Apocalypse: King of Zombies

”What’s going on?” Vaelor asked as he approached.

”Patriarch, that human is hiding among our forces,” High Elder Aeron said grimly. ”They’re surrounded by our people, so we can’t attack freely.”

”He actually dared come back. He’s got nerve,” Vaelor said coldly.

”If he’s here, have everyone work together and force him out.”

”I’m afraid that won’t work. This human is strange. Even our attacks seem unable to affect him, much less anyone else’s.”

”Hmph. Every ability has its limits. If he can avoid your attacks, an ability like that must come at a price.”

Vaelor swept his gaze across the battlefield.

”Everyone, attack! I want him blasted out of hiding!”

”Yes!”

The Galeborn fighters responded and used the Quarry-Seeking Mark to lock on to Chris’s location.

But just as they were about to attack, they all froze.

The target was constantly moving, weaving through the dense crowd. If they attacked, their own people would be hit first.

The Quarry-Seeking Mark could only identify a small area around the target. It wasn’t as precise as seeing him with their own eyes.

They would have to use wide-range abilities. Whether those abilities hit Chris was uncertain, but they would definitely hit the Galeborn around him.

”Spread out!” several elders shouted.

The Galeborn fighters hurriedly scattered.

Chris moved with them, sticking to the crowd and refusing to come out.

”Damn it! What a sneaky bastard,” one elder cursed.

”Don’t hold back. Attack,” Vaelor ordered coldly.

”All right.”

The Galeborn fighters gritted their teeth and unleashed ability after ability at the target area.

”Ahhh!”

Screams erupted as entire groups of Galeborn fighters were wiped out. The faces of the survivors went pale.

They bombarded the area for quite some time. Chris remained completely unharmed, while thousands of their own people died.

The surrounding Outland Beasts stared blankly at the spectacle.

What were these outsiders doing? Why had they suddenly started killing each other?

Had they realized they were wrong and decided to offer their own people as an apology?

Hmph. Apology rejected!

”Roar!”

With a chorus of roars, the Outland Beasts attacked the Galeborn from every direction.

Strike while they were vulnerable!

The entire battlefield descended into chaos again.

The Galeborn had no choice but to stop attacking Chris.

”Patriarch, this isn’t working,” High Elder Aeron said with a frown.

Vaelor could see that. His expression darkened.

If he hadn’t been gravely wounded, he would have dragged the human out himself.

”Aeron, you handle him. Don’t give him any time to recover. Everyone else, continue fighting the Outland Beasts.”

”Yes!”

The Galeborn resumed their assault on the Outland Beasts, while High Elder Aeron charged toward Chris’s location.

Aside from Vaelor, Aeron was the strongest Galeborn present. He had already reached Tier 39, making him the best choice for the job.

Unfortunately, Chris had no intention of fighting him.

He remained invisible and darted around the battlefield, occasionally stealing a few crystal cores—and he only took the high-Tier ones.

The Galeborn fighters were so furious they wanted to start cursing.

High Elder Aeron was even more frustrated. Chris was clearly weaker than him, yet he still couldn’t catch him. It was infuriating.

”Let’s see how long you can maintain that ability!”

Refusing to give up, Aeron continued chasing him.

Chris was no longer worried.

The old man couldn’t attack recklessly, so Chris remained invisible most of the time and only activated Ethereal Form whenever Aeron struck.

By constantly consuming crystal cores, he could barely keep his recovery even with his expenditure.

Now they would see who broke first: Chris, or the old man chasing him.

Aeron’s attacks had already killed more than a thousand Galeborn. Chris wondered if the old bastard’s conscience would eventually get to him.

The battle raged on, and so did their chase.

Whenever Galeborn fighters saw the two approaching, their hearts leaped into their throats. They were terrified that High Elder Aeron would throw another wide-range ability at them.

They had to fight endless Outland Beasts while also guarding against attacks from their own elder. The Galeborn fighters felt like they were about to lose their minds.

In the distance, Vaelor left the battlefield with several Galeborn fighters supporting him.

He had clearly realized that High Elder Aeron couldn’t capture the human. Vaelor planned to find a race with healing abilities and have his injuries treated.

Once he recovered, crushing that human would be easy.

Veilmist Range...

”How is the war progressing?” the Beast Sovereign asked calmly as it rested beside a pool.

”Our forces from the various mountain ranges are locked in battle with the other races,” one of its guards answered quietly. ”But aside from the Western Region, we haven’t made much progress.”

”Mm.”

The Beast Sovereign nodded, then said with a note of reflection, ”Never underestimate the other races. Tens of thousands of years ago, they drove us deep into the forests. We didn’t dare take a single step outside.”

”If they hadn’t wanted to keep us alive as a constant source of crystal cores, the beasts of the Eldoria Continent might have been exterminated long ago.”

”What? They were that powerful?” a guard asked in shock. ”Then why did they agree to sign the treaty with us?”

”Heh. Those outsiders are always plotting against one another and fighting among themselves. The war ten thousand years ago cost them dearly. Nearly all their Stage SSS fighters were gravely wounded.”

”To recover in peace, they came to me and proposed the treaty.”

”Then why didn’t we attack while they were weakened? Why agree to a treaty?”

”At the time, all the beasts combined had barely more than a dozen Stage SSS fighters. The other side’s Stage SSS may have been wounded, but they still outnumbered us several times over. We wouldn’t have held the advantage in a war.”

”Besides, the treaty benefited us. Why wouldn’t I sign it?”

”Benefited us?” The guards didn’t understand.

”Do you know why our kind has produced so many powerful fighters over the years?”

”Because of your wise leadership, Beast Sovereign.”

”Heh.”

The Beast Sovereign shook its head.

”The other races suffered tremendous losses in that war, but we were the ones who profited most. I ordered Outland Beasts with earth-type abilities to secretly retrieve the corpses of their fallen fighters.”

”They needed time to recover from their wounds. We needed time to consume those corpses and increase our strength. Of course I agreed to the treaty.”

”Brilliant! That was truly brilliant, Beast Sovereign,” the guards praised.

”Our strength has grown tremendously since then. We no longer need to fear them.”

”Since they dared violate the treaty first, we might as well use this opportunity to wipe out as many of them as possible.”

”Then why not deploy our Stage SSS lords immediately?” one guard asked.

The Beast Sovereign shook its head.

”I still don’t know how many Stage SSS fighters the top races have left. Once Stage SSS fighters enter the war, the situation will spiral beyond anyone’s control. Even I cannot predict how it would end.”

”Therefore, unless there is no other choice, the Stage SSS are not to act.”

”Understood!”

”Which Region is in the worst position right now?”

”The Eastern Region.”

”In every other Region, we’re the ones descending from the mountains and attacking them. But in the Eastern Region, they’ve already fought their way deep into our territory.”

”Hmph. The Eastern Region...” The Beast Sovereign’s expression darkened.

”Send more Stage SS fighters from the other Regions to reinforce it.”

”I will see the Eastern Region destroyed.”

”Yes!”