Apocalypse: King of Zombies

When Ethan returned to the cave, Chris quietly asked Emily, ”How did Ethan know I was in danger?”

”Skinny Pete sensed that something might’ve happened to you. The captain came straight out of seclusion and rushed off to save you as soon as he heard,” Emily said softly.

”Chris, the captain really cares about you. You should’ve seen how worried he was when he heard you were in danger. Don’t do anything that reckless again.”

”I know. It won’t happen again.” Chris nodded. He knew perfectly well that Ethan cared about him. He really had been too impulsive this time.

He turned to Skinny Pete. ”Thanks, Pete. I mean it.”

”Come on, Chris. We’re friends. You don’t have to thank me like that.” Skinny Pete sounded almost offended.

Chris gave him a firm nod. This time, he had truly felt death closing in. He’d had one foot in the grave, and if not for Skinny Pete, he would already be dead. That was why he was so serious about thanking him.

”Actually, Chris, I’m curious,” Sean said. ”You can turn invisible and use Ethereal Form. Even if you couldn’t beat them, you should’ve been able to escape. How did you almost get killed?”

Everyone looked at Chris. If Ethan hadn’t told them himself, none of them would have believed Chris could be driven into such a desperate situation.

”I underestimated the higher races of Eldoria.” Chris gave a bitter smile. ”They put something on me that let them track my exact location. I scrubbed myself from head to toe, but I still couldn’t get rid of it.”

”They can do that?”

”Yeah. It was probably some kind of tracking mark, but I couldn’t detect it. That left me completely on the defensive.”

”Then hurry up and strip. I’ll check you over.” Big Mike looked far too excited.

”…”

”Why are you so excited?” Sean rolled his eyes. ”Chris couldn’t find it himself. What makes you think you can?”

”Ethan’s probably the only one who has a chance of finding it,” Garrick said. ”We need to deal with it quickly. Otherwise, they might track us here.”

”Should we call him back out?” Sean asked.

”No need.”

Ethan emerged from the cave and activated True Sight, scanning Chris from head to toe.

It didn’t take long for him to spot a faint, transparent mark on the back of Chris’s hand.

It was completely invisible to the naked eye and attached directly to his skin. No wonder it couldn’t be washed off.

”So that’s why they gave you such a hard time.” Ethan shook his head, then used Telekinesis to peel the mark from Chris’s hand.

He’d planned to study it, but the moment it left Chris’s skin, it dispersed.

Ethan could only shake his head. ”All right, it’s taken care of. Stay put for the next few days. Nobody goes anywhere until I’m done absorbing the crystal core.”

”Yes, Captain!”

Everyone nodded, and Ethan returned to the cave.

”That’s Ethan for you,” Chris said with a wry smile. ”I spent days trying to get rid of that thing, and he handled it with one look.”

”That’s why he’s the boss,” Sean said with a grin.

”Yeah.”

”Oh, right. I might’ve nearly gotten myself killed this time, but I did come away with a pretty good haul.”

Chris opened his backpack and pulled out a pile of crystal cores.

Most were Tier 34 or Tier 35, but there were even two Tier 36 crystal cores among them.

Everyone stared.

”Holy shit!” Big Mike’s eyes widened. ”There were only so many Stage S Outland Beasts on that battlefield. Don’t tell me you stole all their crystal cores.”

”Uh… pretty much.” Chris scratched his head awkwardly.

”…”

”No wonder those Galeborn bastards chased you to the ends of the earth. Anyone would lose their mind after what you pulled.”

”Keep talking and you won’t get any. I’ll give yours to someone else.”

”Hell yes, I want one! Chris, you’re the best!”

”…”

Chris really had brought back an impressive haul. They were all Tier 34 and Tier 35 crystal cores, exactly what the squad needed. He had already consumed all the lower-tier ones.

With these crystal cores, everyone could reach Tier 35, and they had enough to push two people to the peak of Tier 35.

After discussing it, they decided to raise Sean and Henry to the peak of Tier 35 first, then give them the two Tier 36 crystal cores so they could advance to Stage SS.

Sean was an excellent fighter, second only to Ethan and Chris. Once he reached Stage SS, he should be able to handle ordinary Tier 36 and Tier 37 enemies.

As for Henry, his healing was the backbone of the squad. The stronger he became, the better.

Chris distributed the crystal cores, and everyone settled in to absorb them and advance.

They were supposed to be guarding Ethan, but most of the Outland Beasts in the area had left to join the battle, so there wasn’t much danger nearby. Besides, Chris was still there. He might be confined to the cave to reflect on his mistakes, but he could still fight if anything happened.

Consuming crystal cores was much faster than absorbing one directly. The other squad members wouldn’t lose much time waiting for Sean and Henry to advance to Stage SS.

While the Fallen Star Squad was thriving, the Galeborn on the battlefield were having a miserable time.

The newly arrived Stage SS Outland Beasts outnumbered the Galeborn elders and were stronger to boot.

The elders were quickly forced back. Even Vaelor was struggling against two flying Tier 40 Outland Beasts at once.

The Outland Beasts below surged with renewed morale when they saw that reinforcements had arrived. They threw themselves at the Galeborn warriors with reckless ferocity.

The Outland Beasts had suffered terrible losses over the past few days. More than half of those living throughout the mountain range had been slaughtered.

But the Galeborn had also lost many of their own, including quite a few killed by friendly fire.

With the Stage SS elders occupied, the remaining Galeborn warriors struggled to hold back the Outland Beasts’ frenzied assault.

Vaelor’s face darkened at the sight.

Their attack on the Suncrest Range had clearly failed. Continuing the battle would accomplish nothing but add to their casualties.

What infuriated him most was that they had killed plenty of high-tier Outland Beasts, only for someone else to reap the rewards. Even the peak Tier 41 crystal core had been stolen.

Every time Vaelor thought about it, all his organs seemed to ache at once.

Worse still, they had caught the thief, only for someone to rescue him right from under their noses!

Vaelor felt like a million alpacas were stampeding through his head.

He took a deep breath and forced down his frustration before shouting to the Galeborn below.

”Retreat!”

The Galeborn warriors looked as if they’d been granted a pardon. They immediately began withdrawing down the mountain.

The elders covered one another as they retreated after them.

Vaelor glared into the distance and roared, ”Just you wait! If I don’t tear you bastards to pieces, I’ll stand on my head and eat shit!”

The moment the words left his mouth, his expression changed.

He could no longer sense the tracking mark.

Which meant he had no idea where the thief was.

If that bastard went into hiding and refused to show himself, there was absolutely nothing Vaelor could do.

”…”