Apocalypse: King of Zombies

At the bottom of the crater, Vaelor lay covered in blood. He tried several times to get up, but every attempt failed.

Ethan’s blow had nearly shattered his skull. Only Vaelor’s formidable strength had kept him from dying on the spot. An ordinary Stage SS fighter would have been dead several times over.

Vaelor was still alive, but he wasn’t getting back on his feet.

When he heard one of his people ask why he hadn’t fought back, his eyes rolled up and he nearly passed out from sheer rage.

What the hell do you mean, why didn’t I fight back? You think I wanted to just stand there? He had me locked down the entire time! I didn’t even know what hit me! How was I supposed to fight back?

He couldn’t be bothered to look at them. His furious, unwilling gaze remained fixed on Ethan.

”If you… hadn’t stolen… that peak Tier 41… crystal core… how could I… have lost… to you?”

The last time Vaelor had seen this human, Ethan had only been Tier 37. Now he was already Tier 39. There was no need to guess what had happened. Ethan had obviously used the peak Tier 41 crystal core.

That crystal core should have belonged to him!

If he had obtained it, he might have broken through to Stage SSS. He never would have lost to Ethan, and the Galeborn never would have ended up surrounded and attacked by the Outland Beasts.

This was all because these damned humans had stolen his crystal core.

Ethan looked down at him with a cold smile.

”A loss is a loss. The strong don’t care how it happened. Only the result matters.

”I told you to get your neck ready. I’d come take your head myself. And I always keep my word.”

Ethan waved a hand.

A dagger shot out and plunged through the wound in Vaelor’s skull.

His body went rigid. His eyes bulged, still filled with bitter unwillingness as he slowly collapsed.

Even in death, they remained open.

An eerie silence fell across the battlefield.

Everyone stared at Ethan in shock. Even the Stage SS Outland Beasts gulped nervously.

They knew exactly how powerful Vaelor was. Seeing someone that strong killed so easily had genuinely frightened them.

Ethan had killed Vaelor, and under normal circumstances, the enemy of their enemy might have been considered a friend. But friendship didn’t exist between Outland Beasts and intelligent races. Their interests were fundamentally opposed.

Someone this powerful couldn’t possibly ignore their crystal cores.

Sure enough, once Ethan finished off Vaelor, his gaze shifted toward them. His eyes lit up as if he’d just spotted a gorgeous woman naked.

Fifteen Stage SS Outland Beasts.

Those were all valuable resources.

The Beast Sovereign seemed determined to claim the Eastern Region and had sent an impressive force. Of the fifteen Stage SS Outland Beasts, two were Tier 40, two were Tier 39, and the rest ranged from Tier 36 to Tier 38.

And those were only the reinforcements sent to the Suncrest Range. The other mountain ranges probably had plenty of Stage SS Outland Beasts as well.

No wonder the Outland Beasts in the Central Region kept losing ground. The Beast Sovereign had clearly never intended to conquer the Central Region. It had divided its strongest forces among the other regions instead.

The opposing force was no weaker.

Besides Vaelor, who was now lying dead in the crater, they had three Tier 39 fighters and several others ranging from Tier 36 to Tier 38, for a total of twelve Stage SS fighters.

They had fewer fighters than the Outland Beasts, but Vaelor had been at the peak of Tier 41, and they also had one more Tier 39.

Their numbers might have been lower, but their overall combat strength certainly wasn’t. No wonder the battle had been so fierce.

The Galeborn stared at their dead Patriarch, their fury surging. They wanted nothing more than to rush forward and tear Ethan and his companions apart.

What little reason they had left held them back.

Their Patriarch hadn’t survived a single blow. If they charged in, they would only die even faster.

High Elder Aeron took a deep breath and looked at Ethan’s group. His gaze lingered on Chris for two seconds before he spoke in a low voice.

”We offended you before, and for that, I offer my apologies. Our Patriarch has now paid the price. Could we put this matter behind us? I swear that from this day forward, the Galeborn will never oppose you again.”

Their enemy had come to their home and killed their Patriarch, yet their own High Elder had to apologize and beg for peace.

Every Galeborn felt deeply humiliated.

As a higher race ranked among the ten strongest in the Eastern Region, the Galeborn had always gone wherever they pleased. They had never suffered such humiliation before.

But they also knew Aeron was making the right decision. They had no choice but to submit.

Otherwise, the Galeborn might cease to exist today.

Ethan gave the High Elder a faint, knowing smile.

”Put it behind us? Sure.”

”Really?” Aeron looked at him in delight. He clearly hadn’t expected Ethan to be so reasonable.

Ethan’s next words sent his heart plummeting.

”Once every last Galeborn is dead, we can put this whole thing behind us.”

”You…!” Aeron’s face flushed red.

”Do you truly intend to exterminate us? Higher races are protected by the pinnacle races! If you wipe out the Galeborn, the pinnacle race behind us will intervene. No matter where you run, you’ll never escape their pursuit!”

Ethan laughed. ”You say that as if the pinnacle races would leave us alone if we spared you.”

He turned to the dozen or so Stage SS Outland Beasts.

”Go ahead and keep fighting. I took care of the strongest one for you. You should be able to handle the rest, right?”

The Outland Beasts didn’t move. They merely watched Ethan with deep wariness.

Of course they could deal with the remaining fighters, but they weren’t stupid. The moment they finished off the other races, Ethan would undoubtedly turn on them.

They had no relationship with him. No one would willingly walk away from more than a dozen Stage SS crystal cores.

Ethan wanted them to keep fighting because his group couldn’t take them all on at once. He planned to let both sides wear each other down, then reap the rewards.

They weren’t foolish enough to fall for it.

”Friends of the beast races,” High Elder Aeron called out, ”these humans are not native to the Eldoria Continent. They want to watch us destroy each other. Once both sides are sufficiently weakened, they’ll kill every last one of us.

”You must understand that you’re also their targets. They will never let you leave alive!

”I propose that we join forces against this outside threat. We can kill these humans first, then resume our battle afterward. What do you say?”

The Stage SS Outland Beasts’ eyes shifted as they considered his offer.

They didn’t care whether the humans were native to the Eldoria Continent. Humans were intelligent creatures, which made them enemies all the same.

Their real concern was that Ethan’s group was too powerful. They weren’t confident they could defeat them alone. If they joined forces with the other races and eliminated the humans first, the remaining enemies would be much easier to deal with.

But the Outland Beasts and these races were locked in a blood feud. Cooperating with them would carry enormous risks.

While they hesitated, Ethan spoke again.

”It’s just a fight. Why make it so complicated?” He stepped forward. ”If none of you have the guts to start, I’ll take all of you on myself!”