Apocalypse: King of Zombies

Just as Ethan was imagining the two sides tearing each other apart so he could swoop in afterward and reap the rewards, every Outland Beast suddenly reacted with alarm. Without hesitation, they abandoned their opponents and flew off in the same direction.

”?”

Ethan stared after them in confusion. ”What the hell? Why are they all running?”

”Wait, if you guys leave, what happens to me?”

Startled, Ethan hurried after them.

There were more than a dozen Stage SSS fighters here, including one at Tier 47 and two at Tier 46. If the Outland Beasts left, every last one of those fighters would turn on him.

Even Dopey might not be able to protect him from a force like that. They could probably shatter the Deadlock Dimension outright.

There was no way Ethan could stay behind alone.

The pinnacle-race fighters froze for a moment before giving chase as well.

Stage SSS fighters moved at incredible speeds. Within seconds, Ethan saw an enormous creature flying toward them. It resembled a Winged Drake, with a pair of wings growing from its back.

The pressure rolling off it was so overwhelming that Ethan could barely breathe.

Yet while its presence was terrifyingly powerful, it was also wildly unstable.

One look was enough for Ethan to tell that the creature had been gravely wounded.

Who is that? Its presence is insane.

”The Beast Sovereign!”

The Stage SSS Outland Beasts were horrified when they saw its condition.

Hearing them, Ethan finally understood why the newcomer’s presence was so overwhelming.

So this was the Beast Sovereign.

But hadn’t it reached the peak of Tier 47 long ago? Its combat strength was supposedly far beyond anyone else at the same tier, making it the undisputed strongest being on the Eldoria Continent.

How had it ended up in such miserable condition?

”Retreat!” the Beast Sovereign rasped, clearly enduring tremendous pain.

The Outland Beasts were about to ask what had happened when they spotted four figures rapidly closing in from behind.

Their expressions changed.

The Patriarchs of the four strongest races on the Eldoria Continent!

Had those four done this to the Beast Sovereign?

How was that possible?

The Beast Sovereign had long since reached the absolute limit of Stage SSS. Those four shouldn’t have been capable of defeating it.

Yet the Beast Sovereign’s current condition left no room for doubt.

The Outland Beasts immediately surrounded their ruler and began escorting it toward the Veilmist Range.

Before they could get far, however, the pursuing pinnacle-race fighters seemed to receive an order. They rushed forward and blocked the way.

At the same time, more Stage SSS fighters converged from every direction. Some were Outland Beasts, while others belonged to the intelligent races.

In the blink of an eye, every Stage SSS fighter on the Eldoria Continent had gathered in one place.

Even Ethan was shaken.

He had never seen a lineup this terrifying.

Worse, his position couldn’t have been more awkward. He was trapped right in the middle of the encirclement. If the fighting started, he had no confidence he could escape.

Against this many Stage SSS fighters, he doubted Absolute Stasis could freeze them for even a tenth of a second. It wouldn’t buy him enough time to get away.

Teleportation wouldn’t help either. Its range was only two miles, and their attacks could cross that distance in the blink of an eye. He would probably be blown apart the moment he reappeared.

Ethan sighed inwardly.

He hadn’t expected following the Outland Beasts to land him in a situation like this. If he’d known, he never would have come.

Then again, staying behind wouldn’t have helped. Those Stage SSS fighters had clearly set their sights on him. If he had fled in another direction, they might have chased him instead of the Outland Beasts.

Ethan sighed.

He had spent so long stirring up trouble across the Eldoria Continent. Sooner or later, it was bound to catch up with him.

Fortunately, he still had one final trump card.

”Beast Sovereign! I told you, you can’t escape!” the Celestials Patriarch called out coldly.

Then his gaze landed on Ethan.

”Hm? A human? Hahaha! So you’re here too. Perfect! We can wipe all of you out at once!”

Perhaps he understood that villains who talked too much tended to die, because he wasted no more time.

”Attack! Kill them all!”

The pinnacle-race fighters moved at once, unleashing a barrage of terrifying abilities at the center of the encirclement.

”Protect the Beast Sovereign and break through!” a Tier 47 Outland Beast roared before charging in one direction.

The other Outland Beasts immediately followed, bombarding the enemies blocking their path.

Thanks to Ethan’s interference, the Outland Beasts’ overall strength had already surpassed that of the intelligent races.

But now the Beast Sovereign was critically wounded and unable to fight, while the enemy had gained four of its strongest combatants.

The balance shifted instantly.

Just as the Stoneborn had said, even killing him hadn’t changed the final outcome. The strongest fighters were the ones who truly decided who won the war.

The battle reached its most intense point almost instantly.

The Outland Beasts threw themselves into the fight with no regard for their injuries. They attacked the enemies blocking their path with everything they had while maintaining a tight defense around the Beast Sovereign.

Ethan happened to be right beside it, so he benefited from their protection as well.

He activated True Sight and examined the Beast Sovereign.

Its physical injuries were severe, but the real danger was the devastating damage to its soul.

Watching the Outland Beasts fight desperately to protect their ruler stirred something in Ethan.

Even beasts could show such loyalty, while intelligent beings so often preferred stabbing one another in the back.

”Forget about me! Leave!” the Beast Sovereign roared again, its voice strained by unimaginable pain.

”We’re not leaving! Hold on, Beast Sovereign! We’ll break through this encirclement!” the Outland Beasts answered with absolute determination.

”I ordered you to leave!” the Beast Sovereign roared furiously.

”We won’t! Without you, we’ll only become materials for these races! If it hadn’t been for you all these years, they would’ve slaughtered the beast races and harvested every last one of our crystal cores!”

”That’s right! We’re not leaving! If they want to kill the Beast Sovereign, they’ll have to climb over our corpses first!”

The Outland Beasts roared in defiance.

”Hahaha! Even better!” Several Patriarchs smiled upon hearing them.

Outland Beasts really were simple-minded brutes.

If these Stage SSS beasts scattered and fled, the pinnacle races wouldn’t be able to catch all of them.

But if they insisted on staying, then their crystal cores were as good as theirs.

Ethan watched the scene with complicated emotions, torn over what he should do.

Then he glanced at the Beast Sovereign and froze.

The Beast Sovereign was… crying.

At that moment, Ethan made his decision.

He turned to the Stage SSS Outland Beasts guarding them.

”Keep their attacks off me. Don’t let anything get through. I’ll take your Beast Sovereign out of here!”

The Outland Beasts stared at him.

”You can get the Beast Sovereign away?”

”I can.” Ethan nodded solemnly.