Little by little The Walking Dead franchise continues to uncover more details about its mysterious Civic Republic Military, but the latest reveal on The Walking Dead: World Beyond proves they are capable of even greater evil than previously anticipated. The CRM was first introduced in season 8 of TWD as the organization had a working relationship with Anne (aka Jadis) providing the Scavengers food and supplies in exchange for either survivors who could join their cause, or recently infected individuals who could be studied by their scientists. Rick Grimes was last seen being taken away on one of their helicopters after narrowly surviving an explosion.

 The CRM was reintroduced in World Beyond as the series’ main antagonists, giving TWD fans their first good look at the group in action. Lieutenant Colonel Elizabeth Kublek is the highest ranking member of the organization shows on screen thus far, but she does take her orders from one Major General Beale. Her daughter, Jennifer Mallick, was also a security guard for Campus Colony prior to its destruction and is later revealed as a spy for the group. Their intentions are not completely clear at this point in any of the three ongoing television shows. Kublek believes the CRM is the “light of the world” and that whatever they are trying to accomplish is ultimately to shape the future of humanity’s survival.

During the season 2 premiere of The Walking Dead: World Beyond, it is revealed that in addition to the CRM destroying Campus Colony, the organization is also responsible for the slaughter of the entire city of Omaha, Nebraska. During the episode, entitled “Konsekans”, a flashback shows Kublek and lieutenant Frank Newton standing on a ridge overlooking Omaha as explosives detonate the city’s impressive border wall. As the two plot their next move—which in this case is to destroy Campus Colony, as the flashback took place prior to the events of season 1—a “column” of walkers descends on the city, led by the sound of a fleet of CRM helicopters.

At this point in the collective TWD franchise a settlement falling to walkers has become somewhat commonplace, but the fall of Omaha may have a ripple effect that extends far beyond the two-season confines of World Beyond. For starters, it is, or was, the second-largest active settlement in the country, home to an estimated 97,407 people. This was not just another Hilltop or Alexandria. Omaha had an active electric grid powered by wind turbines, an impressive education system, a shuttle service, police department, and the equivalent of a shopping center where people could come trade their goods. The city was also a part of the Alliance of the Three and an active partner of the Civic Republic under a mutual protection agreement, making this decision even more bewildering.

In a world in which the future of human existence hangs by a thread, the loss of nearly one hundred thousand men, women and children makes even Negan’s body count look like child’s play in comparison to the atrocities committed by Kublek and her superiors in The Walking Dead: World Beyond. Fear the Walking Dead has promised to deliver new information on the CRM during season 7, and Michonne’s secret endeavor to find Rick Grimes has nearly come to light on The Walking Dead proper, so it would appear that the mystery behind the Civic Republic Military and its genocidal tendencies will be revealed before too long.