Apocalypse: King of Zombies

The Stoneborn’s words made Ethan’s heart jump.

Did they already have a way to deal with the Beast Sovereign?

If so, that could be a serious problem.

Still, he couldn’t get involved in a battle at that level. Even if something did happen to the Beast Sovereign, there was nothing Ethan could do about it.

Forget it. I can’t worry about everything. I’ll deal with this guy first. Worst case, we leave the Eldoria Continent early.

Once his mental energy had recovered somewhat, Ethan teleported beside the Stoneborn again and brought his poleaxe down on the wound in his head.

The man showed no fear. He swung his massive hammer up to meet the attack.

Light flashed in Ethan’s eyes.

Dominion Gaze!

The Stoneborn’s mind went blank for a moment, but he recovered almost instantly. His hammer didn’t even slow down.

Ethan sighed inwardly.

As expected, the stronger the enemy, the stronger their mind. Dominion Gaze became less effective against them.

With no other choice, Ethan activated Absolute Stasis again, freezing the Stoneborn’s hammer just before it struck him.

He poured every last drop of mental energy into Annihilation Strike and slammed the poleaxe into the existing wound.

Boom!

The Stoneborn was sent flying once more, while Ethan nearly lost his footing from the massive drain.

He really missed having the rest of the Fallen Star Squad with him.

If they were here inside the Deadlock Dimension, he wouldn’t have to worry about running out of mental energy. This fight wouldn’t have been nearly so difficult either.

Emily’s Mental Blessing could increase his mental energy by twenty percent, while Strength Blessing would boost his physical power. Mia’s Power Transfer could push him even further.

With all those enhancements stacked together, killing this Stage SSS Stoneborn would be much easier.

Unfortunately, this battlefield was filled with powerful enemies. Ethan himself was already walking a tightrope. Bringing the others here was out of the question.

Absolute Stasis ended.

When the Stoneborn climbed to his feet yet again, Ethan looked at him helplessly.

”Well, that settles it. I can’t kill you without Dopey.”

It wasn’t that Ethan couldn’t defeat a Tier 44. He had simply picked one hell of a damage sponge.

The man’s physical defenses were absurd. There was no way an average Tier 44 was anywhere near this tough.

Of all the targets he could’ve chosen, Ethan had really picked a good one.

”H-Heh…” The blood-covered Stoneborn glared at Ethan. ”I have to admit, for someone who just reached Stage SSS, pushing me this far is truly heaven-defying.

”But this is as far as you go. You’re out of mental energy now, aren’t you? It’s time to end this farce!”

The Stoneborn gripped his hammer and charged.

”Yeah.” Ethan smiled. ”It’s time to end this.”

He waved a hand, summoning Dopey between them.

As the massive hammer came down, Dopey raised one hand and caught it.

”?”

The Stoneborn froze, his mind filling with questions.

What the hell was this thing?

Where had it come from?

Dopey didn’t give him time to think. He kicked the Stoneborn in the chest.

Thud!

”Pfft!”

The man was launched backward again. He slammed into the Deadlock Dimension’s spatial barrier, then slid to the ground.

”Tier 47!” The Stoneborn stared at Dopey in horror.

Dopey ignored him and raised a hand.

An enormous palm of energy appeared overhead and came crashing down.

By now, the seal on the Stoneborn’s mental energy had worn off. He immediately activated Stone Armor, covering himself in an immensely powerful defensive layer. At the same time, a massive stone shield wrapped in yellow energy appeared above him.

Boom!

The energy palm shattered the shield and slammed into the Stoneborn.

”Pfft!”

His Stone Armor broke apart, and he spat another mouthful of blood. He stared at Dopey in disbelief.

”How can a soulless thrall be this powerful?”

Ethan was just as surprised.

He hadn’t known Dopey was Tier 47.

Even more astonishing was the fact that the Stoneborn had survived a direct attack from a Tier 47.

This man’s defenses really were ridiculous.

Thank God Ethan had Dopey. Otherwise, there was no telling how long it would’ve taken to kill him.

When the first strike failed to finish the Stoneborn, Dopey attacked again.

The enormous energy palm clenched into a fist and smashed down.

”No!”

Terror filled the Stoneborn’s eyes. He barely managed to raise an earthen shield, but it did nothing.

Thud!

The shield shattered instantly.

The fist flattened his entire body, spraying blood across the ground.

He was dead beyond question.

Ethan swallowed and gave Dopey a thumbs-up.

”Damn. That was incredible.”

Dopey remained expressionless, showing no reaction to the praise.

Ethan shrugged and dropped to the ground. He tossed another crystal core into his mouth.

His mental energy was nearly depleted. He needed to recover before leaving the Deadlock Dimension.

Outside…

The Goldenmane Lion stared strangely at the distorted space ahead.

Why were those two taking so long?

A Tier 44 fighter against someone who had only just reached Stage SSS should’ve been over in two slaps. Three at most.

Why hadn’t they come out yet?

The others were still fighting, but they had also been keeping an eye on the spatial distortion. As more time passed, they grew increasingly confused.

The human had clearly created this separate dimension. Only humans possessed abilities like that.

But if the human was maintaining it, shouldn’t the dimension collapse the moment he died?

Why was it still there?

Was the human somehow still alive?

That was impossible.

Had Brakkor dragged him inside and started talking instead of killing him?

Even if they were talking, what the hell could take this long? Did Brakkor not understand what was happening outside?

The pinnacle-race fighters cursed inwardly.

Just as everyone’s patience was beginning to run out, a spatial fluctuation rippled through the air.

A figure appeared.

Every Stage SSS fighter stared in shock.

Why was it him?

How was the human still alive?

And if he was alive, where was Brakkor?

”You…” The Goldenmane Lion stared at Ethan with wide eyes. ”You’re still alive? What happened to that Stoneborn?”

”Oh, him? He’s right here.” Ethan pulled Brakkor’s corpse from his spatial storage ring and held it out. ”Here. You can have him.”

The Goldenmane Lion accepted the flattened body in a daze.

The moment it realized what it was holding, the lion froze as if struck by lightning.

The others recognized Brakkor’s corpse almost immediately.

Every last one of them went still.