the River Dragon raised its head toward the dark sky and released another earth-shaking roar.

The sound rolled across Manhattan.