Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Fortunately, their fears proved unfounded.

When the flames cleared, the wraith emerged completely unharmed—and it was already right in front of the Blazehawk.

Every Aurelian and Outland Beast stared in disbelief.

It had taken such a terrifying attack without a scratch.

The Blazehawk looked as if it had actually seen a ghost.

The wraith gave it no time to recover. With a casual wave of its hand, black chains appeared and wrapped around the Blazehawk, digging deeper and deeper into its body.

”Screech!”

The Blazehawk erupted in towering flames, trying to burn the chains away.

Despite their slender appearance, the chains were exceptionally durable. Even the raging fire struggled to destroy them.

Still, the Blazehawk was slightly stronger. Under the relentless flames, the black chains eventually burned away.

The wraith showed no reaction. It kept moving its hands, producing more chains and sending them toward the Blazehawk.

The Blazehawk’s expression darkened. Two beams of fire shot from its eyes and struck the wraith.

They passed straight through its body without causing any harm.

That finally broke the Blazehawk’s composure.

What the hell was this thing? It could ignore every attack. How was anyone supposed to fight it?

The Blazehawk was about to abandon the wraith when more chains wrapped around its body. This time, it sensed that something was draining away.

At first, it couldn’t tell what it was. Then it focused, and its expression changed drastically.

Its soul energy was disappearing!

Those chains were draining its soul energy!

The discovery terrified the Blazehawk. Flames exploded across its body as it desperately tried to burn the chains away.

But for every chain it destroyed, the wraith created another. The two quickly fell into a stalemate.

Chris and the others watched in stunned silence.

The wraith was seriously impressive. Despite being a tier lower, it was pressuring the Blazehawk.

Its immunity to the Blazehawk’s attacks was the main reason, but the beast’s fear of those chains proved the wraith’s own abilities were nothing to underestimate.

”Screech!”

The Blazehawk suddenly cried out to the other Stage SS Outland Beasts, calling for help.

Chris reacted immediately.

”We’re moving too!

”I’ll take the Tier 39. The rest of you handle the others!”

He vanished.

”That thing’s Tier 39. Are you sure you can take it alone?” Sean asked worriedly.

”Relax. I know my limits!”

”All right. Then the Tier 38 is mine.”

Sean gripped his club and charged the Tier 38 Outland Beast.

”I’ll handle the Tier 37,” Mia said before rushing toward her target.

”That leaves the weakest one. Which of us is taking it?” Garrick asked Henry.

”I’m support. Why are you looking at me?” Henry spread his hands. He knew his role perfectly well and preferred not to fight unless necessary.

”Fine. I’ll do it.”

Garrick charged the last Stage SS Outland Beast.

Even after reaching Stage SS, several members of the Fallen Star Squad could still fight above their tiers. But crossing a two-tier gap was difficult.

At present, only Chris and Sean were completely confident they could kill an opponent two tiers above them.

Skinny Pete could probably be added to that list now, but his ability had too many unknown variables to guarantee anything.

Then there was Henry, their all-purpose support. Pain Link was so disgusting that it made him almost impossible to defeat. Of course, he couldn’t necessarily kill his opponent either. Anyone with a functioning brain would stop attacking once they realized something was wrong.

Mia could also fight two tiers above her. She had crowd control, soul-targeting attacks, a spatial-type ability, and a powerful single-target skill in Judgment Beam.

Her only problem was a lack of burst damage. She could overcome a two-tier difference, but it wouldn’t be easy.

The others couldn’t manage it.

Garrick had strong defenses and solid control, but his offense was lacking. One tier above him was manageable. Two tiers was too much.

Big Mike had excellent offense but poor defense and almost no control. If he couldn’t kill his opponent quickly, they would kill him instead.

Emily was pure support. Even fighting one tier above her would be difficult, much less two.

As for crossing three tiers, Ethan was currently the only one who could do it reliably.

Chris might be able to try.

The squad charged the Stage SS Outland Beasts.

Chris activated his strength enhancement. The moment he found an opening, he unleashed Ambush Strike, combining it with the black edge coating his weapon to punch a hole through his opponent’s neck.

Unfortunately, the Tier 39 Outland Beast’s defenses were too strong. Even with Chris attacking at full power, he only managed to open a wound. It wasn’t enough to kill the beast in one hit.

”ROAR!”

The Tier 39 Outland Beast swung a massive paw at Chris.

Chris phased into Ethereal Form, letting the blow pass harmlessly through him. The instant he became solid again, he coated his weapon in that black cutting edge and drove it into the same wound.

”ROAR!”

The beast howled in pain and launched a frenzied assault.

With Ethereal Form, Chris had no reason to fear its rampage. Whenever an opening appeared, his spear struck—and every thrust targeted the wound in its neck.

But the Tier 39 Outland Beast was simply too powerful. Even after wounding it, killing it would be far from easy.

Sean had transformed with Adamantine Form, activated Damage Reversal, and covered himself with Thornmail. He took his opponent’s attacks head-on and traded blow for blow, putting on a brutal display of raw power.

With his current strength, handling a Tier 38 Outland Beast wasn’t a problem.

Mia and Garrick had an even easier time.

Mia’s opponent was only Tier 37. She opened with Absolute Zero, freezing it so thoroughly that it could barely move. Several consecutive Judgment Beams erased it soon afterward.

Garrick covered himself in Earthen Armor, then used Void Hand to create an enormous black hand in the air. It clenched into a fist and repeatedly hammered his opponent until the Stage SS Outland Beast was flattened.

Not long after Mia and Garrick finished their fights, Sean smashed his opponent to death as well.

Only the Tier 39 Outland Beast fighting Chris remained.

The others moved to help, but Chris stopped them with a look.

He clearly wanted to kill it himself.

In a one-on-one fight, Ethan was the only member of the squad currently capable of defeating someone three tiers above him.

But Chris’s unusual abilities meant it wasn’t impossible for him. They could also see that the wound in the beast’s neck was growing deeper. Chris genuinely had a chance to kill it.

The fight dragged on.

Chris flickered in and out of sight, using Ethereal Form to avoid the beast’s attacks. Every time he struck, his spear plunged into the same wound.

With each thrust, the injury deepened and the Tier 39 Outland Beast grew weaker.

By the time it realized it needed to flee, it was already too late.

Squelch!

Chris’s spear finally punched all the way through its neck.

The Outland Beast’s eyes widened. Even as it died, it couldn’t believe it had been killed by an outsider who had only just reached Stage SS.

”Whew…”

Chris dropped heavily onto the ground, completely exhausted.

The others immediately gathered around him, and Emily began restoring his strength.

”Why did you have to push yourself that far?” she complained. ”Would it have killed you to let us help?”

”You wouldn’t understand.” Chris smiled but offered no explanation.

”Chris, that was badass!”

The others gave him enthusiastic thumbs-ups.

Defeating an opponent three tiers above him at Stage SS—there was no other way to describe it.