Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Solren approached Chris and the others with several Aurelian elders, then dropped to one knee before them again.

”You saved our people, my lords. From this day forward, whenever you call upon the Aurelians, we will answer.” His voice rang with absolute sincerity.

The squad looked at the Aurelians with mixed emotions.

They hadn’t known these people for long, but the Aurelians seemed decent by nature.

And if Solren were only putting on an act, Skinny Pete’s mind-reading would have exposed him. If the man had been planning to promise loyalty now and betray them later, Pete would already have said something.

Not every race on the Eldoria Continent was vile. Some, like the Azure Nereids and the Aurelians, were genuinely good people.

They simply lacked the strength to make their voices heard. On the Eldoria Continent, the pinnacle races had always decided everything.

”Get up. All we did was drive off the Outland Beasts,” Chris said. ”If the pinnacle races show up here one day, don’t blame us for dragging you into this.”

”If that day comes, then it was our fate,” Solren said solemnly.

”Now I see why Ethan said you were clear-eyed. You’re every bit the leader your people need.” Chris smiled. ”Don’t worry. The pinnacle races probably have bigger problems to deal with right now. Give it some time. Ethan will make arrangements for your people. Keeping the Aurelians safe shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Solren’s eyes widened. He bowed his head deeply, his voice trembling with emotion.

”Truly? Thank you, my lord. Thank you.”

Who would choose death when they had a chance to live?

If it had been only his own life at stake, perhaps Solren could have accepted it. But the Aurelians numbered in the hundreds of thousands. If they hadn’t been driven to the brink, of course they would want to survive.

”All right, get up. Take us inside so we can sit down for a while.”

”Of course.”

Solren hurried to his feet and led Chris and the others into the settlement.

The remaining Aurelians stayed behind to clear the battlefield.

Once they reached the Aurelian great hall, Solren immediately ordered a lavish feast prepared.

He also arranged for a group of stunning women to perform for them, and the squad’s eyes lit up the moment the dancing began.

Aurelian women weren’t just beautiful. Their dancing was extraordinary, far beyond anything celebrities back on Earth could have managed. Their enhanced bodies gave them a level of control no ordinary person could match.

”Damn, the women here really are gorgeous.” Big Mike sipped his wine without taking his eyes off the dancers.

The others were equally transfixed. Chris, however, valued his life enough to keep his gaze firmly on his plate under Emily’s watchful eye.

Then a thought occurred to him.

”Big Mike, you and Emily collected enough crystal cores to break through, right?”

”More than enough. We even grabbed some extras,” Big Mike replied casually.

”Then why are you still sitting here? Go make your breakthrough.”

”Huh?” Big Mike stared at him. ”Can’t I go after dinner? It’s not like a few minutes will matter.”

”What do you mean, a few minutes won’t matter? Have you forgotten what kind of situation we’re in? We’re racing against time. We can’t afford to waste any of it. Ethan’s going to be pissed if he finds out.”

”Uh… fine.”

Big Mike reluctantly stood, his gaze lingering on the performance.

”Emily, you should go too,” Chris said.

”Okay.” Emily obediently rose, then looked at him. ”You’re coming with us.”

”Me? I’m already Stage SS.”

”Reaching Stage SS doesn’t mean you can stop getting stronger. We just killed several Stage SS Outland Beasts, and you still have the Stage SS crystal cores the captain left with you. That should be enough to raise you several tiers.

”I’m pretty sure he gave them to you because he wanted you to improve as quickly as possible.”

”Uh… fine.”

Chris’s expression immediately matched Big Mike’s as he reluctantly got to his feet.

The others struggled not to laugh.

The three soon left the great hall and headed for the training chambers behind the settlement.

The Aurelians had plenty of them, so all three could advance without interruption.

”Hahaha! They’re gone!” Skinny Pete said happily. ”Now we can eat, drink, and enjoy the show.”

”Ahem.”

Mia cleared her throat.

Skinny Pete’s excited grin instantly froze.

”Um… Mia, if you’re tired, maybe you could go rest for a while?” he asked carefully.

Mia looked at their expectant faces and smiled before nodding.

”All right. I’ll go rest.”

She had no intention of spoiling their fun.

Ever since coming to the Eldoria Continent with Ethan, everyone had been under constant pressure. They finally had a rare chance to relax, and she wasn’t going to take that away from them.

She knew these men well. All they wanted was to watch beautiful women dance. They weren’t planning to do anything inappropriate.

And even if something did happen, it wouldn’t be that serious.

Whether on modern-day Earth or the Eldoria Continent, what powerful man didn’t have beautiful women surrounding him?

The Fallen Star Squad was practically an exception. With their strength and status, they could have women lining up for them back on Earth. They could choose someone new every day if they wanted.

The main reason they didn’t was Ethan.

He cared almost exclusively about growing stronger and had never shown much interest in romance. Mia had needed to make the first move herself. Otherwise, knowing Ethan, the two of them might still have been dancing around each other years from now.

With their leader setting that kind of example, the others naturally kept themselves under control. That was how the Fallen Star Squad had become absurdly powerful while several of its members still didn’t even have girlfriends.

If Ethan hadn’t set the tone, the rest of the squad wouldn’t have been nearly so well-behaved—Big Mike least of all.

”Mia, you’re the best!” Henry and the others immediately began flattering her as she stood to leave.

”Enjoy yourselves, but don’t get carried away. The captain will be angry if you do.”

”Don’t worry, Mia. We’re only watching the dancing. We won’t cause any trouble.”

Once Mia left, the others immediately perked up.

”Keep the music going! Let’s see some more dancing!”

While they relaxed and enjoyed the performance, they had no idea that four pinnacle races were running themselves ragged trying to find them.

The Verdantborn, Glamourkin, Umbrans, and Acerans had mobilized almost their entire populations.

Millions of people practically turned the Netherveil Range upside down. They terrified the Outland Beasts there so badly that the beasts nearly called on the Beast Sovereign for help.

Fortunately, the pinnacle races weren’t there to fight this time. They were only searching for the humans.

But even after combing through the entire Netherveil Range, the neighboring mountains, and every nearby settlement, they found no trace of humanity.

The humans seemed to have vanished into thin air.

The four races were deeply frustrated and were preparing to expand their search when a message arrived from the Celestials Patriarch.

”All-out war is imminent. Abandon all other tasks and prepare for battle!”