Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Outside the Netherveil Range, Chris and the others remained hidden in the underground cave, waiting for Ethan.

They had no idea what was happening inside the mountains, and without Ethan, they didn’t dare go out. This was the Central Region. For them, it was far too dangerous.

”What’s taking the boss so long? You don’t think something happened to him, do you?” The others were starting to worry.

Their opponent this time was a Stage SSS beast, something beyond anything they understood. Even with Dopey there, they couldn’t help being concerned.

”Relax. The good die young, and the boss is way too much of a menace to die,” Big Mike said calmly.

”Big Mike, are you asking for another beating?”

A dimensional rift suddenly opened above their cave, and a figure emerged.

”Boss!”

The moment they heard Ethan’s voice, everyone scrambled out of the cave.

”Boss, you’re finally back! I was worried sick about you.” Big Mike rushed over excitedly.

”Worried?” Ethan narrowed his eyes. ”I thought I was too much of a menace to die.”

”I never said that! I was just trying to make everyone else feel better. Deep down, I was the most worried about you.”

”Yeah, right.” Ethan rolled his eyes.

The others shook their heads helplessly. Still, they knew what Big Mike was like. He really had only said it to ease the tension.

”Well, Boss?” Everyone looked at Ethan expectantly. ”How did it go?”

”Heh. Everything went smoothly. I got the Stage SSS crystal core too.” A smile tugged at Ethan’s lips. ”Now you can sit back and wait for me to reach Stage SSS. Once I do, I’ll carry all of you.”

”Seriously?”

”That’s great! Stage SSS is the true pinnacle!” Big Mike exclaimed. ”Once you break through, we can wipe out the entire Eldoria Continent!”

”Uh… you might be overestimating me a little.” Ethan stared at him. ”Eldoria has plenty of Tier 46 and Tier 47 fighters. What makes you think I can wipe out the whole continent?”

”Hey, everyone needs a dream.”

”…”

”Let’s go. The Central Region is probably about to descend into chaos. We should leave and find a weaker region where we can hide and power up.”

Ethan waved a hand and activated Riftwalk again.

Not long after they disappeared, the two Stage SSS fighters emerged from the Netherveil Range.

Both looked furious. No one enjoyed being framed for something they hadn’t done.

”Who killed the Netherfang Tiger—and in such a brutal way?” the Verdantborn High Elder asked grimly.

”Do you even need to ask? It had to be those humans,” the Glamourkin High Elder replied darkly.

”That’s impossible. According to our intelligence, there are only a few of them, and the strongest are merely Stage SS. How could they kill the Netherfang Tiger?”

”Hmph. How accurate has our intelligence been so far? At first, we were told they were all Stage S. Then several Stage SS fighters appeared among them.

”And you saw the Tier 41 Outland Beast that was killed in the Netherveil Range. It died without any chance to struggle or call for help. Could a Stage SS fighter do that?”

”You mean… there’s a Stage SSS fighter among those humans?”

”Without question. I even suspect the humans we’ve discovered aren’t the only ones who came to the Eldoria Continent. There may be stronger humans hiding in the shadows.

”Haven’t you noticed? They’ve been leading us around by the nose from the beginning.”

”What do you mean?”

”First, they appeared in the Southern Region, and the races there somehow ended up at war with the Outland Beasts. Then they moved to the Eastern Region, plunged the entire region into chaos, and escalated the fighting between both sides. And now, even we’ve fallen into their trap.

”They’re like an invisible hand in the darkness, constantly driving the races and Outland Beasts against each other. They want both sides to fight until one of us is destroyed.”

The Verdantborn High Elder considered her words, then quickly realized she was right.

”It really does seem that way.”

”Damn it. These humans are insidious!”

”I’m not taking the blame for this. I have to explain everything to the Beast Sovereign!” the Verdantborn High Elder said angrily.

”You think the Beast Sovereign will listen?” The Glamourkin High Elder sighed.

”This isn’t a matter of whether we want to take the blame. The moment we entered the Netherveil Range, it became ours. We even went inside the Netherfang Tiger’s lair. We’ll never be able to clear ourselves of suspicion.”

”…”

”This is fucking infuriating!” the Verdantborn High Elder growled.

”Getting angry won’t help. We need to return and report what happened.”

”Fine.”

Western Region

Like the Southern Region, the Western Region ranked near the bottom of the Eldoria Continent in overall strength. Only lower and mid-level races lived there, and the entire region didn’t have a single Stage SS fighter.

After the war broke out, more than a dozen Stage SS Outland Beasts arrived in the Western Region. None of its races received Stage SS reinforcements, leaving them helpless against the invasion.

By now, more than half the Western Region had fallen. Only a small portion remained, and its inhabitants were barely holding on.

A fierce battle was currently raging in the territory of the Aurelians.

The Aurelians were famous throughout the Western Region. Their reputation wasn’t just because every member of their race was exceptionally attractive. More importantly, their healing abilities were extremely powerful.

Many races on the Eldoria Continent shared the same elemental affinity, but the abilities they inherited could differ greatly.

A race’s abilities were passed down through its bloodline and were almost impossible to change.

The pinnacle races were powerful precisely because the abilities they inherited were so formidable.

The Aurelians possessed light-type abilities, including several powerful healing skills. That was why so many races in the Western Region wanted good relations with them. Everyone got injured eventually, and it never hurt to have skilled healers as friends.

Their exceptional survivability was also the only reason they had lasted this long.

But now, even the Aurelians were nearing their limit.

Faced with an endless tide of Outland Beasts, their strongest fighters resisted with everything they had, yet their defenses were still collapsing.

”Patriarch! We can’t hold them! We have to retreat!” shouted a young man covered in blood.

”Retreat?” The Patriarch gave a bitter smile. ”Almost the entire Western Region has fallen. Where could we possibly go?”

Vast, unbroken mountain ranges separated the Eldoria Continent’s regions. Anyone attempting to cross from one region to another had to pass through an enormous stretch of mountains.

Aside from the pinnacle races, who possessed arcane skyships, almost no one could make that journey.

The only other possibility would be to have such a good relationship with the Outland Beasts in those mountains that they allowed an entire race to pass unharmed.

But that had never happened, even before the war.

To Outland Beasts, the bodies of the intelligent races were highly nourishing. Why would they turn down food that delivered itself to their doorstep?

That was why the races of the Eldoria Continent rarely left their native regions. Relocating was nearly impossible unless they had a supremely powerful fighter capable of intimidating every Outland Beast along the way.