Apocalypse: King of Zombies

As Ethan’s words fell, the battlefield went silent again.

The Galeborn fighters and the Outland Beasts alike stared at him in shock.

Wasn’t this human a little too arrogant?

They admitted he was powerful, but there were more than twenty Stage SS fighters present, over ten of whom were Tier 39 or higher. Where did he get the nerve to challenge all of them by himself? Did he think he was Stage SSS?

The other races might have looked shocked, but inwardly, they were delighted.

They had been trying to figure out how to convince the Outland Beasts to join forces against Ethan. They never expected him to declare war on both sides himself.

They couldn’t tell whether he was supremely confident or simply full of himself.

Either way, since he had asked for it, they were more than happy to oblige. This was no time to be polite.

High Elder Aeron was the first to speak.

”If you’re that confident, then we’ll give you exactly what you want!”

He turned to the Stage SS Outland Beasts. ”Everyone, how about we set aside our grudges for now and join forces against him?”

”Screech!” one of the Tier 40 birds cried in agreement.

Every Stage SS Outland Beast immediately turned toward Ethan.

This outsider was unbelievably arrogant. Did he think killing one peak Tier 41 fighter made him invincible?

What a joke.

Below them, the densely packed Outland Beasts and members of the various races stopped fighting and looked up.

They also wanted to see what gave this human the confidence to challenge more than twenty Stage SS fighters alone.

Ethan smiled and waved a hand.

The next instant, more than twenty Stage SS fighters vanished from the battlefield along with Ethan and the rest of the Fallen Star Squad.

”!”

Everyone left behind stared in disbelief.

”What happened? Where did they go?”

”I don’t know! They just disappeared!”

”Look! Something’s wrong with the space over there. They must’ve entered some kind of separate dimension!” A sharp-eyed Stage S fighter pointed at where Ethan had been standing.

Everyone followed his finger and saw the space there twisting in an irregular pattern.

”That’s an extremely powerful spatial-type ability,” an experienced Galeborn elder said. ”It appears they’ve indeed entered a separate dimension.”

”Then what do we do?”

”We wait. That arrogant human challenged every Stage SS fighter by himself. Unless something unexpected happens, they’ll kill him soon enough.”

”He must be the one maintaining that ability. Once he dies, the separate dimension should collapse on its own.”

”Good!”

Both the Outland Beasts and the various races watched the distorted space tensely. The fighting below had come to a complete stop.

The battle inside that dimension would determine the final outcome. No matter how fiercely the forces below fought, it wouldn’t change anything.

Inside the Deadlock Dimension...

The Stage SS fighters looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings in confusion.

Being dragged into this strange space without warning had caught them completely off guard.

But anyone who had reached Stage SS had survived their share of dangerous situations. They quickly regained their composure.

”Is this a separate dimension?” asked a Tier 39 fighter from another race.

”Yes. Be careful. Something about this place is strange.” A Galeborn elder frowned. ”My strength has been suppressed by at least twenty percent.”

”Mine too. I didn’t expect him to possess such a powerful spatial ability. This could be troublesome.”

”A little, perhaps, but he’s only Tier 39. There are far too many of us for him to handle. We have nothing to fear.”

”He must have some kind of mental-control ability. Our Patriarch was probably caught off guard and controlled, which allowed the human to land that blow. Otherwise, he might not have been a match for the Patriarch.”

”His control ability can probably affect only one target at a time,” High Elder Aeron analyzed calmly. ”When he uses it, the rest of us will attack together. There’s no way he can survive.”

”Good!”

The others nodded.

Even the Stage SS Outland Beasts found Aeron’s reasoning convincing. They had more than twenty Stage SS fighters, including two Tier 40s. Why should they fear a single Tier 39 human?

Ethan stood a short distance away, smiling as he watched them whisper among themselves. Only when they finished did he speak.

”Done discussing your strategy?”

The Stage SS fighters frowned at how calm he seemed. High Elder Aeron glanced at the others, signaling them to act.

”Don’t give him a chance. Attack!”

Aeron struck first. A massive Wind Cutter formed in his hand and slashed toward Ethan.

The others reacted just as quickly. One devastating ability after another followed close behind, sweeping toward Ethan from every direction.

Ethan merely smiled.

He activated Nullspace Domain and spoke calmly.

”Inside my Deadlock Dimension, every last one of you is nothing but an insect.”

The barrage of terrifying attacks slammed into him, only to vanish without a trace. They didn’t cause so much as a ripple.

Back when Ethan had still been at Stage S, Nullspace Domain could already block attacks from enemies roughly three tiers above him. The gap between tiers had widened at Stage SS, but the ability could still withstand attacks from opponents two tiers higher.

The strongest fighters here were only one tier above him. Inside the Deadlock Dimension, their strength had also been reduced by twenty percent.

How could their attacks possibly harm him?

When they realized their combined assault hadn’t even broken through his defenses, the Stage SS fighters stared in horror.

”How is this possible?”

”That defensive ability is spatial too,” High Elder Aeron said grimly. ”It redirected all of our attacks.”

”Aren’t human abilities supposed to be random? Fine, maybe he got lucky and awakened a spatial ability, but this is absurd! How can one person possess so many spatial-type abilities, and why is every single one so powerful?”

The Stage SS fighters began to question everything they knew.

They couldn’t even break through his defenses. How the hell were they supposed to fight him?

Seeing them on the verge of falling apart, Ethan smiled.

”You’ve had your turn. Now it’s mine.”

He vanished and instantly reappeared beside High Elder Aeron, swinging his poleaxe down at the elder’s head.

Aeron’s eyes narrowed. He immediately tried to activate a defensive ability, only to discover that he couldn’t mobilize his mental energy.

His face changed drastically.

Now he finally understood why the Patriarch hadn’t fought back.

It wasn’t that Vaelor hadn’t wanted to resist.

He fucking couldn’t.

”Help me!” Aeron shouted.

The others didn’t hesitate. They immediately layered defensive ability after defensive ability over him.

They were all in the same boat now. Only by working together could they stand a chance against this terrifying human.

The corner of Ethan’s mouth lifted.

His poleaxe suddenly changed direction and swept toward Elder Thorne, who stood a short distance from Aeron.

Thorne was completely focused on reinforcing the High Elder’s defenses. He never imagined the attack would suddenly be redirected toward him.

Before he could react, the poleaxe struck his head.

Thud.

Elder Thorne, a peak Tier 39 fighter, had his head smashed to pieces. His body dropped lifelessly to the ground.

”!”

Everyone’s expression changed.

They immediately abandoned High Elder Aeron and began casting defensive abilities on themselves instead.

High Elder Aeron: ”…”